The “Key Hole,” Mid-Ohio

Mid-Ohio is a very rhythmic, undulating and momentum rewarding circuit that requires countless laps to understand the subtleties of the track and where to extract its speed. There are two corners that stand out as “critical” when trying to translate your effort behind the wheel into speed on the time sheets or position on the grid. The first is Turn 1, because of the enormous entry speed, blind approach and the clean opportunity to pass at the next corner. The other is Turn 2/4 (depending if the chicane is in use) better known as the “Key Hole,” as this corner leads to the longest straight on the track, and the last and best clean opportunity to pass prior to the start/finish line.

Of the two turns, most critical is the “Key Hole” for the two reason mentioned above and based on the basic theory of “He who goes fastest for the longest wins.” This corner exits onto the longest straightaway on the track, and if a driver can consistently maximize the length of throttle application, he will contribute greatly to his or her efforts with regards to the aforementioned theory. Understanding car positioning, and its relationship with maximum available radius to track-out or exit, is the cornerstone to building a consistent and proper exit of the “Key Hole.”