Lap Times
Driver Variance: Why the Same Car Loses Seconds
A lap time is a driver's result achieved with a car, and on a long circuit the driver's share is enormous. The Nordschleife's 20.832 km...
Section 03
Lap Times
The Nordschleife and the rest. Which lap times compare, and which never did.
Lap Times
GPS Timing vs Transponder: Where Lap Times Come From
Modern lap and speed records are timed by satellite rather than by a beam across the track. A 100 Hz GPS logger of the type used for record...
Lap Times
Beyond the Ring: Hockenheim, Laguna Seca and Why They Differ
A lap time is a property of a car and a circuit, and the two cannot be separated. The Nordschleife's 20.832 km and roughly 70 corners...
Lap Times
20.6 or 20.832 km: The Nordschleife Lap Length Problem
Two different lap distances are in circulation at the Nürburgring, and press releases rarely say which one they used. Official record laps...
Lap Times
How a Nürburgring Record Gets Verified
The Nürburgring runs a verification procedure that is considerably stricter than most people assume, and it has one exemption that changes...
Lap Times
Power Tracks vs Downforce Tracks: Reading a Circuit
Circuits divide into two families and the dividing line is corner speed. Aerodynamic downforce scales with the square of speed, so a...
Lap Times
What Counts as a Production Car for a Record
No universal definition of a production car exists for record purposes, and the differences between the working ones decide who holds what....
Lap Times
Simulated Lap Times: How Close Do They Get
Lap simulation is excellent at the question engineers actually ask and poor at the one enthusiasts ask. Predicting whether change A is...
Lap Times
Track Temperature: The Variable Press Releases Skip
Air temperature and track temperature are different numbers, and the second one matters more. Asphalt in direct sun sits 15 to 20 °C above...
Lap Times
The Tyre Delta: The Biggest Number in Any Lap Time
Tyre choice moves a lap time more than almost anything else a manufacturer can specify, and it is the variable most often left out of a...