Thanks everyone for coming out tonight. The car is a handful but it can be fun!
It just requires the driver to be more mindful of all of their inputs. This is different from a car that likes to drive itself. I think it's not just the weight being higher than a usual race car, but the distribution more than anything. Also, friendly reminder:
Track Guide for Special Stage Route 5
#of Left Turns: 5
# of Right Turns: 9
Turn 1 : Getting this initial turn down is probably the hardest part of the course. You're going at very high speeds at this point and the road not only kinks to the left, but also dices down underground, then turns left in a 180-degree sweeper. The many components of this turn must be executed with precision. There are four things you need to do for this bend. The first thing is drown down in speed toward the end of the straight for the initial kink. If you're in 6th gear, you'll need to brake down to 5th (5th and 4th for the CR-Z). Then turn in to the right, and turn in early -- almost to where you think you'll hit the right wall. Right before entering the tunnel, slam the brakes. While slowing down, down turn -- you have some room before the sweeper starts bending. Right when you downshift to third, let off the gas and start turning in hard to the left. Find the right speed where you can maintain a consistent turn on the inside. You'll be powering out as the tunnel exit comes into view. If you get on the throttle early, you'll be in a bad position for Turn 2.
Turn 2: Immediately after Turn 1 is this moderate right-hander, which requires minimum braking. Blip the brakes before turning in and power out at the very end of the bend. Since you want to be on the right side for the next turn, you don't want to power out and drift to the left.
Turns 3-4: Without much time to position yourself, you'll be cutting into Turn 3. This is a fairly tight left-handed sweeper, and you will need to drop down to 2nd gear. When cutting in, do so from the mid-RPM range at 3rd and let off the gas. As you're turning in, your speed will naturally drop into the 2nd gear range. Since a right-hander follows, don't hit the gas until you've pretty much cleared at least 3/4ths of the turn. .The right-hander itself is very shallow, and you can keep your foot on the gas the entire time.
Turns 5-6: Some of the more enjoyable turns are these two that make a chicane. They're both high speed, and at most you'll just need to take your foot off the gas briefly before cutting in.
Turns 7-8: This area is similar to Turns 5-6, except it also goes downhill and the space between the bends is longer. You'll need to drop down a gear to take this, but don't brake too much. After the initial turn-in, it's a surprisingly quick set of turns and you can keep your foot on the gas nearly the entire time.
Turn 9: This grueling hairpin comes quickly after the last set of bends, so you'll need to be ready. It's very slow, forcing you to drop in the neighborhood of 40mph. For some reason the road gets very wide past the halfway point, but you don't want to use any of that extra real estate; keep the turn tightly wrapped around the inside. This one is followed by a right-handed kink where you can power through.
Turn 10: Turn 10 is a quick right that can be taken too slow. From the outside, blip the brakes, then cut in toward the apex. The moment your nose is pointed at the right direction, power out, even before clipping the apex. The road out of the exit expands to four lanes, so you have lots of space to go wide.
Turn 11-13: You'll be going underground briefly and when you climb back up, you'll encounter a blind left-hander. Although you'll be taking it in 3rd gear, you don't want to carry too much speed here. For one, you won't be able to clip the apex. But more importantly, it'll make the subsequent right- and left-handed turns much harder to execute. The apex for the first left is just atop the crest. From there, cut into the left, modulating the throttle so you can stay on the driving line. Once you hit the apex or the left, quickly brake while going straight, dropping down to 2nd gear. Snap back to the right again to go up a ramp toward the final sweeper.
Turn 14: This final sweeper is vital for maximizing your speed on the home straight. You'll start from the outside, drop down to 3rd gear, and move toward the inside. The apex is 2/3rds of the way through the corner, and at that point you should hit the gas. If it's time perfectly, you'll drift to the outside, just barely missing the wall on your left. This gives you the best exit speed, enabling you to barrel ahead full speed into the finish line.
