Bedford Circuit Review
Posted: 11 Aug 2020, 10:24
The best circuit you haven't ridden. No doubt.
It's over 2 minutes for most, maybe 2m40s for a Novice. It's an incredibly safe yet sketchy circuit, loads of run off but barely a barrier in site.
The circuit is mostly flat but there are some really well placed undulations which, when used correctly put you on the perfect line to avoid some hilariously horrendous bumps.
TLDR:\\ Incredible, bumpy, undulating but flat circuit which was great for overtaking and feeling like a hero.
Leaving pit lane into Turn 1, it's a 1st gear corner and very bumpy on approach, it opens into a long sweeper before braking into Turns 2, 3 and 4.
Turns 2 and 3 are a left-right chicane which you need to sacrifice to setup for Turn 4. There's a huge bump on the apex of 2 which you need to be braking over and trail brake onto the curb of 3 to keep the bike settled.
Turn 4 is an off-camber long left hander where you need to upshift on exit and have faith that you can pin the throttle and make it round the next corner, a right hander, before heavy braking and down to 2nd for the left-right chicane of Turns 6 and 7.
The right hander of 7 is slightly slower than the left hander but I sacrificed a little speed in 6 to be able to hold a steady throttle and plant my knee on the apex of 7. There's then a short stretch into the latest of apexes at the hairpin before the back straight.
The back straight is LONG. I saw over 150mph GPS down there so it isn't the fastest straight but it's long. You can get a nice rest down there on a 600 although the bump halfway down can break your feet free from the pegs - that was interesting.
Braking at the 300 yard board I could just pull it into the left-right chicane of 9 and 10. This is a fun chicane and definitely a needed safety feature. That said, there's a strong bump on the left which frequently had me momentarily tuck the front. So long as you're carrying the speed it was absolutely safe, I never felt like I was going to crash there.
Keeping it tight right after the chicane, a quick squeeze of the brake lever and a fast tip in to the next left, running ALL the curb, was exhilarating! You've barely hit the apex before you're hard on the brakes and back to 2nd for a 90 degree left with a lovely compression on exit. That corner was brilliant!
A short burst into the last left hander, an undulating and burm-like Turn 13, narrowly avoiding another horrific bump which broke my foot free from the peg mid corner many times and down to the penultimate turn.
Late braking again and carrying much more speed than you expect it was a great place to pass traffic on the outside, inside, on the brakes or on exit. This corner was tough to choose a gear, it would bog a little in 3rd but it got me to the last corner at a nicer speed for tipping in without much more than a dab of the brake.
The last corner was a hero corner.. the amount of apex speed was insane and everyone in all the garages can see you due to the lack of a pit wall. I did take great liberty in attacking that corner. It was then a case of grabbing 4th gear before heavy braking into the bumpy Turn 1 where I frequently outbraked myself. It only took a small stoppie over a bump to make all braking efforts void.
Here's one video clip. This was the 5th session of the day and you'll see me out brake myself dramatically into Turn 1 around halfway through. It was quite funny.
[video]https://youtu.be/2AxkFSFmQys[/video]
It's over 2 minutes for most, maybe 2m40s for a Novice. It's an incredibly safe yet sketchy circuit, loads of run off but barely a barrier in site.
The circuit is mostly flat but there are some really well placed undulations which, when used correctly put you on the perfect line to avoid some hilariously horrendous bumps.
TLDR:\\ Incredible, bumpy, undulating but flat circuit which was great for overtaking and feeling like a hero.
Leaving pit lane into Turn 1, it's a 1st gear corner and very bumpy on approach, it opens into a long sweeper before braking into Turns 2, 3 and 4.
Turns 2 and 3 are a left-right chicane which you need to sacrifice to setup for Turn 4. There's a huge bump on the apex of 2 which you need to be braking over and trail brake onto the curb of 3 to keep the bike settled.
Turn 4 is an off-camber long left hander where you need to upshift on exit and have faith that you can pin the throttle and make it round the next corner, a right hander, before heavy braking and down to 2nd for the left-right chicane of Turns 6 and 7.
The right hander of 7 is slightly slower than the left hander but I sacrificed a little speed in 6 to be able to hold a steady throttle and plant my knee on the apex of 7. There's then a short stretch into the latest of apexes at the hairpin before the back straight.
The back straight is LONG. I saw over 150mph GPS down there so it isn't the fastest straight but it's long. You can get a nice rest down there on a 600 although the bump halfway down can break your feet free from the pegs - that was interesting.
Braking at the 300 yard board I could just pull it into the left-right chicane of 9 and 10. This is a fun chicane and definitely a needed safety feature. That said, there's a strong bump on the left which frequently had me momentarily tuck the front. So long as you're carrying the speed it was absolutely safe, I never felt like I was going to crash there.
Keeping it tight right after the chicane, a quick squeeze of the brake lever and a fast tip in to the next left, running ALL the curb, was exhilarating! You've barely hit the apex before you're hard on the brakes and back to 2nd for a 90 degree left with a lovely compression on exit. That corner was brilliant!
A short burst into the last left hander, an undulating and burm-like Turn 13, narrowly avoiding another horrific bump which broke my foot free from the peg mid corner many times and down to the penultimate turn.
Late braking again and carrying much more speed than you expect it was a great place to pass traffic on the outside, inside, on the brakes or on exit. This corner was tough to choose a gear, it would bog a little in 3rd but it got me to the last corner at a nicer speed for tipping in without much more than a dab of the brake.
The last corner was a hero corner.. the amount of apex speed was insane and everyone in all the garages can see you due to the lack of a pit wall. I did take great liberty in attacking that corner. It was then a case of grabbing 4th gear before heavy braking into the bumpy Turn 1 where I frequently outbraked myself. It only took a small stoppie over a bump to make all braking efforts void.
Here's one video clip. This was the 5th session of the day and you'll see me out brake myself dramatically into Turn 1 around halfway through. It was quite funny.
[video]https://youtu.be/2AxkFSFmQys[/video]