Hot lap guide to Lydden Circuit

This circuit is more famous for rally cross and motor cycling events but it is a favourite sprint circuit that demands a lot of concentration to get a fast time without hitting anything!A favoured place for Southern based sprinters, it is a real challenge and is a great place for spectating as the circuit is in a natural valley and visibility is excellent. Several of the main Southern sprint and race series are based here. www.twmc.org.uk for details on this.

This guide is a little different from previous ones in that it is not only intended for those sprinting or on a track day at Lydden but also those Tasmin drivers that will be facing it for the first time in their race series.

For me, the circuit has both good and not so good memories. I have sprinted there many many times and driven many test and track days there, yet it is one circuit where you have to keep you wits about you as it can easily catch you out, as I have learnt to my cost over the years. I had my first ever class win and also lost a class championship when I spun into the tyres at Paddock.

Paddock bend

On a sprint you come out of the paddock exit lane straight into this bend and for the only time during a sprint, it can be treated with relative impunity. The bend is a right hander where the entry is up a slope. You come down Hairy Hill at a great rate of knots and try and leave the breaking as late as possible but not too late that you go wide. The problem is that while the entry slopes up, the apex is just over the brow and if you go wide here, you are potentially in deep, deep trouble.

The sprinters use the paddock exit onto the track straight onto the Paddock bend.

Get Paddock wrong and you will visit the tyre wall! This is where most of the problems occur. The sprint will start from the access road on the left and will finish after a couple of laps just before the North Bend.

Paddock from the driver's side. The apex is abit blind but important to find. Don't cross the white lines on the left. They are out of bounds and if something goes wrong it will end in tears as there is no where to go!

Coming out of Paddock. In the background you can see the Dover Slope and the entry into the Devil's Elbow.

The breaking point varies dramatically but the general concensus is to come off the brakes a bit early, let the car balance recover and use the upward slope to slow the car down the last 10 or so miles an hour. Err on the conservative side as too fast an entry can be almost impossible to recover from. Don’t turn in too early as you will suffer from the wrong line and the car going light as it goes over the brow before visiting the nearby gravel trap or spinning round and down the Autocross circuit. While it is tempting to take the short cut, the officials will notice. The trail of stones and dirt on the car are a bit of a giveaway as is the plume of dust coming from the back wheelsÉ The fact that this is right in front of the officials doesn’t help too much either.

The exit is fun as you need to get the power down as soon as possible to get the speed down the straight. Not so much that you need to start wishing for a co-driver on the front of the car laying down bricks “Wallace and Grommit” style to give you the extra surface you need. In my experience, taking speed into the corner in no problem isÉ getting out with it is and it is this challenge that causes most of the incidents here. Get the speed or line wrong and there is insufficient track for you on the exit. There is a bit of kerbing but this can be slippery so don’t rely on it. Beyond that is about 4-5 metres of gravel/grass and then a tyre wall. Trust me, this is a place to avoid. So here are some Heath tips on not getting round.

1. Come steaming down the hill in fourth, brake so well that you have reached the ideal speed for the corner at the dip before Paddock only to find that the slope now slows you down so much that life appears in slow motion.

2. Come down the hill and get the breaking wrong. Realise that turning in while interesting and spectacular for the crowds on the hill overlooking the corner, this is not a good idea. Remember Nigel Mansell’s overtaking Berger round the outside and attempt the same. Make a mental note that you are not a Mansell, the 390 doesn’t grip like a F1 car, and despite what you said at Goodwood, gravel traps are not faster lines.

3. Get the entry so quick that the exit speed is so fast that not only do you need the kerbing for the inside wheels but you find it pretty useful for the outside ones as well. Send a letter of thanks to the Met Office for their forecast of heavy rain as the resulting dry grass gives you enough traction to get back on the track.

Pilgrims and Chessons drift

Having survived Paddock, you hurtle down the straight into Pilgrims and Chessons Drift. These two corners are best treated as one complex. The entry into Pilgrims is down a slope through a dip and then up a very steep slope on the corner. In the wet, this dip is one of the first places to fill up with water. In the cold, it is probably the last place to dry out or thaw. Yes, Lydden can be glorious in the sunshine for the rest of the circuit but like an ice rink at this particular place. Both the water and ice congregate at the turning in point as if you don’t have any other problems. One tip is to gauge the conditions by how much the rear of the car goes out under power down the preceeding straight. If the car moves, the chances are the Pilgrims and Chessons will be slippery and worth taking that bit extra care.

From the start finish line along the Canterbury staright and into Pilgrims Corner. This slopes down quite a bit but...

The corner is on different levels and again the apex is blind and over a brow. Like Paddock, you need to learn how to approach the first part to get the right position on the second. The entry is a double apex so a latish turn in is good. There are two schools of thought on this: the classic and I believe the faster route is to move over to the left on the downward approach, ignore the first apex and turn in to make the real apex and hold your breathe while you go over the brow. This does leave a big space down the inside which is not a problem on a sprint but could well be in a race. An early turn in can work and can be good for overtaking on the inside but you can’t take so much speed in and this leaves you vulnerable to the overtaken car retaking the place on the outside. Typically, you need to a few more MPH off the speed to enable a tighter turn in to make the apex. If you don’t then the car will shoot round to the outside, oversteer like crazy over the brow and the give you a worrying time as the tyre wall looks closer and closer. The car you have just struggled to get past can then shoot inside.

Once into Pilgrims, the slope changes upwards towards Chessons Drift. The corner has a multiple apex and it is tempting to turn in too early!

Chessons Drift is exactly what it says it is and on the exit into Dover Slope, the car will be drifting quite close to the edge of the track.

Whichever route you take and as I say, the jury is out on this one, the key is to get the entry speed so that you get the apex right and you are on the inside of the track. As the cardrifts out, you can get the power down to accelerate round the drift and down the straight into the Devil’s Elbow. This is probably the fastest part of the 1 mile course with speeds of around 105-110 mph in a V8, and probably around 90-95 in a V6.

1. Leave the braking a bit late to exploit the upward slope slowing down the car advantage. Realise that this still needs considerable braking and that really the slope could be a little bit longer and straighter for your current course and speed. Start to get that interesting revolving feeling experienced on fairground roundabouts. Lock up and stop the car. Notice a green V8S coming out of Paddock and do the quickest 3-point turn in your life.

2. Forget about the blind apex due to a superb fast entry and find that the car instead of being on the inside is now on the outside. Suddenly the mental picture of letting the car drift out as the power is applied becomes less appealing when compared to a more attractive route cutting across the track and using the autocross circuit which was obviously placed in exactly this spot for you to use. Hide the local paper which claims aliens have made a huge logo consisting of several intertwined parallel black lines at LyddenÉ

3. Go into the exit wide. Notice that the apex never seems to get any closer. Turn in more and notice that you have rear wheel oversteer. Apply opposite lock, lock brakes while on the tarmac release them on the grass and nudge the nose onto the armco to stop. Engage first gear and carry on. If you say nothing they may not have noticedÉ Wave to New Age Travellers camped near the huge fertility symbol consisting of black, parallel intertwined patternsÉ

The Devil’s Elbow

This is where reputations, cars and good times are made or lost. The corner is a 90 ish degree left hander with a pretty late apex. The entry is pretty fast and bumpy while the exit is uphill towards the hairpin. Nothing really difficult except that the cornering speed is such that you run out of revs in second almost in mid corner and need a gear change or if you are in third, you are not going fast enough to stay in the power band. All this would be pretty momentary if the exit was flat but as it isn’t due to the hill. The affect of the wrong gearing is like hitting a brick wall and the acceleration has more in common with a diesel Sierra packed with a weekend’s cement for a little DIY bricklaying. As a result, the explosive drive out of the corner is more like a chug, chug “oh come on” car chug!. Downside is that you can loose a lot of time as a result. At least 2-3 seconds is common.

Coming into the Devil's Elbow. This year the 520 reached 110 mph before the braking point!

The aim therefore is to carry as much speed through the corner so that you can stay in third while being as close as possible to the power band. Again no problem except for the white lines and bank that you are usually politely requested to avoid going over. Carry too much speed and these start appearing very, very quickly indeed. The other favourite trick is to get power induced oversteer and spin off the other side onto the grass and/or slight ditch.

So the general pointers here are

1. Come out of the drift and approach the service road. Rack brains to remember whether the break point is before, in the middle or after the service road on the right. Try before to be on the safe side, break and change down and then realise that the car is now virtually stopped 20-30 yards before the corner. Slip it into 2nd and drive to the corner. Remember to say how well balanced the car was and smooth it was going round the corner. After all smooth is fast, don’t you know. Ignore the comment that the Fiat Panda was quickerÉ

2. Come into the drift and try after the slip road. Realise that the bumps are quite fun and try and wait for the car to be on a down before turning in. Turn in anyway when you realise that a fairly big down is coming in the shape of the gravel trap. Turn in, fail to meet the apex and start drifting to the bank. Notice how the car is accelerating with none of that chug chug effect. Slam on the brakes to avoid the bank and chug chug back up the hill. Ignore the comment that the Burger van is now beating you.

3. Come into the drift get the braking right but turn in a touch too early due to an overeager willingness to carry speed through the corner. Make the apex or to be more exact, an apex and scrabble round the corner at 30-45 degrees. Notice that the immense acceleration is due not to the speed but that you changed down to 2nd and are on the limiter. Try and work out how to change gear with both hands applying opposite lock, give up and let the rev limiter limit everything. Get the car straight, change gear and enjoy the individual sound of the V8 cylinders as in your haste you notice that the car is in 5th. Ch-ug, ch-ug up the hill. Explain that the new digital gear change system still has a few bugs in it. Forget to mention that the term digital refers to your fingers.

The Hairpin

Exiting the Devil's Elbow and going up the hill to the hairpin.

This is great fun and is probably the first normal corner on the course. It is at the top of the hill and the braking point can be quite late as the upward slope really helps slow down the car. The apex is late and again the trick is not to turn in too early. Some people complain that the correct line has little grip and a slightly wider arc round the corner is quicker due to the improved grip. Not totally convinced by this, though as I find I need every inch of track on the exit to get the power down to really enjoy going down Hairy Hill.

1. Go for the late breaking point where the tyre wall starts to really exploit the help from the slope. Realise that you really went through the Elbow quickly and that you are still breaking as the car has gone past the turning in point. Turn in and go round the outer edge. Don’t forget to claim that you noticed a glint of oil and decided to take the alternative path round the outside for better grip.

2. Go for the slightly earlier breaking point, find that while earlier, it wasn’t quite earlier enough. Remember that last time there was that glint of oil. Practice saying “You clean shoes by wiping them on grassÉ I was simply cleaning my tyresÉ” for when you get back into the paddock.

It can go wrong! This is how I lost the All Circuit Sprint Class Championship when I visited the tyres at Paddock on practice.