Tilke’s latest track has F1’s answer to the Laguna Seca corkscrew (Pictures)
A Tilke track that goes up and down as well as left and right...
We took a look at Motorland Aragon – Hermann Tilke’s latest F1-ready track – earlier this year. Now the track is open for business and F1 driver Jaime Alguersuari is racing there this weekend in the World Series by Renault.
Tilke’s tracks are often criticised for being featureless and flat but his latest effort has a lot of gradient and the closest you can get to Laguna Seca’s famous ‘corkscrew’ within F1’s strict regulations.
Here’s how Pedro de la Rosa described it earlier this year:
Turns eight and nine – it’s like the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca, it’s quite steep. We had to work on making it less steep than the plans originally said it would be.
Pedro de la Rosa
It’s no Spa or Suzuka – this is very much a Tilke track. But I think it’s one of his better efforts, up there with Istanbul and Sepang.
As a venue for a F1 race in Spain it certainly looks better than the unloved Circuito Urbano Valencia. But with two races already taking place in Spain the only time we’re likely to see F1 cars on it is during testing.
Take a look at some picture of the track from this weekend’s World Series by Renault race and share your thoughts on the track.
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
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- Motorland Aragon, World Series by Renault, 2009
Motorland Aragon (click to enlarge)
Read more: Exclusive interview: Pedro de la Rosa on F1 2009 and Motorland Aragon
Images (C) Renault
Keith, I hope you don’t mean this > http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/motorloandaragon_wsr_2009-23.jpg when you say corkscrew.
no its not that.
Thanx for the video & photos Keith! The circuit looks exciting
I’ll try this on my rfactor 
For anyone interested in trying out this track in rfactor, here’s the link
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7FTOMPOY
And please let me know your lap times
Hi Mp4-19b, do you have rfactor server? I am in bangalore, India, can use vpn to connect with your machine and use a lan gaming??? interested?
how bout hamachi? u have hamachi?
Arun what VPN do u use? I use Hamachi. What mod do you use? I have almost all the F1 mods. Using VPN to play over LAN is the best option. The rfac dedicated server can cause mismatches most of the times.
why not just buy the game and connect via the lobby?
I have hamachi!! what timezone are you in ? can you use reachdaguy at yahoo dot co dot uk or chat/mail??
Downloading now…
Thanks mp4-19b… now if I can get the F1 2009 mod to work properly… lol
Really? Where?
6:50 on the video?
yep. 5 on the map
For Tilke – the King of Bland – thats extreme! For everyone else its nothing special and will look utterly flat on TV.
The reason F1 looks dull and Monaco and Spa are so great – which no one in F1 seems to understand is that on those tracks the cars are seen in context – they are viewed with houses / trees etc around them. Valencia is concrete walls, all the rest are pretty much tarmac car parks on TV.
but it is in no way anything close to being an “answer” to the cork screw
Get rid of Barcelona for this – it looks a beauty.
I’d rather lose Valencia for this!
So would I, but Valencia can be improved, whereas the last change to Barcelona made it even worse!
look at all that run-off room! does anyone else think modern tracks are too safe? don’t get me wrong, i don’t want people killed, but does absolutely everything need be pussified?
I complety agree about the safety. Thats why i have more respect for the rally drivers those drivers are real man.
i can’t hear the name of Herman Tilke again, all the tracks are the same. Its like buiding a carrera racetrack what ever lay out you make the corners are always the same.
I have a great idea….. no else thinks so though.
Have the run offs – so that drivers dont get killed. But have them colour coded.
Go into a Black area – no penalty
Go into a Blue area – drive through penalty
Go into a Yellow area – 30 second stop and go penalty
Go into a Red area – disqualified.
That would instantly stop drivers using the run offs and put a degree of ‘threat’ into crashing while eliminating the threat of injury/death.
SUPERB IDEA!!! Why didn’t I even think of this! Todt must implement this!
Why thank you! I think it would really resolve two big problems Danger – v Loss of spectacle. F1 is the only sport know that allows play to continue over the line and off the field of play.
That seems to be a good idea indeed – Until, that is, the first time such a rule criples the race of the guy you root for. Suppose LH is winning the Australian GP by, say 15s, makes a small mistake and go over a yellow area….we’ll have to hear it till the end of the year that he has been robed, that the rule is crap and that the guy that won the championship over him by a couple of points did not deserve it.
So what happens when a driver is pushed off into the runoff area by another?
The danger always devided the man from the boys. And with danger taken out of the sport it is not the same anymore……
Thats tough…. what happens now when that happens and its a gravel trap? The run off are fine unless a driver is unconscious (ie Massa) then the tarmac does nothing….gravel or even the old 70s catch fences would slow the car down. Tarmac didn’t save Senna…. but gravel might have.
My idea only replicates the exclusion caused by gravel or injury -no more.
If drivers play a game of pushing each other off then the sport is finished.
That is a very good idea, although I’m sure the stewards would have trouble deciding who was forced off and who gained an advantage and what not.
Well that would change the sport into Banger Racing.
This track looks nice, as well as Algarve track, the one in Portugal, I suppose that’s a Tilke work as well. Would love to see both Aragon and Algarve in F1 calendar and scrap those not-so-good Tilke tracks.
Yeah, both look like decent tracks. Hermann Tillke is actually a pretty decent architect for GP circuits, if you let him work freely he can come up with a very decent track. The problems are more requirements by the future circuit owners and the location (You can’t build a track with a lot of ups and downs in a swamp near Shanghai). A track in the desert also is bound to be dusty off the racing line and if the F1 race is the only race all year, there won’t be very much rubber, as in turkey.
If you’d only put the best tilke tracks on the calendar, there wouldn’t be as much whining by the fans.
Algarve is not a Tilke track. No idea, who designed that one, but it wasn’t him.
I like the first half of the new Aragon track, the second half is far less interesting.
Wide,fast,featureless,boring…..should be great for F1!
Yeah, I was disapointed, I don’t get what all the fuss is about.
The best new track by miles is Portimao, it’s like a rollercoaster. If only there was a decent Portugese driver, then perhaps we might get a race there. Bring back Tiago Monteiro and Pedro Lamy, I say! Or convert Cristiano Ronaldo into an F1 driver
Please not a Ronaldo in F1 …
I was in Portugal last month to watch GP2 Series and what I heard it’s that they’re trying to bring back the F1 to Portugal, but I don’t know if they have the most important thing: MONEY.
I also heard, but don’t know if it’s true, that Bernie Ecclestone is a minority owner of the track. If it was true, maybe we could see the track on the calendar soon.
I have to agree with Ned, I was watchin g the World Superbikes at Portimao yesterday and it looks epic…
WOW! This is quite an addictive track! Just did 10 laps & I’m enjoying it.
Here are my sector times.
SECTOR1
SECTOR2
Lap record is a 1:45.507 (Esteban Guerrieri, RC Motorsport, 2009)
Wonder what lap times the f1 cars will set ?
SECTOR3
Wow I want rfactor and I will beat the time.
And thanks Pm, shame as I quite liked the look of this place.
I just ran some laps with the F1RL09 mod. Very addictive track like you say, and pretty easy to get the hang of.
My best lap time so far after 7 or 8 laps (using Webber’s Red Bull) is a 1:29.381. I didn’t change much setup-wise besides gearing, downforce and brake pressure, so there’s probably another second or so in there for me.
@ mp4 –Thanks for the heads up on the rfactor download. I looked at your screencap and am wondering what mod you used to get the track map to show on the screen. I know my lap time would improve if I could glance over at a map of the layout. Right now I’m lapping at a pitiful 1:39:30
@Steph90
Sure, you will
What are you waiting for?
Keith’s F1F + Rfactor + G25 + Fsone 08 mod + Motec Telemetry + apple juice = complete F1 experience
@Stealthman
Wow! That was almost +10sec! But I’d say F1RL V2.0 isn’t the most accurate mod out there. I suggest using FSone 08, the most accurate f1 mod till date. I think a proper F1 lap time is somewhere in the 1:34’s range. And most importantly, I had switched of all the help aids, including TC,stability & anti-lock. Used only clutch & didn’t meddle around in motec. Anyway, it gives you a general idea, even though the elevation changes are not represented accurately. Guess we’ve gotta wait for CTDP or Fsone to come up with a better version. I’ve got bobbs track builder & tried doing dubai, but failed miserably
So, wouldn’t dare doing this track.
@ C4
you just need to INSTALL THIS PLUGIN. Just make sure you’ve activated hardware plugins( by pressing G). Otherwise the gps dot on the map will not move. Its compatible with all the mods I think.
Trust me it wouldn’t
Infact I suggest you not to use the map plugin. All it does is to distract you!! Tellin’ you outta experience.
Good Luck
Mp4 mainly as I’m waiting for my friend to buy me it for christmas (as I have no idea how to download it I’m getting a friend to buy so he can put it on my computer
But be warned mp4, when I have it I will smash any time previously set
If I were you, I’d buy rfactor immediately & ask THIS for christmas as a present.
Thanks mp4! I’ll get both for xmas…somehow
Alrighty, with your suggestions in mind I just went out again. I don’t have FSOne (might get it though
) so I did some laps in the car in my game that’s closest to it: the stock BMW Sauber 2007. No aids except autoclutch, not even TC.
I ran wide in a few places and may have overdone the throttle in some vital corners, but I managed a time of 1:32.468. I can’t really say whether it’s an accurate time considering the car, but I reckon it’s close enough. I may upload my replay somewhere for people to download if I find the time tomorrow.
i took your advice and dl the track for my rfactor using mod ctdp 05 in mclaren i just lapped in 1:31.124
Aragon was never intended for Formula One. Rght from the beginning, it was conceived as being a Category-2 circuit at best. It won’t appear on the calenar any time soon.
Not too bad by looks of things. I’ll try that out on rfactor when I get it, looks fun
I watched a bit of the Formula Renault yesterday. Both the comentators were saying that the entry onto the long back straight was very slow and it certainly appeared to be a 90 degree left, just like the You Tube video. So they were using the in-field loop at No 7 on the track chart. This meant that the entry to the back straight was much slower than it should have been, which meant the overtaking possibilities at the end and into the very tight hairpin were much reduced.
If they’d used the outer track layout – marked with the red line on your track diagram – it would have been much better for overtaking at the hairpin.
And the downhill right, left, into long left isn’t really much of a corkscrew. Needs another downhill left right combination in there!
weak!
Keith, did Tilke share his valium with you?
That doesnt even come close to the infamous corkscrew!
Decent looking track all around though.
You just can’t fit something like the original Corkscrew into the FIA regulations. Gradient changes in breaking zones or corners are not allowed. So this combination auf downhill corners is as good as it gets within the rules, I suppose.
You’re probably right, but I got really excited by the headline, only to be utterly dissapointed when I actually saw the track. Im just trying to say it doesnt warrant comparison.
Here you can see a Toyota F1 car through corkscrew, breaking the track record:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbsAfspvfRk&hl=es
The Senna S in Interlagos is closer to the Laguna Corkscrew than anything I’ve seen on the pics of this track.
Since there is such an outcry from F1 fans for more circuits with large gradient changes, could the FIA or FOTA or Bernie (or whoever decides) not come to an agreement to change the cars so that they would be more suited to hilly tracks? Just an idea…..
It’s finally here…
The Mars Grand Prix!!
This track looks quite good to me, with some interesting gradients.
I simply can’t understand why they cut off the left corner in the middle of the back straight to go through an insignificant series of four 90° corners.
Regarding the idea to penalize the drivers as they exit the track and pass thriugh different run off areas I simply detest it: there are too many regulations already, I don’t want soccer like discussions about which area actually each driver went through.
I regret the races when you just started and race, not too many strategies, drive throughs, pit stops and so on. I just tolerate safety car for safety reasons.
iracing>rfactor
if you want to experience ‘the corkscrew’. try iRacing! laser scanned Laguna Seca and many more… try it in lotus 79
and drive other great north american tracks… VIR, Infineon, Sebring, Mosport, Watkins Glen, Road Atlanta, Road America…
sorry for spamming
btw. i think laguna is too small/slow for F1, but perfect for MotoGP… last year’s race was brilliant
which circuit will be on calendar depends on the depths of owners pockets
Are you able to drive F1 cars with iracing? Their website doesn’t show many cars.
no modern f1 cars yet. but i think cars and tracks are challenging enough to spend loads of track time having fun. and racing is very clean.
north american tracks are 100% ‘anti tilke’. Sebring is probably only flat circuit. VIR alone has more blind corners and elevation changes than half of current F1 venues combined. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGufQgsYOj0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-xo4Q1lIhM&feature=related
this is just my opinion…
i enjoy ’slower’ cars because i can really control them. even formula mazda (f3 equivalent) is fast, and requires much better reflexes then mine to be driven constantly on the edge
Vir seems really good…
Thanks Mirko.
This track looks very nice, but I’m not too sure about the comparison to the Corkscrew. I would say the Corkscrew is steeper. I have been on track at Laguna Seca a number of times and it feels like you are dropping off the edge of a cliff. You can’t even see the track for a moment as you enter, you just have to get your aim right at the approach and hope you end up in the right spot.
Well, if this track is going to be the last race in every season in the forseeable future, then we wont get anymore climaxes like we did at Interlagos in ‘08… Dull, processional races are on the cards here…..
ah, should have checked next years calendar…phew, that’s a relief.
Forget this Tilke thing, I demand Portimão on the F1 calendar!!! Right now
The problem is that Portugal, since the last 15 years, has been through a major economic crisis. Just the idea of a State payed grand prix is impossible, given the amount of public debt. Also, despite the debt, that same State wants to build even more auto-bahn’s, TGV’s, spend monew on bankrupt entreprises, whatever…
Tried this track in Rfactor and it’s quite fun (ok so I was driving the ‘85 turbo Ferrari…) and has some variety and a nice rhythm. There’s several medium-fast corners where the car tries to break away but you can catch it, a bit of gradient at the hairpin section, ONE long straight bit (my Tilke puts two in most of his tracks I’ve no idea).
There’s still miles of car park runoff area though.