"The driver looks like he played too much Playstation" is a predictable barb and while in the ideal world smooth IS the ideal, the reality of tires, surfaces and trajectory are such that at the limit a driver is ALWAYS making corrections.
Club racer and frequent Bimmerforum poster Bryan Watts put it very well and very clearly:
"Someone driving at/near the limit won't be making a single steering input to apex and never move their hands except to unwind the wheel for the exit...that's what I like to call "DE smooth". That generally means they aren't pushing hard enough. If you're at the limit, you'll be making changes constantly as each few inches of pavement has different grip characteristics due to camber, roughness, wear, material, etc, etc and the amount of grip available from the car changes as it rolls into and out of the turn while the geometry changes and weight transfers. The really good drivers are the ones who can make these small changes so precisely and so instantly that the tire is always happy and the car looks "smooth" from the outside because of how much work they are doing on the inside."
(Editor's Note: "DE" stands for "Driver's Education" a short hand for club organized track days with instruction.)
To illustrate the above I dug up two video of the same pro driver in different situations.
This driver is a great example since his style is so exaggerated: Wolfgang Kaufmann has been racing for 20 years everything from Polos to Porsches. The video of his astounding laps of the Nürburgring in a Donkervoort racer are legendary.
In the first video below he is driving, presumably some acquaintances, around the Nürburgring in a ... VOLVO!
The video is very shaky but you can get the idea. Watch his hands, perfectly "DE Smooth", one input and then held steady.
If you think he's just going slow you're right, Kaufmann did have the 'Ring record in a Gamballa GTR at 7 minutes and 32 seconds, still a sub 9 minute lap in a Volvo with at least 3 people on board is not too shabby!
There is plenty of good commentary about the track and "Bonus points" for racing the Ring Mini at the end of the lap!
Contrast that with the video below where Kaufmann is at Spa, driving an FIA GT Porsche 996 GT3 RSR. The hands speak for themselves.
CG will probably chime in on this but I'm guessing that the RSR is so stiff in the front that it needs to be thrown and caught to make it turn.
Notice also that if you look at the track the car is smooth, this is because at the very limits of adhesion the effect of steering angle is much less pronounced.
I would love to see some comments on this subject either here or in the Axis Forum.
