The lap
Mobility Resort Motegi · Grand Prix
9 corners, 5 of which decide the lap. What each one asks of the car, and what you do about it.
Main straight
T1–2
T3 hairpin
T4–5
Back straight
V-corner
T7–8
Final hairpin
StraightFast cornerMedium cornerSlow corner
The lapThe most stop-and-go circuit of the season: long straights terminated by heavy braking into tight corners, with almost nothing fast in between. Brakes and traction decide it.
Set up forTraction and braking stability above all. Drive ramp, rear mechanical grip, and a bias you can live with lap after lap.
Classic mistakeChasing rotation. It's low-grip and low-speed; a car set up to rotate just spins the rears on every exit.
Works hardestRears from traction, plus brake temperature
Length4.8 km · road course · JP
Corner by corner
Every corner on this layout
A • marks the corners that decide the lap.
T1 Turn One •
Heaviest stop on the lap
The biggest braking zone of the round, straight off the main straight into a tight right.
- Technique
- Get it stopped and get it pointed. Lose the exit here and you lose the whole first sector.
- Demands
- Braking-limited · Low speed — aero does little · Wants yaw on entry
T2 The S-Curve
Medium · direction change
A quick change of direction while the car is still settling from Turn 1.
- Technique
- One flowing input. Sawing at the wheel here costs you into the next braking zone.
- Demands
- Transient, not steady-state · Sustained mid-corner load · Wants a settled rear
T3 First Hairpin •
Slow · traction critical
Very slow and tight, and it feeds a straight. All about getting the power down early without spinning up.
- Technique
- Sacrifice entry for exit. Wait for the car to point before committing to the throttle.
- Demands
- Low speed — aero does little · Traction-limited · Exit-phase limited · Wants yaw on entry
T4 Turn Four
Medium right
A linking corner that sets up the V-Corner. Easy to lose time in, hard to gain any.
- Technique
- Straighten it as much as the track allows and protect the entry that follows.
- Demands
- Sustained mid-corner load · Front grip limited
V The V-Corner •
Slow · very technical
Motegi's signature corner — extremely slow and tight, with a big time loss if the car won't rotate.
- Technique
- Patience. The corner keeps turning; get greedy on entry and you wash out to the exit kerb.
- Demands
- Low speed — aero does little · Wants yaw on entry · Traction-limited
90 90-Degree Corner
Slow right · square
Exactly what the name says: a square right-hander with heavy braking and a short exit.
- Technique
- Brake straight, turn late, and get the car square before you pick up the throttle.
- Demands
- Low speed — aero does little · Braking-limited · Wants yaw on entry · Traction-limited
HP Hairpin Curve •
Slow hairpin
Slow hairpin feeding the downhill straight. Another exit-dominated corner on a lap full of them.
- Technique
- Late apex and early power. Everything here is about the straight that follows.
- Demands
- Low speed — aero does little · Traction-limited · Exit-phase limited · Wants yaw on entry
DH Downhill Straight complex
Medium · downhill
The run down toward the final sector, with the car light under braking on a downhill grade.
- Technique
- Be settled before you brake. The downhill will find any instability you've left in the car.
- Demands
- Braking-limited · Wants a settled rear · Transient, not steady-state
VC Victory Corner •
Final corner · onto the straight
The last corner, feeding the main straight. The single most valuable exit on the lap.
- Technique
- Textbook sacrifice-entry-for-exit. Everything you gain runs the full length of the straight.
- Demands
- Traction-limited · Exit-phase limited · Low speed — aero does little · Rear grip limited
Corner names and numbering follow common usage; some circuits number differently between layouts.
Sideways
Where to go next
The ranked answer is per car. Pick yours to see what this lap asks of it.
This lap, car by car