Eau Rouge corner: giving it to you straight

Video analysis shows how to gain a second through one of the best corners in the world

With the advent of affordable, focussed training aids based on Video and GPS, driver training has enjoyed a surge in popularity. As the fourth in Racelogic’s article series, we discuss technique with professional racing driver and instructor Nigel Greensall, to give some ideas on how to extract every last ounce of performance from yourself as well as your car.

As one of the world’s most complex fast corners, Eau Rouge is revered by racers.
Drivers know that getting Eau Rouge right and carrying as much speed as possible onto the 1km long Kemmel straight is the key to a quick lap time around Spa. In this article Nigel shows how he gained a whole second in Eau Rouge over his team mate, Dirk, using the same car.

Here’s an extract...

Nigel Greensall: “Coming out of La Source, the corner before Eau Rouge, Dirk was actually going 3mph faster than me, and was just 0.2s behind. However he goes too close to the wall on the right, whereas I stay in the middle of the track down the straight. I did this to:

• Lessen the drag effect – the closer to the wall you drive the more air bounces back at the car, slowing you down
• Take advantage of the increased grip between the grid-lines
• Gain better visibility - you can see more of the approaching section

Due to this, in the approach to Eau Rouge my speed has now caught up with Dirk’s and I am accelerating quicker, shown by the G-plot in the screenshot.

At the last second I start to edge towards the wall to make my entry to Eau Rouge as wide as possible.
I need to turn less sharply than Dirk which helps to maintain speed. On my lap you can see that the two apexes are lining up, with a straight route from the first apex to the second. It’s from this point that I really start to pull away from Dirk, despite using the same car.

Nigel's Lap	Dirk's Lap
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