About the Track
Thunderhill (also lovingly referred to as T-Hill) is a 15-turn road course that in my opinion was extremely well designed for cars of all horsepower (HP) ratings. If you have heavy (over 3200 pounds) American muscle like a Mustang or Camaro you will be happy. If you have Porsche’s gift from god or Ferrari’s finest this track is fantastic. Even if you have an original Miata with just about 100 HP you will know why they say this is the most fun you can have with your pants on.

Thunderhill Raceway has got to be the best all around racetrack. They say it was “designed by racers for racers,” and I just have to believe it. In the following paragraphs I will give a turn by turn review of just how cool this track is. Located in Willows California it is about 80 miles north of the I5 / I80 junction in Sacramento. It’s a little too far north for Sacramento radio but Chico radio works just fine. If you’re into rock music I recommend 106.7 Z-Rock as the perfect combination to tuned motors and high-octane fuel.



Turn 1
Thunderhill is set up to be forgiving on the beginners, and at the same time be so technical that those with great skill will be faster than those with great cars. Turn 1 is a perfect example. The main straight is a long fast stretch like any other (I have almost kissed 120 mph in a low HP car) and at the end is Turn 1. When you enter you can keep incredible speed through the corner. A Miata or other low HP car doesn’t even have to hit the breaks, just sail on through. Even in my car with about 220 HP and weighing in at 2700-2800 lbs only a slight tap of the breaks is necessary. However if you do go into Turn 1 a little too fast (too hot is the common term) there is nothing but dirt and grass, so going off track wont kill your car. Anyone who has seen Laguna Seca (Mazda Raceway) knows that most of the time its not grass, its a few used tires and a cement wall.

Turn 2
Turn 2 is a soft U-turn and a little too open to be called a hairpin turn. This great corner is banked just a little in your favor and is a great way to practice driving your car at the limits of adhesion. The entry to this corner is soft (easy) and you have plenty of time to slowly press on that gas pedal until your tires start to loose grip with the road so you can safely know your car’s limits. Also if your entry to this corner is too hot all you have to do is point the car forward and stomp on the breaks; you wont even reach the end of the pavement unless you have really big horsepower and where going really fast.

The experienced driver will have great fun on this corner also because the bank of the curve is so soft the corner is almost flat. This will allow you to get high g-forces (hard cornering) and if you are skilled enough you can make the car drift all the way to the edge of the FIA berm (the red and white, or sometimes black and white, marked bumps at the edge of the track) if your going for that best possible lap time.

Turn 3
Turn 3 is easy to go into too fast, and to make matters worse it takes a couple tries to find the exact right spot to start your turn. This is probably the second most dangerous corner of the track. Furthermore it is an off camber turn (meaning its banked the wrong way). However if you get it extremely wrong point the car forward and hit the breaks, chances are you wont leave the pavement.

Turn 4
Turn 4 is just the most wonderful finish to Turn 3. Finish Turn 3 however you can and Turn 4 snakes the other way making this beautiful S-turn. Not to mention there are 2-3 ways to go through Turn 4 that are equally fast. If you are an advanced driver and are in an open passing situation this is a great time to pass.

Turn 5
Remember how I said there were 2-3 ways to get through Turn 4? There are two ways if you are using Turn 5a there are 3 ways to complete Turn 4 if you are using 5b. Turn 5a is one of those corners that we like to call a “butt clincher!” The car gets light, the corner is off camber and you can be going really fast if you are smooth. I can’t emphasize it enough either (smoothness is the key to driving fast aways) with 5a smoothness is the key to making it through the corner. If you enter it wrong no big deal, you will exit it in the wrong place to make turn 6 correctly but as long as you are smooth and keep a level head you will stay on track. If you go off… again there is nothing but grass.

Turn 5b is my favorite! You exit turn 4 in one of the 3 exit points that you can, and head up this steep (STEEP) hill, your breaking hard… but the hill is helping you. Prepare for a 90-degree corner… your turning, and the G-forces are pulling you sideways while you are being pressed down in your seat because your car is going up faster than your body. The corner is over in less space than your car takes up but the exit is down hill. If you were going fast enough you will get a tire or two air-born. Not to worry it doesn’t matter if your engine is in front or back the tires hook up quickly and the car will be headed the appropriate direction. However now your facing downhill just as steep as the hill you just climbed. When you reach the bottom the gravity well made by the two corners (5a and 5b) joining makes most of that off camber part of 5a a nonevent. Yeah, 5b is the roller coaster in your favorite theme park!

Turn 6
One of the only corners I have spun the car on. It was this glorious rainy day and for once I didn’t wish I could afford a set of racing slicks (tires) for my car; my street tires were the way to go. After 5a or 5b you can get that speed up, so watch out because Turn 6 looks like a 90-degree corner (even on the map) but its just a little bit sharper. Not to mention Turn 6 is one of the most important turns to get right because it makes all the difference in the world about how fast you can take Turn 7 and 8.

Turns 7 & 8
Not much to these turns, they are great for passing, and allow you to use the entire track if you are going to go for your top speed or best time. Turn 8 is kind of a butt clincher because it looks tighter than it really is. A skilled driver has a real opportunity to make up lost time if this corner is taken correctly.

Turn 9
Better known as the Water Town Turn, this turn scares lots of beginners, and is an opportunity for the advanced. This corner is a “blind corner” that you just roll over the top! It’s not very sharp and there are a couple of entry points that make passing a real possibility, but because you cant see where the corner turns (because your looking at the sky) most people use a water tower that can be seen in the distance as an indicator of where to turn. It’s hard to mess up this corner, its just scary. However I have seen enough people spin to say this… if you are the kind of person who could panic (and break one of the fundamental rules that keep your car from spinning) then I recommend taking it slow until your feel comfortable. Remember this is a good spot for passing so if your slow keep to the left side of the road and let people pass you.

Turn 10
BREAK!!! That’s all you really have to remember. You will be going down hill and even small HP cars will be going about 100 MPH, so break hard! Getting this corner just right takes skill, but its hard to really mess up this corner.

Turn 11,12 & 13
Small or maneuverable cars… this is your time to shine! Turn 10 gave you the opportunity to catch up again because anything with big power passed your anemic ass in 7, 8 and 9. Turns 11, 12, and 13 are fantastic S turns where usually anything with too much torque for its tires will spin between 11 and 12, and you will have lots of room to pass any slow or spun car in the classic wheel to wheel racing everyone loves to watch on TV. If your in a no passing track session I recommend slowing way down when coming down the hill of Turn 9 that way you can speed way up for 10-13 without catching the car in front of you.

Turn 13 specifically
If you have lots of natural grip from a light car with good tires you will want to really push the exit of Turn 13 because it will allow you to beat cars with two times (2x) the HP and more. If you’re a big car you will want to be mindful of smaller cars passing you especially at the end of 13. Turn 13 is a probably the most likely spot for big power to spin, so make sure you get 13 right (still not as dangerous as just about any other track out there). The other reason you want to get 13 correct is because if you don’t, you mess up the “back straight.”

Turn 14 & 15
If your racing then small and big cars will be neck and neck down the back straight, you will be driving down a hill that is steeper than it looks and you will have to break for a hairpin style tight corner (at over 100mph). Smaller cars you will have the advantage. If your not racing then bigger cars please let the small ones take the left side of the track because cars with lots of grip they will be able to make turn 14 and 15 into one turn, and it is their only way to really get that extra little bit out of the main straight. Meanwhile big power will be able to make use of more than a half mile of track no matter how they exit Turn 15.

Now watch the vid and download technical info…
Watch a lap
View from a helicopter
View map of the track
Hank Watts technical corner by corner download (.pdf)