[kfoote]

Originally Posted by jdmkenji

D1 drifters 100mph is their ENTRY SPEED.... by the time they exit they're prolly going 60mph...

This is the single best example of why drifting is slow around a race track. The key to quick lap times in most cases is based much more on corner exit speed than corner entry speed. If you're 10 MPH faster for 100 yds entering a corner (figure a max difference of about 0.2 sec) but lose 5 MPH exiting the corner for the following 1/4 mile long straight (this is usually at least 0.5 sec), then you are 0.3 sec slower for that section. Also, if you're running for more than a couple of laps, drifting is much harder on the tires, and will eventually further slow the car mid-corner.

As mentioned, the only place where "drifting" is faster on a paved surface is very tight hairpin corners (think Tarmac Rally e-brake turn) with very little straight afterwards. There are very few road course corners in this situation anywhere in the world (The corner formerly known as the Loewe's Hairpin at Monaco is the only one that pops into mind, and F1 cars understeer way too much at these speeds to drift well), ant to set a car up to do this usually compromises handling elsewhere on the track, resulting in slower lap times.