01-03
T1 REDGATE TO T3 CRANER CURVES
Redgate has been the site of so many first corner incidents and accidents . But maybe seeing Joey Dunlop pass inside of eventual champion Fred Merkel , in the iffy conditions of - literally - WorldSBK Round One in 1988 , should be remembered forever . Joey was a mean short circuit scratcher . The next fast right of Hollywood leads to the big changes of direction down the wide open Craner Curves .
04
T4 OLD HAIRPIN
A favourite passing place , where re-passing is also an art form because too many rider go in too early to the tricky downhill right . Many run wide on the exit and are re-passed before accelerating away .
05-06 07
T5 TO T6 SCHWANTZ CURVE
Named after Kevin Schwantz this double left and slightly uphill section provided one of the most dramatic sectors of Ryuichi Kiyonari ’ s astonishing lap in wet conditions in 2008 . It ’ s a social media favourite , so you can still see how he pushed on and slithered all the way home .
T7 McLEAN ’ S
A ‘ proper ’ hard right-hander after all those big , fast curves . Who can forget wildcards Neil Hodgson and Chris Walker putting a double pass on entry into no less a WorldSBK legend than Noriyuki Haga in the early 2000s ?
06
07 McLEAN ’ S
08
T8 COPPICE
A very tricky long corner , the approach up the slope is completely blind and the first apex over the brow is a false one . A race training ground more than a single corner . Remember Hodgson and Walker again , passing Pierfancesco Chili on the very last lap in 2000 , after Frankie had suffered an unexpected tail slide on the exit ?
08 COPPICE
09-10
T9 / T10 FOGGY ESSES
The kerbs have been modified many times over , but you have to clip a bit of each with your tyres in this left / right chicane . A real balancing act between too harsh an impact and making a positive race-winning impact with your entry speed to the next hairpin .
11
T11 MELBOURNE HAIRPIN
So many races won and lost here if anybody overcooks it on the downhill braking section into a slow right hand uphill hairpin exit . A great place for a block pass , but watch you don ’ t get undercut as it ’ s actually a double apex hairpin .
11-12
T11-T12 GODDARDS
The drama of all dramas usually happens here , thanks to a downhill approach , the off camber tight left apex and even an unsettling bump on the braking zone approach . Jonathan Rea dived inside Leon Haslam at the apex in 20012 and they collided . Haslam got nerfed off and inadvertently took out his own BMW team-mate , Marco Melandri . Incredible drama yet again .
59 HISTORIC CORNERS