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Oulton Park, Cheshire

OULTON PARK, Cheshire

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911UK

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Please review this Trackday Circuit on this thread........

Oulton Park Circuit
Little Budworth,
Tarporley,
Cheshire CW6 9BW


http://www.motorsportvision.co.uk/oulton-park/circuits/oulton-park.asp

oulton_park.jpg


International Circuit Length: 2.7 miles (4.3 km) Direction: Clockwise Corners: 8
Island Circuit Length: 2.3 miles (3.6 km) Direction: Clockwise Corners: 7
Fosters Circuit Length: 1.7 miles (2.7 km) Direction: Clockwise Corners: 6
 
User Review-1 said:
having done the full circuit on a wet day, I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining Oulton Park was.

Technically very challenging but not really a high speed circuit. It has many track features that very much enhanced the experince although not really a mini-nurburgring as many claim !

Can be quite trickly in the wet underneath the trees, so stay away from the white lines! Track surface was in excellent condition, even on the small banking section! although run off areas are very minimal. The on site facilities were good, very recommended.

User Review-2 said:
Fast track, lots of gradient change and certainly one of the better circuits.Druids is the big challenge-double apex and one of the last parts of the track to dry.

Get it right and it's hugely rewarding. Wrong can be expensive. Island can be taken flat but you don't believe it until you've done a few laps

User Review-3 said:
Only done long International circuit. If you are going, it would be worth checking what circuit you're on. Basically all the same track but with sections skipped/included.

The shorter circuit options would be a wee bit less fun than the full circuit where one of its attractions is the length. Anyway, excellent track, very challenging to get right. It's variety means first timers don't get too easily 'lost' and confuse bends, as they're all quite different.

However, it is a long track and some of the corners are quite tricky so it takes quite a while to get really get the hang of it, but that's part of the challenge/attraction - you won't have sussed it in 5 laps! Trackside hardware [trees primarily] may be a bit too close for some folk's liking, but the close trackside ones are not really in the run-off areas so probably a lot safer than it might seem at first. Very well worth a visit though.
 
Imho, it's the 2nd best circuit in the UK after Brands GP! Lovely track... narrow in places, but very picturesque with a nice variety of different types of corners. Only problem is that it is a bit of a trek to get there from down south...

User Review-4 said:
Oulton is a brilliant technically challenging circuit which is unique in the elevation changes offered. Rolling out of the paddock at Old Hall Corner, you are downhill through the Avenue into Cascades with a typically slower in, fast out style. Flatout through Lakeside, Island Bend is best taken with a central line, before you are hard onto the brakes through the steeply banked hairpin at Shell Oils Corner.

Staying high on the bank before the slightly uphill charge up to the Foulstons chicane. Through Foulstons, mildly cresting over to Hill Top and braking hard into the [newer] 2ng gear chicane at Knickerbrook before the hard charge up Clay Hill. Under the footbridge into one of the best corners in the country - Druids - which you will spend all day trying to master as it is deceptively fast and tricky to master. As you come out of the apex aiming for Warwick Bridge, you blast through to another brilliant corner - Lodge - which requires a leap of faith as the corner tightens as it banks steeply downhill and you find yourself balancing a wayward backend as the car goes light and clips the outside kerb. Through the very steep compression at Deer Leap, past the Paddock and smile for the cameras, then watch the line as you can balance the car into a wonderful 4-wheel drift back through Old Hall corner...

Tree-lined with various damp corners and very little run-off with walls to focus the mind, Oulton is technically challenging to demand 100% concentration at all times from even the most advanced drivers. Little wonder it is sometimes referred to as the "mini 'Ring" by some in the UK. (ok, it's very mini in comparison!)

Definitely not a circuit to miss.
 
Car : 911 GT3
Weather : Dry
Track : Full International

A modern facility deep in the Cheshire country side which is very tricky to get to during work day rush hour, as it is quite far from the main motorway, so either get there early to avoid the traffic or be prepared if you're heading from the M1.

Good pit lane facilities, with an excellent smooth and consistent track surface, although very bumpy in sections which is quite a surprise.

Track is certainly not as wide as it looks with barely a 2 car width in most sections, with the height and camber changes it has a very nice flow to it. The run out of the 1st corner is vital as there is a very precise line into Cascades (watch for the bump just before) although in the short time I was there, I dont think I nailed it as fast as I could. All the way to the Banked Shell Oil Corner is virtually flat with very heavy braking and trail braking to get the 911 in and around the banking.

The short right sprint to the chicane at Foulstons I found very deceptive as you're back on the brakes as soon as you see the chicane (must work on that line) although you can be quite aggressive on the way out to carry speed onto Hill Top, it can cause the car to slide out, so i think I needed a better line through the chicane in the 1st place.

Can't say Knickerbrook was very exciting, although you have to commit to a blind exit, then it's up the hill aiming for the big tree completley flat, all the way to druids, which reminds me how narrow the track is, whilst the run down to Lodge corner is very very bumpy.

Lodge corner itself is one of the hardest corners around to get right as it's a slow blind right hander, off camber and down a hill, which feels like it goes on forever. Only looking at the map do I recall it's almost a 130 degree turn but feels like another one of those fast blind corners, so I can see why it is so easy to get wrong and end up in the nearby armco, as a lot of cars seem to do. After this it's pretty much flat all the way till the 1st corner.

The white lines are exceptionaly slippery when wet, to a point of almost no grip, but traffic can be a real problem with short sprints between corners. A class circuit, that could be a bit wider as the run off areas are very small indeed.
 
While looking for more vids prior to a forthcoming trackday. Although it's not a Porsche being driven, it is well worth a watch because of the advice given by the instructor to the driver :)

 
First visit by Boxsey

Car : 964 C2
Weather : Wet for the first 2 hours and dry for the rest of the day
Date: October 2007
Track : International
Driver ability : Still a novice
Format : Open pit lane

This was my first go at Oulton and the day was made all the more enjoyable by having local expert Marcus 'the Goose' Carniel as a personal instructor for most of the day. Overnight rain made the track very slippery and daunting for a first timer. As mentioned in other posts above, certain sections under the trees were treacherous in the braking zone :eek: . As the day wore on, a drying track and the instruction from Marcus turned this into the most rewarding trackday I've done so far. A brilliant venue.

Here's I my personal thoughts about Oulton (with the benefit of expert instruction on the lines to use):

Old Hall - hard braking at the end of the straight, down to 3rd and then as fast as you dare.

Cascades - hold your nerve in 4th and don't brake before the dip (stay left until then) that leads you into the bend. Surprisingly early turn in is the best line to get on the power early at the exit.

Lake - Settle the car by braking just before turn in and then power all the way round it in 4th. The car takes a natural arc that brings it back to the left ready for the next corner (there's no need to try and hug the inside line). One of the fastest corners on the circuit.

Shell oils hairpin - almost like a mini Karussel. 2nd gear. Hug the inside and power out and drift wide on the exit and smile at the Marshall as you'll get very close to him.

Foulstons Chicane - A PIA because it's so slow. Take all the big first kerb under braking. Quick shift down to 2nd, turn in and straight line the next two apexes with your foot on the floor. A real suspension tester as the car will get airbourne over the kerbs 3 times. Drift onto the kerbs on the right of the straight and blast down to Knickerbrook.

Knickerbrook - Tricky complex which tests your and the car's ability to change direction quickly. Down to 2nd and trail braking into the first right turn is a key to getting good speed in . Steady throttle over the next apex, drift to the edge on the right and then quickly get back to the left side. A quick change up to 3rd before the final right hander helps maximise the exit speed but being uphill it seemed to still be slow.

Druids - The most satisfying corner to get right and would probably be disastrous if you got it wrong due the close presence of armco and trees. Grip in the braking zone is in short supply so do it early. Down to 3rd, aim at the 2nd apex and let the car drift gently to the left of the track and unwind the lock smoothly on the exit. Feel your sphincter tighten on the exit as there is a dip that makes the backend twitch and squirm under hard acceleration.

Lodge - Another ar$e twitcher because you need to let the car drift to the left on the exit to kiss the kerb which is blind until you're almost on it. 2nd gear was best for me.

The lap finishes by taking a brave line through dear leap (within a few feet of a big tree) where the car first bottoms and then goes light and catapults you onto the home straight which was treated as a gentle curve that drifted the right and then back to the left for old hall again.

Overall I would say that Oulton is not a high speed circuit as the straights are quite short (I only remember seeing my speedo nudge 100 a few times) but the complexity makes it very rewarding to drive. Anyone with the track bug should do it IMO.

5 out of 5 from me. Can't wait to go back. :D
 

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