Open Track Racing

Greg Smith (A.K.A. Racer X, The Quiet Man)
1995 Corvette
LT-1 stock
T56 Six Speed stock
3:53 gears stock

Turn 1
This corner is a fast corner that has good banking and a wider exit than most think. Coming into this corner you want to brake and downshift one gear down from the top gear. You want to Trail Brake this corner so the car stays set up through the corner and you are not pogoing around the corner. The turn in point for this turn is the last white reflector on the right. You want to have the right tires almost on the white line so you get a nice big fast arc through the corner. The apex is marked by an orange circle at the geometric apex. You don't want to coast through this turn, go ahead and get back in the gas after your done braking. This will get the car into a nice four-wheel drift coming off into the exit. The exit is a blind exit, in that you cannot see the edge of the track from the apex. Upon exiting, track the car left to set up for Two. Fourth Gear

Turn 2
The big sweeper. Enter this corner about 2/3 of the out from the right hand side. It will take some practice, but ultimately you want to put one steering input into the wheel and hold it. This will give you a nice smooth and balanced line around this sweeper. The apex for this corner is almost at the end of the Red/White curb (candy stripe). There is an orange circle here as well. If the orange circle is not there then look at where the paint on the curb has been worn down by other racers. When you can see the apex start feeding in some fuel to the car to power out of the corner. Let the car drift left, using the whole track and put the power down going into Three. Track the car to the right, all the way to the white line to get a nice big arc into three. Fourth Gear

Turn 3
Brake hard in a straight line and downshift. The turn in here is very late; it feels almost like you are going to drive straight off. This corner is 100º that is slightly banked into off camber. You want to apex the car late, again, almost at the end of the candy stripe. Now look up the hill and aim the nose of the car at the B in “Budweiser” up on the building. Take the car straight up the hill so that the right side tires are just touching the candy stripe on the right. This is the first apex going into Four. You want to be very careful exiting Turn Three. It can be deceiving when to put the power down. As you are apexing the car at the end of the candy stripe in Three, you will feel the G-Forces pushing your body to the right. When you feel the G-Forces relaxing on you that is the time to put the power down. If you put the power down while the car is still loaded to the right the car will spin around on you. During the exit the weight of the car is on the right rear and if you ask that tire to accelerate and hold the car through the turn it will break loose. Wait till you get maximum traction with both rears, and then put the power down. Third Gear

Turn 4
After hitting first apex (which was the candy stripe on the right after Three) you want to take the car up to the top of the track, Track Left, and then snap the car around to the right apexing at the Green Flag Station to the right. As soon as you have the car turned and going straight put the power down and let the car track out to the left, almost to the edge of the track. Third Gear

Short Chute to Turn 5 and 6
Bring the car back to the right so that you are almost touching the candy stripe curb to the right. Start your braking here and get all you braking done in a straight line. Then start to feed in a little power and look for the late apex at Five. The apex in Five is the divot in the curb on the left. Instead of letting the car track out to the right, hold the turn a little longer (about 10 feet past the apex) then turn the car right. (Fourth Gear) This way you are going over the Hill at Turn 6 in a straight line. You want to crest this hill (or any hill for that matter) in a straight line so that you can be at full power going over the hill and not lifting. The car will land settled and ready to go.

Turn 7
Keep the car Track Left as you go through here. Fifth Gear

Turn 8
Depending upon your horsepower, you can either take this corner flat out or if you have a lot of horsepower you will want to lift just a bit through here. The key through 8 is to straighten out this turn as much as you can. When you leave Turn 7 you want the car Track Left, then in a nice big, smooth arc bring the car Track Right to the apex of 8 and then shoot straight for the end of the track going into 9.

Turn 9
When you are leaving 8 you want to find your mark for the braking zone into 9. If you look off into the distance you will see a row of telephone poles and then to the right you will see two single poles. Aim the car for the pole furthest to the right. As you get closer to the entrance of 9 you will see four little white reflectors on the white stripe on the track. That is the turn in. Here you want to Trail Brake the car and down shift. The reason for the trail brake here is because most of the cars out there have a “Push” or “Understeer” set up in them. You need to get some weight on the front of the car so it will turn in. Don't go to the edge of the track as you turn in here, go about ¾ Track Left so you have some room to catch the car if need be. Look for the apex all through this Turn. The apex is a blind apex in that you cannot easily see it from the entrance of the Turn. In Turn 9 there is a slight dip in the pavement and a divot in the candy stripe, that is the apex. As soon as you see the apex start feeding in the gas and go! Let the car Track Left and mash the gas. Take the Checkered Flag! Fourth Gear through the corner Fifth Gear just after the exit.

Ron Wasserman (A.K.A SoCal Rebell)
2000 Viper, lots of mods, Hoosiers
431.4 RWHP 475.4 RWTQ

Ok here's my one lap at Willow Springs, this is based on a 3:54 rear end gear, some with a higher rear ratio (3:07 or so) will not need to go to 5th in the front and back straight:

Turn 1
I'm going in hot at 140 mph, you should be track right find your comfortable brake point, brake and downshift into 4th as soon as you come off the brake you're right back on the gas full bore, you can take this turn faster then you think as this corner is slightly banked. Pretty standard apex, hit it and track waaaay out right, USE THE WHOLE TRACK so you can carry speed. After you track out immediately go to track left to set up for #2

Turn 2
Pretty standard sweeper, basically a skidpad turn. Enter track left, stay mid track around the sweeper STAYING ON THE GAS, do NOT lift through this turn it will make your rear end light and if you're pushing it you will spin. As you start to get to the end of the sweeper start to decrease your radius and get tighter to track right, hit the apex with your right foot floored and again track out waaay left to carry speed. Immediately go track right to setup for #3.

Turn 3
Enter track right, brake HARD and downshift to 3rd, this is a turn I "give up" for 2 reasons, first even though it is the slowest turn it is the most dangerous with a double off camber set and there is a wall close by many people have hit because of this, second you will not make up time here use it to set up and nail turns 4 & 5 where you can make up time if you hit them right. After you finish your braking turn in early with your foot on the gas (halfway) to keep your rear planted try to feel how the car wants to respond to the double off camber, I try to hit the berm on the left and make a straight line up the hill to hit the berm on the right to enter #4.

Turn 4
Many ways to do this one, I double apex it, I am on the right hand berm entering lifting slightly no brake, go up to the top of the track and turn right about 1 car width from the top go to the appropriate spot for your second apex heading to #5, you must turn into this second apex earlier then you think and hit it perfect almost putting the right tires off track. Track waaay out left and watch for the rear getting a little light from a bump there .

Turn 5
A major turn for making up time, you're track left going downhill STAY ON THE GAS, go track right but don't hit the berm it will upset the car for the hard lefthander, as you transition to the right you are going straight and this is your braking zone, #5 is tough because of the off camber but you can take it faster then you think, the correct apex is VEEEERY late. When you turn into #5 you MUST stay on the gas to plant the rear or you will slide off the track. The reason for the late apex is so you're track left coming out of #5 to set up for #6.

Turn 6
Try to be as far left as possible out of #5 to take some of the "bump" out of #6, I am track left short shifting into 4th gear and am turning right REAL early into #6 turn in even before you see the berm on the right and straighten the steering wheel as you hit the bump, this does two things it allows you to take the bump straight on and because it's straight on you are at FULL throttle the whole time, track out left.

Turn 7
Not really a turn just an adjustment full throttle the hole way shift to 5th, take a breath check your gauges.

Turn 8
You are entering this turn FAST, you DO NOT brake just lift a little start your turn then back on the gas, I enter 1 car width from the right, if you go too far right there are washboard bumps that upset the car at these high speeds. I stay in the arc and it naturally tracks you out left to enter #9 as you finish your track out right there is a short straight before #9 to downshift to 4th gear and "brush" your brakes.

Turn 9
You enter the turn track left, you don't have to be waaaay left, anything mid rack to track left is OK the important thing is the LATE APEX, it is LATE, LATE, LATE if you turn in too early you'll go off-track. Stay out, stay out, stay out then dive into the apex FULL THROTTLE, track way out left to carry speed and repeat the above process.

After over a 1,000 laps this is what works for me, it may not be the best line for your car in every turn but it's a good starting point. Well I'm off to WSIR this weekend to repeat above instructions.

Pat Flanagan (A.K.A. The Mad Irishman, RED)
Mad Irish Motorsports
Porsche 993 Race Modified

Turn One
Look for a row of yellow reflectors on the left side at the apex. I try to hit them with my left front tire. I never quite do but if you come close you will track out with a lot of speed towards turn 2.

Turn two
I left foot brake but stay on the gas. When you turn in, try and drive through the little dip in the road. Let the car go where it wants during the turn, it ill drift out to slightly less than 1/2 track.

Turn 3
Turn in late enough so that you can go straight up the hill. I try to hit the left berm with left tire, once again, the car pulls away from it, so I usually don't hit it. If lined up correctly, hit the right berm at the top of the hill with right side tires.

Turn 4
When you turn to go back down the hill, look for the crumbled pavement on the right side. That is you apex point, its crumbled from people driving over it with their right side tires.

Turn 5
No reference point comes to mind. Remember, keep on the gas, your car will stick as you start heading up hill.

Turn 6
Short shift to 4th before you go over the hill. Get the car pointed down the track and enjoy the airborne ride over the top.

Turn 7
What turn?? Enough said.

Turn 8
I keep a wheel in the dirt all the way around, no lift, no brakes just go. The car gets a little wiggly when you hit the washboard bumps in the early part of the turn, but it is faster down low.

Turn 9
Let the car come up in the little straight between 8 and 9, Brake late in the straight away. The perfect brake point is 1 millisecond before you soil your race suit...... Wait wait wait and when you think you are late enough to turn into 9, wait some more. Full on the gas and drive right through the little ditch at the apex of nine. You can usually see the cone that marks the drainage ditch out of your peripheral vision between 8 and 9 and it gives you a good reference point.

Remember, this advice is worth what you paid for it, and remember I suck compared to most of the other hot shoes on the board.

"A Willow Springs Hot Lap"
A Driver Who Knows the Way, Shows the Way
By John Morton (edited by Don Knowles)

Turn 1 -Turn One is a rather steeply banked 90-degree left, which ends the longest straight. It is a deceivingly fast turn taken in one gear below top in most cars. Late apex and get back on the gas very early remember it is banked. The right edge of the road is not visible until you pop out of the banking at the exit, making it tricky to use the entire road. This is a very important corner and an excellent place to pass on a late brake.

Turn 2 - A short straight precedes Turn Two: a fast 450-foot radius 200-degree right. Some banking and a slight uphill raise aid adhesion until the exit where the banking ends and the road levels out. Most cars like to run slightly inside of the middle of the road, apexing gently about three-quarters of the way into the corner. Spend some time balancing the car for this turn because a large percentage of your time is spent here. Too much under steer and you'll scrub speed and have to lift to apex; too much over steer and you'll have to ease off the power.

Turn 3 - In most cases the same gear is used from Turn One until downshifting for Turn Three the slowest turn on the track. Braking deep into Three is important because can you overtake here. An uphill well-banked 100-degree corner, Turn Three is again faster than it looks. A late apex and early throttle squirts you up the hill and into the difficult right-hand double apex Turn Four.

Turn 4 - Climb the hill and hug the right until the road starts to level. Now allow the car to move to the left side in preparation for a late apex because the turn tightens and heads steeply downhill.

Turn 5 - The right-hand jog preceding the left-hand Turn Five complicates the braking zone of Five. No matter how deep you go into five, the car is still loaded from the jog and traveling steeply downhill. Be willing to forego the perfect line into five; you can't get to the extreme right if you've gone in really deep. You can make up some of this lost ground by hanging a left front wheel in the dirt at the apex. At the exit the road starts uphill; you'll get some stick here so get on the throttle early.

Turn 6 - On the short uphill run to the right-hand Turn Six, don't bother getting to the extreme left before the entry. In a fast car, it is difficult and in a slower car completely unnecessary. In the middle of this fast turn, the road goes from uphill to downhill so you have to deal with an almost complete loss of stick for an instant. Short shift up and apex early to get most of the work done before the car goes light. In a faster car, it may take some time to gain confidence, but lose time here and you'll suffer all the way into Turn Nine.

Turn 7 - Seven is no more than a gentle bend in the straight. Stay left for the entry to eight unless you are trying to block someone's inside line into eight.

Turn 8 - In a fast car right-hand turn eight is one of those places where your right foot seems to have better sense than your brain. In most cars it is a no lift comer, but it's kind of scary at first. Enter Eight early and drive around the inside with no pronounced apex. Before the road straightens, let the car drift to the outside of the road.

Turn 9 - Leaving Eight you just have time to glance at the tach to check your top speed before entering one of the world's worst Turn Nine. This turn is very hard to get right, but essential for good lap times. It is a top gear turn in most cars, a 90-degree decreasing radius right turn with an exit you can't see until you get there. Enter from the left, but move right slightly in the early part to give yourself some room for error. There is a strong tendency to apex too early because it feels safer. Try to avoid this because you'll have to lift at the exit. Pick a reference that identifies the apex for you. You should be approaching full throttle before the apex in even the fastest car. The exit brings you to the outside of the pit straight and the end of your lap. Like any difficult track, Willow Springs requires lots of practice. But remember, your crew can see and hear every mistake.