Mostert maps out KL city circuit

Claiming two of the three challenges on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Chaz Mostert loved experiencing what's set to be the newest circuit on the V8 Supercars Championship calendar.

The current Bathurst champion and last Championship race winner has added a KL City Grand Prix trophy to his growing collection, and is looking forward to tackling the event as a 'points' round next year.

"Obviously as a track on a whole I really enjoy it," Mostert told v8supercars.com.au.

"It's quite a bumpy circuit and very tight in sections."

The foray to Malaysia was Mostert's second international experience as a V8 Supercars driver, after contesting the round in Austin, Texas, in 2013.

He gave some predictions of what the circuit would be like heading into the event, but after his experience on the weekend Mostert was able to talk through a lap of the 3.3km street circuit in detail after his excellent showing.

The start-finish line is under the watchful eye of the stunning Petronas Twin Towers, with the V8 Supercars lining up on a staggered starting grid before barrelling into turn one, with an average speed of 78km/h. The drivers take the corner in second gear and see it as a passing opportunity.

"It's a corner that has a very big wide opening, but it still crucial to stop it in the apex and try and square your exit off to get the best thing there," Pepsi Max's Mostert told v8supercars.com.au.

The corner is followed by a long straight, with a top speed of 230km/h, before hard braking into the 68km second corner.

"Into two it's quite a weird corner, it has a ripple strip on the outside but it comes across in the straight, so you dip down into a right," Mostert said.

"[There's] slight kink in the braking zone to turn left and you use quite a bit of kerb there. The fence is really narrow on the outside, so a mistake there - you've got to make your mind up early to go down the off-shoot. You can't really under-commit there."

The V8 Supercars get up to 200km/h through the next part of the track before the chicane that resembles turns 6-7 at Sydney Olympic Park, which the drivers call the 'bus stop'.

"Up through the bus stop, halfway down through the esses of the straight, [there's] quite a few bumps in the braking zone which really scare you a little bit coming in! But later on it flattens out and the car slows down.

"It's quite a flowing little bus stop area and there's a kerb on turn eight, the exit of the bus stop, which all the Supercars use.

"There's another little S-bend straight flowing up into 10, which goes under the tram tracks.

"It's quite a cool braking zone - first you start quite hard in the braking zone because you're going into the hill, you get to the right and it starts to drop away you have to release the pressure because you can't hold the pressure all the way to the apex.

"There's a nice tight guard rail there too and the exit opens up quite well there at 10. It's bit like the old Surfers Paradise track down into Holiday Inn, [with] the short run down into the next corner... lights come on with the locking and then you settle it again and turn in."

The V8 Supercars brake from 200km down to 78km for the left-hander, which Mostert described as a 50 per cent chance to pass. Another hard left-hander, down to 70km in first, follows at turn 11, before the 165km turn 12.

"Twelve is like a left-hand equivalent of our right hander in Adelaide, turn eight," he said.

"It's a bit lower speed, but just as sketchy. A few bumps in there, jumping the car around, but a nice run down into 13 where the Irish pub is - that's what we've been calling it on the outside!

"There's another good passing opportunity into 13 there, but it's very tight to get a car down there, it takes full commitment.

"A nice few bumps on the next straight out of 13, coming into 14-15. At the moment we can take quite a fair bit of kerb there but I think when we come back we probably need to slow that down a bit more."

The cars will accelerate up to 160km for this part of the circuit.

"And then there's the little kink onto the straight - and that's a lap!" Mostert said.

"I think it's cool - it's very hairy, keeps you very tested, racing will be very interesting."

All five drivers who were part of the demonstration at the KL City Grand Prix praised the track, with Todd Kelly calling it "crazy" though he tamed it for a win and pole position.

V8 Supercars CEO James Warburton declared the event a success and will be working with the organisers to firm up plans for next year.