Sézanne - Mœurs-Verdey - an imaginary circuit with an imaginary history
So... this is the result of some notebook doodling, which I somehow decided to translate into a track worth sharing, for once.
Anyway... this imaginary track has a history: starting with a 3.5km "French-style" course, based around connecting a few bent straights (usually based on actual roads), then building a modern track upon it. Didn't give much thought to the location, beyond looking up at Google Maps until I found a location with some open fields yet enough elevation changes for the idea to work.
The history goes as follows (all tracks are clockwise):
- Track 1 (3.508km): based around a main road (to the right/east in the small images), forming a loop with 2 roads (southwest/northwest), connected with corners varying from a hairpin (south), to a 90° mid-speed sweeper (west), to a blazing sweeper into a sharp but shallow corner (north). Plenty of danger to be had, especially along the main roads, with tremendously dangerous unsecured kinks throughout.
- Track 2 (3.816km): Faster and more furious version of the original. Turns the starting hairpin into a double-apex sweeper, then turns the sharp corner at the ending sweeper into a proper double-apexed BEAST of a sweeper.
- Track 3 (3.833km): Adds a chicane at the first kinks of the first straight, due to lack of (imaginary) runoff, adding a new first turn complex to the track.
- Track 4 (4.652km): First major expansion, adding a brand new loop at the south, including a downhill sweeper into a new sweeping hairpin, followed by an uphill set of esses (not quite Eau Rouge look-alikes, but definitely inspired on the legendary complex).
- Track 5 (4.693km): "1994 edition", with chicanes breaking up the most dangerous complexes: the new esses, the old 90° sweeper, and the kink at the end of the lap. The beast sweeper manages to escape modification, as it has enough runoff to be deemed "safe enough", in a rare bit of foresight.
- Track 6 (4.697km): Major modifications made to "future-proof" the track: the start-finish straight is moved to the west, away from the old main road, requiring the addition of a chicane to accommodate for the new paddock. The 1994 modifications are either undone (esses), or changed into either a different corner (90° sweeper, now a Vale-Club-like complex) or by removing the problem section entirely (old SF straight kink).
- Track 7 (5.888km): The modern version, after a Silverstone 2010-like revamp. The SF complex is moved again, this time into a brand-new straight in the infield, finishing in an uphill hairpin (1-2), followed by a set of downhill esses (3-4-5) into the old "west" corner (6-7). After this, the track goes into its fastest stretch, through the restored kink into monster sweeper (8 to 11), through the old SF straight, into a tighter version of the original starting complex (12 to 15), re-profiled to ease up overtaking. Then the track takes on the southern loop (16 to 21), until the final complex (21-22), crossing the old track to finish at the new SF straight.
Thoughts? Did the progression make sense? Is this an interesting idea to try and develop further? Regardless, hope you enjoy!
u/ColorlessChesspiece — 19 hours ago