[Pete Parisetti]

Great analysis Martin - exactly the case in point. As I said previously "I saw this comparing telemetry in Iracing: my line is within inches of the other guy, I feel absolutely at the limit, and the other guy is several miles per hour faster mid corner, carries more speed and obviously gains time. 

This is exactly the issue: how do faster people keep the car on track when I have the feeling of driving on soap? When I look at their videos and when I look at the fine details of telemetry, it seems to me they are driving a different car."

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Is that the issue then? Because you also kept repeating that the 6 seconds difference wasn't justified.

But if the point is that the six second gap is valid but impossible to comprehend, that's also been pointed out here. It's skill and setup.

BTW a good setup will also make you a better driver, and a good driver can make a better setup, so they're interdependent. But comparing laptimes on default versus proper setup is apples and oranges. People's actual ability can only be evaluated on equivalent setups.

Sorry Martin I did not explain myself clearly. I never questioned that people do drive six second faster, I repeated "incomprehensible" because based on my own experience in seeing what may change lap after lap, it seems astronomical. 

I hear you when you speak about the interdependence of setup and skill, and agree. However, massive differences can be seen in fixed setup races as well, and that is only skill. Even more incomprehensible, if anything...