[paradocs98]

Originally Posted by arter

I was there on Saturday with NASA.

I have not been to Pocono for 3 years, at that time it wasn't my favorite track as the infield courses were narrow and bumpy.

Much different now with the repaving. The infield courses are much wider and smooth. Used to be you did all the passing on the big track portions of the run, you just followed on the infield portions. The straight on the North infield was the only internal passing zone.

Now:

Really like the new southeast, all infield course. Lots of quick turn combinations. If you haven't tried it, I agree give it a shot.
Nice place to practice trail braking over steer or power on over steer to get the fat butt of our M3's around the sharp turns on some of the corners. Our group leader told us that if you hadn't spun out or gone off track on this course you weren't trying hard enough. ( NASA sometimes has a more forgiving attitude ( aggressive?) about driving than the BMW clubs).

The other course we were running that day was the Long course, the infield of the North course plus the long way around the big track. Clock-wise direction this day.
Spooky, I hit 160 mph on the back straight and 152 on the front.
Actually braked for the NASCAR turn ( the tightest of the third corners) to only do it at 120 mph. There were fresh skid marks from a car that lost it on that turn hitting the wall that morning that reminded me not to determine my traction limit.

The turn in to the North course from the front straight went around a 8 foot high tire mound so you couldn't see the right turn behind it. The north infield was now wide enough that you didn't need to use all the width in several corners. Would have been easy to pass in if they let us.

Bottom-line, loved the multi-turn southwest course, a little over awed by the run on the big track ( would prefer more turns and less super speed).

Thanks for the info on the other configurations--sorry I had to miss it, since I could only do Fri. The S/C must have been fun on the superspeedway!

Originally Posted by Groundpilot

Hey Jason, it looks like you track your car more often than me. Didnt i see you at WGI a few days ago?
I was at Pocono 2 years ago, before they repaved the infield and didnt like it at all. Just like arter said, it was narrow and bumpy, but the worst part was that huge bump right before the infield.
I remember, i missed the drivers meeting that morning and didnt know about that bump. First lap comes, bang, off my car goes into the grass. Its a good thing there was a lot of runoff area.
Couldnt belive they let HPDE cars run in that condition.
Anyway, i am glad they fixed it and after your review i may give this track a shot some time soon.

It's worth a try again. As arter said, the new infield is super, super smooth.

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

Nice vids. Which track for next weekend?

Texas World Speedway, my man!!!

Originally Posted by mid-corner fun

If you have the chance try the full tri-oval run, similar to the run arter described but no infield. hitting the limiter on every straight and then deciding how much to risk it on the turns, quite a different experience than that typical road course. RTR does that run either on a Friday or Sunday once a year I believe.

NASA was offering this for the end of the day on Saturday for HPDE 3 and 4 drivers, I believe. Would have been fun to try, but I was limited to Fri. I'm sure I would have partially chickened out in the turns.

Originally Posted by DSC_OFF

Funny, I rarely post on m3post but I got to this thread after googling for reviews of the "new" Pocono courses. Looking at the schedule ahead, it seems the only DE's taking place Labor Day weekend are VIR and Poconos. I told myself I'd never go back to Pocono after doing North course last. The infield transition was terrible and the entire infield felt like a poorly paved autocross course. However this review of past week's NASA event is promising.

Yep--I never saw Pocono in the old condition, just heard about how terrible it was. But the new infield is the smoothest track I've been on. Worth a try if you have a free weekend, but I wouldn't do it over VIR. And I've never been to VIR! I've heard it is amazing, though, and it's definitely on my list.

Originally Posted by Purple Derple

Transitions are still pretty bumpy, but that's part of the challenge and is the most fun part of the track IMO. If I had to choose between VIR and pocono, I would go to VIR 10 out of 10 times.

Agreed. Never been to VIR, but agreed.

Originally Posted by arter

Noticed you had WG 9/20/13 as waitlisted...... GVC BMW event.

Didn't think that this was filling up so fast so I signed up too, so thanks for the reminder. I have gotten used to waiting til the last minute because of the weather.......

The Glen is a track of highs and lows, no pun intended in reference to elevation changes. I've been there when it's been 80 degrees and sunny and perfect, and I've been there when it's been 45 degrees, misty, and so foggy that the corner workers couldn't see from station to station--sometimes on the same day! Seriously, though, it's like a mini Nurburgring. Last week there were times when it was sunny in the toe of the boot, while simultaneously raining on the front straight...