Learning to become a better driver?

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DearS

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I can drive pretty well at times, but then I revert to my old ways also. From plowing from corner to corner, getting a super powerful car and winning things, or trying things a million times to get a gold trophy.

I'd like to drive a lot more like a pro race car driver. Getting gold more easily (getting better at that, btw).

What methods do you use? Image training, replays, the driving line, etc etc and how. How good are you? and Where could you improve? How do you learn?
 
I drive on the track quite a bit (7-10 at the very least times a year since 2002), but I tend to learn more in real life by seat time and even learn more since starting instructing the past two years. Sitting in the passenger seat and making the lap verbally and mentally without the task of driving has helped me dial in more of the little things I used to miss when engrossed in driving.

Gt5 has helped me with even more seat time... But it's been a adjustment without that seat of the pants feeling to help. If anything I've been more in tune with throttle control because of the game.
 
If there's anything a video game can teach you, it's how to think. The thought process involved to making that faster lap time is not entirely different in real life. This way, you can be in tune to refine the thought process required to go faster by constantly practicing in game. If I do, does this work? When I did this, it work in this way, so what if I tried this? Thoughts like that.
 
DearS
I can drive pretty well at times, but then I revert to my old ways also. From plowing from corner to corner, getting a super powerful car and winning things, or trying things a million times to get a gold trophy.

I'd like to drive a lot more like a pro race car driver. Getting gold more easily (getting better at that, btw).

What methods do you use? Image training, replays, the driving line, etc etc and how. How good are you? and Where could you improve? How do you learn?
Click to expand...

From my experiences to give you my two cents to your quest I can tell you that I just got my 60th Gold in the licenses. I raced almost every form of motorcycle racing from moto-x, scrambles, speedway, road racing, and drag racing. I built race cars for about 12 yrs and raced SCCA solo 2 and circle track.

I am of the belief that in order to be fast you have to have the ability to go faster. I know that sounds a little redundant but generally I am not happy if my fastest lap isn’t my last lap, because everything up to that point was just practice. You will never fly a course if you don’t know the track intimately. Your memory capability will be the biggest hurtle to becoming fluid, I call it “Action vs. Reaction.” You have to be solid in every turn every time or your reacting to something that your not ready for and then your toast.

I think that if you are going to race for real and never have, you should try to pick any kind of racing that you can do 30+ times a year. When I raced moto-x I would race about 45 - 50 weeks a year and I did that for about 5 years. I can also tell you that when I would not race one week I would be significantly slower then if I had raced every week. In the beginning I went from a squid who just had desire to a polished bar dragging burm blasting semi-pro Expert.

A lot of times when you are trying to get into your grove you will for surely come up on someone who will throw your timing off and block your line. Those are the moments that separate the men from the boys. I layback and slingshot them on exit or I will run the opposite line on them, when their inside I’m outside etc. In other words you can never pass anyone by following them.
 
I'm pretty average, but improving... hopefully.

One of the things i'm trying to focus on is not making contact with other cars. No more bashing past people in turns for example or banging into the back of them on straights. This causes you to think a lot more about your vs their racing line and the track ahead. When you can plot a pass 2 or more corners ahead you give yourself time to plan your line to give you the best chance of making a fast clean pass.

Also, push your limits in corners and note what works. I do this by noting what speed I can make through my problem corners. Some i've taught myself a line that lets me run flat out through a section that previously i didn't cut the corners so severely (without going on grass or hazards), or a corner that i know if i'm doing over 130k i won't make the corner.
 
Take a physics class. You'll learn a lot from it haha

But to be serious, go search on weight transfer, and learn how the suspension, lsd, blah blah blah works. It will help a lot.

Getting gold was pretty much impossible for me in gt4. But after doing some HPDE and autox, and pretty much reading and practicing, getting all gold in gt5 was way easier than it was before.
 
DearS
I can drive pretty well at times, but then I revert to my old ways also. From plowing from corner to corner, getting a super powerful car and winning things, or trying things a million times to get a gold trophy.

I'd like to drive a lot more like a pro race car driver. Getting gold more easily (getting better at that, btw).

What methods do you use? Image training, replays, the driving line, etc etc and how. How good are you? and Where could you improve? How do you learn?
Click to expand...

1. Disable the racing line
2. Load the track you want
3. Start by driving quite slowly, learn the curve, learn how the track surface is (bumpy, chicane, etc..)
4. Learn your braking points (very important), you should have 2 braking point, the "safe" one, where you're not at the limit of the grip and an "overtaking" one where you're at the limit (usually the 2nd will be easy). Fine marks on the track to help you.
5. Then Time Attack, against your ghost is the best, you can see usually like that where and how you can pass turn faster. Let you test stuff too, like the different kind of curve entrance etc..

That's what I do when I discover a new track usually, or when I try to beat up my times in TA.
 

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