I just finished two days at Road Atlanta, and thought I'd share my impressions of the new surface. I'm happy to report that in general, it's fantastic and a big improvement over the old asphalt and those familiar concrete patches. Tons of grip, even with the ridiculously cold temps we had. It's also very smooth, with the exception of a few spots. There are some very minor ripples along the inside of Turn 3. Turn 5 has a couple of significant bumps just past the inside curb. I also noticed some small ripples on the back straight, between Turns 8 and 9 and just to the right of mid-track. Finally, you hit what feels like a pretty big depression near the curb in 10A. On the positive side, Turns 1, 6 and 12 feel absolutely perfect. Turn 7 is still a bit tricky (at least to me), but is also much smoother and more confidence inspiring. The new surface also seems to be very easy on tires. My first session on Friday I ran a Power Race rear that a single day at Barber had left pretty chewed up. Afterwards, it looked like it had been sanded smooth. I then ran half of Friday and all day today on a brand new set of Michelin slicks, and they look very smooth and very lightly worn.
We ran the original configuration through 2 and 3. I read online that the walls outside of 3 were moved back 30 feet, but to tell you the truth I didn't even notice.
The surface is GREAT, except for that one bump on the inside going up the hill.....i guess turn 5. Can't wait to hit another day down there.