Fastest UK track?

[youngsyr]

Anyone know what the fastest track in the UK is, in terms of absolute peak speed rather than average speed, or can suggest a list?

[VX Foxy]

Bruntingthorpe, I would've thought.

[mmm-five]

Non-airfield would have to be Thruxton I guess.

Any airfield with a long enough runway will allow you to VMAX your car, but I'd hardly call it a 'track' - might as well say the M6 Toll is the fastest track then

[Vixpy1]

Surely must be the Hanger straight at Silverstone

[John D.]

Rockingham?

I've Thruxton mentioned as the fastest in the UK once or twice.

[pikeyboy]

thruxton has the highest average lap speed due to the fact that bar a few kinks it's almost an oval

[shim]

bedford autodrome back straight is the fastest part of a uk track that i have been on closely followed by Revett at Snetterton.

Not done Thruxton but heard that it is very quick average speed

[yanmar]

think bedford is faster than silverstone of the tracks i have been to

[mrmr96]

yanmar said:

think bedford is faster than silverstone of the tracks i have been to

Agreed.

[jleroux]

the oval at Rockingham is officially the fastest licensed race track in Europe.

Jonny
BaT

[mrmr96]

Also, have a look here:
http://www.trackdays.co.uk/tracks/

It shows the layout of the tracks you can do trackdays etc on. Obv doesn't give you scale, but would be a good place to start. You can see the ones with long straights and then hit google maps to find out just how long the straights are.

HTH.

[Elderly]

I know it's not what the OP asked but IIRC Goodwood is the fastest circuit in this country (other than the 'American' bit of Rockingham).

[tertius]

But why?

If you want to go fast in a straight line (which is a lot of fun occasionally but does gets dull after a while) do VMax, if you want to drive do a track day, and go (relatively) fast round the corners.

[youngsyr]

Thanks for all the answers chaps. I've driven the Hanger Straight at Silverstone, but only a couple of times and in the wet, so didn't really want to push it.

I thought it would be up there, but Rockingham does just look like a massively long runway.

tertius said:

But why?

If you want to go fast in a straight line (which is a lot of fun occasionally but does gets dull after a while) do VMax, if you want to drive do a track day, and go (relatively) fast round the corners.

I know you can do Vmax days, but as you say, driving in straight-line at high speed would get dull quickly. What I'm interested in is driving on a track at very high speeds to see how the car performs under harsh braking at the end, light cornering etc.

I've done a few airfield training days which are all about low speed handling around a very tight circuit, and I've driven Brands Indy a couple of times which seems like you don't ever really stretch the engine and hardly get above third.

I've driven Castle Combe a couple of times and that gets pretty quick, but still not as fast as I'd expect, so I was wondering if there were any other tracks that are quicker.

[tertius]

youngsyr said:

Thanks for all the answers chaps. I've driven the Hanger Straight at Silverstone, but only a couple of times and in the wet, so didn't really want to push it.

I thought it would be up there, but Rockingham does just look like a massively long runway.

tertius said:

But why?

If you want to go fast in a straight line (which is a lot of fun occasionally but does gets dull after a while) do VMax, if you want to drive do a track day, and go (relatively) fast round the corners.

I know you can do Vmax days, but as you say, driving in straight-line at high speed would get dull quickly. What I'm interested in is driving on a track at very high speeds to see how the car performs under harsh braking at the end, light cornering etc.

I've done a few airfield training days which are all about low speed handling around a very tight circuit, and I've driven Brands Indy a couple of times which seems like you don't ever really stretch the engine and hardly get above third.

I've driven Castle Combe a couple of times and that gets pretty quick, but still not as fast as I'd expect, so I was wondering if there were any other tracks that are quicker.

OK, well that isn't how I read your original post which seemed to be all about max speed.

Brands Indy is tiny - but very technical - you certainly wouldn't expect to see especially high speeds there, though its still bl**dy hard to get right.

I'd suggest you just need to drive some more circuits, in particular ones like Silverstone GP and Brands GP where you will see much higher speeds and the circuit as a whole is excellent. Though for me the best circuits are not those that achieve especially high straightline speeds. Even Brands GP doesn't need much of 5th gear in my car (if any actually having to think now ...) but its still one of the very best circuits in the country.

I haven't driven Thuxton or ROckingham so can't comment, but Snetterton has a couple of long very fast straights and I just find them a bit dull tbh. Unless you have something astonishingly fast then they just don't add much.

[System-G]

youngsyr said:

I thought it would be up there, but Rockingham does just look like a massively long runway.

Doesn't look like an airfield/runway to me...

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&ge...

http://www.rockingham.co.uk/about/circuits.asp

I also thought Goodwood was meant to be very fast.

But as above, there's absolutely no point in straight line speed if you can't get around a corner quickly too

[Simon Mason]

Thruxton.

Strap yourself in, soften the dampers and pray a rear tyre doesnt let go. Apart from the chicane and the Complex your speed is not much below 85mph into any corner in anything and just in case that sounds easy you have to remember the car will be bouncing around and you can't see the apex or the exits because its all so flat with generally off camber exits just to make sure your 100mph exit is kept on the edge.

Its the only place ever where I've taken some very cockey young future racing stars for coaching and seen them look genuinely scared after their first few laps.

Shame about the noise problems!

Take a look on Youtube under Paul Radisich at Thruxton. The circuit has'nt changed apart from moving the barries closer

[willr]

youngsyr said:

I know you can do Vmax days, but as you say, driving in straight-line at high speed would get dull quickly. What I'm interested in is driving on a track at very high speeds to see how the car performs under harsh braking at the end, light cornering etc.

If you want somewhere to knacker you brakes, Bedford is a good choice!
Snetterton might be an option with some corners...
Otherwise, try Goodwood - only problem is the noise limit on most days.

[Don]

Thruxton. Amazingly, terrifyingly fast.

Only place I have ever braked to 100mph to enter a corner.

And I compete with Captain Sloooowww.

[mrpink]

Not done it in a car but Thruxton scared the crap out of me in a superkart.
If I remember right the winners Average speed 113mph mine was 98ish - only change gear for hairpin :-(