MotorsportDays.com
MOTORSPORT DAYS ANNUAL
17
the inside. Just before the braking point, a
quick move to the inside and brake late, too
late for a counter, and the corner is yours.
Another reasonably easy one that you see
very often in BTCC is following another driver
through as he overtakes. You just stay close to
the overtaker’s rear bumper, leaving the other
driver no room to get back in and he has to
concede to you too. Some overtakes are
purely instinctive, though, and you react imme-
diately to a situation that opens in front of you.
MSD:
When you out-brake someone, you
could easily lose the position, so do you
have to be careful where you position your
car?
DN:
You need to be absolutely committed to
a gap when one appears. Brake very deep,
but you still need to have faith and knowl-
edge that you can slow the car enough for
the corner without running wide. Having a
good feel for the brakes and trail braking is
essential. One way is to brake fractionally
after the car you are passing brakes, but you
still need to be aware of where you are in the
braking zone, as the driver you’re passing
could be braking too late.
MSD:
You obviously had to defend this year
too, whether it’s been a faster car or some-
one on better tyres trying to get past you.
How do you prevent someone from over-
taking you?
DN:
If someone is catching me and clearly
has more pace, unless it is towards the end
of the race it is better to just let them go with-
out defending. Too often drivers defend from
lap one and this can ruin both your races as
the pace drops off. If you are in a fight with a
car on similar pace, then defensive driving is
just as much a skill as overtaking. Often the
best way to defend starts at the previous cor-
ner, backing them up mid-corner so they
don't get a run on you at the next corner. This
way your pace will still be good and you can
still attack drivers ahead of you. If they do get
a run on you, simply hold the inside line, but
you still need to brake late getting to the
apex before your competitor. Then you are in
control of the corner. This does, however,
slow the pace down and can spoil any
chance of fighting for positions ahead of you.
“
I have made up
on average 2.5
places on the first
lap of each race
this season. That
is something I
have always
been good at
”
