Lydden Hill - Whats it like??

[Andy Roberts]

I'm doing a double header Formula Honda race at Lydden Hill on Saturday but I have never seen the place before, let alone raced at it!

Anyone who has been there before can you just give me some pointers as to what the circuits like to drive etc as I'm curious thats all.

Many Thanks,

AndyR

[Slowcoach]

I have sprinted but not raced there (yet-August!) Personally I found the most difficult corner the last on the circuit , you come charging down the hill and are confronted with a 90 degree right hander- I have come off there at least twice-luckily and suprisingly ending on the infield each time . One tends to forget the extra momentum coming down the hill and the fact that the camber falls away from you from the middle of the tarmac as you go round plus there isnt that much space before the barrier if you do go off. I cant begin to imagine what it could be like coming down the hill with a dozen or more cars around you - you could easily miss your braking point and turn in too late. My friend wrote off his Nissan GTIR only this past weekend at that very corner whilst sprinting.
My past problems have always come from dipping my rear nearside wheel into the gravel on exit and from there on its been very tricky to catch it again.
It's a tight,narrow circuit which many saloon car drivers term a 'doorbanger' coz of the lack of room for manoeuvre- having said that it IS challenging and fun , but I should say treat it with respect !
Good luck - let us know how you get on ?

[Andy Roberts]

Cheers for the info mate. I'll let you know how it goes on Sunday on this board.

AndyR

[yelwoci]

Andy,
I 'raced' at Lydden for the first time last year in my RX7 with CSCC.

Some key points:
Facilties are very basic
The circuit is in a natural bowl and has little air flow. So on hot days it really kills the brakes, so make sure the pads are well bedded in, the fluid is new, and you have ducting if needed.

The circuit is quite challenging.
Paddock hill bend is very fast but don't allow the car to drift out wide otherwise you'll spin on the exit....I did!

At the end of the Cantebury straight is a complex righthander. You enter into a dip that complicates the braking and then the corner is up hill with a crest about the apex. This can cause a violent twitch as it lifts the wheels. Once past this let the car go, classic 4-wheel drift to exit.

Blast down Dover slope to the left hander at Devil's Elbow. Its a good place to overtake but don't go out to right further than middle of track as you approach the corner. Lost of marbles and you'll end up in the tyre wall...I DID!.

Blast up the hill, classic hairpin, though 'cos of hill you go in quicker, watch the exit, blast back down the hill, remember to brake before Paddock! (But as I said at start it is faster than it initially looks).

It could be an interesting circuit, but it's too small, high risk of damage and hours from anywhere but Dover.
In the sun it kills the car, but is very pleasant for spectators and in the paddcok.
In the wet, its miserable and there's a very high risk of damage.


Regards
Ian Cowley
Pre-83 Grp-1 RX-7

[DAVID PATERSON]

Last weekend I was watching a club Super Sprint at Morgan Park, a little club circuit near Warwick, a country town, 200km SW of Brisbane. They were starting the cars, 4 at a time and as they gridded up the next event I noticed the cars were a Mk II Cortina, A Mk I Escort and two Mk I Cortinas. An elderley English Gentleman standing next to me on the spectator mound, remarked "This is just like watching Club Racing at a place like Lydden Hill." Now, that remark holds a little more meaning to me.

[RickP:Clio51]

Raced a 5 Turbo there a few years ago...

Remember going through tyres like nobodies business and also that you don't want to hit the kerb on the apex of the last corner... got it high enough on 2 wheels that I got the crowd to all take a pace backwards...
GOod luck

RickP

[cool_runnings8]

If you go to www.gideoncresswell.com there's quite a few race reports from Lydden which might help. Rebecca.

[Peter Mallett]

What's it like?

Small, tight, basic and good for front wheel drive cars.