Here's a little something that stems from Mike's "lessons from the track" thread. I told you I'd chart my line through track21, and here it is.

First, let me preface this by saying the track diagram I was working from is not exactly accurate. I reworked it a lot, but it's still not perfect. The diagram is basically a horrible visual aid to give you some reference while reading the turn-by-turn text below. By itself, the chart looks like a very shitty line around a square racetrack... ... so please pay more attention to the words than the pictures.

Turn-By-Turn

Turns 1 and 2 are both 90 degree lefts that serve as a long extension of the front straight. These two turns are taken WOT with no lift or braking, and ideally one should treat them as one double apex corner. The goal is to turn in very smoothly for 1, hold some of your steering arc between 1 and 2, and turn in very smoothly for 2 -- all while remaining WOT and not sliding the kart at all. You will have to adjust the wheel some between 1 and 2, but the less adjustment you make, the faster you'll be going.

The correct line through 1-2 will have you late apex 1, track-out to mid track between 1 and 2, early apex 2, and track-out to 1/2 kart width from the driver's right edge to set yourself up for 3.

If you find that the kart wants to slide between 1 and 2, you are trying to hold onto too much of your steering. Some karts don't like the tight line and have to be allowed to run straighter.

(Addition from Kevin - sliding on the 1-2 straight will also occur if you are early turning into 1. If your kart doesn't want to hold your steering arc on the 1-2 straight, you can try turning into 1 later, or straightening the steering more on exit from 1 and running wider right on the 1-2 straight. Beware that a wider arc on the 1-2 straight means you will be covering more distance, AND you will have more steering to do when you get to turn 2. Best to make your adjustment by turning into 1 later.)

Turn 3 is a 180 degree left, and is one of the trickiest turns on the course due to all of the speed you are carrying from running the front straight and 1-2 at WOT.

There are several approaches to 3. Mine involves a bit of trail brake and intentional sliding, but it can be driven with a classical approach as well. Do some heavy straight-line braking, get on maintenance throttle, drive deep into the corner, and turn it in. 3 must be taken very tightly to set yourself up properly for turn 4 and the short "mid straight" that follows. You will want to be very close to the driver's left edge of the track on exit. This is why I slide the rear of the kart a bit in this turn -- it helps keep the nose pointed where I want to go for 4.

If you drive deeply into 3, it is much easier to straighten out the exit so that you are oriented properly for 4 (driver's left track edge).

Turn 4 is a 180 degree right turn that leads into a short straight in the middle of the course. It is very important to your lap times, and the mid straight is also the best place on the track to pass when the driver in front of you isn't giving you the position -- as there are two, possibly three very driveable lines (the two lines I prefer are charted out... green is my standard line, blue/yellow is my "overtake" line).

I do not brake for entry into 4, but I do give a slight blip off-throttle at the indicated point on the chart to bring the rear of the kart around slightly. This little bit of rotation reduces the distance I cover when tracking out for 4. (See all that unused territory to the left of my line? You can drive over there if you want to, but I'd rather not.) Hold a slight bit of steering lock coming out of 4. There is a little point on the wall leading into 5 - aim the kart for that point with your steering arc.

Turn 5 is not much of a turn if 4 is taken correctly. You will continue to travel on the same arc you held coming out of 4, and you do not track out from 5 at all. Stay along the driver's right track edge (the tirewall straightens out - that's where you want to be) and wait for the late turn-in to 6. You must drive the kart straight along the right track edge coming out of 5.

Turn 6 is a 150-degree left turn, and is the second most important turn on the track for your lap times, since it leads onto the back straight. I use a blip of the brakes to load up the front end, then turn the kart in and get on gas HARD as soon as I have all the rotation I need to make the turn. 6 is a bit of a slam-bang affair in that you will be carrying loads of speed from 4-5, and there is little braking necessary to make the turn. I know several people who do not brake at all for 6.... that must be an acquired taste.

The common mistake in 6 is to drift away from the right track edge before turn-in, or to simply turn in too early. The apex of 6 is on the FAR side of the turn - and if taken properly, your kart will be pointed right down the back straight for your enjoyment. Much better to late apex here than early.

Turn 7 is a 200-degree left turn that is surprisingly not critical at all to your lap times. It is a slow turn. Just before 7, the right track edge juts out further right opening up more space. Give the steering a little tick to the right to take advantage of that space, and straight-line brake. Release the brake, get on maintenance throttle, and BE SMOOTH through the turn. I slide the rear end of the kart just a bit on turn-in to shorten my line through the turn. One can also take the turn without sliding, but then a wider arc is necessary which means more distance traveled. You can track out a bit coming out of 7, but you have to bring it back to the driver's left edge to set up for 8 (therefore, I do not recommend using the full width of the track on exit of 7). The kart must be going straight along the driver's left edge before reaching the braking point for 8.

Turn 8 is technically a 180-degree right turn, but it is not driven as such. Turn 8 is also the single most important turn on the track for your lap times, as exit speed from 8 will pay off throughout the longest WOT run on the course (turn 9, front straight, and turns 1-2). Slow in, fast out here.

You'll approach 8 at the driver's left edge. Straight-line brake, look over your right shoulder, WAIT, and turn the car in. You are looking over your shoulder to spot the apex of turn 9. Aim the kart just to the right of that apex, as you want to straighten these two turns out as much as possible. Use only enough right steering to get yourself aimed at a nice middle apex on 9, and roll on the throttle smoothly as you straighten the steering on exit (you will actually be rolling from right steering on exit of 8 into slight left steering for 9). Any sliding here will rob you of speed down the front straight, so make sure you brake enough before turn-in, and don't overcook the throttle on exit.

Turn 9 is not much of a turn at all if 8 is taken correctly. You'll stay WOT the whole way through 9, and should only have to add a slight bit of left steering to just clip the flexible piece of plastic wall on the apex of the turn. If you are having to add steering on exit of 9, you are not doing enough turning in 8 (i.e. you are running wide left coming out of 8, setting yourself up for a very early apex of 9 and a bad exit onto the front straight).

Once you're clear of 9, you'll track out all the way to the driver's right edge to zoom down the front straight and set yourself up for the 1-2 complex.

While tracking out from 9, I like to give a quick glance over my left shoulder to see if any faster traffic is approaching. Karts don't have mirrors, and this is one of the few good spots on the course where you can check behind you for faster traffic and give point-bys if needed. You have a lot of room here to complete the pass and get on with things.

Points of Interest / diagram discrepancies

Front straight: The front straight is long enough that you can track out from 9 and actually go straight along the driver's right track edge for a short time before turning into 1. My diagram doesn't suggest that you'd go straight at all on the front straight, but you most definitely will.

Mid straight: The mid straight between turns 4 and 5 is not quite as wide as in the diagram, but it's pretty damn wide. One can certainly drive all the way out to the left if they choose to, but I prefer to tighten things up to reduce distance traveled. There is a pink line down the center of the mid straight... that is the point I like to touch with my arc between 4 and 5.

8-9: 8-9 isn't quite as straight as the chart would suggest. You do have to steer a bit for 9. The important thing is that you steer for 9 *before* its apex, rather than after its apex on the front straight (where you are scrubbing speed off).

Run-off: There's only one run-off area on the whole course, and it's to the driver's left in turn 8. You'll probably never need to use it... but if you have a broken kart and you're going into 8, that's a good place to put it if you can't make it to pit-in.

Flaggers: There is usually only one flagger working the course, and he'll be at pit-out. It's easy enough to look up and check for flags at pit-out while coming down the front straight. When there is more than one flagger working, they'll have one at pit-out and others on the wall inside turn 4 and/or in the runoff driver's left of turn 8.

Black flag: If you get black-flagged coming down the front straight, there is enough room to simply drive straight into turn 1 (past pit-out along the driver's right track edge) and stop there to talk with the flagger. There is no need to complete the lap and pull into hot pits.

Start/Finish: The start/finish line is located AFTER turn 1, and after the flagger at pit-out. This means you'll see the checkered flag from the flagger at pit-out before it's actually "in effect". When you see the checker, continue to drive hard through 1 to get a good time on your last lap -- then slow down going into 2 and proceed around track to pit-in under checkered flag conditions (same as full-course caution... slow down, no passing).

That should be about it. If anyone besides Kevin actually reads all of this, I'll be amazed!