iv have been told since i asked the question that the TCs uses the air measurement from the maf to guage whether the wheels are spinning, for instance if your driving along at 40 and boot it, with traction the rise in pull will be a smooth and steady increase, where as if you lose traction there will be a sharp increase in the maf reading, which is obviously set within tolerances, and that will trigger the TC to calm things down a bit. How far true this is i couldnt confirm, i know you wanted a definitive answer but its the most logical iv come across so far