I'm an iRacing Rookie! - What's the First Race Like?

[@guiltyspark3823]

Imagine finally working up the courage to hop into your first online ranked official race and getting matched against Ermin HamSandwhich. That's the equivalent of facing Bowser in your opening game of Tetris.

[@Ermz]

I may have spit out a little milk reading this

[@nfg_racing7968]

OMG I just noticed he actually changed his name to hamsandwich 😄 🤣 😂 dam you JIMMER!!!!!!

[@ahyaan2552]

@@nfg_racing7968 wow he actually did it.

[@UpwardWorm]

Well my names Matthew Pearen and I got 2nd in this race against him LMfao it was my first race ever im brand new to iracing

[@goodlookinouthomie1757]

I mean Rookie class in iRacing is not a sim racing game. Its more of a survival horror.

[@boredover4040]

So much truth here, just survive the 1st 2 corners then it's a time trail

[@sanquezgregory9612]

@@boredover4040what I hate in the IR series is I’m just trying to stay on my lines and improve, everyone else is flying and pretty much ready to run you off the road to get pass if you’re a lap down. We need turn signals lol “I’m moving over please don’t run me off the road”

[@MarshallDog]

"IS HE DRIVING ON A BLOODY CONTROLLER?" Jimmy Broadbent had a video once where he tried driving on a keyboard. He said one of his buddies used a keyboard and was pretty respectable. I think the last time I used a keyboard was back in my NASCAR 1 days.

[@XROSSDABOSSX]

So, this track is in Connecticut, which is where I'm from! I've been to that track once to watch an IMSA race. SUPER cool to walk over that bridge as the cars come flying down the hill to the last corner! The track is based inside what could be described as a ring of mountains. They built it there because they figured the mountains would help dissipate the noise of the vehicles so it would not reach the residences. Unfortunately (for the residents), today's race cars are loud enough to completely eclipse those mountains 😂😂

[@Ermz]

That's badass. Here in Aus the track would subsequently be demolished and turned into a housing estate because of noise complaints.

[@asherwiggin6456]

@@Ermz That’s happened to a few American tracks. Look up Myrtle Beach Speedway

[@johntoms1170]

@@asherwiggin6456 And Riverside and Ontario in California.

[@asherwiggin6456]

@@johntoms1170 I thought Ontario was because of poor attendance

[@reillyploplis7457]

@@asherwiggin6456 Myrtle beach is also such a trashy area though depending on where you are there..

[@hio-racing]

Ermin, once you reach D 4.0 as a safety-rating, you can race in the "Supercars Series - Australian Server Only"

[@TChapman500Gaming]

You'd think with all that money, iRacing would have more localized servers. Of course, unlike other sims, iRacing doesn't allow you to host on your own hardware. And an expired subscription might as well be a complete ban from the service.

[@guitarman2134568]

@@TChapman500Gaming well...duh? I mean if you aren't subscribed, you can't access the service. Pretty simple.

[@noahhaynes1917]

@@TChapman500Gaming why localised? Having the servers in Boston is good enough and having a membership means paying for access.

[@TChapman500Gaming]

@@noahhaynes1917 Localized means less physical distance between server and client. And it also means fewer devices between server and client. Either one by itself means lower latency. Also, shouldn't need a paid membership to do even half the things in this game that other games allow you to do after a one-time purchase. iRacing is a borderline scam.

[@noahhaynes1917]

@@TChapman500Gaming borderline scam in your eyes. In my eyes totally worth it. That cost even more money to have localised servers to regions + have lower participation in certain areas. For the connection it has now, I can go side by side easily from Australia with the occasional net code error but that's nothing to do with iRacing, more the server branch company. Do you work for them? Do you know where their money goes into? The servers cost tons to run 24/7.

[@nateattinello1464]

Ermin if you get into like plug-ins or overlays or whatever for the in game HUD at some point, could you do a tut for your favorite ones?

[@Ermz]

I definitely need to find a proximity radar one!

[@Reekyracer]

@@Ermz Raclab App has a proximity radar

[@toffeebear7133]

@@Ermz is there anyway so beautiful as the sun ein in my

[@basecubing612]

Pls make this a series. Thanks for your amazing content! Keep it coming!

[@vincentsantucci2478]

Great to see you giving the organised online racing a go. Hope you keep going, look forward to seeing your journey.

[@glenwatkins732]

Great to see you on iracing mate, would love to see more of your journey, hope to see you in some GT3/GTE or Porsche Cup lobbies soon enough! Pcup for me atm is my fav car to drive.

[@MrDoom879]

I'm glad to see that there are people of all skill levels in iRacing. Due to the nature of the game I always figured most of the players were quite good

[@RacingAnt]

Nope 😂 That's what the iRating is for. You find your level, particularly if you stick to one or two car classes. There should always be someone to race against.

[@brilongenecker]

I love this man! I as well am just starting my Iracing journey. I've been an ACC fanboy since day one and always kinda scoffed at the idea of this service. My first taste was the Radical SR8 at Brands, Indy layout. Holy cow! I was instantly smiling from ear to ear. I had never felt that completely connected, raw power of grip in a sim before. Then I went nuts and threw down all my money and just started buying content. The rally is a blast and the selection of road tracks is so good and seems to just keep growing. AI is even tons of fun. I hope you keep this series going, it was very entertaining Ermin.

[@TheSnaveeelPlaysGames]

I think this describes everyone’s journey into iRacing :) My game was F1 2020 and Assetto Corsa. I tried iRacing and said “Hey, it actually feels like a car!” Awesome sim

[@buffping]

Yes please Ermin! Every race! Then I can live an iRacing career vicariously through you and not have to deal with my own online racing anxiety :)

[@BladeRunner031]

I remember I won 1st and 5th race in rookies.I would win 3rd and 4th if I wasn't collected lol.Anyway,I had pace for P3-4 but guys crashed or made mistakes.Now,I do not race more than a year now and watching this I want back more and more,tnx man,I miss racing

[@seebarry4068]

Lime rock is my favourite track on the service. Love it there. You belong where you are, the numbers never lie.

[@dylanzhou1800]

In the last corner, you can enter with more speed (enough speed to understeer off the track if it was flat). The g out combined with a little bit extra steering angle will carry you through if you believe in friendship.

[@jasonbaird1645]

Solid drive. You did better than I did when I was new to iRacing. It took me a while to learn how not to wreck myself out of the lead.

[@TheSnaveeelPlaysGames]

Do we ever really learn that lesson? 🤣

[@daveeast3]

While I agree with the vast majority of your statements, net coding is not a huge issue. I'm just down the road in melb and been on iRacing for a year or so. Have really only had a net code incident once in formula 3. Road and Ovals I've had some seriously fun/epic encounters with mere millimetres between cars. Bump drafting with 0x but never any major incidents (apart from that F3 one, though the guy that hit me was disconnected due to low incoming packets.......) So while it would be nice for there to be more aussie servers across all series, it's not hyper critical for some fun close racing without any worry of netcoding.

[@mangoclips5884]

I’ve never questioned what exactly I was watching in one video. One second you have a true intelectual breakdown of the game. Next you have a deep conversation about how friendship is power. And then some random bloke flying across the screen in a tiny miata.

[@jenscee7679]

Once you hit a C license, I’d recommend the Radical series. Brilliant car to drive, good racing too. You can really push the tyres and step the car out.

[@precisechaos2144]

I've done a test drive with the Radical and it is exactly that... radical!

[@liorlevi9296]

One of the best cars to drive on Iracing.

[@TheSnaveeelPlaysGames]

The advanced Mazda as well. That car never gets old to drive and because it’s comparably slow, you can keep it on the limit longer which feels awesome with forcefeedback

[@precisechaos2144]

@@TheSnaveeelPlaysGames I'm not there yet but i look forward to the advanced Mazda, it sounds fun

[@th3orist]

i'd love to see you doing more competitive iRacing in GT3, GT4 etc.

[@JAILEDforMEMES]

He needs to get D license first 👀 he’s getting there tho :DD

[@TheSnaveeelPlaysGames]

D class; fixed Ferrari is arguably one of the best series on the platform and it’s full of people who think D means destruction. Also RUF which is an underrated car

[@angryginger791]

The explanation of your livery had me rolling. Lime Rock Park is my home track. One of the first races I attended there was the "American LeMans" series back in 2006. That race was the last US appearance of the mighty Audi R8 LMP before they switched to the diesel R10. I can't imagine how crazy it was to drive top level prototype cars with a ton of traffic on such a goat path of a track. LOL!

[@Weird_Cat_Thingy]

One trick that I found with the MX5 Cup Cars is you can use left foot braking like a car with a sequential to hold the brake down all the way when youre coming up on a corner, the car doesn't require a clutch to shift so you don't have to worry about eating up your transmission and theres ABS, so just hold the brake all the way down and blip the throttle when you downshift

[@TimFilmsCars]

I live near here! The drive into the track is gorgeous, especially in the autumn. Not many moose in these parts, but lots of deer. The marshals also need to check the roof of the marshaling posts for rattlesnakes. Great drive, Ermin!

[@TheSnaveeelPlaysGames]

I wonder who the poor sod was that got bitten to make that a rule 🤣

[@YayDanMan]

Re 15:02 - it can be risky but after 2 years on iRacing I’m at a level where I feel rather comfortable fighting in a close quarters pack of drivers from US or EU while we’re on one of those servers in cars at around GT3 speeds As for more localised server farms? iR’s backend logic will select a server that is central to the majority of the field in an official race to try minimise ping disadvantage, and the clear majority of drivers on iRacing overall are from the US (oval) or Europe (road), so here in Aus/NZ we draw the short straw unless you can flood an official race with drivers of similar rank from Aus/NZ, and not have drivers from both Europe and the US connecting as well which will force a “neutral” server, likely in the US Case in point for the above - races for the V8 Supercars series do get hosted on the Sydney server farm in sessions outside of the guaranteed Aus server series if there’s no drivers from both the US and Europe who join the session, and the Euro community for the V8 is very, very, very small

[@chrisgarey9413]

A compliment (ham) sandwich from a fellow Aussie: 1) as a new sim racer, your channel has been incredibly useful (and fun) to help me learn which sims and gear to get into 2) Idyllic does not mean ideal 3) MLP = best livery ever Looking forward to seeing where this series goes

[@ryerye3147]

I am going to start iRacing aswell and look forward to seeing how you progress .. definetly doing if possible a skeletor themed mx-5.

[@matk4731]

I’m glad you are taking it seriously. That paint job is definitely all you 😜😁. Thanks for sharing 👍🏻👍🏻🙃🙃

[@kingcars]

Glad to see you finally took the plunge into some public racing! Looking forward to seeing your progress, especially as the competition stiffens. I'm also interested to see how the latency situation pans out over time due to your location.

[@IDontTalkToCops]

Cheers Ermin. Keep the iRacing vids coming! I love driving the MX-5.

[@mrmidnight32]

I think parking on the side during a race is a cheap way to get SA. I’ve seen people do this lot on Iracing at low rankings. I’ve seen people do it right off the start. And sit in a bunker the entire race.

[@Sithhy]

Definitely would love to see more of this

[@roarore8810]

I've been racing in iRacing for about a week and got out of rookies in road and dirt road. It took me a little longer than I wanted but it wasn't bad. Its crazy to see the difference in skill between the people in your races. I mainly raced formula vee since I prefer it over the mx5, and after a couple spins in my first race I never spun again while every race you have people spinning every lap. And then you have people putting in consistent 1:25s at charlotte in a vee while im barely putting out 28s and the occasional 27.

[@alex1337bm]

really smiled when you met the guy at around minute 9 driving a controller.. i got my wheelbase + wheel but not had working pedals yet . so i had to bind GAS and BRAKE on thumb buttons on the wheel and tried to race like that. keep in mind i only could use gas and brake in two ways, 0% or 100% and still managed to get on the podium ( P3 ) in Mazda Race hahaha

[@donjezza]

Looking forward to seeing more iracing from you Mr HamSandwich, although 500th's of a millisecond...14:15 it's ok we all have different strengths and weaknesses 😂

[@EddieOtool]

"He's playing with a controller! I've never seen someone attempt that in a real sim." Well, you obviously don't know me... I'm currently playing on a DualSense with the sensors on because I am waiting for the DD Pro to come out...

[@Crbn46]

I would prefer to have you do a couple races and then give us some highlights/summary of a few races each episode instead of doing an entire episode for 1 whole race. Other than that im loving to see you on iRacing

[@TheSnaveeelPlaysGames]

I agree with this if he’s gapping the field

[@Lampp1981]

As a new racer. This was pretty interesting to watch

[@laur.an01]

Im enjoying this the most already.

[@Kronikman07]

I raced with a controller all the way to B class, almost A class. I have 1500 iRating. My hand controls and wheel just came in today actually. Just waiting for the wheel to show up.

[@Cheezwizzzzz]

Love it! Cheers Ermin for that video! You'll be top split in no time, I'm sure.

[@nejcmirtic529]

You may have been joking about the joker lap, but there is actually some road going into the woods, and if you take time in an offline practice you will notice there are concrete barriers blocking what appears to be an abandoned road. And when the track was designed there was this idea of a really nice multiple layout track with part of the longer loop continuing on the side of a hill and then coming back down again to rejoin bit before the crest at the back straight. There is a really nice video about it on @SoutPawRacer KZbin channel. Really enjoyed the races and commentary. Keep it up :D

[@fan2hd277]

lol the level of those guys on the first lap. easy win but I'm sure you will get a proper iRacing experience soon enough ;) I mean jumping cars, magically disappearing and the good all punt in the first corner. Even better during warmup xD

[@EhPlusSimRacing]

@9:18 my fist ever attempt at sim racing was on a gamepad. it did not go well. kudos to that driver.

[@Two49]

The whole point of iRacing (imo) is that anyone can race, even with a gamepad. Nice to see you lapping these rookies though haha.

[@nickwassenaar680]

Thrustmaster T150 with a 1.7k irating here... when i know members with CSL DD wheel bases with 1.0k iratings

[@MichaelStonely]

Friendship is indeed magic

[@RichJamisonRacing]

Glad to see you give iRacing a try and work your way through the system. Would love to see how you progress over time. Would be curious to hear your opinion of the system and other aspects of the service as you experience them and learn how iRacing actually works. 👍

[@Robalogot]

I feel rookies is where people gather to unlearn simcade racing, thank God it's no longer the weeks of pain it once was

[@SN1PERPL]

Friendship is magic? BUT MAGIC IS HERESY!!!! Emperor Protec!

[@JSmith73]

Awesome, can't wait to see your journey ahead! (Hence subbed!)

[@JSmith73]

"Is he driving on a controller? Yes he is!" - I laughed!

[@Ermz]

Thank you for the membership!

[@jpisdistraught]

I've been to a gt3 race at limerock. I live in CT. I sat on the hill off to the right on the straight. very very cool.

[@andrewevans2453]

watched you csl dd vid and you said you were swapping from a dd1, ive ordered mine even though a bit scepticle about your video, but you have actually swapped! amazing, i hope its good

[@chrisc3825]

The iRacing 488 Evo is the most fun car I’ve ever driven and the series the most adrenaline I’ve gotten from simracing. Enjoy!

[@MrBlurp85]

I haver a friend who plays all simulators on a controller and is fast af! From iRacing to ACC or rF2... You name it and he plays it on the controller while being very competitive!

[@ebojager]

Great comentary during the race!

[@TChapman500Gaming]

Now try the Rookie Street Stock series! Nobody survives their first race there!

[@b9bot148]

Congrats on your first iRacing race and win Ermin! That was fun to watch. Oh, remember there are 10 year olds racing here which use controllers and not wheels, lol!

[@kraizerxthesimp46]

i use keyboard for the lols

[@radin9281]

Best video ever I love the thumbnail 111/10

[@_hanz73]

I love how you did the trail braking *edit: You absolutely have to keep that livery!

[@dillydally7327]

3:53 - I couldn’t stop laughing at all of that 🤣

[@Nick_Kearney]

1:01, not bad at all. I've been doing a bunch of rookie races around Line Rock this week to work on my Safety Rating and I'm only banging out 1:02s.

[@slowriderxcorps]

It feels kinda weird knowing that I've started my own journey into iRacing about a week beforehand. My first race was punctuated by getting flat-out punted off into a spin at Okayama Turn 1, and it took me six races to escape Rookies. This game really is looking like it's going to be one crazy ride.

[@TheSnaveeelPlaysGames]

“The book of iRacing.” Chapter 1, Verse 1. One never escapes rookies.

[@vinnymoody9674]

Great Fun, looked like you has some sort of invisible weapon that made the other cars crash whenever they dare be near you lol

[@mjc-12]

You joke, but I'm only 0.02 points away from my C class driving only on controller. Its not impossible, unless you drive anything faster than the Miata and Formula Vee.

[@precisechaos2144]

I started iRacing with a controller and learning how to thumbroll. I could really only play the Mazda and rallycross. Dirt oval is sketchy and oval sucks lol. 100% do not recommend. I'm glad I have a wheel now.

[@Karl_Baeron]

Nice video, as always! Man i can't wait for you to reach the 100k subs and the YT algorithm putting your recommendation-rate into 5th gear (6th is the cruise gear, see M6 in ACC 😬). PS: Love the fact that your YT Name is still HamSandwich. This type of humor makes you seem so approachable! And I'm pretty sure it gives you more search results thanks to Jimmers calling you like that in the Merc Time Attack stream :D

[@duck74UK]

Do some ovals too! They're really good fun on iRacing, especially once you get to C class and they throw strategy ontop of mechanical skill by adding cautions.

[@gillesfleury2619]

I must be too easy to influence and/or too slow to react.... I started play AMS2 and discovered Ermin for his AMS2 videos. Then because of several videos where is was explaining how great was RF2 I finally gave it a try just at the same time he showed that physics was broken, then after several of his videos about it, few months ago I switched to ACC, but I couldn't play a lot for a while because just after I moved from Asia to Europe and needed to wait for my rig to arrive during 4 months, now I get my rig back and...he switched to IRacing... And I now wonder if I should try Iracing..... The only thing that makes me feel kind of better is that in the end I still like AMS2 even after it was regularly destroyed by my favorite simracing youtuber ;)

[@richnick1911]

Nice racing and cool to watch a track I've been to many times. Remember over a decade ago racing this track on I Racing in a booth at Lime Rock Park with the Thrustmaster wheel and thinking this is so realistic compared to GT5.

[@HappyHappyFun99]

Please do more!!! I'd watch every single race!!! 🤩

[@vectieba]

Yeah! would like to see more!

[@Mythbuster3808]

As a Brony i can very much appreciate that livery

[@stephenfortin9485]

Just found your channel, love the content, but don't be hating on gamepad users lol . id love to have a wheel on my rig, but i got 2 kids that take all my $$ . I'd love to do iRacing but stuck with a gamepad and cannot fathom being that guy screwing up races for everyone else. not my style, im not great but i try my best to be clean and fair..

[@enterthebiscuit]

@Ermin HamSandwich yes more of this please. Good vid; good introduction to iRacing for me because I'm trying to work out if I want to invest my time (and money) into it. I'm in the UK but I find the concept of the netcode issues to be a horrendous negative. In the mean time I'm starting to seek out races in AMS2 p1.3, but that's not going well because of the rammers. *sigh, online gaming, sigh

[@jenscee7679]

Anything with the new damage model is a lot better than it used to be and isn’t as bad as you think most of the time. I’m in the UK and hardly ever get netcode problems.

[@enterthebiscuit]

@@jenscee7679 that's good to know, thanks! 👍

[@vincentsantucci2478]

BTW, when you start your account, you start with 1350 iRating and that is what determines your split along with number of sign-ups for that race and the iRating of those that signed up. You will only see your iRating once you get your D Class licence or you use a third party overlay (e.g. Kapps or Racelab) that displays it.

[@b9bot148]

Lol Ermin, that My Little Pony livery!!!

[@larskunze6275]

MX5 is one of the most fun to drive cars in iRacing

[@mattalford3932]

Good for that guy. Gotta start somewhere lol. Be nice to the rookies. They don't know what they don't know lol.

[@G35Jeesh]

I felt attacked when you said "I recommend at least, ... a g29" I was like damn I really got the cheapest setup hahaha

[@OhKnow379]

No he just thought of something a controller player would consider not like its bad. Many i racing and asseto legends used a g25 g27 or g29

[@charlie-charles]

I laugh my ass off 🤣 Great content! They should build parking lot inside the track ☺️

[@user-mj1rq7qx4p]

The cars are all so happy.

[@bummy20]

9:37 Is a G27 also good? it did get me through 2 24 h of lemans races in iRacing (After 8 years of having that wheel i am pretty good, works fine in iRacing aswell and after the pedals broke down I got Fanatec clubsport pedals V3 and they are a massive improvement)

[@duck74UK]

Aside from the brake pedal not letting you make fine adjustments, it's a fantastic wheel.

[@MarkHyde]

That livery tho - great video :)

[@evodesignsracing5925]

iRacing series would be cool

[@stormsurgeesports]

iRacing do have Australia server-only series for Supercars!

[@waynemcmurray8405]

I just saw £/$ signs coming out your exhaust. 😂😂😂

[@hahaxolotl]

so... are you using the CSL DD now ? or still the podium DD1

[@siremangoes]

I’d love to see more iRacing videos, hopefully you have better luck with the servers and netcode though.

[@Jacko911]

What is the best racing sim game for us Aussies?

[@EnvyOCE]

I'd be interested to see you push for C licence and try the V8 Supercars. They offer a Sydney exclusive server as well as a international. As of last race I graduated into C and interested to get right into it.

[@StreetRallyAsh]

Love the thumbnail 😂 Awesome video too!

[@paulgilbert9346]

Driving on a controller? Takes me back to learning the Nordschliefe on my X-Box 360 lol.

[@JReaLBiz86]

There is a demand. Please let us see your progress through the licenses / splits in iRacing. Only reason I don't have it is because of the insane cost, but I love watching creators show why they create on "the best" sim racing platform out there

[@JackAnderson232]

Awesome video 👍👍👍

[@lasagna187]

how do you reach the shifter with the netting in the way?

[@svpracer98]

Second place really is where you want to be rookie series.. leader will take themselves out and 3rd/4th will fight amongst themselves.

[@AlexAnd3885]

Those GT vibes in the intro 💯

[@vocnys]

4:17 5/100th of a milisecond, now that's close racing

[@stonedmountainunicorn9532]

That My Little Pony livery gives the driver the power to shift without paddles or using the h-shifter, so we could put the safetynet between us and it

[@Ermz]

That livery boosts your testosterone by 300 ng/dL.

[@DieToteHose93]

Mr Ward7 probably wasnt actually using a gamepad, i experienced this before, its just "netcode", you only get information from the server about the other car turning in, but not by how much, so you see maximum lock

[@furqanrizwan9333]

Just had my first race in iracing and right after starting the race i got pit-manoeuvred. Didn’t even make it to the first corner, and i was just going in a straight line :(