Whiskey Hill clockwise

[breakaway500]

Got a chance to run Whiskey Hill clockwise yesterday and it is just as entertaining as CCW. They will be keeping the turn numbers the same as CCW so no confusion when discussing a turn. I pretty much found myself running the same line as I do CCW with small changes to track out,and entry/exit speeds. Turns 9 and 7=6 are now horsepower challenges.Turns 2 and 1 are still pucker corners. There are some new tire barriers in various sections but nothing close to the edge of the tack. All in all..I like it just as much a CCW..maybe a bit more. My times using the same car,on the same tires were about 1.5 seconds slower..but I was only able to get in about 50 laps. I am looking forward to a great year at PMP!

[jeffw]

What did Fred and Chris say about their approach to safety in the new direction?

Any new curbing?

[breakaway500]

Their approach to safety will be to barricade any potential new "off" spots .A couple of flag stations will have different positions for CW. Pit in wall will extend further than it has been in the past. They were trying the caution lights again..and they were useful. They are already adding a considerable amount of tire barriers where the potential of an off may occur. However,they can't anticipate every potential. That's why they asked the "instructors" to come up and try it. I'm sure they got a LOT of feedback. It's the same track..but quite different.
They are planning on running it CCW for most scheduled events and have CW as an option.
No new curbing..mainly due to weather. (ground still frozen..seriously)
There's some new beads of seam sealer in pavement sections..not a lot...but it didn't seem to bother the car at all,and I don't think it will. Might affect the bikes..

Clockwise does present some very unique corners...turn 9 has me trying quite a few different scenarios. 7 too. And 5... and 1.. : you will like it ...

[962porsche]

tomorrow i will be instructing with SCDA they sent us out an email saying we will be doing one run session clockwise .
i'm curious to see how it is .

that track needs some real work still . i love the lay out but every thing else about palmer really falls way short . it's one thing to put up tire walls but you have to connect all the tires together so when you hit the wall you don't have all the tires that were in a stack now rolling all over the place . another drive hit the tire wall in front of me last season and i found my self dodging tires rolling across the dam track . i dodged all but the one the one i ran into and now i too was stuck on track with a tire under my bumper .

[breakaway500]

Stuff happens!

[blazer178]

I think that it will be much more fun running cw and I also will be there at palmer tomorrow instructing ........ Mark

[TroyV]

Sheesh... Where are the vids?

[breakaway500]

I know... I'm lucky I can get my lap timer to function. If only I could download them from my noggin..

[brucesallen]

there is a regular instructor, Ron, that was there that has a CCW vid link on the Palmer site who was taking CW vids to post. Not posted yet.

[DanDarcy]

Dave , the only loose tires are the ones that are put in front of the permanent tire walls for the motorcycles. All of the large tire walls are cabled together. Best to stay on track anyway.

[962porsche]

it wasn't me that went off as i stated it was the car in front of me . maybe i was just pushing him over his head for his driving ???? maybe the mustang didn't want to give a bone stock miata a point bye ????
but no the tires in turn 9 (hair pin ) were not attached together at all . they seam to be now and they have a crap load of more tires on the track now and stacks and stacks more to install .

i liked running CW it's not better but different . some of the lines are the same some are much different . the good is if they can run the track in both directions it will be pretty dam cool ! the big concern i have is the wall for pit in the CCW direction . your now running at it in the CW direction

[brucesallen]

Chris said they would be extending the new pit in wall around the corner so you will see it early.

[962porsche]

knowing the line to not hitting the wall is the 1st this . but the problem is the big hard flat wall ! in either direction turn 2 is a flat to the floor corner .
making a wall abutment safe at speed no matter how much longer they make it is still unsafe . if two cars come together and one or both end up hitting the end of that wall it would not be a good thing . a safe wall should have a gentle curve to it right off the edge of the track .
with no real blend line going CCW on the track with people not holding it to the left until you get to turn 2's apex is bad enough . i had a nissan and bmw yesterday cut me off just cutting across way to soon between turns 1 and 2 . to do a CW pit in you would have to start pit in between 2 and 3 . coming down the hill at 4 and 5 your still going quickly but not flat to the floor as you do thru turn 2 .

[StephanAlfa]

I am curious to see if you are coming from turn 6 bombing down to 5 and you miss the turn ... you'll wind up below between turns 3-4 in the middle of the road pancaked?
I am also leery of turn 4 if you come down at speed and miss it. Wall and a cliff below ...
Imagine wheel to wheel race under this scenario ...
I'd be curious and would want options there, but def need to think safety first and foremost.

[breakaway500]

If you don't turn from the exit of turn 6 to the entry of 5 and go straight off the cliff...through the woods..and over the ledge, you deserve what you get. If somehow you exit turn 4 at a rate of speed that would allow you to crash through two layers of tire barriers and a concrete wall..and fly off the hill..again..you deserve to be punished. Seriously..you cannot cover every obstacle in foam or anticipate every potential incident. I've run it about 50-60 laps at a fairly decent pace and those two areas didn't concern me,as they are the slowest turns on the track.(40-50mph tops) As far as wheel to wheel racing...all bets are off! Some of the places where they end up is not even imaginable, until it happens.