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

T5R: First of all you will want to make absolutely sure which version of LRP you are driving as there is one without the chicane, and one with the chicane.

For the configuration without the chicane

The uphill starts with a very fast right hander which I take in 4th, some say they prefer to gear down to 3rd before they turn in. I tap the brakes and yank the steering wheel to throw the car towards apex while being careful not to hit the kerbing on the inside as this will unsettle the car to the point of spinning out, then I get back on full throttle, possibly taking 3rd gear uphill as soon as I’m satisfied that my line will not carry me too wide on the exit. The penalty for going wide here is a painful race ending and car breaking crash into the Armco to the left of the turn’s exit, let alone considering the damage to my ego!

If you selected 3rd gear up the hill you’ll need to select 4th again somewhere down the straight section before T6.

I’m finding that the gearing for this section is a bit confusing as 3rd seems to be a bit short making you hit the rev limit early, and 4th gear a bit too tall as the engine revolutions seem to be on the low side.

For the configuration with the chicane

Usually I’m not a big fan of chicanes but in this case I’ll make an exception because whipping the car right, left, and then right again in a series of smooth yet very fast steering wheel movements is so much fun that LRP with the chicane is fast becoming one of my favorite track configurations.

Not the best of lines into the chicane...

You will need to apply a little more care entering T5R and do the downshift to 3rd early as you bring down the speed and turn the wheel all through the turn to ensure that the car is nicely balanced all the way through. If you carry too much speed here the risk of spinning out even before you reach the chicane is very real.

Stay close to the right hand side of the track through T5R as you want to make the arc the car has to travel to the entry of the chicane as small as possible. In other words, drive the chicane as close to a straight line as you can as this will minimize weight transitions and the input needed on the steering.

The entry is blind so you will have to learn by heart when and by how much to turn the steering wheel to hit the apex, and just as you hit it, it is time to steer to the left and go as close by the cones as you can manage without hitting them. Immediately thereafter, unwind the steering towards neutral lock, and hopefully you’ll be lined up right at the edge of the tarmac, on the exit of the chicane, and will only have to make a slight correction to the right in order to just cut the white kerbing on the right hand side of the track at the exit, accelerating hard all the way out of the chicane.

If you consider this complex backwards; i.e. as exit — chicane — entry, you’ll see that good exit speed is far more important than being the latest of the late brakers storming into the entry. What you want is a nicely settled car that is positioned in such a way at the exit that you can get on the power quickly and decisively when driving out of the chicane.

T6R: West Bend is another tricky corner, who am I kidding, they’re all tricky, for which you will need to brake slightly unless you’ve got that alien driving gene but if you do, you probably wouldn’t read this.

In the chicane-less version you will be in 4th gear, and if you just exited the chicane you’ll be in 3rd. In both instances tap the brakes gently and aim the car for the apex of T6R while avoiding hitting the kerbing. Let the car go a bit wide on the exit as you feed in the throttle; you’ll need every bit of available road and the kerbing on the exit as well to be fast through here.

Exiting West Bend

If you are driving the LRP chicaned configuration you’ll select 4th gear as the engine hits the rev limit in 3rd and you’re ready now for the rush down the hill to Diving Turn.

T6R Race Notes: Only with a considerable advantage in speed do I see a passing opportunity going into or exiting West Bend, and this difference in speed is difficult to find provided the drivers are equally fast and equally matched in terms of not making driving errors, simply because the cars are all equal. I find that this is the area where I try to plan for a move on my opponents either exiting T7R or even in T1R, by gaining a bit extra speed coming out of Diving Turn.

Plan ahead!

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