Driving the Lotus test track at Hethel – “Taste of Lotus” experience

For an overview of “Taste of Lotus” read this post. This article has more detail on the Hethel track history and driving impressions.

World War 2 required a huge increase in the size of the British armed forces, including air power. Many new airfields were built, and this was at a time when the population of the UK was around 40 million compared to the 61+ today so land was easier to acquire, and airfields didn’t need to be built to the standards of 2025 to cater for heavy jets. One such airfield was RAF Hethel:

The airbase had a variety of uses such as a US Air Force (USAF) base for B-24 Liberator bombers like this:

After the war Hethel was used for Personnel Transit, then Technical Training before being closed as a military base in 1948 and sold by the Air Ministry in 1964 to Lotus who were in need of a headquarters. Not only did Hethel offer a number of useful buildings, it also had an airfield which could easily be converted to a test track:

You can see how closely the track follows the airfield runways and peritrack, with only the infield section around the HQ itself being actually new. Hethel is just one of a number of old airfields converted to racing tracks – others include Silverstone and Thruxton.

It seems the infield turns were a later addition – this photo is from 1991, where the runway is also still clearly visible. Interestingly there are runway numbers on the runway to the right indicating it would be in active use, which makes sense, if you’ve literally got an airfield why not use it!

Here’s my driving impressions of the track, starting with proper numbers for the corners:

Starting with the car approaching Turn 1 along Fittipaldi Straight you want to be over on the right hand side, as per the track map Turn 1 is actually a slight kink left which you want to take before you brake for T1 so the car is braking in a straight line. That is the old airfield peritrack if you look at the map above.

Turn 2 is compromised with a late apex and staying right so you’re nicely set up for Turn 3 – this is where I had the hardest time learning the track as T3 is blind and actually more than ninety degrees so I was apexing earlier than I should – cones there for a reason!

Once you’re on the exit of 3 visibility is restored and power can be kept on until the entry of 6 where a dab of brakes is needed, I did try and get away without it but no joy, then power on again, ending up on the apex of 9 and you cut diagonally across the track from inside to outside, turn in late for a late apex to exit 10 and it’s flat out 11-14 straight-lining it.

I’ve marked CC where the cone chicane is and there’s enough time to get the car straight to brake, left-right through the cones and then flat out through 15, minimising steering input.

You want to end up mid-track on the run to 16 which is hard to see on the map but is another kink and as this is the biggest braking point on the circuit definitely want the car straight for the entry to the Le Mans style chicane which I feel really needs second gear, and remember earlier on the power the better, slow it down.

Turn 20 is a much later apex than it seems because you’re asked to exit mid-track, so do that, and then you’re back on the Fittipaldi Straight heading towards Turn 1 again.