Adaptions to the layout at Pembrey Circuit in Wales have been made to enhance the action in the Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy this year. Last season, the Pembrey Circuit benefitted from a widening of the opening two corners in an attempt to lessen the amount of contact early in each race which was a constant issue.
The 5 Nations BRX will be visiting the South Wales venue twice in the 2022 season, on May 14-15 and August 27-29 and work is ongoing to open up the gravel section of the circuit, with the chicane being removed and a long, sweeping right-hand corner leading onto the Speedway Straight, and a return to Asphalt.
Pembrey will continue to be run in both anti-clockwise and clockwise directions. For the anti-clockwise route, the Joker Lap will be around the outside of Carter’s Hairpin, on the section of the circuit that has formed the standard lap in recent years. For the clockwise layout, the joker will remain in its existing location, around the outside of Hansen’s corner. Other investments made to improve the venue at Pembrey include the expansion of the main paddock area, new signage and new fire-assistance vehicles.
Further plans for the Welsh rounds of 5 Nations BRX will be announced in due course.
The New Track Layout at Pembrey Circuit
“We changed the rallycross layout a few years ago and having run on that a few times, we could see areas for improvement,” said Phil Davies, Pembrey Circuit Manager. “We found on the second half of the gravel section there was a lot of course-cutting and contact, so we’ve made the changes to make it flow a lot better. We’re making a much more open corner on the gravel, back onto the tarmac – hopefully, the cars will be drifting sideways all the way around there now. That will open up overtaking, which will be good for the drivers and the crowd. The changes lend themselves to moving the joker for the anti-clockwise layout. The existing joker works well for the clockwise direction as it is, so it’s a good change in the variety of the circuit layouts for the drivers too. We’re really excited to have 5 Nations BRX back again this season.”
Hannah Rynston, Championship Co-ordinator stated, “We have worked closely with Phil and his team at Pembrey, along with Motorsport UK, to make positive changes to the layout at Pembrey and we’re looking forward to action getting underway on the new section of track when we visit South Wales for the first time this season in May. The other changes at Pembrey are very good too, and we are also working on plans to put together entertainment outside of the racing, which we will reveal as soon as that is confirmed.”
The British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy will get underway at Lydden Hill for a double-header weekend on April 16-18.
Full 2022 5 Nations BRX Calendar