Most of us have a love/hate relationship with ECIR. Basically it seems to boil down to the situation where the riders love it and spectators hate it. Unfortunately, since it is the spectators who largely determine the success of a track, ECIR has been an albatross around the neck of succeeding NSW governments since it was opened.
Here’s an interesting scenario. I have heard it suggested that ECIR was originally intended to be a clockwise circuit instead of the anti-clockwise that it is now. Now, let’s consider that. Leaving aside considerations of where walls and run-off areas are presently placed (to cater for the anti-clockwise direction of racing), what would ECIR be like as a clockwise circuit?
In order to facilitate the discussion, here’s a circuit map. I’m going to name the corners as they would be if direction were reversed and put the present corner # in brackets after it.
Leaving a (slightly) uphill starting grid, the riders would head more uphill and over the slight crest of the rise and drop into a double apex right had corner T1 & T2 (T12 & T11). Plenty of run-off here and a great place for a block-pass overtaking manoeuver.
From here, they’d head through a slight left hand kink onto the short straight leading up to T3 (T9). This corner would now become a climbing, properly-cambered left hand hairpin. Short straight up to T4 (T8) which is a constant-radius right-hander. Between this corner and the next, T5 (T7) there is a short straight with a dip in it and a tiny kink LH just as you set up for the corner.
T6 would be a right-hander with a little LH “flick” just as you exit. Downhill for a short straight until you reach a 90 degree right-hander (dropping) T7 (T5). Flat out back towards the pits into a long, fast left-hander T8 (T4). Slight dip in the middle of the straight behind the pits before climbing up to T9, (T3) a long, constant-radius left-hander
From there, they would drop quickly into the hairpin right-hander, T10 (T2). This is a tricky corner as it would be off-camber with the road trying to drag you towards the outside.
Then it would be a flat-out scream along the short straight and into a VERY fast right-hand sweeper , T11 (T1) and a frantic climb up the main straight to the start/finish line.
I, for one, would love to see it tried. I know there are probably 4000 reasons why it will never happen, but I reckon it would be a vastly more interesting track for both riders and spectators if it could be made to happen.
