What do we know about this one. Tilke designed the circuit by exploring layouts on Google Earth! (im serious)..What could possibly go wrong
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Bugger all in data backed fact. We do know a few things though.
We have a track map..... I give you the Jeddah Corniche Circuit
Its a street circuit.... it claims to be the worlds fastest ever street GP. (Currently that 'accolade[ is held by Azerbaijan / Baku. The track record there for its 20-turn, 6.003km layout stands at 1’40.495, an average speed of 215.043kph.)
Its a long lap at Jeddah..... over 6klms. (6.174, although some say 6.175 for those who are pedantic)...just over 800m shorter than table-topper Spa.
The 27-turn track is estimated to be lapped at average speed of up to 250kph, indicated lap times will be less than a 1:29.0. It is 15 metres wide in places to its no Monaco.
Simulated top speed is 322kph
To add to the confusion of lap times perhaps later indications of times are it will be quicker than that in qualy, but slower in the race..... It’ll take around 1m 27.9s to complete a lap in qualifying trim and 1m 33.8s in the 50-lap race, according to simulations.
If you are doing GTP dont blame me if the sim times are out. We dont know what the track surface will be like. It might be slppery as an eel. On the other hand it might be like crap to a blanket.
It has 3 DRS zones, so in my mind will play into Lewis' s hands given he is using his grunter engine from Brazil. There the double DRS allowed him to get close to those ahead on the main straight and thus be close enough to make a pass in the next one soon after. Unless the squiggly bits at high speed upset the balance.... a lot of unknowns.
So to summarise the circuit details:
First Grand Prix
2021
Number of Laps
50
Circuit Length
6.174km
Race Distance
308.45 km
Lap Record
null null (null)
Jeddah
When was the track built?
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is, you won’t be surprised to hear, a temporary street circuit (albeit adorned with some permanent sections), located on the Corniche – a 30km coastal resort area of the ancient Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. Designed by the Tilke company, in conjunction with Formula 1’s own Motorsports team – who used Google Earth for their initial investigations into potential layouts – F1’s Ross Brawn said of the track: “What we want to see is a race circuit. We don’t want Mickey Mouse circuits. We don’t want those old classic street circuits with 90 degree turns. We want fast sweeping circuits, circuits which are going to challenge the drivers – and they are going to love it.”
When was its first Grand Prix?
The inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix takes place in 2021, the race joining its Middle Eastern counterparts in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi – while like those races, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix will also take place under floodlights.
What's the circuit like?
Fast. Very fast. Average speeds around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit are set to be 252km/h – quicker than those at Silverstone, and second on the 2021 calendar only to Monza – aka ‘The Temple of Speed’. It will, quite simply, be the fastest street circuit ever seen in Formula 1 – while the track will also feature the most corners on the 2021 calendar with 27, many of them quick, sinuous bends as the drivers wend their way along the Jeddah waterfront.
There are several sweeping corners dotted around the 27-turn track. Sixteen of those are left-handers, 11 are right. One of those is the very impressive Turn 13 hairpin that is banked at 12 degrees. That’s three degrees steeper than Indianapolis’ banked corners and seven shy of those at Zandvoort. Expect it to be a high G-load (around 4.9 lateral G) and high stress circuit for the drivers.
Schedule: (local times)
05 DEC
Race
20:30 - 22:30 (for us in Aussie that is 4:30am - 6:30am Aus Eastern)
04 DEC
Qualifying
20:00 - 21:00
04 DEC
Practice 3
17:00 - 18:00
03 DEC
Practice 2
20:00 - 21:00
03 DEC
Practice 1
16:30 - 17:30
I always thought Corniche was a type of Pastie or more likely a type of Rolls Royce .... ok joke over......
Seriously, what is Jeddah Corniche.....
It’s actually a 30km coastal portion of Jeddah that includes several high profile attractions, resorts, and fabulous eateries. Also not to be missed are the nearly 30 impressive bronze statues. Corniche is home to King Fahd’s Fountain, which is the largest on the planet. Also of interest is the breath-taking Fatima Al-Zahara Mosque, also known as the “floating mosque”. Come high tide, the exquisite building really does appear to be floating atop the sea. Like this:
There, now you know
Other important things you would not want to miss on knowing....
The Saudi Automobile & Motorcycle Federation broke the record for the largest Lego brick Formula 1 car ever built, as part of their promotion for this year’s race, with Guinness World Records officially verifying the feat. The green brick car was made up of 504,242 Lego bricks, running 5.710m long, 2.048m high and 1.072km tall.
It will be a night race, with floodlights to be erected around the 6.175km circuit, delivering lighting levels of 1,500 lux, which explains why there is more than 20,000 metres of electric cabling.
Real eco friendly..... 37000 tons of asphalt top the track off! Oh and 13km of catch-fencing, which aims to prevent debris reaching spectator areas. There are also 3,300 pieces of concrete wall that will be slotted together, along with 3,000 TecPro barriers.
Mongols in Arabia
I think they never went to Mecca. Maybe a lot of Mongols were Muslims and they didnt want to do their thing there. Of course the big issue was being all desert there was no grass to feed their horses, and riding camels gave them the hump and so they got outdone. They could go further because also they had to nick off home for elections, and those few that were left behind got their asses whooped....
Because they weren’t able to get any farther. By the time the Mongols took out Baghdad, they were reaching the limits of their ability to expand. Around 1260, Mongol politics required Hulugu, the Mongol prince working his way southwest, to break off the war and return to Mongolia to participate in the election of a new khan. A smaller force remained behind to continue advancing toward Egypt, the Mamluks being seen as the most notable enemy in the region. In September of 1260, the much-reduced Mongol army met a Mamluk force at Ain Jalut, fifty miles or so north of Jerusalem, and the Mamluks won
That is I think a lot of the important stuff covered.
Discuss away.
Back up plan.... the penultimate round of the F2 title race is on the support card.