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From the start line we head down to Redgate in fourth gear, probably taking fifth for a short distance before braking past the end of the pits and into third. It is a corner which seems tighter than it is but which can catch you out on the exit where it tightens. It is important to hit the apex and get a good clean exit because it gives you speed into the next section.
Into fourth then into the first right hand section of the Craner Curves, snatching fifth and over on the far right of the circuit. Then point left balancing the car as you go down the hill aiming for the inside apex and staying left. Flat out when you have it right. A big accident if you don’t.
Craner is one of those bends that makes you hold your breath every lap. It's fast, downhill and awkward, with the car always in danger of just stepping past the limit. Real car balance and driving finesse is needed to hold line.
Once you’re through then stay left, onto the brakes, into fourth and turn early right across the apex of the right hand Old Hairpin. Let the car run wide to the edge of the track and then slip back across to the right hand side for the next series of left handers.
Starkeys Bridge is a flat out, long, swooping left hander. It’s really a double-apexed corner with the first part relatively simple. However, the second apex is tighter and you need to keep the car in fairly tight on the exit as the corner leads directly into the braking zone for McLeans. If you’re quick you’ll be up into 5th before braking for McLeans and into fourth.
This is another tricky corner because the car is still unsettled from the previous section under braking, and also because of the apex of the corner being on a slight crest which means the circuit falls away from you on the exit. It’s therefore important to get a good early apex and not let the car run out too wide on the exit - especially since there’s a very deep gravel trap very close to the edge of the circuit!
Continuing uphill in fourth towards Coppice - another right hander and again with the apex right on the crest of the hill and blind as you approach. Brake and then turn in tight on the inside kerb and then hard on the power on the long, swooping exit. It used to be a 3rd gear corner but now seems OK in 4th if you are going quickly and carrying lots of speed. You really have to cling on as the car sits down on the limits of adhesion. It’s critical to get a good exit here in order to maximise your speed for the long straight ahead.
Sweep to the left of the track, under the Dunlop Bridge, into fifth, look at the instruments, check the mirrors, past the Grand Prix Circuit turn and then stand on the brakes and down to third for the Goddards Chicane. It can be very easy to over-run the entry. It is better to be neat and tidy through the first part, being careful not to unsettle the car on the concrete apex kerb, leaving maximum acceleration through the second part onto the straight and past the pits – being careful to keep right under the start gantry where the noise meter is housed. Check the pit board and start all over again.
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