First let me say that I am not a National driver. I have been autocrossing off and on for closing in on 40 years. I have also done a little road racing, a couple of stage Rallys and taught a little driving while I lived overseas.
With this introduction, only part of the reason that the fastest runs seldom feel that fast is physical. The other part is mental. If you are thinking while you are autocrossing, you are probably late reacting. A good run can often seems like a video game.
There are several reasons everyone tells you to look ahead. One is so that your eye sees where you need to go and during the time you watch your brain figures out what to do to get there. Your mind is ahead of the car and can make small adjustments rather than larger adjustments, to get the car to where you are looking. If you are intensely focused on the path, you don't notice the driving it took to get you there.
That is why autocross schools like the Evolution School, in addition to the physical control of the car, also teach you to visualize the course. Before your first run, you should already know where you plan to be, roughly what you need to do to get there and what comes next.
An autocross is like drag racing in that how you set up at the start line effects the first part of the course. While your car is on the start line, you should be looking down the course to your first gate.
After your first run, you run it through in your mind to see where you can improve your time. Notice, improve your time, not go faster. Sometimes, slower is quicker and the Evolution courses are designed to demonstrate this among other things.
Does this make any sense?
