Harris Hill Raceway
San Marcos, TX
Length
1.77 miles
Turns
15
Direction
Clockwise
Elevation Change
150 ft
Elevation (ASL)
700 ft
Surface
Asphalt
Grip
Good mechanical grip; improves with heat and rubber
Brake Severity
Medium-high (technical layout with multiple braking zones)
FIA Certification
Private club facility
Nearest Airport
Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS) - 35 miles
Nearest Trauma Center
Dell Seton Medical Center, Austin (Level 1) - 30 miles
Track Character
Tight, technical circuit that rewards car placement over speed. Short lap and frequent corners mean the car is always in transition. Setup for quick transitions and responsive turn-in. Brakes are less critical than at larger tracks. Good for learning — the consequences of mistakes are lower.
“Remember that in a tight and long corner such as this one, it is easy to pick up gobs of understeer by going to the throttle before the car has rotated to a usable yaw angle. Continuing the braking past the turn-in, then using a quick release of the pedal pressure, can help get the tail out to where you want it.”
Going Faster! — Carl Lopez (Skip Barber)
Harris Hill's tight, technical corners demand patience with throttle application. Lopez's advice about waiting for rotation before adding throttle is the key to carrying speed: premature throttle in the tight corners creates understeer that scrubs speed all the way to the exit. Use trail braking to rotate the car, then apply throttle once the car is pointed toward the exit.
“Weight transfer, g forces and momentum all work together. If you are not accomplishing these transitions in one fluid motion, then you might be one of those that I refer to as the "stab-n-steer" group.”
Bob Bondurant on High Performance Driving — Bob Bondurant
Harris Hill's frequent transitions between corners reward Bondurant's philosophy of fluid, connected inputs. The short lap means you are constantly transitioning from braking to turning to acceleration with almost no straight-line driving. Smoothness between phases — not peak braking or peak cornering — is what separates fast from slow at this track.
“Corner-entry speed is more important than late braking. If you update your mental picture of the corner-entry speed, to "y + 2 mph," for example, you will naturally brake a little later and not any harder. This will result in carrying more speed into the corner.”
Ultimate Speed Secrets — Ross Bentley
Harris Hill's short lap amplifies the value of Bentley's corner-entry speed principle. With frequent corners and short straights, there is very little time to make up speed on the straights — the time is made in corner entry. For each corner, update your mental picture of the entry speed by 1-2 mph rather than braking later. The tight layout means you can practice this technique many times per session, rapidly building the calibration.