You nailed it right there, the confidence is what makes such a big difference to the pace.
I will say, that while at Gingerman my gut reaction was to go with a square tire setup, at Grattan it felt like the stagger was appropriate, as I was spending more time managing the rear than waiting for the front end. It could also simply be the very different natures of each track. On paper it still makes sense to have more tire where the weight is.
Oh, one more thing. It appears my front rotors are already starting to "spider"
Spidery cracks in rotors by
Ryephile, on Flickr