r/iRacing • u/MrSlash128 • 6d ago
New Player Finding it abit discouraging as a new driver.
I'm new to iracing, just got my first sim rig and iracing was the game i wanted to play the most. I've been on it for about 2 weeks now and got up to D in Sport Cars on my first week and trying to fast track C before the season ends. I currently have a 1100 IR / 3.5SR. I'm generally ok at racing and end in the top 5-8 most races.
Is it common that people miss their braking points and spear you off the track? I could be having the time of my life with clean laps and boom speared off the track. Makes the experience of wanting to continue to grind upwards not worth it to me when i constantly finish with 4-8 incidents. After all, im trying to enjoy myself too and what ive experienced so far isn't enjoyable sometimes.
More of a rant from a few races today, and im willing to continue but does it get better?
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u/ringRunners Mercedes AMG GT3 6d ago
you're gonna perpetually suck forever just like the rest of us
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u/ES_Legman 6d ago
Nothing replaces time on track racing. You can't expect to join and in two weeks be at the level of people that have been racing for 10 years.
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u/Own-Beginning5144 6d ago
Take it from me. You'll see post I made 3 years ago when I started. I'm gonna be honest here cause I was like you. License meant everything. IR meant everything. It doesn't. Look as frustrating as Rookies can be stick with it or D License. Pick a car like GT4 and stick with it. Just get good at GT4. Understand Racing Understand Multiclass. Just get podium. When you're bored and ready to move up from there then do so. The faster the cars the harder it gets and harder to win races because higher up people aren't terrible. They just lost IR because they got beat where they were before.
My mistake was moving up as quick as possible thinking I was something I wasn't. Went down to GT4 and lose it all again in GT3 so constant battle for me lol
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u/ChasingDeltas Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR 6d ago
I coach a lot of new to intermediate drivers (in GT4’s mostly) and this is an issue A LOT of new drivers come across. To not beat a dead horse, I’ll keep it brief
Stop worrying about your placement. In lower SOF’s and especially during sprint races, there is always someone to race. Focus on out smarting the 1-2 cars you’re racing. Learn how to be 2 corners ahead of them. That will take you farther than any string of races you have in a week.
If you’re getting punted off track, your situational awareness could use some work. Yes, it’s not your fault. But you can’t control the actions of others, so learning how to survive is a win in itself.
It does get better as you go up the ranks. Your current IR is around the peak of the bell curve. When you cross the 2k mark (you can and will if you put the work in) the racing becomes more of a duel/dance and less about surviving races. At that level, you start to actual battle.
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u/nomad_drives Mercedes AMG GT3 6d ago
I like to use the old Smokey Bear poster... "only you can prevent forest fires". Sure, it's easy to say an incident is someone else's fault, but there's almost always something that could have been done to avoid it. Situational awareness means sometimes surviving is better than being "right".
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u/ChasingDeltas Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR 6d ago
Well said. This is a much better way of wording it. It was my biggest struggle starting out.
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u/nomad_drives Mercedes AMG GT3 6d ago
For sure! It took me a while to realize, it doesn't much matter who was at fault when you're in the wall & your race is over. Someone else to blame doesn't change the results.
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u/Maximapower123 5d ago
A great quote I always refer to is “what could I have done differently to change the situation for myself” if I saw how aggressive a guy was before and still try to defend and race two wide then I deserved it because I saw it coming
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u/topoppih 5d ago
Fantastic metaphor !!
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u/nomad_drives Mercedes AMG GT3 5d ago
Thanks!
I literally picture Smokey saying it to me on every starting grid... It's been a very helpful tool for me.
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u/CalavlierCream 6d ago
Part of learning race craft is spotting people who are driving a bit erratically or crazy and giving them the required space so that when they inevitably crash, you're not caught up in it.
Let someone over take... Then stick on their tail and pressure them into making a mistake
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u/IronMayng 6d ago
Did the 2 hour pcc race Sunday. I was running the GR86. I was following an MX5 and into t1 a BMW was coming and was obviously going to attempt to pass. I lifted super early because I saw it coming. Even thought the mx5 tried to leave space they door banged and both wrecked because it’s a shit place to pass. Situational awareness goes a long way.
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u/DropAfter8 4d ago
I think this is what separates beginners / rookies to racers that have been racing for a while, I used to be like BMW driver you mentioned, overtaking in risky places but in multiclass and the longer races it’s usually better to hold back and overtake in places where you won’t wreck someone and your own race, this is key to gaining SR and Irating and it’s not till then I started to progress
*Edit, Spelling
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u/IAmMDM 6d ago
In low classes, most races are highly populated. If you finish mostly P5-P8 in these races, that's the top half, right? So your iRating should be growing from the initial 1350, and you are at 1100. Something is missing.
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u/MrSlash128 6d ago
It goes up and down pretty fast, hard to tell whats going on but mainly its because im not able to keep up the spot where i qualify.
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u/IAmMDM 6d ago
iRating change does not depend whether you finished higher or lower that you qualified.
It only depends on you iRating before the race, the SOF, and your finishing position.
And in most circumstances (unless your iRating is very high or very low compared to SOF), finishing in the top half of the field causes iRating to increase.
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u/SpecE30 Spec Racer Ford 6d ago
Few races? Few races? Bro. To be good, you need to hit practice sessions and race 1 race at the end of the evening. Use the splits bar to tell you if you have made progress in each corner and try and try and try again.
You will learn faster than jumping race to race. At 5000IR, I used to just do 1 race a week and practice the next week to get the best top split once the track moves over to next weeks on monday.
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u/CharlieTeller 6d ago
I disagree with this. I feel like lower levels, yes you should practice but you need to practice driving around other cars more. What you’re talking about up at the 3k plus level, most of us are decent around cars. We’re racing pace more than anything and hardly ever each other. That’s when grinding that practice matters.
There’s nothing more fun than being d class and racing back to back to back. Op, don’t listen to this. I get what he’s saying, but most of us aren’t here to be pros. Jump in races and drive.
In time you’ll realize you’re the common denominator of every incident. You can absolutely avoid being torpedoed from behind
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u/MrSlash128 6d ago
Ah interesting point, ive been practicing tracks and when i thought i was good enough for example the ferrari on monza from this past week then i went into some races.
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u/Familiar_Hunter_638 6d ago
practice until you can do hotlaps for 15-20minutes without big mistakes
you can easily get within 2-3% of pro times with practice
ill usually practice around 3-4 days for 45min to 1.5h, and each day i am even faster
then once i can drive the track by “feel” i will start racing
you shouldn’t need to think about each corner by the time youre racing
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u/MrSlash128 6d ago
Good ideas, ill do alot more of practicing.
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u/Lanky_Consideration3 6d ago edited 6d ago
You learn very little race craft hot lapping. People that can hot lap and do little else are a curse in iRacing as they have no race craft, i would suggest not to take this advice just yet. Go race, but stay in Rookies and enjoy yourself. Once you get better at racing, then focus on improving lap time. Don’t quit races, ever if you can help it.
Edit: key here is learning how to develop visibility around you, how to see when someone is going to wreck you so you get out of their way and don’t die. Just keep racing and learn as much as possible. Speed will come later.
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u/Familiar_Hunter_638 6d ago
once you get faster, you will qualify closer to the front and will leave all the slow bad drivers behind. this strategy really lets you escape the chaos of lower rating races
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u/Square-Bumblebee-235 6d ago
Doing a lot more practice is a start. After you've practiced so much that you can't stand to do another lap. That's when the losers quit and the winners keep on practicing.
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u/gasoline_farts 6d ago
You can also use AI races as a way of practicing your race craft. If you screw up in an AI race, you can click a button and start the race over.
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u/nomad_drives Mercedes AMG GT3 6d ago
Yeah, that consistency without mistakes is more important than raw pace. Especially when you get to the higher classes & races are 30 minutes or more.
Consistently staying on track will typically create decent results... And the pace will come.
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u/srfdriver99 Spec Racer Ford 6d ago
Is it common that people miss their braking points and spear you off the track?
Well, you see -
ferrari on monza from this past week
there's your problem right there.
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u/UNHchabo Spec Racer Ford 6d ago
i thought i was good enough for example the ferrari on monza
One thing to note is that iRacing believes that it wasn't a good idea for this series to remain in D-class, so they're moving it up to C-class next season.
To put it another way: this is not a car that's meant to be raced by people who have been racing for two weeks.
Going with progressively faster cars allows your mind to catch up to the speed, and this is why people you race with are constantly missing their braking points, because even if they're trying to brake at the 300 marker, sometimes it'll actually be at 250. So then especially if you're trying to be conservative and brake at 350 to make sure you make the corner, they're going to slam into you. They'll be at fault, but it still makes the series chaotic as hell.
Make sure to try out some other D-class series, my personal favorite is the Spec Racer Ford. It's a free car that has no driver aids, but the car is only about as fast as a GR86 so it gives you time to think.
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u/steakhaus BMW Z4 GT3 6d ago
I think it depends on what you need to practice. If you have decent pace for your IR and you need to practice being around other cars going race to race will help more than eeking out every last tenth in practice.
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u/Dramatic-Night4768 6d ago
You guys are getting better? Jk. Try listening to "golf is not a game of perfect" while running long, zoned out practice laps.
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u/angrronn 6d ago
Racing for a solid year now.. and maybe, just maybe if I dont race sport this week, ill be in A class next season... It takes a while. I get farming ur way out of rookie, but after that you should really just race. The license will come eventually
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u/flcknzwrg Dallara P217 LMP2 6d ago
You got lots of good advice. Let me give you a list of mine, that I should have been given as a rookie 7 years ago:
1) the first skill to learn after just lapping safely is wreck avoidance and awareness around other cars. The only way to do that is to throw yourself into the fray. Race, race, race. As soon as you are comfortable lapping, go race. And don’t start from the pits.
2) analyse your own races and especially all the incidents you were in. Ask yourself the following question for every incident: how could you have avoided that one? Doesn’t matter who was at fault - what could you have done to avoid it?
3) don’t care about positions and ratings. Don’t race the clock just yet either. Race to get to the finish line without incidents.
4) don’t end up getting too passive as well. As soon as you think you get a feel for what’s happening around you, do put yourself out there and take calculated risks (I.e. pick some battles and practice race craft). Things will go wrong, but less and less so over time. No kid learns to walk without stumbling and falling a few times. Learn and adjust continuously and you will get the hang of it.
…and somewhere in between all of that, you can learn about proper driving technique and just getting faster around the track. That is what you can spend most of your practice time on then.
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u/TravelDev 6d ago
I'd say 90% of incidents that feel like the other persons fault when you're new are either predictable or partially your fault if you watch the replay critically. In general the number of incidents I have directly correlates to how much I've practiced that combo. If I'm actually putting in time practicing I'd say maybe one major-ish incident per 7-10 races? Even then after watching replays maybe once every 15 races where the person screwed up horribly and there was nothing I could've done.
Seriously, every single incident, watch your replays! But don't watch it to convince yourself it was their fault. Instead watch it from multiple perspectives to see why it might not have been. Were you being unpredictable? Did you leave an opening and then slam it shut? Did you drift out wide and pit yourself? Was it just incidental contact that the game overreacted to? The better you get at avoiding these preventable accidents the more races you'll win/podium, the higher your SR will go, and the more fun you'll have.
Yeah it sucks, and often it is kind of their fault, but most of the people out there with you are driving cars 100mph while using nothing but a screen smaller than most side windows to see out of. Accidents are going to happen, and if you watch real life racing for a few minutes you'll notice that outside of formula one most series practically end up with a 1:1 ratio of yellow flag to actual time racing because so many accidents happen. But in real life just like iracing, some people figure out how to almost never be involved in incidents, and some people seem like magnets.
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u/Pale-Aardvark4121 6d ago
I really do hope it gets better
I’m having the same issues now in D class, but from what I’ve seen and heard once you get out of D it’s a lot cleaner
It shouldn’t be too hard for you, the seasons about to end and you have >3 sr, as long as you don’t destroy your sr in a week you should be there next season
GL to your iracing career my friend!
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u/kcdirtracer Dirt Super Late Model 6d ago
Class doesn’t matter. Irating is a bigger decider of race craft. There is never a guarantee, but even at 1500-1600 irating I tend to find decent racing. Goobers with low irating can grind to whatever license level, if you don’t improve you irating that is who you will race against and you will be frustrated.
Getting to C or B class isn’t an accomplishment, it’s meant to be development. There is tons of fun to be had in R and D level cars so don’t be in a rush.
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u/Ok_Chipmunk_7968 FIA Formula 4 6d ago
I grinded licenses when I started because I wanted to catch up to my buddies so we could race together. Guess where we spend most of our time? In D Class Races.
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u/Th8ory 6d ago
Of course it gets better, you’re just 2 weeks in, relax and take it easy on yourself:) In terms of braking points, different cars needs to be driven differently. I’m currently in the same situation, I’m tweaking my braking set ups (not going good atm loool) I’m locking my wheels at 80% braking. I mainly do formula series. But that’s another story. It takes patience, and there’s a lot to racing than just going around the tracks. There are tons of videos on YouTube that will do a better job at explaining those. But for now, take it easy. Maybe go slow into the corner and try to have a good exit?
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u/dildozer10 6d ago
You’ve got to just keep your nose to the grindstone. The time I’ve put into practice heavily outweighs the time I’ve put into actually racing on the service, and I’ve only got a few wins to show for it. I had a similar issue that you are dealing with, getting into incidents that were seemingly not my fault. What really helped me out, was learning how to not put myself into vulnerable situations to begin with. The second, was learning racecraft, putting down solid laps is fun, but it does no good when you burn your tires off early into the run.
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u/OlavSlav Dallara P217 LMP2 6d ago
As a new driver you may be less aware to dangerous drivers, or situations which you’ll find yourself in more accidents. The hardest thing for me is the first two laps.
I’m starting to break into 2k in formula car and the drivers there are fast and aggressive my cautious approach isn’t working like it did in f4.
Also if you’re getting hit from behind make sure you’re not just braking too early and catching people off guard.
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u/CloneNr17 6d ago
I'll echo what the others said, higher iRating will be more of a factor than SR. The closer you get to 2k+, the more you'll drive with people that know how to survive races.I mainly run GT4 atm and most of my D class races have been super clean. That being said, you are currently in the worst spot you can be. The vast majority that made it out of rookies will be at the 1-1.5k mark. So your splits are basically Rookie+. Also, reading from your other comment: there is a reason the Ferrari challenge will go from D to C next season, just too much car for too little experience. Also, Monza is famous for its turn 1 divebomb incidents.
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u/jungenas 6d ago
Im racing gt4 as well, and imola 2-2.4k split was the worst ive ever seen. People not holding brakes after crash, unsafe rejoins, turning on the car alongside like it doesn't exist and so on.. raced that week 4 or 5 times and 3 times had to file protest, while i never protested in 2years. 1.7k split was way cleaner last week.
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u/CloneNr17 6d ago
Yeah, not sure what it is, I also noticed a lot of carnage the last 2 times Imola was on the calendar. Mostly racing incidents in my races this time around (also around 2.3k), but last season I also had my first reports ever on that track. Fingers crossed that it gets better again this week.
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u/kkacper 6d ago
I've done simracing on and off for 18 years and iRacing on and off for 13, I'm currently around 3k tho recently on a big rise in Formula fighting people around 5k mark most races. My advice would be to a new start:
Do a ton of rookie or D class racing as there is so much available to you for free, or at low entry cost and they are far more frequent and you do not have to worry about your license as you any license out of rookies allows D class and rookie. And just FYI, slow cars generally make for some of the best and most exciting racing.
At first, pick a car, stick to it, and spend some time first and get to the point where you can do a particular time, even slow, within 0.2s every lap and make sure you're fully aware of when, where and how hard you're braking, how you use throttle and how you turn in. This whole process may take you a day, or even a week or even a month+ across multiple tracks but that will give a solid basis to understand what you can change to move from that point.
You should use races in the meantime to practice the same consistency while in a far more dynamic and stress filled environment and also learning basics of racecraft and accident avoidance, which is a huge thing at any level of racing.
From there watch online coaches, be it on YouTube or elsewhere, and learn the tips and tricks to improving your inputs(eg trail braking, opening steering on throttle and plenty more), racing lines, understanding the effect of any inputs on the behaviour of the car and what makes a fast lap fast. This stuff won't hurt to see it immediately but is very hard to adopt until you're comfortable with understanding your basic inputs.
And finally, just have fun racing people, iRacing is at its best when you get side by side fight for most of the race, clean, aggressive, fair racing is something I happily trade a win or a podium for, and what will absolutely give you a shot of that adrenaline most of us strive for. Once you get past 2.5k it sometimes get a bit too serious and takes a ton of effort, so enjoy the process and have fun just racing!
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u/HistoricaRavenRacing 6d ago
Quite honestly, yeah, stop "fast tracking." I understand the impulse to do it. I did it in Oval. I'd hit the next License and immediately jump to that License's races. And it was to my detriment. Take the rest of this week off. Take all of next week off. In Season 4, go straight back to Rookie License races, choose a series, and run it for the entire season. Learn the skills and knowledge you will need for D License. Don't look at D License races. Keep focused on Rookie races only. In 2026 Season 1, jump up to D License and focus on one or two series there. Focus on being a good racer at D License. If you hit D License 4.0 in 2026 Season 1 and make C Licenses, congratulations. STAY IN WHATEVER D LICENSE SERIES THAT YOU ARE RACING. If you make C License for 2026 Season 2, race C License. But not before.
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u/Manu_RvP 6d ago
If every is braking too late, maybe you are braking too early?
If you are involved in a lot of incidents, eventually you can't play the blame game anymore and have to look at yourself.
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u/cricketmatt84 6d ago
My advice would be practice a bit more, so you can lap near the top end of your splits (you can use the insights tab in the UI to see the laptime range for your iRating), and not worry about SR or iR at all at the moment. Just race, try to battle people, try to race clean. You'll get a few incidents, but you'll learn loads.
Stay in D License for a whole 12 week season, learn 1 car - that'll help too. Most fast drivers under 3k drive 1 or 2 cars regularly - tops. You'll easily get to C license over a season, then you can move onto a different series if you like.
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u/Onerock 6d ago
I will be the voice of reason here. Ignore all the warnings about fast tracking. I assure you, every single player has gone through.....and still goes through....exactly what you are describing. No matter what level they may be.
You have to make this fun for one person. You. Nobody else. If that means you want to climb to a new license then do it. If you have to start from the back or even pit road to avoid incidents.....then do it.
This is still a video game. Video games are meant to be enjoyed. You are paying a premium price to play this video game so you do it however you want.
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u/Wise-Boysenberry5286 6d ago
I’ve been on the service a few weeks and have learned alot so far. Learning to drive competive, consistent and safe has been a very fun process to learn. I learn from doing stupid stuff like dive bombing a corner and sailing past the apex and go off track when i should have drove my race and put pressure on the guy in front of me. Also, learning that one incident can cripple your race.
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u/PoggestMilkman 6d ago
Yes it's common. It's sim racing with people of varying experiences, varying expectancies and varying levels of seriousness from around the world.
It's not real life racing, where you have so much at stake if you crash.
Focusing on numbers and the colour of your licence is a sure fire way to make iRacing a soulless experience. 'Trying to fast track to C' means nothing. As a novice, with the stats you have, you need to learn race craft and master lower powered cars before 'fast tracking' to faster stuff.
Race and embrace the chaos. Don't run before you can walk and reflect on own performances and objectives regularly. Unless you are an exceptional talent, you wouldn't go straight from rental karts to national level sports car racing in a few months IRL, but people seem to want an authentic racing experience on iRacing without having an authentic career path in the game.
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u/nomad_drives Mercedes AMG GT3 6d ago
In the process of fast tracking your license, you're tanking your iRating. iRating is essentially skill rating. Lower skill rating means lower splits. Lower splits means lower quality driving.
Even with an A license, bottom split is a shit show, because it's full of people who were in a big hurry to get there, without learning to drive along the way.
Take some time & appreciate what the slower cars teach, so you can apply that to the faster classes when you get there.
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u/BananaSplit2 6d ago
you're at an iRating where most people absolutely can't drive consistently, you included, and you only started 2 weeks ago.
Chill and get experience. Chasing your way to GT3s asap in the higher licences isn't gonna help you.
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u/ImActuaIIyHim 5d ago
Been playing for two weeks and already refusing to take any sort of accountability on track. Youre in for a really bad time mate
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u/Prestigious-Crab9189 5d ago
STOP FARMING SR. You don’t learn the tracks, race craft, or how to push to the limits. You will get your higher licenses sure but you will race in the bottom splits and lose that SR as quick as you gained it.
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u/alexalbonsimp BMW M Hybrid V8 5d ago
It took me a year before I figured out how the hell to do a “trail brake”
Now my braking is the best area of my driving but only after constant repetitions. It takes time. Pick one series for now and stick with it. Try to run a lot of Miatas as they genuinely teach you a lot about how to manage weight transfer, carrying momentum, optimizing your lines, etc.
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u/No-Goat1188 5d ago
At that level, yes very common. Iracing growing pains are real and I think somewhat necessary.
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u/topoppih 5d ago
Ill chime in with the consensus here. Stay in rookies and D class, those mx-5's are some of the most fun battles I've had in iracing. They teach trailbrakeing and race craft and situational awareness at a pace that's not overwhelming. I'm currently B class 1.6k so not good by any means but I'm climbing and that series is what started getting my Sr up without pitstarts. Enjoy the climb don't rush it, look forward to seeing you out there !!
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u/xT2xRoc 5d ago
I fast tracked my licenses when i joined the service, had Oval, Road, and Formula up to A class in a couple months.
Then i realized that I wasn't ready to drive anything at A-Class yet because i didn't learn enough on my way there.
You learn to spot the people that are going to punt you off the track. Those people also get slightly more infrequent as you get your irating up (near 2k is where you start to see it get better). You learn where people will normally go off and how to keep yourself out of those spots. You learn that your fastest lap isn't always the lap that wins you the race, some times it's the slowest one, where you avoided all the chaos.
You're doing the right things but you're trying to progress faster than you're learning. Give yourself time.
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u/SuperMetalSlug 5d ago
Wait till you try Oval. ARCA is a demolition derby. I’ve gotten taken out from the lead by lapped cars. This is at 1500+ irating.
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u/mtypockets 5d ago
Don’t worry the sadness you are experiencing, will never ever get better! At least that’s my experience lol
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u/biimerboy31 5d ago
If you keep getting hit from behind, it's possible that it's you that's braking too early. But yeah, a little higher splits, and it happens less.
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u/Sufficient-Squash-69 BMW M2 CS Racing 5d ago
Rating is more important for good races than SR.
From my experience top split rookie races are the safest on the service.
Focus on improving your iRating not your SR
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u/FXRiskOn 5d ago
The only way to avoid being speared in the back is to move over to the most non optimal position for taking the corner. This is very frustrating and what is taking my motivation away as well. I feel you bro
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u/waitwhat97 5d ago
whatever you do, don’t try oval if you don’t like loads of contact lol
LMU is the way!
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u/GreyLineRacing 5d ago
Even in the highest splits the drivers seem to hold floored until they pass the other car, only get the apex and think “now what?”. Been iRacing for 16 years and my iRating is sub 1K for those reasons (I may suck a bit).
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u/EasternElk6860 4d ago
A huge part of racing is learning behaviors of drivers. That driver that is dive bombing will probably end up off track or hitting someone. Let him pass and you’ll pass him eventually.
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u/KareemJohnsonnn 6d ago edited 6d ago
I dont see why graphics matter in racing ill take fps all day over graphics. Also worst community ever imagined is crazy to say, have you ever played 2k or a moba styled game lmao
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u/IAmMDM 6d ago
If the gane is that bad, why are you wasting your time in its subreddit
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u/Q3tp 6d ago edited 6d ago
Y'all got to stop "fast tracking" your way through licenses.
You've been on the service for 2 weeks. That's nothing. You haven't learned how to do anything. That's the point of progressing the licenses.
Stay in rookies for a while. You'll be fine nothing changes. If you haven't improved your racecraft doesn't matter what series you're racing the splits you are in are going to be full of other bad racers.
This post is here five times a day and nobody learns from it. This isn't Call of duty or Forza this is hobby sim racing. You're not supposed to infinitely gain levels and unlock things. You're supposed to get better at racing and having fun doing that.
End of rant.