After 2025 when I was driving on track in what seemed liked a monsoon, I signed up to go back to Zandvoort Circuit in 2026 to try again.
It sort of worked - first day was dry. Second day, not very much dry!
Zandvoort is a beach resort to 20 miles or so to the west of Amsterdam. Beach season ends August 31 as the North Sea turns cold. It also turns wet. Given not much is open in September in Zandvoort (its a ghost town), I prefer to stay in Amsterdam near the Central train station. Then you can Uber or take a train there with a short walk. Plenty of dining options at night that way.
The Zandvoort Circuit is built into the sand dunes behind the beach. Its undergone enormous changes over the years to make it safer for F1, the last Dutch F1 GP was run two weekends before I was driving there.
This trip I was supported by Raw Motorsport, in conjunction with TFL Racing, as TFL were overcommitted to support me as I was a solo car this trip. As it turned out Raw Motorsport lost one of their customers so they were only supporting a single Radical SR3 this event.
I was based in the F1 pits, in the actual garage space where Kimi Antonelli had parked his F1 car for the F1 GP.
The track is built into the sand dunes and follows the undulations. It is extremely we suited to a Caterham.
The photo below illustrates this character. It is one of the original track sections from its first inception. Its great fun as a Caterham stays on full throttle through the curves.
Turn 3 is a full on tight banked curve. The quickest way around is to just go around the top. Entry is a little tricky with a camber change from turn 2 immediately preceding. You can drop to the apex at the bottom of the banking if you are overtaking - something I would do regularly. Its bumpy and you are climbing out for the "straight" section immediately following. Beats your body up from the G forces.
The last turn leading on to the main pit straight is also heavily banked. It is a full on acceleration. One of the few corners where I will change gear mid corner - not always advisable.
Rob at Raw Motorsport is famous for his mastery of the George Foreman grill - toasted ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch both days! Damn they were good!
Day 2 saw the wind and rain move in. When it rains here it does so viciously.
I started with the MRF tires as I wanted to see what they were like in the wet conditions as an intermediate treaded tire. I was quite happy with them in the dry but wanted the intelligence of what they could do.
Happy to report they are a better damp surface intermediate than the Toyo R888 - which was never going to be a surprise to be honest. They will never get up to optimum warmth on a cold day but that's just a byproduct of their long lasting nature in regular tarmac conditions.
After a session on the MRFs, I switched to full Nova race wets as there was standing water and a more aggressive tread pattern was needed to clear water. The trick with using tires like this is you need to be higher tire pressures (like 25psi cold) to give stiffness to the sidewalls and allow the tread grooves to work to clear water.
They work brilliantly in adverse wet conditions. You are always careful as braking distances are lengthened. I never could really get the car to stop in the braking zone to turn 1
Turn 3 - the image below conveys the corner layout but hides the banking depth - its a tall corner with at least 3 stories high of banking.
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