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Old 06-22-2023, 02:16 AM   #15
rice_classic
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I had to expand further.. And this is just like, my opinion..man

When I'm threshold braking in a big brake zone - I want that to be the ONLY thing I'm doing AND doing well. Therefore I skip gears. The price of the synchro be damned - cost of racing and all.

As a smart person once said: "multi-tasking is another way of saying: doing multiple things at the same time, less well."

Pacific Raceways is a good example, since I skip gears twice. 5->3 at the end of the straight (turn 2) and immediately after that 4->2 into the hair pins (Turn 3a). You'll notice how loooooong I'm on the brake and how far the revs drop BEFORE I grab the shifter. I'm not using the shift lever to change gears early and braking with the clutch in.. nope. I'm IN gear while braking and only clutch in when it time to shift. This means the shift fork is NOT crossing a synchro at a high RPM.

Yes, there's a bigger rev match, but by waiting to change gears, I'm doing so at a much lower rev that puts much less strain on things vs changing the gear at a higher rpm.

Down in the hairpin, you'll also notice that my down shift is not hurried - why should it be, I'm still braking. It can be slower, deliberate, easy on the machinery without costing me a single iota of time. So I'm able focus ALL my attention on the threshold braking moment which is the most important moment (I'd argue) of the braking zone because if you screw that up, at best you miss your corner or lose some lap time, at worst you collect the car(s) in front of you.

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Last edited by rice_classic; 06-22-2023 at 02:48 AM.
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