>>Chris Bloom wrote
><snip>
>>> First Corner: If a miracle does occur and everyone gets away from the
>>start
>>> okay, then the next canditate for a shunt is the first corner. At
>>> this point in the race the tyres are still cold and you have very
>>> little clue
>>how
>>> much room you need to brake. Best idea here is to give the guy
>>> in-front room, brake early and try to keep on the racing line.
>>I don't think so. Consider Monza. First one enters CG normal.
>>Second one releases the throttle a bit earlier as usual.
>>Third one notices this and touches the brake a bit.
>>Fourth one is surprised by nr. 3 braking that early, has to hit the
>>brakes harder.
>>Fifth one will rear-end nr.4 and wonder why this stupid guy jumps
>>on the brakes. (alternative: nr. 5 passes nr.4 and will mess up with
>>no.3)
>>IMHO nr.2 is to blame in this case. With nr.1 going into CG as usual,
>>there is no need to slow down earlier.
>>IMHO better: Brake as usual. (of course considering full fuel load and
>>cold tires!!)
>I can't agree with that. First, on the first lap you don't know
>exactly where the guy ahead normally brakes (if he does). You need
>to leave some room to have enough time to react in the worst case.
>Second, when there's a relatively slow corner ahead, you can't brake
>at normal point if you're close behind, because the time gap that is
>enough at high speed is not sufficient at low speed. So you have to
>brake earlier. And if you're in 10th position you have to brake
>much earlier than if you're in 4th position, because of the same
>effect. When both are in effect together one has to brake really
>early:>
When it comes to turn 1 braking - or any potential braking to overtake
manoeuvre for that matter - then various things need to be taken into
consideration. Obviously at the start of the race there are a lot more
things to take into consideration than say later on in a race when it
will probably be just you and another driver who are fighting for the
corner and so there is a lot more potential for accidents/collisions to
happen because everyone is trying to keep their attention on 2 or 3
different things at once.
When people talk about 'braking earlier' as such, I'm not sure that I
would entirely advocate this policy, especially if it is going to entail
the driver, although braking earlier, still braking at his/her usual
rate. I believe this still leaves plenty of potential for accidents.
If a car is in front of me coming towards the first corner then I need
to consider various things - probably in this order:
1) Do I think that I can make an overtaking opportunity at such an
early stage?
Almost certainly this is going to have been decided first and hopefully
long before the corner arrives, based upon relative speeds. If I don't
think I'm closing fast enough to get past - not just my nose alongside -
before the corner arrives then don't even think about.
2) Am I going to have to slow up earlier than I would normally for the
corner in order to ensure that I do not collide with the car in front?
Once decision (1) has been made then (2) should also have been decided
as early as possible before the braking area for the corner arrives and
should definitely not be one of those play-it-by-ear decisions - once
decided then stick to it no matter what the driver in front does even if
it could cost a place or 2 - unless you have no choice and are trying to
avoid contact of course. I normally have my mind made up on this one
early as in 'Ok, I'm way too close. Better give this guy some room
under braking. Let's not be silly here.'
What I prefer to do if I am too close is actually let off the throttle
perhaps 2 or 3 seconds before I would come to my normal braking point,
which should lengthen the gap between me and the driver in front by a
safe enough margin to allow me time and room to make any adjustments
into the corner, and then - if he is pretty good and brakes where I
expected him too - I can brake, but not as hard as normal so that I can
close up under braking into the corner. If he does brake that little
bit harder or earlier then so can I also.
3) Can I take my normal line through the corner or am I going to take a
more defensive line because of someone in my mirrors who I believe may
well be considering some 'do or die' early dive on my inside, and have I
left it too late to change my current line to a more defensive one which
could result in the car behind not having enough time to adjust his
line/braking to avoid a collision?
If there is a car in this situation and I've got the time then I will
move to the inside and, still taking (2) into consideration, will slow
up for the corner appropriately. Hopefully, because I am now in his
line, he will be a little more careful about where he decides to brake
and doesn't rear-end me. No guarantee here but, if he is thinking the
same way as me then he will already be off the accelerator early and
given me and him enough room to allow for him to close up under braking
and to prevent anyone who may be on his outside from trying to slip into
any temporary gap that may have existed for those few seconds as he
eased off just before braking.
If I feel the driver is already too close for me to change my line then
I will happily yield, holding my line and easing off earlier than usual
depending on decision no. (2)
I'm not saying I've always thought this way and that I always practice
what I preach, but for me it's a good starting point and, if other
drivers could think this way then it's possible that there would be
fewer T1 accidents. Then again... :)
Ok, that gets us into T1 perhaps a little bit more cleanly, now what
about the exit... hehe.
--
Peter Ives - (AKA Ivington)
Remove ALL_STRESS before replying
No person's opinions can be said to be
more correct than another's, because each is
the sole judge of his or her own experience.
