For those who have never been to Nelson Ledges, here is a video example ITC lap. This isn’t necessarily a good lap around Nelson, it’s just a lap that shows the landmarks. I won’t claim to have any great insights on how to get around the track, but here are the landmarks I use to get around the track.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI1NgBZmJI4[/ame]
The Bridge: Notice how narrow the runoff is at the bridge. Remember this when you are doing race starts. You do not want to get pushed off the track between the start finish line and the bridge.
Turn 1-2: Fourth gear in the Civic. The turn-in reference point for turn 1 is the break in the pavement. I try to turn in at the break or a little after but I usually don’t have the guts and I turn in early which makes the apex harder to hit. The apex is fairly late, there is a patch on the right, not the first patch, the second patch, which is bigger. Turn 1 flows right into turn 2 and the track out point is a little extra ledge of pavement on the left.
At the exit there is an extra ledge of pavement you can’t quite see until you are right on top of it. Carl told us in school that using that extra ledge is the fast way around. But using that ledge is pretty scary because if you miss the patch there is a big drop off and you are off and maybe into the tire wall.
Turn 3: The reference for the turn in to 3 is another break in the pavement. The apex is late. There is a curb on the inside of the turn that you do not want to hit, it will throw you across the track and off into the grass. You want to almost clip the curb but don’t hit. I use the black tar patch as the apex. That might be a little early.
If it is wet or cold turn 3 is very slippery at and after the apex, but after the apex there is a break in the pavement where the track is suddenly very sticky. If you trust it, you can slide through the turn and use the sticky exit to hold you. If you trust it.
At the exit of 3 there is an extra patch of pavement you can use. It is a little more slippery than the main track so use it with caution.
I don’t lift or brake through turns 1-3. Possibly that means my car is too stable and not loose enough, but that gives you an idea of how fast turns 1-3 can be taken.
Turn 4-6 (oak tree): The braking reference point for oak tree is the break in pavement. There is a little bump and I brake after the bump/break and go down to 3rd gear. It’s easy to get lazy and turn while braking, not a good idea. At the entrance to oak tree the track is about three lanes wide. The best entry is the middle lane. You can enter low and the track will hold you. But definitely don’t enter too high, the track falls away and you will lose traction.
Through turns 5 and 6 the three lanes continue. The middle lane has the most banking, the lower lane has a little less. The banking falls away in the upper lane although you might not see it from inside the car. If you get too wide you can push right off the track.
You can apex at the exit of 6 if you want, there is a patch of dirt on the left. But it isn’t necessary, you can get a little more rpm if you stay one half to a full car width to the right.
Turn 7-9 (carousel) the carousel is a bitch. It’s a big long 180 sweeper that closes up at the exit. I stay in 4th gear even though the car drags a bit at the exit because 3rd runs out of RPM instantly.
What Carl taught me was to ride through 7-8 at the middle or left of the track without lifting. You want to stay high and lift all the way near the break in the pavement to get the car to rotate. The car rotates and you hit the gas and go.
Once you get past the break in the pavement you do not want to be on the outside 1/3 of the track, it is slick and the car won’t turn. There is an apex way way late, sometimes I aim for it, sometimes I don’t. The main thing I work on is getting the car to rotate, getting on the gas early and being as nice to the steering wheel as possible to scrub as little speed as possible. That sounds easy, but it isn't.
There is a patch of pavement at the track out point. Be careful using it because there is a big dropoff and you’ll be in the tire wall if you get 2 wheels off. And the patch itself is not that sturdy.
Turn 10: I don’t know why they even number this turn, it is just a bend in the straight. I don’t have to shift to 5th, I stay in 4th down the entire straight most of the time. It’s not worth the effort to get get the shifter into 5th.
Turn 11 (kink): There are about 4 very small painted lines on the left to use as a turn in reference point for the kink. The apex is the broken pavement after where the old track re-enters. There is a little dip in the pavement at the apex. Be careful in the morning because there is often a puddle of water at the apex. And there is a curb on the inside of the apex that you do not want to hit or it will throw you across the track. After the kink the track wanders back and forth, you should make it as straight as possible.
In a C car you can go through the kink without lifting. It’s possible to go two wide through the kink but you better trust the other driver. You do not want to go off in the kink.
Turn 12: There are two choices in turn 12. You can brake early and apex late and power to 13. Or you can brake late, apex early carry speed to the grass, but you’ll be slower on the entry to 13 and perhaps not as well lined up because you will be too far right and have trouble lining up.
There is a bump at the end of the straight before turn 12, ITC cars should be braking after the bump and before the crossover road. I try to brake early, shift down to 3rd and be back on the gas before the curb starts and apex near the end of the curb. You do not want to hit the curb.
Turn 13: You want to be under control, brake early and apex late. I have to downshift to 2nd because the car will drag in 3rd, but I upshift back to 3rd before the brake in pavement at the exit. Probably I should stay in 3rd but I just can’t do it.
On the entry to 13 there are a couple of things to aim at across the street. There is a pole and a house, etc. I use the dark patch of pavement and the telephone pole. You don’t want to exaggerate the entry and make the turn longer than it needs to be. You just need to make the straight as long as possible. At the apex there is (of course) some broken pavement. There is some extra pavement at the track out point. But I think it is a longer way around if you use it. It seems to me that if you are using the extra pavement at the exit you are apexing too early. I could be wrong, Jay almost always uses the extra pavement at the exit.
And now you are back to the start finish. The ITC track record is 1:21.054 set by Carl Holbrook in a Renault Alliance. At the last race in Oct 2010 we ran mid 1:23 in the morning and mid 1:22 in the afternoon.
I’m not sure I have any real speed secrets to getting around Nelson. But I think you’ll find that the Nelson ITC regulars are a friendly group who don’t mind sharing (most of) what they know about the track.
Last edited by jumbojimbo; 03-07-2011 at 11:41 PM.
Jim Hardesty
ITC 1986 Honda Civic Diablo Rojo Verde
Never argue your tab at the end of the night. Remember, you're hammered and they’re sober.
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