gaijin
07-26-2005, 03:31 PM
A LAP AT PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY WITH TIMO BERNHARD
Portland - Alex Job Racing's Timo Bernhard will be driving his No. 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR at Portland International Raceway in the Portland Grand Prix, starting at 5 p.m. PDT on Saturday.
Bernhard, who will drive with Romain Dumas, takes us on a lap of the 1.94-mile, 12-turn circuit located in the heart of Portland.
"Coming into the first turn, I am in sixth gear. The entry to Turn 1 is quite wide so there are many different lines you can take through there. But you have to be careful because the surface goes from asphalt to concrete, and that can upset the car. I take the turn in second gear. I understand that they have done some work on the turn to widen it a little. This is a welcome change as last year I had two incidents of contact in that corner.
Going up through the gears I get to fifth before the braking point into Turn 4; Turn 3 is flat. Turn 4 appears on the track map to be a carousel, but it is actually a combination of three right-handers. You have to take care of your tires here because you can use them up trying too hard to get through there fast. These turns are taken in fourth gear.
At the left-hander, Turn 6, you can enter early or late, being careful of traffic and faster cars trying to overtake. This is a third-gear turn.
Turn 7 is a right-hander that you have to maximize your exit speed as you are leading onto a long straight. We take this turn in third.
Running down to Turn 9, you are flat through there in sixth careful not to hit the curb. Into 10, I am quick on the brake and aggressive over the curb, then quickly down to fourth and then up to fifth. I am focused here to take the last turn with as much speed as possible so I can carry it down the front straight. Again there are many different lines through the last turn; it is important that you don't break your momentum as you will be slow getting onto the dragway.
Last year at Portland we turned a lap time of 1:14.027 with an average speed of about 94 mph. Portland is about taking care of your tires through the right-handers. These turns also are a good measure of how the car is set up. The layout of Portland is similar to the short course at the Nurburgring in Germany."
The Portland Grand Prix, Round 6 of the 2005 American Le Mans Series, is set for July 28-30 at Portland International Raceway. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel from 8 to 11 p.m. EDT July 30, the first time an ALMS race has been broadcast in prime time. Qualifying is scheduled for 2:55 to 3:40 p.m. PDT on Friday. Live Timing and Scoring will be available at www.americanlemans.com.
Portland - Alex Job Racing's Timo Bernhard will be driving his No. 23 Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR at Portland International Raceway in the Portland Grand Prix, starting at 5 p.m. PDT on Saturday.
Bernhard, who will drive with Romain Dumas, takes us on a lap of the 1.94-mile, 12-turn circuit located in the heart of Portland.
"Coming into the first turn, I am in sixth gear. The entry to Turn 1 is quite wide so there are many different lines you can take through there. But you have to be careful because the surface goes from asphalt to concrete, and that can upset the car. I take the turn in second gear. I understand that they have done some work on the turn to widen it a little. This is a welcome change as last year I had two incidents of contact in that corner.
Going up through the gears I get to fifth before the braking point into Turn 4; Turn 3 is flat. Turn 4 appears on the track map to be a carousel, but it is actually a combination of three right-handers. You have to take care of your tires here because you can use them up trying too hard to get through there fast. These turns are taken in fourth gear.
At the left-hander, Turn 6, you can enter early or late, being careful of traffic and faster cars trying to overtake. This is a third-gear turn.
Turn 7 is a right-hander that you have to maximize your exit speed as you are leading onto a long straight. We take this turn in third.
Running down to Turn 9, you are flat through there in sixth careful not to hit the curb. Into 10, I am quick on the brake and aggressive over the curb, then quickly down to fourth and then up to fifth. I am focused here to take the last turn with as much speed as possible so I can carry it down the front straight. Again there are many different lines through the last turn; it is important that you don't break your momentum as you will be slow getting onto the dragway.
Last year at Portland we turned a lap time of 1:14.027 with an average speed of about 94 mph. Portland is about taking care of your tires through the right-handers. These turns also are a good measure of how the car is set up. The layout of Portland is similar to the short course at the Nurburgring in Germany."
The Portland Grand Prix, Round 6 of the 2005 American Le Mans Series, is set for July 28-30 at Portland International Raceway. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel from 8 to 11 p.m. EDT July 30, the first time an ALMS race has been broadcast in prime time. Qualifying is scheduled for 2:55 to 3:40 p.m. PDT on Friday. Live Timing and Scoring will be available at www.americanlemans.com.