A Chat with Alan Wilson, Course Designer
A Fast Drive in the Country
Set deep amongst towering forests below the steep slopes of the Blue Mountains in Eastern Pennsylvania, the Alpine Motorsports Club offers the ambiance of the Austrian Tyrol, the atmosphere of a traditional European road-course, and the challenge of a mountain pass in a magnificent and breath-taking setting. The Alpine Motorsports facility is located just a short drive from the bustling urban centers of New York City, Philadelphia, Eastern Pennsylvania and Northern New Jersey.
Designed by world-renowned track designer and safety expert Alan Wilson, this private motorsport resort features a road-course that is truly unique in North America and the world. It’s 4.2 miles of twisting, steeply climbing and challenging road-course, which climbs over 220 feet along the lower plateaus of a lofty mountain range, before plunging like an Alpine pass back down to the clubhouse, activities center and paddock areas.
Alan stated “The spectacular location provided me with challenges that were different from any of those I’ve faced in the eighteen other road-courses I have designed. I was presented with the task of creating a track that would not only meet all appropriate safety standards but one that would challenge both expert drivers and sports car enthusiasts alike, while still appealing to the exclusive membership of the Alpine Motorsports Club”. Alan has laid out a facility that provides nine different road-course layouts. Each course offers distinct challenges for high performance cars, road going sports cars and sport sedans, GT cars, collector and historic sports cars, all in a package that will provide a totally unrivaled motoring experience for Club Members and visitors.
Alan described the Alpine “GT1 Circuit”, “as nearly three-miles long and 40 feet wide, it leads from the pit lane into a medium speed left/right/left combination that exits uphill into a long 2,300 ft., fast section that rises some 220 feet before entering a very challenging high speed left hand sweeper (Turn 7) that crests at its apex. Turn 7 leads onto another 2,300 ft. of gradually rising and then gradually falling, high velocity and gently curved roadway. Because of the speed potential of this section, I’ve included an alternate, medium speed left/right combination, midway between Turns 4 and 7 for use when lower speeds are more appropriate”.
Wilson continues, “Turn 8 requires straight-line, hard braking as you enter into a downhill 180˚ left hander, which is the beginning of a series of three uniquely different, switchback downhill curves that drop the track 120 feet through the steepest part of the course into an undulating and faster right/left/right and left sector that brings drivers back onto pit lane. Reminiscent of mountain passes made famous in international rallying, this section gives the facility its Alpine identity and is truly unequaled in the world of motor sports”.
“The 2-mile East Course turns left off pit lane and climbs steadily up through a fast Ess series before joining the full track half way along the top straight in a sharp, climbing left hand turn. Designed to be a stand-alone track, this course provides the Alpine facility with the ability to operate a second independent track, the West Course, while the East Course is in use”.
“The West Course is a shorter, nearly 1-mile layout intended for driver training purposes and even Autocrossing events. Slower and technical, its 11 corners will present a variety of challenges to a driver’s skill that will offer Club Members hours of intensive use and will be suitable for all types of road going and competition cars”.
In designing the Alpine Motorsports road-course, Wilson has met the demands of a wide variety of potential users. Alan concluded, “Every type of road going sports, touring or performance car will find challenges appropriate to their design while the course will enable amateur, club and recreational drivers to drive side by side or pass in safety. In other words, each driver can establish and meet their own personal driving goals, or simply enjoy… “a fast drive in the country”.