outright speed and lap

[aurora068]

Hi! Can someone, please, explain to me the meaning of ''outright'' in these contexts:

OUTRIGHT SPEED IN NHRA DRAG RACING, PRO STOCK CAR
On 27 March 2010, drag racer Greg Anderson (USA) tore up the tarmac to record a speed of 341.92 km/h (212.46 mi/h) in a petrol-driven, piston-engined car (Pro Stock) at Concord, North Carolina, USA.

OUTRIGHT LAP AND SPEED AT THE ISLE OF MAN TT
At the 2009 Isle of Man TT (UK), British Superbike rider John McGuinness achieved the double feat of overall fastest lap and overall fastest average speed, completing the arduous circuit in 17 min 12.3 sec and averaging 211.754 km/h (131.578 mi/h) on his Honda CBR1000RR.

 

[owlman5]

I think it means "highest speed achieved", Aurora. I'd expect to see a synonym like "Top speed" more often here in the U.S. although I'm no expert on racing terminology.

 

[aurora068]

thank you very much, owlman5

 

[Tunalagatta]

HI aurora,

I'm not a racing fan, but the second paragraph appears to tell you the answer.

OUTRIGHT LAP AND SPEED
At the 2009 Isle of Man TT (UK), British Superbike rider John McGuinness achieved the double feat of overall fastest lap and overall fastest average speed,

(Outright is only used once to avoid repetition).

 

[boozer]

As a Formula 1 fan... no, fanatic , I can say that Owlman is right. Outright speed is used very much like top speed.

I could also say without any hesitation that top speed is just as British as it is American I mean, British F1 commentators say it twice a minute during a race.

 

[Tunalagatta]

Hi boozer

So does that mean the fastest speed achieved in a single moment, even if it was just for a split second?

 

[boozer]

Yes, it does, at least in F1. They place "speed traps" at the spot they expect top speed (usually at the end of long straights right before the braking area) and measure the speed there. I think this is exactly the case in the first item (the drag racer story) - I assume they must have measured the top speed at the finish line.

But in the second item in post 1 I interpret it as "highest average speed" because, just as you say, they have further explained it.

Those are different kinds of speed really - in the first instance the speed is achieved in a single moment. In the second instance it is the average speed - the car goes around the circuit, the time is clocked and the length of the circuit is divided by it to determine the average speed.

I hope I've not misled anyone (myself included )

PS. Initially I was a bit worried though - 341.92 kph is not a particularly high speed. Until some 10 years ago there were two very long straights at Hockenheimring, Germany, where F1 cars easily topped up 340-50-60 kph. But I suppose the key word in post #1 is "pro stock". Looking at the two types of vehicles, I can imagine F1 cars being faster, certainly
http://image.moparmusclemagazine.co...01_z+nhra_pro_stock_drag_racing+dodge_car.jpg
and
http://www.topnews.in/files/F1-car.jpg