Original Authors: Lao Dian, PB Motorsports | December 21, 2020
In "Driving Skills — Beginner Braking, Part 1," we invited a number of veteran drivers to share their insights on braking technique. Despite our repeated reminders to keep it simple, the veterans still managed to toss out a dizzying amount of jargon in the fewest words possible... (Were you guys just too lazy to type more? Though what about the one who wrote a massive wall of text that was still hard to understand?)
But that's motorsport for you — being slow is the original sin. Since we can't out-drive them, it's hard to complain. As for the guy who specifically messaged us to say his contribution was "extremely simple and easy to understand" — that's just humblebragging about his driving skills.
To help all the beginners out there, this follow-up is dedicated to gathering (copying) and compiling (pasting) explanations for every braking term that came up!
All terms below are sourced from the previous feature!
Q: Did anyone procrastinate and fail to submit their insights on time? A: Yes...
01 What is the correct braking principle for a beginner?
The principle of braking on track is actually quite simple: first, decelerate the car to a safe corner-entry speed in the shortest possible time. Once you have that down, start practicing how to use the brakes to rotate the car. And when braking, be careful not to exceed the tires' limits — don't apply excessive steering angle before you've released enough brake pressure (and likewise, don't apply excessive steering when accelerating out of a corner).
02 What are the most common braking mistakes beginners make?
In my experience, it's braking too late and too hard. The urge to chase lap times leads to late braking, which makes corner entry rough and unsettled.
Also, the "string theory" of braking, steering, and throttle (note: not the physics kind — physics majors, please spare me) is something everyone can understand in principle, but executing it flawlessly on track takes an immense amount of practice.
03 How should you practice braking during a track day?
In my opinion, the first thing is not to obsess over lap times. When all your focus is on the stopwatch, you tend to overdrive — and when you overdrive, your inputs get sloppy. It's better to ease off at first. Use your vision and your body to feel the speed and G-forces, while drilling the basic technique of "hard initial braking, slow release." Only once your fundamentals are highly consistent should you gradually start to push. For example, at first you might practice the full "brake-and-release" action over the span of one second. Once that's consistent, gradually compress it — aim for 0.9 seconds, and so on.
Second, if you want to explore the car's limits, I feel you cannot rely too heavily on reference points other people give you — where to brake or where to turn in. Ultimately, every car's setup is different, and even with identical cars, driving habits (and mistakes) vary. Rather than being handed a fish and memorizing someone else's markers, it's better to develop your own method for finding the reference points that work for your car. Start from a conservative braking point and turn-in point, and gradually push forward to find the optimal marks.
Third, seat time is certainly important, but using that seat time effectively gives you twice the result for half the effort. During the breaks between sessions, if conditions allow, review the video and data from your previous run. Ask yourself whether you can spot flaws in your driving. Personally, I find that video overlaid with simple data — speed and G-force — often tells us more than staring at dense data charts alone. It shows us exactly where our footwork on the brake pedal or our steering inputs went wrong.
Finally, beyond track days, karting is an excellent way to practice braking. The extremely light weight, complete absence of electronic assists, lack of a differential, and rear-axle-only brakes force you to refine your braking technique significantly. And the cost-effectiveness simply cannot be matched by a full track day.
Jargon Explained
Q: What is ABS?
A: ABS stands for Anti-lock Braking System. Its job is to automatically modulate brake pressure to prevent the wheels from locking up. It keeps the tires in a state of controlled slip (at a slip ratio of roughly 20%), ensuring that the adhesion between the tires and the road stays as close to its peak as possible.
Q: So should I just stomp the pedal until ABS kicks in every time? They keep talking about "maximum braking force" — what does that actually mean?
A: ABS is a great invention, but limit braking is not ABS. Threshold braking is a widely used technique where brake pressure is held right at the critical point just before ABS intervenes, maximizing tire grip. Mastering threshold braking can dramatically shorten your braking distance.
Q: They say you shouldn't brake too aggressively or too gently, and you definitely shouldn't keep varying brake pressure. Why?
A: It all comes down to weight transfer. Weight transfer affects the grip available at all four tires. Shifting a certain amount of weight onto a specific tire can increase its grip — but shift too much, and that tire gets overwhelmed and loses traction. Braking is one of the most important tools for controlling longitudinal (front-to-rear) weight transfer. Braking too aggressively or too gently throws off the rate of weight transfer, causing the tires to miss the optimal grip window. Varying brake pressure multiple times through a single braking zone disrupts weight transfer entirely — and in dangerous situations, this can lead to uncontrolled oversteer or understeer.
Q: Everyone talks about "braking points." What exactly is a braking point?
A: A braking point is the spot where you begin to decelerate before entering a corner. Drivers typically rely on visual references to judge their braking points — for example, where a white line begins, a particular tree, or the third red-and-white curb block. The ideal braking point varies slightly for every car, on every day, and from lap to lap. A skilled driver can find the optimal braking point for a given lap in a very short amount of time.
Q: A lot of people also mention "trail braking." What is it? Don't we already have threshold braking?
A: Threshold braking and trail braking are not mutually exclusive. Trail braking, simply put, is maintaining some amount of brake pressure while turning into a corner. During trail braking, partial brake pressure is held all the way to the apex. This lets you use a much later braking point because the braking zone extends into the corner right up to the apex, while still allowing you to get back on the throttle at the same point as a traditional racing line on exit. Compared to the traditional technique — braking entirely in a straight line before turning in — trail braking demands significantly more skill and is much harder to master.
Q: How do I practice all of this?
A: Motorsport is a classic "you reap what you sow" sport — more seat time is the only path to more skill. What are you waiting for? TOP-GT's Track Day at Laguna Seca on January 27th offers up to 7 hours of seat time! You can practice your braking to your heart's content! Leave us a message to register!