Glossary
Driving
Apex - The sharpest, innermost point of a corner. Clipping the apex is often the shortest and fastest way to navigate a corner.
Chicane - A short complex of corners consisting of two or three bends in opposite directions.
Drafting - Driving closely behind another car for a speed advantage. Drafting utilises the clean air immediately behind the car ahead.
Drifting - The art of maintaining a power slide without spinning out. Drifting requires immense skill, with professions developing cars purely for going sideways.
Oversteer - Where the car turns in at a sharper rate than usual, often resulting in a slide.
Power Slide - Losing traction through excessive throttle input, causing the rear end to become unstable and resulting in a slide.
Understeer - Where the front wheels fail to sufficiently grip, under steer is generated. Under steer often occurs when tyres begin to degrade or by entering
a corner too fast.
Electronics
Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) - Improves braking performance by preventing the brakes from locking.
Hand Brake (E-Brake) - Used when a car is brake to lock the wheels and prevent the car from rolling away. When racing, handbrakes are used to quickly lock the wheels to initiate a slide.
Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) - Most KERS units harvest energy while a car is braking. Any energy gained through braking charges an electronic motor, which can either be deployed by the driver or automatically by the car for a speed advantage.
Stability Control (ESC) - Maintains the car's stability by applying the brakes when it detects a loss of traction or rapid steering inputs.
Traction Control System (TCS) - An electronic aid to improve or eliminate a loss of traction.
Race
Drag Racing - Where two cars race in a straight line from a standstill. Drag races are used to determine which racer's car has the best acceleration and top speed.
Endurance - A long race ranging from half an hour to 24-hours. Most endurance events require a pit stop and some require multiple drivers to share one car.
Point-to-Point - Where the start line is at a different location to the finish. Rallying and hill climb events see drivers race the clock, rather than another car on track.
Rallycross - A mixture of dirt and tarmac surfaces. Rallycross events often feature multiple heats consisting of short sprint races.
Sprint - A race without a mandatory pit stop and therefore short in length. Drivers race from start to finish without stopping.
Technical
Drag (Aerodynamics) - When wind passes over a car and causes friction. This reduces the car's momentum but can also be used to improve
cornering with the assistance of aerodynamic wings.
Diffuser - Structures at the rear of a car that suck air compressed from underneath and launch it out the back. Diffusers create
large amounts of downforce without causing aerodynamic drag.
Downforce - Where the air flowing over the car is used to push it into the ground, increasing grip at the front and traction at the rear.
Drag Reduction System (DRS) - A moveable aerodynamic device that reduces drag when driving in a straight line. DRS systems are used
in Formula One when a car is less than one second behind the driver in front.
Power - How much energy a car creates, usually measured in horse-power (hp) or kilowatts (kW).
Torque - The turning force of a rotating object. Torque, measured in foot-pound (ft lb) or newton meter (Nm), gauges the force that
a car axle spins.
Wings - These are used primarily at the front and rear of a car to generate downforce.