iRacing delta challenge #3/20: Tsukuba 1000 Chicane

There are a bunch of free tracks I’ve never driven in iRacing. Every few days I’m going to drive one with zero preparation and then post the fastest lap time here. That’s the delta time. Your mission, should you accept it, is to beat it (and then call me names in the comment section).

Here are the rules.

1. Global Mazda MX-5 Cup, baseline setup
2. Default Weather (78F, 2 MPH N, 55%, afternoon)
3. 30 minutes or 20 laps, whichever comes first

Tsukuba 1000 Chicane

OK, so I thought that Tsukuba 1000 was going to be half of Tsukuba 2000. It turns out they are completely separate tracks. I drove the version with the chicane to keep it different from the reverse config I plan to drive later, which doesn’t use the chicane.

Delta = 42.169

Whoever designed this track has a love affair with 180 degree corners. You’ve got a180 hairpin, a180 double-apex, and two extended 180 double-apexes. Oh, and then the chicane. The course is challenging. I never got in what I would consider a good lap. My optimal lap was a half second better, but I couldn’t get near it because I kept messing up one corner each lap. That challenge kept me engaged today, but I think it will get old rather quickly. The course does look like it was designed, and not something someone threw together in a parking lot one afternoon (I’m looking at you Phoenix). Would I love to have this in my backyard? Absolutely. Would I drive 6 hours to drive it? Yeah, once for the track sticker and then never again.

Track Rank

In this section I’m ranking the tracks in the order of my preference. I tend to like technical tracks with some elevation, short straights, and corners that are blind, off camber, decreasing radius, and connected.

1. [Legacy] Charlotte Motor Speedway – 2008 Infield Road Course (47.637)
2. [Legacy] Phoenix Raceway – 2008 Road Course (1:09.739)
3. Tsukuba 1000 Chicane