In racing, engine braking loses you time. The brakes do the braking - all of it.
its not like I am engine breaking by just letting of the accelerator. the sequence is something like this. aproach the chicane at full speed and a lot of revs in start to turn in, when near the second cone into second gear, dump the clutch, when at the second cone, let go of brake and feed in the accelerator to full travel when at the third and final cone.
this is how I do it with this tight, slalom like chicanes. does this still loose time? the way I see it the engine braking acts as sort of an abs and gives me a bit more braking power without locking up the wheels allowing me to brake later into the chicane.
usually at faster more normal corners I concentrate more on late breaking and speed in the turn rather than concentrate on exit speed.
Not easy to put into words or do and I guess we all do things slightly differently
Definitely try only to brake in a straight line
BBC Brake Before Clutch and make a concious effort not to use engine braking, matching the gear to the speed rather than using the engine to help drop the speed. Lifting off the gas as engine braking is fine, its when you dump the clutch and use the engine as a full brake that causes damage to engine and box, use the brake to loose the speed and then select the gear to match...
Your words are in italics mine underneath
4'th, clutch down, push brake pedal, into third, no accelerator, dump clutch, still breaking, past the first cone,
4'th slightly braking, into 3rd, clutch back up (not really dumping it) braking hard, trying not to lock up or brake and steer / turn at the same time Key to it is keeping it smooth
Another big one is slow in fast out, sounds a bit like you are going in too quick and braking / turning at the same time, which makes it more likely to lock and scrub less speed off. By loosing the speed a fraction earlier you can get back on the gas earlier which is more controlled and smoother
when near the second cone into second gear, dump the clutch, when at the second cone, let go of brake
more brake before 2nd cone and into 2nd gear making sure the clutch is up before turning and off brake before 2nd cone
Then on gas at 2nd cone / before 3rd cone, possible brake dab before 3rd cone then nail it
Again trying to keep it smooth, a good way to practice is a dog-bowl taped to the bonnet with a squash ball in plus some string so you can recover it and someone with a stopwatch
Driving at speed on the twist stuff is an art and your brain has to be able to go at that speed before you can, it comes with practice
Having some mechanical sympathy, keeping it smoother and less flustered helps
Its not easy to say or do but fair play to you for askin