All of our discussion to this point has involved a corner with a constant camber, or banking. Under constant camber, grip will be the same at all points through a corner. But, if banking changes part way through a corner, grip will vary significantly.

The effect of banking
In short, the more banking a corner has, the more grip your tires, and thus your car, will have through a corner. If two corners are exactly the same, only one of the corners is flat and the other has 10 degrees of banking, you will have more grip and thus be able to go much faster around the corner with 10 degrees of banking.

Increasing Camber Corners
In an increasing camber corner, the later part of the corner has more grip than the beginning. This means that you want to do more turning in the second part of the corner because you will be able to carry more speed through the turn due to the added grip. You therefore want to turn in early so that you apex early. An early apex requires you to do more turning in the second part of a turn. Since you have the necessary grip to for the additional turning required, you can successfully make the corner without flying off of the track. This approach lengthens the amount of time you can be on the gas (since you have moved the apex further back in the corner), making you faster out of the corner and onto the straight.

Decreasing Camber Corners
In a decreasing camber corner, the exact opposite is true. You want to do more of your turning in the first part of the corner, since that is where you have more grip available to you. So, you want to turn in late and apex late, leaving very little turning to be done in the second part of the corner.

It is very important to recognize and respect a decreasing camber corner, as they can be very dangerous. If you treat it as a constant camber corner, you won’t have the grip required in the second part of the corner, and you will leave the track, quickly.

The final turn at Lime Rock Park, known as the “Diving Turn,” is an excellent example of the dangers of decreasing camber corners. This is a very fast, sweeping downhill corner that puts you onto the main straightaway. Speeds can be between 80 and 90 mph, or more, depending on the vehicle. At the track out point, the camber of the track decreases dramatically, offering MUCH less grip than the rest of the corner. If you get to involved with the steep banking of the first part of the corner and forget about the decreasing camber at track out, you will not have enough grip to complete the corner and you will leave the track. The woods, with many unforgiving trees, are aboue 30 feet off of the track, and you will become intimate with them if you don’t make the corner.