Lap Comparison

Lap comparison is one of TrackOut's most powerful features. By overlaying multiple laps on every chart, you can see exactly where and why one lap is faster than another.

Selecting laps

Open the Ref lap selector in the cockpit header. Click any lap row to overlay it on every chart; click it again to remove it. You can select up to 10 laps at once.

If you select an 11th lap, TrackOut drops the oldest selection so the comparison stays readable.

The reference lap

Every delta in the cockpit is measured against one reference lap. By default that is your best valid lap. In the lap selector's Reference mode row you can switch to:

• Selected lap -- use the ref radio in the lap table to pick any lap as the baseline
• Theoretical best -- available once TrackOut has computed a theoretical lap from your best sectors on complete, valid laps. A short out-lap or a truncated final lap is listed but does not donate a sector

Clicking a point on the stint evolution chart also makes that lap the reference. Invalid laps cannot be picked from the chart or the lap-table radio -- they stay listed with an Invalid badge so they do not become the baseline, the fastest-lap mark, or a sector in theoretical best.

When you reopen a saved session, TrackOut already knows which lap the comparison is measured against, so the overlay does not jump as more laps load.

Some files record a lap time without recording any data for that lap -- a dropped GPS fix, or logging that started late. Those laps are listed at the bottom of the lap list with their time and a No telemetry label. They are there for the record and cannot be selected, because there is nothing to draw on the charts, map, or delta trace.

Color coding

Each selected lap gets its own color, assigned in the order you selected them, and that color is used everywhere -- the track map, the channel stack, the reference comparison strip, the stint evolution chart, and the corner tables:

Larger stint reviews

The 10-lap limit is useful when you want to study consistency across a session instead of only comparing a best lap against one mistake. For example, select every lap from a 10-lap stint to see how braking points, minimum speeds, and exits change as tires and traffic evolve.

For focused channel review, the cockpit can also show up to 12 channel traces at once.

Best lap indicator

The fastest valid lap in the session is marked in the lap table and drawn as the reference line on the stint evolution chart, so you can spot your best performance without scanning every lap time.

Delta time analysis

The reference comparison strip under the transport bar shows each selected lap's cumulative time gained or lost against the reference lap. When both laps have usable GPS, they are matched at the same place on track, then plotted by the reference's distance, so a wider or tighter line does not invent time from the extra metres. Without GPS, the comparison still uses each lap's own distance. The delta waterfall breaks the same delta down per turn.

Reading the delta trace

• Below zero -- you are ahead of the reference lap at this point on track
• Above zero -- you are behind the reference lap at this point
• Steep downward slope -- a section where you are gaining significant time
• Steep upward slope -- a section where you are losing significant time
• Flat sections -- similar performance to the reference lap

Best practices

• Compare fast vs. average first -- This reveals consistency gaps and highlights where the biggest time gains are hiding
• Compare two fast laps -- Understanding what makes one lap slightly better than another often reveals subtle technique differences
• Watch corner entry speeds -- Small differences in entry speed compound into large time gains over a full lap
• Combine the delta strip with the track map -- Use the synchronized cursor to connect time differences to specific physical locations on the circuit
• Look at the full picture -- A faster corner entry might lead to a slower exit. Always check both sides of a corner before concluding that one approach is better