Where to watch

You can either watch from the brand-new grandstands or from the banks, which let you walk round the whole circuit.

The first corner at Copse is best for the start of the race, and on subsequent laps you can see the bikes hammering down the pit straights towards you before disappearing into Maggotts and Becketts.

From Stowe, at the bottom of the circuit, you can see the whole of the very wide, long and quick Hangar back straight, plus a long distance view through Vale all the way up to the Abbey Curve.

Another great place to watch is Luffield, the twisty bit the bikes go through as they come back into the stadium section. There are about six different elements to the corners and the bikes are worked very hard here. This is normally where you get a lot of overtaking.

Here’s our guide to the top spots to catch the best action:

Copse:

Riders will take the first turn at about 110mph and will be using every spare inch of the track to gain the advantage, especially off the line. And that includes the kerbs as they try to maintain their speed on the drag up to Maggotts.

Maggotts:

This left, right, left flick at high speed will be one of the trickiest turns on the course – lowsides and kerb-cutting are guaranteed.

Hangar Straight:

Possibly the most important bit of the lap to get right because the speed coming on to and off the straight will dramatically affect the time. Speeds will be knocking 190mph before riders jump on the brakes for Stowe. This is a great overtaking point, on the brakes on the way in and on the throttle on the way out.

Bridge:

This is always a great viewpoint – there’ll be plenty of hard braking.

But it’s vital for the riders to get over from the left to the right-hand side of the track for Priory.

The Complex:

The final series of slowish corners which bring the bikes on to the start/finish straight is going to be one of the key overtaking areas during both races.

Woodcote:

This is a scary, scary turn with the bikes not only cranked right over but also having to negotiate all the white lines put down for the F1 grid. In the dry the bikes are flapping all over the place as the bars shake. In the wet, it’s going to be a case of hold on and hope.

Famous names:

Copse Corner is named after the nearby Seven Copses Wood

Maggotts is named after the local Maggotts Moor

Becketts Corner and Chapel curve are close to the ruins of the Thomas à Becket chapel

Hangar Straight used to sweep past two large aircraft hangars

Stowe Corner is named after the famous Stowe School to the south

Club Corner is named after the RAC Club in Pall Mall

Abbey Curve is near the site of the ancient Luffield Abbey

Woodcote is named after the location of the RAC Club in Surrey