The trick to defending and maintaining speed is knowing when and where to defend. If we defend into every corner then we are losing too much lap time. We have to know where the likely overtaking places are, where we are strong, and where the car behind is stronger.
Notice here at Road America, Colin Mullan shows that he knew he had the top speed advantage. That meant he didn't need to worry about being overtaken into turn 1, 3, 5, or Canada Corner.
That means he only really had to defend into turn 6 and 8. The next part to know is how to judge if we need to defend into the corners we have identified. This one is a judgement call but typically if the car behind is within 2 - 3 car lengths behind us we'll likely want to defend.
When we defend notice that Colin doesn't go ALL the way to the inside. He covers enough off the inside that a car can't fit there but doesn't compromise himself too much by being too far to the inside. He then fades back to the inside (make sure you still give the car next to you room) before the turn in point to open up the radius of the next corner as much as you can.
Ready to take your overtaking to the next level? Check this in-depth Blayze guide out! If you’re interested in going faster, being safer on track, and having more fun while you do it we highly recommend working 1-on-1 with a Blayze coach. Learn more about how that works here.
Want even more details on how to improve your overtaking? Click here to view the four keys to being a good defending racecar driver!
