Porsche Unleashed

Autobahn: Routes and railing

Autobahn routes

Click on map for a larger view The Autobahn's generally fastest route is shown in blue; this is the route to take in all cars that turn reasonably well. The alternate (red) route is different in only a few places; it's used by a few cars ( like the 959 and 928) that are fast but can't turn at all well. Driving these cars fast at Autobahn entails taking the red route and doing a lot of railing. The final tunnel offers a choice of two routes; there are only minor differences for most cars. I prefer the right side route, but some use a tricky path that requires hopping the center curb between the pillars, going from right to left. I'd leave that one alone till you get the basics down.
This page, at present, deals only with Autobahn forward. The routes for backward Autobahn are the same, and the only real nasty problem is the last ramp. Yep, that's the ramp; the first ramp in the forward direction. It's the key to a fast time at Autobahn. You can certainly make mistakes elsewhere, but that's the one where mistakes are most common, and where they hurt you the most. If you mess up on that ramp, you either crash or fishtail, losing time either way. On Autobahn backward, you use the e-brake technique to hit the bottom part of the rail with the side of your car, as flat as possible. (I'll put pictures of that up later.)

This page shows the technique for railing the first ramp in both fast and slow cars. Following pages, which I'll put together soon, will show a couple of problem areas where even experienced racers sometimes make mistakes.

Railing at Autobahn

Railing the first ramp in a fast car (anything faster than a 356A or B) is best done by contacting the ramp early and following it all the way around. But if you just drive along it you flip as you get to the top. So to prevent this unfortunate and desired outcome, you need to turn left as you go up the ramp along the rail. This example uses the 1987 944S.
	Approaching the first ramp
	Skim it as close as you can; closer than this if you can.
	As soon as you begin to skim the guardrail, turn left -- hard left -- as fast and as far as you can.
	Continue the left turn.
	Continue the left turn -- don't panic as you'll probably get up on two wheels...
	Straighten it out. and you'll probably land on two wheels....
	but will come back down to four wheels soon.
	And you're away.

Railing the first ramp in a 356 should be done differently. Staying in contact with the rail all the way along slows the car too much. This example, showing a 1960 356B, shows how you miss most of the rail. This isn't as easy to do right as riding the rail around, but it's faster for these cars.
	Notice that the approach for a 356 is far different.
	You're approaching from, and staying to, the far right until late.
	Just miss the rail here (but do miss it.
	Ditto on the rail to your left as you go up the ramp.
	A little jump...
	and you're into the rail.
	Ideally you hit flatter than this, but even though you're hitting here nose first...
	you do quickly straighten out and go down the road.

Autobahn's 3rd ramp: Doing it right, and doing it wrong