I find nothing to argue with in the following letter. Excellent course
design principles. Courses designed with these ideas in mind would entice an
entry fee out of my pocket every time. May I forward it to my friends in the
Tidewater Sports Car Club?--R.E.
In a message dated 3/7/99 7:58:54 AM Eastern Standard Time, bthatch@juno.com
writes:
<< 1. Make the course WIDE (at least 25 feet). This gives the driver the
chance to be creative about the line he/she takes rather than being
channelled into a narrow track everyone has to drive. Big and little car
drivers will have fun.
2. Try to avoid turns more than 90 degrees. I know this isn't always
realistic, but if you can link a couple of 90s to get that reversal of
direction you get a fun sweeper rather than a boring pin turn.
3. Make slaloms with cones at least 20 yards apart and resist the urge to
decrease the distance for the last one. 3-4 cones maximum.
4. Concentrate on making actual turns rather than high speed offsets.
I've seen more dangerous spins and near flips from 50 mph offsets than
I'd like to remember.
5. Design the course so the driver has to use his/her full complement of
tools. Acceleration, up-shifting, down-shifting, braking and picking a
fast line.
6. Make the exit of each turn so the car is obviously headed for the next
feature. This will aid in limiting off courses.
7. Put in a couple of nice straights so the big car drivers will feel
wanted.
8. Put in a few quick sweepers so the little car drivers will feel wanted
and to equalize the course.
Ben Thatcher
Atlanta Region S2 co-chair >>
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