Apex

What is the apex?

The apex is the point in a corner where your car comes closest to the inside edge of the track. This is where the racing line touches the inner edge, usually marked by a kerb. Hitting the right apex is fundamental to driving quickly and safely: it decides how early you can get back on the throttle and how much speed you carry onto the next straight.

Types of apex

Not every apex sits in the geometric middle of a corner. With an early apex you turn in early and touch the inside before the middle of the corner — risky, because you usually run wide on the exit. The late apex is the safer and normally faster option: you brake for longer, turn in later and can go to full throttle sooner. In corner combinations you sometimes sacrifice the apex of the first corner to get the second one right.

Learning the apex with a coach

Finding the perfect apex takes practice and feedback. An experienced instructor shows you where to turn in and how the apex shifts with track conditions. Visual reference points — a kerb, a marking, a shadow — help you hit the same apex lap after lap. Vision technique plays the decisive role here: you go where you look.

Apex training at ESC

On every ESC trackday our instructors analyse your line and show you where the apex really is. In lead-follow sessions you follow the coach's line and learn the apex of every corner. Find your next trackday.