Lapping @ Tremblant

[Guyver]

Hello guys,

I've heard that there are usually less participants attending the Tremblant event, thus allowing for more lapping time.
For those of you who attended the event in the past, how many minutes (or sessions x minutes, if you prefer) of lapping did you get in the FIRST day.

Thanks for getting back to me.

[Mark Swinehart]

Last year everyone got at least 84 minutes on track on Day 1.

But Day 2 is the real bonus - everyone got at 60 minutes on track in the morning, then time trials, and then about 2 hours of open track in the afternoon for everyone.

So over the two days at this beautiful, fast track it is quite possible everyone will get about 4.5 hours of track time in addition to their time trial.

You are correct in assuming Mont Tremblant isn't as crowed as NHMS - so whenever you are on this track there isn't nearly the traffic. Mont Tremblant is about a mile longer than NHMS and we only have about half the number of cars we have at NHMS.

You will get more bang for the buck at Mont Tremblant.

[cuda6666]

As you can see below, track time is my enemy. It's competition I want...so sign up!

[Dave_G]

You are correct in assuming Mont Tremblant isn't as crowed as NHMS - so whenever you are on this track there isn't nearly the traffic. Mont Tremblant is about a mile longer than NHMS and we only have about half the number of cars we have at NHMS.

This is very true. But for me the appeal of Mont Tremblant goes beyond that. Even if I were guaranteed an entire racetrack just to myself (which is essentially what happens during time trials), for me Tremblant is one of the world's most perfectly designed circuits. It has everything: fast sweepers, slow technical corners, corners that are slower than you think, ones that are faster than you think, long straights, and of course one big hairy gut-check corner every lap. I would rather drive laps at Tremblant than any place I've been (yes, even including Mosport!).

Can you tell I like the place? I'll absolutely be going, and I hope we get as many people going as we can so that we fill the track with cars (like Mark says, it has the room), and keep it going as a regular event on the COM schedule.

[brucesallen]

And you can get some terrific French food in the area-- cheap!

[TroyV]

I would rather drive laps at Tremblant than any place I've been (yes, even including Mosport!).

Me too.

[WillM]

I would rather drive laps at Tremblant than any place I've been (yes, even including Mosport!).

Me too.

Me three. Well, except the part about Mosport (still tops in my book)!

[boltonite]

Bowmanville has its charms but St. Jovite is down right dangerous. Every year I have to rip my wife away from the place -- the spas, the restaurants, the music, the chic shops in the village -- it's a nightmare. Take your spouse and won't have any trouble going back again, and again. -FF

[TroyV]

To be honest, I haven't been to Mosport, so I don't really know, but the thing that really makes Tremblant stand out in my mind is the quality of the surface. Silky smooth, except for the two pock marks at the bottom of the hill at the turn in of 4.......which don't bother me as I use them as locating points. There is none of that concrete reinforcement in the turns....just smoothness...

[cuda6666]

Just don't run wide coming out of the esses. Those rumble strips are fierce. I hit them last year on my first timed lap and they rattled the suspension so that my caliper pistons got pushed in and I found I had no brakes when I got to 7.

[WillM]

Bowmanville has its charms but St. Jovite is down right dangerous. Every year I have to rip my wife away from the place -- the spas, the restaurants, the music, the chic shops in the village -- it's a nightmare.

[WillM]

...I found I had no brakes when I got to 7.

Braking for 7? There's your problem right there. Speaking of which, the rumble strips at the track-out for 7 are also extremely bumpy, especially if one were to slide across them perpendicular to the track for 100' or so. Or so I'm told. Perhaps I should have tapped the brake at 7.

[brucesallen]

...I found I had no brakes when I got to 7.

Braking for 7? There's your problem right there. Speaking of which, the rumble strips at the track-out for 7 are also extremely bumpy, especially if one were to slide across them perpendicular to the track for 100' or so. Or so I'm told. Perhaps I should have tapped the brake at 7.

Make sure you resist the temptation to turn i early for7. Turn in late and hard.

[boltonite]

Walk the track to ~100 ft before T7, lay down and take a good look at the track -- as if you were a golfer planning a very long putt.

Note the changes in camber and elevation. Note the difference in camber a few feet from the apex versus right at the apex/inside curbing. You also want to take a good look at what happens on the other side of the T7 apex (the corner tightens up and the track is crowned).

In my car (taking T7 flat) the car will push a bit at turn in, bite as it hits the elevation, hook up at the apex, then start to drift (can be scary, cars is light), but ultimately gets grip near the exit where the road tightens up but also flattens out. The trick is the entry angle, not missing the apex, and not upsetting the car's balance as it transitions thru the corner (I would love to see data on corner weight changes from entry to exit).

Done right, T7 is just as thrilling as T2 at Mosport or the downhill at Lime Rock, imo.

Le Circuit is one track worth walking, you can take the access loop to get from T6 to T10-T11-T12 if you are lazy or pressed for time. The pavement/surface condition used to be a big factor but the repave and new asphalt has pretty much negated that. -FF

[nhsilversti]

As you can see below, track time is my enemy. It's competition I want...so sign up!

are you running PB this year? maybe ill sign up and misclass myself just so you can have some competition