From Trackpedia
Turn by Turn Guide to Mid-Ohio
By Ken Brewer
Turn 1
This is an extremely fast turn due to the large radius. The turn in is just before the large bridge over the track and the apex point is just at the end of the inside blend line curbing. The track falls away downhill after the apex and you will want to track all the way out in either configuration (with or without chicane, which is next). Work up to speed slowly here, the gravel out there is rough and has flipped many cars, and if you go off, stay off! The wall on driver’s left is close to the track surface.
Do not use the curbing on the inside, it is very sharply cut and about 6-8” tall.
Chicane – Turns 2-4
You will enter the first part (of 4 if you use the curb sections as dividers) wide open, and will begin to brake after the curbing on the inside (driver’s right). Try to make the next 2 parts into one single left turn and take the car all the way out to the inside of the last part where you’ll need to brake for the keyhole (a.k.a. turn 2). The radii of the turns that make up the chicane are fairly large and most people tend to slow down too much for them, so be careful if you’re following a novice driver.
The curbs here have been ground down, and are very short and smooth. Use them to your advantage!
Turn 5
There is a fairly sudden elevation change mid-corner here that requires a late apex to allow you enough room on exit. This is also the most important turn on the track as it leads onto an approximately 3,000 foot long straightaway.
using the chicane or club configuration:
I have experimented with tracking towards the outside right at the entry here and using rotation to point towards the apex. The apex you want to hit is 3/4ths of the way around the turn. The alternate way that had me picking up the throttle sooner was to go out to mid-track and dive in towards the apex. Between the shorter distance and sooner throttle pick up points I was able to drop some considerable time off of my laps. Play with both lines; this seems to be something that is car/driver combination specific so one way may work better for you than the other.
using the straight or pro configuration:
You'll be carrying a pretty good amount of speed here, even though the straight is uphill the entire way, steepening as you get closer to the keyhole turn. With that steepening of the track, you can carry the braking zone back farther than you would initially think, but of course you'll want to balance that bravery with the fact that there is minimal gravel before the tirewall should you overshoot. Enter from the left edge and try to follow an arc that maximizes the use of the rubberized sealer, apexing around 2/3rds of the way through the 180* turn
Turn 6
This is just a mild bend in the back stretch so try to cut distance here by making it as straight line as possible.
Turn 7
The rest of these turn guides are the lines that I felt worked best for my momentum car. Feel free to experiment with combinations/ideas that may work better for your car.
The brake markers for turn 7 start as far back as 700 yards. They are there for a reason. On the outside of this turn is a sand/gravel trap known as “China Beach”. When a sand trap has a name, you know it’s bad!
The way that made the most sense to me was to take turn 7 as fast as possible, meaning late braking, mid-corner apex, and to track all the way out to driver’s left. Other people were braking a little more heavily, apexing a little later than mid-corner, and only tracking halfway out.
I feel its best to take turn 7 as hard as possible to maintain momentum for as long as possible. The next turn, Madness, does not allow you to carry much speed out of it, so throwing away the entry to it in favor of keeping speed before it seemed to work better for myself, the car, and my lap times. Your mileage may vary so experiment and see.
Turn 8
Turn 8 is also known as “Madness”
If you are following my line, you will enter Madness on the inside (driver’s left). The track will change drastically from uphill to downhill 2/3rds of the way around the corner causing the car, no matter what kind it is, to get light and push outwards. The apex you want to hit will be where this elevation change happens, right in front of the corner station. Try picking up the throttle so that you track no more than 2/3rds of the way across, as the next corner will come at you quickly and you will want to get back to driver’s left as soon as possible for the more important corner (somewhat of a straightaway coming up next after turn 9)
Turn 9
I felt that the best way through this corner was to brake early and pick up the throttle earlier as a result. Feel free to pound the inside curbing as it is very gentle here and will open up the radius of the corner considerably. Track most of the way out, but not all the way out, in preparation for turns 10A and 10B that lay just ahead of you.
Turns 10A and 10B
10A is the left hand corner, and 10B is the right hand corner just over the top of the hill ahead. Both are approximately 45* bends. To straighten them up as much as possible, hug the inside (driver’s left) side of the track about 80%-90% of the way up the hill before turning right for turn 10B. Let the car track out after 10B to setup for the following turn. You should be able to flat-foot both of these corners in just about everything but a Top-Fuel Dragster.
Turn 11
This turn and the following short straightaway are also known as “Thunder Valley”.
Turn 11 is a blind turn due to the extreme crest mid-corner. The entry is off camber (tilts downhill towards driver’s left) so you should be wary of this as you brake for it. The apex you will want to take is at or slightly before the top of the crest. After the crest you need to be prepared for wheelspin and any misbehavior of the car as there is little room for error after this extreme elevation change. Track out all the way to the curbing, but do this in small increments as the walls are not much more than 20 feet off the edges of the racing surface.
Videos do not do this dropoff justice, it is very steep and very brutal and unforgiving if you do not execute it properly. But when you do get it right, it feels awesome!
Turn 12
There is not much to this turn as it really is more of a bend at the end of the Thunder Valley straight than a true turn. At the end of the turn is the entry for the very fast turn 13, so be sure to exit on the inside (driver’s right) edge of the track next to the wall. Note the 100, 200, and 300 markers for turn 13.
Turn 13
I recommend taking a mid-corner apex here and letting the car track all the way out leading into the Carousel. Beginners may want to take a later apex to make sure they do not run off track at exit. The gravel on the outside of the corner here is very deep but it is a much better alternative to the nice concrete and tires that lie 10 feet off the inside edge of the track. (driver’s left)
Turn 14
Turn 14 is also known as the Carousel.
This is a long, slow corner where patience is a virtue. You will want to dive in and let the car go to mid-track. As you reach mid track you will want to wait just a touch before diving back into the turn towards the apex that lays 3/4ths of the way around the corner. Early apexing here will HURT your speed down the front straight; it is much better to wait and apex too late than early in this turn.
The entry to pit road is at the outside of this corner, and this entry is very windy, steep, and sharp. BEWARE and enter very slowly! Don’t be that guy that wrecks entering pit road.
Turn 15
This turn leads onto the front/pit straightaway and if you have taken turn 14 correctly, it will be a mild bend. If you have to slow down, or even think about lifting here, apex later next time at turn 14 so you can straight line and flat-foot this corner.
