Racing Track distances

[tcofran]

Was thinking of this last night.

a track's distance is measured as follows, and i quote from Car and Driver

The FIA, which sanctions Formula 1, WRC, and numerous other cham*pi*on*ships and motorsports records, says the center line of the track is used for the official track length. This is determined by measuring the distances around the inside and outside edges of the track and averaging the results. This distance differs from the racing line, so the actual distance a car travels in a race might differ slightly from the circuit’s posted length, and the average speed based on lap time will differ from the average in-car speed.

My question is this. A track like the Nürburgring is 4.556 km long according to Wikipedia. what would the distance be if measured on the racing line. I dont want an exact answer, just a guestimate on how much shorter it would be ?

TA

 

[froot]

It depends on the driver. Drivers don't all take 100% exactly the same line. The racing line around corners also differ depending on the speed you take it at - at slower speeds you can cut the distance around the corners. At higher speeds you have to take it much wider.
You'd have to take a look at the number of corners and switchbacks (turn left, straight, turn right), as these are what make up those differing distances.

 

[1nsane!]

Zwartkops raceway is 2.4kms according to the racing regs.

This is a summary from my data logger for 9 laps:
Lap1:2095.88m
Lap2:2101.31m
Lap3:2082.83m
Lap4:2096.75m
Lap5:2097.37m
Lap6:2102.49m
Lap7:2102.05m
Lap8:2093.03m
Lap9:2083.35m

The distances vary as you pass someone (taking the inside line or going around the outside), if you run wide, drive a defensive line, etc.

At Zwartkops we cut through turn 7 with two wheels on the cement as well as running wider on the cement through turn 4, so this will affect the distances.

I will see if I can get distances for Zwatkops from a diffent logger unit.

 

[1nsane!]

Hmmm, so here is data from another car, using a different logger...:
Lap1:2369
Lap2:2374
Lap3:2375
Lap4:2374
Lap5:2369
Lap6:2378

Seems my logger is not that accurate in terms of distance as I thought. Still handy for other things though.

 

[tcofran]

very interesting, thanks...

exactly the idea of difference i was looking for. thanks 1nsane!

 

[GarethC]

Hmmm, so here is data from another car, using a different logger...:
...
Seems my logger is not that accurate in terms of distance as I thought. Still handy for other things though.

What logger do you use, GPS, or linked to speedometer?