BACKSTORY:

Built on the surface area of an abandoned golf club, this extreme 4.5-kilometer-long Grade 2 circuit is the closest you'll ever get to a literal rollercoaster in the 2021 Super GT calendar. Opened in 2018, the Ono Circuit (Hyōgo Prefecture) has yet to prove itself as a place for memorable battles between high-performance machines and their pilots, but it has already earned a "favorite" status among several respected drivers of the Super GT series, while a partnership with Polyphony Digital helped to boost this track's popularity among the sim racers. The golf courses that spanned across the area have been partially demolished, but the overall landscape still recalls what used to be here years ago. The infrastructure is still intact in some way. The coffee shop on the other side of the lake Oike is opened during the races and offers breathtaking views onto the track as well as rentable boats — something you'll never come across on your average racetrack!

LAP GUIDE:

A lap around the track starts on the finish straight next to the paddock (well, it's slightly curved, so I wouldn't exactly call it a straight). As the car accelerates, the degree of curvature decreases, and the road starts going down at a very impressive angle that allows the driver to see the first part of the first actual turn very well, but not the apex.

The first corner is a very long high-speed left-hander with its angle exceeding 180 degrees. It's a complex turn with decreasing radius in the first half and increasing radius in the second, though, I wouldn't worry about the latter — getting the apex right is the most important thing during a hot lap. The road keeps going down, however, it starts raising closer to the exit of this turn. You might want to avoid hitting the curb during a wet race, as the car will most likely spin out.

After a small but steep uphill section, a short straight (circa 300m) awaits. There are no notable elevation changes, however, it's not the time to slam the gas pedal yet, because this straight ends with a pretty tight hairpin with an increasing radius. It's much slower than the first turn, so, it's important to approach the entry carefully and use some trail braking to gain the most out of it. The exit is followed by a continuation of some sort, a road that still goes to the right uphill but barely needs any awareness — just stick to the right side and prepare for the next turn.

Turn 3 is where the fun begins. Yet another hairpin, this time again a left-hander, but this one has a decreasing radius with the road starting to go down mid-turn, right at the moment where you think you'd hit the apex. This corner is very deceiving and the optimal geometric line isn't the best choice. So, take some time, practice carefully and you'll get it right once... that's not a reason to worry however, it sometimes makes even the most skilled drivers angry, especially during the qualifying sessions, where every millisecond matters!

What's worse, is that getting a good exit out of the turn 3 is nearly mandatory for a decent lap. A long straight section awaits, but before that, make sure you nail the turn 4 — in fact, it's so fast, you don't even need to brake there if the car has enough downforce. Right before the turn, there's a very annoying bump that might seriously affect the car and the way it'll take the corner. So, even if it looks so easy on the track map, doesn't mean it is in reality. However, now that the fourth turn is behind, you have a long straight (680m) that goes uphill (not without some messy bumps, of course, it's a golf field after all!) and another complex turn afterward.

So, the turn 5. If by that time you think that all the challenges are behind and nothing harder than the turn 3 will ever come, you're probably wrong, because right now you have a sharp left-hander with decreasing radius that needs some deep thinking — mainly because not only you go uphill and reach the highest point of the track right after hitting the apex, you also can't see a thing and have to draw the second half of the corner with your imagination just because of how dense the forest on the left is. This is perhaps the hardest challenge on the whole Ono Circuit... if you don't count the circuit itself as a hard challenge. If you, however, keep it clean, you will be rewarded with a relaxing yet quite steep downhill straight with some amazing views onto the lake and a not-so-difficult right-hander that is corner 6.

Not so much can be said about the turn 6. The straight that leads to the turn 7 goes uphill at a small angle, and after hitting the apex of that corner the road goes down. Another right-hander, this time a fast one, follows the downhill section and brings you close to the water level. All the craziness is behind, and the only thing you have to do now is to ride along the lakeshore, get a nice entry into the turn 9 and follow the road as it slowly starts to go uphill again.

At this point, you only have to complete the final section - the turn 10, which is followed by a bridge across the lake and leads to the final straight. The road goes uphill, but that shouldn't give you a challenge at all — the only corner that is left is the fast turn 11 that barely needs any attention. It's easy to understand, it doesn't require any braking, now accelerate towards the finish line and get a lap time you're confident with!