What’s the best way to practice to become faster?

[ZeroSV]

I’ve been simracing about 5 months now and I was wondering what’s the best way to get faster overall? I ask because I want to go from being 2-3 seconds off the best times to making that gap smaller and smaller. I’ve seen some aliens say they weren’t good from the start but they spent the time to practice everyday and got faster by doing that. What I wanna know is what exactly is it that I’m supposed to do as practice because I feel that it’s a bit different than other things you’d practice for which is why I’m confused and feel like I may not be practicing right. What are the procedures/things that I should be doing everyday to improve on becoming an overall faster driver. I’m willing to put the time and effort but just don’t know how to practice. Thanks

(Just to clarify, I’m talking specifically about getting faster and not getting more consistent as that’s not a problem for me.)

 

[Bruno Iwanczuk]

I’ve been simracing about 5 months now and I was wondering what’s the best way to get faster overall? I ask because I want to go from being 2-3 seconds off the best times to making that gap smaller and smaller. I’ve seen some aliens say they weren’t good from the start but they spent the time to practice everyday and got faster by doing that. What I wanna know is what exactly is it that I’m supposed to do as practice because I feel that it’s a bit different than other things you’d practice for which is why I’m confused and feel like I may not be practicing right. What are the procedures/things that I should be doing everyday to improve on becoming an overall faster driver. I’m willing to put the time and effort but just don’t know how to practice. Thanks

(Just to clarify, I’m talking specifically about getting faster and not getting more consistent as that’s not a problem for me.)

I think it is not only about practice, it is about talent.

I have been practicing for years, and it improved my consistence, but i still 4-5 seconds off a competitive lap time.

If the talent is not there, you won't make it.

The same thing happen with music, doesn't matter how much you practice, if you're not a singer, you won't sing.

EDIT: Senna in the rain is an example, nobody could beat him doesn't matter how much they practice. BECAUSE SENNA HAD A SUPERIOR TALENT, AND PRACTICE DOESN'T IMPROVE YOUR TALENT.

Practice you only lead you to the TOP of your talent, but it WON'T improve your talent.

 

[Ghoults]

Don't listen to bruno. If you use the search you'll find good threads here an in internet full of good advice how to get quicker. Depending how much off the pace you are and what car track there are various things you can do. 2-3 seconds in f1 car is not bad and means you have the basics down. But what matters most is doing practice that matters. Simply driving around every now and then is not practice. Practice is conscious effort where you try to fix or improve or unlearn something.

It is helpful if you post a lap time and maybe even a video of your lap so people can see if there are obvious issues.

 

[Benutzername]

I think it is not only about practice, it is about talent.

I have been practicing for years, and it improved my consistence, but i still 4-5 seconds off a competitive lap time.

If the talent is not there, you won't make it.

The same thing happen with music, doesn't matter how much you practice, if you're not a singer, you won't sing.

You might not be world class, but with practice anyone can do nearly anything - if specific body features are not holding you back.

Also one has to find their perfect car. There are some aliens that are quick in every car, but most have specialised in one or a few categorys.

 

[RasmusP]

Don't listen to all this talent stuff. Talent determines how much you have to work for the improvements and at some point it's gonna become really slow to make progress.
I wouldn't call myself very talented. But I had some experience with racing lines and driving in general. And with pc games.

When I took part in my first real online race in early 2017 here at RD in assetto corsa I came dead last. But I enjoyed it.
A few weeks ago I won my first race. Finally!

I've spent lots of hours understanding how to drive, watching tutorials and explanations, testing things out. Talking to other drivers, especially faster ones and asking for and watching replays of their driving.

Wrote spreadsheet over spreadsheet, about 4 din a4 pages of notes for each track. Working on it and trying to get faster by learning how to drive like the fast guys.

Everyone can do it. You just need to either be talented or intelligent and focused enough to work on yourself and make progress.
Here at RD you can find quite a lot of threads about driving style. There are books out there too.
The easiest way is to record a lap of your driving and ask for help. Then quick drivers will surely have the time to do 5 laps and send you the replay/video of it and you can compare the inputs, lines etc.
Note the differences down and try to replicate it.
There aren't massively different driving styles that are similar fast.
If you'd compare input telemetry of the whole F1 field they would look exactly the same if you don't go into the smallest details.
And these small details are the "driving style".
But 1-2 seconds around a standard track with the same car is not "driving style", it's just correct vs not as correct driving.

To race around the mid field in normal races it's enough to do the basics right and be consistent across multiple laps.

Good luck and success on your simracing route

 

[Bruno Iwanczuk]

Don't listen to all this talent stuff. Talent determines how much you have to work for the improvements

Then why some drivers end up being faster than others after all that work? Mr Smart

Because they are more talented. (Senna in the rain is an example, nobody could beat him doesn't matter how much they practice.) BECAUSE SENNA HAD A SUPERIOR TALENT, AND PRACTICE DOESN'T IMPROVE YOUR TALENT.

Again, practice you only lead you to the TOP of your talent, but it WON'T improve your talent.

 

[tlsmikey]

My advice would be to first step back and understand what modern racing is. When I first started in iRacing I was getting crushed because I thought it was about whoever had the best "feel" for the corners and I would go into tracks thinking I had better car control and could feel my way through the turns.

Modern racing is based around braking markers, turn in markers and acceleration points. I would start with a track you like and make sure you are consistently hitting the same braking markers every time. Next work towards a turn-in point and finally a point in the turn where you get on the throttle.

This seems tedious and time consuming and to some extent it is, but if you look at racing today, it's really about minimizing the mistakes and repeating the same lap times over and over. Feel has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Youtube videos are a great way to figure out braking markers, although its much easier in iracing because the talent pool is much deeper.

 

[Ghoults]

Then why some drivers end up being faster than others after all that work?

Because they are more talented. (Senna in the rain is an example, nobody could beat him doesn't matter how much they practice.) BECAUSE SENNA HAD A SUPERIOR TALENT. AND PRACTICE DOESN'T IMPROVE YOUR TALENT.

Again, practice you only lead you to the top of your talent. But it WON'T improve your talent.

Writing dumb things in caps does not make it any less wrong. Senna worked hard and he was beaten many times. He worked hard to improve on his talent just like every sportsman, artist and workman can do and has. If you think you can't improve you won't. If you think you can you will.

 

[Brandon Wright]

What's the old saying? The first 95% is effort but the last 5% is talent? Meaning, lots of practice can get you everywhere, but to be one of the elites you generally need some innate talent as well. I've been doing this in some shape or form for over a decade, I've read the things, I've watched the videos, I've practiced and practiced, I've improved greatly over the years but have come to accept that I will always be 1-2 seconds away from the Aliens. But I'm still here having fun.

That doesn't mean it's not worth the effort and that lots of fun can't be had. Outright speed alone is not the only thing that gets you to victory lane, racecraft and lack of mistakes/consistency are just as important. But first you must practice practice practice. My advice is to pick a car and a track, don't touch anything other than tire pressures and just pound around lap after lap after lap until you know the car very well, until you feel like you can push it to the ragged edge. If you don't spin or crash on occasion you're not pushing hard enough. If you don't feel like you're driving for your life from an angry mob of baddies that want to kill you you're not pushing hard enough. If you don't occasionally have a lap that terrifies you you're not pushing hard enough.

Once your lap times get to where they're consistently within a couple tenths of each other you can start tinkering with the setup to shave a few more tenths off. But keep doing more laps, until you can visualize every corner, every braking point, every entry point and exit point with your eyes closed. Watch your replays, make sure you're using every legal inch of the track, make sure you're shifting at the optimal RPMs. It's not something that will happen overnight, it could take months for things to click and even then there will still always be room for more learning and improvement.

Most importantly, remember that winning isn't everything. Some/most of my very best sim racing memories were three-way battles for P5/6/7/etc. As long as you have someone to battle with you will have fun and ultimately I think that's all why we're here, to have fun, right? Winning is just the icing on the cake. @ZeroSV check out the club races here on RD, you'll find a wide range of talent, a lot of very helpful members that will watch your laps and give you driving tips or even setup tips, and likely have a lot of laughs. You may not win the race but I promise you'll have a fun time and come back for more. If you're interested, I'll gladly gift you a three month premium membership so you can check out the club races risk-free and see if they're for you.

 

[Bruno Iwanczuk]

Writing dumb things in caps does not make it any less wrong. Senna worked hard and he was beaten many times. He worked hard to improve on his talent just like every sportsman, artist and workman can do and has. If you think you can't improve you won't. If you think you can you will.

Yeah, Senna was much faster than anyone else in the rain because he worked harder than others, it had nothing to do with talent, you're right.

 

[Brandon Wright]

I know this, name calling and insults rarely win you races, but can get you banned from forums. Just sayin'.

 

[Bruno Iwanczuk]

I know this, name calling and insults rarely win you races, but can get you banned from forums. Just sayin'.

I was insulted first anyway. So i suppose you are talking about everybody here that has insulted somebody else isn't it?

 

[Jempy]

The first 90% is effort but the last 10% is talent

Good realistic conclusion, Brandon ....

100% effort will bring you at 90% but if your talent is 90% .... you'll stay at 90%.
But that's maybe not only talent .... it may be needing better driver material, better view, better material settings and much more.... even your mental.

But, as long as you find your pleasure, that's already a very good point.

All races, IRL or Simracing, are made of top drivers, mid and back markers.

 

[Ghoults]

Yeah, Senna was much faster than anyone else in the rain because he worked harder than others, it had nothing to do with talent, you're right.

His mechanic at the time says it:
https://www.racefans.net/2019/05/01/ayrton-senna-private-kart-mechanic-tche-reveals-secret-speed/
“As he trained a lot he learned how to drive in wet, dry, hot, cold, whatever it was. Even under a storm. He was not lazy at all.”

 

[Bruno Iwanczuk]

100% effort will bring you at 90% but if your talent is 90% .... you'll stay at 90%.

That's what i'm talking about.

Senna had 110% of talent, with 100% of effort he reached those 110%, while other drivers with 100% of effort stucked at 100%.

 

[mclarenf1papa]

The same thing happen with music, doesn't matter how much you practice, if you're not a singer, you won't sing.

That’s one of the worst examples you could possibly have used...but in any case:

Having natural innate ability just means that reaching a certain point is easier - a person with less natural ability can work harder and reach the same level. “Lack of talent” is an excuse for not overcoming a lack of natural ability by smart, hard work.

 

[RasmusP]

I've seen the name Bruno in a post? Yeah guess that's what's hidden behind the "show ignored content" button that's at the bottom for me

 

[Bruno Iwanczuk]

That’s one of the worst examples you could possibly have used...but in any case:

Having natural innate ability just means that reaching a certain point is easier - a person with less natural ability can work harder and reach the same level. “Lack of talent” is an excuse for not overcoming a lack of natural ability by smart, hard work.

Ok, if it is only about hard work, then practice singing until you reach the notes Pavarotti could reach.

 

[Ghoults]

That's what i'm talking about.

Senna had 110% of talent, with 100% of effort he reached those 110%, while other drivers with 100% of effort stucked at 100%.

Everybody in f1 has 110% talent. Guess what makes the difference

 

[Bruno Iwanczuk]

Everybody in f1 has 110% talent. Guess what makes the difference

Then senna had 120%