Leading the race - what to do and what not

M

MordFustang88

81
Croatia
Umag, Croatia
This weeks race C is Monza with tyres and fuel consumption.

I know i am not able to lead the race, so i intentionally qualified worse than i can.

I start the race in general from 15th to 10th place and with my fuel saving and tyre preserving, i am able to finish in the top 5 without any problems.

I used my friends account and qualified the best i could and got pole position.
I finished 3rd because i couldnt fuel save and tyre preserve as much.

Do any of you have any helpful tips or pros and cons what to do when leading a race like this?
 
Concentrate on the driving and only check the mirrors/gaps on the straights, unless someone is very close to you.
 
Relax, and watch the gaps, watch how they increase/decrease depending on where you/they are... did they get a run, did you get a run... watch were you loose time and where you gain... this will give you an indication of where your opponent is wearing/conserving tire/fuel in relation to yourself... and where you need to push/conserve... you'll need the map on display to see where they are btw... been so long I forget if there is an option to have map up or not.
It will also let you judge if they are tearing up tires on that long right leading onto the front straight... adjust accordingly to preserve/manage the gap. I've not raced in a long time, but one of my favorite wins was watching an opponent gain from 3 seconds back (got lucky in the pits) over several laps, abusing the tires, while I took it relatively easy... with one lap left and the gap down to 0.7 seconds I was able to increase the pace slightly (much better mid corner/exit speed) while they fell off slightly... easy win with no last lap silliness.

I should note, my opponent was faster than me, but continued pushing while pulling away early in the race... a mistake allowed me go by the lap before my pit... and maintain that lead coming out of the pit.
Having come out of the pit with a sizable lead, I knew if I let them gain straight away they would be over-driving the car (abusing the tires) thinking they could close and take the win... so I just let them close and close knowing they would not have the tires left for the last lap pace I would be able to dial up.
Had my opponent relaxed, and managed the gap they would have had a very easy win.
 
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Like others have said, push it 80-90% close to the limit and don't stress about causing a bottleneck behind you. A bottleneck is actually preferred since the other drivers will usually battle over second place and then you go into hot lap mode and make some distance from the pack. I don't have much time to race during the week so when I do get a pole position I'm usually 1 second slower in the race than my fastest lap. So I'm fairly used to staying in front of faster people. As long as I have a 2 second lead then I run my laps pretty safe knowing that the chasing car is pushing hard to catch up and running the risk of making a mistake.

Also be mindful of long straights and not fighting the pass on the corner before the straight with a sluggish defensive line. You want a higher exit speed than the passing car and the draft opportunity to retake the next corner so leading on the straight isn't always the leading position.
 
Don't go defensive if the car behind is not trying to be agressive. Fuel saving or not, tyre saving or not, if there's a chance to break away from the pack, you want to take it, even if that means you're pulling a couple cars along. So stay on your racing line at first, to see how your closest opponent behaves.
If it's a combo that allows for a no stop strategy and you're going for it, and people behind are going for a one stopper on softer tyres, then you want to keep them behind for a while to prevent them from being able to exploit them fully. The thing is you may not want to go overboard, as defending to agressively might then kill your tyres, which you'll pay at the end of the race. At some point, if the other car is too agressive or the pace difference is too high, you'll be better off letting it go by and then try to get a bit of a tow from it.

Then you have cases like stupid flatout speedway with fuel saving combos, for which starting 1st is actually a disadvantage like today's Nations, but that's quite specific.
 
Just stay consistent. Keep hitting your marks. Ignore the time gaps, just run your race. If you pay attention to the time gaps then you will likely break concentration, make mistakes and the guy behind will be on you.

If you get caught from behind with you hitting your marks then don’t defend to hard early race. It’s likely the guy behind is either faster or will have to slow later in the race.
Trying to race him to hard will likely work against you in the long run.

Only pay attention to the time gap in front if you’re the one doing the chasing. It can help raise confidence if you know you’re faster.
And for the best racecraft tip I was ever given:
When running behind a car. Brake when he brakes not at your usual marker. Why?
Do this for a couple of laps and you will never run into him and you will know exactly where you can brake later, thus lining him up for the pass.
You’re more likely to pull off a safe pass this way.
 
The only way you will ever get comfortable up front is by putting yourself up there as much as you can. You will eventually gain more confidence in your abilities and get comfortable while in the lead, then the Dubs will start to pile up for you. Good Luck!! :cheers:
 

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