so, as we're going to a complete new track for the next round everyone goes in practically blind. as i made the track i want to rule out any doubt of an unfair advantage so here's an in-depth guide about keimola:
View attachment 318843
the keimola motor stadium is a 3.3 kilometer high speed circuit consisting of only 8 corners. located north west of the finnish capital of helsinki the track never hosted an f1 race, although it did host a few formula 2 races with racing icons like jim clark, jack brabham and graham hill participating. the karting track located north of the circuit also marked the start of mika hakkinen's racing career.
the circuit features a 1 km long main straight, as well as plenty of elevation changes in the latter part of the lap. top speeds will be around 320 kp/h, with laps in qualifying being around a minute.
View attachment 318842
Turn 1: a medium-fast double-apex right hander, at the start of the race cars are able to go 3-wide aiming for a good exit onto the 2nd straight. As the main straight is a kilometer long it gives plenty of overtaking opportunities. the braking zone is pretty short so if you get along side on the straight you'll get easily past, but if you wan't to out-brake someone going into this corner the defending driver may be able to use the width of the track to stay on the outside and come out in front again at corner exit.
View attachment 318841
2nd straight and turn 2:
although the 2nd straight is much shorter than the main straight, a good exit out of turn 1 gives another great opportunity to overtake going into turn 2. even though this left hander is similar in characteristics to turn 1, the actual turn is tighter. an attacking driver who's able to get the inside line will most likely end up in front going into the next series of corners, but again defending drivers may be able to stay on the outside and try their luck going into turn 3.
View attachment 318840
Forest section:
the forest section, and also the 2nd sector of the track, has a feeling similar to the old hockenheimring, with the cars flying past the trees closely surrounding the circuit here. turn 3 and 4 form a double apexed right-hander, where the cars will go around at medium speed, cars who've been able to stay at the outside of turn 2 have an opportunity to get ahead at the entry of turn 3, but afterwards no more proper overtaking opportunities will come up. turn 3 and 4 may prove tricky for the drivers, as missing the apex of turn 3 may results in the car understeering off and sliding through the grass into the wall. at the exit of turn 4 drivers will use as much of the exitkerb as possible to go as fast as they can through turn 5, which is more of a bend than an actual turn. turn 6 is by far the most difficult corner of the track, as the road goes upwards at entry and downwards at exit. and even though this transition is very smooth on the racing line, cars who understeer just a bit wide will hit a bump causing the car to spin out. it's key for the drivers to make 0 mistakes going through this corner, as a spin here may prove fatal, especially early on in the race.
View attachment 318839
Hairpin
turn 7 is practically the exit of turn 6, with the track going downhill into the hairpin. as the corners follow eachother in quick succession drivers try to line up to get the best exit out of the hairpin, don't expect any overtaking here unless a driver makes a mistake. in the very early stages of the race the tight packed field may bunch up at the entry of turn 8, which can cause drivers at the back of the field to lose large amounts of time to the drivers at the front. the exit of turn 8 features a large kerb and plenty of run-off which allows the drivers to go on the power early and get as much speed going up the hill again onto the main straight
hopefully this guide is detailed enough for everyone to come up a good working setup, so we can have a fun and above all fair race