The lap
Virginia International Raceway · North Course
6 corners, 3 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
StraightFast cornerMedium cornerSlow corner
The lapThe Full Course's opening sequence and then a link road home. Losing Roller Coaster and Hog Pen takes away the two corners that punish a nervous rear, so this is a far more forgiving circuit than the full lap — but the Climbing Esses still decide it.
Set up forA platform that survives the Climbing Esses, then traction out of Oak Tree onto the link back to the straight.
Classic mistakeCarrying a full-course setup over. Without Roller Coaster and Hog Pen there is far less reason to protect the rear, and a car set up for those two is needlessly slow through the Esses.
Works hardestFronts in the Esses, rears out of Oak Tree
Length3.62 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
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
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