Hot Lap - Phillip Island by Jason Whittaker

Craig Lowndes, takes us on a hot lap of Victoria's 4.45km Phillip Island Raceway.

"Start - Go up through the gears quickly. You are in sixth gear approaching turn one - doing about 230km/hr. Approaching turn one gives you some of the best views of the ocean.

Doohan Corner (turn one) is one of the best corners on the circuit. It's fast and free flowing. It's hard to overtake here unless the car's set up right. Brave people go on the outside of Doohan Corner!. Some people have pulled the passing maneuver off.

Turn 2 - Southern Loop. Accelerate into Southern Loop in fifth gear. This is one of the awkward corners. It has a double apex, off camber. If you don't do it right the gravel trap will catch you before you hit the wall. Awkward sucker. Back down to third for this one.

Running round to turn 3, it's a difficult but important corner. It's important because if you have a good run its one of the limited places where you can overtake.

Honda Corner is one of the slowest in the circuit. Great place for trying to outbrake people and get past. Back to second gear through here and about 70km/h.

It's a short run up to Siberia. I go from second up to third. This is also an important corner as exiting Siberia you have a long run past the hay shed to Lukey Heights.

This is not a place to exit the circuit. I had a big crash here in 96. Very quick corners past the hay shed. If you've set yourself up right in Lukey Heights you can overtake going into MG. Another place to try an outbraking manouvre.

At MG its back hard - a second gear corner. Out of MG you accelerate - short shift to third. There's another left hand kink where you are at 120km/hr and quickly run up through the gears - fourth to fifth before the left turn onto Gardner straight.

Here you are flat out for 270km - for one of the fastest rides in the country! Yahooo..."

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