The Racing Line at Anglesey - International Circuit

Anglesey Circuit, located on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, is a short track that nonetheless delivers some high speeds on the two popular layouts for trackday and race events. The International Circuit, shown here, includes the Tom Pryce straight, in memoriam of the Welsch F1 driver who lost his life in a collision with a fire marshall in 1977.

Anglesey is a relatively short track, with the International Circuit measuring in at barely over 2 miles. This means that the sections that appear long and straight on the track map are eaten up quickly. The fast section encompassing Turns 3-5 provides more of an opportunity for pilots of low-power vehicles to take a breather.

By far the most common mistake on this track is to enter the turns too wide. Perhaps the short layout makes it seem beneficial to take wider lines toward the apex, but the optimized lines show otherwise.

The Turn 1 apex is at mid-corner or earlier for all vehicles due to the large radius. Approaching the second corner, the Miata is the only vehicle that gets all the way to the left before entering Turn 2, which it takes as a wide single apex. Bikes and faster cars may benefit from a slight double apex here, as well as in Turn 10, which is another hairpin. Approaching 2, the GT3 RS and Motorcycle should only be slightly left of mid-track.

Turn 3 has another early apex, and all vehicles should come back to the inside border at Turns 4 and 5 for quickest lap times, although you may prefer to stay wide at 4 to make it easier to set up the braking zone for Turn 6. With race tires, Miata drivers may be able to take Turns 3-5 at full throttle, but the other vehicles will brake for Turn 3 at the minimum. Anything less than race tires will require lifting or braking by the Porsche in Turn 5 as well.

The Turn 6 is a sharp, uphill lefthander that should lead directly into Turn 7, without pointing the vehicle back to the left of mid-track. Many drivers err here by swinging back too far to the left in preparation for Turn 7, which should be entered on the inside very early.

Turn 8 shows the most variation for the different vehicles, with the Miata exiting early and wide, the Motorcycle staying close to the inside until fairly late, and the Porsche somewhere in between. Entering 9, again only the Miata sets up all the way to the outside. At Turn 10, drivers searching for the late apex will invariably enter too wide. Instead, brake late and keep it tight, even for the Miata, and you\'ll get through the corner much quicker. Turn 11 has a late apex, but notice that all vehicles hug the inside all the way through the corner.

The short straight between Turns 11 and 1 provides little respite from lap to lap. Anglesey is short and quick, and rewards tight lines rather than big entries. Keep this in mind to make the experience of Anglesey as rewarding as possible.