Thanks for the video.
As one can plainly see, the double clutching was done on the rapid single and multi gear downshifts, not on the up shifts. One can also see that the driver was not doing it to save brake pads. Or the synchros.

Look at it from this perspective. The driver's function in the vehicle is to manage momentum and energy. He must communicate the energy forces of the engine and maximize the momentum forces of the vehicle to achieve the most efficient transmission of these forces into velocity. The more input axis's of control, the better he can do this. The faster he can communicate a new input the faster his overall velocity.

The biggest reason to double clutch when shifting down is to facilitate a more rapid engagement of the gears in the transmission. The only purpose is to improve control of the vehicle during aggresive manuvres on the track.

Wheels that are impeeded by braking lose steering control. Your front wheels have bigger brakes because they do the most work when slowing the vehicle. However, when their efforts are expended braking they are NOT steering.

Steering seems an important part of negotiating a turn, don't you think?

Engaging the engine to put drag on the rear wheels allows them to stay behind the forward advance of the vehicle making the front wheels stay in front where they belong. And allows the front wheels to do the steering part more freely.

Therefore any engine braking, especially with an open rear end, significantly helps to control progress over the ground. D-Double clutching facilitates that downshift, especially when shifting down more than one gear.
Getting the engine RPM's up quickly adds to the power available as the driver executes the turn. Downshifting not only adds control, it stores momentum energy of the vehicle into the flywheel and other moving parts of the engine/drive train.

Brakes dissapate this energy as heat. Said another way, brakes throw this energy away.

Management of the forces involved in the progression of ones vehicle can be controlled by devices mounted in the car. For those who bought manual shifters, we can engage our three pedals and the steering wheel, giving us four axis of control both accelerating and decelerating. Tha'ts 8 axis of control.

For those who bought push and go, push and stop Auto, you have only two pedals and a steering wheel. You can't use the tranny all that well for rear wheel control so you actually only have 4, maybe 5 with a good tranny, inputs to your vehicles movement over the ground.

That is why a good driver, who knows how, can get an underpowered manual to keep up with an overpowered auto in the twisties. Don't believe me?

Ask a few SRT6 owners who tried to keep up with me at the Dragon.


roadster with a stick
The way it should be