6 life-changing turns you need to experience | Articles

Turn 17 | Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida

Photograph by Dave Green

Legendary racer and driving instructor Terry Earwood swears that Sebring’s Turn 17 hasn’t been properly negotiated more than a dozen times in its history, and most of those instances were by accident. And that’s a pretty definitive statement coming from the guy whose family had a hand in the track’s design.

Turn 17–also called Sunset Bend since you’ll be driving straight into our local star sinking over the horizon after about 4:30p.m.–starts with an entrance that lasts forever. Braking from the long back straight is initiated while bending through the first section to the right, then the corner tightens as you pass under the bridge that spectators and teams use to enter the paddock. You’ll flirt with the wall on the exit, which hugs the left side of the track. As you’re wanting to fully unwind the wheel, that hug seems to tighten. 

Drawing the ideal line through 17 is fairly simple. Executing it is a different story, though, because of all the elevation. Although this part of Florida is flat as a board, it seems like there’s as much elevation change here as there is on the entire Nürburgring. Here, though, it’s like 5 inches at a time. 

The WWII-era concrete heaves and ripples, and over the expansion joints and the slabs settling in the sandy Florida soil, the car bounces and bucks, doing its level best to change your plans a dozen times between entry and exit.

They can repave every inch of the rest of Sebring, but they’d better never touch 17.

Opportunites

• SCCA road race, TT and TNiA.
• NASA.
• Marque club track days and road racing.
• Independent track day clubs.
• Endurance racing.

South Bend | Virginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia

Photograph by Ken Neher

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water. Just when you thought Glenn Close was really dead in that tub. Just when you thought Freddy, or Jason, or Michael Myers was down for the count. Just when you slipped through the Climbing Esses at the perfect slip angle and with the perfect rhythm and thought you might have a moment to gather your composure, here comes South Bend.

You’ll need to check your speed after a good run through the Esses. Maybe brake a little, maybe brake a lot, but chances are you’ll brake too much before making the left-hand bend to head back down the hill toward the Oak Tree complex. 

So the next time through, you’ll take it a little easier on the brakes and realize it wasn’t quite enough as you drop a wheel off the outside at the exit. You hope that section of track was recently groomed and the rut hadn’t started to form there yet or you might be going for a ride. 

South Bend is the instant sequel to the hit show that is the Climbing Esses, and no track should have that sort of “Godfather”/”Godfather Part II” combo back to back without a warning label.

Opportunites

• SCCA road racing, TT and TNiA.
• NASA.
• Endurance racing.
• Marque club track days and road racing.
• Independent club track days.

The Bypass | Thunderhill Raceway Park Willows, California

Photograph by Brett Becker

On paper, the Bypass doesn’t look like much–it’s just a straight section between two sweepers–but those maps do no justice to the fact that it’s atop a considerable hill, the crest of which is where you’re starting your direction change. Charge up the hill toward the crest, turn in just before, feel the car unweight as it floats over the top, and hope it comes down on the other side pointed in the right direction. 

It’s doable flat out–or nearly flat out–in a lot of cars. And even the ones that require a speed adjustment go through some exciting vertical dynamics. It’s immensely satisfying once you get used to it.

While it’s exciting during a track day with 15-to-20-minute sessions, the best way to experience it is in an endurance race. Even as you settle into your rhythm where the rest of the track is on autopilot, the Bypass is never not fun and exciting, even after an hour or more of continuous lapping. 

Opportunites

• SCCA road racing, TT and TNiA.
• NASA.
• Marque club road racing and track days.
• Independent club track days.
• Endurance racing.

Turn 1 | Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida

Photograph by Michael L. Levitt/IMSA

Daytona is our local track, but it’s also one of the most legendary in the world. Turn 1 is where you’ll exit the banking after crossing the start/finish line and enter the infield–as some of the most famous names in all of motorsport have over the years: Haywood, Andretti, Gordon, Earnhardt and, well, you get the picture. 

What makes it so challenging? First, you’ll likely be traveling faster than you ever will at any other track, given that you’ve been full throttle since you exited the LeMans Chicane more than a mile prior.

 Next, you’ll be hitting the brakes HARD, as you’ll be slowing from the fastest speed you have likely ever achieved into a fairly slow, flat left-hander. Oh, did we mention the braking area kind of curves to the left as you come off the banking? And did we also mention that you’ll be initiating braking on the banking, then transitioning to the flat apron entering the corner?

And finally, when you take that glance to your right and see those endless grandstands stretching out in front of you, you realize you’re doing all this on one of the most hallowed ribbons of asphalt in all of motorsport. It’s all a bit overwhelming at times, even for us locals who get an opportunity to run there a few times a year. Show up with good brake pads and ask us for Chinese buffet recommendations when you come to town.

Opportunites

• SCCA road racing and TNiA.
• Endurance racing.
• Marque club track days.

Brünnchen | Nürburgring Nordschleife Nürburg, Germany

Photograph by J.G. Pasterjak

When you have more than 13 miles of track and like a hundred things that could be called corners, it’s hard to pick just one. But we’re choosing Brünnchen for a reason outside the sheer driving fun of it–which is considerable–and that’s for the full experience.

You may know Brünnchen as “YouTube corner” because it’s the most easily accessible section of track from the surrounding roadways, so the great majority of posted video gets shot there. But it’s not just accessible, it’s exciting, with a downhill entry and an uphill exit, both with favorable road camber. It gives a driver a bit more confidence, but it also has the ability to bite you if your hubris outpaces your talent. There’s a reason so much video is shot here, and it’s not that everyone carves the perfect line, if you get my drift.

But the main reason you need to experience it isn’t necessarily for that feel of grip as the car hugs into the bottom section and aims for the exit. This corner deserves additional savoring because it’s as close as many of us will ever come to being famous race car drivers. Even on normal public days in the middle of the week, the hillside will be chock full of fans cheering every car that passes, whether it’s a Porsche 911 GT3 RS at full tilt or a SEAT Ibiza stuffed with a Belgian family who needed a break from visiting Omi and Opa, went for a drive in the country, and ended up on the most famous race track in Europe.

Drive by in an Audi, or a BMW, or a Miata and you’re likely to see someone in the crowd waving a flag with your manufacturer logo on it. Yeah, even on a normal Tuesday afternoon.

Opportunites

• Tourist drives.
• Private track days.

The Corkscrew | WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Salinas, California

Photograph by Dirk de Jager

The Corkscrew–which drops 59 feet in just 450 feet of track length–even seems hairy on TV. That’s an 18% grade, and it looks like the motorsports equivalent of falling off a table. 

Including the Corkscrew here almost seems trite, however, as it’s not exactly a deep cut. But we’ll bear the burden of being entirely predictable to give a shoutout to an exceptional corner that plays differently than you might expect: The Corkscrew is surprisingly attackable. 

For whatever weird geometric or topographic reasons, it’s got weirdly open sight lines, especially once you make that initial left-hand turn-in at the top of the hill. Beneficial camber throughout all sections of the corner provides excellent grip and manageability. 

As a result, what you expect to be a terrifying, white-knuckle thrill ride turns out to be a truly fun experience. And it’s fun not because it’s scary, but because of how hard you can charge a seemingly black diamond thrill ride of a corner.

Which is not to say the Corkscrew is entirely forgiving. Go wide on the entry and you blow the lap at a minimum and might go for a ride in the dust for your troubles. But after those first couple times down the hill, once you realize that the Corkscrew is there to party, not there to ruin your life, it’s great fun.

Opportunites

• Independent club track days.
• Marque club road racing and track days.
• Gridlife.