How To Brake Even Lighter In Light Brake Pressure Corners

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1. One of the Main Areas Pro Drivers Separate Themselves From Grassroots Racers

Today, I want to focus on one of the most common areas where intermediate or advanced grassroots racers lose time compared to pro drivers. There are usually about 3 core areas I see major differences. In this newsletter, we'll hone our focus on one of these areas: lighter brake pressure-type corners.

Examples of corners with lighter brake zones are:

Turn 2 at Willow Springs
Turn 4 at Laguna Seca
Turn 8 at COTA
Turn 14 at Road America
Turn 6 at Mid Ohio
Hog Pen at VIR
Turn 6 at Summit Point
Turn 5 at Sebring

In most vehicles the brake zones I highlight above should have a 3 out of 10 or less in terms of pedal pressure on the brake application.

As grassroots racers get more confident and start to build speed they usually become proficient at braking late and braking with lots of brake pressure. But, as they gain confidence they tend to lose the finesse that is required at some crucial moments on track.

There are a few areas we want finesse: turn-in points, the pause point (area between brake release and throttle application), and light brake zones.

The main difference in these braking zones is that the pro is simply able to brake lighter. I find it very common that the grassroots racer will have double (or more) the brake pressure than the pro in these lighter braking zones. It's not a knowledge problem, it's an execution problem -- meaning the grassroots racers know they are supposed to be braking lightly and they often think they are. But, when we look at the data their pressure is too high.

There are a couple common reasons why this happens:

Body position & core engagement
Slow point of the corner reference point

For all motorsport athletes (motorcycle riders, car racers, karting drivers) putting our body in the right position to engage our core is the most vital part of building finesse on the brakes. Any time we are making intricate inputs we need proper core engagement.

For our racecar drivers, we want to focus on the following:

Proper seating position (view the "foundations" lesson here)
A seat and seatbelts that really hold our body in place. If your body is moving in the seat, your core is trying to stabilize your body and can't focus on the intricate applications needed on the brake pedal. Getting a proper seat and maybe even a seat insert molded to you can be a game changer.
When possible, adapt the pedals to be in a perfect position. This is not only about the distance away from you but also the height of the pedal.
Have a heel stopper and pedal box for your feet to rest on near the brake pedals.

For our motorbike riders, we want to focus on the following to engage our core:

Ensure your body is back off the gas tank enough so your chest can clear it. This lets you unweight your hands at the turn-in point.
Footpegs need to be pretty low to give the rider more leverage. This lets us get our feet below us.
We want a 35 - 45 degree angle in our foot. If our feet our flat we are not engaging our core on the bike. Get your heel up to get your core engaged!

Before doing anything else, let's get the ergonomics of your bike or car right first. As a racecar driver, I always focus heavily on getting my seating position right before I ever turn a lap. Work with your Blayze coach to ensure you have the right seating position.

Focusing on our core is something we can all do off the track as well. Every time you go to the brakes while driving/riding on the streets focus on what your core is doing. Is it engaged? If not, we have a problem!

I would pick a couple of corners on the streets that we know are lighter braking zones. Then I want to go and practice engaging my core as I go to the brakes and keeping it engaged through the corner (note don't let yourself stop breathing while engaging your core). Practice this at slow speeds to develop the timing and see how it gives you more feel on the brakes.