On Board Road Atlanta 1970...Awesome.

[Elbow]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3NhmB0PBY0

Posted it here, DO NOT MOVE, nobody that would care posts in the video section.

It looks so different yet so much the same.

[EJ25RUN]

*favorite*

RA was more a drivers track back then than it is today.

Great stuff. He said Charlie Kemp "did a loop in the Porsche." :eek:

[Elbow]

Yeah back then it looked like just a random curvy road lol.

It's still a drivers track, it takes huge balls to be fast around Road Atlanta in a fast car.

[Big Baller]

*favorite*

RA was more a drivers track back then than it is today.

Great stuff. He said Charlie Kemp "did a loop in the Porsche." :eek:

I kind of half disagree with that, it took more balls because of the higher speeds on the back straight but it is still very much a drivers track. Its still one of the more dangerous tracks in the U.S. for sure. My STI on street tires is over 160mph on the back straight and that was on my old setup. There aren't many places where you carry that kind of speed into a braking zone for a second gear turn like 10a.

[Elbow]

I kind of half disagree with that, it took more balls because of the higher speeds on the back straight but it is still very much a drivers track. Its still one of the more dangerous tracks in the U.S. for sure. My STI on street tires is over 160mph on the back straight and that was on my old setup. There aren't many places where you carry that kind of speed into a braking zone for a second gear turn like 10a.

Yeah it had higher speeds on the back straight, BUT, modern day race cars (ALMS cars) are much faster without the gravity cavity. Hell these days you almost carry more speed down the hill towards 12 then back then, it takes VERY little error to end up in a wall there.

[blacknightteg]

i remember it before panoz took over, was i guess in a way you could call it primitive, but it was still awesome!

[EJ25RUN]

I agree that RA is still and has been one of the best circuits in America if not the world since it was created.

I just like how the old race track seems to flow. Really, 10a and 10b are the only real differences and that is a passing point so no biggie.

I guess the real losers in the current set up are the motorcycle riders who lost turn 12 and the entire esses section. Then again, most of them keep complaining about the speeds so i don't know what to think.

[David88vert]

Great video.

[JDMGRNAV6]

it was probably a good idea, the turns 10a and b, correct me if im wrong, were put in.

i cant imagine the bunch up of cars or bikes there, course this was way b4 my existence.

very interesting.

[Elbow]

it was probably a good idea, the turns 10a and b, correct me if im wrong, were put in.

i cant imagine the bunch up of cars or bikes there, course this was way b4 my existence.

very interesting.

Yeah, in the video there is no 10A or 10b, it just goes off the back straight to the bridge, but wasn't flat out or anything all the way under the bridge. There were a series of bad wrecks there, it was called the "gravity cavity". Example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKYMueGWnGQ&feature=related

[5speed]

Nice vid, but the owners of Road A are pieces of shit. Dont get me wrong I love the track but the owners charge the same amount as Barber and then add on extra fees like a dollar something per hay bale which never fucking move yet you are charged everytime for them, and dont even bother doing some real maintenance. They fucking pathetic which is why Le Mans got mud all over the fucking track bc they cant grow any grass there. Why charge the extra money when you dont fucking use it to benefit the track and racers, in the end it would be a win win situation.

[DunDunSkeert]

Damn that looked awesome.

[Big Baller]

Nice vid, but the owners of Road A are pieces of shit. Dont get me wrong I love the track but the owners charge the same amount as Barber and then add on extra fees like a dollar something per hay bale which never fucking move yet you are charged everytime for them, and dont even bother doing some real maintenance. They fucking pathetic which is why Le Mans got mud all over the fucking track bc they cant grow any grass there. Why charge the extra money when you dont fucking use it to benefit the track and racers, in the end it would be a win win situation.


LOL, you have no idea what you are talking about do you

[EJ25RUN]

. They fucking pathetic which is why Le Mans got mud all over the fucking track bc they cant grow any grass there..

I don't know if you needed your scuba gear that week but it did rain quite a bit.

Enough for the vice president to visit and im sure that an act of mother nature on that level isn't all RA's fault.

[5speed]

They are things I was even told by those who work there, and alot of it is obvious. And yeah it rained alot, but I was also at another track that weekend that got the same amount of rain and didnt have that problem bc they actually do some landscaping. I love the track itself, its my favorite, but just needs better management.

[matthewAPM]

5speed...your clueless.

[Elbow]

Nice vid, but the owners of Road A are pieces of shit. Dont get me wrong I love the track but the owners charge the same amount as Barber and then add on extra fees like a dollar something per hay bale which never fucking move yet you are charged everytime for them, and dont even bother doing some real maintenance. They fucking pathetic which is why Le Mans got mud all over the fucking track bc they cant grow any grass there. Why charge the extra money when you dont fucking use it to benefit the track and racers, in the end it would be a win win situation.

LOL...wow...I thought you were smart until this. :lmfao:

You know Barber charges you if you spin off? I have a dinner to go to, long reply later.

[5speed]

Ha, well thank you for thinking I was once smart. I have never heard of Barber doing that before, I mainly work motorcycle events there, as for cars ive only done grand am the last two years and porche school. All in all though they both probably charge for ridiculous things, but one has something to show for it. Hell Barber will get pissed if you just walk in the gravel trap at a televised event. Maybe I can make up for my fail later lol

[nsany(atl)]

I drove the old and new RA, the old one was much scarier

[Elbow]

Ha, well thank you for thinking I was once smart. I have never heard of Barber doing that before, I mainly work motorcycle events there, as for cars ive only done grand am the last two years and porche school. All in all though they both probably charge for ridiculous things, but one has something to show for it. Hell Barber will get pissed if you just walk in the gravel trap at a televised event. Maybe I can make up for my fail later lol

I've been to Barber, it's a beautiful facility and a great track, but he's freaking weird. You do have to pay for damage to anything, grass, you name it.

THERE WAS A FLOOD. No matter what you do it floods, they did all the prep work they can do, I work there a lot and the maintenance guys are TOP NOTCH and work their ASSES off, they are there over 24 hours sometimes getting something ready.

For a track, Road Atlanta KILLS Barber. I like it better as a facility, a track to run on, a track to spectate, a track to work, etc. Have you met the Panoz family? They are some of the nicest people you can meet.

But you can't point fingers at tracks charging for every dime, Barber wins that one BIG TIME. I'm scared to run Barber, what if I crash? :( I'll be in debt not from my car...:lmfao:

[jhadleyh]

I race on the street fuck the tracks lol

[5speed]

Yes, both tracks charge, and yes Barber is ridiculous also. I can only say that I have been working at these tracks for about 4 years now, which I know isn't shit compared to you and some others, but I just simply have never really seen the maintenance guys doing work throughout the day. Maybe they are doing something behind the scenes or something that I just dont see while out on the corner all day. Yes they are really helpful with a lot of things that only they can get done. I'm just saying that there needs to be some sort of landscaping to reduce some of the problems. Other than that Road Atlanta is amazing, its one of the best courses in the world IMO! Yeah I would be afraid to run at Barber too.

[Big Baller]

Barbers not as bad as people make it out to be, I've been off twice there and they never said a word to me.

[5speed]

People get lucky from time to time, it also depends if the corner marshal called it in or not. At big events we are told to call everything, therefor everyone that goes off or hits a barrier gets a fine. I dont call it most of them time if its just a quick off and on but if your stuck or slow to reenter then I call it, either way I flag it

[Big Baller]

I've been off at the Kink at about 130mph slinging grass everywhere, I gathered it back up and got back on but I went a long ass way in the grass

[5speed]

I've been off at the Kink at about 130mph slinging grass everywhere, I gathered it back up and got back on but I went a long ass way in the grass
Kink after the Alabama Coaster?

[Big Baller]

Kink after the Alabama Coaster?

Right after the Museum, by the map below it would be 9\10

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barber_Motorsports_Park.svg

In my STI it used to be very close to not lifting, one of my buddies that has way more experince at Barber said, "you know I think you can make that without lifting"....I can't

[EJ25RUN]

I race on the street fuck the tracks lol

Not everyone was born intelligent so we understand.

[DunDunSkeert]

In my STI it used to be very close to not lifting, one of my buddies that has way more experince at Barber said, "you know I think you can make that without lifting"....I can't




hahahahahahahaha reps

[speedminded]

I kind of half disagree with that, it took more balls because of the higher speeds on the back straight but it is still very much a drivers track. Its still one of the more dangerous tracks in the U.S. for sure. My STI on street tires is over 160mph on the back straight and that was on my old setup. There aren't many places where you carry that kind of speed into a braking zone for a second gear turn like 10a.It's the elevation changes that got people just as much as the back stretch speed. There are no east coast tracks that I can think of that have the steepness RA has, especially when it was originally built.

The creator of that video was at Road Atlanta a couple years ago and had the DVD playing in the chalet. It was awesome because many of the guys I was sitting were driving it then. :cheers:

[Elbow]

Not everyone was born intelligent so we understand.

He was kidding lol.

[jhadleyh]

Not everyone was born intelligent so we understand.



This silly guy neg repped me for a joke lol


I now realize the interwebz is very serious business

[5speed]

Right after the Museum, by the map below it would be 9\10

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barber_Motorsports_Park.svg

In my STI it used to be very close to not lifting, one of my buddies that has way more experince at Barber said, "you know I think you can make that without lifting"....I can't
Yep thats the one, some people call them by turn numbers but corner marshals do it by station number. haha REPS :goodjob:

[5speed]

This silly guy neg repped me for a joke lol


I now realize the interwebz is very serious business
Haha yeah, you will have to make up for that one. Not everyone here is into street racing, we would like to keep a steady insurance plan and keep our lives also and the lives of others also. Not to mention taking turns with screeching tires is so much more fun than drag.

Drag->:idb:<-Road Racing

[EJ25RUN]

This silly guy neg repped me for a joke lol


I now realize the interwebz is very serious business

I'll take that one. Deserved it. lol

[dazn]

Barbers not as bad as people make it out to be, I've been off twice there and they never said a word to me.


I havnt heard of Barber charging people in a long time. The first year or two they were open it was really bad. A lot of organizations decided not to go back. But they finally loosened some rules up. I remember when they made everyone wear long sleeve shirts in pit lane in the middle of summer. Not like its a ALMS or F1 race where you need to be in a firesuit.

speaking of RA, Don is not gonna put any more money into that track than he has to. He may be a nice guy, but that family isnt too good about keeping their automotive businesses up and running. Im sure most of that is Danny's doing though. Don just cashes checks.

[speedminded]

Haha yeah, you will have to make up for that one. Not everyone here is into street racing, we would like to keep a steady insurance plan and keep our lives also and the lives of others also. Not to mention taking turns with screeching tires is so much more fun than drag.

Drag->:idb:<-Road RacingWho says skreet racing has to do with drag? :taun:

[5speed]

Who says skreet racing has to do with drag? :taun:
True, thats just what a god 90%+ do on the street. I would love to shut some streets down and go race, but just not when more vehicles on the street. My mom has been in some serious wrecks due to idiots racing and I wouldn't want to put somebody in the position if I could help it. Reps for liking to really drive and not just in a straight line.

[matthewAPM]

In my STI it used to be very close to not lifting, one of my buddies that has way more experince at Barber said, "you know I think you can make that without lifting"....I can't

Im just gonna put this out and say it was Leh lol

[5spdfrk]

Haha Mr. Keen is a driving machine!

[StraightSix]

I havnt heard of Barber charging people in a long time. The first year or two they were open it was really bad.


Barber does, to my knowledge, still charge people for damage, but not for small stuff like grass. They are proud of their Armco, though from what I've heard.

[5speed]

^ Yeah the Armco is key there, unlike RA they have too much track turns that can be reached by another if the barrier wasn't there. The point of racing is to be on the track not off of it anyways, which is where skill comes to place.

[Elbow]

Every good driver crashes lol.

[Big Baller]

Im just gonna put this out and say it was Leh lol

No put funny kind of related story about Leh. We were on One Lap of America and I was walking the track with him at Mid Ohio we made it up to the top of the key hole when they called us back in. Since we didn't get to finish walking it I asked Leh to go over the track map with me from the tower.

Leh starts telling me about all the turns and each one involves Lehs catch phrase....WFO (wide fucking open). Now some of them he will tell you, get past the Apex and then its WFO. Sometimes he says just get it turned in and then its WFO.

I go out for my warm up lap and everything looks good, come back around to start my 3 timed laps, I make it almost all the way back around on my first timed lap and I get to the "turn it in and WFO" spot. I turned it in and went wide fucking open....as I planted the gas it hit me, there is no way I'm going to make this but I kept it planted any way, off I go bouncing through the grass all 4 wheels airborne....turns out it was my fastest lap...lol

The Moral of this story, when Leh says WFO he may not mean WFO, he also drove the last 4 days on corded tires, he is a mad man.

[Big Baller]

Every good driver crashes lol.

I was talking to a friend about testing in a KONI car next year and he offered this advice.

"They may forgive you for crashing the car but they will never forgive you for being slow"

If you are fast and you are on the edge at some point you will crash...I'm ok with that

[Elbow]

I was talking to a friend about testing in a KONI car next year and he offered this advice.

"They may forgive you for crashing the car but they will never forgive you for being slow"

If you are fast and you are on the edge at some point you will crash...I'm ok with that

Who are you going to drive for? I'm doing a few Koni things next year.

[Big Baller]

Who are you going to drive for? I'm doing a few Koni things next year.

I inquired about racing with a couple of teams but I'm most likely not going to be able to afford it. Although I got a call yesterday from a team wanting to run a STI at 25 hours of Thunderhill, I'm going to try and trade a motor for some driving time. We shall see.

[5speed]

So I just got back from Barber and learned that the Fee for riding off into the grass never existed. Some dumbass car club started that rumor. If you have ever had to pay a fee for this then you got owned by someone who has nothing to do with Barber. The only charges are due to armco and soft barrier damage.

[Elbow]

It was probably BMW owners.

[OnURleft]

I could picture the newbs in E92 M3's and Z06's plowing into the wall near/under and the bridge after trying to slow down from a buck sixty on street pads and street tires during their first solo on their 3rd D.E on that old set up.
I think it's good that 10a and b does what it does, even though it rapes your brakes. Plus, chucking the car in a nice drift through 10a while passing someone on the inside is just magical for me

[RWD164]

I have been going to and driving on Road Atlanta for the last 15 years. It is a great track, very fast. My only complaint is that it is a high penalty track. There are several spots on the track (namely turn 1, top of the esses, and turn 12) where if you put a wheel wrong, the track will punish you. For track day time, I think Roebling Road is the best value and the safest by a mile. Just my 2 cents...

[Elbow]

I have been going to and driving on Road Atlanta for the last 15 years. It is a great track, very fast. My only complaint is that it is a high penalty track. There are several spots on the track (namely turn 1, top of the esses, and turn 12) where if you put a wheel wrong, the track will punish you. For track day time, I think Roebling Road is the best value and the safest by a mile. Just my 2 cents...

That IS the reason I love Road Atlanta...I hate safe non consequence tracks. My first track event in a car was at Road Atlanta and now everything else seems boring. That I've tried...

[RWD164]

That IS the reason I love Road Atlanta...I hate safe non consequence tracks. My first track event in a car was at Road Atlanta and now everything else seems boring. That I've tried...

Go drive VIR, it is pretty thrilling. I prefer tracks that don't ensure that your car will be trash if you or someone else around you makes a mistake. Have you done any sanctioned racing or just track days?