[Fundamentals] Breaking down apexes: All you need to know for a faster, safer laptime
Why are apexes so important? This article covers everything you need to know for getting them right in order to drop your laptime, while reducing risk at the same time.
If you’re on track, you want a better laptime. We all do! The sooner we acknowledge that, the sooner we can work on techniques to improve it. Laptime is determined by a number of different factors: lines, braking, throttle control, vision, setup… the list goes on. The laptimer records your overall time, but it doesn’t tell you anything about how you achieved that time — and a lower number doesn’t always indicate a better or more consistent lap, for example if you are pushing your personal limits by running too much lean angle or missing your braking and acceleration points. (Stay tuned for an upcoming article dedicated to this topic.) So how do you know if you’re actually improving? Is there a single on-track reference that consistently tells us how we are doing in real time?
The answer is apexes.
THE TWO TYPES OF APEXES:
ENTRY APEX: For a given corner, the point at which the vehicle is closest to the inside of the track.
EXIT APEX: For a given corner, the point at which the vehicle is closest to the outside of the track.
Apexes are one of the most important report cards for your track performance. But getting apexes right isn’t just about how close you can get to them — even more importantly, it’s about how efficiently you get to and away from them. Apexes are like our information center, they tell us:
If you have the correct trajectory;
What control you should be using;
Where your slow point is;
Where and when your eyes should be placed;
How much neutral throttle you have;
What your body should be doing;
What lean angle/steering wheel angle you should be using.
Apexes tell us both what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. If you have 15 corners per lap, that’s 15 opportunities to evaluate how you are doing in real time. Consistently missing apexes indicates a lack of clear understanding of what it takes to get around the track as quickly and safely as possible, and will inhibit you from improving your laptime and overall performance in the long run.
Are apexes really such a big deal? My very first published article, back in 2012, was about the importance of hitting your apexes. And don’t just take it from me — I called JD Beach while writing this Substack and asked him where apexes lie on his priority list. He told me, “Now, they aren’t as much of big deal as when I was learning what they were really all about, because I have enough laps hitting them. But yeah, I still reference everything off them with either my riding or when working on setup.”
While not as sexy body position or those cool new carbon wheels, mastering apexes is one of the fundamental cornerstones of success in motorsports. Whether you are a track-day novice or pro racer, continually working on improving your apex precision should be at the top of your priority list. Let’s dive into the specifics of why, and what you can do to self-diagnose and correct some common problems.
THE IMPORTANCE OF HITTING APEXES:
Optimal Geometrical Lines: taking the most efficient path through a turn allows you to maintain higher speeds and reduce laptime.
Decreased Laptime: because your vehicle placement is optimized on the entry and exit, you’ll experience better overall entry and exit speed and higher average corner speed.
Vehicle Stability: better vehicle balance and stability reduces the risk of too little or too much force in the chassis and tires at the wrong time.
Clean Data: trustworthy data shortcuts discovery of technique and vehicle setup issues.
Safety: using the optimal trajectory results in navigating a corner with the least amount of risk.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF MISSING APEXES:
Reduced and Inconsistent Speed: taking a less efficient path through the corner reduces both entry and exit speed, and thus reduces overall corner speed.
Increased Laptime: compromising entry or exit speed, corner after corner, accumulates to a significant disadvantage and reduced overall laptime.
Higher Tire Wear: incorrect cornering lines can cause increased tire scrubbing and wear, which not only affects performance but necessitates more frequent tire changes.
Increased Risk/Vehicle Instability: a less stable vehicle, and having to add inputs after the entry apex, increases the risk of understeer (low-sides) or oversteer (high-sides).
Vulnerability to Overtakes: slower corner entry and exit speeds leave you vulnerable to overtakes from competitors who hit the apex correctly.
Poor Data Collection: if your vehicle isn’t consistently in the same place, lap after lap, the data isn’t clean or reliable.
DIAGNOSING SYMPTOMS AND HOW TO FIX THEM:
How do you know if you have hit your apexes correctly? And when you haven’t, what should you do to fix the problem? Here are the six mistakes I see most often with my students, along with the appropriate corrections:
Not using all the track on the exit.
Diagnosis: Late apex due to a late turn-in point, slow turn-in rate, or being late moving your eyes from the entry apex to the exit apex.
Correction: Turn in earlier, turn in quicker, or move your eyes quicker.
Getting to the edge of the track too early on your exit and having to add lean angle/steering wheel angle to stay on the track.
Diagnosis: Too early of a turn-in or too quick of a turn-in rate.
Correction: Turn in later or turn in slower.
Running wide of your apex.
Diagnosis: Late entry process.
Correction: Turn in earlier, slow down more, look at your apex longer, and/or take weight off your inside arm.
Coasting through the apex.
Diagnosis: Not defining what type of corner it is.
Correction: Define what type of corner it is and use the appropriate control for that type of corner: a) Exit corner, positive acceleration starting as you pass the apex; b) Entry corner, brakes to or past the apex; and c) Balanced corner can be either.
Adding lean angle/steering wheel angle on acceleration after the apex.
Diagnosis: Improper turn-in or too much initial throttle.
Correction: Turn in later or apply smoother initial throttle.
Not having a deliberate slow point, either early, late or too long.
Diagnosis: Defining what type of corner it is where the slow point is for it. Correction: Define what type of corner it is and where the slow point should be in relation to the entry apex: a) Exit corner, the slow point is early, before the apex; b) Entry corner, the slow point is late, at or after the apex; and c) Balanced corner can be either.
There is so much to learn about “riding” around a track.
It’s fundamentals and repetition I think, although It seems that I need to be out there every day all the time in the seat to even grasp half of what I’m trying to to accomplish out there.
Looking for to taking your fundamentals again in November.