Road Atlanta

Road Atlanta Motor Sports Center
5300 Winder Hwy
Braselton, GA 30517
(800) 849-7223(voice)
(770) 967-2668 (fax)
www.roadatlanta.com

Comments:

Atlanta ain't southern California. Plan on heat, mug and probably some rain. The paved paddock area is long and narrow and it fills up quickly. There's a clay / rock / dirt section that runs behind the paddock and is used for overflow pit areas. Get to the track early to avoid being parked in the clay. Georgia red clay doesn't wash out of anything!

The track facilities include some electrical and water hookups in the paddock area. Showers are available outside the main straight in the manufacturers area. Electrical service is available along the hot pit wall.

Racing notes:

Grab a track map off of Road Atlanta's home page and come along with Bob for a lap:

T1 is really wide on the entrance, off-camber and shoots uphill. There are a few lines through there. I usually cut in to the inside and power up to the outside and work my way back to the right as I approach the top of the hill to get a good line into T2. Watch that inside line as you turn in, though. The track comes up to meet anything hanging too far off the bike - like toes, foot pegs and exhausts. Coming into T1, I was usually on the rev limiter. Grab a little brake to settle the front end, downshift and head in on the gas.

T2 is blind, leading in on a hill and heading down hill to T3. T3 comes up very quickly after you rise up over the top, so be ready for it. I usually kept it in the same gear from T1 to T5. Set up for T3 on the far left. Keep on the gas all the way over the top.

T3 is sneaky. It comes up quickly. Enter from the far left, brake and drive through. Keep your speed up to get a good drive all the way to T5.

T4 is a long sweeper leading down hill to the esses. The track doesn't curve as much as it looks through the esses. Try to straighten them out as much as you can, but be sure you set up for the entrance of T5. You need to make T4 as wide as possible to allow you to get on the gas, in the power band, and get a drive through T6. Get it right and you can carry the speed from T4 all the way through. Get it wrong and you'll have to slow down, shift down, before T5. That will kill your speed.

T6 is a banked right-hander. That banking will let you carry a lot of speed. Downshift before T7, watch out for the concrete patch at the apex, and go, go, go. You have to get a good drive out of here to carry the speed all the way down the back straight to T10. The track kinks to the left, then really kinks to the right before T10. Use the draft if it's available, get your butt up on the tail of the bike to improve your aerodynamics.

Pin the throttle and go through all the gears. If you're geared right, you should just peak past your powerband as you roll off and start breaking for T10. The track drops down sharply through the braking zone for T10. Start breaking either before the dip, or after the bike has settled after the dip. Miss it and hit the brakes as it starts to dip and you'll do one helluva stoppie as the rear gets super light.

T10 and T11 are 90 degree turns. T11 is the important one. Set up in T10 to get T11 right and you'll be able to get a great drive under the bridge and down the hill to T12. I never nailed down the perfect reference point to take me under the bridge, but watch running through there too far to the left. The downhill section after the bridge turns to the right - if you're too far to the left, you'll run out of track real quick. There are some nasty bumps just under the bridge as you crest the hill - watch out for those too.

The run down the hill into T12 is the biggest thrill ride on the track. Full tilt, full throttle, grab two gears and head for the front straight. Head down the hill, kiss the curbing on the left and bank it over to the apex of T12. You can carry a lot of speed through there if you get the line right. Get it wrong and you'll scare yourself silly. Head down the front straight. Don't get too hard on the brakes for T1.

Repeat .......

Bob