Magpie wrote:If any Sandown locals can post some helpful videos of the track and any 'quirks' it would be appreciated.]
Corners 4 and 12 are the most important ones as they lead onto LONG straights, so you need to maximise your exit speed to capitalize along the whole straight following.
Turn 6 is the scariest as its a very fast LH that falls away from you , and the fence is way too close. (We've had four cars written off in that fence in the recent years)
The rest of the track is pretty hohum and only requires lots of hp to get a good time.
See below for Matt King's writeup he did for the Vic club a few years ago...
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SANDOWN TRACK TIPS - MATT KING
General
Sandown is a fast circuit - not as much as Phillip Island, but power will get you good times here. It's also an intimidating circuit, and for good reason.
There are several sections where the fences are close to the track, and if you go off you can hit one.
The main straight is bumpy. Usually this isn't much problem, though it may be for high powered cars in the wet (I did see one VK race car tankslap his way into the wall 200 metres after starting his warmup lap...). The main issue is that it can upset your braking into turn 1.
Turn 1:
Turn 1 is quite fast, and relatively safe as there is lots of runoff on the outside. It's about 80° to the left.
In a standard MX you'll be near the top of 4th (or maybe 5th in a 6 speed?) at the end of the straight. Turn 1 is a 3rd gear corner, so you need to wash off some speed in a straight line. The main mistake people make is to turn in too fast, and run off the outside at the exit.
Be progressive applying the brakes due to the bumps. Usually you can use the black rubber marks across the track as brake markers - typically in the 150-100 metre range. Trail brake in a little, but don't overdo it. The apex is hard to sight from the turn in point, so make sure you don't run wide. Get on the power early. If you do it right, you will be running just up onto the exit ripple strip, which is quite flat. Go too fast, and you can run off this ripple strip. If so, hang on for a bumpy ride! and keep the steering straight, don't try to pull back on quickly or it can spit you off the left side.
Power down to Turn 2.
Turn 2-3 (Esses).
A right-left flip-flop, not terribly complex, you'll be back in 2nd gear probably. (If you are just learning and practising, try it in 3rd and learn the line before doing it aggressively.) There is no need to try to get massive exit speed as you are so close to Turn 4. Smooth smooth smooth! Flow it through. Avoid the ripple strips if possible, particularly in a stiff car - they can bounce you sideways a bit. If you are going to hit one, keep the steering straight until you land. The fence is very close to the outside of turn 3. On standard suspension you can get away with running over the ripple strips, but I don't think it's any faster.
Turn 4:
Left hander onto the back straight, 2nd gear.
You will probably need to wash off a little speed out of 3. If you're on track tyres you may need to short shift to 3rd between 3 and 4, or just bounce off the limiter briefly.
Don't miss the apex (practice this on your warm up and cool down laps!), and get the power on as early as possible to get speed up the back straight.
The main trick here is that there is a very wide concrete apron at the exit. It has quite good grip, even in the wet. So use it, get your car up there so that you can carry more mid-corner speed. If it's wet and you do this, wait til you're pointing straight before applying power. If you have a very low car, you might bottom out on the ripple strip...
Turn 5:
just a little right kink in the straight - nothing special, you won't be near the limit. The only thing to do is be super smooth. Don't turn aggressively, you shouldn't apply more than fingertip pressure to the wheel or you will be scrubbing off speed, and that will lose you time up the straight.
The back straight is uphill and seems to take forever in a standard MX. But don't back off until you're over the crest and can see Turn 6.
Turn 6 (Sweeper):
Fast and scary, but massively rewarding if you get it right. Keep on the power for much longer than you think. Stay in 4th. Only just before turn in do you need to gently wash off some speed, and you can trail brake in quite deep. If you're at 10/10ths the car will drift a little mid-corner, but near the exit there is a slight dip that will grip the car and hook it around. (If you're at 10/10ths you probably don't need to read this...)
Turn 7-8 (flip-flop):
Just before you run out onto Dandenong Rd, there is a right-left kink that can unsettle the car, and the fence is nice and close...
If you haven't been too fast through the sweeper, you can usually power down through 7. If you have soft suspension, you can usually jump the right wheels over the ripple strip. Make sure you get the car straight past 8 - you will need to be hard on the brakes for turn 9. Braking point is just before this kink (or just after depending on your testicles)
Turn 9 (Dandenong Rd):
A sharp left hander, 2nd gear.
Make sure you get all the way out to the right as you brake on approach, to open up the corner as much as possible. Like Turn 4, don't miss the apex, it is too easy to run wide. Also like turn 4, you can get the car up on the concrete apron at the exit, and carry much more speed. Don't try it in a very low car or you will bottom out the sump (Sorry Andrew!).
Stay on the right as you exit, until you get past the little right kink (Turn 10) with the cones (You don't need a wide entry for this kink)
Turn 11:
Deceptively fast, it's only about a 45° right. This corner is all about setting yourself up for the last corner onto the main straight. You can stay in 3rd and flow in, in which case you have to downshift to 2nd for Turn 12. Or you can drop back to 2nd early and let it rev. Your call. Don't turn in too fast though, or you can spin. Just make sure that you compromise the exit totally, hugging the right ripple strip on the way out. This will get you in the right place for...
Turn 12:
The last corner onto the straight. You will probably need a dab on the brakes before turn-in, since it's a sharper turn than the previous one. This is going to sound repetitive, but a) don't miss the apex, and b) use all the concrete apron at the exit - this is the most rewarding corner for this, as the apron is dead flat, and the straight is the longest.
There is another little kink onto the main straight - this is negligible in an MX, just flow through while you sit back and make a cuppa and wait for Turn 1 again.
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DSCN3830 by Eipeip, on Flickr
