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I logged about 100 laps in a GT at Lime Rock Park today and it reminded me how much I like this track. For a sim racer who spends most of his time hotlapping and occasionally racing the AI, it's about the perfect track because it's short and challenging.

Mess up in corner one at LRP and it takes you about a minute to get around and start another lap. At most of the other tracks I run, it's more like two minutes. LRP is also perfect for some spectacular wrecks thanks to the elevation changes and little run-off area. I included a video of one below. What LRP is not as good for is racing. It's a very narrow track with very few passing zones.

LRP also got me to dig into the setup of the car. I think a lot of people spend too much time tinkering with car setups and not enough time in the seat behind the wheel learning to become a faster driver. Setups can take you so far, but only seat time will make you fast.

For LRP, I did change the gearing to improve acceleration at the expense of top-end speed, and put more grip in the car. That helped but probably not as much as just putting in some laps.

I've taken a break from sim racing for the last week or two but got inspired to jump in a GT after watching the 24 Hours of Daytona last weekend. This is the first time I've driven a Porsche in rFactor, but I'm revisiting one of my favorite tracks in Lime Rock Park. 

In the last couple of years, I've driven thousands of laps in formula cars, but less than 100 in GT or prototype cars so it is an adjustment. It's a nice change of pace so I think I'll play around with the Sports Car Challenge mod before jumping back into F1-track analysis early next month. I may post another hotlap or two before I'm done.

Everytime someone drops by my house and sees the steering wheel mounted to the side of my desk, they immediately want to drive. I always put them in a formula trainer with all helpers and it still takes them a while to just keep the car on the track.

I've driven formula trainers at Skip Barber Racing School and the trainers in rFactor are very similar. Obviously no simulator is going to match the real thing, but rFactor is very challenging and luckily is a lot less painful when you make mistakes.

Here are a couple of videos I stumbled upon. Each shows a side-by-side of an F1 car and an rFactor F1 car around a complete lap of a circuit. Not saying these guys are on par with Michael Schumacher, but the realism of at least these two tracks is fairly apparent. And just to note, I still don't drive the F1 cars in rFactor. Just too fast for my skill level.

Found Video: "rFactor(CTDP F1 Mod) Vs Real F1 - Monza Circuit"

Found Video: "Comparison ME vs. Michael Schumacher" at Imola

This hotlap is from my third or fourth session at Bahrain. Still working out the line. Can't say I'm a huge fan of this track as the super-slow corners like 1, 8, and 10 leading onto a straight get kind of tedious. I like the 5-6-7 corridor and the braking zone through 9, but everything else in the first 10 turns could be better.

There are some corners at this track where you really need to practice looking as far ahead as possible. Coming out of turn 11, if I'm not looking way up into turn 12, I forget I have to keep turning. Same for turn 15. If I'm not looking way up the straight at least to the end of the curbing, I usually end up on the curbing because the corner goes around a bit farther than you might think.

Overhead View

In-car View

Along with how-tos, I'll post some things I stumble upon. This is a video that is a great overview of the various mods available in rFactor. Very well done by a person who also knows how to name a clip.

As I noted in the "First Impressions" post for Bahrain, this track can almost be broken into two sectors. The first is more technical and includes corners 1-10, the second is higher-speed and includes corners 11-15.

I'm going to focus my attention first on the corridor that includes corners 5, 6, and 7. It looks like the most technical at the highest speed.

I'll then move on to the corridor that includes corners 11, 12, 13, and 14 which looks to be the highest speed but is not quite as technical as 5-6-7.

I'll come back and work through the long braking zone of 9-10 before moving on to 15, 1-2, and 4.

Data from the AI car including seconds between midpoints of corners:

Before I get into my analysis of this track, getting it downloaded and patched was a bit of work. I ended up using this download:

http://www.f1gaming.de/downloads/rfactor/strecken/CTDP_Bahrain_F1-2005_Track_for_rFactor.rar

Patch 1:
Out of the box, the track surface is very bad in places and causes violent shakes in certain corners. This patch will fix that for the most part.

http://trd3.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=2

The site is in Spanish. An English translation is available through this link:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://trd3.net/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D47%26Itemid%3D2&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://trd3.net/index.php%253Foption%253Dcom_content%2526task%253Dview%2526id%253D47%2526Itemid%253D2%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGGLJ,GGLJ:2006-41,GGLJ:en

This patch is installed by extracting the rar file and running the included executable.

Patch 2:
I also upgraded the cameras because the default spectator view didn't show much of the track because it was too tight on the car. The link for the upgraded cameras is available on the rFactorCentral.com page http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=Bahrain%20International. It is the Bahrain Alternative Cameras by GTEvo link.

To install this, I extracted the rar file, and copied the file 1Shakir.cam to the C:\Program Files\rFactor\GameData\Locations\Bahrain\Shakir folder. Your install folder might be different. I then renamed the existing Shakir.cam file to Shakir_orig.com, and then renamed 1Shakir.com to Shakir.cam.

Fire up rFactor and you should see the track in the "CTDP F1 Tracks" folder.

On to the post ...

You really get the impression that this is a circuit plopped down in the middle of the desert. Like Sepang, it is a purpose-built track with lots of run-off area. It has some mild elevation changes that are placed in areas that making driving a challenge. The turn-in for corner 7 is very difficult to see due to elevation changes as is the braking point and entry for corner 9. Corner 13 is a high-speed uphill leading quickly into the braking zone for 14. The uphill is blind and landing on the wrong side of the track can really mess you up for entry into 14.

On first impression, you can almost break this track into two primary sectors. The first would include corners 1 through 10, the second corners 11 through 15.

The 1-10 sector looks more technical. It has three very tight right-handers, one of which funnels into a left-hander, a high-speed bus-stop-style section, and the long braking zone going into corner 10.

The 11-15 sector may be as technical due to elevation changes, but it is much faster with longer sweeping corners.

For timing, the sectors for this track are:

Sector 1: Corners 1, 2, 3, 4, ends at entry to corner 5
Sector 2: Corners 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, ends at Vodafone sign between 13 and 14
Sector 3: Corners 14, 15

Attached is a hotlap from the AI, as well as a screen shot of most corners.

AI Hotlap, In Car

AI Hotlap, Overview
Note: I had to use the tracking camera on this because the spectator camera that ships with the track does not show much of the track. I have since downloaded the updated spectator camera.

This lap was completed in 2:02.323 (122.323 seconds).

The gear, RPM, MPH, and time between corners are measured at the point the RPMs begin to increase when exiting a corner. The screen shots are also from the point of acceleration from the corner.

Let's take a look at a lap.

Corners 1, 2, and 3

Image 1: Corner 1 Midpoint

Image 2: Corner 2 Midpoint

Corner 1 is a tight right-hander leading quickly into corner 2 which is a mild left-hander. Corner 3 is a mild right-hander that is taken under full acceleration.

Corner 1: 1st gear, 3331 RPM, 21 MPH
10.400 seconds from start
23.856 seconds from corner 15
3.767 seconds to corner 2

Corner 2: 3rd gear, 4925 RPM, 65 MPH
14.167 seconds from start
3.767 seconds from corner 1
15.5 seconds to corner 4

Corner 4

Image 3: Corner 4 Midpoint

Corner 4 is another tight right-hander.

2nd gear, 4735 RPM, 48 MPH
29.667 seconds from start
15.5 seconds from corner 2
9.3 seconds to corner 6

Corners 5, 6, and 7

Image 4: Corner 6 Midpoint

Image 5: Corner 7 Midpoint

Corner 5 is a quick left-hander that muddles the braking zone for corner 6. Corner 6 is a quick right-hander leading directly to corner 7 which is a quick left-hander. Almost looks like a high-speed bus stop.

Corner 5: braking

Corner 6: 4th gear, 5479 RPM, 91 MPH
38.967 seconds from start
9.3 seconds from corner 4
2.2 seconds to corner 7

Corner 7: 4th gear, 5851 RPM, 97 MPH
41.167 seconds from start
2.2 seconds from corner 6
7.066 seconds to corner 8

Corner 8

Image 6: Corner 5 Midpoint

Corner 8 is another tight right-hander.

2nd gear, 4166 RPM, 45 MPH
48.233 seconds from start
7.066 seconds from corner 7
13.067 seconds to corner 10

Corners 9 and 10

Image 7: Corner 10 Midpoint

Corner 9 is a sweeping left-hander leading directly into corner 10 which is a tight left-hander.

Corner 9: appears to be a braking zone leading into corner 10.

Corner 10: 2nd gear, 3993 RPM, 41 MPH
61.3 seconds from start
13.067 seconds from corner 8
15.6 seconds to corner 11

Corners 11, 12, and 13

Image 8: Corner 11 Midpoint

Corner 11 is a moderate-speed left hander leading into a long corridor with corners 12 and 13. Corner 12 looks to be an acceleration zone while corner 13 may be more measured but acceleration appears to continue before landing at the top of a hill and into the braking zone for corner 14.

Corner 11: 3rd gear, 5383 RPM, 72 MPH
76.9 seconds from start
15.6 seconds from corner 10
15.5 seconds to corner 14

Corner 12: accelerating

Corner 13: accelerating

Corner 14

Image 9: Corner 14 Midpoint

Corner 14 is another fairly high-speed right-hander leading onto the second-longest straight on the track.

3rd gear, 4836 RPM, 62 MPH
92.4 seconds from start
15.5 seconds from corner 11
16.467 seconds to corner 15

Corner 15

Image 10: Corner 15 Midpoint

Corner 15 is another right-hander and leads onto the front straight. A bit tighter than 14 but nowhere near as tight as 1, 4, or 8.

2nd gear, 5320 RPM, 57 MPH
108.867 seconds from start
16.467 seconds from corner 14
23.856 seconds to corner 1
13.456 seconds to start/finish line

Prioritization of corners for passing is going to be different than hotlapping. Most of the top corners for hotlapping become important during a race for catching up with cars who have gapped you, but have little value when it comes to passing.

Unlike Albert Park where my favorite passing zone is on the exit of a corner (12), at Sepang, it appears to be all about braking.

The most successful places I have found to pass on this circuit are on entry to corners one and 15. If you follow one of my hotlaps, you will see that I treat turn 1 as two turns dropping to third gear for the first half of the turn and the downshifting to second to complete the last section. This extra speed and later braking routinely allows me to pass multiple cars in this corner.

I've also found success passing cars by outbraking them into turn four. This turn is a bit more tricky and not as safe and I've found myself spun by the curbing on several occasions. You also risk breaking your rhythm leading into the corner five-six corridor.

I have not been successful passing cars going into turn nine. I think this is mostly because I'm still trying to get corners seven and eight correct. I'm generally not carrying enough speed out of turn eight to set cars up to be passed into turn nine. After I correct my exit speed in turn eight, I'll revisit this as a passing zone.

One weird place I've found to pass is in turn 14. If I carry a bit more speed than the car in front of me and take a wider arc through the corner, I will generally pass it on the outside and take the line exiting onto the straight.

Sepang has been a fun track. I've run a few short races against the AI on it and have won a couple. I was able to win much faster on this track than Albert Park. Don't know if the track is easier, or if I'm just getting better. I'll race on this track more in the next couple of days, but I've already taken a peek at Bahrain and am getting excited about getting on that track.

If you read my posts about Albert Park, you know that I initially prioritize corners based on speed and distance from the exit of the corner to the next corner. I do this because it is hard to regain lost speed the faster you are going. 15 MPH lost on a 2nd gear corner is much easier to regain than 15 MPH lost on a 5th gear corner.

This is my priority for hotlapping based on the initial AI analysis. 

For hotlapping, my first priority is turns seven and eight which are taken almost as one large hairpin. In racing, I've found that as long as you can keep from getting passed on this corner, you are doing OK. There's little passing opporunity in this corner but getting it correct can get you up into sixth gear on the straight that follows. Doing a poor job will keep you in fifth and cost you some time.

My next set of corners are five and six along the back straight. Just like with seven and eight above, as long as you are fast enough to defend your position, the corners aren't as important in racing. The turn-in for corner six is tricky because it is fairly blind. If you are not exiting corner five correctly, it makes it difficult to guage your turn-in for six. I've also found that if I mess up turn four, it often carries all the way through turns five and six and I have a poor run through this corridor.

Corner 12 is tricky and has taken me some time to get correct. It's faster than it looks/feels but too much time on the curbing at entry can put you in the gravel.

After driving the circuit for a few laps, I'd put corner 14 a bit higher priority. It is fairly high-speed and getting the corner correct can help with passing on the straights that follow.  

This hotlap is from my third session at Sepang. Getting better with the line and with braking at an appropriate time. Still working out the line. I've got some work to do on the back corridor including corners 5-8. Those are extremely important for fast lap times because they are high speed.

The other thing I'm discovering is the curbing at this track is rough. You can put two wheels on it with no problem, but don't drop a wheel off the other side on most corners or it will wreck you.

Still like this track.

Overhead View

In-car View