Anyone done donnington park in an RX8 ?
Discussion
I got through to the finals of the Mazda Hotlaps challenge which are being held on Saturday at Donnington park. The problem is I have never even been to Donnington before never mind been round the track!
From the literature they have sent it seems most of the event will be done in Mazda RX8's does anyone have any experience of Donnington in an RX8? Some on-board footage would be great so I can work out what gear I need to be in for what corner etc.
Any general pointers from Donnington regulars would also be appreciated!
From the literature they have sent it seems most of the event will be done in Mazda RX8's does anyone have any experience of Donnington in an RX8? Some on-board footage would be great so I can work out what gear I need to be in for what corner etc.
Any general pointers from Donnington regulars would also be appreciated!
Ask at www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk. I have an RX8 and have been round Donnington, but only for a couple of laps and not thrashing it, couldn't give you any decent clue I'm afraid.
Never driven donny in an RX8, but I've raced there many times (and currently hold the lap record in a Metro, wahay! 
). First up, a circuit guide will help you the most. Secondly, I'd say the following:
Redgate: Most cars tend to have a braking point where the pitlane division lines meet. Watch out in the wet as this bend can get slippery. You want to make sure you go in quite deep as the corner tightens and you need a good exit for the flat out section that follows.
Craners: A lot of cars will be flat through here, the RX8 might be. Watch out for the gradient changes causing different handling characteristics, especially on the final left hander which apexes over the brow of a hill. You want to take the whole section with the aim of being over on the left for the Old Hairpin at the bottom of the hill. If you get the Old Hairpin wrong your laptimes going North pretty quickly.
The Old Hairpin: A surprising amount of speed can be taken through here, which is massively important as the following straight is uphill. Make sure you get the balance of the car right on turn in, as it's downhill which will accentuate what you've done.
Mcleans: this is a tricky one to get right and is often faster than you think. It can be slippery in the wet so watch out.
Coppice: watch out for the car letting go over the rise, and get on the power as early as you can as the longest straight at the circuit immediately follows.
Chicane (assuming you're doing the short circuit): Standard stuff really.
HTH
). First up, a circuit guide will help you the most. Secondly, I'd say the following:Redgate: Most cars tend to have a braking point where the pitlane division lines meet. Watch out in the wet as this bend can get slippery. You want to make sure you go in quite deep as the corner tightens and you need a good exit for the flat out section that follows.
Craners: A lot of cars will be flat through here, the RX8 might be. Watch out for the gradient changes causing different handling characteristics, especially on the final left hander which apexes over the brow of a hill. You want to take the whole section with the aim of being over on the left for the Old Hairpin at the bottom of the hill. If you get the Old Hairpin wrong your laptimes going North pretty quickly.
The Old Hairpin: A surprising amount of speed can be taken through here, which is massively important as the following straight is uphill. Make sure you get the balance of the car right on turn in, as it's downhill which will accentuate what you've done.
Mcleans: this is a tricky one to get right and is often faster than you think. It can be slippery in the wet so watch out.
Coppice: watch out for the car letting go over the rise, and get on the power as early as you can as the longest straight at the circuit immediately follows.
Chicane (assuming you're doing the short circuit): Standard stuff really.
HTH
Thanks for the advice - yes it was the short circuit. Ended up coming 3rd overall which I was quite happy with setting a best lap time of 1.31.9 which I think was about .3 of a sec slower than the winner.
Credit for Mazda for putting on a superb day and the RX8's were very competent on track although did have problems with the brakes overheating especially at the end of the day which has to be expected for standard road cars being used 11am - 4:30pm with no rest on a track. They also didn't have quite as much go as I expected but handled superbly and it was fun to rev them past 9,000 RPM!
RobM77 : out of interest whats your lap record in a Metro? Would be interesting to see how quick the RX8's actually were compared to some other cars.
Craners was (just) flat in 4th as long as you got the line perfect into the final left hander - great fun and I was very impressed with the amount of grip the RX8's had through here!
Coppice seemed the most difficult corner mainly as you had to get on the power so early but this then required you to use every last inch of the track to get the best run down the long straight.
Credit for Mazda for putting on a superb day and the RX8's were very competent on track although did have problems with the brakes overheating especially at the end of the day which has to be expected for standard road cars being used 11am - 4:30pm with no rest on a track. They also didn't have quite as much go as I expected but handled superbly and it was fun to rev them past 9,000 RPM!
RobM77 : out of interest whats your lap record in a Metro? Would be interesting to see how quick the RX8's actually were compared to some other cars.
Craners was (just) flat in 4th as long as you got the line perfect into the final left hander - great fun and I was very impressed with the amount of grip the RX8's had through here!
Coppice seemed the most difficult corner mainly as you had to get on the power so early but this then required you to use every last inch of the track to get the best run down the long straight.
peterh2 said:
Thanks for the advice - yes it was the short circuit. Ended up coming 3rd overall which I was quite happy with setting a best lap time of 1.31.9 which I think was about .3 of a sec slower than the winner.
Credit for Mazda for putting on a superb day and the RX8's were very competent on track although did have problems with the brakes overheating especially at the end of the day which has to be expected for standard road cars being used 11am - 4:30pm with no rest on a track. They also didn't have quite as much go as I expected but handled superbly and it was fun to rev them past 9,000 RPM!
RobM77 : out of interest whats your lap record in a Metro? Would be interesting to see how quick the RX8's actually were compared to some other cars.
Craners was (just) flat in 4th as long as you got the line perfect into the final left hander - great fun and I was very impressed with the amount of grip the RX8's had through here!
Coppice seemed the most difficult corner mainly as you had to get on the power so early but this then required you to use every last inch of the track to get the best run down the long straight.
I agree, they do need a bit more go Credit for Mazda for putting on a superb day and the RX8's were very competent on track although did have problems with the brakes overheating especially at the end of the day which has to be expected for standard road cars being used 11am - 4:30pm with no rest on a track. They also didn't have quite as much go as I expected but handled superbly and it was fun to rev them past 9,000 RPM!
RobM77 : out of interest whats your lap record in a Metro? Would be interesting to see how quick the RX8's actually were compared to some other cars.
Craners was (just) flat in 4th as long as you got the line perfect into the final left hander - great fun and I was very impressed with the amount of grip the RX8's had through here!
Coppice seemed the most difficult corner mainly as you had to get on the power so early but this then required you to use every last inch of the track to get the best run down the long straight.
Well done on coming 3rd
My lap record in the Metro was 1:31.615, so pretty much the same as the RX8s I only had four laps in that race before my rocker shaft broke, and I reckon I could have got into the 30s. The turbo lap record (same spec but LSD with a turbo) is 1:29.500. Spec of my Metro was about 108bhp at the crank and 800kg in weight.Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff