Infineon Raceway... back to back days! July 4 and 5

[MattRobertson]

Depending on who you ask, Infineon (a.k.a. Sears Point) Raceway is a tougher track than Laguna Seca. I'm not sure I disagree. Certainly its more dangerous, with a lot more concrete walls a lot closer to your face. Built right into the side of a hill, Its elevation changes (170 feet) are a major factor in driving the 2.52 mile course. NASCAR runs here every year, albeit in a much simpler configuration. This is the standard road course layout, run clockwise:



Infineon is my "project track" for this season. Its a track I don't know and am focusing on as much as I can. So far this year, I've only been on it once, though.

To make up for that, I am doing two days in a row, July 4 and 5 thru Hooked On Driving. I've never done a back-to-back day but I hear its the only way to go if you want to build your skills. We'll see. Anyone else want to come? Single days for both Saturday and Sunday are still available. This is not a track you want to push your luck on, so if you are not sure which run group you belong in, pick the next one down.

Should make for some fun video.

Here's one from a guy who seems to really know what he's doing:

[Centurion]

What are the basic car/safety requirements? I may be able to make the 5th.

[SRT5150]

OOOOOH sounds fun... Need to borrow some 20's though

[eldiablosrt8]

if you wanna save some money im about 35 minutes away you can stay here if u need a place...........or if you want i can go down there and try and videotape and photgraph the day for you....

[RobAGD]

Typical stuff,

No Fluid Leaks,
Radiator Catch Can
Good condition tires
SA2000 or SA2005 Helmet ( no M rated )
Factory seat belts are fine if they are in good condition, if you have after market belts then they need to be newer than 2 years old SFi and 5 year FIA I think
Heavy Dose of common sence
No worn or questionable suspension bits.

That 6 turn looks a LOT like the light bulb turn at NJMP Matt let me know if it has some banking

HoD out is was a great group of guys and gals, they did an excellent job with our newbs.

-Robert

[MattRobertson]

What are the basic car/safety requirements? I may be able to make the 5th.

Here is the tech form from another vendor. Straightforward maintenance stuff.

http://speedventures.com/events/tech.pdf

The idea behind these kind of days is that ordinary cars can drive them. BUT for a 300C/5.7 LX, I would say you really want to have upgraded pads and fresh brake fluid.

This vendor does require at least SA 2000 helmets so motorcycle helmets don't count. Thats a showstopper for a lot of folks but a helmet is $150 or so. Not the end of the world.

Also figure long sleeve shirt, long pants, leather shoes. No artificial fibers for your own safety in case of a fire. And bring all the picnic type supplies you can. Lawn chair, water, ice chest. That sort of thing. Hooked On Driving provides an excellent catered lunch but still this kind of activity is very high stress even though you are sitting still. You dehydrate and late in the day -- especially if its hot, and it will be -- you can cramp up.

The really neat thing about HoD is that they provide in-car instructors at the intro level. You won't be going it alone and they are very good about working with beginners.

if you wanna save some money im about 35 minutes away you can stay here if u need a place

Thanks! But I already have a place squared away.

or if you want i can go down there and try and videotape and photgraph the day for you....

If you can make it down and want to check out the day, absolutely! I'd love some action exteriors on this track. I do pretty good widescreen in-car video, to which by then I should have g-meter readings visible. I tried to do a rear view but haven't gotten a small enough rear view mirror to fit in front of the camera without obscuring its forward vision. Kinda gave up on that one. For now.

By the way guys, I believe Infineon - being the bigshot track that it is - requires a $10 gate fee. Even I have to pay it regardless of the fact that I'm a participant.

Radiator Catch Can

A what?!?

That 6 turn looks a LOT like the light bulb turn at NJMP Matt let me know if it has some banking

That is The Carousel and yes its banked. Its also a fairly steep downhill. When you get to the bottom of it you are going like a pinball out of the launch slot. Lots of room to track out and carry speed, too. Straight into 7 which is basically taken kinda sorta like a hairpin. This is a track where the new brakes are going to get a workout if I want to go faster.

[TTMR]

Radiator catch can = Overflow bottle on the coolant, ours is built into the resivour.

[MattRobertson]

oh yahhhh that thing.

[Centurion]

Thanx Rob and Matt, maybe I can see if my wife will buy my b-day present early (a new helmet, my current one is SA95)

[RobAGD]

Well we if you are shopping for a new helmet take a look at soloracer.com they helped us out for our event with a group by on a really nice helmet.

http://www.soloracer.com/pyroopenfacesa.html White, Gloss Black, Flat Black. These run a smidge smaller fitting vs some others.

You will have a blast.

-R

[MattRobertson]

I buy most of my stuff from Saferacer. Here's the helmet I bought.

http://www.saferacer.com/g-force-pro...productid=1871

It was either that one or the Pyrotect and I think the only reason I went the way I did was cheaper shipping.

[RobAGD]

Something I like about my new one (neighter of the 2 listed here ) is that I can remove and wash the padding. Something that is nice about the one I listed you can get different thickness of check padding to get a better fit depending on your preference.

-R

[Steve Levin]

Infineon/Sears is an extremely challenging track. It's not as racy as Laguna (one of the reasons I love Laguna), but it's very tricky. And as Matt said, it is a massively unforgiving track.

Some basic thoughts on driving it:

* Approaching turn 2, make sure you are aligned with the kerbing on the outside (to your left) and make a proper turn in. It's a very inviting corner to carry too much speed on the entry and to do your braking in a line from the beginning of that kerbing on a diagonal to the apex. The turn in is critical here as the hill falls away just beyond the apex of turn 2 -- meaning that you will loose the ability to turn in over the top of the hill. You *must* get your turning done before the apex or you'll spin on the exit.

* Turn 3a -- the top of the second hill -- is the same thing. Get your turning done before the apex, you will only be able to make minor corrections over the crest.

*Turn 4 -- this corner is actually sloped away from you, so again, get your braking done early on the approach. It's a bit slower than it looks simply because it's trying to throw you off the outside of the track.

* Turn 6 (the Carousel) -- again, another corner where you need to brake on the uphill portion. There's also a subtle crown in the pavement. You want to take the entry to this corner tighter than you would expect geometrically; maybe half a car width off the inside line. You do NOT want to be wide on the entry to this corner. Touch the apex and then let the car have it's head; there's a dip where the track meets up with the dragstrip and you will overload the outside tires if you pinch the exit.

* Turn 7 -- you'll probably throw away the first apex to get to the second one.

* Turn 8/8a -- you want to get your speed down on the entry to the left hander; if you miss that, it gets amplified in the right hand portion (8a) and you'll be a sad puppy down the hill. If you blow it bad, don't even finish 8a; just go down the Indycar chicane (better than a high speed spin)

* Turn 10 -- very fast...very little margin for error. Be careful.

* Turn 11 -- brake early and then go deeeeeeeeeep and diamond it for a big exit on the front straight where you can use the hemi power.

Steve

[CircuitMotorsports]

Man that looks like a blast, wish we were closer.

If you need any suspension or brake components let us know