Board Thread:Challenge Threads/@comment-27048832-20160123193413/@comment-29898480-20170419021339

There's a lot I don't know about cutting here! Late in the race I was cutting Vale/turn 17 and Village/The Loop to Aintree, but in both cases I'm unsure on the correct cutting line and merge back onto pavement. I often overshoot and run off on the far side. As for Brooklands/Luffield and Becketts/Chapel, I didn't know that cutting is a productive option.

I'm actually surprised that cutting Becketts to Chapel gains you anything as I would guess the exit speed out of Chapel would be lower if you went off track, negating the gains of the shorter distance. On a good lap all on track, at the end of the Chapel exit curbing on the left I will see ~213mph, and you pretty much have to be at that pace if you want to break 1:08 on a clean lap. In the enduro, though, the bots are so slow through that section that you're often needing to pass them through there, and I'm lucky to see 200mph at the end of the exit curbing, plus my risk of running off track is a lot higher when I've modified my line to pass the bot. It's easier for me to see how cutting is productive if it's helping you pass.

...

So, I just did some test runs in the 4-lapper, cutting only Becketts/Chapel. I was reaching the bridge on the hanger straight about 1 second faster with the cut than I would have expected (I always do a time check there, so I'm calibrated) but going a lot slower. At the end of the lap, though, I was still several tenths up on the lap time I would have expected, so it looks like you can hang onto a little bit of the gains despite the lower exit speed. Also, it's a pretty straightforward cut, while the on track racing line is very tricky!