How to master the best of British circuits. This month: Anglesey International.
This is regarded as one of the best circuits in the UK, so we sat down with trackday instructor and BSB boy Christian Iddon to delve into the picturesque coastal track’s secrets and find out how to shave seconds off your time at the ‘Welsh Phillip Island’
1 Turn One
Anglesey has one of the shortest start/finish straights in history (or so it seems), so you need to be prepared for Turn One as soon as you're out the last corner, making sure you're on the right hand side of the track. You won't be carrying much speed in due to the short straight so the braking point is at about where the other track tarmac ends, and make sure you get the front nice and loaded – there's a chance you might not even need to downshift.
There's a slight rise on the way into the corner and the outside grass will come out slightly on the way in, but hold it as late as you can; as you're past the corner board, count a second or two and get the bike in, aiming to apex about ¾ of the way through the turn. Don't use all the track on the way out though as it's only a little blast down in towards The Banking.
2 The Banking
You'll be braking pretty heavily in here, and as the name suggests there is actually a fair amount of banking – it's not quite as much as Shell Oils at Oulton Park, but it is enough that you'll feel the force. Because of this you don't have to treat it like a normal hairpin; don't use all the track on the way in, but keep towards the left side (you don't need to be on the white line) and hit the brakes at around the corner marker. Depending on your bike the turn in points will be different: for a 600 hold it out wide and swoop through the corner, while if you're on a 1000 try to V the corner off, so you can get it stood up and fired out. Either way, the camber runs away on the exit so be patient on the gas, as if you run wide you'll lose a bucket load of time from not being at full gas early enough. The Banking is a perfect example of ‘slow in, fast out'.
3 Church
Church is an incredibly difficult corner. It's fairly flat with no camber to help and you won't be down-shifting, so on entry a little comfort brake never quite feels like enough. Fortune favours the brave though, and you nearly always feel as though you could have gone in quicker than you think as it does open up. Stab the brake (don't scrub too much speed off) and get your body weight over the front, before tipping in as late as you dare. As soon as you catch the apex you'll see the outside kerb – that's the point where you need to pick the bike up and gas it hard. Keep your bum of the bike here as if you're still in the corner and try to stay inside the middle of the track as turn three never really finishes…
4 School
It just flows straight into turn four. If you've nailed Church you should be in the middle of the track and gassing it hard and heading through the box. For learning the track or for a slower pace hug the white line until you have a grasp of the trajectory, but when you've got some pace aim to be just inside the middle of the track.
The best way to build up is by aiming to hit the same line every time – it will make life easier, and make you quicker. Apex at or slightly after the patch of tarmac on the inside as a reference point, then use the kerb on the outside as another reference to keep it nice and wide, before getting the bike as far over to the right hand side of the track as possible after the second kerb – it will make life a lot easier going into Rocket.
5 Rocket In
If you've nailed Church and School, you'll be going in here pretty fast which means it's vital that you've done as much turning as possible and you're on the right hand side of the track, so you don't have to do any really heavy braking while at lean. You'll be dropping down at least two gears here so get everything settled and aim to be as far over the right hand side of the track as possible, before turning in as late as possible to catch the middle of the apex.
Watch out here, as there aren't a lot of left handers which means the first few laps can catch people out with a cold tyre, and the camber drops away as well. There's not much to gain on entry here, so take it smooth and stay no further than the middle of the track where the join in the tarmac is as you pick the bike up – anything wider will mess up Rocket Out.
6 Rocket Out
Aim to catch the apex on entry, and then again at about three quarters of the way round the corner – or just where the kerb ends. This will give you the optimum trajectory to fire out the corner (don't worry about sacrificing the middle) and means you can get the bike stood up for the short sharp squirt towards Peel. Don't be afraid to use all the track on the exit.
7 Peel
Stay over to the left hand side of the track for Peel, and be prepared as the entry is pretty tight before it opens up. On most bikes you'll be holding second gear into here, but be aware it does go a little blind half way through the turn as it's a crest. There's no real braking marker here so aim to run in mid-track to apex just past where the kerb starts, before keeping in tight to the white line and gassing as hard as possible.
The track drops away here so don't use all the track on the exit as the next corner is a left hander – drift out and use about three quarters of the track, but you'll want to be aiming the bike back over to the right hand side of the track as early as possible, almost towards the corner board on the outside of the grass to get the best possible trajectory through Seamans.
8 Seamans
If you're aiming towards the outside of the track, try to brake just as you pass over the crest, and turn in just before the outside corner board. There's a little patch of dark tarmac here which you want to be on the outside of, and if you are, you'll have the perfect line for a late apex; which in turn is the trajectory for catching the kerb just as it ends.
It's downhill and off camber on the way into here so if you can drag some rear brake it will help you get turned and stopped, and on the way out there's another crest which will make you want to wheelie – do your best to cover the rear brake and get over the front of the bike for the best drive here.
9 Tom Pryce Straight
This is a great place to overtake. If you get a really good run out of Seamans you can gain some serious time. This is one of the longer straights on the track, so make the most of the chance to rest! If you're going for a time, position yourself over towards the left hand side of the track nice and early.
10 The Hairpin
You should be over on the left hand section of the track here, looking to brake around about where the tarmac paths are in the track. The hairpin really is just a hairpin here, so get it down into first or second gear (depending on your bike), get it stopped, turned and fired out.
For the quickest time on a big bike, aim to run in hard and fast and catch the apex where it sticks out, before V'ing the corner off, picking the bike up and firing it out, just catching the kerb on exit.
11 Bus Stop
Try to ignore the pit entry – it looks like a part of the track which makes it really difficult to spot the apex. There's also always a lot of crashes, both on the way in and way out of here, and unless you walk it you can't see the fact it's incredibly off camber; so take your time and build up throughout the day. Look to hit the brakes just before the white line across the tarmac and stay out wide – there's a little triangular patch of tarmac on entry, so stay to the right of that for near enough the perfect apex point. Don't run in too early here, as the camber drops away and gassing on the side of the tyre can cause a big high side! It's also worth noting that there's a little berm on the exit of the track here between the track and kerb, so don't be afraid to use that, and if you're feeling really cheeky the tarmac where the other track layout joins. Don't go over the top here though, as turn one will be coming back up at you pretty quick!