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Great Tracks – Mallory Park

I have driven Mallory Park only once, in my 306 GTI-6, during a Renault Turbo Owners Club organised day. I would like to thank RTOC for organising this as it was truly an awesome and well managed day out. Even though I wasn’t in a Renault Turbo I was made to feel welcome and enjoyed driving alongside all sorts of turbo machinery.

Mallory Park is has historically mainly been used a motorcycle track. However, it does open its gates for many a car racing event and trackday. The circuit has a number of configurations and can have anything from the basic oval to chicances and hairpins which makes this track particular interesting. The circuit layout I have driven on involves the full Gerrards corner, down the Stebbe Straight missing the Edwina bend, onto Lake Esses then down to the Shaws corner, then onto the infamous Devils Elbow leading back to where we started.

The first few laps I took it steady, learning the track, braking points and turning in points. While it may be a short circuit though, it takes some skill to master. I am not the most skilled track driver and do not claim I can out drive Lewis Hamilton, I am a every day sorta guy with average skills. It took me all morning to master Gerrards, a fast, scary corner with a slight dip half way round which can unsettle the car. I was entering this bend around 80mph, then settling in at 85-90mph before exiting it at 90-95. Onto the Stebbe Straight up to 110-115mph, before braking hard into the Lake Esses. Lake Esses I found a particularly tough corner to master, you can brake late then get on the power early mid way through. Accelerating out of the Esses towards the hairpin, hard hard on the brakes, turn in still on the brakes to get the back end out and kill any understeer, light throttle until your round then full power. Not lifting for Devils Elbow as I found I could take this at full throttle. The off camber elbow is tough to drive flat out at first though, until your confident. Then onto the straight past the pits towards Gerrards again.

Like I mentioned, a short track but immense fun and particularly difficult to master.

Safety Advice

Gerrards is a particularly tough bend and caught out many cars on the trackday I attended. Lift mind bend and you’ll spin, enter to fast and you’ll just go straight on, get on the power to early and you’ll understeer or spin. Apart from that, the tracks quite good for new trackday drivers and experienced. Definitely a track I’ll be doing again!<-->