The lap
Tsukuba Circuit · 2000 Full
5 corners, 3 of which decide the lap. What each one asks of the car, and what you do about it.
Main straight
First Corner
First Hairpin
Dunlop
Esses
Final Hairpin
StraightFast cornerMedium cornerSlow corner
The lapTwo kilometres and under a minute a lap, which makes every tenth expensive. Two hairpins and a technical middle section mean the lap belongs to whoever gets the power down earliest, not whoever brakes latest.
Set up forTraction out of both hairpins first, then a car that will change direction quickly through the Esses without unsettling itself.
Classic mistakeBuilding for stability. The circuit is slow and tight, so a car that will not rotate leaves you fighting the wheel everywhere and slow out of both hairpins.
Works hardestRears out of both hairpins, fronts through Dunlop
Length2.05 km · road course · JP
Corner by corner
Every corner on this layout
A • marks the corners that decide the lap.
T1 First Corner
Fast right
Taken quickly off the main straight, and it decides how well you arrive at the first hairpin.
- Technique
- A committed single input. The car has to be settled before you get to the braking zone that follows.
- Demands
- High speed — aero is live · Wants a settled rear · Turn-in transient
T2 First Hairpin •
Slow left · hairpin
Slow and tight, the first of two hairpins that define the lap.
- Technique
- Rotate early, get straight, and be greedy with throttle. Entry speed is worth almost nothing here.
- Demands
- Braking-limited · Low speed — aero does little · Wants yaw on entry · Traction-limited
T3–4 Dunlop Corner
Medium right
A long, steady right around the outside of the infield.
- Technique
- One input and hold. Any correction scrubs the front and the corner is long enough to punish it.
- Demands
- Sustained mid-corner load · Front grip limited · Exit-phase limited
T5–9 The Esses •
Quick left-right · technical
A tight sequence where the car never stops changing direction.
- Technique
- Use the kerbs and keep the wheel quiet. Momentum here is easier to lose than to build.
- Demands
- Transient, not steady-state · Turn-in transient · Kerbs are part of the line · Aero platform sensitive
T13 Final Hairpin •
Slow right · hairpin
The slowest corner on the lap, and the one that feeds the main straight.
- Technique
- Sacrifice everything for the exit. This corner is most of the lap time on a circuit this short.
- Demands
- Braking-limited · Low speed — aero does little · Wants yaw on entry · Traction-limited · Exit-phase limited
Corner names and numbering follow common usage; some circuits number differently between layouts.
Sideways
Where to go next
The ranked answer is per car. Pick yours to see what this lap asks of it.
This lap, car by car