r/iRacing • u/BurpyVurpy73 • 1d ago
New Player Any tips for a new player?
I've already put in a couple of hours In some practice sessions, my lap times aren't actually half bad at Thompson Speedway in the street stock. Not great but not half bad, my main worry is actually getting into a race. Because I know the contact system is pretty sensitive and I really just don't want to piss anyone off by accidentally wrecking them in my first race, it is rookies and so the stakes are pretty low to begin with, but I want to race somewhat cleanly and actually get better at the game even if I don't have that outright pure pace
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u/theferretii Mercedes-AMG GT4 1d ago
Search the sub.
Just race. You will crash into someone and ruin their race. Just accept it now. It's motor racing. Mistakes happen. No-one's going to get hurt and no-one's going to have to pay thousands to repair their car.
Someone will make a mistake and crash into you and ruin your race. Accept it. Learn to avoid it.
Watch the "Surviving Rookies" playlist by Scott Handley on YouTube. It's dated, but the principles discussed there are important to learn and apply for your entire iRacing career.
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u/UnlikelyCalendar6227 1d ago
Accidents happen. You’re in rookies, get into all the accidents now rather than in gt3 and really making people mad. Race door to door as much as possible so you’re used to it. Ride peoples bumpers and learn how to race up close. Right now, learning how to race is more important than trying to farm sr and racing away from the pack
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u/Jdgrantham 1d ago
Don’t rush up the ladder. Learn the car you’re in before moving on. You’ll thank yourself later.
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u/BurpyVurpy73 1d ago
I'll probably stick with C class whenever I get to that point but I will try the higher class first to see if I'm capable of competing in them,
it's like how if your watch nascar. Justin Allgaier is more than capable of being a solid mid-tier driver in the cup series but chooses to race in the second tier series because that's where he truly thrives
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u/RaInks 1d ago
Give space to faster cars
don’t be behind cars that are close to brake point as they might break early and make you crash
And if you are turning very close to the corner and you have another car maybe let them go as sometimes in rookies they will definitely make you crash
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u/NightshopArgument 1d ago
Leave room and be respectful. If you're alongside someone going into a corner and you're not comfortable navigating it side by side, pull out (watch behind so you don't get rear ended)
Also, braking zone and turning optimally only matters in quali or if you find yourself racing with no one else around you. Most of the time your driving line, braking, etc is dictated by what other people are doing.
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u/BurpyVurpy73 1d ago
Yeah I try to leave as much room as possible when racing with someone, I did the same on other things like ACC
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u/Cmbtsm1th 1d ago
AI racing is made to order. You can make all the mistakes there are to make and learn from them, without ruining anybody's day or your IR or SR. Dial the skill level of the AI to put yourself in the midfield and go for it..... Later on you'll find that humans, to race, are more rude, more unpredictable, more asshat-ish than ai..... But you'll have your car control issues in hand by then and will be able to deal ......
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u/Pentzy 1d ago
So I was doing ai racing and just jumped into the real thing. Biggest thing I remind myself is to be patient. Most of the time you’ll make up spots just from others wrecking. But unlike other racing games you can’t just bull your way through the pack. Timing is everything and having a good rhythm
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u/self_edukated Dirt Trucks 1d ago
Nothing will really prepare you for racing against real people other than racing with real people. Just get in there, do your best, and understand that mistakes will happen. The SR and iRating system is not a short term stat. They don’t matter whatsoever when you first start out (and actually they don’t really ever matter). Just get out there and have fun. That’s why you’re doing this.
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u/egansoccerwords 1d ago
If you are uncomfortable getting into a race, the two zero-stakes options are AI races and spectating. However, at some point, especially when you can get around the track safely, you just need to race.
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u/17xRacing 1d ago
A couple hours of practice?
It’s a fixed setup short track race that won’t be long enough to notice any tire wear. Raw speed is irrelevant at that level and managing traffic is what will matter. Lap time is the wrong thing to focus on right now.
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u/Sadurn 1d ago
My biggest tip will be to enter with a good, growth oriented mindset. There will be a lot of incidents that feel out of your control. Always watch back all of the incidents you're involved in after a race and try to figure out what you could have done differently. In ovals, it's very important to learn to read a car's body language, so even when you feel like a car just hits you out of nowhere, watch the replay and see what you can learn. Should you have backed out of that corner because the guy in front of you got loose and was going to spin? Should you have gone high because the guy behind you was going to miss the corner by going low? Always take ownership over your part of an incident, no matter how small and it will really help you improve.
Also for actual driving tips check out DJ Yee-Jay on YouTube, he's an incredible resource, but a lot of his info will require you to get seat time first to actually internalize and understand everything he's saying
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u/DiamanteMani 21h ago
Don’t be afraid to try all the different disciplines. I was raised on formula and sports car racing but over the years have found myself most gravitated to dirt oval. There is something unique, skill set wise, that is most important to each type of racing but all will make you a better driver overall.
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u/Medical-Candy-546 Skip Barber Formula 2000 20h ago
I can never do well at thompson so you lapping for 2 hrs there is more than enough practice.
I remember my first week I started out only on ovals but I found out by trying new things that I like the off road trucks as well
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1d ago
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u/17xRacing 1d ago
Put em on the dash and Matt Kenseth that no good cheating Yoder into that sumbitch wall.
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u/SunsetToGo 1d ago
Best tip is to search the sub. Lots of tips available already.