Reverse Throw

The reverse throw is one of the moves which separates the top drivers from the also ran's. As the name implies it is the opposite of the forward throw, i.e. the vehicle changes direction from reverse to forwards.

Below is an example of a reverse throw, performed by David Beames in his special, the Delta S. The image shows that he starts to the right and reverses until just before the garage where he spins the car around and into the garage, breaking the timing light to complete the run.

A reverse throw is different to the forward throw in that it does not use the handbrake. Most of the time, the brake is not used at all. The basic principle is to reverse at speed and then sharply turn the wheel to initiate the spin. Once the spin is started, the wheel needs to be straightened to prevent the vehicle from continuing to turn as it spins. The driver also needs to put the car into first gear, otherwise he will reverse back the way he came. Once the vehicle is pointing in the desired direction, some throttle can be applied to move off.

As with all of the techniques used in motorkhanas, the only way to do this is to practice ... a lot. Once the throw is able to be performed correctly, then positioning and speed need to be addressed. What really separates the men from the boys is the ability to throw into the garage. This means that the reverse throw is performed at such a position as to result in the front wheels breaking the timing light as the throw is completed. David Beames has done this in the image above, but he didn't quite get it right as he has touched the flag, resulting in a 5 second penalty.

In order to correctly judge when to initiate the throw into the garage, you need to know a couple of things; how much width you need, and how much depth you need. You can see above that the special needs a bit more than a cars width to move across during the spin, and a bit more than a cars length of dept to rotate from reverse to forwards. These two values will depend on the cars grip levels and wheelbase. The more grip and more length of wheelbase you have, the more distance you will need.

If you're having trouble, have a chat with one of the more experienced drivers, I'm sure they'll be able to help you out.