In the beginning of time, way back when the dinosaurs ruled the world, there was a theory: it said that to get to a late apex in a corner, you had to turn in late. The geometry made sense, and most importantly, it could be drawn on a whiteboard (or should I say, a stone tablet back in the day) in 2D.
It looked a bit like this:
If you’ve read my original Speed Secrets book you might remember this illustration from it. Notice, also, that that book was published way back in 1997, which is prehistoric in terms of my driving knowledge.
There’s a “problem” with turning in late — it means you have to drive a tight radius curve early in the corner (as the illustration above shows), which means your speed is relatively low.
With that in mind, which speed would you rather begin accelerating out of a corner from, say, 55 or 58 MPH? It’s obvious that starting to accelerate from a higher speed would be an advantage. But if that tighter radius, late turn-in line requires you to slow to 55 MPH, well… that’s not ideal.
If only you could turn in a little bit earlier; you could drive a slightly larger radius so you wouldn’t have to slow to 55 MPH… and be on a line towards and passing a late apex so you could apply the throttle early… If only.
But we all know that an early turn-in does not result in a late apex, right?
Not necessarily. And that’s where my Big Aha! Moment came in.
If you get the timing and rate of release of the brakes just right so that your car rotates, you can turn in slightly earlier, and still head to and clip past a late apex. Yes, you can have your cake (earlier turn-in, allowing more entry speed) and eat it too (late apex that allows early acceleration out of the corner).
But how?
Maybe you were predicting that I was going to use my old standby phrase, “the timing and rate of release of the brakes.” Yup. That’s it. Mostly.
Back in those prehistoric times I mentioned above, I was running an event for BMW Canada at a small track near Victoria, B.C. As part of the program, I and four other instructors/drivers were taking guests for rides around the track, demonstrating the performance of the new 3-Series model. This particular track was made up of a small oval with a short extension off one end that consisted mostly of a hairpin turn. This hairpin helped change my life.
Lap after lap after lap after lap after lap… demo ride after demo ride after demo ride… Hey look, a squirrel! I needed to do something other than be consistent. So, I played around with how I released the brakes. In doing so, I noticed just how huge a rotation I could get out of the BMW.
With each lap, I’d delay the release of the brakes – trail brake more and more – and notice just how far I could rotate the car. In fact, rotate might have been an understatement because, as my confidence with my ability to control the sliding rear-end grew, it was beginning to feel like I was driving a World of Outlaws sprint car on a dirt oval. The yaw angle was at a point where my passengers’ eyes were either popping out of their head while looking out the side window to see where we were going, or they were closed. I’m sure they were sure that we were going to spin.
Certainly, I was overdoing it. This was not the fastest way to get around the track. But it was the most entertaining! Now, it wasn’t slow, either. But, in overdoing it – in over-rotating the car – I was learning. Oh, and having more than just a bit of fun!
Overdoing it was deliberate, though. By over-rotating the car, at any moment in time I could dial it back a bit. And by learning what delaying the release of the brakes did, making the car drift into the corner, I was fine-tuning just how much trail braking resulted in how much rotation. It’s not like I’d never done this kind of thing in the past, but not with so much intentionality, not with so much intensity, not with so much repetition in such a compressed time period… and not with so much play.
But that was just the beginning of my Big Aha! Moment that day.
I began to realize that with so much rotation, I was getting to the apex earlier than I expected and wanted. So, I started combining the rotation with an earlier turn-in point. What I learned from that was the Major Aha!
By turning earlier, the radius I was following toward the apex was not as sharp. Of course, that meant that I could carry a tiny bit more speed into the corner… and still clip past my intended apex, and follow my usual exit line because I was also using the brake release to rotate the car. In other words, my entry speed was higher, my minimum speed was as good or better than usual, and my exit speed was equal to or better than ever. Talk about a win-win-win!
That was a long time ago, but the last time I looked, the laws of physics have not changed since then. So, when I talk about how the advanced trick stuff that the best drivers use is simply doing the basics (applying and releasing the brakes, turning the steering wheel, applying the throttle) better, this is what I’m talking about. And when I say the timing and rate of release of the brakes is the key to being fast, that’s what I’m talking about.
A funny thing happened shortly after my Day of Aha: a caveman named Thor waddled up to me pushing a stone wheel, and grunted, “Rotation.”
Your diagram was the preferred method everyone was taught to do turns 17-18-19 at Calabogie. We open wheel racers quickly found entering on the inside and apexing earlier was the faster line.
Yeah, this is brilliant Ross ... I’m doing the math in my head about how many times I’d have to try it before I got it right. Fantastic description.