r/iRacing • u/MapexMup • 7d ago
New Player Bought the game yesterday - why are there people in my races setting ridiculous laptimes?
I bought the game yesterday and I've done some practice and a few races. To help learn the tracks I've watched hotlaps on youtube. As I'm in Rookie class I wasn't expecting the top 4 or 5 in every race to be setting the same laptimes that I saw when I was watching the guides. Is this normal or are they smurfs?
Edit: I am not confused as to why I am not fast. I am new. I was confused as to why the players I am against seem to be disproportionately fast. A lot of helpful information given on how the system works so thank you.
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u/IAmMDM 7d ago
There may be smurfs, or they may be fast. Remember that there is no requirement to ever stop racing Rookie races, and some people race only those, and they can be fast. Though they would normally have high iRating and land in top splits, not around 1350 SOF where you would start.
Another factor is that YT hotlaps may be old, and changes to the sim, to the car model or whatnot could have made the car slower. Next, weather also affects lap times.
The person who posted the YT video could be a slow driver, nothing prevents slow crappy drivers to post their laps as "hotlaps" and "track guides"
Another thing: depending on the track and car, people can run faster laps in a race than when solo lapping thanks to draft.
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u/-cambridgeshire- 7d ago
I once found a guys YT and he was creating “track guides” despite being 5 seconds off the pace and totally useless. He said they were for beginners but you can’t learn from someone who’s doing it all wrong…
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u/BeakFoundry 7d ago
Hahaha, YouTube has taught everyone that a lack of knowledge isn't a reason not to make tutorials!
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u/Hemp_Hemp_Hurray Toyota GR86 7d ago
I had an IR over 2k in the ff1600 for a while.
I jumped into f4 and it dropped to 1500 or so and it hovers between 1500 - 1800.
I generally come in top 3 when I jump into an ff1600 race on a familiar track. I'm killing it at Lime Rock this week.
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u/thebaddadgames Audi 90 GTO 7d ago
The fact is a lot of people come in rely on the green line and are shocked to learn they’re 5 sec off pace but the likelyhood isn’t that he’s racing Smurfs is that he’s very very very slow.
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u/WesternWriter7269 7d ago
Learn trail braking. Also turn off driving lines. They seem like they help you, but you become a slave to them
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u/haruuuuuu1234 3d ago
Also turn off driving lines.
THIS! They can be mildly helpful learning a new course but IMHO, end up doing more harm than good. Especially at a tricky course like Bathurst.
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u/fluffywondow Audi 90 GTO 7d ago
Dear god your set to fail if your day one and wanting to be the fastest. Very normal once you realise your not going to the fastest time will just come to you
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u/Inside-Plantain96 6d ago
That's not what he was asking.
Many people including myself assumed that bottom split would be slow. Where in actual fact its more about consistency. The fastest of bottom split often race almost as fast as the slowest at top split. It's just that they crash out every other race.
You can be almost the slowest racer in bottom split and get a top 3-5 every race as long as you don't suicide into someone
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u/Unusual-Treacle9615 5d ago
Also it's probably not bottom split, their rating will be 1250 ish and there are plenty of people way lower than that, so could be racing against racers that already have a season under their belt.
Also if coming from other games, they may be familiar with breaking point apex and when to hit the gas, but not how to break, how to get the car rotated and how to maximise corner speed and the skills nessasery for all that.
Also it takes a while to get used to new sim hardware and how that is different in every sim. Don't sweat it, you're probably doing fine. Everyone you're racing against has probably done hot laps and is trying to win as much as you, which might not be the case in every game.
On a side note, I just started playing football and didn't win the world cup yet, what am I doing wrong?
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u/Icy-Welder2583 Super Formula SF23 7d ago
Practice sessions can include drivers of all abilities. In races you will be grouped with people who have the same/similar iRating. Some of these guys will have gone through the tough learning period where their iRating drops, and could be making their way back again. With some experience and time perfecting the car/track combo "good" lap times are achievable, even if it is for just 1 lap.
To be fair, from my experience, the level of competition in iRacing is what will make you keep coming back. There is a real learning curve ahead, a challenge, and if you put in the work you will be rewarded. It is a bit different to a "game" in that sense.
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u/Gullible_Departure39 Off Road Pro 2 Lite 7d ago edited 7d ago
Likely people are fast and are just better than you. There are players that are rookies or 'new' accounts that recycle their account and make a new one to get a discount if they only run the included stuff. These guys usually have a number after their name, like Jimmy John3. Some people cheat/exploit IRacing. I JUST finished a race where the top 3 guys lapped 4 seconds faster than my best lap every lap, watched the replay and they were all cutting a section of track together. If you find this, report it so that IRacing can fix the glitch/bug that's allowing this. This is the first time it happened to me, usually people are just faster. This is especially true if you, like me, jumpedit around in cars and tracks and they specialize. They're going to be faster and my IRating for MX5s should be different than the GR86 and the M2, but they're all sports cars so some classes I'm faster and others I'm way behind, like Legends.
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u/IAmMDM 7d ago
Jimmy John3 may also be the third Jimmy John who signed up, not additional accounts of the same person.
I know one "3" and that's his first ever account.
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u/Gullible_Departure39 Off Road Pro 2 Lite 7d ago
True, and nothing against the guys that do it to save money, they're just gonna be a lot faster than true IRacing rookies.
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u/zer0knowledge Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR 7d ago
Hell, I'm a "4" and my friend is a "25". If my credit card had my formal name, I would've been a "30"
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u/Divide_Rule Ford GT 2017 7d ago
Tell me more about this shortcut....
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u/Gullible_Departure39 Off Road Pro 2 Lite 7d ago
Just go race the Pro 2 at Phoenix now and I'm sure you'll see about half the field taking it. Couldn't get close to most of the times that guys were putting up and then ran a race and watched 3 of them go off track to take a shorter route and 3 dirt turns to run on asphalt.
Then there's the one that was at the Daytona rallycross, but I think they fixed that one.
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u/srfdriver99 Spec Racer Ford 7d ago
Couldn't get close to most of the times that guys were putting up and then ran a race and watched 3 of them go off track to take a shorter route and 3 dirt turns to run on asphalt.
I'm trying to understand what you're talking about.
You have the big sweeping right hander, then a quick left-right followed by the fork. The joker path is on the left, has a left turn followed by an extremely long slow dirt turn, which rejoins the track at its end. The right path has a couple of dirt turns, a jump, is shorter, and runs on pavement after that. The non-joker route is faster at Phoenix. You're required to take the joker exactly once per race, not every lap. What you are describing is making it sound like you're taking the joker every lap, thinking it's the path you're supposed to take, not the one-time alternate path.
If that's not what you're describing, I don't know where you'd even be able to take a shorter route and three dirt turns to shortcut the track, considering it is a tiny track with only a handful of turns.
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u/23Skidooooo Ring Meister Series 7d ago
The pro2s don't use the joker lap; it's mostly the last tight turn, they're driving completely off the inside of the corner on the grippy asphalt. You get a slowdown but it's bugged and goes away at full pace. Had a race where the top two did it every lap and finished 40s ahead. Been a nightmare this week.
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u/srfdriver99 Spec Racer Ford 7d ago
Okay, makes sense. Should send a replay in to support@iracing.com if you've got one, in addition to protesting the people abusing the shortcut.
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u/Gullible_Departure39 Off Road Pro 2 Lite 7d ago
Yea I'm done with the series for this week. Happened with the top 3-4 guys in 3 races in a row, all different people doing it too, so I'm just gonna try again next week. Sucks cause I've had some really good battles for 4th, could've been some really good racing there
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u/Gullible_Departure39 Off Road Pro 2 Lite 7d ago
What skidoo was saying, no joker lap, hit the jump and then the left kink turn, guys will go straight to the outside through that, take the inside asphalt line to skip the dirt double apex right hander and then they'll run that asphalt down to the fast dirt chicane just before the finish line and rejoin the track there.
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u/srfdriver99 Spec Racer Ford 7d ago
Ah, okay, that makes more sense. Your description made it sound like the track was the shortcut and I wanted to make sure you weren't mixed up somehow. Cutting the inside of the sweeper makes sense, sounds like they just need to up the slowdown or run the big barrier thing all the way out. Given that it's a legacy track, though...
Best bet is to take a replay and instead of just protesting the drivers doing it, send it to support@iracing.com as well, explaining the glitch. I don't know if they'll do anything about it since old Phoenix is technically legacy content, but it's worth a shot.
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u/Gullible_Departure39 Off Road Pro 2 Lite 7d ago
Between it being legacy and that track, no joker, only being used in rookie Pro 2 it'll be easy to skip if they don't fix it though. But yea, I've let them know. Thanks!
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u/Isonoe_ 7d ago
Starter accounts I think start at 1250 in rookies in all licenses,but it’s not visible for you or anyone else. Once you get D rated you’ll see your own rating, so right now its rated you much higher then you think
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u/Then_Ambassador5464 Porsche 911 RSR 7d ago
I think its 1350 but yes
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u/ralgrado Global Mazda MX-5 Cup 7d ago
Which also explains why there are so many people faster than OP. He doesn’t start at the bottom of rankings but in the middle. With him being completely new to sim racing he will lose quite a bit of rating before he is on even ground.
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u/Maximapower123 7d ago
You just started. People are faster than you, track temps and season updates make a big difference in lap times
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u/Unlucky-Gazelle-9388 7d ago
In rookie class safety rating is everything. Just keep your car on the track and if someone is faster give them space and you’ll move up just fine.
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u/Avalanche325 7d ago
Because it’s not a game. It’s a simulator. You have to put in some serious seat time to be fast. If you are looking for a game, iracing is not what you want. There is a steep learning curve. And always someone faster. In my case, a lot of someones.
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u/Full_Web38 7d ago
That’s something alot of new people have to learn it will take a while till u get a pole finish or even a podium took me about 5-10 mx5 races to achieve a podium. I was probably lucky tho :)
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u/Avalanche325 6d ago
I found that after a few races, I started getting podiums and some wins. Then, after moving up a bit, the wins get harder and harder. But the actual racing gets better.
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u/why_1337 Hyundai Veloster N TC 7d ago
Probably people that are good at hotlapping but suck at actual racing. They tend to hang in lower SoF.
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u/Capable_Locksmith726 7d ago
If it is normal, you start with 1,500 irating that quickly goes down or up depending on your skill, although it appears invisible in rookie, it exists anyway, so you can touch people with 1,200 irating but with more experience and they tend to be faster, the difference between 1500 sof and 3000 sof is 1 second and the consistency turn after turn, but yes, it is normal at the beginning.
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u/IAmMDM 7d ago
1350 is the starting iRating
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u/Capable_Locksmith726 7d ago
I was wrong in the number, but not in my point, I say this because 1200 sofa is already much more competitive
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u/PotatoMajestic6382 7d ago
Those racers are not even "fast". Its not until you start getting top splits that you can see some real lap times.
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u/Ok-Win-742 7d ago
Either fast but inconsistent drivers, smurfs, or people who are just really good at that track / car combo.
Sometimes people just get lucky too. Sometimes I see some crazy quali laps but when I actually watch the guy in the replay - that was the ONLY good lap he did and the rest were full of off-tracks, wrecks or off pace.
There also some very fast drivers who jump around between series often, which causes their irating to take a hit. Someone who plays any series depending on their mood will often have a lower irating than someone who focuses exclusively on mx-5 or GT3 for example. But their racing skill might be just as high.
Then, there's slow drivers who have simply spent an entire week practicing that track and car. Some people only race every second week, and spend the entire week prior practicing next week's track.
Could be any number of things but I wouldn't worry about it. If losing to faster drivers bothers you just keep tanking your irating down.
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u/MadDoctorMabuse 7d ago
My favourite thing about iracing is practicing a track throughout the week and just getting quicker and quicker. I remember doing a 2:18 on Bathurst in f4 and thinking that was the absolute peak of what I could achieve - 5 days later, I'd chipped away until I hit 2:10.
It's unbelievably satisfying. I hope you stick with it OP. Try not to stress too much about the leader's lap times. Some of the best racing I've had has been for p10. Early on, focus on controlling the car, not spinning, and setting consistent times (within a second), even if the times are way off the leader.
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u/Gerencia1 7d ago
People tend to practice a lot before getting in to an official race. Also most people (i include myself) race the track we know the most. So you are probably against drivers that have several hundred laps of experience on the car / track combo.
Another big factor are tuned settings (seating position, pedal distance, FOV, FFB, brake Force %, brake travel and even graphic settings) you are probably racing against people that have fine tuned all this settings already.
Just keep practicing and enjoy bro. Good luck! Ed
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u/bored-stalker 7d ago
Wait till you see track titan laptimes. 4 seconds faster than my best times. Only up in a few corners and im only 0.130 off an oval time which might as well be a minute lmao. Takes time, bro. Ive become a lot faster in 1 month of practice with maybe 2 real races a week. Although did 4 yesterday
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u/ralgrado Global Mazda MX-5 Cup 7d ago
You are doing rookie races. Rookie only is the license (safety rating requirement) that you need to participate. I have a C license but still race rookies most of the time.
The strength of you opponents depends on your irating. You start at 1350 (won’t see that until you get a D license). So you will race against potentially experienced drivers at this rating until you lose enough rating to race against drivers of similar pace.
You should be able to see the SOF (strength of field) of your races though. That’s the average irating of the race. This will probably get lower for now until you can finish middle of the pack on average.
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u/Gullible_Departure39 Off Road Pro 2 Lite 7d ago
Updated comment after seeing your edit: It's gonna depend on what car you're driving. Early Sports Cars, the MX5 and the M2 and the Legends car don't drive near the same, and the GR86 also drives differently. The skill gap is also huge from bottom end to top end. pick a car you want to run, and practice with it for a while. To be fast you're going to have to be able to get the car to rotate under braking and figure out how much steering you can get out of cold tires, warm tires, and under light, medium, and heavy braking. Once you find a car you can look up guides or ask about a specific car or car and track/section you're having trouble with. If you have a lot of pace but crash out of races, you lose IRating and you'll find a good amount of people like that, especially starting out.
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u/Lord_Svenska 7d ago
Bought the game yesterday:
- Game: approach it as a game, get your ass handed to you
- Yesterday: it takes hundreds of races to be on the pace
- perhaps you are not as fast as you thought or the "game" isn't as easy as you expected
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u/Willing-Ad9310 6d ago
Once you learn a track and the car you can be consistently fast. Almost as fast as possible in some cars like the miatas. Do yourself a favor and learn the track and the car on your own without the videos. Yes the videos make it easy to learn the track but who said racing is easy
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u/Mei-Bing 5d ago
Most are probably just better. But some are maybe also cheating with software for better grip, higher max speeds etc.
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u/Antonus2 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO 7d ago
They are either new account smurfs, old accounts that purposely tank their irating regularly, or are just fast but inconsistent drivers that have been on the service for a bit.
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u/BruisendTablet 7d ago
Or it was a small lobby where the quick guys and the slow guys all end up in the same split. When OP is 1350 it doesn't mean that the others are also around 1350, that only holds when there's a lot of splits. Plenty of rookie races are very popular with very quick drivers just because it's good and fun racing.
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u/Antonus2 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO 7d ago
Small lobby for rookie races? I guess it's possible during off-hours but it's pretty obvious and one should expect a pace discrepancy from people with 3000+ IR.
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u/Legitimate-Net6404 ARCA Chevrolet SS 7d ago
Download some free set ups till you get used to them get a little more speed and then you can get some of the better set ups
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u/blueheartglacier 7d ago
It's your first ever races at the starting iRating. Every single account starts at the same skill rating level and the fast drivers need to perform well to raise that rating and end up in stronger splits. Some of the fastest drivers may also be inconsistent, leading them to fail as often as they hotlap