• Take notice of the darker area on the track. This has been caused by previous drivers braking and turning into this portion and laying down rubber. It's a good idea to use this darker area as a guide as to where you should be as you tackle this first heavy turn.

7). Slow to about 75 mph. Let off the brakes and downshift into 3rd. Steer into the curve more dramatically. It is okay if you roll over the red & white curb on the inside, but i've found it not necessary.

8). Keep coasting from the inside-middle of the track to the outside where the red & white grid is. The brake indicator will be going crazy during this entire time, but we won't be braking or downshifting for the remainder of this test.

9). You should wind up just running over the red & white curb on the right slightly. When the brake indicator stops flashing, we can hit the gas momentarily & straighten out our car.

10). Just before the red & white curb stops on our right, crank the steering hard to the left. Pay attention once again to the "rubber smear" on the road. This is where you shoud be.

11). DO NOT downshift into 2nd or brake. As you near the inside of the next left curve, alternate between coasting, feathering the throttle, and coasting again. Keep your speed somewhere in the high-60's. It is important that you not give too much gas or you'll understeer into the sand or grass. This is an intuitive process. Eventually you'll learn just how much gas to give.

11). As the track straightens up, jam the gas fully. Straighten out the Prelude's steering as early as you can so the TCS stops activating. Shift into 4th and pass finish.
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• Notice that in the demo, the S4 brakes multiple times. I found i only had to brake once for the entire test! But it is safe if you brake more than once...i think i just got lucky.

2). Under the tunnel, it's safe to have your left tires rumbling over the red & white curb.

• The first few times i did this test, i experimented by driving fully on the left-hand concrete pad in the tunnel. This was an effort to get a better cornering angle, but it only proved to be complicated and added time so don't do this until you're doing sim races and possibly need to pass someone.

3). After you leave the tunnel, stay over on the left briefly. Do not shift into 3rd gear.

4). As the brake indicator shows up, ignore it. When it starts to flash, steer carefully inwards. The demo brakes here, but i found it unnecessary. Instead, i just steered hard, coasted while letting the front tires "grab into" the turn, and then alternated between feathering the throttle and letting this all-wheel drive car coast. Understeer is our worst enemy as usual.

5). We've slowed to about 57 mph at the slowest. The grass can pass slightly under our right tires, but try not to drive on it fully. As i said, you can tap the throttle, but don't jam it otherwise you'll wind up smacking the upcoming tunnel wall.

6). As we enter the 2nd tunnel, you'll be heading towards the left wall. This is naturally going to happen so back off from the throttle if you need to. Again, brakes are not needed and we're still in 2nd gear.

7). You'll most likely wind up with your left tires driving over the red & white curb in the tunnel. This is okay. Just before you leave the tunnel, straighten out, hit the gas, and upshift into 3rd gear.

8). We're in a gentle S-curve now, so work your way from the left towards the right of the track. As we pass the inside of this curve on the right, the brake indicator will start to flash just as our tires drive slightly into the grass on the right. Don't brake yet.

9). Immediately start steering to the left. As we pass the giant BRIDGESTONE tire banner on the left, start braking and keep steering into the curve as far left as you can without driving too roughly on the curb itself.

10). You should have slowed to about 75 mph at the slowest as you drive thru the left-curve. The track now starts its tricky downhill decent.

11). Carefully modulate throttle as you drive downhill. The track looks as though it will straighten out, but keep steering. The grass on the right-hand side has claimed many a driver, so careful!

12). Maintain about 75 mph, fluctuating from 74 to 78 mph as you drive downhill. You can straighten out the steering for just a moment if you have to, but as you pass the giant GULF ad on the right, you should start steering hard into the upcoming left-hand curve.

13). Keep modulating throttle. You can drive slightly over the red & white curb on the left-hand side. Do not force the gas too hard or you'll wind up understeering into the huge rocky outcrop on the right!.

14). When it's safe, give full-throttle, straighten out, shift into 4th gear, and finish.
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• If you watched the demo, notice it accelerates thru the cones till it shifts into 3rd gear. From then on, the driver slowly accelerates faster and faster from cone to cone till he's going about 70 mph. I have managed to do this some times, but other times i accelerated up to 3rd gear, maintained a near-constant speed by keeping my gas analog steady, and then rushed at the end.

Towards the end as the demo passes the last 3 sets of cones he jams the gas fully. I've found it's important to take this cue. Modulate your throttle..backing off when you need to, and giving just enough.

3). Here's some useful tips.

A. Use the bumper view in this test. I find i can see the cones better with this view, and since we'll be driving inches from each set of cones, it helps to be able to slip by them. So the bumper view is my personal favorite, though it might not work for you.

B. KEEP YOUR THUMB NEAR THE STEERING MUSHROOM AT ALL TIMES. If you're in the habit of taking your thumb off like i am, you won't have the extreme steering control this test requires. This, i found, was the hardest thing for me to get used to.

C. Turn the ghost off if you need to. I usually have the ghost on for most tests, but after doing IB-6 over and over, i instantly earned gold after i got rid of the ghost. This helped me psychologically as much as it did physically.
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1). We have a standing start. Rev up to about 6,000 rpms. The clock ticks down: 3...2......1..BEEP. On that "BEEP", give a push on the gas. If you do this correct, the tach needle will wind up just hitting redline and you'll have the best launch. This isn't 100% necessary for gold, but it'll give you an edge.

2). Shift into 2nd. Pass the 50M marker that hangs overhead. This time, we can use the brake indicator as a good place to start steering into this first hairpin.

3). Steer, brake down to about 31 mph, and accelerate out. Here, you'll encounter your first bit of oversteer as you exit. Note you can avoid it somewhat if you don't crank your steering all the way like you would with a front-drve car. We don't want excessive amounts of oversteer as we leave this (or any) corner at Hong Kong, otherwise the TCS will activate and *boom* there goes all your precious exit-speed. Feather the steering once you're deep in the turn (rather than cranking to max) and countersteer as you leave if you have to.

• In the next section of track, you can gain alot of time but it's tricky.

4). Follow the pace car thru the next slight right bend. Shift into 3rd gear when appropriate.

5). The brake indicator starts flashing. Note there are tire-marks on the track. For a super-low time, we're actually gonna ignore these. Instead, start turning early (there are a number of lamp-posts here on your left. I like to steer in as i'm passing the 3rd lampost from the end).

6). Brake fully but momentarily as you skew the MG slightly right. Do not downshift into 2nd. You'll be slowing slightly from about 83 mph to 72 mph. This is tricky. You're gonna aim for the inside barrier on your right as you do this. Feather the throttle and steering so that you just miss this barrier. Try not to smack (or even touch) the upcoming guardrail on your left as you exit.

7). Keep it in 3rd gear. As you exit that curve, TCS will activate, so do your best not to steer too much in any direction. Speed up to about 78 mph. The next right bend is approaching.


8). In this next bend, i found myself braking & turning in just a split second before the brake indicator told me to! Go figure. Again, this next curve is tricky and you'll be slowing from 78 mph to about 66. Don't give too much brakes. Don't give too much gas, and feather the throttle & steering as you need to.

• As the mid-engine skews us sideways with lift-off oversteer, there's not much we can do. You will most likely get a little slide going. This is okay...just don't let it get too excessive.

9). Keep it in 3rd gear....keep feathering the throttle thru this right-hand curve and the next slight right-kink. Keep the car on the right-hand side as you pass the kink.

10). As you pass under the 50M marker, start braking till you almost reach the 90° corner up ahead. Downshift into 2nd. You've now slowed to about 40 mph.

11). As you go thru this 90° bend, it's okay to give gas before you reach mid-point. It is also okay if you drive slightly over the red & white curb...just don't smack the guardrail...and don't give TOO much gas cuz you don't want to oversteer and lose time via TCS activation.

• About halfway between the 100M and 50M markers on this short straight (near where the double-decker busses are parked) the test allots its first time indication. As you do subsequent tests, you can use this indication as to how you're doing...in other words, if it says +.500 as you pass here, that's bad and you should start the test over (unless you're going for bronze or silver). If it says -.500, that's good. Eventually if you do this test over and over you can start making judgement calls at this area as to whether you should start the test over or not. No sense in finishing if know you're not doing so well.

12). Shift up into 3rd. It's possible to leave it in 2nd and let the engine reach its limit, but i personally found this was screwing with my cornering sometimes.

13). Start braking into this next 90° right bend, downshift into 2nd (unless you're already in 2nd) and accelerate out. Again, feather your steering and countersteer early to avoid TCS getting in the way.

14). Follow that pace car! Catch a draft from him so you speed rises slightly.

15). This is the longest straight at Hong Kong. Shift into 3rd and 4th gear when appropriate.

16). As we near the end, there are 200M, 100M, and 50M markers. Pass the 200 one, and pass the 100M. You should be justified to the right-hand side of the track. About halfway in between the 100 and 50M markers, there's a red & white barrier that juts out into the street slightly. AS you pass this, start braking heavily in a straight line.

17). Your right tires can pass over the red & white curb on the ground. You're gonna need all the track space you can get to manuver thru this track's tightest hairpin. Let off the brakes and coast if you need to as you enter this hairpin. I found myself braking heavily, coasting for a moment, steering in, and then braking again as i got into the turn. DO NOT hit the daft pace-car. DO NOT shift into 1st gear.

18). Leave it in 2nd as you carefully accelerate. It is possible (but not necessary) to take this next short straight area completely without shifting into 3rd. The MGF engine will redline and possibly hit max revs....this is okay.

19). Just after you pass the 50M marker, brake, steer in, and downshift (if you need to) into 2nd. Accelerate out. Like in other tight corners, give yourself some room as you exit so you don't steer too heavily and activate the TCS. Shift into 3rd.

20). Now we're approaching a 90° right corner with loads of people staring at us from the sidewalk. Just before you pass the 50M marker, start braking, but you DO NOT have to downshift into 2nd..you can leave it in 3rd. I downshifted anyways...better control.

21). This next area is nice and wide, so use the entire track width to gain speed as you exit.

22). Now we're cruising down a short, wide straight lit by sodium lights. Again, start braking & turning in to the left 90° corner ahead just after you pass under the 50M marker.

23). Take this next corner tight. You don't wanna get too far to the right as you exit because you're gonna need to manuver over to the left as you take the next 90° right.

24). Take the next right and left 90° turns. You should be in 2nd gear. I found myself braking before the right turn, but didn't need brakes before the left. Instead, i carefully modulated throttle.

25). As you exit this final lefty, the track widens out again so you can give full gas and finish. Phew.
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• Don't wait too late here. If you don't brake or steer soon enough, you'll wind up in the wide area of soft dirt beyond the inner-part of the road....and you might as well restart if you want some gold. If you crank your steering too fast / too early, your slide will be too wild, and you'll lose control in a slide and find the Lancer will start "see-sawing" as you try and countersteer excessively...

8). As you're sliding sideways hit the gas while steering right to get yourself lined up for the next curve. Gas will need to be modulated here: from moment to moment, it might be maxed to throttle, cut to half-throttle, further cut to no-throttle, maxed to full-throttle etc. This is a judgement call and depends on minute differences in the angle you've made for yourself as you enter and slide thru this curve.

9). On your left are 2 bushes that are taller than the usual scrub-grass. As you pass the first bush, you'll be accelerating and getting reasonably straight. As you pass the 2nd bush, you're doing about 57 mph and you'll need to brake suddenly while simultaneously changing direction with hard right-steering.

10). There's a group of photographers on your right with flashbulbs going even though it's broad daylight. This next curve is so fast...the directional change so sudden, that you're gonna need to try to act like you're steering in the direction of these clueless photographers. But by now the Lancer Evo has too much momentum built. You'll coast under zero throttle for a second as you crank the steering and get sideways again.

11). Just a moment after you pass and can't see the photographers anymore, give full throttle and keep it on full. Modulate steering to keep the car going in the direction you want. Don't steer too hard...you may wind up running into some sagebrush. On the other hand, keep your steering tight...feather it if you need to...but keep it tight. Just in front of the finish there's another patch of sagebrush and it's all to easy to let off on the steering and find yourself running into this patch instead of across the finish.

12). Shift into 3rd just moments before crossing the finish so the engine doesn't bounce off its RPM limiter and add extra time..
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• Unlike pavement driving, which typically calls for out-in-out hairpin attacks, it's best to get inside early at this snowy track.

6). There are now 3 tents in our vision straight ahead. GRADUALLY re-introduce throttle as you leave the hairpin. Too much gas on pavement will cause understeer. In the snow, you'll typically get oversteer instead.

7). As you leave the 1st hairpin, you'll be steering and giving about ¾ throttle. Keep the Celica far inside this curve...as it straightens out, you can finally hammer the gas. Shift into 2nd gear.

8). Try and get in the middle of the track as it stays straight for just a moment. The brake indicator starts flashing but we're not gonna brake till we pass a small whitish-yellow box on our right. Sorry, i have no idea what it's supposed to be....i'll just call it a box. Anyways, brake heavily but steer carefully. Downshift into 1st gear as you're steering braking.

• Your first impulse in this low-speed turn may be to get a slide going like you'd do in the dirt. DO NOT do this. Instead, carefully follow this hairpin, keeping all 4 wheels in a racing-line with as much traction as possible.

9). As you pass some cones and the black Valvoline banner on your right, gradually re-introduce gas. You'll be in 1st gear, giving anywhere from ½ to ¾ throttle. Traction is extremely important here, so don't hammer it yet.

10). Just as the orange cones on your inside-right go off-screen, give full gas and keep steering cranked right. The motor will redline so shift up into 2nd.

11). During this upshift, straighten out your steering. Give full gas for a moment. Move towards the center of the track.

12). You'll accelerate to about 46 mph. As you enter this final curve (which is thankfully not so tight), start steering in hard while releasing the gas till about half-throttle. DO NOT brake.

13). Act like you're trying to steer into the snow-embankment on your left while giving full gas and steering hard. What will happen is you'll (instead) understeer slightly and wind up heading towards the opposite side of the track on your right. This is okay...you're about to cross the finish.
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• In this test, i've found you can attack this first curve with a variety of braking points, and it's difficult to give an indication of exactly when to start braking. Perhaps this is due to the improved tires? I don't know.

3). So for my best gold time, i braked early while i was still on the left hand side of the track. Brake down to about 61 mph while downshifting into 3rd gear as you steer towards the red & white curb. You can give ½ to ¾ throttle before you run your right-hand side tires momentarily over this curb.

4). Since the track straightens out briefly now, your first impulse may be to straighten your steering. Don't do this. Instead, keep steering as you need to while you head towards a 2nd right bend. TCS will be activating while you give partial-throttle.

5). Give full throttle about halfway between the dual-right curves. Keep steering so that your right-hand tires run briefly over the red & white curb. You may even run slightly into the grass, too. This is okay.

6). You'll leave this curve in 3rd gear. Now there's a lefty curve up ahead so steer in. Shift up into 4th. There are 2 lanes on the road....try and stay in the inner lane on the left as you accelerate.

7). The track keeps bending left. Eventually the brake indicator starts flashing, which is ridiculous because nowhere along here should you be braking.

8). The track now bends right up ahead. We can start making our way to the right early...i usually start while i'm still on the left-hand side. As you cross the track, release the throttle (instead of braking) when you are about halfway across the track.

9). We're still in 4th gear. Steer in tight so your right-hand tires roll across the red & white grid. Again, it's okay to be slightly in the grass as well. The car rises over a lump. As it does so, you'll start veering left.

10). A few moments after leaving that lump and you're veering left, give a tap on the brakes. This is important...it gathers the front-drive Focus so that understeer isn't as severe later.

11). We're still veering left. As you do this, give some full throttle until the Focus understeers. Then back off a tad till it stops. Full throttle....back off. I did this 3 times. By now, the long left curve has broadened out and there's a blue & white curb on our right. You can gradually head towards this curb while you acclerate. You can even run your tires on it, which makes that cool rumbling noise.

12). Shift into 5th gear, cross the finish.
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1). We begin with a rolling start. Follow the track as it curves left and then right. Shift into 3rd when appropriate.

2). Here, it's possible to attack this next lefty curve from a variety of points that begin anywhere from the left side of the track to the center. In any event, let go of the throttle a tad, steer in, and accelerate fully, letting your left tires run slightly over the red & white curb.

3). You'll be going fast..the heavy Benz will naturally want to understeer to the right, but you'll need to fight it to the left side of the track while giving full throttle.

4). The brake indicator starts flashing. I've found it's possible to obey it immediately, or ignore it for a moment or 2....again there is some leeway. Just don't wait too long or you'll understeer into an upcoming guardrail!

5). Brake heavily while turning right...downshift into 2nd.

6). This right curve is odd....it starts with an area of sand and concrete on our right, and then juts out with a larger sand trap enclosed by a red & white curb. I've found myself modulating throttle thru here in 2nd gear tilll i can safely drive by. It's actually possible to drive slightly into the sand trap! It doesn't slow us down much.

7). Steer out of this area, shift into 3rd and then steer hard again while accelerating. Watch for the upcoming tunnel. Again, you may be understeering slightly as you steer left under hard accel-action. Just try not to rub or hit the tunnel wall as you enter...this will FAIL you or at the very least, scrub off some speed.

8). Blast thru the tunnel.

• Later on when racing, you'll notice this next area is where the Ai gets it all wrong.

9). The brake indicator starts to flash just as we leave the tunnel. The Ai usually brakes here for some reason. We don't have to. Climb the hill while keeping to the left side of the track.

10). As we get to the top, the Benz will "hop" and get all skittery & nervous. Perhaps this is why the Ai freaks out. Anyways, don't panic. Don't hit brakes. Instead, coast over the entire top of the hill. No gas. No brakes.

11). Work your way over to the far right of the track as you go down the hill, but try not to touch the huge rock boulder on the right. The car's tires will be protesting and screaming the entire time! This is the coolest part of the track if you ask me. Eventually as you roll down the hill, re-introduce some throttle as you feel safe.

• There are a number of ways you can get down the hill from the middle of the track to the far left. The main thing is to keep speed happening while making sure the car doesn't go into a collosal slide!

12). This next right bend is a long one that starts to go downhill. Try and steer right as you tackle it without rubing onto the wall on the left side or the embankment on right. Again, the Benz will understeering like mad, so back off the throttle when you need to.

13). Cross finish in a blaze of glory.
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