Ahead of this weekend’s World Touring Car Championship races at Brands Hatch, Honda WTCC driver and two–time BTCC champion James Thompson sat down with CAR Online and talked us through a lap of the swooping Kent track.
‘You begin on the start/finish line and quickly go up to sixth gear, a top speed of 140 mph, before braking to Paddock Hill.
‘Paddock Hill has to be taken in fourth gear so you brake very hard just before it and go down two gears. You feel as though are you on the top of a precipice, looking down as you turn in; it’s very steep and television doesn’t do it justice!
‘Next is another big dipper where you accelerate up to fifth before reaching Druids at the top of the slope. This makes braking for the corner very difficult because it’s so steep on the way up; you don’t get the same weight transfer through the car as you usually would.
‘From fifth down to second gear into the corner and you try not to lock the brakes. Druids is a very long, very slow corner. You spend a lot of time in it and it’s very important to be neat and tidy for a very good exit down the slope to Graham Hill.
Down from Druids
‘Exiting Druids in second, up to third and quickly into fourth gear, you then brake downhill which makes the car a little bit unstable! You get the opposite effect of braking for Druids. Down into third, you turn into Graham Hill and there is a little bit of oversteer; usually the car is quite nervous.
‘After Graham Hill you accelerate up to fifth gear, maybe even snatch in sixth depending on the car’s gearing, for Surtees.
Through Surtees and on to the GP Circuit
‘Surtees is all important: you need to be slower in to the corner because it leads you onto the back straight. So down to second gear, turn into Surtees and accelerate as hard and as early as possible, even on the curb. It’s very important to never lift!
‘Move up to third and onto the back straight which is fantastic. It’s very scenic, you get a great impression of speed, because the trees and scenery are very close to the side of the track.
‘Fifth gear, 140 mph, and you get to Hawthorn, an old school type of corner. It’s very, very, fast and the exit narrows massively with no run-off area so you have to take it very seriously.
The run to the finish
‘You then hold fifth gear all the way to Westfield. You drop one gear and use the curb on the inside to get a good run-up to Sheene. Up to fifth, and maybe even sixth before reaching the corner, it’s a very fast, blind corner over a crest so you have to be very precise with where you turn in.
‘You take the corner in fourth, at about 100 mph, and move up to fifth for Stirling. Stirling is heavily, heavily cambered, which you take in third gear but it’s always faster than you think because it has so much camber.
‘Fourth, fifth and into sixth gear before Clearways. Back down to fourth gear and then onto the start/finish line!’
For more information on the WTCC visit www.fiawtcc.com or visit the Brands Hatch website for circuit information.