Your latest race!

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Just had a crazy race in the Jetta. People were crazy, one guy dive bombed people in every turn, someone else kept hitting everyone and I was just trying to keep my nose clean. Lap 10, 3 Jettas in front of me decide to go 3 wide into the final turn, it doesn't end so well.. (I predicted this as they did it a few times before) unfortunately since we battled so much, the lead MX-5s caught up and one nailed my left rear. I didn't see him as I was avoiding the chaos in front of me and he didn't seem to notice the 3 wide recklessness in the last turn, so I sustained some damage and that ended my race. One guy lost 1.21 sr, another 0.85 and another 0.95... I was lucky to escape with a 0.37 sr loss and 94 ir lost... I never hit anyone, but I kept getting run into, I even moved way off line a few times and they still found me, one guy had 50 incidents... and these weren't rookies, all were at least class B license with an over 2000 ir, except one D class with 1900.. it was interesting to say the least.
 
A combination of luck and practice has led to my best performance ever in iRacing. I had targeted the skippy race at Montreal as one of the races that I wanted to do well in so I've been practicing on and off for a few weeks.

The night didn't start off so well. In my first race I made the first split and started second last. The start didn't go badly and I gained a couple of spots but somewhere in the first few laps I spun myself. I put some good laps together to catch up to a couple of other racers and had positioned myself to pass on the main straight but I got greedy on the last chicane and nailed the wall of champions. I got the meatball flag and had to pit. That put me second last but the car behind me was the #2 car and he was running 1'55s so even though I was running some very fast laps at the end (including my pb 1:56.199) I ended up last.

That lost me a few iRating points so for the next race, I just missed the cut for the first split. As luck would have it, no one in the bottom split had qualified (I didn't either) so I got to start on pole. My first pole ever. I got a good start and just consistently pulled away from everyone else. I lost concentration on one of the last few laps and spun my car at turn 2 somehow but I still finished 20s ahead of the next car. My average laptime was faster than all but one other racers best laptime. It was my second win ever and my first overall win. My laps lead went from 0 career and 0 this year to almost 10% this year. It just felt really good to finally get a performance like that.
 
Worst race I've ever had on iRacing.

Been practicing a little here and there throughout the week with the Skip Barber at Mosport, wanted to race tonight so went ahead.

First off, I hate Mosport more than any other track in iRacing, I would have skipped it but I need every race week for the rest of the season to get my 8 weeks in. So I get in and iRacing randomly decides to load a completely different setup than what I've been practicing with. So I spin on turn 3 I think, right into the wall, couldn't figure out why. Towed and got my free repair. Went back out, spun, still not sure why, and it went on like this the rest of the race. Ended up in 13th or 14th place with I think 13 incidents. Lost 0.5 SR.

I'm skipping Mosport from now on, stupid track.
 
I don't think a track qualifies as "stupid" just because you keep crashing on it :p
 
Mac K
I don't think a track qualifies as "stupid" just because you keep crashing on it :p
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To be fair, I'm ok with it in the high downforce cars like the HPD and L79. It's just cars like the Skip Barber, L49, SRF, etc that are twitchy already get super twitchy for someone with mediocre skill like myself at a track like Mosport.

I would have been fine if iRacing hadn't tried to randomly load a different setup, which I verified it did. It wasn't the same set I had been using for my test sessions or ghost races.

It's still a stupid track. :grumpy:
 
Mac K
I don't think a track qualifies as "stupid" just because you keep crashing on it :p
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I actully really like Mosport.
I'm not fast by any means, but I can get around it pretty well in most cars, with the Kia being the exception. But that's probally because I don't spend enough time practicing in it.
 
I just did a Proto/GT race @ Spa in the Ford GT. I was a little off pace in the beginning and ended up cutting Eau Rouge on the first lap and had to slow down, a few laps later I spin into the chicane and fall back to last in class. I start to figure out the car more, and I'm driving my tail off, 4th place gets taken out by a Vette with 3 laps to go so I inherit that easily, I caught up to 3rd and 2nd going into the final lap. I make the pass for 3rd after he cuts Eau Rouge and slows down. I chase down 2nd and make the pass into the chicane and now I have 2nd place locked in.. or so I thought. The car sputters coming out of the chicane and I run out literally just before the line and I drop from 2nd to 4th just like that. I was so ticked off :p
 
Well I just completed my first race ever.

I spent the past month learning how to drive and time trialing out of rookie, but never racing. I am a freshly minted D license driver now, and this was my first experience actually racing (I'm an oval guy, btw).

It was in the Advanced Legends series at USA International. It is hard to say if I did well or not. I started on the grid in 10th position of an 11-car field. The guy starting at the very back of the field ended up winning it, which was interesting. I finished 9th. No crashes and no incidents until an unexpected spinout only yards away from the finish line on the final lap (I have no idea how that happened).

The only pass I ever executed successfully was with about two laps to go, but the guy just flew past me on the next corner and retook the position. So while I ran a very clean race, I can't really say that I raced well. Then again, it was my first race. Ever.

So for my troubles I earned +0.08 to my SR and took a -49 point hit to my iRating, which makes sense given my finishing position and average lap time. I can't really say that I had fun; I was just way too tensely focused on not getting into any wrecks and staying out of the way of faster drivers to have much in the way of fun.

But hopefully I'll get better at this with time and practice. Though without someone to teach and coach me, I'm not likely to get very good very quickly.
 
zslane
Well I just completed my first race ever.

I spent the past month learning how to drive and time trialing out of rookie, but never racing. I am a freshly minted D license driver now, and this was my first experience actually racing (I'm an oval guy, btw).

It was in the Advanced Legends series at USA International. It is hard to say if I did well or not. I started on the grid in 10th position of an 11-car field. The guy starting at the very back of the field ended up winning it, which was interesting. I finished 9th. No crashes and no incidents until an unexpected spinout only yards away from the finish line on the final lap (I have no idea how that happened).

The only pass I ever executed successfully was with about two laps to go, but the guy just flew past me on the next corner and retook the position. So while I ran a very clean race, I can't really say that I raced well. Then again, it was my first race. Ever.

So for my troubles I earned +0.08 to my SR and took a -49 point hit to my iRating, which makes sense given my finishing position and average lap time. I can't really say that I had fun; I was just way too tensely focused on not getting into any wrecks and staying out of the way of faster drivers to have much in the way of fun.

But hopefully I'll get better at this with time and practice. Though without someone to teach and coach me, I'm not likely to get very good very quickly.
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What were your lap times compared to the everyone else?

This is your first sim racing game as well, so you'd have to account that your to be nervous/anxious while racing other people. Wait until the first races where your leading.

It will just take time & practice.
 
My average lap time was 9th best and about 1 sec worse than the fastest average lap time.

The winner was a rookie license who earned his fasttracked (4.41 SR) D license with that race.
 
Do you do any open practice sessions? That's the fastest way to get use to being around other drivers without ruining your or someone else race.
 
Yeah, I ran lots of open practice sessions while I was a rookie. I didn't want to enter any races until I felt I could consistently drive clean for 40 laps. And while driving clean is always priority one, I now have to learn to drive fast and execute passes (i.e., racecraft). I'm not really sure where/how I'm going to learn that; I might figure it out on my own over time, but it will take a lot of time (I'm simply not a "natural" at this).
 
Have you watched the Driving School videos?

Not an oval racer, but for passing you need to know your opponent and where your chances are to execute a pass. A lot of times (moreso in road) even pressuring your opponent making them attempt a pass can cause them to over-think something and be more focused on you than themselves.

Being new to racing, I'd watch some real life racing, and watch how those guys will take laps to work up to the perfect place to pass.

I'd spectate some races and see what other drivers are doing.

I think the only passes I ever made in oval (2 races in SS) were either from a wreck or a slow driver.
 
I've watched the Driving School videos and the #1 AAA Driving Academy tutorial series and many other videos. There's a huge difference between listening to (or even watching) someone describe racing principles and executing them properly. There are no videos that I can find on oval racing; everything is for road racing, which is great if you're looking for tips on how to negotiate Lime Rock in an MX-5, but doesn't help me dig out speed with a Legends Coupe at USA International.

One thing that nobody talks about much is proper shifting technique, particularly for ovals. When I found myself constantly being left in the dust in open practice in the Advanced Legends, I decided to try downshifting (from 5th to 4th) while coasting through a corner so that I'd have higher rpms when opening up the throttle again. That helped shave off time, but I am still getting smoked and so I feel like there is something else pretty basic I am missing. I can't help but think that my throttle/break/shifting timing is just plain wrong overall.
 
I'll also mention that in the race mentioned earlier, I had to slow down through turns 3 & 4 of lap one to avoid a wreck between the two cars immediately ahead of me. That gave me two positions, but slowing down also meant I was quite far behind the next car ahead of me, and it took over 30 laps for me to catch up to him. I had maybe two or three opportunities to execute a pass, but I bided my time to get a feel for the driver ahead of me and finally did manage to pass. But like I said before, he flew by me on the very next corner and I lost that one and only position that I earned through "racecraft".
 
get ispeed. It will allow you to compare your laps to people who are faster than you. You can see the lines they take, the gears that they use and much more.

In two of my last four races in the skippy at Atlanta, I've been rear ended on the first lap. These were the higher sof races where I would have expected drivers to be a little more skilled. I managed second in the other two races.
 
Ran Legends again tonight. Started 4th and finished 4th in a field of 13 cars. No incidents. It was a net gain all around, but I certainly didn't do anything special to maintain my position. Everyone else was just a little too aggressive I think.

There's a popular phrase that the race isn't won on the first turn, but everyone sure acts as though they have to grab positions on the first lap or they'll die, which is how I end up getting passed right off the bat by everyone. If I'm lucky, their over-aggression leads to crashes or spinouts and me finishing in the upper split like tonight. If not, then I just end up sitting in the bottom split holding on to 8th or 9th position the whole race.
 
Another race to forget in the Ford GT.. I tried a setup from the forum and spun out a bunch of times and nailed an HPD under braking (still trying to figure this one out..), lost 0.32 safety and 48 IR.. I'm so close to 3000.
 
Just had an awesome Grand Am race at Lime Rock in the McLaren. What a crazy place to have a multiclass race, it was mentally exhausting. I started 4th and managed to get to 2nd, about 1.5 seconds off the leader. When DP traffic came past for the second time he was pushed off track, and I was given a 8 second advantage.

I got it up to 9 seconds, but then for the rest of the race he was closing in on me. He was right behind me for the last couple of laps and we made slight contact on the penultimate corner, but I managed to hold on for my first win in Grand Am, and only my second win of the season. Managed to gain safety rating too, so I'm no longer in danger of being demoted to C license.
 
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That F# HPD damage model is a joke.
I guy spun in front of me before the start.
I hardly touched him. Got 0x. Car was drivable, so I did 2 laps and pitted.
Too much damage we're done. Total BS.
I lost 200 rating points and .50 SR in 3 tries yesterday.
 
smuffyatfcp
:lol: don't know if you guys have seen this.

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Funny and sad.

Wonder what that guy's ping was, it had to be horrible to drive around like that.

Although the 2nd guy (red corvette) had to anticipate him coming down the inside like that, but I haven't yet gone for the thrill of the multiclass racing (besides the MX-5/Golf/Solstice TC.) So I'd guess that kind of thing happens.
 
I had a great race last night. It didn't start too promising. Some guy during practice was complaining that he hadn't practiced much and was wondering how many laps were in the race and was asking for a setup. I was thinking that at least he will be at the back of the grid. Turns out he was the number 1 car and was one spot ahead of me on the grid. Great. I started fifth and got a decent start. The 3rd car on the grid messed up turn 1 so I had an easy pass. I followed for the number 1 car for a lap or so before I had the opportunity to pass. It was obvious that he hadn't practice much but no real problems other than that. By that time a bit of a gap opened up to the two lead cars. Luckily the lead car messed up on t12 heading up the hill and the car in second slid a little trying to avoid him. That allowed me to catch up to them at the top of the hill. We were three wide heading for turn 1. I backed off at the corner and let the other two go. The lead car ended up going wide at t4 and lost a few spots. That was lap 4. For the next couple of laps, I harassed the leader from second and even made a passing attempt at turn 4 but I overshot and he got back underneath me. The leader slowly built up the lead eventually getting up to 2.8s but I started to close in on the final couple of laps. On the last lap, I gained a lot of time on turns 5-10 and was within half a second going up the hill. He took a very tight line up the hill and I think scrubbed off a little speed. I pulled to the outside down the final straight and was right alongside at the finish:

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I ended up losing by 0.017s. Awesome race.
 
My Brands races from last night in the BTCC races, happy with the nights work, could have been better but could have been worse. lol

iRacing BTCC Race 1 from Brands Hatch Season 4 2013


iRacing BTCC Race 2 from Brands Hatch Season 4 2013


iRacing BTCC Race 3 from Brands Hatch Season 4 2013
 

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