Positioning When Braking

The best way to position yourself on the track depends on a lot of different variables. First and foremost it depends on the track layout, the corner you just took and the angle of the corner you’re going into. According to how the track is laid out, it affects your positioning when braking.

If you have the option of carrying the speed from the previous corner into the next, you have to make sure you don’t brake too much. But if the angle between the two corners is smaller you have to brake much harder, and position yourself differently.

Another important thing to keep in mind when practising is to always position yourself the same way on the track. This way it is easier to work on the small details in your driving and identify which improvements work the best. If you vary your position in the track each time, it will be much more difficult to improve your performance. It’s crucial to do everything the same way each and every time, before you can practice something new.

A key element when trying to improve your consistency is to use landmarks on the
track. Different landmarks you can use are the 100 meter mark, curbs or irregularities in the asphalt – the most important thing is that the landmarks are stationary. A track walk is a good way to identify these landmarks.

If your skill level is very high, you can work on feeling your landmarks instead of looking for them. You have to focus on sensing where you are on the track, your speed and your braking points. If you can make it to where you only sense your way around the track, you can save your vision and not use as much energy on that particular sense.

You will be able to react faster to situations happening for example in a race, if you are not busy looking for landmarks. It’s important to start with physical landmarks and then slowly move onto sensing them, when you master the technique fully.