Over braking by charging into turns like a bowling ball is guaranteed to crank up your stress levels, induce fatigue and increase your lap time. Yes, I said increase your lap time. In the worst-case scenario, you could turn into an actual bowling ball and take yourself or other riders out. See Marc Marquez demonstrate that here. Let’s talk about how to avoid this.
Who do you think you are? Toprak?
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
What is charging the turn? To answer this question, we must first understand why you are braking in the first place. What is your goal? Most people would say it is to slow down. That is only partly correct.
The purpose of braking on track is to position yourself in a location on track at a speed that supports your exit plan. Your aim is to use braking as a tool to maximise your exit acceleration. The more time you spend accelerating, the lower your lap time.
Braking is a pre-planned process that should consider all phases of the corner, especially the exit. Braking ends after you have achieved your desired speed and have released braking pressure. It is important to note that this point may not necessarily be the lowest speed for that corner.
You need a braking plan before you go to the brakes
THE BRAKING ZONE WHITE KNUCKLE RIDE
Slowing to your desired speed takes a certain amount of space (time and distance). Let’s call this your braking zone.
It is up to you how much brake you apply and at what rate in your braking zone. Ideally, the hardest braking should occur as early as possible while you are as upright as possible.
Braking hard with lean (trail braking) is still possible, but it does mean your brake lever pressure should reduce as you progress deeper into the braking zone (and lean angle increases).
However, if you find yourself consistently struggling to stop the bike close to your apex, and your focus is still on stopping the bike instead of the next phase of cornering, you are charging the turn.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK AND FEEL LIKE?
It is easy to recognise if you are charging your corner entries. You are charging the turn if:
- Your slowest speed is reached after the apex and at the same time as brake release
- You are not progressively releasing brake pressure as you approach your desired entry speed
- You are braking equally as hard at the beginning and end of the braking zone
- You are adding brake pressure at the end of the braking zone
- You feel like you are using nearly all your strength to hold yourself back on the handlebars
- You are using maximum fork travel in the second half of the braking zone
- You have limited spare mental capacity to plan the rest of your entry
- You are laser-focused on getting the bike stopped
- You have a narrowed field of vision
It should not look and feel like this!
WHY ARE YOU DOING IT?
Ok, so why are you charging turns? Below are 11 reasons.
- You think braking as hard as you can in the shortest possible distance is how to be fast
- You equate feeling extreme forces during braking to being fast
- You don’t use reference points and are lost on track
- You don’t factor throttle roll-off in your braking zone
- You don’t have a braking plan to execute
- You are not yet proficient at sensing rates of deceleration and speed
- You are copying racers because you think they do it to go fast
- You are comparing yourself to faster riders with more highly developed skills
- You like the feeling of being on the edge of traction
- You are passing another rider
- You are taking evasive action
Which of the above do you think is justification for charging turns?
You could make an argument for the last two as they are the result of conscious decison making. The others are based on misconceptions and gaps in technique. You do not want any of the above to influenece your normal corner entry plan.
Charging is the exception, not the rule
WHAT IS NORMAL?
Any one or combination of the above might feel like you are on a record breaking qualifying lap, but qualifying laps are not sustainable. Riding like this lap after lap and corner after corner is a recipe for stress, fatigue, and slower lap times.
Normal corner entries do not involve overtaking another rider, avoiding a hazard, or charging the turn. In some scenarios, changing your braking plan might be appropriate to achieve your goal, including increasing brake pressure late in the braking.
However, enjoying track riding requires the vast majority of your corner entries to be normal corner entries. Planned, low-stress, and with no surprises.
Controlled braking is bliss!
SO WHAT?
While charging the turn might be necessary to carry out that last-lap hero overtake, charging is detrimental in many ways. Why? Because charging the turn:
- Gives you too much to do at corner entry
- Forces you to over-focus on stopping
- Saps muscle strength and induces fatigue
- Will likely trigger survival reactions (oh f#@k moments)
- May upset the bike’s balance
- Can overload the front suspension and tyres and consume spare traction
- Can put the bike in an attitude beyond your abilities to control
- Can cause you to mess up the turn (miss your apex)
- Takes away too much speed and momentum at the apex
- Interrupts your flow
DON’T SLOW DOWN TOO MUCH
It might sound like an oxymoron, but charging the turn slows you down too much! You reduce momentum by washing off too much speed late in the corner entry. Many make the mistake of trying to then buy back the lost momentum with extra hard acceleration on exit. Over-hard acceleration has its own drawbacks, but that’s a story for another time.
Conserving your momentum is much more efficient than regenerating lost momentum. Imagine pushing a heavy sofa from one side of the room to the other. Is it easier to get it moving and continue the push in one motion, or stop multiple times and restart the pushes repeatedly?
Once you have it moving, it is easier to maintain that motion with momentum. Charging turns is like pushing the sofa in stops and starts. It’s stressful on you and your machine and steals your momentum and speed. There is a simple way to fix this.
Momentum rockets you out of exits
HOW TO KICK THE HABIT
The remedy for charging the turn is longer and lighter braking. Start your braking earlier than usual and combine this with less overall (net) braking pressure.
Less net braking pressure could mean applying the same brake pressure you would when charging the turn, but over a longer distance. Or it could mean using less net braking pressure and lengthening the braking zone to suit.
Braking longer and lighter does extend your braking zone. But because your net braking is lighter, your average speed through the braking zone will actually be higher. Do you see the hack?
By braking longer and lighter, you can achieve a higher average speed in the braking zone with less stress. That is the secret to consistently fast, low-stress corner entries. Make this your normal.
Do this until you establish total control over your attention and focus during braking. Only then can you start compressing the braking zone again while keeping a sharp eye out for the telltale signs of charging.
Practise makes perfect
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT
Attention during braking should be primarily directed at sensing your deceleration rate and speed. Braking longer and lighter frees up the mental capacity to do this. How can you be sensitive to this if you are rocketing into corners with your hair on fire?
You already have too much to do at corner entry to worry about whether you will get the bike stopped. Over-hard braking is a distraction you don’t need at this time. The forces and demands on your attention at corner entry are already high. Don’t add stress to this mix by charging the entry.
Don’t be fooled into thinking you can brake like Toprak or Marquez. You are not them. Yet. Get your braking under control first and slow down to go faster. That is your only chance to be anything like them. And even if you never reach their levels, at least you’ll go home after a track day having enjoyed it more.
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