The New Blackwood

[AA™| Vim Fuego]

Blackwood circuit, our club track, has been in a state of disrepair for some time now, and it seems that the circuit management has seen fit to grant some upgrades. The track itself, apart from the official re-implementation of the Historic course, is unchanged. However, the areas directly surrounding it are quite different. The new, thinner kerbs are complemented in strategic places with punishing sausage kerbs and a dramatic reduction of the runoff areas used for entry to and exiting corners - there's a lot more grass.

Will they be zeroing the stats when it's released? I have a feeling they'll have to, as the dynamic has changed a lot. Any thoughts on this?

Oh, there's also a new Industrial Park that has opened on the other side of the Blackwood carpark - it's full of hoons.

[Mikke]

Eww... no more 1.32 times
I dont think they will reset stats.

[Seven]

Not sure I like the sound of reducing the runoff - that'll slow down a lot of lap times. If they open it up like Westhill now is I can see some pretty nice autocross stuff happening for S1/S2 as well. They'll have to zero the stats with changing curbs and runoffs.

[Mikke]

Lap times are about 0.8s slower now, I have tested it already.

[AA™| AOR Nova]

All Hotlaps, Personal Best laptimes, and World Record times will be reset completely.
However I do suppose they will still keep a archive of "old pbs, WRs and laps of the old Blackwood" somewhere.

I hate the willy kerbs too.

[AA™| Vim Fuego]

I feel I need to correct myself here: When I said that the track itself had not changed - that is not entirely acurate. The track is bumpier now, especially noticeable on entry into corners, which causes more understeer.

So there's that as well.

[AA™| AOR Nova]

Yup, the geometry of Blackwood has changed quite a lot, actually.

[Seven]

I predict: Mass depression as racers can't realize why it's so hard to reach the 1.33 time they used to. I never could - so I don't really care!

[AA™| AOR Nova]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=O5A35k8gpg4

Old Bw 1:12.18
New Bw 1:12.89
It's possible to go lower, I'm loving the new geometry. More racey.

[AA™| Vim Fuego]

I do get the feeling that close racing will be a lot more difficult without the runoffs and other bits of extra track... especially on the exit of the sweeper after the back straight.

It's all good to say that it'll stop hotlappers from cutting corners, but what if you mainly cut those corners to avoid contact with other cars when racing? Being able to put a wheel or two on the grass was what kept races going - instant penalisation with the possibility of also accidentally taking out your opponent/s is not going to be as much fun in the long run...