Darcington Circuit

**Darcington International Motorsport Circuit**, better known as **Darcington Circuit** or just **Darcington**, is a motorsport circuit in Darcington, Minecon, that hosts the Mineconian Grand Prix as well as various other motorsport events. Famed for its figure-eight layout, demanding corners and elevation changes, and its picturesque views, the circuit is enjoyed by both racers and fans.

## History

When the first Mineconian Grand Prix was held in 1948, the circuit was among the fastest in spite of its location. Compared to today, all of turns 7-14 were effectively one sweeping left-hand turn and the Chicane did not exist. In other words there were only two slow corners, Turn 2 and the Hairpin.

Despite immense popularity among Mineconians, the track was probably the most dangerous in the world because of the speeds and elevation drops. In total there were 10 fatalities in the circuit until 1969, the vast majority occurring at the Surway turn. It was known as the "Grim Reaper's Scythe" because of its shape and also that missing the turn dropped the unfortunate driver off a cliff into a riverbank with virtually no chance of survival. Armco barriers and a wall were installed here in 1971.

As a result of the danger possessed, drivers boycotted the race from 1970 until 1973 when safety features such as walls, barriers and gravel traps were installed. It was considered an achievement to finish the race, let alone win it. Since then there have been no deaths at the circuit.

## Layout

Starting from the grid, the cars enter Bank, named after the 180-degree turn formerly being banked, although to comply with safety regulations F1 cars no longer take the banked section (MotoGP, however, still uses it). After turn two, the track rises abruptly and curves left into the Tunnel Corner. Unlike a track such as Monaco, rain differences do not matter here since the tunnel is sloped and rain can pass through. Together with the Switchback corner, these two curves form an S-shape that winds through the valley. Turn 5 is almost 90-degrees and taken in third gear, but the following Hairpin is even tighter, and combined with the gradient of the track, places great strain on the engines. It is taken in first gear only.

The Phoenix curve is much faster, and is named after both Phoenix, the company that funded the track, and the large Phoenix advertising board surrounding it. The highest point of the circuit is the Summit chicane, From here the track goes into the medium-speed turn 10 and the sweeping left-right Woods corner that is often taken flat-out. The Sunrise turn is named after racers in endurance racing that often stated that the sunrise blinded them going into this corner.

After turn 14 is the famous Lake Straight, the longest straight on the circuit, that offers stunning views of either Lake Surway to the left or Darcington town to the right. It is here where drivers achieve the highest speeds on the track. This is followed by the high-speed Turn 15, a very slight left.

From here the track goes steeply downhill, making it the most dangerous part of the track. Turn 16, a U-turn named after the Surway River, is deceptively tight and requires extreme precision to balance speed and safety. Although doable in fourth gear, most drivers tend to play it safe and slow down drastically. In the days before Armco barriers losing control at this turn would careen the driver off a cliff and into the riverbank, leading to almost certain death. Although there have been no fatal accidents at the track since 1979, thanks to a gravel trap, spinning out here effectively forces the driver out of the race.

It is followed by the marginally less risky Chicane to slow down the downhill racers, and flattens out at Turn 19, ascending for the final turn before returning to the starting line.

The pit stop once was a simple right-hand turn from turn 19, onto which the cars would rejoin at Bank. However, in 1991, Nick Fisher would exploit the skipping of a corners by going into the pits, aborting the stop, and rejoining without losing any speed. In response two chicanes were implemented either end of the pits, and pit lane speed limits effectively ended this unusual strategy. Thus turn 20 was jokingly named the "Bypassed" corner.

The fastest lap with the current layout is 1:29.193, achieved by.

## Trivia

* To build the track The Creator built the track in midair and built the mountain and the Surway River around it - there was no mountain generated by the world to work with.
* An earlier version of the track planned included the Lake Straight being further up, Switchback being a lot sharper and Sector 3 plus turns 1-3 condensed into one very long right-hand U-turn and a left kink. The starting line was on the Switchback.
	+ The creator scrapped this track because it was too "unrealistic, slow to drive and a pain to simulate."