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Turn 1
The entry to this sweeping, fast, right hand turn is flat, but as you enter it the turn has some banking and starts to climb uphill. With that in mind and the fact that it is an increasing radius turn you can carry a bit more entry speed than you initially think. There is not much runoff however, so work up to that speed with caution.

There are three common methods to take turn 1:
1.) The traditional way through 1 is to trail brake deep into it. You will see a lot of newer drivers doing this.
2.) The second and possibly faster way through 1 is to brake early, let off before the turn in, and get on the gas all the way through the turn.
3.) Another variation on this is to slow down even more, and get on the gas at the 50 marker. This should only be done when you are ALONE, because people behind you will not be expecting you to brake so early, however if done correctly, you'll be very fast through 2 which is more of a short straightaway than a true turn.

Turn 2
This is just a slight bend back to the left at the end of turn 1. At the exit of turn 1, drift back to the right side of the track. You will see a painted yellow stripe going up the hill that marks the exit of the pro pits. Put your right tires on or just over this stripe and start turning slightly left just after the stripe ends.

This will give you a nice straight line to brake in as you approach turn 3. The goal is to be parallel along the left side of the track and next to the outside curbing for the entry to turn 3.

Turn 3
This right hand corner starts a fairly long downhill run that lasts until the entry of turn 5.
Most cars will use a medium amount of braking to get to the proper entry speed for the turn. It is a fairly flat right turn, but does start going downhill past the center of the corner. With lower power cars, pick an entry speed and throttle pick up point that uses the whole track here, as the next turn is a wide enough radius that you can stay wide open throttle and still hug the inside edge.

Higher power cars may need to compromise the exit slightly to get to the end of the next turn in the correct spot. You will accelerate throughout the next turn, so too much entry speed combined with a powerful car may cause you to push too far outside for the entry point and direction for the Esses at the end of Turn 4.

Turn 4 and the Esses
Turn 4 begins right after the end of turn 3, it is a flat (not banked), downhill, left hand corner that most cars are fairly wide open through. Be sure to exit the corner on the inside (left edge) so you can be set to take a straight shot through the Esses that follow. Most cars will turn down into the Esses at the very beginning of the curbing on the left side as you exit Turn 4; the track is slightly blind here so there is a tendency to turn in late.

If you’re using a lot of steering input to stay on track in the Esses, you may want to re-think your exit point of turn 4. You should be wide open through the Esses and making very slight steering inputs.

At the last part of the Esses, just as the track starts to go uphill again, make your way to the right edge of the track and prepare to do your braking in a straight line to prepare for Turn 5

Turn 5
So for this left hand turn, with all the speed you should have picked up from the downhill run through the Esses, you will probably do at least a moderate amount of braking. The radius of this turn is fairly tight, but since it is pretty steep at its exit, lower power cars may be able to carry more momentum through the corner than you might initially think. (At first glance, some may think this turn is another right hand turn, but it is not. To the right is a cutoff road which is a great place to stop your car if you happen to have mechanical difficulties or something of that nature.)

There is not much to mark a good apex point here - start off trying middle to slightly early apex considering the wide track exiting the turn. This is the 3rd most important corner on the track, the following straight is long enough that Advanced PDX groups use it for a passing zone.

Turn 6
With the straight leading into this turn, all cars will do some braking for this corner. You will find less braking can be used due to this turn’s banking. Exit smooth and set-up parallel to the outside (left side) edge to prepare for Turn 7.

Turn 7
This is the most important corner on the track. Negotiating this corner properly will allow you to make many passes down the long straightaway that follows and lower your lap time considerably.

After coming through Turn 6 you will once again need to slow down considerably. Turn 7 is the tightest, flattest, deceptive corner on the entire track. The key to a quick lap time lies in negotiating this corner in such a manner as to maximize your speed down the long back straightaway. Do your braking early!

Select an apex and path that allows you to pick up the throttle very early, then work on trying to maintain that pickup point while adding minute amounts of entry speed. You should be no more than 20% through the turn before you're at full throttle or near full throttle. This means getting your speed down early, going deep, and getting your turning done soon so you can open the wheel and get on the gas. It is far too common to try and carry too much speed out of 6 and maintain that speed through turn 7. Doing that will delay your throttle application and hurt straightaway speed.

Be aware that the runoff room just past the exit tightens up considerably as the wall veers over to meet the edge of the track, so be aware of this when you start experimenting with entry speeds and throttle pick up locations. You may go off or loop here if you are too early and there is only slight room here - don’t overcook it or you may find yourself into the tires or wall.

As you exit Turn 7, stay to the left side and check mirrors, gauges, etc. Motion for faster traffic to pass you on the right.

Turns 8 & 9
These two turns are both mild bends in the back straightaway that require no special attention. After the second flag station on your right the track will start to tilt downhill, and at this point you should make your way to the right edge of the track to prepare for braking and entry into the next turn complex.

Turns 10A & 10B
These corners will require the most attention to braking points. There are several markers on each side of the track and dashed painted lines on the track itself starting around 300 yards before the entry to the corner.

If you overheat your brakes, overshoot your braking point, or anything of that sort there is a large gravel trap just ahead, so do not panic if something like that happens. The gravel will stop you faaarrr before you're in danger of hitting the wall that is quite a large distance past the corner and uphill. But brake safe and you will not be stuck on the beach.

Turn 10A is the left turn, and 10B is the right turn immediately following it. Take a path through A that has you finishing that part on the left edge of the track so you can take a slightly late apex on B. This will allow you to climb the hill quickly and carry that speed through the next two turns onto the front straight. That is especially important for lower power cars, as you will likely be wide open throttle from 10A until you brake for turn 1, making it the second most important corner (if you're able to take 11 and 12 wide open throttle that is).

Turn 11
In the middle of this corner are the pit entries. Most club racing and school groups will use the left or outside pits and the entry for these is just under the Suzuki Bridge on the left side of the track. As you exit 10B you will notice the giant Suzuki Bridge, and just below the advertisement there are 3 squares, a red, a white, and a yellow. Use these to determine your position left to right on the track. Each car and driver is different, so the square you may want to position yourself under will be different. Most will split the red & yellow squares. If in doubt, ask your instructor or others what square they’re using to position themselves. Most will tell you which square they are placing the driver's seat underneath.

As you pass under the bridge the track will begin to head downhill fairly dramatically and you will begin to negotiate the track’s most extreme elevation change. This turn should not require a lot of steering input and on exit make your way to the left edge of the track to prepare for the last turn.

Turn 12
This is a very fast sweeping turn that leads onto the front straightaway. There is not much room for error should you go off so be cautious as you work up to speed. A slightly late apex point is recommended for new drivers to avoid pushing off the left side. An early apex here can cause things to get ugly and ultimately lead to contact with the left wall, and dropping a tire off the left side requires patience to come back over onto the track surface. If in trouble, don’t yank the wheel violently to the right or you will loop the car and hit the right side wall.

This is the second most important turn since it leads onto the front straight. Most drivers consider a good track out in Turn 12 as a reward for their good work in 10 A&B and through 11. Consider this: Turns 10-11-12 and the front straight are the longest section without braking except for the back straight. So doing these segments well can yield improved lap times where good driver skills make the difference vs. the back straight where raw HP makes up for driver skill gaps.