Tracksplit car racing

Tracksplit car racing is a new and spectacular way of car racing to make car motorsport more attractive for the spectators. Tracksplit car racing takes place on a circuit with a Tracksplit and can be combined with the race formula Ra4Do (Race for Dots (points)).
History
Overtaking in the modern car motorsport on a modern racing circuit without a Tracksplit is very exceptionally. The start is often the most exciting moment of the race and for the rest the action is often limited to the pit stop and maybe a few overtaking attempts.
Limited overtaking actions at traditional car races on closed circuits
To comply with the safety rules of modern circuits, the changes of the characteristics of the circuits have been going so far that overtaking became very difficult. The changes were necessary to improve the safety for drivers and spectators. Very fast turns where changed and chicanes where placed on the long straits to reduce the speed of the cars. Some circuits have 1, maybe 2 place where overtaking is possible, some have none.
Another reason why overtaking is difficult are the fast technical developments of the race car technology, so nearly all cars have an equal performance. Further the FIA introduced restrictions to improve the safety of the cars and have car motorsport series rules to limit the cost budget.
Ongoing a race another problem occurs when driving next to the ideal line on the part with more dirt, dust and loose rubber on the track. A driver who drives next to the ideal line picks up dirt on his tires and loses grip so overtaking become difficult and dangerous.
Due to the small differences between race cars on modern circuits, overtaking is very hard and spectators on the circuit and in front of the television don’t see much action. Mostly it is a train of race cars driving towards the finish line. The start is often the most exiting moment of the race and the number of overtaking actions is limited to an attempt during the pit stops. The spectators don’t really see the overtaking, but only that drivers changed positions after they have made their pit stops.
Tracksplit car racing
How does a Tracksplit look like
* The race circuit has at a certain part a split in the track with 2 separated lanes.
* The lanes are designed in that way that 2 absolute equal and equal fast lanes arise. The length and the turn pattern of both lanes are exactly the same, so it makes no difference for the driver which lane he takes.
* A Tracksplit can be 20 to 500 meters long and the model depends on the space that is available on a circuit.
* It is possible to have 1 or more Tracksplit’s on a circuit depending on the length of the circuit.
* A Tracksplit is designed in a way that drivers have good survey-ability and dangerous situations can be avoided.
* To reduce risks driving towards and out of a Tracksplit there are white lines on the track, like it is common at the entrance and exit of a pit lane.
Tracksplit was developed to make overtaking possible
Overtaking on a circuit with a Tracksplit will be possible during the whole race because there are always 2 ideal lines. With always is meant: despite more dirt, dust and lose rubber on the track, 2 ideal lines remain. The drivers will have less trouble with blocking from drivers, knowing that they can be overtaken more easily.
To really be able to overtake at the Tracksplit, drivers need to position themselves well on the other part of the circuit. If the distance to a competitor is too big there is no chance to overtake at the Tracksplit. Therefore the drivers need to race close together and need to take some risks to drive close enough behind a competitor to overtake him in or directly after the tracksplit.
With a Tracksplit a combination of small differences can be enough for a successful overtaking action. A driver with a car that has less acceleration power can still try a serious overtaking attempt on a driver with a stronger engine, par example by braking better and later into the Tracksplit and driving better through the Tracksplit then his competitor. Overtaking a competitor is possible already in the Tracksplit or by coming out of the Tracksplit with a higher speed then the competitor and then overtaking him on the strait after the Tracksplit. A driver can choose his own ideal line and use his strength in his advantage without taking any higher risks then in the past.
The “Ra4Do” race formula developed for races on Tracksplit motorsport circuits
Ra4Do stands for “Race for Dots (points)”
With a Tracksplit overtaking on a race circuit is very good possible and under the traditional starting grid line up, where the fastest drivers are at the front of the grid, they could even more easily drive away from the competition and would have no problems safely lapping slower drivers. Drivers get settled as soon as they have reached their highest position and cannot overtake a competitor anymore and will probably choose the same lane in the Tracksplit to stay in the slipstream of another car. Since this way one lane gets cleaner then the other and this doesn’t make the races more exciting the Ra4Do race formula was developed. Both lanes in a Tracksplit are being used and there is excitement and sensation from start to finish..
The starting grid
The starting grid is based on the scored points in the championship and is a so called “reversed” starting grid: the fastest drivers are at the back and the slowest drivers are at the front! The driver with the most points in the championship starts from the last position on the starting grid, the driver who is second in the championship starts one position in front of the point leader, etcetera. The driver with the least points, least driven race laps or least driven test laps starts from the first position on the grid. For the starting grid of the first race in a new season the championship point score from the previous season is used.
The track record rally
The track record rally replaces the traditional qualifying for the starting grid since the starting grid will be based on the scored points in the championship. Drivers will fight for the track record time and the ultimate fastest laps. The track record rally give the drivers, teams and spectators a good feed back about the competition and the performance of each driver and team on each circuit.
The Track record rally is a elimination race with 3 rounds
*Round 1:
All drivers can try to drive their fastest lap during within a specific time. The fastest time of 1 driven lap determines the score in the first round. The drivers who belong to the fastest go into the next round. Par example: two third of the participants.
*Round 2:
The remaining drivers from the first round can try to drive their 2 fastest laps during a specific time. The cumulated time of the 2 fastest laps determine the total score per driver. The fastest drivers go into the final round. Par example: half of the participants in round 2.
*Round 3:
The remaining drivers can try to drive during a specific time their 2 unbroken fastest laps where the driver needs to use both sides of the Tracksplit during his attempt. The top 5 drivers of this final round score points for the championship.
The Ra4Do point score possibilities for the championship
*The track record rally:
The 5 fastest drivers in the final round score points. The fastest driver gets 5 points, the number 2 gets 4 points, the number 3 gets 3 points, the number 4 gets 2 points and the number 5 gets 1 point. If 2 drivers scored the same time, the driver who first realized this time gets the higher score.
*The race:
The top 10 drivers score points. The winner gets 12 points, de number 2 gets 10 points, the number 3 gets 8 points, the number 4 gets 7 points, the number 5 gets 6 points, the number 6 gets 5 points, the number 7 gets 4 points, the number 8 gets 3 points, the number 9 gets 2 points and the number 10 gets 1 point.
*The fastest lap:
The driver of the fastest lap during the race scores 1 point.
*The position wins:
The 3 drivers with the most position wins during the race score points. The best driver gets 3 points, the number 2 gets 2 points and the number 3 gets 1 point. If more drivers improved themselves with the same number of places, all get the same points of the highest score. Normally only 3 drivers receive points: par example when 3 drivers all improved themselves with 18 positions they all get 3 points. If 2 drivers improved themselves with 18 positions and 2 others with 17 positions, the 2 best drivers receive 3 points and the other 2 receive both 1 point.
*The championship winner is the driver with the highest amount of points from the “track record rally” + “the race” + “the fastest lap” + “the position wins”.
Picture of the race
The picture of a race driven on a Tracksplit circuit following the Ra4Do race formula
The best drivers in the championship start from the back of the starting grid and they have to prepare a strategy coming from this new situation. The fastest drivers coming all from the back of the grid have to overtake many slower competitors, but also have to overtake many good and strong competitors to be able to win. The winners are the ones who use the Tracksplit best in their advantage: positioning before the Tracksplit, overtake competitors in or directly after the Tracksplit and who takes care best of the tires, brakes and possibly fuel strategy to finally finish on the podium.
The difference in speed between the top teams and the slower teams is often that big, that the faster drivers are half way the race already in the top 10. Due to the starting grid with the slower drivers at the front of the field at the beginning of the race many drivers will be busy with trying to overtake the slower drivers in front of them. The driver field will stay close together and the lap times are pre-dominated by the slowest drivers in the front of the race.
Half way a race overtaking will become more difficult because the speed differences between two following drivers will become less. In the last part of the race the drivers that are close to each other, also have nearly the same speed and overtaking will become harder. There is always a good option at the Tracksplit but the tire and brake performance of the car will play a big role at the end of the race, especially because blocking a driver doesn’t work anymore.
The expected results of Tracksplit car racing
With a tracksplit the frequency of overtaking or attempts to overtake during car motor sport races will increase significantly. During the race all drivers will be fighting for the best position. The more equal the cars and drivers, the more fights, close racing and overtaking actions and the bigger the show will be.
A Tracksplit car race will show a different picture then in the last decades. The faster cars and the better drivers will always be able to drive to the top positions of the race, sub top drivers will be in the mid field and the slower drivers will be at the back of the field, independent from the starting position. But all drivers will have to fight for there position with the competition on the same level.
The beauty and magnificence about the races with a Tracksplit; the better teams and drivers will nearly always have to fight with their biggest competitor for the victory. This is the same for the sub top teams for a positions in the top 10. The whole race is more attractive with fights for nearly every position.
Very good drivers and new talents can proof their qualities by finishing better than their competitors in equal or better cars. Two fighting drivers can both take at the same moment a different but equal fast ideal line. This way they drive next to each other, brake, make turns and accelerate on their own ideal line without any risk. The quality of the driver is what matters: the tuning of the car, the driving style, the effort of the driver and the cautiousness use of brakes and tires.
Circuits with a Tracksplit
Germany - Meppen: The first circuit with a Tracksplit is located in the north eastern part of Germany. The circuit is expected to be ready and in use in 2010.
Older ideas intended to make car racing more attractive
In 1937 the first patent for a circuit design was registered in America and others followed from France and Germany end of last century and were updated beginning of this century. Some ideas included moving barriers and moving curb-stones with the plan to change them during a race. In these situations the drivers not only have to watch the competitors but also the changing circuit.

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