SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Driving iRacing: A Fast Lap at Lime Rock Park

Newcomers to iRacing will most definitely find themselves in the Rookie Pontiac Solstice at Lime Rock Park almost immediately upon joining the service so in this installment of our long standing and for some time now long lost SimHQ series of fast laps, we continues with yours truly confessing that I always feel that track guides made by me should be viewed as a fast-ish lap, rather than the ultimate go fast guide.

First priority when you arrive at any new track is to look at the track map and do some initial notes taking of the circuit layout.

Especially in a relatively slow car like the Solstice, the important thing is to keep up momentum around the turns because every mph you can gain exiting the turns you will carry with you all the way down the straight bits of track. This means you have to identify key-sections of the track where you can gain or lose a lot of time.

Lime Rock Park track map a courtesy of iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC

Clearly the last turn leading on to the straight is a place where you want to carry good exit speed and take all that lovely speed with you down the straight and in to Big Bend.

But have you noticed how from Turn 4 and onwards, the track consists of three straights connected by very fast corners? From the exit of turn 3 it becomes essential to be smooth and fast and not to sacrifice any speed.

To recap, the naming convention used follows the established format; Turn 1 right will be T1R, Turn 3 left will be T3L etc.

The Solstice in its rookie configuration uses default and unchangeable setup, so that is what I will be driving. The car is not really a race car but rather a road car taken to the race track, so it will come with a roll cage fitted, but also with power steering and comfy suspension travel. It also understeers like a bee caught up in your living room, ineffectively and mindlessly failing to find the way through the open doors and windows. Some people even refer to the car as the “Slowstice”.

Through the bends

So how can it possibly be fun and intensely rewarding to drive this almost 3000 lbs, 177 bhp car, you ask? Well, many drivers including myself started out hating the car’s handling and ended up loving it beyond words. With this car you are really learning and perfecting your driving skills, as it needs to be taken by the scruff of its neck and thrown around a bit. But with finesse and not too much mind you, or you’ll just lose speed or control. Or both.

Just read on...

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