Castle Combe circuit guide

Post by **SPYDOR** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:25 pm

Evo magazine did a fantastic track day guide a few years ago, which covered the Castle Combe circuit among many others. I have not got around to hosting pictures of the guide but found this site has already done similar (despite getting one of the pictures back-to-front):

http://castlecombetrackday.bristolpegas ... he-circuit

Should be useful for those of you doing track time at JapFest, especially those new to the circuit.

Overview of the circuit layout:

Map of the circuit with all the zones and facilities:

Scott560 · Post by **Scott560** » Sat Apr 05, 2014 6:42 pm

For anyone who hasn't been, its not that daunting. I was worried but tbh unless you are running serious power, its no probs in a fast road car.

You can ignore 4 corners completely, old paddock/hammerdown/westway/folly, they just dont really exist.

Trickiest ones is camp corner in my mind...

lxstuart · Post by **lxstuart** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 12:51 am

It is hard to get just right, though thankfully most people brake too soon, so there aren't too many cars coming off here.

YouTube · Post by **Sailor** » Sun Apr 06, 2014 1:12 am

I've found Quarry to be tricky on occasion, simply because cars in front of you can sometimes take lines you weren't expecting.
The slight narrowing on the exit of Old Paddock is only an issue if you get the Esses wrong.
Camp Corner is hard to treat with a single steering input, but can be a great place to set up an overtaking move.

The "S" express · Post by **honda-hardy** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 10:04 am

I was at japfest and an nsX rolled at camp. I had a great view of it. Really a bad shame. There is a video on YouTube.

Post by **SPYDOR** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 11:16 am

I wasn't there when it happened but have seen the video several times; nearly posted it here actually but didn't want to scare anyone off. I read that the guy was on his first lap, looks like he was driving faster than his abilities unfortunately but really makes you cringe. I hope he managed to get it repaired rather than written off.

Watched a good trackday tips video this week where the guy was really emphasizing lap consistency above all things. He said if you can't place the car in exactly the same line every lap then you have no business increasing your speed, otherwise you are already driving past your abilities and an accident is inevitable.

Seems like sound advice, as track days are plenty safe if you drive consistently within your limits. How many of us go barrelling into fast corners for the thrill of it but not realising just how close to our limit we actually are.

I for one have had a low-side on my motorbike at Quarry corner.

Confused · Post by **Confused** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 2:39 pm

Have done Castle Combe a few times. The first time I went on, we were told that once you come past the start/finish straight, you should not need to adjust your steering wheel until you straighten up for the braking into Avon Rise.

You will touch the apex of Camp, hit the outside of the track along the start/finish straight, then hit the apex of Folley, go out and touch the outside of the approach to Avon Rise, and then end up back on the right hand side of the track before turning left into Avon Rise on the approach to Quarry.

It'll make perfect sense once you're on the track, and you get it right.

The most important bit of information I can give you is to brake before the bump at Avon rise, else you'll massively unsettle the car and end up screwing up Quarry.

This is one my sessions with work, when I was following the MD in his 510bhp Jaguar XKR:

[youtube]jOeXyOT7prQ[/youtube]

(the overlay is using GPS data from my phone, so it's a couple of seconds or so behind the actual video)

I'm not going to say what I did was the best way to get round the track - but it seemed to work, and it felt smooth enough that it wasn't a chore!

The first couple of laps I was running ~0.55 bar boost, then I up it to ~0.9 bar, not much extra peak power, but a boat-load more torque from ~3000rpm

Post by **SPYDOR** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 3:33 pm

Good post.

Those onboard laps will be perfect for the newcomers that want to see some good lines. Good pace and control.

Was hoping your MD would do some rolling burnouts in the pitlane though!

Confused · Post by **Confused** » Mon Apr 07, 2014 4:45 pm

Cheers for the comments @SPYDOR

To everyone who watches/listens to that video, don't forget that in my Legnum I've got 4 wheel drive and electronic doo-hickory that allows me to get the power on before the apex of the corner - the point where you can apply power will vary if you're FWD or RWD!

Also, I've got some stupidly good brakes that get better as they get hotter, so I could brake very, very late!

But, in general, on a public day, they'll have the cones out to give you an idea on when to brake, turn and accelerate