new Bedford layout

[rodgling]

Bedford has changed over the winter - the fast left / tight right / long left hairpin has been updated:



What do people make of it?

I drove it on Monday... I'd say mainly I'm disappointed to lose the fast left with the challenging braking zone for the tight right, getting this right was a really good challenge on the old layout. The new left-right that replaces it is not bad but not super-exciting?

I certainly won't miss the long tedious left hairpin, you no longer have time to zone out and think about what you're having for tea while you wait for the apex to come up.

Having the barriers on the right of the following straight moved back from the track is a good thing, hopefully they'll continue doing this along the full length of the straight (currently it's only done up to about halfway).

Also it's added 5 mph to my speed at the end of the following long straight which is good I guess?

[captainsl0w]

Seems unnecessary, the only time it was an issue was in the wet as you had to take quite a slow/oblique line to miss the kerb. Most just rode it and caught the car when it snatched

[clarki]

Not quite as exciting, no. But it's a series of corners which i'm sure over the years we'll all begin to attack a bit harder once all the cones have gone.

The cones currently make it seem much narrower than it really is and with some space to ride the kerbs a little I recon it will actually become quite a fast little complex bringing the excitement back.

I quite liked the change, something different, new challenge, etc...

[Far Cough]

They have probably changed it because if you got the braking all wrong you left the circuit and either ended up in a huge puddle or arriving at the marshals post facing the wrong way ! Some poor bloke totally filled his car up with water and mud on my last visit.

[brillomaster]

yeah, i quite liked the old layout... the ever quickening left right left then attempt to get back over to the right, whilst braking hard and downshifting.

now its just a plain old chicane, and a very easy entry into yet another left hand hairpin. at least when it was a question mark it was different to the hairpin at the other end of the circuit.

i might like it a bit more when all the cones are gone and you can cut the corners a bit more, but time will tell. theres a brilliant right left chicane on the infield at rockingham, and cutting/jumping the kerbs there is very satisfying - hopefully it will be like that when its opened up a bit.

[upsidedownmark]

Not driven the new, but was a big fan of the old - the left wasn't a big problem, most folks carried too much speed through the right resulting in a poor entry to the long left/double apex hairpin. Kinda liked the challenge of getting that right and having a good exit, really needed to be treated as a combination.. sounds like a dumbing down

[Wh00sher]

I quite like the new layout to be honest. It`ll be better when those cones are gone. The left is a good corner to practice trail braking and getting the rear mobile. Patience is needed for the right, on the power too early and you`ll understeer wide.

The Hairpin is now a `typical` hairpin, rather than one that goes on for ever like the old one. I found a deep entry, out wide then turn fairly sharp and back on the power worked best for my Golf.

VMax down the straight after it was 138MPH, `only` 133 last year, but the engine is giving a bit more power now, so I`m not sure if that`s because of the car or the circuit.

I never really liked the right into the hairpin on the old layout, I wanted to use the kerb, but it was unpleasant. Missing the kerb made it slower and a tighter entry, neither was really satisfying.


Agreed about the banking being better now they are moving it further back.

[McSam]

I'm there on the 13th and interested to see what I make of this, I actually really enjoyed the fast left and the tricky braking through the right into the long old hairpin, even if the hairpin itself was unsatisfying, getting a proper entry to it was a real challenge.

But I'm reading more positive stuff about it here, which is encouraging! I'll report back after, ah, extensive research next Monday

[rodgling]

Was it just me or was the new right hander quite slippery, even when it was dry?

[anonymous-user]

New Tarmac compared to the rest of the track I guess. My car definitely felt a bit looser than on the rest of the track and I was consistently getting tyre squeal through there whereas other similar corners I had none.