GingerMan Raceway Extended Course 10B CW
GingerMan Raceway Extended Course 10B CW Notes:
Motorsports enthusiasts around South Haven, Michigan, experienced or newbies alike, have the opportunity to feel the speed in a secure environment on The GingerMan Raceway, a road course designed by Allan Wilson and built with safety in mind. The track width is 36' from start to finish, offering ample runoff areas and a smooth asphalt surface ideal for learning the craft of racing. Its location near the coast of Lake Michigan in South Haven, a cold and rainy Michigan town, guarantees a wet track surface for most of the year and cool enough temperatures to get inside the cabin of a race car. Winters are freezing with lots of snow, but doing autocross is a possibility.
There are two possible configurations for the GingerMan Raceway: the 1.88-mile (3.03 km) original track and the 2.21-mile (3.55-km) extended layout. Two additional setups are possible if we consider the counterclockwise orientations. The original racetrack opened in 1995, and the Extended Course was born in 2010 with a two-fold objective: adding a stretch with elevation change and extending the back straight to more than 1700'. Nevertheless, the average speed of the original track remains higher than in the Extended Course, with 78 mph versus 72 mph, as the only difference between both courses is turn 10B, tighter and more difficult to take than 10A.
Extended Course 10B CW Notes:
GingerMan Raceway's Extended Course 10B clockwise configuration delivers 3.552 kilometers of Michigan's most technical club racing challenge through 11 turns including the alternative Turn 10B section that extends the original 1.88-mile layout with a longer, steeper parallel corner leading onto the circuit's longest straightaway. Located in South Haven near Lacota, 193 kilometers southwest of Detroit, this CW direction reverses traditional counterclockwise flow while utilizing the extended 10B variant instead of the original tight Turn 10—creating double novelty for regular GingerMan visitors familiar with standard CCW 10A routing. The 10B corner's lengthier radius and increased elevation drop creates higher exit speeds onto the blind-crest straight approaching Turn 11's standard 90-degree right, rewarding brave commitment through the steeper descent while punishing mid-corner mistakes with compromised straight-line momentum.
The Extended 10B CW configuration's character emerges from reversed direction combined with alternative corner geometry. GingerMan's original 1988 layout established institutional knowledge among Midwest club racers, but clockwise routing deletes familiar reference points while the 10B variant changes the circuit's most critical corner-to-straight transition. Turn 10B's steeper gradient and longer radius demands different brake-turn-throttle technique than tight 10A, while the blind crest approaching Turn 11 requires memorized brake points when approaching from reversed direction. Michigan's Great Lakes climate creates dramatic seasonal variation—summer track temperatures approach 40°C while spring and fall events operate in cool conditions, with lake-effect weather affecting grip levels unpredictably. GingerMan's reputation as one of the Midwest's safest road racing tracks derives from generous run-off areas, but the 10B section's steep descent and blind-crest exit tests that safety margin. SCCA, club racing organizations, and track day providers utilize Extended 10B CW for variety and advanced driver challenges. The configuration particularly rewards smooth drivers mastering 10B's steeper descent and carrying maximum speed over the blind crest, separating confident attacks from cautious approaches across GingerMan's most technically varied reversed-direction layout.
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