NJMP Thunderbolt track guide: every turn, with real lap data

The lap in numbers

The fastest of the 15 laps is a 1:27.0, the median is 1:29.6 and the slowest is 1:35.0. The quickest third, five drivers, are two Subaru BRZs, a Scion FR-S and a BMW 330ci, most of them listed in NASA's ST5 class, plus a Mustang GT. Everyone else, ten drivers, includes a C7 Corvette, a Spec Miata, E36 and E46 BMWs, a Firebird and more BRZs and FR-Ss.

Because the quicker group is mostly ST5-prepared cars, read most of the gap as car. They carry a median 4.9% more minimum speed per corner, close to their 4.0% lap-time advantage. The corners that break from that pattern are the interesting ones. Turn 9, the slowest corner on the track, is the clearest: every group goes through it at about 49.5 mph, and the quicker cars are slightly slower. Turn 3 shows no gap either, though it is a fast corner many cars barely slow for. The largest gaps are at Turn 10 (7.5%) and Turn 5 (6.5%), the two slow lefts.

Turns 1 and 2

Turn 1 comes at the end of the front straight. NJMP widened its entry in the 2024 renovation, so the straight no longer narrows on the approach, which leaves more room to pass on the brakes and on the exit. The club guide's main advice still applies: do not apex early.

Turn 2 is a blind right that comes quickly after it, and cars leaving the pits join here, so check the flag station on the left every lap.

Turns 3 to 6

Turn 3 is fast. If you arrive early or too fast, the guide's advice is to drive off rather than fight the car, and to treat the curb with caution. Turn 4 has an apex curb that the guide reserves for advanced run groups.

Turn 5 is the only left in the first half of the lap, and the guide's heading for it is that it is slower than you think. Turning in from the middle of the track for Turn 5 also makes Turn 4 easier. The data agrees with the warning in one sense: at 55.9 mph median it is one of the three slowest corners on the lap. Turn 6 is a right with an apex zone rather than a single apex point.

The Octopus: Turns 7 to 11

The Octopus is the run of corners from Turn 7 to Turn 11B. Turn 7 has an apex zone, and Turn 8 is best driven as one arc from Turn 7 to Turn 9, which is why the data rarely finds a separate minimum there. Turns 9, 10 and 11A are slow, and their job is to set up 11B.

Turn 9 is a trail-braking corner that sets up Turn 10. Turn 10 is a long, slow left that is off-camber; the guide's note is to follow the curb. The guide also passes on a warning from Randy Pobst that most drivers overdrive the Octopus. In this data the quicker cars carry no more speed through Turn 9 than anyone else, then 7.5% more through Turn 10, the largest gap on the lap. Some of that is grip, but the pattern fits the advice: arrive at Turn 9 no faster, and leave it set up for Turn 10.

Turn 12

Turn 12 is the fast right onto the front straight, with a late apex. The guide warns against arriving early and against the apex curb, and gives a clear rule if you get it wrong: drive off, slow down, slow down more, then rejoin.

Checking your own laps

Upload a Thunderbolt session and LapLift scores your minimum speed at every corner against the other drivers who have logged it. Turns 5, 9 and 10 are good places to start: they are the slowest corners, and small differences there carry down the straights that follow.

Sources

Driving notes are summarized from the Northern New Jersey Region PCA Thunderbolt turn-by-turn, which dates from 2021, before the 2024 repave. Track facts and the renovation details are from New Jersey Motorsports Park. Read the guide before you drive; it includes reference points and passing rules this summary leaves out.

Questions

Keep reading