High corner speeds are one of the most elusive, yet most important, keys to success on the race track. For topnotch road racers like those who compete in the MotoAmerica Championship, there are three ways they achieve higher corner speeds:
1. They Brake Properly
Sometimes, riders charge headlong into corners and do all their braking as late as possible. Often, this can be totally counterproductive. In an attempt to carry more speed into a corner, riders will brake as late as possible and charge into a turn thinking they’re carrying more speed in. However, the reality of this late, hard-braking approach is that they often brake too hard and enter the turn too slowly.
For a more accurate and controlled way of carrying more speed into a corner, road racers will get all their hard braking done much earlier so they can let off the brakes way before the pivot point. This allows them to more precisely control the speed they carry into the corner.
2. They Get The Big Picture
A rider’s field of vision is one of the primary things holding them back from improving their corner speed. Focusing too much on a given point or area on the approach to a turn will give the rider target fixation or tunnel vision, which may cause them to be too cautious with the speed they carry into the corner.
Instead, road racers widen their vision and become aware of not only where they’re going, but also where they want to be. This is often referred to as “looking through the corner.” Becoming more conscious of the intended route gives the rider a “map” to follow though the corner, which reveals just how much time and space they have to work with.
3. They Trust Their Tires
For road racers, building trust in the tires comes with the experience of knowing what grip and the lack of grip feel like. Assuming the tires, the bike, and the track surface are all in good condition and the rider’s technique is sound, modern race tires will continue to provide incredible grip even at a bike’s maximum lean angle (to the point where something on the bike will usually ground out before the tires lose grip).
Also, tires don’t just suddenly go from full grip to no grip. The loss of grip in modern tires is always gradual, and the tires will let the road racer know long before they lose grip and send the rider into a massive slide. In the end, though, it’s the rider who determines how much grip the tires have. Most road racers actually don’t need to “trust their tires” because they know they’re doing the right things to allow the tires to give them all the grip they need in the first place.
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