Here's some interesting data (linked below) - The TM plots of our fast guy, a mid packer, and newbie. Look in particular at how the slow guys brake in a straight line, and then turn. The faster guy eases off the brakes, and the braking zones overlap where the lateral G's build (trail braking). You can see the lateral G's flatten out as early as .8G (indicting sliding) where the slower guys abruptly let off the brakes right when turn in starts. While the car feels "at the limit", the faster driver can expand the envelope by keeping weight on the front tires as he turns in, reaching 1.1g. The new guy complained his car understeered going into corner, while others who drove his car felt it was pretty neutral. The TM plot explains why. He would unload the front tires, just as he turned in. So his car would understeer, but it was driver induced. His cars handling improved once this was pointed out, without changing a thing on the car.
Look a the TM data linked below in full size to see the detial. Each colored line represents one driver. Looking at this data, the slower guys were able to find about 2 seconds each that weekend. This is a useful thing to go through to see why particular drivers are fast. Is their car blazing down the straights, or is the time made in the corners?
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