How to Compare Two Kart Sessions (and What to Look For)
To compare two kart sessions, pick one representative lap from each, overlay their speed traces and track maps, and read the rolling time delta to find where the gap opens. Then narrow to the two or three corners that explain most of the difference. The goal is not to look at everything; it is to find the few corners that matter.
Comparing sessions is how you answer real questions: did that setup change help, where is a faster driver finding time, am I better or worse than last week? Done loosely it is just two graphs. Done well it is a clear list of what to work on. Here is the method.
Which laps should I compare?
Not your outright best against the other session’s outright best, at least not first. Pick a clean, representative lap from each, no traffic, no mistakes, no obvious off. One weird lap with a missed corner or a pass will mislead you. If you want to compare best laps too, do it as a second pass. The first comparison should be apples to apples.
What do I actually overlay?
| View | What it shows | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Speed trace | Speed across the lap for both | Lower minimum speeds, late acceleration |
| Track map | The racing line for both | Different lines, wider or tighter arcs |
| Time delta | The running time gap | Where the gap grows and shrinks |
| Lateral G | Cornering load | Who carries more grip through each corner |
| Longitudinal G | Braking and acceleration | Who brakes later and gets to power sooner |
How do I read the time delta?
The rolling time delta is the fastest way to find the difference. It draws the gap between the two laps continuously, so a rising line means one lap is pulling ahead and a falling line means the other is clawing back. Find the steepest climbs. Those are the corners where the time is actually changing hands. Ignore the long flat stretches; nothing is happening there. This is the same skill as in reading sector deltas.
How do I avoid drowning in data?
Discipline. A session has dozens of corners and a handful of channels, and you cannot work on all of it. Find the two or three corners that explain most of the gap and stop there. Fix those, drive again, and compare the new session. Lap time comes off in layers, and trying to fix everything at once usually fixes nothing.
Can I compare two different drivers or two different loggers?
Yes, and both are common. Comparing a faster driver against yourself is one of the best ways to learn a track, because the data shows you exactly where they find the time. Comparing two loggers is where it gets tricky: the manufacturer tools only read their own brand, so a MyChron and an Alfano cannot be overlaid in either one. Speed Lab reads both and puts them in the same view, so a mixed-logger team can still compare driver to driver. That cross-logger comparison is one of the things that sets it apart from the manufacturer software, covered in the best MyChron analysis app roundup.
Make it a habit
The drivers who improve fastest compare every session: this run against the last, this setup against the previous one, themselves against a quicker teammate. Speed Lab’s session comparison overlays the traces and track maps and draws the time delta for you, and the AI coaching report can reference your earlier sessions when it gives new feedback. See it on a real comparison in the live demo, and tie the method together with finding lap time with data.
See it on a real session
The quickest way to make this click is to look at real data. The live demo walks through a full kart session, speed traces, track map, sector deltas, and an AI coaching report, with no account needed.
Kart Track Team
Telemetry analysts at Kart Track
The Kart Track team builds Speed Lab, the telemetry analysis engine behind karttrackapp.com. We spend our days parsing MyChron and Alfano data and building the speed traces, track maps, and AI coaching reports that turn raw laps into specific, corner-by-corner feedback for kart racers.