Watkins Glen track guide: every corner, with real lap data

The lap in numbers

The fastest of those 13 laps is a 1:59.4. The median is 2:10.2 and the slowest is 2:20.3. The table shows the slowest point of each corner (what LapLift calls vMin) for all 13 drivers, for the four quickest and for the other nine, and how much higher the quickest four's minimum is in percent.

Read the two groups as two kinds of car as much as two kinds of driver. The quickest four are a C5 Corvette and three NASA ST5-class cars, an FR-S, a BRZ and a 330ci; the other nine are mostly Spec Miatas, other BMW 3 Series and a Civic Si. A car with stickier tires or more grip carries more minimum speed in every corner by roughly the same percentage, downforce adds most in fast corners, and extra power barely changes minimum speed at all.

Across the lap the quickest four carry a median 3.4% more minimum speed per corner, the same 3.4% by which their laps are quicker, which is about what a grip difference alone would produce. So the corners worth reading are the ones that depart from that. The Bus Stop (10.2%) is a fast chicane where grip and downforce pay most, so it says more about the cars than the drivers. Turn 6 (1.4%) and Turn 9 (−0.8%) go the other way: cars that should be quicker everywhere carry almost the same speed as everyone else, and in Turn 9 slightly less.

Turn 1, the 90

The lap starts with a hard stop at the end of the fast front straight into a right-hander of roughly 90 degrees. Race & Track Driving calls overbraking the expensive mistake here, and the PCA guide adds that the braking zone runs downhill, so you need to start braking earlier than you expect. Turn 1 also leads onto the Esses and the back straight, the fastest part of the track, so a clean exit is worth more than a late brake point.

The Northern New Jersey Region PCA guide puts most cars in third gear and notes that Turn 1 is the one corner where it recommends running on the apex curb. In the data, the median minimum is 70.2 mph, and the quickest third's median is 72.4 mph, 5.4% higher, in line with their car advantage.

The Esses, Turns 2 to 4

Turn 2 is a fast, banked right-hander with a compression. Lower-powered cars take it without braking and more powerful cars need a lift. From there the road climbs to Turns 3 and 4, a left and a right that cross the crown of the track at the top of the hill. Crossing the crown can make the car feel nervous. The PCA guide's advice is to look far ahead, keep the steering smooth and stay on the power.

The exit of Turn 4 sets up the whole back straight. A car that is still turning when it should be accelerating loses speed all the way to the Bus Stop.

The Bus Stop and Turn 5

The Bus Stop, also called the Inner Loop, is the chicane at the end of the back straight, built before the 1992 season. The PCA guide describes it as a right turn followed by two lefts and another right, taken as one rhythm, and says the common mistake is downshifting one gear too many, which overslows the car. It is also where the data shows the largest gap, 10.2%, though at these speeds tires and downforce do much of that work.

The Bus Stop drops you straight into Turn 5, the Carousel, a long right-hander that falls away from you with a late, blind apex. The PCA guide suggests staying in the inside third, where the banking is steepest, and Race & Track Driving warns against using the exit curbing because there is little runoff behind it.

Into the Boot: Turns 6, 7 and 8

Turn 6, the Laces, is a steep downhill left of more than 120 degrees with a blind apex. You can trail brake a long way into it, and the PCA guide warns against the natural urge to turn in early or apex early. In the data the quicker cars carry only 1.4% more minimum speed here, well under their usual advantage.

Turn 7, the Toe, is close to a 180-degree right-hander that climbs as you go around it. The braking zone starts downhill and ends uphill. The climb loads the car and adds grip, so you can start feeding in throttle as soon as the car is turning. Turn 8, the Heel, is sharper than it looks from the approach, nearer 120 degrees than 90, and Race & Track Driving warns against an early apex.

Turns 9, 10 and 11

Turn 9 is a long left of more than 90 degrees on a flat section shared with the NASCAR short course, so it has none of the helpful banking found elsewhere on the track. The PCA guide stresses smooth braking and a patient turn-in, and points out that there is no margin at the track-out. It is the slowest corner on the lap in this data, and the only one where the quickest third carry less minimum speed than everyone else.

Turn 10 is a very fast left. Brake in a straight line before you turn, lighter and longer rather than short and hard; Race & Track Driving says most drivers brake too much here. Turn 11 is a quicker right that leads onto the front straight. A little trail brake is fine, and the PCA guide recommends carrying a higher gear rather than downshifting.

Checking your own laps

Upload a session from Watkins Glen and LapLift places a dot on every corner of the track map, scored against every other driver who has logged that corner. Compare your minimum speeds against the table above, and against the fastest public laps on the Watkins Glen track page, to find the corners where you give up the most speed.

Sources

Driving notes are summarized from the Northern New Jersey Region PCA Watkins Glen turn-by-turn and Race & Track Driving's Watkins Glen guide. Track length and history are from Wikipedia. Read the originals before you drive; they include reference points and passing rules this summary leaves out.

Questions

Keep reading