FLYING LAP

Crossing the finish line in 4th, flicking 5th heading into the high speed Reservoir Bend. The following straight is the fastest part of the circuit, up to 6th on the gear box and flying through the Mandarin corner and past the sky scrapers down to the first tight corner, Lisboa, for which you hit the brakes at the 150 yd marker and come back to 1st. Out of Lisboa and immidietly up to 2nd under the bridge, before going right in 2nd and up the San Francisco Hill. Full throttle up here into 4th, flicking right - left - right again, then back to 1st gear for the first tight left hander. There follows a sequence of corners, left, right, right again followed by a short straight that leads into a narrowing left bend, very close to the wall on the left, then into the challenging Soltitude Esses. All are slightly different even though the 2nd, 3rd and 4th are much quicker compared to the first. All are blind too, so confidence and circuit knowledge is everything.

At the end of this sequence, there's a left bend followed by an 80 degree right which has changed this year, as the buildings on either side have been knocked down and the road re-aligned and resurfaced. This is a 1st gear corner, Moorish Hill, and is followed by another 1st gear right, then out into the open and round the left handed Dona Maria Bend in 1st gear. Up to 2nd for the short blast downhill to the infamous Melco hairpin. Making a pass is almost impossible as the cars don't tend to behave on the brakes over the bumps. Squeeze round here, in 1st gear, then shift into 2nd for the following left, right, then full throttle as you hurtle down the hill and into 3rd, 4th as you head for the sea. Hard braking at the 100 yd marker and back to 2nd for Fishermans Bend, which is very bumpy. Again, a good exit is important onto the seafront straights. Full throttle again as go up the gears to 5th, then on the brakes and back to 2nd for the final corner, a bit tighter as compared to Fishermans Bend, it is the "R" Bend. As soon as you dare, floor it to full throttle, as you cross the line to begin another flying lap...