The UK's Ultimate race track

By Jonathon Gill

24th April 2009

Every racing driver has his favourite track. In the past, it might have been the fearsome Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany or the original Spa in Belgium where, 40 years ago, average lap speeds often topped 160mph.

Today’s circuits are much tamer in nature, built with driver safety and spectator viewing as key priorities. But even here, in health and safety-conscious Britain, our circuits remain some of the most challenging and spectacular in the world.

So good, in fact, it’s hard to choose between them. So when we asked HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship legend Fabrizio Giovanardi to name his very own fantasy circuit, he lifted the best bumps, bends and hair-raising hairpins from the 10 tracks the series visits.

Fabrizio has raced around the globe, winning the Spanish, Italian and European touring car championships, before switching to the BTCC in 2006. Over the past three years, the 42-year-old Italian has come to adore our individualistic UK venues – not least as he has driven his Vauxhall Vectra to title glory for the past two seasons. It wasn’t love at first sight, though.

“The circuits in Britain are totally different to those I competed on before, and they came as a big shock when I joined the BTCC,” admits the man from Modena. “I had raced at the bigger places like Silverstone and Donington, but they aren’t the reality of your circuits.

“It’s smaller places like Croft, Knockhill and Oulton Park that are more typical, and they are very unusual. At first, it was a nightmare as I couldn’t transfer my experience from Europe. And, as this championship allows very little testing during the season, it was very hard to learn the circuits. It was a big challenge.” 

What’s more, Fabrizio admits he has had to change his driving style to cope with the helter-skelter nature of these quirky regional venues. “When you race touring cars in Europe on bigger F1-style tracks, you have lots of time to think about where you are going to brake and where you are going to turn into the corners. When you come to the UK, it’s totally different as the corners come so quickly. It’s very tricky for a newcomer, but I think I’ve got there now.”

Having mastered the bumps, crests and kerbs of places like Snetterton and Thruxton, Fabrizio is happy to be competing in Britain. However, this will be his last season behind the wheel of a works Vauxhall, as VX Racing will pull out of the BTCC at the end of the season.

There are some special sections of the different circuits on the BTCC schedule that Gio genuinely relishes and would include in his own fantasy race track.
But which are the particular segments that he enjoys the most? To kick off, he doesn’t have a favourite starting straight. “Anywhere I’m on pole position,” he laughs.

Being a big thrill seeker, though, he does have a major preference when it comes to the twistier bits that follow. “I don’t particularly like technical corners,” he says. “I prefer the faster, challenging ones, which really sort out the difference between the drivers.”

The famously fast and plunging Paddock Hill Bend at Brands Hatch is just such a corner, and Fabrizio admits it’s a challenge, but mostly when trying to overtake a rival. Surprisingly, he believes Clearways at the other end of the circuit to be tougher. “It looks slow and easy, but there’s a bump which unsettles the car and encourages you to lift off. If you release the throttle, though, you lose time on the straight afterwards. It’s very challenging,” he tells us.

And the same can be said about Thruxton – the fastest venue on the BTCC calendar. “I really like Thruxton,” he explains. “You spend most of the
lap trying to go absolutely flat-out and telling yourself not to touch the brakes.

“You always feel you’re going too fast and you don’t want to make a mistake at such high speeds. From Goodwood and on through Church corner, it’s very, very interesting.” He then turns his attention to Donington Park, the future home of the British Grand Prix. “Donington is a typical F1-type circuit, yet it’s still very exciting in a touring car,” he says. “The sweeping Craner Curves are a big test in the wet, but the Old Hairpin that follows is, perhaps, the toughest challenge as you need to keep your speed up.”

While clearly a fan of Donington’s picturesque parkland setting, Fabrizio rates the British GP’s current home, Silverstone, as his favourite circuit in the world – although only when competing on the full GP track in a truly fast car. The BTCC uses the shorter, more spectator-friendly Club circuit. But as the opening corner, Copse, features in both layouts, it’s in Fabrizio’s dream track – and shunts the most thrilling bends at Croft and Rockingham out of his top 10.

Snetterton in sleepy Norfolk serves up two more gems: Sear and the evocatively named Bomb Hole both get the thumbs up from Fabrizio. “The entry to Sear is so fast,” he beams. “You can just about do it in fifth gear but then you risk going off into the cornfield on the outside – I’ve seen some amusing photos of that. Likewise, you try to take Bomb Hole flat-out, but it’s not easy.”

The BTCC’s annual stop-off in Scotland is at tight and twisty Knockhill, which Fabrizio describes as “funny” – that’s both ‘funny ha-ha’ and ‘funny odd’. He says: “From Duffus Dip to Clark Curve, it’s a rollercoaster as the track bucks and weaves all over the place. It just makes you smile.”

But if there’s one stand-out venue that sums up our tracks, it’s Oulton Park near Chester. “This is a real English circuit – fast, bumpy and dangerous,” explains Fabrizio. “If you look too closely at the barriers, you start thinking, ‘I don’t want to get it wrong here.’ But that’s great.

“In a safe corner with lots of space, you can push until you make an error and nothing bad happens. If you know even a small mistake will end your race, that has a big effect in the driver’s mind. “The whole place is fantastic, but I particularly like Cascades – it is a really nice corner. You arrive downhill and brake with the car really light at the rear, so it’s hard to control. At the same time, you need real speed on the exit.”

Put together all Fabrizio’s favourite corners, and you would probably come up with a UK version of the Nürburgring – and that’s not for the faint-hearted.

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