Julian Thomas

Amateur racing driver

“It’s very easy to lose hours pouring over the data and trying to find ways to improve, and the key to it all if you are using the system solo is to keep experimenting.

“If I was having particular trouble with a certain sector of a track, or even a specific corner, I’d go out and do five laps and take a different line each time. Then when I download the data file the system will automatically take my fastest lap as the reference and then allow me to analyse that specific section of track against the other four. I can pick out my fastest sector times and then overlay the video and check the speed and track data traces to see if that sector links in with the next and sometimes the biggest gain in a slow corner can be the tighter line as you cover less distance. Some drivers swing out wide for slow turns, but that can cost you an extra 40 metres of lap length, so the system can weigh up whether it’s worth travelling that extra distance for the speed you’ll carry through the corner. By using the combination of video and data you can work out what works and what doesn’t.

“The system is very easy to transport and install – it’s one box under the dash, an antenna on the roof or back shelf and that gives you all of your geographical mapping data and time and speed. Everything downloads to a single SD memory card and the software will allow you to overlay a lap from today, yesterday or a few years ago at the same time. That’s incredibly useful to see how far you’ve come as a driver as all of the data is stored and instantly accessible.”