How to brake on a rally track

Last Updated on 2020/01/09

In motorsport, a smooth braking technique is perhaps even more important than speed.

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1 In motorsport, a smooth braking technique is perhaps even more important than speed.
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Having a full mastery of braking, during a car race, means being faster when cornering, while keeping the car in perfect trajectory. When you are on an asphalt circuit, you need to start to apply the brake, with the steering still in a straight position, before starting the curve, and then gradually leaving it.

But how do you drift in a rally race where the road conditions are at their limits?

For a World Rally Championship driver, handling the brake with his left foot is an essential skill.

Braking with your left foot allows you not to waste time when you need to accelerate again. If you’re racing a front-wheel-drive car, braking with your left foot is no longer just an option, but a necessity. That’s why you can’t drive a front-wheel-drive car, at least on a competitive level, without braking with your left foot. As a rule, the rear brake acts faster than the front brake. Using the left foot and keeping the right foot on the accelerator induces slight oversteer which helps to balance the understeer of this type of traction.

On asphalt, however, the technique for drifting is different, and managing the brakes is an easier operation than on a rally track because the level of grip is more or less constant at every point of the road. You start to break before entering the corners, and while you are turning, you should check the braking up to the apex. When the curve opens, you should take your foot off the brake and move it on the accelerator. On this site bestpartstore.co.uk, you can also find spare parts.

On the gravel, on the other hand, what you need to do is brake without being too aggressive, always testing the grip with small throttle strokes, then at the exit of the curve release the brake and open at full throttle.