Longest Straights (Merged)

[Lustigson]

And my guess for Shanghai's backstretch would be some 1.2 km (3,937 feet).

[Lustigson]

Sorry for spamming. ;-)

[bio]

I guess the longest straight of this year's F1 tracks is the 1.47 kilometer long S/F straight if the Fuji Ring.

bio

[Purist]

Just to add some perspective, telemetry during the 2002 Road America 500 had the Audi R8s doing 185mph on each of the three main "straights".

Darn, I wish I could remember what sorts of trap speeds the LMS and FIA GT cars were getting on the Mistral. The actual straight itself is generally quoted as being a mile long (1609m).

From what I recall, the longest straight at the new Brno is some 600-odd meters. One of the big ones we seem to have missed is Sebring. I know the start/finish straight is 2000ft (610m). The Ulmann Straight should be a bit longer than that, and I'm not sure about the run through Big Bend and down to the Hairpin.

Off the top of my head, we also have overlooked Suzuka, Autopolis, and Anderstorp. Suzuka is an obvious one; that back stretch with the 130R is quite long. Autopolis isn't as well known, but is one of the top Japanese tracks (had a provisional F1 date, and hosted the World Sportscar Championship). Anderstorp has fallen off the radar since 1978 (the last Swedish GP), but the back straight on the runway is quite substantial as well.

[Purist]

Jeez, I hope I didn't scare everyone off.

I just had thought of a few more major circuits to bring up. And since my eyesight isn't great, using a lot of those programs is an "interesting" proposition. Yes, you can magnify those maps and images, but beyond a point, you can lose so much of the context that there's really no point.

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by Purist

Jeez, I hope I didn't scare everyone off.

I just had thought of a few more major circuits to bring up. And since my eyesight isn't great, using a lot of those programs is an "interesting" proposition. Yes, you can magnify those maps and images, but beyond a point, you can lose so much of the context that there's really no point.

Nawww I think ppl have a love afair with speed. That 200 mph speed bearier is what ppl want to see.

IMO, anything OVER 150 MPH viewed from the cockpit side is Fricken Scary .

Ok here is another one for you guys. Not quite a straight but the Road Course at Lowes Motor SPeedway.
Drivers come out of the infield between NASCAR T2 and T3, then it is full speed THOUGHT T3, T4 and into the tri-oval, cross the finish line, slam on the brakes and dive into the infield road course.

Daytona has the back straight cicane so not quite the same

[Mike_Wooshy]

Well Sebring's Ulmann is about .595 miles or 905 metres.
Spa's run from La source to Le combes is 1.2 miles or 1.9 Kilometres.
And in reference to AU N EGL Daytona's runs are from the infield to the chicane is just over 1 mile or 1.6 kilometres and from the chicane to the first corner is about 1.3 mile or 2.1 Kilometres.
Sorry if these have already been posted I havent read the whole thread since I last posted.

[Purist]

No, some of those hadn't been covered yet, so thanks.

And once again design philosophies have come up in a couple places with TW's arrival and the Lime Rock discussion on the SC & GT section of Ten-Tenths.

[TilkeWannabe]

Someone forgot to mention regarding long straights, Recta del Lago on the old Buenos Aires circuit, the S/F straight at Sakhir, S/F straight at the Osterreichring (not the A-1 Ring), the straight joining Virage de Muizon and the Thillois Hairpin at Reims, Hangar Straight at Silverstone, Monza S/F straight and the ultra-fast bit between Lesmo 2 and Variante Ascari.

Sorry if some of these places have already been posted previously but I only flicked through the conversation.

[Ultimo]

Before the chicanes were added on the Mulsanne, how long were they flat out?

Did they take the kink at full throttle or lift?

[AU N EGL]

Originally Posted by Ultimo

Before the chicanes were added on the Mulsanne, how long were they flat out?

Did they take the kink at full throttle or lift?

On Mulsanne before the chicanes speeds were in excess of 230 mph. even over 250 mph .

Now YES the cars must slow to go though the chicanes.

Here take a lap in a corvette http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2vqzJ6EcTM

[Mike_Wooshy]

I think he ment the kink just where the mercs taken off, in which case again yes they took flat out.

[werner]

Originally Posted by Purist

No, some of those hadn't been covered yet, so thanks.

And once again design philosophies have come up in a couple places with TW's arrival and the Lime Rock discussion on the SC & GT section of Ten-Tenths.

'TWs' arrival'? What/who is that, where and why?

[werner]

Ah, TilkeWannabee

[mclaren2007]

Intresting Stuff.

Originally Posted by AU N EGL

On Mulsanne before the chicanes speeds were in excess of 230 mph. even over 250 mph .



Now YES the cars must slow to go though the chicanes.



Here take a lap in a corvette http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2vqzJ6EcTM

I read in a book that a WM Peugot got 405 down Mulsanne is 1988.

How long is the SF Straight at Mugello? I read somewhere it was 1200m.
What about the old straights at Avus? The distance between the Nord and Süd curves must have been about 2 miles or something.
The old circuit in Buenos Aires had two massive straights round the lake. They must have been a mile long at least.

[bio]

The longer straight of the original Buenos Aires circuit is a little under 1300 meters (about 0.8 miles).

The 1200 meter Mugello "straight" is correct.

[werner]

In the early days the straigths of the AVUS-bahn where almost 10km long. After the war they shortened it to almost 4km-straights, then in '89 and '92 it was about 2km and a bit over 1km until the closure of the track.

[Purist]

Yeah, the original AVUS was over 12 miles to the lap (the Berlin Wall cut the track in half after the war). The pre-war streamliners from Auto Union and Mercedes were good for 240+mph during the 1937 Avusrennen.

IIRC, from the first page of the thread, the full Mulsanne was 5540 meters, and yes, the Hunaudieres Kink was flat-out. In 1989, one of the WMs hit 254mph on the Mulsanne, and one of the Sauber Mercedes hit 253mph.

I think the back stretch at Reims was right around 2 miles in length: good for ~200mph coming down the hill in a 2.5-litre F1 car.

[Purist]

Hangar Straight and the Tribune Straight at Monza are mentioned in Pironzo's talbe on the opening post of the thread.

I think the start/finish straight at Bahrain is around 1km to 1050m. Shanghai's back straight is under 1.2km (~1100m, I think).

The start/finish straight at the Osterreichring was a bit over 900m, I think. If Hella Licht could be taken flat, that would be something like a 2.4km flat-out run up tothe second real corner on the track.

I think both the runs from the second Lesmo to Variente Ascari and from Variente Ascari to Parabolica (this is Monza of course) are slightly over a kilometer.

I heard somewhere that the main "straight" on the Madonie circuit was 6km in length.

[TilkeWannabe]

I just found out that it was the Targa Florio track, which wasn't exactly a track, just connecting roads.

[mclaren2007]

I found some info here:

http://www.targaflorio.info/circuiti.htm

[Purist]

Well, I was curious, but I wasn't expecting you guys to do that much digging. Either way, those are some great photos of the long course for the Targa Florio.

[mclaren2007]

I was thinking about Reims and its longest straight. The back straight between the two hairpins (downhill) must have been about 2 miles long.

What about Imola. How long was the straight between Variante Alta and Tosa Hairpin in '94. I heard it was a mile or something??

[Purist]

It's plausible that the stretch from Variente Bassa to Tosa was close to that length. Remember, Variente Alta is between Acque Minerali and Rivazza.

[AU N EGL]

You want long straights?

Silver State OPEN Road race. 45 miles one way, almost straight the whole distance.

http://www.silverstateclassic.com/flatout.htm