Slow down

As slow down (in English motor sports as a dive-bomb known) refers to a maneuver in motorsport . A driver on the racetrack tries to overtake competitors at the entrance of a curve or bend while braking.

Methods

As a rule, braking is already prepared on a straight stretch of road before the curve. Only shortly before the maneuver does the driver select a line from the slipstream next to the competitor (s) in order to use the surprise effect and have space for the actual overtaking maneuver . Then he either sets his braking point later than the other drivers or he brakes less hard. In both cases there is a speed difference for a short time that enables overtaking. Often the curve is “braked” further into the curve ( trail braking ) than usual, i.e. a higher curve entry speed is achieved. Ideally, the person overtaking can cut back onto the ideal line after braking and block the competitor (s) in order to prevent a counterattack - i.e. the loss of the space just gained in the curve.

Conditions

Hairpin bends are particularly suitable for braking maneuvers because they are used to brake from high to very low speeds. This means that, on the one hand, the braking distances and thus the time available for braking are relatively long and, on the other hand, possible collisions in the curve are less difficult than on fast sections of the route. Aerodynamic influences play no role in slow curves; therefore, in Formula 1 , for example, braking before hairpin turns is often the only way to overtake on many routes. Vehicles with a mid-engine are particularly suitable for "braking into" bends , because their design means that a change of direction is usually possible at higher speeds than, for example, with vehicles with a front engine (especially with front-wheel drive ), whose braking point is therefore more ahead of the Curve lies.

disadvantage

Higher curve entry speeds usually cause lower curve exit speeds. So it can be possible for the slowed down competitors to regain the lost place at the apex or at the exit of the curve, because they can accelerate earlier and faster. Often this also results in a higher top speed on the following straight, so that "overtaking back" is still possible here. Attempts to slow down are often thwarted by the vehicle in front if they are discovered in time by driving on a battle line , which generally slows down both competitors.

Further meaning

“Slowing down” is a metaphorical term for various maneuvers or behaviors outside of motorsport. In road traffic , for example, suddenly reducing the speed in order to force a road user behind to brake hard or even in a rear-end collision. This procedure, which is often described as an "educational measure", can be punished as coercion . "Braking" is also called tactical maneuvers, for example in business life, with which competitors are to be "overtaken"; for example, by withdrawing one's own commitment at an early stage or through targeted sabotage on a project which, due to the resulting unsuccessfulness, can push the colleagues involved into a career sideline. Correspondingly, “to slow down” would actually be the correct term for these other meanings.