Althouse: "To an amateur, a drive around the 3.5-mile [Yas Marina Circuit] feels like riding a roller coaster."

November 26, 2016

"To an amateur, a drive around the 3.5-mile [Yas Marina Circuit] feels like riding a roller coaster."

"It snakes through a stadium in front of five grandstand areas that are high above the track. Fences and walls are immediately at trackside. A tunnel leads from the pit lane to the track. There is a unique runoff area beneath a grandstand, and even a trip through a vast colorful hotel, the Yas Viceroy, which is built over the track.... The race... starts late afternoon under the sun, and finishes under the stars, with darkness falling quickly. That, in the desert island setting, means there is a large drop in temperature, often by as much as 15 degrees Celsius, or 27 degrees Fahrenheit, which affects the track surface and therefore the tire grip...."

A racetrack in Abu Dhabi. If I'm reading between the lines correctly, this is a terrible racetrack.

17 comments:

Jaq said...: It's like that episode of Family Guy where they play golf, and Peter explains how the water hazards and sand traps are there to make the game "fun!"; 11/26/16, 6:27 AM
rehajm said...: Watching the McLaren drift around that track is quite photogenic. Apex on Netflix; 11/26/16, 7:20 AM
rehajm said...: I think the correct description is 'challenging'. Great drivers prefer difficult tracks.; 11/26/16, 7:24 AM
Rusty said...: It isn't a race course until Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond do a show there.; 11/26/16, 8:08 AM
GRW3 said...: Fortunately, it's primarily for Formula One, an automotive high speed parade that involves very little actual racing.; 11/26/16, 9:44 AM
Quayle said...: You would be wrong, Ann. I have it on good temporarily visiting authority, my son, that it is one of the best races precisely because of its complexity and because it is the last race of the season and the overall points winner is often still undecided.; 11/26/16, 9:56 AM
southcentralpa said...: You would not want to ride Moto GP there, I'll put it like that (not nearly enough "skid" area if you leave the bike).; 11/26/16, 10:11 AM
Big Mike said...: Well, Here's a description of the track from a Formula 1 perspective, including a lap around the track from the driver's point of view. The track seems twisty, with slow turns at the end of longish straights, but I agree with the narrator that there's not much in the way of elevation changes so where the Times gets its notion that the track is like a roller coaster is beyond me.

I might add that the tunnel exiting the pits, which they mention, leads into something akin to a merge lane that lets the cars get up to speed before rejoining the cars traveling at high speeds on the track -- it's a safety feature, not an additional hazard.

This is by no means the most challenging track in Formula 1. Monaco is much, much worse -- note that the course has large elevation changes, tighter corners, a longish tunnel on the track itself, and at the speeds the cars are running no place whatsoever to safely pass. Moreover it's run on ordinary streets. And a mistake can send you into the bay.; 11/26/16, 10:23 AM
Sam L. said...: It's not a roller coaster--elevation change is only 10.7 meters (35-36 feet). Track temperature affects the grip the tires have. NOT a terrible track. See more here:
https://thejudge13.com/2016/11/22/circuit-profile-2016-abu-dhabi-grand-prix-yas-marina-round-21/; 11/26/16, 10:24 AM
Unknown said...: Fifteen degrees Celsius is 59 degrees Fahrenheit. (It's 27 Fahrenheit degrees above freezing, the author forgot to add the 32).; 11/26/16, 11:10 AM
Frank Gregoire said...: much to high an expectation for the NYT to even attempt understand racing or motor vehicle racing, much less Formula 1.; 11/26/16, 11:31 AM
chuckR said...: The NYT graphic shows track speeds in key points along the track. 335mph is the highest I saw. Really? With the speed changes, you could only wish you were on a roller coaster. Seems like the acceleration/decelerations would make a fighter pilot pass out. The NYT hasn't dealt in reality in a long time, so I guess we can't expect much even from puff pieces.
OK, they did get it right in the article, kph not mph. I guess F1 hasn't secretly adopted jet engines to replace ICEs.; 11/26/16, 12:02 PM
Howard said...: Unknown: It's a delta, so adding the y-intercept is not required. Idiot; 11/26/16, 12:10 PM
Anga2010 said...: 325 mph??? That's just schtoopid. It's khm.; 11/26/16, 12:15 PM
Joe said...: It's not even remotely a terrible track. Several drivers actually quite like it, including Hamilton. For me, the Valencia Spain [street] track is the worst--fortunately, they haven't used it in three years. A lot of people hate Singapore--I haven't watched a race from there, so have no opinion.

BTW, for those who say driving a Formula 1 car is easy, it's not. Top Gear and other shows have dropped experienced drivers into Formula 1 cars and the results have been quite humorous, to say the least. That said, I'm one of those who would still like to see fewer driver assists and aero packages, BUT much more flexibility otherwise on car design. Then there are the insane regulations. Berne Ecclestone and the FIA are ruining the sport.; 11/26/16, 2:08 PM
Big Mike said...: Did we remember to mention that Formula 1 races will be held in any weather -- no rain delays. Famously, James Hunt won the World Championship in 1976 driving to a third place finish in the final race of the season in a torrential downpour.; 11/26/16, 5:00 PM
Sam L. said...: Big Mike, you must not have watched the Brazilian GP; had rain delays, started behind the Safety Car, and a number of laps behind the Safety Car later.; 11/27/16, 11:30 AM