Jump to content


Photo

Strange, ridiculous or amazing parts of race tracks


  • Please log in to reply
213 replies to this topic

#201 Lee Nicolle

Lee Nicolle
  • Member

  • 11,036 posts
  • Joined: July 08

Posted 26 July 2016 - 01:13

The artificial hill on the back straight at Calder. 

Mt Jane.



Advertisement

#202 Graham Clayton

Graham Clayton
  • Member

  • 1,362 posts
  • Joined: January 01

Posted 16 October 2016 - 06:10

The Dutch stockcar track at St Maarten - no safety fence on the outside of the track, just a ditch to fall into if you get out of line:



#203 chunder27

chunder27
  • Member

  • 5,775 posts
  • Joined: October 11

Posted 16 October 2016 - 10:18

I thought they had got rid of the ditch at most Dutch tracks now?



#204 Graham Clayton

Graham Clayton
  • Member

  • 1,362 posts
  • Joined: January 01

Posted 20 May 2017 - 07:28

The road course at the Indianapolis Raceway Park had no pit enclosure on the main straight. Cars coming in for a pit stop parked on the extreme left of the straight, and the pit crews had to jump over the Armco guardrail to work on them, as seen in this footage of the USAC Yankee 300 stock car race from 1967:



#205 GazChed

GazChed
  • Member

  • 695 posts
  • Joined: January 17

Posted 20 May 2017 - 08:42

Apparently Church Corner at Thruxton is ridiculous these days...

#206 Rob G

Rob G
  • Member

  • 11,609 posts
  • Joined: April 01

Posted 20 May 2017 - 13:43

The road course at the Indianapolis Raceway Park had no pit enclosure on the main straight. Cars coming in for a pit stop parked on the extreme left of the straight, and the pit crews had to jump over the Armco guardrail to work on them, as seen in this footage of the USAC Yankee 300 stock car race from 1967:

 

Lack of a pit enclosure wasn't that unusual back then, but that huge expanse of grass the pit crews had to dash across sure was. Conversely, check out all that paved runoff at turn one!



#207 Graham Clayton

Graham Clayton
  • Member

  • 1,362 posts
  • Joined: January 01

Posted 09 December 2017 - 05:56

The Anderstorp circuit in Sweden has an airstrip as part of the main straight:

Scandinavian-Raceway-Circuit.jpg

 

 

During the 1975 Swedish Grand Prix, Carlos Pace ran wide coming onto the straight in his Brabham BT44, and clipped the exposed landing lights which are on the left hand side of the airstrip, forcing his retirement.



#208 IanMH

IanMH
  • Member

  • 186 posts
  • Joined: April 07

Posted 12 January 2020 - 17:32

When the original tarmac was laid at Knockhill in late 1974, the track at the chicane ran between a large earth embankment behind the butts of a military rifle range and a storage building...it was removed by the start of racing in 1975...I remember standing on top of this bank looking down on motorcycles testing that winter...had they left it, it would certainly have put paid to today's kerb-hopping and track limits abuse shenanigans !!!   Cheers Ian  :wave:

 

 

49373994112_a26c4db45a_o.jpg


Edited by IanMH, 12 January 2020 - 17:37.


#209 Lee Nicolle

Lee Nicolle
  • Member

  • 11,036 posts
  • Joined: July 08

Posted 13 January 2020 - 06:58

The Anderstorp circuit in Sweden has an airstrip as part of the main straight:

Scandinavian-Raceway-Circuit.jpg

 

 

During the 1975 Swedish Grand Prix, Carlos Pace ran wide coming onto the straight in his Brabham BT44, and clipped the exposed landing lights which are on the left hand side of the airstrip, forcing his retirement.

An Indy car track that was an airfield.

And another with a train crossing!

Not that many years ago either.

Mallala and many other British tracks were WW2 airfields.


Edited by Lee Nicolle, 13 January 2020 - 07:00.


#210 Ray Bell

Ray Bell
  • Member

  • 79,955 posts
  • Joined: December 99

Posted 13 January 2020 - 07:50

But airfields are neither unusual or strange when it comes to motor racing...

 

They are just everywhere, and have been so for seventy years.

 

A rail crossing, however, is different.

 

What is unusual, Mallala wasn't built on the runways but on the taxiways and service roads. Even that's not unique, but at Mallala it was because the runways were grass.



#211 lustigson

lustigson
  • Member

  • 5,907 posts
  • Joined: March 01

Posted 13 January 2020 - 08:28

formula8-reportage4.jpg


Edited by lustigson, 13 January 2020 - 08:32.


#212 BRG

BRG
  • Member

  • 25,883 posts
  • Joined: September 99

Posted 13 January 2020 - 15:41

What is unusual, Mallala wasn't built on the runways but on the taxiways and service roads. Even that's not unique, but at Mallala it was because the runways were grass.

RAF Westhampnett (aka Goodwood) says Hi!  As does Thruxton.



#213 Graham Clayton

Graham Clayton
  • Member

  • 1,362 posts
  • Joined: January 01

Posted 13 May 2021 - 11:08

The Phakisa Freeway combination oval/road circuit in South Africa has two straights of the road course cross the back straight of the oval:

https://allalongther...freeway-welkom/

 



#214 Rob G

Rob G
  • Member

  • 11,609 posts
  • Joined: April 01

Posted 14 May 2021 - 00:25

The Phakisa Freeway combination oval/road circuit in South Africa has two straights of the road course cross the back straight of the oval:

https://allalongther...freeway-welkom/

 

 

The road course also crosses the back straight of the oval at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

 

https://www.scda1.co...DA-logo-Jpg.jpg