Core Concepts
Understanding the key concepts in B4Racing helps you get the most from your telemetry analysis.
Sessions and Laps
Session
A session represents a single period of track time—a practice session, qualifying run, or race. Sessions contain:
- Metadata: Date, track, car, driver
- Laps: Individual lap records with times and telemetry
- Session ID: Unique identifier (e.g.,
01H8SP4HK4KC29C3DPGBF6412M)
When you ask "Show me my sessions at Spa," B4Racing returns a list of sessions matching that track.
Lap
A lap is one complete circuit of the track. Each lap includes:
- Lap time: Total time to complete the lap
- Sector times: Time for each track sector
- Validity: Whether the lap is "clean" (no track limit violations)
- Telemetry: High-frequency data (speed, throttle, brake, etc.)
Clean vs Invalid Laps
- Clean lap: Completed without track limit violations
- Invalid lap: Contains off-tracks, corner cuts, or other penalties
B4Racing filters invalid laps by default for analysis but includes them when calculating session statistics.
Telemetry Channels
Telemetry is high-frequency data captured during driving. Common channels:
| Channel | Description | Typical Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Current velocity | 60 Hz |
| Throttle | Throttle position (0-100%) | 60 Hz |
| Brake | Brake pressure (0-100%) | 60 Hz |
| Steering | Steering angle | 60 Hz |
| RPM | Engine revolutions | 60 Hz |
| Gear | Current gear | 60 Hz |
| Lat/Lon | GPS position | 60 Hz |
When you ask "Show me my braking through Turn 5," B4Racing uses the brake, speed, and position channels to generate the analysis.
Analyzers
Analyzers are the tools that process your session data to extract insights. B4Racing uses them automatically based on your questions.
Data Analyzers
Process telemetry and produce structured data:
| Analyzer | What It Does | Triggered By |
|---|---|---|
sessions_overview | Session summaries | "Show me my sessions" |
lapstats | Lap time statistics | "Analyze my lap times" |
cornering | Corner-by-corner analysis | "Show me corner performance" |
braking | Braking analysis | "Analyze my braking" |
theoretical_best | Optimal lap calculation | "What's my theoretical best?" |
Graphics Analyzers
Generate visualizations:
| Analyzer | What It Creates | Triggered By |
|---|---|---|
track_heatmap | Speed/data mapped to track | "Show me a heatmap" |
telemetry_overlay | Telemetry charts | "Show me telemetry for Turn 5" |
line_chart | Line charts | "Chart my lap times" |
scatter_plot | Scatter plots | "Plot my sector times" |
track_map | Track visualization | "Show me the track" |
You don't need to specify analyzers directly—just ask what you want to know, and B4Racing selects the appropriate tools.
Track Landmarks
Landmarks are named positions on a track:
- Corners/Turns: Named sections (e.g., "Eau Rouge", "La Source")
- Sectors: Track divisions for split timing
- Braking points: Reference markers
B4Racing uses CrewChief data to provide actual corner names instead of generic "Turn 1, Turn 2" labels. This makes conversations more natural:
"You're losing 0.2s in Les Combes" is more useful than "You're losing 0.2s in Turn 8"
Understanding Time Loss
When B4Racing analyzes your laps, it calculates time loss in several ways:
Theoretical Best
Your theoretical best lap is constructed by taking your fastest mini-sector from each part of the track. If your theoretical best is 2:18.0 but your actual best is 2:18.5, there's 0.5s available to find.
Corner-by-Corner
Each corner is analyzed for:
- Entry speed: How fast you enter
- Minimum speed: Your slowest point
- Exit speed: How fast you accelerate away
- Time delta: How you compare to your best or potential
Consistency
Measured as coefficient of variation (CoV):
- < 1%: Excellent consistency
- 1-2%: Good consistency
- > 2%: Room for improvement
High variation often indicates technique issues or confidence problems.