Handbrake turn

Many sports cars, especially UK makes such as MG and Triumph, as late as the early 1970s were offered with a fly-off handbrake option for competition purposes—the button on the end of the lever has to be pressed before the brake will lock on, which is the reverse of the normal arrangement—allowing for faster and more controlled application in a handbrake turn, and less liable to be accidentally locked on while doing such a maneuver.

In a rear-wheel drive manual transmission vehicle, it is also necessary to operate the clutch to prevent the handbrake from stalling the engine.

The latter provides the centripetal force that makes the rear end of the car follow the turn.

[4] Whereas pulling the handbrake is the easiest way to start a drift, it is rarely used in circuit racing because it causes a significant loss of speed at the exit of the corner.

Handbrake turns are commonly used in rallying to negotiate tight, low-speed corners, and also as a means of performing manoeuvres and stunts.