The Corkscrew or The Mountain?

[FIA]

What do you prefer, The Corkscrew or The Mountain?

For motorcycle racing

[patnicholls]

Can I have both please? :p

[presuming you mean The Mountain at Cadwell Park]

[maxu05]

If you are talking about Mt Panorama at Bathurst in Australia, I would pick that any time over the Corkscrew :) although, I don't know if the bikes race there anymore.

[veeten]

how about one following the other, kind of like a roller coaster ride! :D :D

[gco0307]

If you are talking about Mt Panorama at Bathurst in Australia, I would pick that any time over the Corkscrew :) although, I don't know if the bikes race there anymore.

Sadly (in terms of spectacle only) they do no longer race motorcycles around the Bathurst Mount Panorama circuit. There are a number of reasons not just the toll it was taking on the motorcyclists.

But, give me the Mountain (as in Panorama) every time of the Corkscrew, and to show it here is a video of onboard footage from 1981 with Dennis Neill for a full practice lap around the mountain (and realtime commentary from the rider himself). The 'drop' off the mountain starts around 1:10 into the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJSlro-47Ns


The second video shows what can go wrong.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfPQMIIvKgE



ps: Unsure if I can embed videos in this forum so just posting links



Garry

[maxu05]

Thanks for the links gco. That is totaly awesome, though, the crash is not so good. I think the Bathurst track could be described as half gp circuit and half IOM.

[DezinerPaul]

Bathurst is not good for anything but sedan racing!

[DezinerPaul]

Bathurst is not good for anything but sedan racing!


Great track, very fast, just not suited to todays racing. Perfect for the tin tops!

[ShiftingGears]

Great track, very fast, just not suited to todays racing. Perfect for the tin tops!

Sad but true!

[fatman]

To be honest I've never heard of the Bathurst circut but I don't think it would pass teh safety council. Looks wonderful tho.

When we talk about mountains and motor bikes I always think about Cadwell Park. But then all I know about Cadwell park is this..
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1076/1233111233_3391b92688.jpg?v=0
that looks like so much fun.

[DezinerPaul]

As for the Corkscrew, that is one nasty turn, a real classic, could even consider it a standard to measure all corners by!

[gco0307]

Thanks for the links gco. That is totaly awesome, though, the crash is not so good. I think the Bathurst track could be described as half gp circuit and half IOM.

The rider in the accident (Dennis Neill) survived, raced again and was the owner of an Australian motorcycle parts import business until retirement.

While the cause of the crash was never determined, the theory is that when the front wheel came up over the Mountain Straight hill, the damn wheel fell off. This has been backed by witness accounts (including a mate in the same race).

The track itself is all public roads so more IoM that any GP circuit, but it is truly (IMO) one of the most spectacular circuits around and the drop off Skyline down the mountain has to be witnessed to be believed.



Great track, very fast, just not suited to todays racing. Perfect for the tin tops!

The did try to resurrect a few years ago but basically could not get full clearances for motorcycle racing given the proximity of the walls.

IMO this was a good decision as sadly there were to many people who went to Bathurst to race who did not make it home, and IMO todays motorcycles have well outgrown the circuit (Bathurst is not alone there though)





Garry

[DezinerPaul]

The rider in the accident (Dennis Neill) survived, raced again and was the owner of an Australian motorcycle parts import business until retirement.

While the cause of the crash was never determined, the theory is that when the front wheel came up over the Mountain Straight hill, the damn wheel fell off. This has been backed by witness accounts (including a mate in the same race).

The track itself is all public roads so more IoM that any GP circuit, but it is truly (IMO) one of the most spectacular circuits around and the drop off Skyline down the mountain has to be witnessed to be believed.




The did try to resurrect a few years ago but basically could not get full clearances for motorcycle racing given the proximity of the walls.

IMO this was a good decision as sadly there were to many people who went to Bathurst to race who did not make it home, and IMO todays motorcycles have well outgrown the circuit (Bathurst is not alone there though)





Garry



The problem is that some of the older tracks are still being raced, just a level lower. The equipment is still to fast for these places, still as space becomes a premium and there is a desire to race, these facilities will still be used!

[The Phantom]

I missed the last of the original Bathurst bike races because I was into dirtbikes at the time (and in 2000 when they went back I was at the PI WSB - stupid to clash the dates like that, no wonder they had a small turn-out at Bathurst).

But I'm sort of glad they don't race there - it's bloody dangerous. Having said that, I'm glad they still race at IoM and all the other nutcase road events in the UK - and NZ. Ahh whatever, road racing is dangerous no matter how you paint it.

I understand that Laguna is - still - quite a dangerous track for bikes, so if I have to choose, I'm going to have to plump for Mt Panorama.

I know a girl - a very attractive Norwegian lass - who attended the Laguna WSB round in 2001 on her VFR750, did the trackday on the Monday after the race, and lowsided into the Corkscrew, writing off her beloved VFR. Luckily, she was wearing the (Aussie-made) TigerAngel leathers I'd sent her and was unharmed... she has a VFR in Oslo now :)

The Corkscrew even tho' I hold my breath when the riders go through there. It dealt very harshly with Yanagawa a few years ago.

[markabilly]

I loved Seca, BEFORE they changed the corkscrew. Now it ain't the same for neither spectator nor rider. Of course many on the track would say it is now better because it is easy and safer, with the angle of the off-camber and such has been reduced.

As to the mountain, i could not comment, because never went down it, unlike Seca, that over the years, has some of the best riders and drivers on cycles and cars make it down (well most usually made it down)

The real wicked part of the corkscrew was not the top, but the last corner ttwisted "s" which was a decreasing radius at the end,(all downhill of course) and the corner before that, one could easily blast through it--The only problem with that as soon as one easily blasted through it, passing all those slow guys, the last decreasing radius and the abrupt lack of space left many cars and cycles sliding into the tire wall and stuff....that problem has now been greatly reduced with the movement of the bridge...oh well, TC and wrecking the corkscrew, where will it end....