Circuits
Manfeild - Round 5 - 11-13 February 2011
- Nearest City
- Palmerston North (14km), Feilding (2km)
- Circuit Description
- 3.03km, 7 corners, Clockwise
- Surface
- Hot mix bitumen
- Top Speed
- 220-230 km/h
- Spectator Facilities
- Terraced seating, raised embankments, hospitality suites
- Lap Record
- Angus Fogg - Ford Falcon BA - 1:12.810 (2008)
- Website
- http://www.manfeild.co.nz
A Falcon perspective - John McIntyre
No surprise that my home circuit is my favourite! 3 straights joined by 4 cambered corners with fantastic Esses thrown in the middle. You have to use every millimetre of the track to extract a good time. The Dunlop corner onto the main straight is a favourite and sets up a great lap. Go in deep under brakes, turn in late, and then jump on the gas at the exit using the entire outside ripple strip and then some. Down to turn 1 go wide and sweep across the apex, exiting well as you charge into the Esses in 3rd gear. You think you’ll never stop in time for ‘Splash’, the left hander which turns right on you as you head towards the hairpin. There’s loads of camber here, which allows you to slingshot from 1st through to 4th before braking hard for Higgins. Back to 2nd gear, get this cambered corner right and you’re looking good down the back straight to throw yourself at Dunlop again. Every corner’s entry and exit is a passing opportunity, but the car needs to have great front end grip for Higgins and Dunlop, and the ability to get the power to the ground out of turn 1 and the hairpin.
A Commodore perspective - Andy Booth
Unique in its nature Manfeild is effectively 3 short straights connected by roughly 5 very individual corners. Most of the corners have a fairly high degree of banking and this makes it a different sort of challenge form a car set up point of view. Turn 1 is the greatest challenge as it has virtually no camber and its also usually very dirty both from cars exiting the pits and dirt from behind the low apex curb being dragged on to the track. Braking is critical at Manfeild, trying to lengthen the straights and using the camber into the corners to help slow the car, with four hard braking points and only short straights you will often see battles won or lost on the condition of a competitor’s stoppers in the second half of the race. In recent years Manfeild seems to have only two weather patterns – Stinking hot or soaking wet! It’s fun to drive in either! Events at Manfeild are always well run with enthusiastic crowds, the new pit complex and other developments bring it up to spec with the best.
