MASTERING ALDO SCRIBANTE( the other way)
For many novice drivers and amateur racers, local knowledge can
be an advantage or a source of intimidation. The more laps you have at a circuit, the more experience should build speed. But it can also mask bad habits, where poor braking points and misjudged apexes become routine. And very difficult to unlearn.
Time attack racing is fairer for everyone because it usually runs in the opposite direction to a circuit ' s conventional flow. That means all those ingrained little tricks locals know about track surface bumps, and where the ideal braking zone and apex-line rubber zones are, matter much less.
For drivers and teams travelling from Gauteng or other coastal regions to Algoa Bay, the FAW Trucks Eastern Cape Time Attack ' s reverse-flow layout is a great equaliser. It resets the Aldo Scribante challenge for everyone.
On a conventional lap of Aldo Scribante, drivers need to navigate 8 turns, from fast sweeps to hairpins. Most of those
are right-handers. That influences car set-up, including tyre pressures and suspension camber, castor, and compression. But at the FAW Trucks Eastern Cape Time Attack, most turns will be left. That means the legacy data teams and local drivers have collected on car set-up for Aldo Scribante might not transfer easily and may be less advantageous.
Those turns in reverse
Turn 1 for FAW Trucks Eastern Cape Time Attack drivers is a tight left through Dunlop, onto the back straight. Drivers then need to carry as much of that straight section speed into the fast and fearsome right Bridgestone Sweep, before getting hard on the brakes for the tight left hairpin at turn 3.
Exiting the hairpin, drivers will need to decide whether to lift or glance the brakes, setting up for the fast left through Wesbank Hanger, turn 4 on the FAW Trucks Eastern Cape Time Attack lap. Then it ' s all about turn 5, the fast right Kink, before another pad-androtor testing braking zone into the Esses, which combine to form turns 6 and 7.
On the reverse-flow time attack lap of Aldo Scribante, turn 8 is very technical.
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Being the final corner, finish-line fever nears, making it tempting to overdrive the car into LUK Repco. It ' s a very technical turn because the radius tightens.
Turn 8 ' s entry zone is deceptively open, inviting drivers to carry more speed. But if drivers carry too much speed too deep, they ' ll be too committed to turning early, miss the apex, and lose time negotiating the exit of turn 8, which is crucial, as it leads onto the traditional main straight and the finish line for an Aldo Scribante time attack lap.
The Wind Factor
All coastal circuits are influenced by building midday afternoon winds. And the closer a circuit is to the coast, the more pronounced its wind exposure is. Of South Africa ' s three coastal circuits, Kilalrney is the furthest from the ocean, at 5 km. But both the East London Grand Prix track and Aldo Scribante are built much closer to the coast, so those notorious Algoa Bay winds can significantly influence any racing.
The Aldo Scribante circuit sits just a few hundred meters from the beach, exposing racers to cross-