Circuit Length (Miles):
1.952

With a multi-million pound revamp in the pipeline, Snetterton is an extremely popular test venue on which premier racing cars have been developed. The locally based Lotus F1 team made Snetterton its home test track, while major British single-seater manufacturer Van Diemen has never been based more than a stone's throw away from the Revett Straight.

Snetterton is one of the fastest race circuits in the country. The layout includes two of the longest straights in the UK, linked by quick corners, and a couple of mind-concentrating chicanes which makes it the ideal venue for the evaluation stages of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award - the most prestigious award that any young British racing driver can win.

Start / Finish

• The start / finish straight

Riches

• After the initial start, riders have to encounter one of the most hectic first corners in racing, as the corner is much faster than it looks
The approach is uneven and undulating in the braking area with several surface changes
Because the corner is wider than it looks the entry is surprisingly quick
The bend is featureless and quite hard to judge as the turn in point is pretty late just past the 100 yard board and riders will try to opt for the inside line if possible on lap one
The corner is long with an equally late apex
Getting this corner right will allow the rider to drift out to the exit kerb with the throttle open
The apex has two distinct lengths of inside kerb
As a general rule bikes with slicks use two apexes, those with treaded tyres can carry more speed by missing the first apex, getting the bike turned early and driving through the last part of the corner more upright
All riders should however sacrifice speed at the apex and keep the tight line on the exit in case other riders try to overtake up the inside
On the exit and riders have the power on early enough they should be able to obtain full throttle fairly early for a short burst on the approach to the next corner, Sear
Riders should use all the track, remembering that the exit is narrower than the entry
The kerb is fairly rough and should be avoided if possible

Sear

• Sear is featureless, slow, flat and difficult to judge
Braking is severe as riders will use the service road on the left as a reference point
There is only one real line from the peel off point to the apex
Riders will occasionally use out-braking manoeuvres forcing other riders to run wide
The entry has plenty of tyre marks (as the track is used for the majority of the year), and these can be used for reference
The ideal entry point is quite late and slow as riders try and maximise the drive onto the straight
The apex is slightly late and just past the crown of the kerb
Riders shouldn’t power too soon or too hard as they will possible run wide on the exit
There is plenty of run off but riders will lose time
On the exit it is important for riders to gear for this and should be very smooth on their exit
Camber is slightly adverse and high sides are common if riders try to get on the power too quick
Riders can use the edge of the apron if necessary

Revett Straight

• From the Sear the Revett Straight is very long and very fast
The fastest bike down the straight is usually the rider who did the best job through Sear
As riders approach the end of the straight just past the bridge they will need to brake very hard
This straight is ideal for overtaking
The track is slightly downhill at the end of this straight and often wind assisted

The Esses

• This is the only significant left-hander of the whole circuit
The entry into The Esses is very fast with plenty of time to reduce speed before you need to change direction
Riders will use the prominent marker boards to judge their braking point and they ease their brakes as they peel off at around where the 50 yard marker would be
Riders can still overtake here by turning in much earlier, then braking in an almost straight line right into the corner
Late brakers will tend to dive in too fast and run wide between the apexes and be late on the power on the drive towards Bomb Hole
The fastest way through the Esses is to line the bike up with an exaggerated sweep on the entry so that it’s reasonably parallel to the left hand kerb – this is the riders first apex
If riders manage to hold the kerb too tight their entry is too slow
The second apex is crucial and requires good timing and a really fast change of direction
By the time riders reach the late apex they should have reduced their speed but still carrying enough to require a seriously acute lean angle
Riders will need to try to apex late running as much as possible over the kerb
If riders carry the braking up to the apex will cause their bike to stand up and will cost them time on the drive out and possible losing the front
The exit needs to be tight and good drive is very important – more than a high corner speed off the apex
This can set the rider up for a pass on the approach to the Bomb Hole

Bomb Hole

• From the Esses riders will be accelerating fast and they will aim to run along the left hand edge of the track just after the track narrows slightly
On most machines no more than a brief roll of the throttle will be needed
Overtaking is possible on the inside
There is a surface change just before the turn in point as well as a dip which can unsettle the bike
The apex is about three quarters along the inside kerb and the camber is very helpful at this point
The exit out of the Bomb hole is very important but the camber flattens off the apex so riders need to be aware of high sides
Riders will allow the bike to drift out to the far end of the exit kerb, just past the marshals’ post towards Coram Curve

Coram Curve

• This is one of the most exciting corners in British racing as it is long and fast and riders will usually drift their bikes at this point
Riders will be flat out on the approach to this curve
The track is slightly domed making the entry into the corner difficult to pick precisely, although the riders line is not absolutely critical
The entry requires no braking, as riders will pitch their machine in hard and fast and get on the power as soon as they can, both to maximise drive and also to unload the front end
Riders will aim to hit the inside kerb where it starts and hold this position almost until the service road on the right
Riders should not allow the bike to drift wide at all
If riders go wide the outside of he track is very bumpy and can cause all sorts of problems
The best spot is about one foot from the actual apex
The exit requires riders to accelerate close to full power from the service road allowing their bike to drift out to the left of the track adjacent to the marshals’ post
Many bikes usually change up to 5th gear at this point but tend not to change when going over the surface change if possible as this can unsettle the bike
From here they approach Russell Bend

Russell Bend

• This bend was once one of the fastest, hairiest and most daunting bends in Britain but safety improvements have been made to reduce all of that
From Coram there is a slight downhill run to Russell but is fast and braking will be hard but not too late
This is an obvious overtaking venue and not too easy to fight off a determined rider wanting to overtake
The entry is quite late and the object being to make room for the left hander rather than maximise speed through the right
Apex 1 is slightly late just beyond the nose of the inside kerb
Riders will hold the bike right as much as possible ready for Apex 2
Apex 2 is also slightly late in order to straighten the drive out
Riders need to be on the power as soon as possible after the apex
The more power the rider has the less speed they need to carry at the paex and the more the rider can square the corner
Riders need to drive hard out of the exit allowing the bike to run to the right hand kerb
This will oblige the rider to pick it up and take a slight right hander onto the straight as this is the quickest line
The gearing needs to be right for the exit or it could lose the rider much valued time and speed going back to the start / finish straight