How To Brake?

[beez]

It depends on what kind of corner it is, but in every instance, your first hit on the brakes should be your hardest, then you modulate as necessary. For tight corners being approached at high speed, that initial hit might be 80-90% or even all the way to threshold... for sweepers, this initial hit might be 25-30% or even just a brush, and longer duration. There are other factors that come into play as far as how much braking is needed - going uphill? Less braking is needed than you might think... long sweeper? The friction of the tires being being turned for that long of a time will help slow the car down, so don't over-slow the car on entry... I see a lot of people over-slowing their car for sweepers. BTW, threshold is not getting into the ABS, it's just short of it - without ABS, it's just short of lock-up.

But, the most important thing is you want to scrub-off speed of the mass of the car, but not kill your momentum doing so. In all cases, you want to use the modulation of the brakes to get the car settled back down onto the rear axle some - a good 10 feet or so - before turn in, so the car is balanced when you begin to turn the wheel for the corner. So many people concentrate on very late braking and corner entry speed, with most of the car's weight still on its nose as they turn in, which kills momentum. I see and coach many very late brakers who find themselves "parked" in the turn, having broken their momentum with this style of driving. Having the car more balanced at turn-in allows you to use super-light braking for balance, or trail-braking for rotation on the way to the apex, and a balanced car at the apex allows you to carry momentum through the corner, and get on the gas sooner as you exit. You can't get on the throttle early with a poorly balanced car. It's corner exit speed, not entrance speed, that makes the difference in gaining those tenths that are laying around the track waiting to be taken. The sensation of entering a corner fast can fool you into thinking you're making up time there, but you can only carry so much speed through the apex of any turn.

I guess I subscribe to slightly longer, and slightly earlier braking to keep the car more balanced. I used to be - as one of my coaches called it - a "scary late" braker, but I'm much faster doing it this way. My mantra: It's not how fast you go, but how little you slow down.