In regard to Jim's "angle of attack" comment, it is very easy on some courses to straighten the entry to corners where you really need to be "wide" in order to have a better line through the next segment. L'burg courses seem prone to this as I recall. Of course, don't get too carried away on going wide due to the possibility of grit/marbles. If the "right line" is in the marbles, it is the "wrong line" (been there, done that, got the SPIN). The "popular line" on gritty courses may become the "right line" by default.
Regarding Jim's comment on braking points. Agree! My wife was always frustrated that I could not tell her where to brake during course walk throughs. Simple: I had no clue other than it is obvious in a fast car that slowing will be necessary at some point when a slow corner follows a straight
Keep in mind that if you get a better launch onto a straight the braking point you used last time is automatically latter simply because you are faster when you get to it.
At some events if you run late in the event the start of the braking skid marks can tell you where "too late" starts . . . at the 1986 Nationals, my Lotus braking point for one corner was where the BIG BLACK skid marks started that had been put there by the Corvettes with ABS. (Lotus ABS was max brake pressure on Hoosier Autocrossers . . . equalled no lockup)
Regarding not being able to understand why a "fast feeling run was slower" (other than obvious mistakes), data acquisition and segment times is the way to find out. Assuming the car/course/tires were not slower, the driver obviously simply went slower in one or more places. Sometimes it is simply that you did the previous run REALLY well compared to normal and simply go a little conservative in some spots so that you can go faster in others. At the end of a long day, the edge may be gone. On thread the needle courses, you may simply give a little more distance to some key cones.
The most important corners typically are ones which impact how soon you go to full throttle for long straights, ones where a LOT of time can be wasted such as slow 180's, and ones where if you don't enter with the correct line (typically late apex to the first part of a slalom/chicane/lane change) you are slow for the whole segment. My moto is, when in doubt, late apex. Followed by something attributed to John Ames: "late apex as early as possible".
Regarding 180's, especially slow airport type: DO NOT drive past the pivot cone any more than absolutely necessary to have a good exit line. This is the slowest part of a course. Every foot of extra distance costs the most time. Going away from the finish line costs time. Going parallel to the finish line direction costs time. A wide line is necessary many times obviously but in tight pivots be really careful about adding distance. Entering a little below the limit so that you don't add distance and get back to full throttle sooner is better than going past the cone a couple of feet extra and struggling to get the car pointed in the right direction. FYI, it took me a LOOOONG time to learn this since tight pivots didn't exist where I learned to autox.
Regarding looking ahead. I got lucky. I've been looking ahead since before "looking ahead" was even invented. I was driving fast on back roads and trying to avoid slow traffic long before my first autocross. Then I did some rallying at night when starting to autocross. Looking ahead is key to all of these activities. Do you drive in traffic looking at the pavement just in front of you or are you always looking far ahead and just staying aware of what is happening up close? One reason I HATE following a truck, SUV, or even a car that I can't see through the windows is because I cannot see ahead.
Dick
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