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Nicolas Hamilton takes us on an exclusive lap of Croft Circuit

By MJP Media | 8 July 2015

AmD Tuning.com's Nicholas Hamilton takes us on a tour of the Croft Circuit during a break in proceedings at the recent Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship meeting where he made his BTCC debut.

Nic takes us on a tour of Croft Circuit with team-mate Mike

Croft Circuit was the venue for Nic Hamilton's debut in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship. Thanks to the guys at Dunlop, we were granted special access to Nic as he and team-mate Mike Bushell of the AmD Tuning.com team took us on a lap of Croft to give us an insight into the very special circuit, with its fast flowing corners and the UK's tightest hairpin. First of all, we spoke to Nic about his entry into the BTCC.

"I am incredibly excited to be racing in BTCC with AmD Tuning this year. BTCC is the top national motorsport series here in the UK and having the opportunity to race at that level is the biggest challenge I've taken on in my career to date." he said. "I'm coming into the championship with a lot to learn and my expectations are to develop as a driver as my programme across the season progresses." Nic continued: "Whilst I'm aiming to improve as a driver, I'm also hoping to inspire others to strive for their own personal goals, whatever their situation in life. Anyone can exceed expectations in one way or another and I hope to prove that when I race alongside not just able-bodied drivers, but the best touring car drivers in the UK."

Croft Circuit was the venue for Nic Hamilton's BTCC debut

We then set off on the lap and Nic talked us through how he approaches things around a circuit he has limited experience of. At this point, Nic had only had two free practice sessions and one qualifying session around Croft Circuit in the Audi S3 touring car he pilots, but he had certainly impressed with his race craft so far. "The start-finish straight is flat out from an almost standing start after the hairpin." he explained. "The hairpin is so tight here that you launch out of it in first gear and then just nail the accelerator all the way down the straight. Whilst this is exciting, it raises its own problems as you have to really get your braking right as you arrive at Chervaux, the 1st corner right-hander. A lot of people have been off there over the years and if you do, it's a really high speed impact. From there we move into Hawthorn Bend which is a sharp right-hander before one of the hardest parts of the circuit, the chicane. There have been many offs here over the years, but if you get it just right, you can really save a lot of time."

Nic continued: "The back straight is a long drag before we hit the 90 degree Tower Bend by the cornfield where it is down to 2nd or 3rd gear and then we head off, past the Jim Clark Esses and into one of the most technical parts of any circuit in the UK. Barcroft is a flat out half right before heavy braking into Sunny and we head back into the Complex, a fast sweeping right-hander before the very sharp right-hander as you come back into the Hairpin again."

Nic Hamilton at the wheel of his AmD Tuning.com Audi S3

Nic was keen to heap praise on title sponsors Dunlop: "Their support for the championship is immense. The research and skill that goes into producing the race tyres we use is huge, and the lack of tyre issues in the series is a testament to that. The abuse that these tyres take lap by lap would shred road tyres very quickly, but they cope with it with relative ease. Without Dunlop, the BTCC would be a much less attractive place to race."

Nic's next outing with the BTCC will be at Snetterton in Norfolk as we move into the second half of the season and we will follow his progress there.

Touring Car content supplied by MJP Media