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A Lap of Mid Ohio in an Audi S8
By Don Young
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Generally speaking about driving the S8
Don Young in his Forumla Continental
Track Map
Turn 1
Turn 1 Entry
Turn 1 Exit
Turn 2
Turn 2
Turn 3
Turn 3
Turn 4 and 5 "The Keyhole"
Turn 5 Exit
Turn 6
Turn 6
Turn 7
Turns 7 and 8
Turn 8
Turns 8 and 9
S8 in Turn 8
Turn 9
Turn 9
Turn 10A
Turn 10A
Turn 10B
Turn 10B
Turn 11
Turn 11
S8 in Turn 11
Brake straight or you'll oversteer, and downshift from 3rd to 2nd gear.
This gets a little scary because things have been happening pretty
quickly since 10A, and there's not much time to get the car straight for
braking. This is one of the important turns to get to the apex for grip,
especially since this turn exits onto the 3rd longest straight.
Turn 12
Turn 12
Turn 13
Turn 13
Turn 13 Apex
Turn 13 Exit and Turn 14
Turn 14 the Carousel
Turn 14
Turn 14 Apex and Turn 15
Turn 15
Turn 15, Front Straight and Turn 1 in the Distance
The heavy Audi wants to be driven as smoothly as possible to be fast.
Coming out of the Formula Continental helped with that, though the
reason was to conserve momentum in the FC. Try to imagine a cup of water
sitting on the floor and avoid tipping it over in braking and cornering.
Brakes can be applied to the limit in a smooth but fast fashion. The
same thing applies to releasing the brakes. When cornering, turn-in should be smooth and fluid, gradually
increasing the rate of steering; then at the apex, begin unwinding the
steering wheel in the same manner. The idea is to not suddenly over load the tires, which are doing plenty
of work in the old friction circle.
Generally speaking, it seems to be especially important at Mid-Ohio to
get right down to the apex for grip. There seems to be a great reduction
in stick if you miss it by a foot. Also, though Mid-Ohio has less total
elevation change than many tracks, the elevation (and camber) changes in
the corners always need to be considered. To drive a fast lap, turns
leading onto a straight of any length need to be apexed late enough in
order to be on the gas fully from the apex. The S8 has gobs of power and
it's easy to become reliant on the power to make up for not optimizing
the turns. [Hmmm, I think Don's talking about me here, Ed.]
Finally, the interesting thing about the Audi is that the understeer
tendency of the all wheel drive disappears when driven nearer the limit
of adhesion through a turn. It becomes very realistic to steer with the
throttle when driven fast.
Regarding the somewhat strange Mid-Ohio corner number system: You
actually have two apexes in Turn 3, and one in the Keyhole; but the
Keyhole is called Turns 4 and 5. Turns 10a and 10b are two distinct
corners. Go figure.
Click here to go to Don Young's Bio
It's best to left foot brake for Turn 1. Brake late and hard. The turn
in point needs to be precise for a fast lap at Mid Ohio. Turn in too
late and you fight to get to the apex, if you do at all. Too early, and
you will need to exit slower in order to avoid running over the exit
curb. The proper turn in point is just about at the '1' marker. Do it
all right, and you'll be fast thru the turn and carry the speed all the
way to Turn 3.
If you do turn in too early, you can lift to stay on the track thru the
exit, but the car gets very loose. Trust me on this -- once the car is
sideways, you'll need to get back on full throttle to at least go thru
the corner sideways ... rather than backwards.
DON'T run over the exit curb. If you instinctively try to get back on
the track immediately, the front tires will get good traction first with
the wheels pointed left, and you'll loop you into the inside wall. If
you do find yourself on the exit curbs, keep the wheel straight and slow
down before you try to get back on the track.
Immediately after the exit, ease over to the far left side of the track
to set up for Turn 2.
Be smooth and confident. Turn 2 is taken flat out in 4th gear.
Brake for an instant for Turn 3 as soon as you straighten the car after
exiting Turn 2. This is another good place to left foot brake because
things happen fast here, and you don't have time to search for a brake
pedal. Downshift from 4th to 3rd gear and do not over brake; you can
carry a lot of speed thru this corner. You'll apex this turn twice --
about 2-3 feet off the 1st apex, and about 1 foot off the 2nd apex.
The S8 really handles this turn nicely when driven at the limit. You'll
find yourself steering with the throttle, especially near the completion
of the turn.
BTW, if you're not tight in on the apex of Turn 2, bad things will
happen in Turn 3. Another "trust me on this" - You'll find that you
aren't wide enough at the entry and will lift to make the tighter
corner. When the rear end breaks loose, you'll be back at full throttle
with full opposite lock for about 30 yards. Not the fastest way thru the
turn, but at least the rally driving style probably looks impressive.
This turn leads onto the longest straight and is the most important turn
to get right for a fast lap. Since the entry is uphill, brake late,
downshift to 2nd gear, make a somewhat wide entry, and be patient ...
it's a long corner.
At the crest of the hill, as the car becomes light, lift the throttle
enough to rotate the car to get a good exit for the straight. Remember
you want to be set up to exit with the right foot on the floor by the
time you reach the apex. It'll take some practice to get the timing and
amount of throttle lift correct, but you want to get about 50% of the
remaining rotation to the apex done with the throttle lift.
The most common error here is not getting enough rotation with the
throttle lift or diving down to the apex too early. You'll have to crank
in more steering input, going slower; and with the weight transfer to
the rear under hard acceleration, the S8 will push badly ... not the
best way to get onto the long back straight.
Really just a gentle right hand kink in the long back straight, but it's
still important to properly apex the turn and drive through smoothly,
maintaining momentum and setting up for Turn 7.
Don't over brake for Turn 7. You'll be at 130+ mph and want to
"lengthen" the straight, so take a somewhat early apex to carry this
speed as far as possible. Downshift from 4th to 2nd gear under braking,
and take advantage of the wide exit. Track out to the left about 2/3rd's
of the way across the track, and then move to the right as much as
practical, but don't expect too much when trying to set up for Turn 8.
Don't use a late apex to get a fast exit or stay to the right in the
exit to set up for Turn 8; both result in slower lap times.
Between two of the shortest straights, just make it through Turn 8 as
best as you can. Since the speed thru this turn is limited by the
elevation change at the crest of the hill just after the apex, almost
any approach results in the same speed thru this turn.
The approach to Turn 8 is uphill and braking is late. The exit is down
hill and the car will drift out more than you might think comfortable at
first, especially with the nearby wall. Apex this corner tight on the
curb; if you're one foot out at the apex, you'll track out four feet
further because of the downhill exit. This is another exit curb you'll
want to avoid. Immediately work your way to the left side of the track
for Turn 9.
Pretty much a straightforward 2nd gear turn, but it is another important
turn to get right. Make a late apex and be full on the gas by that point.
Move to the right from the exit of Turn 9 to set up for 10A, though you
won't make it all the way over. There is no need to brake or lift for
this turn as it is uphill, and you'll have gobs of grip, but be smooth.
Turn in for 10B is at the crest of the hill, so it is extremely
important to make the transition from turning left to turning right as
smooth as possible to avoid a throttle lift, which only makes the car loose.
Staying off the curb a couple of feet here is okay as you want to get
the car straight for the Turn 11 braking, which you will be upon faster
than you expect or wish.
A crest at the exit of Turn 11 will cause the front of the car to loose
grip first, naturally, then the rear. It is very important NOT to change
steering input to correct for the initial understeer and then the
oversteer sensations you'll feel. If you do, when the rear gets it's
grip back, you'll have the front wheels turned left sending you toward
the wall and right onto the exit curb, which can loop you back to the
inside. Stay to the left side of the track for entry to Turn 12.
Enter the easy Turn 12 from the far left of the track in order to make a
wide and smooth turn; it's taken flat out in 4th. Move to the right hand
side through the turn to set up for Turn 13.
Another good place to left foot brake briefly. Brake and downshift to
3rd gear when the car straightens while making the transition from the
right hand Turn 12 to the entry into left hand Turn 13.
You can be over to the right at entry far enough in the Audi to feel the
rumble strips. Turn in begins at the end of the rumble strips. Turn in
smoothly and not too suddenly. Get all the way to the apex curb and then
all the way to the exit curb. You'll need to use all of the track at
exit if you're taking the turn fast enough. Stay at the right side at
the exit for the entry to Turn 14.
Heavy braking begins in the uphill before the crest of the hill and is
decreased after the crest. Downshift from 4th to 2nd gear. Use the
lightness of the car under trail braking to help rotate the car. Similar
to the Keyhole, you'll want to get about 50% of the rotation done under
trail braking. When the car gets around to pointing at your apex, get
back to full throttle.
This is an easy flat out left hand turn onto the front straight, but
stay off the exit curb. Not one of the worst curbs, but it can get you.
