Red Lodge Karting 700m track - nr. Mildenhall, Suffolk

Red Lodge is quite a technical track with one corner leading into another. Overtaking can a bit of a challenge, most manoevures taking place down the home straight or taking an inside line on the entry to a corner. The track suits a smooth driving style for most of the lap and it is very important to keep revs up around the corners. A good lap time around the 700m track used to be around 38 seconds but we found the track a lot slippier on our last visit, putting us into the 42s. An excellent track with a new extension turning it into a 1200m leviathon. We'll update our tips when we get to test it.

Back

Turns 1 and 2

Turn 1 can make the difference between good and great lap times. Stick to the outside of the track as long as you can. Then, as you get close to the hairpin let the back of the kart slide out and make a late apex. Done well and you should be lined up for turn 2 and with some good momentum. Turn 2 is a simple middle apex corner, let your rear tyres run over the chevrons and drift out to the far side of the next straight.

Turns 3 and 4

Turn 3 has gotten very slippery over the years, approach from a wide right line and make another late apex, running on the left side to turn 4. Revs are crucial here, brake short but sharp and get on the gas asap. Clip the apex in the middle and run wide to the left on exit.

Turn 5

Turn 5 is a fast downhill corner - turn in and brake (hard and fast) to get the back end out, take plenty of kerb and flat it out to the right hand side. Be wary of a few humps and bumps here.

Turn 6

Turn 6 can be taken flat out provided you've got the back sliding out behind you already. There's a high kerb here and you're aiming to let your left front tyre skim this by the narrowest of margins.

Turns 7 and 8

Go straight over turn 7 and then brake hard AFTER you've come off the chevrons, give it full left lock and slide around turn 8 drifting to the outside of the track. And floor it all the way past the chequered flag.