A word to the wise

We seem to have a huge friend list growing here at RD and I know there are alot of people that want to learn and get faster. My advice is pretty straight forward and holds very true. Hop in a practice session with myself, William, Will, and countless others on here. We can usually be found online every night and most likely you will find us chasing each other around the track.

A perfect example of this happened last night. Myself, William, and Will got in a practice session of the Spec Ford Racer and not only was that a total blast before the session ended we were all (except me) up to speed and changing positions at speed around turns and best of all not having any contact what so ever. Once that session ended we elected to all go to the Skippy practice session. From there we all left the pits at the same time and once again the chase was on. By the end of the session all three of us were in a row doing the same things as in the spec. Changing positions at speed, around turns, and (usually) with no contact. By the end of the night I personaly had hit a new PB of 1:09 at watkins.

I don't know how most people do this but as for us we wait for each other, and then hit the gas when we are all together. I personally have found huge amounts of speed and lower times doing this with the great people from RD.

So there you have it, it's a ton of fun, you learn, you get faster, and best of all you get to know some of the great people here at RD. Don't just hop in a practice and run in circles, you may or may not get anywhere. Run with someone, and I mean close. Run in the front, then change to run behind them. Doing this will let you have a better look and better insight for the next official race you join. I personally have gone from being somewhat slow and at the back of the pack crashing all over the place when I started to being a second or two off the lead cars (alien) pace with low or no inc points from doing just what I stated.

If you see one of us in a practice just let us know you are from here and join up with us.

How could it get any better?
 
I've also found that chasing faster people around the track definitely improves my own speed more than anything else I do. I hope to join you guys soon, as work is finally starting to ease up a bit. You may have to do more "waiting" than usual once I'm on with you. :) But I don't mind if you drive off. I'll see you when you come back around again!
 
Yep I was thinking the same exact thing Joe lol. That was a total blast last night. Learning the track and getting up to speed is one thing. But having 2-3+ drivers racing close in traffic and trying to pass each other cleanly is another. We were all darn near wheel to wheel and bumper to bumper in both of those sessions. With William, Joe and myself battling lap after lap. For once this week I was able to make a few passes on that Texas / NVDIA car! :) I'm definitely up for more practice.
 
I'm SO SO in support of this, but havn't had the opportunity to do a lot of it in a year or so. Some of my best experiences in sim racing, and where I progressed the most as a driver, was team practices in the original F3000 league (Eric K, Mitch P, Chris V) and MMG F1 (Eric K, Chris H, Leif E, Chris V). We would get together 3-4 times a week and drive race lengths, in race trim, playing rabbit & practicing overtaking etc., heck even hot lapping (which we did very little of) was more fun in a group. I enjoyed the practice sessions as much if not more than the actual races.

One of my biggest complaints/issue about iRacing (within RD) is that the lack of a standing server makes even drop in practices difficult to coordinate. I am far less motivated to practice for events when it's just me lapping alone. Maybe it's the ADD kicking in but I just get bored and it's easier to let life get in the way. I'd like to get a discussion started about how we might be able to communicate/organize practice or group sessions within the RD iRacing community focused on fun (this is a game after all) but also the development of driving and racing skills. I would certainly be willing to contribute to funding more "standing" servers in advance of events for this purpose. Or if the existing iRacing servers line up with our needs (car/track combos) to coordinate the use of the iRacing open servers. Or (insert your brilliant suggestion here) .....

Your mileage may vary.....
 
I'm with you Bob. I remember the FPWS days! Practicing with Eric K and Mitch leading up to our race days. Those are my favorite times in simracing without a doubt! :)

Now with iRacing and the group of drivers that we have in League and Club events, it just keeps getting better!
 
Running together is defintely a good way to find find speed. I tend to pick up a lot of experience in the races I drive. First, because you get to run a long time in a row and get a routine going. Second because you can compare yourself to other people. So running with others in practise is a very good way to get there.

Another way to learn the lines is to get replays from fast guys and/or watch them going around in practise sessions. It gets you at least the first clues to where you can improve. It's the quicker way to get an idea, but it is of course much less fun than chasing around other drivers.
 
Thanks for the advice Joe. I know I need the practice so I will add a few of you to my list so I can join ya when I see ya on.

Just starting the Star Mazda series for the first time now.

The star Mazda is a great car! There are alot of good drivers in that series and alot of them will help you out if you ask nicely. Most are normal drivers but there are a few really really fast guys in there.
 
It was a blast. First time in the Rads in iRacing (yes I bought it to run tonight, it's a disease.....LOL). I've always liked the Radicals in Race and felt pretty comfortable in the car after only a few laps after switching from the baseline to the Long-Road setup. I'm glad to have provided you and Will with ample opportunities to practice your passing and look forward to further refine my "being passed" skills in the future!!!!!!!!
 
Thanks for the laps Bob and Joe! First time running the Radicals in practice with others. And I was blown away at how fast this car is. I was darn near holding my breath through the corners lol. Another night of wheel to wheel and bumper to bumper practice at Watkins Glen.

But before that Joe and myself were battling at Silverstone with the SRF. Thank to William for getting me addicted to this car the other night. The SRF can be alot of fun once you learn the driving technique for that car. Picked up some pace from the other night and a PB of 21.4 now.

Practicing with fellow RD iRacers is the only way to go! :)
 
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It was a blast. First time in the Rads in iRacing (yes I bought it to run tonight, it's a disease.....LOL). I've always liked the Radicals in Race and felt pretty comfortable in the car after only a few laps after switching from the baseline to the Long-Road setup. I'm glad to have provided you and Will with ample opportunities to practice your passing and look forward to further refine my "being passed" skills in the future!!!!!!!!

Tonight was the first night that I have run the radicals as well. I had to test it of course after I got it to run the Vettes mixed class but that was the only time that car was loaded up by me. That is one fast, responsive car there now...!!! You did great for never having run that car and got up to speed pretty darn fast if you ask me.
 

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