Of the four British Formula 3 races at Thruxton he entered across the 1994 and 1995 seasons, Warren Hughes started every one of them from pole position. Not a bad accolade considering his opposition included Jan Magnussen, Dario Franchitti, Oliver Gavin, Ralph Firman and Helio Castroneves.
Hughes had several magic moments at the Hampshire speedbowl, billed as the UK’s fastest circuit, during a lengthy British F3 career that aptly concluded with a Thruxton podium in 1999. On that day, he’d shaded champion elect Marc Hynes and soon-to-be Williams Formula 1 racer Jenson Button to score a result he acknowledges might not have been possible at a venue other than his favourite track.
By then Hughes was long since established as an expert at the 2.356-mile circuit, having won a Formula Vauxhall Lotus race at Thruxton back in 1991.
“It’s a nice part of the world and it’s got more of a relaxed atmosphere about the place as well,” says the Geordie. “But the track itself is obviously the main bit and I have always gone well there. There was definitely signs that I clicked with the place and that continued to some degree when I went there in F3.”
Hughes attributes his prowess at Thruxton to his late-braking style, which gave him confidence into the circuit’s two heavy braking zones at Campbell and the Club chicane where most laptime can be found, and what he calls “an understanding of how to structure” the right-left-right complex comprising Campbell, Cobb and Segrave.
“You had two very big braking areas there from very high-speed into low-speed and I always felt very strong on the brakes,” says Hughes, who encourages the drivers he coaches to treat the flat-out blast through Noble, Goodwood, Village and Church as though they’re driving on an oval and minimising steering inputs that scrub off speed.
Hughes explains that he put most emphasis on a good exit from Cobb. This involved compromising the exit of Campbell “to make a massive gain at Turn 3, which then gave me a slingshot into Turn 4 and then you’d be flat until the chicane”.
Source: Autosport