Willow Springs Big Willow Circuit for GTR2 WIP

[gwaldock]

I have posted a video of my scratch-built Big Willow track on YouTube; it is nearly finished (beta v0.93) and will be shared with the community very soon. I have also ported the track to rFactor.

Thanks for looking. Please let me know what you think.

 

[gwaldock]

Thanks Jack. Yes, I enjoy Lyons' book very much. I have probably seen every vintage RIR race available on YouTube, I own the Route 66 episode that was filmed there and "Winning" with Paul Newman is also a fun reference. Have you looked at "Hay Bales and Asphalt" (DVD) by Clark E. Smith?
Thanks again!

 

[Jack Straw]

OK, I've been running on the Big Willow circuit in P&G for a few days.
First off, this is a nice improvement on the previous versions of Willow that I've used for a few years now. Nicer details, better skies, the surrounding landscape looks right, and of course the pits are now on the correct side of the main straight.

The only thing I've noticed up to this point is that the start lights and/or flag man are really hard to find, particularly if you qualify on pole (don't we all?). Overall I'm really pleased with this. Thanks Gwaldock!

One kinda silly detail that would be fun is to put the "House of Charmin" signage up on the main restrooms. Hey, I notice these things. Here's a pic, circa 1967 of my Sunbeam Alpine at Willow.

 

[Jack Straw]

I tried to find "Hay Bales and Asphalt" but it's not available currently. A few years ago I bought a nice set of old west coast sports car racing films by Al Moss of Moss Motors. It's a good collection if you can find it.

 

[gwaldock]

Thanks for your review and suggestions. I agree that the SF lights are small and hard to see at times. They are accurately sized & placed but I will yield reality for the sake of usability at my earliest opportunity. I will post a link to updated/up-sized lights here very soon. I may even add the bit of signage that you suggested

That is a beautiful example of a Sunbeam Alpine, sir. I always liked Sunbeams (almost got my hands on a Tiger many years ago, but the guy was smart enough to back out of the deal).

I guess the original director of "Hay Bales and Asphalt" VHS version got screwed by whoever it was that created the DVD I have. I had no idea until I just now checked Amazon.com and found a comment by him. Too bad, because it contains approximately 30 minutes of incredibly rare footage.

I have seen no films by Al Moss, but I may have been to his store if it is the same Moss of "Moss Motors" in the Goleta, CA area. I was referred to the store by a friend of mine in the Jaguar Club (I owned a 1968 E-Type and a 1972 XJ6) way back in the early 1980s. I met a nice older guy there but cannot recall if it was Mr. Moss. They say the memory is the first to go...

 

[gwaldock]

Thanks for your suggestion about Start Lights Jack. I posted an updated beta of Big Willow on Mediafire:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/22psbq2qzmg1rjt/WillowSprings for GTR2 v0.96.zip

Please take a look at it and let me know what you think.

I also updated the GT Legends version; link is in GTL section.

btw: an updated beta for rFactor will be posted in a few days.

 

[Jack Straw]

Hi gwaldock,

I installed the updated GTR 2 file and gave it a brief try last night with P&G. Looks good to me. Sure, it may not be precisely what the real Willow set up is but what the heck, it works nicely.

I can't see anything wrong with your version. Is there anything that you don't like?

 

[gwaldock]

Thanks Jack.

I like it, too. I guess we will stick with it...

I have never seen the Charmin' sign you referred to. Is it real and, if so, do you have a picture? Can you describe it?

 

[Jack Straw]

I have never seen the Charmin' sign you referred to. Is it real and, if so, do you have a picture? Can you describe it?[/QUOTE]

The "House of Charmin" signage photo is on my other computer, I'll dig it out and post later. I have a few old snaps from my motorcycle racing days in the 60's from Willow that I might post as well.

 

[gwaldock]

Outstanding! Looking forward to seeing them.

 

[Jack Straw]

Here's the "House of Charmin." This structure is immediately to the west and slightly behind the main admin, cafe, giftshop building. In the west pit section there's another restroom structure with similar signage. The pic with the fellow checking his motorcycle gives an idea of what the pits looked like around 1969.....primitive. That little patch of shade was important when the temp hit 100. In the background is one of the first buildings which had a wall blown out from wind. On the right is the crude plywood "tower" at start/finish. I've included a shot of the current start/finish flag stand as well.

Willow Springs has been continuously active since 1953 and has a couple of additional specialty circuits called Horsethief Mile and Streets of Willow. There is also a short paved oval and a kart track. The original owner, Bill Huth, passed away just a few years ago but as far as I know the circuit is still run by family members. It's a busy place these days with racing, track days, club events and frequent use for film and TV purposes. Long may it live.

 

[gwaldock]

Wow! You were there quite a while before me! Thanks for the awesome pictures . I will definitely make use of the "house of Charmin".

I cannot remember my first trip to Willow (mid 1970s maybe?) but here is a photo of my last visit. I was there with a buddy who built flawless replicas of a 427 Cobra and a GT-40. We spent some time with Carrol Shelby, who was so impressed with the cars that he signed the dashboards of both of them. Nice guy!
The brute in shorts with beard & glasses is me.

 

[gwaldock]

Thanks for the "Love", guys. It was a magic day and Mr. Shelby was a trip!

 

[gwaldock]

A link to the latest version of "Big Willow" has been posted to a new thread here at RD.

 

[Shovas]

Tried it out I really liked it. Textures could be sharper, especially road, but it's a fun course! I remember the tv show Head2Head and that other one routinely testing on this track.