The Racing Line at Summit Point Circuit

Summit Point Raceway is racing complex that features the Summit Point, Shenandoah, and Jefferson circuits. Summit Point Circuit contrasts nicely to the labyrinthical Shenandoah, and offers a nice set of corners that offer significant ambiguity concerning line selection.

Jumping right in at Turn 1, you'll notice that the Miata, Porsche, and Motorcycle take vastly different approaches. The Miata takes the apex at a higher speed and runs all the way out to the left edge before turning back in to meet the third apex. The Porsche also hits the third apex, but stays tighter through the first half of the combination in order to get pointed down the straight and putting power down sooner. The motorcycle stays tighter still, but runs wide of the third apex.

Turn 3 is a mid-to-late apex corner that surges slightly uphill. It can be taken faster than expected as long as the full track is utilized. Turns 4/5 are the first section where pilots have a hard time choosing an approach. Looking at all the lines (except the F1), however, you see that the approach into 5 is far from a straight line. Four-wheeled vehicles should be pointed back to the right of center before turning in to 5, with substantial braking and steering taking place throughout the entry zone. Taking Turn 4 as fast as possible, using more track on the exit, can also lead to passing opportunities, especially for motorcycles.

All vehicles turn in to 6 just as the track kinds leftwards. This brings us to probably the most controversial claim regarding this track, which is that no vehicle's centerline (again except F1) should be left of mid-track at any point between Turns 6 and 7. The only reason to swing out that wide is to gain speed down the straight at the expense of more time in the corner. Since most vehicles will be limited to their cornering speed in Turn 9, if not Turn 8 as well, any benefit from swinging all the way outside before apexing 7 is lost. Furthermore, the line should depart from the right curb in Turn 6 right as that curb ends - not before.

Turns 8, 9, and 10 are less-than-90° corners without any particularly special approach required. Motorcycles should enter 9 from slightly left of center, whereas other vehicles are about mid-track. Keep it perfect through 10 and maybe you'll have a photo finish like one of the bike videos below!