The Circuit of Twists and Turns- Circuit de Monaco
The Circuit of whirls and twirls, of twists and turns and hazards and perils has long been the favourite of the entire auto racing circuits. Naturally, people do know about the Circuit of Monaco. The Monaco Formula One circuit has been voted as the most admired amongst the seven sporting wonders of the world by the British sports fans. The same opinion has carried over to most parts of the globe.
Circuit de Monaco is a street circuit that spreads across the streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine outside the port of Monaco. It is commonly referred to as "Monte Carlo Circuit" as it is largely within the Monte Carlo neighbourhood of Monaco. Since it is a street circuit, it is not actually designed for motor racing. But during a race season, changes are made to make it suitable for the tournament. The public roads of the city are temporarily closed.
In order to make it more interesting, racing tract hurdles such as the paddock, grandstands, fences and pit boxes are placed. Once the race is over, they are removed from the streets of Monte Carlo. Since the road surface is actually intended for normal speeds, race drivers have found it very bumpy with little or no grip at times. Run-off areas are shorter and at times non-existent in street racing, which make driving mistakes more expectant and expensive as compared to the purpose-built circuits with run-off areas being wider.
The fervour and fervent of the Monaco circuit has been just the same since its inaugural race held in 1929. William Grover-Willians in a Bugatti won the first race at this circuit.
For the Monaco's street circuit, a lot is demanded from the car. Formula 1 cars have been designed in such a manner that the G-force due to the aerodynamics pulls them down. In order to turn around from the corners, a slow speed is required to reverse any aerodynamic effect. Similarly, adjusting the braking time and keeping the cars balanced nicely under acceleration is highly important. There are hardly any straight paths in Monaco therefore a close-ratio gearbox is used within the cars for this race. Sometimes teams specifically design cars for this circuit. One of these is the Toyota's TF106B, an extremely revamped version of the car for this season, both mechanically and aerodynamically.
Williams has also gone for a simple but suitable triple mid-wing on the FW28's engine cover in the 2006 race. McLaren adopted a special design for Monaco with a completely new main profile and flaps to the front wing of the car. The Renault team in 2006 came up with new features, especially for the circuit at Monaco. This included a little change on the top of the side pods at the winglets to go through the high-down force at the Monaco circuit. The circuit begins with driving in a clockwise direction for a short acceleration period towards St. Devote, which is followed by a patch where the driver can fight for the first position. This is a bend where the worst accidents of the Monaco Circuit have taken place over the years.
However, this is one of the few bends with a 'run-off' area. Accelerating up the Casino Square from here is bumpy and very slippery as well. Up next is the tight left turn, which goes through the Casino Square drive, going downhill past the Hotel Metropole.
Hotel Mirabeau comes next on the track, which is the most liked spot for out-braking if one is left with a gap during the race. The track advances downwards towards the Monte Carlo Grand Hotel and then turns sharply towards the right into the Virage Du Portier. Darkness falls as the tunnel comes up for about 40 seconds into the race, depending upon the driving speed. This is another good moment to out-accelerate the car in front if one gets room. Once out in the sun one needs to slow down due to the chicane or one might lose a couple of places.
The chicane leads straight for a short while and then comes back to the swimming pool complex. Here, loosing ones line or trying too hard could finish the race straight into the unforgiving trackside barriers. A little uphill now and one can hit into the right side of the Virage Anthony Noghes. If you are luckily and still on the track, you need to go full speed ahead and mount up through the gears to complete the initial lap. A driver racing at Monaco needs a little more luck as only a mind-boggling 77 similar lapse have to be finished in order to decide who wins at the end.
The Monaco Circuit may be the beloved one for Formula 1fans around the world. However, the track is not a very loving one itself. In 1952, it had been cruel to Luigi Fagioli and later in 1967 to Lorenzo Bandini. Both are now remembered as great drivers who ended their races of their life with their helmets on their heads, driving through the Monaco Circuit.
Tags: