I kept practicing so I could put in consistent lap times.
Eventually, I noticed something.
More and more often, my fastest lap of the day came on my final attack lap.
I’d spend the day pushing a little too hard, then being a little too cautious, gradually dialing things in.
Then on the final lap, I’d put everything I’d learned that day together.
Of course, sometimes I’d make a mistake on that last lap and miss out on a personal best.
Well, that’s just part of being human.
But every now and then, something stranger happened.
I’d drive a completely clean lap…
…and still not set my best time.
Not only on the final attack lap, but on the one before that, and even the one before that.
What???
Yep.
My tires were simply overheating.
I’d usually do one attack lap, then one or two cooling laps.
The brakes recover much faster than the tires, so I’d unconsciously think,
“The brakes are cool again, so the tires must be fine too!”
Big mistake.
If the tires suddenly lost a huge amount of grip, it would have been obvious.
I’d immediately think,
“Whoa! These things have no grip!”
But when you repeat the cycle—
Attack. Cool. Attack. Cool.
—the tire temperature creeps up little by little.
The change is so gradual that it’s surprisingly difficult to notice.
Since I was so used to setting my fastest lap on the final attack, I’d go into it thinking,
“Today’s going to be the same.”
But depending on the conditions, sometimes my cooling laps simply weren’t enough, and the tires never fully recovered.
Oh, so that’s what it was. Idiot!
Lesson Learned
Don’t forget to manage tire temperatures.