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Valencia; Hockenheimring with walls?
Topic Started: Aug 19 2008, 11:23 AM (298 Views)
Alien_SAP_Fiend
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http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2008/08/18/vale...ing-with-walls/

The Circuito Urbano Valencia is expected to see a top speed of 320kph and an average lap speed of 225kph. That would make it the fastest circuit F1 has visited so far this year.

McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh gives an idea of the downforce levels needed:

"Our simulations suggest we’ll employ a downforce level similar to that of Hockenheim, but the individual demands of the track may push that window up or down."

The high speeds are partly down to the fact that this isn’t a conventional street circuit with bumps, manhole covers and a steeply crowned road (as you can see from the onboard video laps): the surface is new and it’s more like a racing track than a normal road. F3 driver Alex Waters, quoted in this month’s F1 Racing, explains:

"It doesn’t feel like a normal street circuit. There’s freshly laid asphalt, so there aren’t the bumps and rain covers - it’s a fantastic track."

But what it does have is a lot of barriers. Yes, in some places there’s a lot of tarmac run-off. But there are still many sections where the kind of mistake that would only cause a moment’s delay at the Hockenheimring will instead end in a heavy crash.

Crashes could lead to safety car periods, which can cause all kinds of other problems because of the poorly thought-out rules.
Watch dis.
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AndyW76
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I guess that the teams need to approach it like Montreal and allow for safety cars in their strategy. 225 kph (140mph) is well high for a street circuit.

I remember the days of high speed circuits when 5 or 6 tracks exceeded 140mph average. It seems that, with Tilke etc. in control, lots of meadium and low speed bends are now the norm. It's time we had more fast circuits.
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Alien_SAP_Fiend
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Watch the vids on the link. It's much smoother than a street circuit and there do seem to be places to overtake.

I think it's going to be a cracker of a race.
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SaveOurSilverstone
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says video no longer avaliable <help>
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Bear
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Gee, that's a fugly looking circuit. A car flipping over there could easily be fatal.
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timmadigan
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Not sure how I feel about this track. I need to see it run once or twice in practice / qualifying to get a better feel on how it will play out.

The passing zones don't seem much of a passing zone - one hard corner after a long straightaway and a hairpin don't give me much comfort that this will be a 'raceable track'
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Jack
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There are a lot of videos, just goto Youtube and look for "Valencia street circuit".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sC1wdoud1Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NPqlkicO9U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAzqDuWNa2M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG-7tj9U2mQ

It seems that Valencia could dethrone/substitute Mónaco.
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dazzerjp
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watching fp1 now and its looks pretty dull to be honest.
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