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CORNERING techniques
(p2)
cornering (racing) lines
This is the heart and soul of good, fast cornering. When your
aim is to cover ground rapidly and smoothly, the cornering line
is crucial (it's usually referred to as the racing line, but because
the lines are a bit different between road and track, we'll use
the term cornering line). The goal here is to find
the fastest path around a corner, or even a series of corners.
Below is a diagram of a basic, 90-degree corner
(figure 1) . The orange line illustrates the
straightest, fastest path around that particular corner:
As you can see, the car starts at the absolute outside of the
road, and then moves to touch the inside of the road (apex) halfway
through the corner. From that point, the car gradually moves to
the extreme outside again. This 'out-in-out'
line may not be the shortest path around, but
it is the straightest. This allows far
more speed to be carried into, through, and out of the
corner than strictly following the curvature of the road.
Here are a few more examples of a basic cornering line on different
types of corners (figure 2):
The lines in figures 1 and 2 may be the straightest, and allow
good speed through the corner, but they're not always the safest
- say, for example, on a public road with oncoming traffic. In
certain situations, they may not actually even be the fastest
- as many track day enthusiasts and racer car drivers already
know. More on that further on.
public roads
Fast cornering on a public road demands a more safe-conscious
focus. Blind bends, merging/parked vehicles, animals, irregular/dirty
surfaces and especially other road user can cause nasty surprises.
Unless you can see all of the corner from start to finish, and
you can see everything that's happening in that corner, you'll
have to run a slightly different, safer line
through it. Don't fully commit yourself to a corner you
can't see all of.
Always drive with the mindset that the worst
could happen, and be prepared to react accordingly. Don't
hesitate to sacrifice a very fast cornering line for a safer one
if you can't see all the way around a bend.
A good technique for safely taking blind or unfamiliar corners
is shown below (figure 3). Prepare
to take your corner as normal (see preparing
to take a corner). As you enter the bend, keep to the outside
of it, but on your side of the road (always assume that someone
coming from the opposite direction might be slightly over on your
side).
As you're taking the bend, you're always looking as far around
it as you can. The point at which you can see no further is known
as the vanishing point (or limit point) and you should be ready
and able to come to a complete stop within that distance. Have
enough grip in reserve to make sudden changes in direction if
absolutely necessary.
The moment you can see out of the corner and the road straightens,
you can begin to increase your speed and/or tighten your cornering
line accordingly. See figure 3 for an example of the line to take
in these situations:
the racing
line
The cornering lines shown earlier
(figures 1 and 2) described the straightest, smoothest
line through any given corner. But sometimes the most straightforward
line is not actually the fastest. With racing or time trails,
the speed at which you exit a corner is more important than the
highest speed going into or travelling through it.
The faster you can exit a corner, the higher your speed on the
following straight bits, and the lower your overall time
will be.
This kind of cornering strategy is not only useful for racing,
it's also huge fun, because it's a more aggressive line: you have
to brake a bit later and longer, turn in to the corner more sharply,
and accelerate earlier and harder at the exit.
Below is a typical example of a 'slow
in, fast out' racing line (figure
4). The ghosted line is a normal out-in-out line. Notice
how much later the driver turns in to the corner, and how much
later the apex is as well. The benefit is a
straighter line out of the corner, for earlier acceleration and
higher exit speed.
The previous lines are ideal for single corners, but
if there are several corners back-to-back, the line changes slightly
again. When there are two or more corners back-to-back,
you have to resist the desire to attack each corner individually,
and look at the the ideal path through the
whole sequence of corners. A good way to find the ideal
line is to consider two things:
- The straightest, smoothest path through the entire sequence
- The line that allows the highest exit speed out of the final
corner
Below is an example of an ideal line through a sequence of two
and three corners (figure 5).
Note how an ideal line for some corners may be sacrificed so that
you can go through the final corner with a higher exit speed:
And finally, always try to find and
determine the best line for an interesting corner (or sequence
of corners), even if you aren't driving hard at all:
"What's the best line for that decreasing-radius motorway
off ramp, that (empty) roundabout, or the twisty stretch of road
between town A and town B?"
You'll know you've taken a good line if your driving inputs are
smooth, and the path you've taken through the corner is an uninterrupted
arc, with no need to make any big corrections. After a while,
sighting a really good line becomes second nature.
Go Back to preparing
to take a corner.
Move on to the
four phases of a corner.
Move on to handling and balance in a corner.
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