83 replies to this topic

[Omegas]

There is a section name which is pretty funny imho: "Elend" (Solitude Grand Prix track) means in English "misery". This section is really a misery because it is the steepest section of the track! Driving it with your road car in our days is really annoying, because you run out of horsepower. Even the majestic Nürburgring does not know such a steep section, Österreichring used to know one.

[Hieronymus]

At the old Alexandra Park circuit in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, there was a corner called SUICIDE BEND . Going off there you were confronted by a steep drop followed by a row of ablution blocks. You were literally and figuratively in deep sh*t if you went off there…

[lfcjari37]

In more recent years, Mobil have sponsored the curve and what was barely a hill is now 'Mobil Mountain'!

I found that bizarre as well, its really a "slight incline"

Does anyone know the reasoning behind Six Freres at Rouen? I know it means Six Brothers but why?

[MoMurray]

There is a delightful little airfield circuit near Ballymoney in County Antrim, Northern Ireland (used mostly for bikes) called Aghadowey. The last corner is a tight ninety degree right-hander. There is no run off as the concrete block building housing the toilets is on the outside of the corner exit. If you crash there you literally hit the shithouse...hence it is known as Shithouse corner!

Mo.

[Twin Window]

I realise that Maggotts has already been mentioned here, with a similar explanation to this one from another - earlier - thread...

Originally posted by Andrew Kitson

...Maggotts and Copse come from nearby Maggotts Moor and Seven Copses Wood.

...but today at work, something made me wonder.

I work in the Silverstone Innovation Centre, which is on the opposite side of the old main entrance road from the bungalow (familiar to all those [older-ish] media types who used to collect their passes there).

Today we were exposed to the distinctly unpleasant sight of large maggots appearing from underneath the tarmac in the visitor car parking bays. And these things were up to an inch long...

As this is the first development on this particular area of land (several more have followed, and are to follow) could it be that these disgusting *creatures* are peculiar to the local earth? Maggotts the corner can only be, what, half a mile to a mile away?

Just a thought, and I'll add a pic tomorrow - if I can bring myself to take one!

[D-Type]

YUKH!




I'd report you to the moderator. But.....

[lfcjari37]

Muzza said:

In Rouen: Scierie means "Saw mill" - an apt name, as there was a saw mill just outside of the circuit, on the road continuing the climb from Grésil.

Now... why Grésil? Grésil is, in French, the cracking soung that wood makes when burning, but I have no idea why that turn is called as such...

I found out from the President of Moto les Essarts that the names of the corners at Rouen were from old farm names in the area. Not as glamourous as hoped:)

[simonlewisbooks]

Why is it that so many American circuits are generally lacking in picturesque corner names ('Maggotts' for example...) ? Or any corner names at all ?

Turn 1 just does not conjour up much emotion compared to Curve Grande or even Gerards Bend, no matter how awesome it might be.

There are exceptions of course, the afore mentioned Puke Hollow at Langhorne is a real cracker, as is Thunder Valley at Road America.

How did the numbering business come to be so widespread? Americans are not normally short on imaginative terminology.

Simon Lewis

[Barry Boor]

Regarding Solitude, Omegas said:

it is the steepest section of the track!

I wonder if this is the section after the tight right-hand corner, which follows the 2 left-handers after the start?

On G.P. Legends, it does appear to be extremely steep at that point.

[harryglorydays]

I don't know if it is picturesque, but i recently discovered in doing research on my new book on the 1965 Sebring where they got the name of the famous Webster Turn from. Sebring is located in the middle of the citrus growing region of Florida and Webster Irrigation was (and still is) a supplier of agricultural irrigation systems. They were located along the Warehouse Straight (in one of the left-over WWII warehouses) next to the Webster Turn. I always thought it was a friend of Alec Ulmann or one of the Colliers.

[philippe charuest]

Originally posted by Muzza




Now... why Grésil? Grésil is, in French, the cracking soung that wood makes when burning, but I have no idea why that turn is called as such...

not really we say that the wood" gresille" and the sound is the " gresillement". but "gresil "is a very thin ice rain, and i guess that theres a lot of gresil in the north of france, but it could come from a local patois too with a completely different meaning

[LittleChris]

Originally posted by lfcjari37


Does anyone know the reasoning behind Six Freres at Rouen? I know it means Six Brothers but why?

The chicane inserted there in 1974 was known as Virage des Roches.

I've always thought that maybe there are 6 rocks / standing stones in the woods above the track at that point hence the original and later names.
Probably complete b*****ks but a nice thought.

Perhaps someone could contact Roger Biot who wrote the history of the circuit to see if he knows ?

[lfcjari37]

Littlechris said in relation to Six Freres:

I've always thought that maybe there are 6 rocks / standing stones in the woods above the track at that point hence the original and later names.

Yeah I thought there would be an intersting reason for the name, but the president of Moto les Essarts assures me the corners at Rouen except Sciere were named after farms in the area.

[LittleChris]

But where is there a farm near the corner ? It is very steep land covered in trees & woodland ?

[lfcjari37]

A good question, and one that deserves an answer:) I'll see if I can get one:)
And the answer is, that the farms were there many years before the track was built. Hard to think of that area as once being farmland eh?

[D-Type]

In England sometimes individual fields had names as well as the farm they were part of. These names can be seen on latge scale (1:1250 or 1:2500) maps. It may well be the same in France, and this may be the problem with naming parts of the Rouen circuit.

Edited by D-Type, 23 March 2012 - 12:21.

[MCS]

Originally posted by LittleChris
But where is there a farm near the corner ? It is very steep land covered in trees & woodland ?

There may be one (may have been one) behind the woods.

I came in that way once on what was basically a single track road and arrived opposite the pits.

Prior to the woods it was farmland.

[simonlewisbooks]

Originally posted by MCS


There may be one (may have been one) behind the woods.

I came in that way once on what was basically a single track road and arrived opposite the pits.

Prior to the woods it was farmland.

Don't forget farms can easily include woods..... it's not one or the other.

Simon Lewis

[Graham Clayton]

Some background on corners in South Africa:

East London – Cobacana Corner – There is a business in East London called Cobacana Caravans - was the corner named after them?

Goldfields Raceway
a) Viana Straight is named after 1980’s BMW driver Tony Viana
b) Sabat Sweep is named after South African Batteries, who sponsored lots of different cars in the 1980’s and 1990’s
c) Bankfin Esses – named after Bankfin, the finance division of the ABSA Bank

Sacks Circle – Tex Kingon straight named after Tex Kingon, who was a regular competitor in South African races with an ex-Indy 500 Studebaker and a Maserati GC 34, and who was killed at East London during the 1960 Winter Handicap.

In Brazil, the Autodromo Nelson Piquet has two corners named after local identities:

a) Curva Le Guezec is named after Claude Le Guezec, a Brazilian racing administrator of the 1970’s.
b) Curva Scavone is named after Antonio Carlos Scavone, founder of “Autosporte” magazine and sports director with TV Globo

[GMACKIE]

The Tunnel of Love, at Catalina Park, Katoomba. Not much love lost there......although quite a few 'kissed' the wooden fence.

[LittleChris]

Westmead outside Durban, South Africa had a Banana Bend, too - its arc resembled that of the fruit which grew wildly in the area. Gary Hocking - subject of a feature in the latest MOTOR SPORT - lost his life at Banana Bend, and, after the circuit closed and the area became a commercial estate, one of the roads was named Hocking Road. Then, in keeping with the area's heritage, motor racing names were given to various streets and roads on the state: Le Mans Road, Suzuka Place, etc.

I always thought that Hocking had his accident at Westmead at Devils Leap which is the other side of the circuit ?

[Ray Bell]

How about Tomlin's Bend at Bathurst? Named after the owner of the farm there, but a name forgotten today... it's the right hander at the end of Mountain Straight...

Con-Rod Straight? It's over a mile long and downhill, doesn't take much figuring out. Forrest's Elbow, named after motorcycle racer Jack Forrest.

The corner at the end of Con-Rod Straight is named Murray's for Bill Murray, I think he stuck the Hudson Special in there once. Peter Hitchen also reckons this car is the one that named Con-Rod Straight.

[Ray Bell]

Warwick Farm had all logic about it...

From the start, you ran into Paddock Bend, which went around the paddock with all its tender vehicles and the personnel hanging around watching you. Then you went across the Western Crossing, into Homestead Corner where there was indeed a 'homestead' surrounded by healthy trees.

Hume Straight ran alongside the Hume Highway and led to Creek Corner which was very close to Cabramatta Creek. The Esses wound their way back towards the Northern Crossing, there was no name for the very quick S-bend that led to the braking area for The Causeway. This was a filled and fenced literal causeway across the lake in the middle of the horse-racing course.

Polo Corner was next, out at the extreme part of the Polo field, while at the other end of the polo field came Leger Corner, which was opposite the Leger Stand. Pit Straight was straightforward enough.

[Ray Bell]

Oran Park was all too commercial...

Names were given to corners according to who paid for the signage. Except the Dogleg, which for motorcycle racers was usually called the 'Flip Flop' as that's what you did on a bike as you came over there.

At one point hand-tool makers Dufor put their name on the Dogleg, so it became the 'Dufor Dogleg'.

[Ray Bell]

Catalina Park was also purely commercial...

Carrington Curve became Pilot Curve. Carrington was the Hotel, Pilot was a maker of ballpoint pens. Dunlop never changed, nor Craven A, there was no name on anything in between that I recall, then Bosch Corner also lasted the life of the place.

The Tunnel of Love was mentioned, that was KLG, wasn't it? And I think there was a name put on what I call 'Savva's Hairpin' for a short time.

[Ray Bell]

Mention of the hill (or mountain) at Pukekohe brings to mind Sandown...

The hill up the back straight changed names occasionally. It ended with the daunting full-tilt entry into Sandown's downhill very fast esses, I recall that it was Rothmans Rise at one point, was it not also Ransom Rise for a while? And it was also 'Marlboro Country' while originally it was simply referred to as 'Lukey Bridge' as there was a bridge-like structure over the top of it with Lukey's signage on it.

The Esses ended at Dandenong Road Corner, right at the Dandenong Road, while long-term naming of the Shell Corner saw it remain so for many years, Peters Corner (sponsored by the ice cream manufacturer) changed in the seventies to Torana Corner as GM-Holden bought sign space there.

[Ray Bell]

Does anyone remember 'Belindas Terrace' at Phillip Island?

It was a period where the PIARC were fairly desperate for money...

[GMACKIE]

The 'Con-rod Straight' story I heard, from an old motor-bike racer, went something like this. The [air-cooled] engines would be really hot, nearing the end of Con-rod, however, the air blast at that speed would cool the cylinder around the piston, and often cause a 'nip-up', if you hadn't fitted a Siddie Willis piston. From what I heard, a broken rod was a better option than a seized piston, as the back wheel would usually keep turning.

Although not a 'circuit', Silverdale had 'Gordon Stewart's Tree', so named after you-know-who ran into it!

[Lee Nicolle]

Mallala has had various names for various corners. Though us who have been around for a while still call the corners by different names. To me turn 1 is turn 1, turn 2 is Tower named after the location of the original Tower 61-69, then Southern Hairpin, the Kink [also called bannana bend by some] Northern hairpin, the sweeper to Woodies, that was the original name from 61 to Clubhouse as that is where the unfortunatly not used clubhouse is located.
They do have current names, Clem Smith is annoyed by using the old names.
I guess that Tony Grove would know all the various names over the years and probably Annie Oz too. Though she has only called there for about 15 years!

[GMACKIE]

CC corner, at the end of the original Oran Park main straight, was sponsored by C-C Tyres [Campbelltown-Camden], run by the Holyoakes. Warwick and David Holyoake were keen competitors.

[Ferrari 312]

Catalina Park was also purely commercial...

Carrington Curve became Pilot Curve. Carrington was the Hotel, Pilot was a maker of ballpoint pens. Dunlop never changed, nor Craven A, there was no name on anything in between that I recall, then Bosch Corner also lasted the life of the place.

The Tunnel of Love was mentioned, that was KLG, wasn't it? And I think there was a name put on what I call 'Savva's Hairpin' for a short time.

Was Carrington Curve, also known as Neptune bend at one point?

The Tunnel of Love was Energol Corner (BP Motor Oil)

'Savva's Hairpin' was known as Castrol Corner, one of Lynton's images from 1970 shows a sign to this effect on the outside mound, not sure if that was always there from the beginning or a later addition?

[Ray Bell]

I think you're right on all three counts...

The naming of Savva's Hairpin came late in the day.

[alansart]

The naming of Knickerbrook

[Graham Clayton]

The outside of the left hand corner of the chicane leading onto the main straight at Montreal is known as the "Wall of Champions", due to the number of cars that have crashed there: