What makes the difference between a good lap and a great lap? Not much, it turns out. This goes to show how hard it is to dig for the last few tenths of a second, where even the smallest driving differences at-the-limit result in meaningful lap time deltas. Ride along for an POV comparison of my fastest morning session lap (1:24.797) and my fastest afternoon session lap (1:24.670) at Summit Point Main circuit at the April 2022 SCCA Time Trial event.

As far as i can tell, the two laps are pretty much neck-and-neck into the final corner, where a little better mid-corner speed, and perhaps earlier commitment to full-throttle, netted a 0.1 second advantage... good for a car length or two at start/finish. I was also proud to not only set a new personal best in this car, but to lay down SEVEN laps at personal best pace within about 0.2 seconds. 

The class record is 1:23.9, so i felt pretty good setting this as a personal best in this car given it's... deficiencies, in comparison to the leading cars.

For those following the Kumho V730 tires: YES, these are the same ones that went on at the start of 2021 for a full autocross season and a busy track season. Still at about half tread. Still have decent speed. The Kumhos are working well at fairly low pressures. My best laps came with them around 26 psi hot.

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#512 Mazda RX-8 Major Modifications
- 32mm front swaybar, redrilled OEM rear swaybar, max camber alignment
- Bilstein B6 dampers with Racing Beat springs and MCU bump stops
- AEM intake (STX modded), underdrive pulleys, Versatune flash
- 255/40/17 Kumho V730 on 17x9 +35 TRM FF10 (mounted at start of 2021)