iRacing noob almost ready to race

[Scott Patterson]

Hi all,
I've been Ipracticing and Itimetrialing for nearly 2 weeks now. I've almost got the confidence to go racing. But here's the thing..

Should I go into a race with all sorts of chat messages predefined..."Pitting", "My bad,sorry" etc?
Do I need to worry about any sort of pit strategy? Tires, fuel the usual.
If I get into a spin (and end up in the middle of the track) do i ESC out ASAP? Then what happens?

 

[James Yates]

Don't bother with chat binds, you really shouldn't use them. If you're pitting then pit, if someone cant cope with that they shouldn't be on the track. If you have to say sorry then either PM them or say it, don't just use a bind.

If you spin and your car is badly damaged then reset, if it isn't then carry on when its safe to do so. If you press ESC you'll get a tow.

 

[Dazmaniac]

Hi all,
I've been Ipracticing and Itimetrialing for nearly 2 weeks now. I've almost got the confidence to go racing. But here's the thing..

Should I go into a race with all sorts of chat messages predefined..."Pitting", "My bad,sorry" etc?
Do I need to worry about any sort of pit strategy? Tires, fuel the usual.
If I get into a spin (and end up in the middle of the track) do i ESC out ASAP? Then what happens?

Scott,

If you're wary of being involved in incidents, join either Open Practice sessions or jump in to non-password Hosted Sessions.

Neither of these will affect your SR or iRating and can be great places to learn iRacing in a 'live' environment with other cars running on the track.

Failing that, join in with the RD racing events/leagues, as with them being hosted (as explained above) you won't get any hit on your SR or iRating and you will meet a great bunch of guys who are always willing to help where they can.

 

[William Nowell]

Like learning to swim Scott, go and jump in the deep end. Race to have fun and everything else will work out. Until you get into some of the higher level races you should not have to worry about pitting unless you are damaged. If you spin in the middle of the track be mindful of other racers and stay still if they are coming as they can not predict what you will do if you start moving. Relax and have fun get some races under your belt and you will be fine.

 

[Larry Stovall]

I gotta second William. I was really hesitant at first, and yeah, my first few races involved a lot of cursing and being hurled off the track, but there's no faster way to learn...my lap times and my ability not to unduly interfere with other cars increases much more when I actually race rather than just practice.

 

[Scott Patterson]

Thanks for the info guys. I've learned alot since the first post:
I survived a race! Limerock, Start 6th finish 5th in the Mazda. All good.
Driving the ghost car in a spectator session is a brilliant idea. One of my big problems is just getting used to handling the Mx-5 in traffic. And practice sessions usually get too strung out for a good sample time. But using the ghost car can put me right in the thick of racing action.
Also thanks to some good posts in the forum over there I'm getting a sense of direction. After Nvidia Cup it's off to inRacingNews Challenge. I suppose I could go now, my SR is at 3.52 but I prefer to get at least one more race at Limerock and 2 at Okayama before moving on.

 

[William Nowell]

Great move Scott, I spent a lot of time in the spec ford and it is close racing and lots of fun. Be sure to check the setup section I have posted some good stuff in there. After learning the spec ford the skippy will be a piece of cake to keep pointed in the right direction.

 

[Yoeri Gijsen]

My 2 cents. Just go race! You have to start somewhere and if you have already spent two weeks in a car, then it's high time you go compare yourself with others. You will find there are always people around with roughly your speed, especially if you hit a race with several splits (split grids in case it gets too full). Your iRating will go up or down as you go and you will get into races with people of your level of driving more and more. Besides, there's nothing that boosts Safety Rating like races do, if you drive them cleanly.

So, join a race, try to stay out of trouble. What really worked for me is to just focus on safe driving and collecting licenses. If people are pushy or really nervous behind you, let them pass. They will crash and even if they don't, that doesn't affect your SR. In the higher racing series people tend to have more understanding of safe driving, though it can still be wild, than some people in a Rookie race. Give it a try.