Some motorsport tracks are called speedways . A racetrack is a permanent facility or building. Racecourse is an alternate term for a horse racing track, found in countries such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates. Race tracks built for bicycles are known as velodromes.
In rally racing, a co-driver directs the driver through the course by reading pacenotes which describe the turns and obstacles ahead. Also called a navigator historically when the reading of maps played a larger part in rallies prior to the widespread adoption of pacenoting.
Curbing: Around corners/turns and sections of the racetrack you will typically see multi-colored strips of raised pavement at the edges of the pavement. Curbing comes in various shapes sizes and colors, as some are flat, while others have raised and lowered sections giving them texture and structure.
Also refers to flat surfaces extending behind splitters in sedan and GT based racing cars. Also 'Winner's Circle,' because of early motorsport's roots at horse racing tracks, the American term for the place where the winner of a race goes to celebrate victory after winning an event.
In motor racing, drifting is a cornering technique (also called a four-wheel drift) where a car takes a high-speed corner held at an angle on the track without major steering inputs, balancing natural understeer with power oversteer.
During a Safety Car period, regardless of a Competition Caution or an incident that brings out the Safety Car, teams can change tires and add fuel, within a limited time (2-5 laps or five minutes) to make adjustments. Depending on the series, teams will either not lose any track position (if it is an interval break) or will not lose track position relative to the cars that pitted during the caution (for example, if the third, fourth, and eighth place cars pit during the caution, they will be the first, second, and third place cars coming off pit lane, and will start behind lead-lap cars that did not pit, in the same relative order as before the safety car. This rule intends to prevent teams from hiring pit crews such as those seen in NASCAR's national series, which can cost at least $5,000 and often over $10,000 per race.
A "James Bond Red" is a reaction time of -.007 seconds (red light), which is disqualification unless the opponent commits a more serious violation.
A sign on a stick used in pit stops, which is held in front of the car and raised when the pit stop is completed. Though the same basic device is utilized in NASCAR and IndyCar, generic terms such as pit board or sign board are preferred as the sign is not round, but sometimes square, and often is in a specific design unique to the driver or team (such as Kevin Harvick 's happy face logo, or a team's number stylised as it fits on the car). In addition, in NASCAR & IndyCar, the sign is usually only used for the driver to locate their pit box. It is pulled back, and not normally used to signal departure as it is in Formula One.
107% rule. Often used in Formula One or other racing series, it is a time which the driver must qualify the car within 107% of the polesitter's time to be allowed to compete. Variations of this may be used to monitor drivers and warn them to make the required threshold of speed or be parked (disqualified).
This may require the engine to be "tuned" to optimize the power, as it may still "think" it's at a lower altitude. Because a supercharged engine pressurizes intake air at a fixed mechanical ratio to the engines RPM's, it suffers a proportionate loss in power, but not as severe as a naturally aspirated engine will.
When appointed, they hold the responsibility of deploying the safety car and starting and stopping sessions.
Flatter meandering motorsport courses are sometimes called 'road circuits', originating in the fact that the earliest road racing circuits were simply closed-off public roads. True road circuits are still in use, e.g. the Australian GP has been run in Adelaide and continues to be in Melbourne on regular city streets. The most famous of these are the Monaco GP, and the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. Some racetracks are specifically configured in a long straight, namely drag racing. Some races will be held only over the straight portion of a track (some horse racing and sprint athletics).
Some racetracks offer little in the way of permanent infrastructure other than the track; others incorporate spectator facilities such as grandstands, hospitality or facilities for competitors, such as pit lanes and garages, paddocks and stables.
The most developed ancient race tracks were the hippodromes of the Ancient Greeks and the circuses ( circi) of the Roman Empire. Both of these structures were designed for horse and chariot racing. The stadium of the Circus Maximus in Ancient Rome could hold 200,000 spectators.
Most race tracks have meandering circuits with many curves, chicanes and changes in height, to allow for a challenge in skill to the competitors, notably motocross and touring car racing – these tend to predominate throughout most of the world, but especially in Europe.
A race track ( racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing ). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses.
Racecourse is an alternate term for a horse racing track, found in countries such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates. Race tracks built for bicycles are known as velodromes.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was opened in August 1909. Beginning in the early 1900s, motorcycle races were run on high, banked, wooden race tracks called board tracks. During the 1920s, many of the races on the AAA Championship circuit were run on such board tracks.
What the spoiler does for downforce in the back of the car, the splitter provides downforce to the front. Damage to the splitter can be difficult to overcome because of the important role it plays in the aerodynamics of the car. Spoiler: A metal blade attached to the rear deck lid of the car.
When the rear tires of the car have trouble sticking in the corners. This causes the car to “fishtail” as the rear end swings outward during turns. A minor amount of this effect can be desirable on certain tracks.
Track bar: A lateral bar that keeps the rear tires centered within the body of the car. It connects the frame on one side and the rear axle on the other. Changes to the track bar settings affect the weight distribution of the car and how it moves through the corners on the track. Also called the panhard bar.
Round (of wedge): Slang term for a way of making chassis adjustments utilizing the race car’s springs. A wrench is inserted in a jack bolt attached to the springs, and is used to tighten or loosen the amount of play in the spring. This in turn can loosen or tighten up the handling of a race car.
The “high groove” takes a car closer to the outside wall for most of a lap, while the “low groove” takes a car closer to the apron than the outside wall. Road racers use the term “line.”. Drivers search for a fast groove, and that has been known to change depending on track and weather conditions.
Described in degrees, either positive or negative. Dirty air: Aerodynamic term for the turbulent air currents caused by fast-moving cars that can cause a particular car to lose control or find difficulty in passing.
Tapered spacer: A metal piece that limits how much air gets into the engine cylinder, which in turn limits how much fuel can go into the cylinder and reduces the amount of energy produced. Tight: Also known as “understeer.”. A car is said to be tight if the front wheels lose traction before the rear wheels do.