nerve tension and making mistakes on iracing.com

[trevor24]

hey i know there's a thread about this but i thought about posting this here so i need help! i get frustrated every time i make mistakes and drive like an idiot, my limit is c-class with 2.46 and trying for b-class.

 

[Roush_fan_99]

I know firsthand that it's a difficult thing to overcome. I'll typically make a mistake and always have it in the back of my mind for the rest of the race. That isn't a good thing, it typically leads to compounding mistakes from one of two issues. Either you overdrive in order to make up ground or you're in a constant state of reflection and ever so slightly distracted. I ended up in slightly over driving the car today in the race Christian and I were in, I made a mistake on braking and nearly wrecked a lot of people but luckily we had some good drivers who slowed down to a stop. I later made the same mistake albeit to a lesser degree but still not good because I was focused on the guy in front of me more so than where I was.
The best thing to do is to take a breather and forget about it, most people understand that things happen and they move on from your mistake, if they don't move on you really shouldn't encourage them because it gets annoying to the others in the room and further distracts your own driving.

 

[Punknoodle]

Completely agree with the above. After all, the damage is done, it's just a game and you don't have a car to fix. So all good

 

[Suzumiya]

Everyone will jump on you for making a mistake but the thing is that it could be their mistake too. No matter how much crap they give you, just move on, don't worry too much about the other drivers' opinions and your rating should improve

 

[Neomone]

hey i know there's a thread about this but i thought about posting this here so i need help! i get frustrated every time i make mistakes and drive like an idiot, my limit is c-class with 2.46 and trying for b-class.

Mistakes and nerves happen. The obvious solution is practice to minimise mistakes and maximise exposure to the situations where you get nervous to build up confidence. But that's a long term solution, and not particularly helpful to you right now.

If your goal is to make B-Class, I'd suggest driving with that in mind. Learn where you make mistakes, and intentionally drive slower in those situations. I'd suggest driving at 80 or 90% in general if you're trying to build safety rating, you should never be pushing the ragged edge. Practice running hotlaps, and then practice consistent laps a second off that pace. You're better planning to be fifteen seconds slower over race distance but driving safe than losing more than that to an off and damage.

If you're finding that you're getting in trouble at the starts, consider starting from the pits. It seems silly, but your goal is to build safety rating. Finishing well is a secondary objective, so starting at the back isn't a big deal. And you'll find that often you only finish a position or two down from where you would have anyway, because other people will take themselves out.

Any time you're in an incident go back to the replay and review it after the race. Resist the urge to assign blame, your job is to look for ways that you could have avoided it. Even if the other guy was a raging moron who was foaming at the mouth with rage to run you off the track, are there ways you could have spotted that on track? Could you have taken a safer line and made yourself harder to hit? Could you have dodged if you'd been watching your mirrors more? It's all about what you can do to make it to the end of the race cleanly.

If you're having trouble with people being aggressive on track in general, consider just letting them past. Aggressive drivers will often crash themselves out at some point during the race. Your goal is not to be there when it happens. Letting them go means that chances are they'll be further away from you when the incident happens, and you'll get the place back cleanly. Doesn't work every time, but more than you might think.

If you're having trouble when you make moves on others, consider just sticking behind them if they're not too much slower than you. The safest way to pass is to wait for them to make an obvious mistake and capitalise. Otherwise, just follow them to the end and you get your safety rating, no problem.

If you're not doing so, consider sticking with one or two series only. Continually racing the same car over and over will increase your comfort with that car very quickly. Drive what you feel most comfortable and safe with, not what is fastest. Staying on the track is the fastest way to finish a race.

There's probably more to be said about how to drive safe, but you'll start learning that yourself. Just remember that when you're building safety rating the goal is to make it to the end of the race with no incidents. Placing does not matter, if you finish last with 0x then that is success and you should feel good. That's how I built my oval rating.

Safety first, speed second. Good luck!