CROFT CIRCUIT
Perhaps one of the fastest and bumpiest tracks the UK has to offer, it’s also one of the most relentless and exhilarating to ride. Here’s how to master it…
1 Clervaux
Y ou should be running tight to the pit wall on the approach to C roft’s first corner, pinned on the throttle until you reach the broken yellow markings that denote the pitlane exit. If you’re feeling brave, or are riding a smaller capacity bike, you can keep on the power a little bit longer, but ultimately you should be hard on the brakes by the time you reach the red-coloured banding to the left of the track.
C oncentrate on staying out to the left of the track as you scrub off speed and go down sufficient gears to tackle C lervaux. There are two plastic posts on the left of the track edge; use the second one as your reference to turn in for the right hander’s apex. The bend’s less acute than you might think, and probably a bit more bumpy than you’d imagine too, but the trick is to apex tightly on the inside kerb, thinking simultaneously about getting on the power immediately (or even a bit before the kerb), to fire you out to the rumble strip on the left hand side of the track.
2 Hawthorn Bend
The run into H awthorn will see you crossing onto the thick banding of rumble strip on the left of the track. The initial foot of the banding is actually pretty smooth, and by taking this line you’ll be able to carry more speed into the fast right hand bend that suddenly appears before you. D on’t be afraid to use a bit of front brake to help manage your entry speed, as this will also help transfer weight to the front of the bike and aid your entry into the long, sweeping corner.
There’s a natural line into the bend, which sees you get your knee down up against the inside kerb, but soon after, as you start to feed in the power and up the corner speed, you have to let the bike edge out towards the left of the track. Stay within a metre or two initially, before crossing over a surface joint, after which you’ll want to sweep out wide to the left of the centre line. It’s really bumpy around here, so be careful of highsides, or loading the front on the bumps. A nice progressive throttle works best, all the time building your speed and moderating your line on the throttle. The second half of the corner is a little blind, and the flat surface gives little clues to what’s coming next, but you will eventually see a raised rumble strip appear, and that’s your reference to aim for to tackle the next part of the track.
3 Chicane
Banging in laps is what’s needed to nail the perfect line into the chicane, which should see you running the white line on the right of the track before flicking the bike to the left, tight to its kerb, ready to drive hard on the run to Tower. Two things to be mindful of: not being too eager on the throttle at big lean (as you will highside – this is the first left on the track), and the the exit’s bumpy nature.
H ard throttle and big bumps will cause your bike to run wide on the exit, so be mindful of this
too, else you’ll find yourself mowing the grass on the outside of the course. It’s better to get your bike stood up as soon as you can, allowing you to maximise its engine on the long run to Tower Bend.
4 Tower Bend
Y ou’re stonking on by the time you kink left on the run into Tower Bend. It’s best to approach the kink from the right side of the track, aiming to end up on the left of centre on the final approach to the corner, or you’ll compromise your line and corner speed through Tower. Once through the kink, you’ll see three braking marker signs above the metal fence on your left; aim to break somewhere around the first one (15 0m). D ue to the cars that use the track frequently, the run in is pretty bumpy as you start pitching towards the right hander, so expect a few bumps and skids if you’re hard on the anchors.
As tempting as it will seem, the trick to nailing Tower is to not turn in too soon. Y ou’ll see the rumble strip appear on the inside of the corner, but don’t immediately be drawn into hugging it. The bend is sharper than 90º , so if you get in too soon, you’ll end up stuck riding it for far too long. There’s no defined piece of rumble strip to aim for, but aim for around the middle of the strip, that you’ll stay on for a couple of seconds at most before the exit starts to open up and you’re able to see the run up to the esses.
A bit like the chicane, strong drive out of Tower is what’s crucial, so don’t be drawn into accelerating too hard, too soon, or you’ll be run wide onto the bumpy outside of the track, which will stop you accelerating as hard as you could have done. Take your time, get your line right and strangle the hell out of your throttle in due course.
5 Jim Clark Esses
This is one of the ballsiest bits of tarmac in the UK , and it’s bloody difficult to master. From tower, you’ll head over from the left of the track to the right on the approach to the ballistic esses, driving hard as you pass the tarmac section that appears on your right, shortly followed by a tyre wall and a wooded area. Y ou need to be all the way to the right by this point, as you try to work out when to turn in for the initial left hander. The bad news is there is no immediate reference, but know that the turn in point will probably feel much later than you’ll expect. Aim to stick tight to the initial kerb, keeping your wheels inside of the overbanding line you’ll see on the ground a foot off the kerb.
To help you turn the bike to the right, you can moderate your throttle, but don’t risk chopping it or you’ll load your front and can risk a crash – it’s bumpy and you’ll already be loading the front tyre massively by this point. Flicking right, you should run the inside kerb very tight too, but watch your engine casings on it. D on’t open the throttle too soon, or you’ll run wide too soon, and there’s very little run off at this superfast part of the track. It’s crucial to get strong drive down to Barcroft, so think more about exit drive than exit speed.
6 Barcroft
This is the fastest corner on the track and it’s really hard to see the corner clearly before you’re on top of it because the layout’s so flat. When you’re close enough, you’ll pick out the low kerb on the inside of the bend. Y ou shouldn’t really need to break into this corner, but chop the throttle at a point you feel comfortable to help guide you in, being mindful of carrying a bit of throttle on the final approach to unload the front and prepare you for hard drive down to the next corner. The very inside of the apex is bumpy, so you’re better off being around a foot from the kerbing, and this will set you up better for the run into Sunny In.
Sunny In/ 7 Sunny Out
There’s no real braking reference on the approach to Sunny In, but you should be all the way over to the left of the track as you head in, pretty much running the white line. Y ou’ll need to change down a gear or two on the final run in, as you scrub off speed, and aim tight for the inside kerb that appears. There’s a big drop-off on Sunny In, which can catch you out big time.
It’s less aggressive from the very inside line, as being even a foot off the kerb exaggerates the drop – not good news for anyone that’s trail braking in. By being tight on the kerb, it’ll also mean you run deeper into the double bend, which is no bad thing, as it forces you to run more of a double apex through the two corners. Y ou tackle them as one big swoop. After Sunny In, you’ll want to be out wide to the left of the track, and ready to pitch back in for Sunny Out, aiming your line at the inside of the long, grey patch of tarmac that sits just off the inside kerb.
If you run this line you’ll be able to stand your bike up sooner on the exit, being able to get on the throttle much harder than someone that’s apexed wider and has been forced to run their bike at lean to the outside of the track – risking big slides and/or highsides. J ust for added entertainment, there’s a brow on the exit of Sunny Out, which makes for some great holiday snaps, as you power hard towards the C omplex.
8 Complex 1 and 2
This is a two-part section of very different bends that’s just as tricky as any other inch of C roft. Approach from right of centre, noting that there are loads of bumps to contend with as you brake hard and change down a gear. The track tries to draw you in to the left hander very early, but this is another late apex bend, that’s riddled with deep depressions on the inside of the kerb. It’s better to go a little deeper than you’d imagine, not starting to turn into the corner until you’ve reached the beginning of the kerbs. This will mean you’re then on a line that sees you brush the inside kerb late on, before you get on the power again and swoop out to the right, ready to enter the second part of the C omplex.
When you see the kerb on the right appear, aim to be tight against it, having braked enough to ensure you’re not running in deep to this double apex bend. H aving pitched in, you’ll then find your bike drifts out wide to the left, before you pull it back to the second apex of the bend, ready to get on the throttle as the H airpin comes into view.
9 Hairpin
Y ou should aim to be mid-track on the approach, or nearer to the left if you’re running a defensive line. This is a hairpin that’s really easy to over egg. It’s not that wide or complicated, so treat it with simplicity. There are no real braking markers to note, but aim to have slowed your bike enough so you can brush the inside kerb on the run in, before drifting out a metre or so mid-turn, ready to pull it back tight and have the bike pretty much upright by the time you’ve completed the 18 0º needed to be looking up the start straight. Some people try to accelerate hard with the bike on its ear, but this just risks big slides and restricted exits, as the outside of the track soon comes to you.
Think about the length of the straight, and acknowledge that while you might lose out to a high corner speed running bike in the initial ten metres of the exit, you’ll easily out accelerate them by the time you’re hammering the throttle and they’re still only just tickling theirs.