Road America — Race Line
Estimated from data not in trackdays.ai. The line, speeds and braking points come from cars lapping at a typical quick HPDE pace, checked against published track guides and brake markers. If you have data you would like to contribute, please send it to upload@trackdays.ai to help improve our estimates. Turn numbers are Road America's official ones, matched to our LiDAR corners from map data (provisional); T2 and T4 are flat-out kinks with no dot.
Heads up: This is an estimate of a typical quick HPDE line, not any one car's lap. Braking points are a starting point, not a target: start a little earlier and work later in small steps. The line goes straight from throttle to brake; amber only marks where you really lift or hold part throttle. Turn numbers are provisional. Our LiDAR corner survey followed the motorcycle chicane at T11, but the line takes the Kink: the T11 dot marks the Kink's turn-in, and the unlabelled dot just before it belongs to the chicane. The LiDAR was flown in April 2019; any repaving since is not shown.
- Throttle
- Coast / partial
- Braking
- Apex
- T4Off-camber corner
Arrows show the direction of the lap. The grey basemap is USGS LiDAR: dark = asphalt, light = grass. Tap any map for the full-size image.
Road America is four miles of long straights joined by heavy braking zones, so most of your lap time comes from clean exits onto the straights after T3, T5, T8, T14 and the Carousel, not from braking late. The lap drops and climbs more than 50 m, and the big stops at T3, T5 and T8 come at the end of downhill runs, so brake earlier than flat-ground instinct says and keep an eye on brake temperature through a session. The Carousel and the Kink are the fast, committing part of the lap: build up to them over several laps, and never brake hard in the middle of the Kink.
Sectors
The lap starts with a long run down the front straight to T1, a fast right where you brake on the left, turn in with slow hands and take a late apex, getting the car straight before the road starts to fall away. T2 is a flat-out kink on the way down to T3, a heavy stop at the bottom of a 6% drop: brake in a straight line, late-apex the banked right and make the best exit you can, because it feeds the long Moraine Sweep.
The Moraine Sweep (T4) is flat out and runs downhill into T5, where you brake hard, angle across to the right edge before turn-in and drive out up the steep climb. T6 is a blind left at the top of that hill by the bridge, so finish braking before the crest and turn in early with slow hands; T7 then tips you into Hurry Downs and the downhill braking zone for T8, a corner that is easy to over-slow but sets up the whole run through the Carousel.
Take a late-apex exit from T8 and come back to the left for the Carousel, a long, banked, downhill right where you stay patient on gentle throttle, lift where it tightens and add throttle as it opens, letting the car run out to the left. The Kink (T11) follows: approach on the left, take it with a light brake in a straight line while you learn it and later just a small lift, and never brake or lift sharply once you are turned in; Kettle Bottoms after it is flat out.
Kettle Bottoms is the low point of the lap, and from there it is uphill nearly all the way home: brake hard and straight from the left for Canada Corner (T12), late-apex it and let the car run out wide. Drift right through the uphill Thunder Valley kink for T13, a fast uphill left, then stay patient for T14: turn in late from the left, take a very late apex and use all the exit, because it feeds the long uphill front straight.
Corners
Approach on the left side of the straight and, while you learn it, brake early, using the access road on the left as a reference rather than the late marker boards. Turn in with slow hands for a late apex on this banked right, and get the car straight before the exit starts to drop downhill. The mistake to avoid is releasing the brakes late while adding steering, which overloads the front tires.
From the survey: On camber (+1.6%) and level at the apex; the exit falls away at −3.6%.
You arrive at the bottom of a steep drop, so brake earlier than it looks, in a straight line from the left side, and let the dip at the bottom help settle the car. Turn in for a late apex at this banked right and track out to the left: the exit feeds the long Moraine Sweep, so it matters far more than the entry. The mistake to avoid is an early apex that has you running out of road on exit.
From the survey: The best-banked of the slow corners (+3.2%), at the bottom of a −6% descent.
Brake hard and straight at the end of the downhill Moraine Sweep, angling across from the left so the car is fully on the right edge before you turn in. This slow left is flat and unbanked, so it gives you no extra grip: be patient, use the inside curb and get to the throttle early, because the road climbs steeply straight after. The mistake to avoid is running wide onto the rough exit curbs, which costs grip and drive up the hill.
From the survey: The only official corner that is not banked (−0.2%); the exit climbs at +7.3%.
Stay on the right as you climb from T5 toward the bridge, and finish your braking before the crest, while the car is still loaded, because it goes light over the top. The turn-in for this left is blind, so start turning a little earlier than feels natural with slow hands and aim for a late apex; once the car is in, the banking settles it. The mistake to avoid is braking or tugging the wheel over the crest, which unsettles the car just as you turn in.
From the survey: Banked (+3.0%) at the top of a +9.4% climb; the exit tips back downhill.
Let the car track out of T6, then ease back to the left in a separate, calm move to set up this right. A brief dab of the brakes is enough; turn in early with slow hands for a late apex and keep the exit tidy rather than using every inch, because the road falls away into Hurry Downs and the braking zone for T8. The mistake to avoid is running out to the edge on exit with the road dropping under you.
From the survey: Banked (+2.7%), but downhill at the apex (−3.3%): the start of Hurry Downs.
The downhill braking zone levels out just before the corner, so brake firmly in a straight line where it levels and turn in late; this banked left will take more speed than it looks. Use a late apex so you need little of the exit and can get back to the left side for the Carousel. The mistake to avoid is over-slowing the car and then rushing the throttle and running wide.
From the survey: The bottom of Hurry Downs, which falls 13.7 m at −3.9% from T7.
Enter from the left and give up a little entry speed for one long, patient arc: the banking is what holds the car as the road falls away under it. Keep a steady steering input and gentle throttle through the first half, expect a lift where the corner tightens, use the inside curb there and squeeze on the throttle as it opens, letting the car run out to the left toward the Kink. The mistake to avoid is too much steering, which scrubs speed through the whole corner.
From the survey: The most banked corner on the lap (+5.2% at the apex): 209° of turn, falling 11.7 m entry to exit.
Approach with the car straight on the left side of the track; while you learn it, brake lightly in a straight line well before the turn-in, and only later turn that into a small lift. Turn in smoothly, hold a steady throttle through this fast right and let the car run out without adding lock. The mistake to avoid is braking or lifting sharply in the middle of the Kink, which can spin the car at very high speed.
From the survey: Nearly flat (−0.6%) and banked (+2.2%); it is the 400 m approach that drops 7 m, which hides the exit.
After the flat-out run through Kettle Bottoms, get the car straight and parallel to the left edge and brake hard in a straight line; there is little grip on entry, so don't try to brake deep. Turn in for a late apex on this banked right and run the exit out wide, because the climb starts here and every bit of exit speed carries up the hill. The mistake to avoid is too much speed at the apex, which delays the throttle.
From the survey: Banked (+2.3%); the climb starts here, gaining 6.7 m entry to exit at up to +4.9%.
Track out wide from Canada Corner, then drift right through the uphill Thunder Valley kink to set up this left. It is steeply uphill and banked, so it takes more commitment than it looks: turn in smoothly, take a patient apex and let the car run out to the right. The mistake to avoid is turning in early on the hard-to-see apex, which leaves you short of road on the fast exit.
From the survey: The steepest corner on the lap: +7.5% at the apex, banked +3.3%, gaining 9.2 m.
Let the car run out to the right from T13 and stay there; you only move back to the left near the turn-in. Keep a little brake on as you turn in late for this long right, aim for a very late apex and use all the road on exit, because it feeds the long uphill front straight. The mistake to avoid is turning in early and having to lift on the way out onto the climb.
From the survey: The exit runs into the steepest grade on the lap (+12.8%), with a hard compression at its base.
Version history
- v1.2 · 2026-10-01 — The first half of the Carousel and the exit of the Kink are now throttle, not a lift: the car gains speed there.
- v1.1 · 2026-10-01 — Speeds and braking points rebuilt from cars at a typical quick HPDE pace, with each brake zone placed where the braking actually starts. Braking now starts about 20 m later at T5, T6, the Kink, Canada Corner (T12) and T14, 10 m later at T3 and within 10 m elsewhere (T1 about 10 m earlier); at the Kink it is a lift into a light brake, and T7 shows a brief dab. The line now goes straight from throttle to brake, with no coasting in between. Version history and feedback contributors added.
- v1.0 · 2026-10-01 — First version.
Feedback contributors
Drivers and instructors whose feedback has improved this line. Thank you.
- Mike M — no coasting between throttle and brake; braking points (v1.1)
- Brian L — corners where the car gains speed are throttle, not a lift (v1.2)