Core Concepts

Understanding how B4Racing models your racing data helps you get the most from your analysis. This page walks through the key concepts — from the big picture down to individual telemetry samples.

The Motorsport Hierarchy

B4Racing uses a unified model that works across all racing disciplines. Your data is organized in layers:

Series          → "Formula 1", "World Rally Championship"
  └── Season    → "2025"
    └── Event   → "Monaco Grand Prix", "Rally Monte Carlo"
      └── Session       → Practice, Qualifying, Race, Stage
        └── Lap / Run   → Individual timed segments
          └── Telemetry  → High-frequency driving data

You don't need to worry about structuring your data this way — B4Racing builds this hierarchy automatically from your data sources. But understanding it helps you ask better questions.

Events

An event is a racing weekend, rally, or competition. Events contain one or more sessions, optionally grouped together.

Session Groups

Some events organize sessions into groups:

Group Type	Used In	Example
Leg	Rally	Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 of a multi-day rally
Heat	Rallycross	Q1, Q2, Semi-Final, Final
Day	Multi-day events	Saturday, Sunday
Round	Championships	Round 1, Round 2

Sessions

A session is a single period of track time:

Session Type	Discipline	Description
Practice	Circuit	Free practice laps
Qualifying	Circuit	Timed qualifying
Race	Circuit	Competition race
Shakedown	Rally	Pre-stage test runs
Stage	Rally	Timed rally stage
Time Trial	Hillclimb	Individual timed run

Lap Groups

Within a session, laps can be grouped:

Group Type	Used In	Example
Stint	Endurance	A driver's uninterrupted run between pit stops (Le Mans, IMSA)
Race Stage	NASCAR	Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3 with stage points
Segment	General	Any logical grouping of laps

In multi-driver sessions (like Le Mans), each stint tracks which driver was behind the wheel.

Laps and Runs

B4Racing uses a single unified model for all timed segments. The type field distinguishes them:

Type	Discipline	Description
Lap	Circuit	One complete circuit of the track (closed loop)
Run	Hillclimb	Single timed run (point-to-point)
Stage Run	Rally	One pass through a rally stage with pacenotes

Every lap/run includes:

• Time: Total time to complete
• Sector/split times: Time for each track division
• Status: Valid, invalid, out-lap, in-lap, or DNF
• Telemetry: High-frequency data (when available)

Rally stage runs also carry surface type (gravel, tarmac, snow), stage conditions (dry, wet), and optionally pacenotes.

Clean vs Invalid

• Clean lap: Completed without track limit violations
• Invalid lap: Contains off-tracks, corner cuts, or other penalties

B4Racing filters invalid laps by default but includes them in session statistics.

How It Maps to Real Motorsport

These examples show how B4Racing's model maps to different racing formats:

Formula 1

Event: "Monaco Grand Prix"
  ├── Session: FP1 (practice)
  ├── Session: FP2 (practice)
  ├── Session: FP3 (practice)
  ├── Session: Qualifying (qualifying)
  └── Session: Race (race)
        └── Laps: [lap, lap, lap, ...]
              └── sector_times: [S1, S2, S3]

WRC Rally

Event: "Rally Monte Carlo"
  ├── SessionGroup: "Leg 1" (leg)
  │     ├── Session: "SS1 - Gap" (stage)
  │     │     └── Stage Run: [pacenotes, surface=tarmac]
  │     ├── Session: "SS2 - Sisteron" (stage)
  │     └── Session: "SS3 - Avignon" (stage)
  └── SessionGroup: "Leg 2" (leg)
        └── ...

Le Mans 24h

Event: "24 Hours of Le Mans"
  └── Session: Race (race)
        ├── LapGroup: "Stint 1 - Driver A" (stint)
        │     └── Laps: [lap, lap, lap, ...]
        ├── LapGroup: "Stint 2 - Driver B" (stint)
        │     └── Laps: [lap, lap, ...]
        └── ...

Hillclimb

Event: "Pikes Peak"
  ├── Session: Practice (practice)
  │     └── Runs: [run, run]
  └── Session: Timed Run (time_trial)
        └── Run: [sector_times: [split1, split2, ...]]

Tracks and Landmarks

Track Types

Type	Description	Examples
Circuit	Closed loop, multiple laps	Spa, Monza, Nürburgring
Stage	Point-to-point rally stage	Ouninpohja, Sweet Lamb
Hillclimb	Point-to-point climb	Pikes Peak

Tracks carry metadata like country, length, surface type, and (for rally stages) weather support.

Turns

Turns represent physical corners on a track or stage. Each turn has:

• Name: Official corner name (e.g., "Eau Rouge") or pacenote callout (e.g., "Left 3 Tightens")
• Position: Distance in meters from start
• Direction: Left or right
• Severity: 1 (hairpin) to 6 (flat out) — primarily for rally pacenotes
• Modifiers: Tightens, opens, over crest, don't cut, caution (rally)

Turn data comes from different sources depending on the discipline:

• Circuit: CrewChief corner data with named turns and sector boundaries
• Rally: RBR pacenotes with severity ratings, directions, and modifier flags

B4Racing uses actual corner names in analysis, so you see "You're losing 0.2s in Les Combes" instead of "Turn 8."

Sectors

Sectors divide the track into timing zones. Circuits typically have 3 sectors; rally stages use distance-based splits.

Landmarks

Landmarks are named track features that aren't corners — pit approach zones, rolling start lines, and other reference points.

Telemetry

Telemetry is high-frequency data captured during driving. A single lap can have telemetry from multiple sources (e.g., different recording systems), and a single telemetry recording can span multiple laps.

Data Levels

Not all data sources provide the same depth. B4Racing works with whatever is available:

Level	What's Available	Example
Metadata only	Lap times, session info, no telemetry	Quick session overview
Basic telemetry	Core channels (speed, throttle, brake)	Corner analysis, heatmaps
Full telemetry	80+ channels including vehicle dynamics	Friction circle, tire analysis, suspension

Core Channels

Every data source provides these basic channels:

Channel	Description	Internal Unit
Speed	Current velocity	m/s
Throttle	Throttle position	0.0–1.0
Brake	Brake pressure	0.0–1.0
Steering	Steering angle	radians
RPM	Engine revolutions	rpm
Gear	Current gear	integer
Latitude/Longitude	GPS position	degrees

Display Units

B4Racing stores values in standard SI units internally (m/s, radians, ratios) and converts to display units (km/h, degrees, percentages) when showing results. You don't need to worry about unit conversion.

Extended Channels (MoTeC/NGP)

MoTeC files from RBR's NGP plugin provide 80+ additional channels organized into groups:

Channel Group	Channels	Description
Tire temperatures	FL, FR, RL, RR	Surface temp per wheel
Tire pressures	FL, FR, RL, RR	Pressure per wheel
Tire wear	FL, FR, RL, RR	Wear level per wheel
Brake temperatures	FL, FR, RL, RR	Disc temp per wheel
Suspension forces	Spring, damping, strut, rollbar (×4)	Force per wheel
Engine temps	Coolant, radiator, engine	Thermal management
Motion	Lateral, longitudinal, vertical G-force	Vehicle dynamics
Orientation	Yaw, pitch, roll	Vehicle attitude

These extended channels enable advanced analyzers like friction circle analysis, brake thermal monitoring, and suspension force visualization.

Analyzers

Analyzers are the tools that process your session data to extract insights. B4Racing selects them automatically based on your questions — you don't need to specify which analyzer to use.

Data Analyzers

Category	Analyzers	Description
Core	sessions_overview, lapstats, cornering, braking, theoretical_best, eda	Lap times, corner analysis, session summaries
Vehicle Dynamics	friction_circle, tire_analysis, brake_thermal, suspension_analysis	Grip, tires, brakes, suspension
Driver Inputs	throttle_control, steering_smoothness, pedal_overlap, input_harmony, corner_phase	Input quality and coordination
Rally	stage_profile, rally_braking, handbrake_analysis, coasting_detector, difficult_sections	Rally-specific technique analysis

Graphics Analyzers

Analyzer	What It Creates
track_heatmap	Speed or metric overlaid on track layout
telemetry_overlay	Speed, throttle, brake over distance
line_chart, scatter_plot, bar_chart	General-purpose charts
track_map, track_map_static	Track layout visualization
wheel_temps, suspension_forces	Per-wheel overlays

See the full analyzer reference for detailed documentation on every analyzer.