First off, using no brakes obviously translates into lots of coasting around the track. Isn’t “coasting” one of the things that riders should try to eliminate? Unless I am mistaken, you are pretty much saying that exact thing in your comment which states; “Timing from brake release to throttle on is a period where tenths can be lost simply by spending too much time between brake release and throttle roll-on.”
Good question. I was using brakes when following him. He was carrying a lot of mid corner speed and I noticed if I lagged going from brakes back to throttle there was an instant gap created that was hard to make up until the next braking zone.
Coasting would seem to eliminate the ability of the rider to make any speed adjustments for corner entry. Basically if the rider misses his roll off point by 10 feet isn’t he going to either be 10 feet off of his corner apex, on the ground or both?
Yes, coasting to scrub off speed only works if you were very accurate with a shut-off point and does make it very hard to fine tune entry speed. The common result would be running wide if done incorrectly, similar to a person who is using brakes coming in too hot, which we see often. Most riders commonly enter corners slower than they intended, using no brakes as an exercise helps sharpen and develop the rider's sense of speed so they get the entry speed they want when using brakes. But again I don't recommend using no brakes in a track day environment. Remember it's just an exercise, not a riding technique.
Where does he have to roll off of the throttle in order to make the 65-70ish mph apex at turn 1? How does that affect his speed down the front straight?
Roll-off was about 1/2 way down the straight but up to that point was a speed you would expect.
What is his speed through the carousel in order for him to be going slow enough to make the 50ish mph button hook at turn 9?
It was regular speed but an earlier roll-off. Note that it's common for a sport bike at full lean in a corner, off gas, to lose 5-8mph/second. Very hard braking is about 20mph/second. Twice he ran wide around the button hook but maintained speed and momentum using a wider line.
Turn 4 is super-fast, but turn 5 is pretty slow. How does no brake affect his speed through turn 4?
Entry to apex was as fast as usual. The rest was off gas. That's where I could catch him.
What about his entry into the chicane? When he comes up over turn 2 is he able to give any gas?
Yes gas over turn two, it was an earlier roll off after that.
What did he do when he got in too hot to a corner?
Ran wide but stayed on track. This happened 5 times in 8 laps.
Doesn’t the lack of braking cause the bike to run a little wide in some corners? Especially at turn 9?
You mean from too much speed? Covered above, ran wide.
What is his lap time when he is able to use the brakes? 1:22? 1:25? Basically, how much time does he gain by having brakes?
That day was in the 1:25 range, it cost about 7 seconds on average per lap, comparing fastest with and without brakes.
I basically agree with your statement “If a rider is more than a couple seconds off the times they want, and they are already using brakes to some level of proficiency, don't look to make that time up with brakes alone, mid corner and average speed must come up.” I say basically, because I agree that the “average speed” needs to come up. But there would seem to be much less flexibility in the actual mid corner speed. Which means that you have to get from corner to corner quicker using a higher rate of speed, which means you need brakes to get back down to a mid-corner speed that allows you to make it through the corner.
Yes, brakes are very much needed for a fast lap. Furthermore they are the most powerful control that can also be used more delicately to make tiny adjustments as desired in speed as well as bike attitude and geometry. The flexibility on mid corner speed would depend on the rider. We have all ridden behind the rider who gasses it on the straights and hammers the brakes to park it in the turns. Also there are different tracks; some flow and others have a lot of stop-and-go. Results would vary depending on track.
I want to re-state, that this individual is obviously a very talented rider. I am just trying to understand how he was able to do what you state so that I may improve my own riding.
Looking forward to your response. Thanks!
