A Guide to Cadwell Park Circuit

Wednesday, 19 January 2011 14:20

Cadwell Park is situated in Lincolnshire, 5 miles south of Louth. Located in a steep-sided valley this spectacular circuit is one of Britain's best kept secrets being nicknamed the 'Mini Nürburgring'.

Originally, in 1934, the site was used by Mr Mansfield Wilkinson's sons as a personal track to race their motorcycles against each other. With an invitation extended to the 500cc motorcycle-engined Formula 3 class in 1953, the track was tarmacked and doubled in size to 1.3 miles. The track grew to its current length of 2.17 miles in 1962, providing 3 layouts with different technical aspects and large elevation changes. The Woodland layout is the shortest and least used layout at just 0.71 miles with 5 corners. The Club layout is 1.48 miles with 7 corners including Park Straight, Gooseneck and Coppice. The most popular layout is the Full layout. At 2.17 miles long with 11 corners it includes the famous Mountain section along with Coppice, Park Straight and Gooseneck. Despite the variety of track layouts Cadwell Park does not attract high profile racing due to its narrow track. Although this is the case Cadwell Park is still very popular amongst club level racing, hosting a wide variety of car and bike formulas throughout the year.

Cadwell Park's provides great spectating opportunities as well as racing. In the summer the circuit acts as a sun trap and with the trees providing shade it creates a fantastic day's racing in the British countryside.

The following corner-by-corner guide follows the most popular Full layout.

Start/Finish Line.

Situated at the bottom of the valley, the start/finish line is at the lowest point on the track. On a flying lap you can move over to the right, against the pit wall ready for the climb up through Coppice and Charlies. Unlike most circuits the pit lane is not located alongside the paddock. This is located at the bottom of the valley with the start finish line with access across the track, causing problems if the track is in use and you need to get to the pit lane!

Coppice.

Coppice is the first corner on the track and is extremely fast. This left hander is the start of the uphill climb to the Park Straight. Your speed naturally will be reduced due to heading uphill therefore the more speed you carry into the corner the better.

Charlies.

Charlies is two right handers with a short straight in the middle. The long curve with a blind brow takes you 90° before heading down Park Straight. The key is to be smooth and get on the throttle at the right point. Too soon could see your firing your car into the scenery but too late could mean you are left behind the pack with the long straight ahead.

Park Straight.

Park Straight is a slightly curved straight that begins heading downhill before heading back upwards over the brow into Park corner. If you get left behind coming out of Charlies it's a long wait to catch the pack again.

Park.

Park is a tight narrow 90° right hander which is deceptive. In the braking zone there is a slight dip which can unbalance the car if you are not ready for it. Key to this corner is to clip the apex on the inside, getting back on the throttle quickly and ready for Chris' Curve.

Chris Curve.

Chris Curve is a long right hander which requires minimal braking. One way round this corner is to turn in early, carrying more speed as if you do not have conviction in this move you will be out of time to correct any mistakes before you are aware of it. Once round the corner the track heads back downhill to Gooseneck.

Gooseneck.

This corner is the most technically difficult on the track. The downhill right left combination can be tricky to master. Concentrate on the 2nd part of the corner, the left hander, by braking through the right hander. Once round the left hander, get ready for Mansfield.

Mansfield.

Located at the bottom of a downhill slope Mansfield can be misleading. When braking, you will need to brake slightly earlier than you think as you are still travelling downhill. Many drivers overshooting this corner and lose speed for the run up to the Mountain.

The Mountain.

The Mountain section is the most famous part of the circuit. There are of 3 aspects to this section - left hander, right hander and a steep uphill climb. A late turn in for the left hander will give you a good entry for the right hander. Get back on the power for the steep uphill climb. Many cars will lose a wheel or two as they go over the brow whereas bikes with momentarily lose contact the track. Just on the outside of the right hander is the entrance to the paddock area from the track. Watch out for the cars exit here, especially on track or test days.

Hall Bends.

Hall Bends is a series of right and left corners. It feels narrow than it actually is but be careful about taking the first part too quickly as this will ruin the speed you can take through the rest of the corner or push you off the track. Take a late turn in for the first part and hit the apex just after the mid-point of the second section. This will give you space to line up for the third part of the corner and the straight run to the Hairpin.

Hairpin.

The Hairpin is more of a 90° corner than what its name suggests. The sharp right over brow leads on to the long arc of Barn.

Barn.

Barn is a long sweeping corner which feels like it should two corners. The last half of the corner slopes downwards steeply which can cause the car to be dragged to the left edge of the track if you are still turning by this point. Like most corners at Cadwell, the key is smoothness.

By Samantha McVey

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