The lap
Virginia International Raceway · Full Course
8 corners, 4 of which decide the lap. What each one asks of the car, and what you do about it.
Front straight
T1
T2–3
T4–5
Climbing Esses
South Bend
Oak Tree
Back straight
Roller Coaster
Hog Pen entry
Hog Pen
StraightFast cornerMedium cornerSlow corner
The lapSeventeen turns over rolling terrain with a lot of blind commitment. The Climbing Esses define the place — a platform that survives them beats any amount of low-speed rotation.
Set up forRide height and heave for the Esses compressions, then traction out of Oak Tree and Hog Pen — both feed long straights.
Classic mistakeRunning too low or too stiff. VIR's compressions find the floor, and a car that bottoms in the Esses is slow and genuinely dangerous.
Works hardestFronts through the Esses, rears out of Oak Tree
Length5.3 km · road course · US
Corner by corner
Every corner on this layout
A • marks the corners that decide the lap.
T1 Turn One
Medium right · heavy braking
The first stop of the lap at the end of the front straight, into a tightening right.
- Technique
- Brake straight and rotate early — the exit sets up the whole first sector.
- Demands
- Braking-limited · Wants yaw on entry · Low speed — aero does little
T2–3 Turns Two and Three
Medium · linking
A quick sequence leading down toward the fast section, easy to overdrive.
- Technique
- Flow rather than attack. You need the car settled for what follows.
- Demands
- Transient, not steady-state · Sustained mid-corner load
T4–5 Turns Four and Five
Fast · flowing
Quick and committed, building speed into the Climbing Esses.
- Technique
- Carry everything you can — the Esses reward the speed you bring in.
- Demands
- High speed — aero is live · Front grip limited · Wants a settled rear
T7–9 Climbing Esses •
Fast · blind · compressions
Blind, fast and uphill, taken on compressions that load the car hard. The corner that defines a VIR setup.
- Technique
- Commit on references you can't see. Any hesitation costs the whole sequence.
- Demands
- Compression or crest loading · Aero platform sensitive · High speed — aero is live · Wants a settled rear
T10 South Bend
Medium right
A committed right at the top of the hill, feeding the run to Oak Tree.
- Technique
- Be patient with the apex; the exit matters more than the entry speed.
- Demands
- Sustained mid-corner load · Front grip limited · Exit-phase limited
T11–12 Oak Tree •
Slow hairpin
Tight, slow, and it feeds the back straight.
- Technique
- Sacrifice entry for exit. This one is worth real time.
- Demands
- Low speed — aero does little · Wants yaw on entry · Traction-limited · Exit-phase limited
T14–16 Roller Coaster •
Undulating · technical
Up, down and blind, with the car unloading between elements.
- Technique
- Smooth and early. Let the car settle between inputs.
- Demands
- Bumpy surface · Aero platform sensitive · Transient, not steady-state
T17 Hog Pen •
Fast downhill · onto the straight
Fast, downhill and committed, feeding the front straight. Frightening in a loose car.
- Technique
- Be settled before you commit, then hold it. Exit speed runs the whole straight.
- Demands
- High speed — aero is live · Wants a settled rear · Exit-phase limited · Rear grip limited
Corner names and numbering follow common usage; some circuits number differently between layouts.
Sideways
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