Brands Hatch Indy - boring?
Discussion
My son and I are big fans of Snetterton and are really looking forward to experiencing this year's track upgrade.
But, looking through this year's track day schedules, a date at Brands Hatch Indy fitted with our diaries so I suggested to my son that we also go there for a track day.
We live almost exactly half between the two tracks; other venues are pretty much out as far as single days go.
Anyway, my son looked at the track layout and said that he thought the track looked 'a bit short and a bit boring'.
Obviously, following PH fatherhood guidelines, I clipped him round the ear for being so ungrateful as to turn up his nose at a trackday in a 200bhp car, but is he right or a long way from the truth? Is the track a good test of car and driver or just a short ring road?
But, looking through this year's track day schedules, a date at Brands Hatch Indy fitted with our diaries so I suggested to my son that we also go there for a track day.
We live almost exactly half between the two tracks; other venues are pretty much out as far as single days go.
Anyway, my son looked at the track layout and said that he thought the track looked 'a bit short and a bit boring'.
Obviously, following PH fatherhood guidelines, I clipped him round the ear for being so ungrateful as to turn up his nose at a trackday in a 200bhp car, but is he right or a long way from the truth? Is the track a good test of car and driver or just a short ring road?
It's a fabulous circuit.
Notwithstanding the history and atmosphere surrounding it you could drive 1000 laps, and still not get it right! I'm not sure that at any point you are actually just driving straight.
But I LOVE Snetterton even more!
I have found that the nature and location of Brands tends to attract more than it's share of turbo nutter b
ds and days there can suffer as a result. It can be diffuclt to keep as close an eye on mirrors as you should as the gradients and corners tend to prevent that in my view.
Great great circuit though. Go for it.
Notwithstanding the history and atmosphere surrounding it you could drive 1000 laps, and still not get it right! I'm not sure that at any point you are actually just driving straight.
But I LOVE Snetterton even more!
I have found that the nature and location of Brands tends to attract more than it's share of turbo nutter b
ds and days there can suffer as a result. It can be diffuclt to keep as close an eye on mirrors as you should as the gradients and corners tend to prevent that in my view.Great great circuit though. Go for it.
What it lacks in length it makes up for in elevation change! Is quite a short lap, but is technical and has monster corner in the form of paddock Hill Bend. The GP loop is magnificent, and is much nicer than the indy, but that doesn't mean the indy is poor. I love it and getting the right line in Surtees and Clearways is a great technical challenge.
Have a look at a lap driven in my M3 by Phiol bennett
http://www.the-racing-line.co.uk/index.php?option=...
Have a look at a lap driven in my M3 by Phiol bennett
http://www.the-racing-line.co.uk/index.php?option=...
Brands Hatch, is my local circuit and i've done it many times now. I've never done Snetterton but i have done SPA, Cadwell and the 'ring which all have a pretty good reputation for being cracking circuits.
Even having done many laps at Brands I can honestly say i still love the circuit, yes it is short and yes there aren't many corners but it's just got that something about it that makes it an awesome place.
Definitely give it a go
Even having done many laps at Brands I can honestly say i still love the circuit, yes it is short and yes there aren't many corners but it's just got that something about it that makes it an awesome place.
Definitely give it a go
Snetterton is my local circuit, and I had done it a few times (and Bedford once) before I tried Brands Indy for the first time.
I had EXACTLY the same thoughts / concerns as you.
At the end of the Brands day, I couldn't wait to book it up and have another go on it.
It might look basic but I the end of the day I was wondering why hadn't been able to master this 'simple' circuit!
As has been said, you're ALWAYS doing something, rather than sitting on the straights like at Snetterton.
PS,
I'm also really looking forward to the new Snetterton layout. It looks great fun to me, albeit still very flat obviously.
I had EXACTLY the same thoughts / concerns as you.
At the end of the Brands day, I couldn't wait to book it up and have another go on it.
It might look basic but I the end of the day I was wondering why hadn't been able to master this 'simple' circuit!
As has been said, you're ALWAYS doing something, rather than sitting on the straights like at Snetterton.
PS,
I'm also really looking forward to the new Snetterton layout. It looks great fun to me, albeit still very flat obviously.
Done both lots of times.
The good thing about Brands indy is that it's short! You can learn the track quickly, get into a rhythm, learn the proper lines, experiment, get confident, go too fast... And make a mistake but it's all good.
It's probably one of my favourite tracks because I know it so well, and it doesn't take long to learn it... But it does take a while to master it!
It's an excellent little circuit.
The good thing about Brands indy is that it's short! You can learn the track quickly, get into a rhythm, learn the proper lines, experiment, get confident, go too fast... And make a mistake but it's all good.
It's probably one of my favourite tracks because I know it so well, and it doesn't take long to learn it... But it does take a while to master it!
It's an excellent little circuit.
Brands Hatch one of the....yes the Worlds greatest circuits in GP form in Indy form a Track for the Techies and Paddock hill bend up to Druids worth the admission price alone...Snetterton good but not in the same bracket as Brands to be fair
did you know that Bernie Ecclestone raced there in the 50's and was the first participant to get black flagged for spinning under the new Drivers club rules brought in to stop unruly driving.....bwahhaaaa Bernie
did you know that Bernie Ecclestone raced there in the 50's and was the first participant to get black flagged for spinning under the new Drivers club rules brought in to stop unruly driving.....bwahhaaaa Bernie
Ive only done a couple of track days at Brands, though the last one was open pit and the car was on circuit for rather a long time!
Its immense fun, I have a fwd car and firing into Paddock hill drifting wide and trail-braking round Clark are just a couple of the things I wont get bored doing!
Its immense fun, I have a fwd car and firing into Paddock hill drifting wide and trail-braking round Clark are just a couple of the things I wont get bored doing!
You definately need to do it. As others have said, it is very technical and great fun. The only problem with Brands Indy is because it is such a short track, there is almost always queues to get out on track.
Brands Indy is not at the level of other available tracks, but then again neither is Snetterton. Cadwell, Oulton and Anglesey are a different level to the Brands Indy circuit.
Brands Indy is not at the level of other available tracks, but then again neither is Snetterton. Cadwell, Oulton and Anglesey are a different level to the Brands Indy circuit.
Brands Indy is a really good circuit. Short, but elevation changes make for some tricky corners. I've been going there at least twice a year for ten years and am not bored of it yet! I'd say it's more interesting than Snetterton, but as others have said above, is probably not as entertaining as Oulton, Cadwell or Donington. The only negative point from a track day point of view is that it's quite tricky and easy to go off (not that I ever have!), which may be a factor in a cherished road car. Somewhere like Snetterton has far bigger run off areas and more simple corners without big hills to spin down!
matt frost said:
You definately need to do it. As others have said, it is very technical and great fun. The only problem with Brands Indy is because it is such a short track, there is almost always queues to get out on track.
Brands Indy is not at the level of other available tracks, but then again neither is Snetterton. Cadwell, Oulton and Anglesey are a different level to the Brands Indy circuit.
The problem is they usually admit too many cars, last time I did it on an MSV day they had 65 cars and still some 27 on-track limit... I guess it's the price of its popularity?Brands Indy is not at the level of other available tracks, but then again neither is Snetterton. Cadwell, Oulton and Anglesey are a different level to the Brands Indy circuit.
Not sure what you mean the Anglesey being a different level to Brands? In my eyes Brands is much more special, although I still can't drive it that well
chris7676 said:
In my eyes Brands is much more special, although I still can't drive it that well
This is one of the appealing things about Brands; it takes ages to master, and most of us never do! All of the bends have something weird about them. Turn one, Paddock, has a completely blind entrance and a track that undulates across its width. As if that wasn't enough, it drops away very steeply just after the apex. And then, the bottom of the big hill is still part of the corner, so this gives the car quite a bit of additional grip. This can also affect the handling of some cars as they are compressed right down on their suspension. An extrenely complicated corner to work out; I don't know anyone that claims to have perfected it!
Turn two, Druids, appears to be a standard hairpin, but has an uphill braking zone that's difficult to judge and is angled up slightly and has a weird tendency to disturb the car if you go in two deep. There are also two lines - one in deep and back out, and the other a trailbrake to the apex. Both lines are used interchangeably! You'd think the former would be safer, but I've always found it very slippery out there. Then again, if you trailbrake in towards the apex, you'r doing so across a hill...
Turn three, Graham Hill bend, is downhill, so the car's balance is on a knife edge on the way in, and then it all changes on the way out. Not that tricky really, but very satisfying.
The Esses are a mega combination that seem to be almost flat in most cars I've driven round Brands... Almost flat bends are often the hardest! The curb on the left has a flat part which is ok to use, and then suddenly gets steeper a few inches in, which is enough to spin some cars. What's more, the next bend is stuffed into your face immediately after exiting, and it needs braking.
Clearways is very weird because it's on a small hill, with the top of the hill around the point of the apex. The handling balance of the car is always changing here, with most cars turning in well, settling and then oversteer at the apex just when you want to get onto the power, which matters as it leads onto the main straight.. Also, for a bend with such a crucial and high speed exit, there's no exit curb! Just the edge of the tarmac and grass. The entrance is also odd, with a diagonal braking zone.
It's a not a simple lap!
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