Ring of Nardo, Italy
https://goo.gl/maps/PDJ9Vt8odBT2
.
.
About 22 km from a town called Nardo on the west side of the “boot” of Italy is the Nardò Technical Center, more commonly known as the Nardò Ring. It is owned by Porsche Engineering and is used as a test track for fast (and possibly slow) cars.
.
The Nardò Ring is indeed circular and is 12.5 km in circumference. The Ring was originally built by Fiat in 1975 and was taken over by Porsche in 2012. The facilities have always been open to all automotive manufacturers right from the start. And thanks to the unique rain-free South Italian climate, the track operates 363 days per year, on three shifts, seven days a week.
.
The lanes are banked to such a degree that a driver in the outer most lane doesn’t need to turn the wheel while driving at speeds of up to 240 km/h (149 mph). In essence, at the so-called neutral speed which is different for the four lanes, one can drive as if in a straight line.
.
So, now I guess, you are trying to picture this banking and figure out how steep it is. Not sure of the angles, but the angle obviously increases as the cars increase in speed and therefore the higher (outside) lane is the steepest. So for the physicists, consider this: even at the neutral speed, in a banked turn, a car runs a bit heavier than it would in a straight line since the downforce created by the banking increases the rolling resistance on the tires.
.
#earthimages #earthimage #upintheair #abovetheclouds #satelliteimage #satelliteimages #EarthOverhead #overview #overvieweffect #nardo #nardoring #porsche #porscheengineering #upintheair #abovetheclouds #earthimage #earthimages #porsche