Sorry if this goes a bit long.
One week ago today I participated in my first "track day"; I use quotes because it wasn't an actual HPDE. It was a charity event where drivers donate their time to take special needs children and adults around Barber MSP. We were encouraged to go 7/10th's, though I'm sure many of the drivers drove more aggressively - I know I did. There was no grouping based on experience, nor were there instructors. We didn't get any full clean laps; we got an out lap, and an in lap, then swapped passengers. As I said, it's not an actual HPDE.
I've played around with fun cars in one form or another (drag racing, autox, road rallies) for nearly 20 years, and despite having a previous 1LE, I was never able to do a proper track day. I am now in a place in my life where I can do that, and I'm looking forward to it. Regardless, despite any street driving experience or autox, I'm still a complete novice at the track.
I definitely would benefit from instruction. As the day went by I gained confidence, but I know I made plenty of mistakes. In fact, I didn't even notice the cones until a couple of days later when my partner told me about them (she got to ride in a McLaren 720s). And I never did quite get the T7 sequence right; I was always way slower than I should have been through there.
So I've spent some time this past week watching various videos wth tips for the track, as well as whatever videos I could find of 1LE's or ZLE's at Barber. And after watching some PDR videos on youtube, I am confused about a few things and could use some feedback from anyone that's been there.
First, amount of brake usage? Looking at PDR of both a 1LE and ZLE, I'm surprised by how little brake is indicated, particularly at the end of the front straight. In the videos I've seen, the brake indicator hardly ever reaches 50%. Is that accurate? Is the value shown in PDR a function of pedal travel or pressure? Is it linear? I just know that at turns 1, 5, and 7 I thought I was braking *much harder* than what I have seen on PDR footage.
Second, what kind of speeds (not lap time) should a stock 1LE see? I was kissing 118 before jumping on the breaks into T1, and maybe 110 going into T5. The driver in this video is a good 10-15mph faster than me in certain corners, and I find it hard to believe that kind of difference is attainable just by driving line alone. In fact, this guys's speeds are similar to other PDR videos I've watched of ZLE's at Barber.
Video (not me!):