Here is a tactic that I try to get across to are students quite often, but I think this quote sums it up quite nicely. "Andrea Dovizioso tried to explain what he had learned from following Lorenzo the last couple of races: what he could see was that Lorenzo was braking earlier but carrying more corner speed, and this, paradoxically, gave him more margin. Where Dovizioso, Ben Spies and Cal Crutchlow were all on the limit in mid-corner, Lorenzo had bought himself a little safety thanks to his corner entry, carrying more speed through and out of the corner, yet risking less". Bottom line, try not to rush into the turns, brake hard but with room to spare for a very controlled corner entry and exit. Discuss.
Maybe yes, maybe no... depends on what kind of corner we are talking about. Different corners require different tactics, but generally speaking it seems to me that if you brake a fraction sooner but still finish your braking at the same spot, you are not braking quite "as hard", because the speed reduction is spread out over more time. This allows for the rider to finish the last few seconds of trail braking with the front tire under less braking load thus leaving more grip available for rolling into the corner with a bit more speed. The front tire only has so much grip available and if you are using just a fraction too much for braking, you are a fraction short for turning. I would think we are talking about fractions of a second here regarding him braking sooner, and the increased corner speed is probably in the 0.5 to 1 kph range. Super Late braking has its limits on functionality... try this line of thought " The longer I brake, the faster I go"..... very different than thinking "The harder I brake the faster I go"
And then there is this... http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/motogp-laguna-seca-late-brakers/ Lorenzo braking the latest. Of course, I suspect T1 is an entry corner (have not ridden Laguna)...
T 1 is part of the front straight flat out at full lean. The stats above are actually for T 2. I road a 250 and like all higher corner speed bikes, lap times are lower with higher entry and mid corner speed. starting your braking slightly earlier and a little less abruptly allows for smoother transitions in turning, braking and accelerating keeping the bike settled.
