You are right, paddles are definitively faster on track, if just only for the fact that it requieres less concentration from the brain and the driver can employ more in steering, braking, etc. and so improving his overall driving, like you describe. I even heard that given a powerfull enough car like the 996TT, a lot of people would be faster around track already on a Tiptronic auto than a manual, and the Tip is no were as good as what a double-clucth sequential would be.