Speed Secrets: Don’t Trail Brake More

More thoughts on braking.

Following on from my recent articles about braking, I’m now going to tell you what not to do.

But first…

“Don’t use don’t.” That’s one of my core approaches to coaching. Instead of telling someone what not to do, tell them what to do. So, let me correct my article title.

Trail brake less.

“What? Huh? I thought you were always telling me that the timing and rate of release of the brakes is the key to going faster, and that means trail braking. Are you now telling me to not trail brake?”

I hear you, and I’m going to address it in this article.

But first…

Just to be clear, trail braking is the act of gradually releasing the brakes, or “trailing” off the pressure, after turning into a corner. If your foot is on the brake pedal for just a foot or so past the turn-in point, you are trail braking; if your End-of-Braking (EoB, the point where you’re completely finished with braking, and your foot is now off the brake pedal) is almost at the apex, then you’ve trail braked all the way there. Trail braking can be done with either your right or left foot, it does not necessarily mean you’re braking while applying throttle, and it doesn’t mean that you must be on the brakes all the way to the apex (that would be trail braking, but you don’t have to be on the brakes all the way to apex for you to be trail braking).

Here is the problem with me, or someone else telling you to trail brake more: You might over-slow for the corner, and not gain any benefit.