A Lap At Road Atlanta With Andy Wallace - ZR-1 Net Registry Forums

gaijin · 09-16-2005

A LAP AT ROAD ATLANTA WITH ANDY WALLACE

Braselton, Ga. - Andy Wallace of Dyson Racing is no stranger to Road Atlanta, having driven the hilly North Georgia circuit since 1988. He posted his lone American Le Mans Series victory at the 1999 Petit Le Mans with David Brabham and Eric Bernard as part of the Panoz LMP1. He also was the fastest qualifier in that year's spring race at Road Atlanta with Dyson Racing. Wallace is coming to this year's running of Petit Le Mans second in the ALMS' P1 drivers standings, and he hopes to gain some points on one of his favorite tracks in the world:

Road Atlanta is a member of the "Great Race Tracks of North America Club," and of course the home of the annual Petit Le Mans. I've been a big fan of its quick corners and downhill sweepers since my first visit in 1988, and always look forward to racing there.

It's a high-speed momentum track and you need to wind around quite a few times in order get a really quick lap.

You arrive to Turn 1 at about 170 mph in sixth gear. The road starts to curve before you actually want to turn, so you have to take the entry in two bites. Just a slight dab on the brakes to shave off about 40 mph, then down to fifth and almost immediately smash the throttle full open again. The grip builds around the apex as the road banks slightly, but you need to take care not to run too wide on the exit.

At the exit, you pull the car forcefully to the right before running flat-out through the left-hand Turn 2 and over a blind brow into Turn 3. As you crest the rise, Turn 3 is quite literally fired at you. It's very tricky here if you encounter traffic. Hard on the brakes, down to third gear, glide over (actually it's more like crash over â€“ sorry Mr. Dyson!) the apex curb, then back to the throttle ASAP for the drive down the hill and into The Esses.

What a great part of the circuit. Once the tires are up to temperature you can stay flat-out all the way down the hill and back up to Turn 5. You do need to be very accurate with the steering here though, and watch out for excess understeer through the right-hand part.

Turn 5 is a tricky left-hander. If you touch the curb on the right on entry it'll cause a major boost in heart rateâ€¦ The car tends to understeer on entry, but can easily snap to oversteer over the bumps on the exit as you try to use full throttle.

Turn 6 is deceptively fast. I arrive in fifth, brake late, flick into fourth then turn on a trailing throttle for just a moment before going back to full throttle again. Understeer is the biggest problem here, and if you carry too much speed in, you can't open the throttle.

Turn 7 is the slowest turn on the lap but very important as it leads onto the back straight. It's essential to slow the car enough on entry, then get back to the throttle really early for maximum exit speed. Then its off to turns 8 and 9, gentle parts of the track along the backstretch.

The back straight dips downwards as you approach the chicane and turns 10 and 11 at around 180 mph. You can brake extremely late with the carbon brakes we run on these LMP cars, and can exceed four Gs deceleration. This is a key overtaking spot, so it's important to set the car up for maximum performance here.

After shedding about 120 â€“ 130 mph in speed you select second gear with four flicks of the left-hand paddle, pull the car into the first apex then start to apply as much power as you can as you slither out of the chicane and up over the "jump" under the bridge, one of the most thrilling runs in North America.

The last turn is a very fast fifth-gear corner. It's taken flat-out in an LMP car at around 160 mph. You shift up to sixth gear on the exit then head back into Turn 1 for another lap.

The ninth round of the American Le Mans Series is the 1,000-mile/10-hour Petit Le Mans, scheduled for 11:20 a.m. EDT Oct. 1 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. SPEED Channel will provide live television coverage. Qualifying is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EDT Sept. 30. American Le Mans Series Radio, and IMSA Living and Timing Scoring will be available at www.americanlemans.com.

09-16-2005	#1
gaijin Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Road Atlanta Posts: 371	A Lap At Road Atlanta With Andy Wallace A LAP AT ROAD ATLANTA WITH ANDY WALLACE Braselton, Ga. - Andy Wallace of Dyson Racing is no stranger to Road Atlanta, having driven the hilly North Georgia circuit since 1988. He posted his lone American Le Mans Series victory at the 1999 Petit Le Mans with David Brabham and Eric Bernard as part of the Panoz LMP1. He also was the fastest qualifier in that year's spring race at Road Atlanta with Dyson Racing. Wallace is coming to this year's running of Petit Le Mans second in the ALMS' P1 drivers standings, and he hopes to gain some points on one of his favorite tracks in the world: Road Atlanta is a member of the "Great Race Tracks of North America Club," and of course the home of the annual Petit Le Mans. I've been a big fan of its quick corners and downhill sweepers since my first visit in 1988, and always look forward to racing there. It's a high-speed momentum track and you need to wind around quite a few times in order get a really quick lap. You arrive to Turn 1 at about 170 mph in sixth gear. The road starts to curve before you actually want to turn, so you have to take the entry in two bites. Just a slight dab on the brakes to shave off about 40 mph, then down to fifth and almost immediately smash the throttle full open again. The grip builds around the apex as the road banks slightly, but you need to take care not to run too wide on the exit. At the exit, you pull the car forcefully to the right before running flat-out through the left-hand Turn 2 and over a blind brow into Turn 3. As you crest the rise, Turn 3 is quite literally fired at you. It's very tricky here if you encounter traffic. Hard on the brakes, down to third gear, glide over (actually it's more like crash over â€“ sorry Mr. Dyson!) the apex curb, then back to the throttle ASAP for the drive down the hill and into The Esses. What a great part of the circuit. Once the tires are up to temperature you can stay flat-out all the way down the hill and back up to Turn 5. You do need to be very accurate with the steering here though, and watch out for excess understeer through the right-hand part. Turn 5 is a tricky left-hander. If you touch the curb on the right on entry it'll cause a major boost in heart rateâ€¦ The car tends to understeer on entry, but can easily snap to oversteer over the bumps on the exit as you try to use full throttle. Turn 6 is deceptively fast. I arrive in fifth, brake late, flick into fourth then turn on a trailing throttle for just a moment before going back to full throttle again. Understeer is the biggest problem here, and if you carry too much speed in, you can't open the throttle. Turn 7 is the slowest turn on the lap but very important as it leads onto the back straight. It's essential to slow the car enough on entry, then get back to the throttle really early for maximum exit speed. Then its off to turns 8 and 9, gentle parts of the track along the backstretch. The back straight dips downwards as you approach the chicane and turns 10 and 11 at around 180 mph. You can brake extremely late with the carbon brakes we run on these LMP cars, and can exceed four Gs deceleration. This is a key overtaking spot, so it's important to set the car up for maximum performance here. After shedding about 120 â€“ 130 mph in speed you select second gear with four flicks of the left-hand paddle, pull the car into the first apex then start to apply as much power as you can as you slither out of the chicane and up over the "jump" under the bridge, one of the most thrilling runs in North America. The last turn is a very fast fifth-gear corner. It's taken flat-out in an LMP car at around 160 mph. You shift up to sixth gear on the exit then head back into Turn 1 for another lap. The ninth round of the American Le Mans Series is the 1,000-mile/10-hour Petit Le Mans, scheduled for 11:20 a.m. EDT Oct. 1 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. SPEED Channel will provide live television coverage. Qualifying is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EDT Sept. 30. American Le Mans Series Radio, and IMSA Living and Timing Scoring will be available at www.americanlemans.com.