The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is one of the most exciting motorsport tracks in Australia. Here is a lap from the driver's seat.
A lap of the famous Phillip Island circuit starts when you cross the start/finish line on Gardner Straight. In my little roadster, top speed down the straight is about 190 km/h, in fifth gear with my foot flat to the floor. Lifting your eyes, you can see the beautiful blue ocean of Bass Strait ahead of you, the most picturesque view from any race track in Australia. Approaching the end of the straight, you do a little dab on the brakes to settle your car and turn right into the fast-sweeping turn one, Doohan Corner, the fastest corner on the circuit.
You never know how fast you can go into this corner, but a fast lap will always rely on you approaching this corner with as much speed as you can. You will need to hold your nerve through this corner when the tyres start to squeal as they reach their maximum adhesion. Maintaining a speed around 170 km/h should be your aim before you are hard on the brakes for the left-hander at turn two, Southern Loop.
It is essential to maintain pose and control through this long left-hand complex of turns. Once you start straightening out of the corner, get on the gas and shift up a gear to build up speed to carry you through turn three, then turn four, Honda corner. Honda corner is the slowest corner on the track, a tight right-handed hairpin turn, that is very hard on the brakes. Take a quick peek over your right shoulder to ensure no one is trying to pass you down the inside.
Exiting Honda corner at about 60 km/h, you have a quick gear upshift before the tricky left-hand corner, turn six, Siberia. You will battle understeer in this corner, as you try to maintain as much momentum as possible, before charging up the hill past the Woolshed.
Coming up to the left-hander at turn nine, Lukey Heights, your car will be fighting tyre adhesion as the weight lifts over the top of the hill. Your vehicle will want to slide sideways, and you will need to brake hard once you sight the 50-metre corner marker on the downhill side. Turning right at the bottom of the hill into the right-hand turn ten, MG Corner, you will be desperately trying to stop the inside rear wheel from spinning. Rounding turns eleven and twelve, at the top of the circuit, you will attempt to build up the car's momentum as you approach the main straight. These turns are not for the faint-hearted, but you need to take the corner with your foot flat to the floor to ensure you gain maximum speed down the straight.
As you cross the start/finish line, you have just completed a lap of the famous Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in around two minutes and three seconds.
A lap of the famous Phillip Island circuit starts when you cross the start/finish line on Gardner Straight. In my little roadster, top speed down the straight is about 190 km/h, in fifth gear with my foot flat to the floor. Lifting your eyes, you can see the beautiful blue ocean of Bass Strait ahead of you, the most picturesque view from any race track in Australia. Approaching the end of the straight, you do a little dab on the brakes to settle your car and turn right into the fast-sweeping turn one, Doohan Corner, the fastest corner on the circuit.
You never know how fast you can go into this corner, but a fast lap will always rely on you approaching this corner with as much speed as you can. You will need to hold your nerve through this corner when the tyres start to squeal as they reach their maximum adhesion. Maintaining a speed around 170 km/h should be your aim before you are hard on the brakes for the left-hander at turn two, Southern Loop.
It is essential to maintain pose and control through this long left-hand complex of turns. Once you start straightening out of the corner, get on the gas and shift up a gear to build up speed to carry you through turn three, then turn four, Honda corner. Honda corner is the slowest corner on the track, a tight right-handed hairpin turn, that is very hard on the brakes. Take a quick peek over your right shoulder to ensure no one is trying to pass you down the inside.
Exiting Honda corner at about 60 km/h, you have a quick gear upshift before the tricky left-hand corner, turn six, Siberia. You will battle understeer in this corner, as you try to maintain as much momentum as possible, before charging up the hill past the Woolshed.
Coming up to the left-hander at turn nine, Lukey Heights, your car will be fighting tyre adhesion as the weight lifts over the top of the hill. Your vehicle will want to slide sideways, and you will need to brake hard once you sight the 50-metre corner marker on the downhill side. Turning right at the bottom of the hill into the right-hand turn ten, MG Corner, you will be desperately trying to stop the inside rear wheel from spinning. Rounding turns eleven and twelve, at the top of the circuit, you will attempt to build up the car's momentum as you approach the main straight. These turns are not for the faint-hearted, but you need to take the corner with your foot flat to the floor to ensure you gain maximum speed down the straight.
As you cross the start/finish line, you have just completed a lap of the famous Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in around two minutes and three seconds.
