Today I want to revisit the track "City Loop: Dragon on the Tower (underwater tunnel)". My intention is to explain [better] some of its parts, and also to define clearer rules and advice for driving on this track. Any newly defined penalties only apply from this message on. I believe they are not consequential to the drivers' ability to set new records.
The original map and
the original video guide still apply.
This track's name is based on its looks from the sky. It looks like a dragon standing on a tower. You may as well call it DoT tunnel track, or dot-tunnel track; I guess that last one would be the street name.
Here is the start, in the Charter Street. You may recognize that this is the point where you have a look at
. The front wheel(s) should (both) be between the outer edges of the two off-white lines. Placing the vehicle like that will be done by automation at some point. For now, it's expected to make best effort to have the car start in this area, and to measure the laptime accordingly to your start line. The new Racing Companion mod only cares that the car starts from a starting line and it ticks the lap end when that line is crossed again. Altogether, there is some tolerance to the start line, but don't abuse it beyond one meter before or after. Having the wrong start/finish position means disqualification.
The image shows the two said lines surrounded in green brackets, and shows the direction of the track with the green arrow.
From this point, you will take a few turns into the Kennedy Avenue. Both its lanes are perfectly fine to use.
At the passage from Kennedy Avenue to Drake Avenue, there is a turn that may tempt to cut corners big time, so here is how to handle that area. In short, no corner-cutting. The racing line and direction are showed in green, and the red lines are marking the area that should not be cut into. The reminder is that corner cutting only occurs when all four wheels are outside of the track, where the driver gains an advantage by doing so (even if it is not intended).
The penalty for leaving the track in the areas marked as red here is 10 seconds. Going straight for cutting the corner in the left means disqualification. There must be a demonstrable attempt to drive around this corner's boundaries.
Driving through Drake Avenue should be straightforward. That should take you to the turn to the Farrier street and California Avenue. Careful, don't cut that corner, that would be a 5-second penalty.
You may use
both lanes of the California Avenue, but the right one should give you a better lap time. From there, take the entry to the Ringroad. You may use
both lanes of the Ringroad, but the right one should give you a better lap time.
From there, take the exit toward the Union Street (one leading to the spaceport). This may appear to be a straightforward part of the track, but there is a catch. The first thing, the green arrows show the way. What is
not allowed is to trip over the edge early and land on the Union Street (been there, done that, mostly by mistake). That way, the driver would skip most of the exit path and its hairpin turn, effectively cutting a part of the track. Doing that means disqualification.
From there on, it is a straightforward ride for a while. From the Union Street, take the exit to the Barkley Avenue's upper road. You may use
both of its two lanes. The same goes for the tunnel: you may use
both of the lanes. This extends to El Camino del Mar (the way of the sea ^^) and the turn to the right, into the Pacific Bulevard, where you may also use
both of the lanes.
Next thing up is exiting the Pacific Bulevard, toward Biotechnica Flats. This part is off-tarmac, so you can take any path from the corner on the exit to the entry to the Biotechnica's area. Please, don't cut the corner in the image. The action of doing so within two meters of its exit carrier a 5-second penalty. Anything beyond that is a disqualification (e.g. driving through the construction area, tripping, flying and landing to the Biotechnica Flats entry point. That would be a disqualification.
The corridor in the Biotechnica Flats is straightforward. It is an area where you may experiment with launching the car so it 'flies' over a part of the track (no flying, just common driving mechanics is allowed).
On the turn, you may leave the track into the runoff area beyond the corner line (marked with green line with arrows added), but don't cut the corner as marked with the red lines, also by the means of flying over it.
Corners in this area are very pointy, and 90 degrees. There is also lots of soil, but the track line is visible here. One thin inner line and one thicker outer line. The outer line is the track limit, marked with the red arrows here.
Now, this is an important part. It consists of a high-speed straight that ends with a narrow 90-degrees corner.
If you look at it in this image below, it is nothing special. There is a slight turn to the left, followed by a 90-degrees turn to the right, which swings soon into a wider left turn. This is way easier than the turns 8-11 at the Baku City Circuit. However, the fact that the car again goes off the tarmac may make this part look less obvious and more complex than it is.
I've highlighted in the image:
- The racing line and direction in green
- The explicitly allowed runoff areas, marked with green lines with arrows attached, to show direction in which the runoff area spreads
- Corners in red, which must not be cut (slamming the vehicle into the barrier from the straight does not carry a penalty on its own also if it crosses the red line)
Cutting the corner in the bottom of the image carries (as of this message) a 10-second penalty, as long as there was a demonstrable attempt to drive around its boundaries. If the driver cuts this corner without a demonstrable attempt to make the 90-degrees turn (as showed with the racing line), that is a disqualification.
Also, making the car trip and fly over the barrier (yes, that is possible) means disqualification.
In the past, there was the idea that the driver
has to slam the car into the barrier and then slowly take this succession of turns. That is not necessary to remain competitive, and I encourage everyone to drive without hitting any obstacle, let alone slam the car into the barrier at 300+ km/h. For one, it is possible to break records while driving nicely. Two, it is satisfying. Three, it looks pretty in videos. I've noticed drop-out points in video views after a slightest scratch on the car. Let alone such a thing like slamming the car into a barrier at 300+ km/h, and continuing to drive.
Then comes another interesting part. The exit from Biotechnica lands to the New Pacific Highway.
You may take a variety of paths at this exit to the New Pacific Highway, but it's important to:
- Take the right side of the New Pacific Highway. If you enter the left side, beyond the fancy markings on the right side of the image, that is a reason for disqualification.
- Not cut the left side of the road while exiting (marked with a red line in the image below; it's on the right side of the road in the image). The road line may not be as clear here, but if you are a meter into the sand (or half of your vehicle's width, whichever is smaller), you are cutting it. Depending on how large the cut was, it may lead to a penalty from 5 seconds to disqualification. For example, having a slight corner cut at the exit is a 5-seconds penalty, but leaving the track as soon as the exit from Biotechnica premises and cutting over the land straight into the New Pacific Highway is a reason for disqualification.
You may use the runoff area, marked with the green line and an attached arrow. The shorter racing line should be one that is more to the right in the image.
Driving down the New Pacific Highway in its left lane at any time means a disqualification, with one exception. See the image after.
Down the New Pacific Highway, there is a prominent part of the road that launches the back of the car up into the air. When that happens, every driver who lands their car well deserves kudos. If the car happens to be launched into the left lane of the New Pacific Highway, an exemption from disqualification is granted. Only, and only if the car was launched in that direction in that specific spot, the driver can utilize the runoff area in the left lane of the New Pacific Highway, as showed in the image below.
The two red arrows show the line where the car is launched. The curved green line with arrows attached marks the penalty-free runoff area. Running off to the right side is also penalty-free.
The green arrow shows the direction of the track.
Last image for this post. There is a tricky change in the road width right before the finish line, pointed to with the red arrow. You may touch the streetlight's body with the side of the car, but if you run through it, that is a 5-second penalty.
