next: Inertia Sport gets a new knucklehead
First Drive: Palm Beach International Raceway - PBIR
We get our first impression of the new PBIR road course. It was one of our local favorites when it was Moroso.
“Moroso, We hardly knew ya.”
When it was announced during the Summer of 2008 that a group of new investors had purchased the old Moroso track we had mixed hopes. First - the track is in our back yard and has always been a nostalgic favorite of ours. It was pretty quick, with a few tricky parts, and very user friendly. It was a bit of a dump (if you’ve never seen the old bathrooms, we won’t ruin your appetite by going into much detail) and a little run down, but we’ve spent many sunburned days, and mosquito covered nights there.
PBIR a new look.
The track facts are pretty similar to the old Moroso layout; 2 miles long, 11 turns, long straights, and big sweepers. If you’ve driven the old track, the new one still has an air of familiarity - yet different. Sort of like an old girlfriend that looks like she’s been working out a lot since you broke up. The straights are faster, the sweepers are longer, and some of the curves need a lot more laps before you’ll even start to get bored. We’re fans of the new PBIR. We’re definitely coming back. But, there are a couple of things you should know before your next visit.
PBIR is a work in progress. This isn’t a slam. They deserve enormous kudos for getting the track operational as fast as they did. They closed in August to begin construction, and were holding races by November. Bravo. But, they still have some growing pains. Like? Oh, maybe numbering the damn corners for starters. It’s simply impossible to compare notes between drivers without it sounding like a “who’s on first?” routine. Ok, so this isn’t much of a gripe - but you try to find a decent Track Map before your first event.
The track is still pretty green. We were approximately the 4th event run on the course - and it showed. Not only was there absolutely zero groove established, but thanks to a unique road surface our Hoosier R6s came home looking like someone had just given them a shower and a shave. It was a little bit cool the night we ran. There was very little heat building in our tires during 25 minute sessions, and the tires look like they’ve been sanded smooth.
Here are a couple of laps from a YouTube.com user rnello1 - from a November 9th event. His line is as good as anyone else’s currently shown online (plus our camera was busted - so no video from us)
That is one big straight. Well, maybe it just feels big compared to the rest of the track. The series of switchbacks (corners 7-8-9?) leading to the back straight are fast. Fast enough to carry a lot of speed onto the straight. Our stroked small block was pegged in 4th 1/3 of the way down the straight. We didn’t have the brake adhesion to find out how fast the car could go. After the straight, the resulting later-entry sweeper has enough runoff to build confidence in some hard braking. A couple of points about safety. Overall, our event was pretty well run, and incidents were kept to a minimum. Whew. But there are a couple of areas that you should pay close attention to. First - At Pit Out. Cars enter the directly into the racing line from corner 2 track-out. Watch the flags closely on pit exit, and double check for oncoming traffic from the very quick 1-2 corner sequence. Second - we ran our event at night - and it was tough to see worker stations on the northern part of the track (Corners 3-7?) under the current lights. The rest of the track is well lit - but if you run a night event, beware of unlit sportscars buzzing around in the dark portion of the track. We’ve heard rumors that lighting will be improved in the future, until then, stay sharp. Conclusion. We’re currently giving PBIR 3.5 stars. It has a LOT of potential, and if the new management continues to live up to it, this can be a 5-star facility. Until then, we simply can’t wait to get back out there again - hopefully with a little more rubber on the road this time. If you’ve driven the track - or have questions about it - leave us a comment and tell us what you think. Thanks.