Infineon Long

I posted this for the April Week #3 run at Infineon Long, and figured it should also go here in the student section... The car used here was a '10 Civic Mugen 3D a A546 running Drag tires.... BUT... The corner strategy still holds true for most other cars, but the gearing and on-off throttle points will be slightly different. If you built a Mugen for the the April 2012 series, I suggest you run that first to get a feel for the turns. If you hit everything right, you should be running 1:44.xxx to 1:47.xxx in the Mugen (depending on tire wear, and temp)....

There are several keys to getting lap times up:

1. Brake a little early on the right hander at the top of the hill after the start. Keep it in 3rd gear and you should be able to get on full throttle before cresting the hill.
   
2. the uphill ess is tough, but get of the throttle and turn in early. Downshift to 3rd once you pass the apex, turn into the hill and nail it as your crest the hill.
   
3. the downhill right hander... brake early and downshift to 3rd and turn in a tad early. Get on the gas at apex and you should drift out to the rumble strips...
   
4. the slight sweeping righthander is full throttle
   
5. the sweeping downhill lefthander is tough, but brake just as you're about the crest the hill to keep from going wide try and hold 4th gear and stay on the inside line. it feels weird, but it's the fastest way through. as the turn opens up, you can go full throttle, but don't drift outside or you will go off... The key here is to come off the inside a bit before going to full throttle and then cut inside the racing line. That should get you to drift out to the rumble strip. if you hit it right you will be about two car widths away from the outside rumble strips on exit.
   
6. The wide 90d right hander is a 3rd gear turn. brake hard and turn in a little early. once you pass the first apex, you can pretty much pull full throttle all the way through.
   
7. Now you enter the cave of the giant barracuda.... The high speed essess... These will eat you alive if you don't hit them the right way, and you will slide off on your entry into the second half (after the first left-hand section) if you don't hit it right.... You should be accellerating towards the top end of 4th gear, and you need to hold 4th through the entire section. As you approach the left-hander, lift throttle and turn in a tad early, once you feel the back-end start to break loose or at apex, you should get on half throttle. Lift throttle again as you appraoch and turn in (tad early again) to the right-hander and stay smooth. you should be able to get full throttle at apex and ride it out.
   
8. Next up is the easy left hander. Enter wide, Take at full throttle, and exit inside to set wide for the next turn. easy, but get it right or the next turn will be rough.
   
9. Now youve got the quick and sharp right-hander. This one will bite you as well if you don't take it right. Brake, early and hard for about 1 second or so (you should be down around 90-95mph), then downshift to 4th and turn in early. if you hit it right, you should be able to floor it after the apex. If not, use throttle controll to stay on the track, and then nail it once you settle in.
   
10. Now you've got the tight 90d hairpin. Brake a little late but hard and downshift into second prior to turn in. If you are on the brakes when you turn in, you will slide out. Stay tight and in 2nd. Once you pass the apex, you can get throttle up smoothly and shift to 3rd as you complete the exit.
    
11. Next I will cover the full section from the hairpin covered in the previous item to the uphill turn covered in #1. Once you exit the 90d hairpin it's full throttle accross the finish line. the medium left-hander cshould be taken at full throttle, and an early turn in will help keep you planted. the easy left hander after the finish may require some throttle control, but can be taken at full tilt if your turned in early. Once you pass the pit exit, you need to start working the throttle to get inside and stay planted as your enter the uphill easy left. you will be moving quick, and if you are not carefull you will drift too far out and be off line and inside on your entry to the right hander at the top of the hill (covered in #1).
    

Thanks for the tips. I can never do the high speed winding section right before the hairpin so this should really help.

Great write up Lou.