Ideal lap
An ideal lap adds up your best time in every sector, from any laps, to show the lap you could run by putting your best pieces together.
Also called: theoretical best, optimal lap, best possible lap
Over a session you will probably nail turn one on one lap and the last corner on another, but rarely everything on the same lap. An ideal lap stitches those best pieces together, adding your fastest time for each sector regardless of which lap it came from.
The gap between your ideal lap and your actual best lap is a measure of how much time is waiting for you without needing more bravery: you have already driven every part at that speed. A big gap usually means inconsistency rather than lack of pace.
Use it with a little skepticism. Sectors are not independent, so a fast sector that came from braking very late may have ruined the next one. And with fewer, longer sectors, the ideal lap is more conservative. Still, it is one of the most motivating numbers in lap data because it is built entirely from things you have already done.
The ideal lap points straight at the sectors where your best lap left time on the table.
| Lap | S1 | S2 | S3 | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44.48 | 37.28 | 45.57 | 2:07.330 |
| 2 | 43.71 | 37.12 | 45.54 | 2:06.370 |
| 3 | 43.54 | 37.32 | 45.44 | 2:06.300 |
| 4 | 43.83 | 37.06 | 45.61 | 2:06.500 |
Purple = best of the session in that sector. Add up your best sectors and you get the ideal lap: the time already in your hands, just never in one lap.