Fast Bikes

MALLORY PARK

Situated in the heart of Leicesters­hire, Mallory Park has been a staple for many a trackday rider over the years. Although the likes of BSB don’t go there any more, Mallory is still a small, challengin­g and exciting circuit, so we’ve broken down a quick l

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Kirby straight 1

You’ll be hitting the Kirby Straight at a fair rate of knots while being on the right hand side of the track, so as you cross the start/finish line, look to make your way over to the left hand side – ideally before you arrive at the bridge.

Gerard’s 2

Gerard’s is an incredibly tough corner to master, so don’t rush it and make sure you build up your speed throughout the day. This is because it’s such a long sweeper you have to trail brake on entry, and you’ll always be chasing the front on the way in – so this isn’t the place to practice late braking either. Aim to hit the brakes just after the bridge and peel in at the access road on the left with a gradual entry. Keep things smooth here as there’s more risk than reward on the entry, and aim to apex on the white line as your knee touches the deck. This is a brilliant corner to practice body position, as with such a constant radius it feels like it’s going on forever – in fact, it’s even more than 180 degrees, so you can move around mid-corner as long as you don’t unsettle the bike. It’s strange in the fact you don’t have to worry too much about being on a particular line until the exit is in sight; just try and stay around the middle of the track and play with the throttle. This is especially important on a big bike as you’ll need to square the exit off for the best drive, so set yourself up when you see the inside kerb, and where the second piece of track joins is where you’ll want to pick it up and fire it out. There’s a slight crest here so

things will get a bit un-nervy on exit; the trick is to be as upright as soon as possible and gassing hard. Use all the track on exit, but avoid the kerbs.

3 Stevve straight

As soon as you’ve nailed the exit of Gerard’s, you need to already be preparing yourself for Edwina’s, as the Stevve straight is tiny. Try and get over to the right side of track as quickly as you can, while getting your body over to the left hand side of the bike.

Edwina’s 4

Aim over towards the white line here, and make sure you brake really hard in a straight line. There’s loads of run-off here so don’t worry if you don’t make the first part of the chicane as well. The deeper you can brake into the corner the better it will be, and ideally you want to scrub a load of speed off so that the left is a bigger corner and the right is smaller; the exit is much more important than entry here. Scrub loads of speed and turn in just after the grass finishes on the outside of the track, and hold the first apex for half a second longer that you’d expect to open up the right. It’s really easy to get caught out on the exit here and there isn’t the camber to help, so pick the bike up and be gentle on the gas, using all the track. This is one of the easiest places to highside, and especially so if you rush the left as the bike will still be unsettled.

Lake esses 5

This is the best place to set up an overtake, so it’s important to have it nailed. You’ll near enough be turning the whole time after exiting Edwina’s, so throw a gear or two up the box and aim to apex at about where the kerb thins out; there’s a tendency to tip in earlier here and it will ruin the drive up to the hairpin. By just holding it out that extra metre it will make the left a straighter line, which means as you apex at about the drain you can gas it hard.

It’s uphill here, so the drive is vitally important. On the exit, drift out to the right but make sure you’ve got enough time to comfortabl­y swing back for the entry into Shaws.

Shaw’s Hairpin 6

Shaw’s is a real tough corner to master, so look out for the little tarmac nugget on the inside of the track as that’s about where you want to be braking, before slamming hard on the brakes and dropping down the box – on a big bike you’ll ideally want to be in first here. Be over on the left here and try turn in as late as possible, with the aim to be as tight as possible at the apex; ideally you want to be brushing that inside wall. Just make sure you get round as smoothly and as tight as possible, and as the corner opens out don’t accelerate too hard as it will push you out onto the left hand side of the track. Remember, to try and no go wider than the middle of the track, as it will give you the best line through the Bus Stop Chicane.

Bus Stop 7

The Bus Stop is already super tight, so you want to make the chicane as easy as possible. If you’ve got a good line out of Shaw’s you should be over towards the right side of the track, which means you can almost straight line the left and make the right an easier swoop.

Turn in and aim to apex where the kerb sticks out the most, and always try and brake with the least amount of lean angle possible. As soon as you’ve apex’d the left, focus on getting the bike fired right for the second part, getting as tight into the kerb as possible – aim to have your kneeslider on the grass. As soon as you’ve got the bike past the apex, gas it hard and smooth as near to the left kerb as you can get – it will help to short-shift here on a big bike, and aim towards the outside of the track.

Devil’s Elbow 8

Devil’s Elbow is deceptivel­y difficult, so if you’ve got a good drive out the Bus Stop, aim towards the outside of the track – there’s a marshal post which is a good reference. Accelerate down the hill hard but don’t stay tight in with the white line here; you can gain a lot of time through here by staying wide. This opens the corner out and makes it safer to accelerate harder, and when you see the second inside kerb aim to drag the bike back in, using all the road on exit. Then gas it hard towards the finish line!

 ??  ?? The start straight doesn’t last long, so make the most of it.
The start straight doesn’t last long, so make the most of it.
 ??  ??
 ??  ?? The key to mastering Mallory is all in the fine detail.
The key to mastering Mallory is all in the fine detail.
 ??  ?? The John Cooper esses demand commitment.
The John Cooper esses demand commitment.
 ??  ?? Carrying speed is essential on the climb towards the Hairpin.
Carrying speed is essential on the climb towards the Hairpin.
 ??  ?? There’s always one that’ll get it wrong.
There’s always one that’ll get it wrong.

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