Following a Car Closely [HOW TO]

[@tahirballikaya213]

I have to say following a similarly paced driver closely is probably the most fun part of racing. I had to learn these things the hard way. What helps me most is going off throttle before the braking zone to allow some space before your opponent starts braking. you can adjust the distance then by braking lighter or later.

[@steventaylor546]

I've been sim racing for a while and I always got super nervous just having other cars around me, let alone being right behind one. The tips in this video have definitely helped me feel more confident being close to other drivers and I am much less frequently "that guy" punting others off track on accident. Thank you.

[@LastTenth]

I'm happy to hear that this has given you some confidence and results! Thanks for sharing!

[@pappamoto8625]

If only everyone would watch and follow the tips in this video! There would no longer be any inadvertent punts in sim racing.

[@LastTenth]

You should forward this video to them whenever you get punted 😁

[@UX_with_Stephen_Bowman]

Your videos are incredible! You’re more concise and demonstrate a fundamental practical knowledge of racing physics compared with other coaching channels. This channel is criminally underrated, with great tips

[@LastTenth]

Wow, thanks! Long drawn out presentations are a pet peeve of mine, so my goal has been to provide accurate information in an enjoyable and digestible format. Short enough to watch while you're on the can.

[@jcchaconjr]

All really good points, Nik... a few "intangibles" that I always went with were: - During my very heavy participation in iRacing some years back, I would tend to end up in races with the same people (thanks to the matchmaking algorithms). Inevitably, when you're around the same people long enough, you start "trusting" each other - meaning, you get to know how those people tend to react in certain situations. This allows you to take a few more risks here and there, depending on how well you know that opponent. If I wasn't familiar with someone I was racing against? Yeah, I'd be a little more conservative until I got a little more comfortable around them and their tendencies in different racing situations. - I'm ever the stickler for checking the Relative time board to see where my strongest corners are against an opponent. I'm always looking for those corners where I have an edge and am thinking about how I'm going to perform that overtake. That said, I'm always thinking about whether that's a good passing point at all, or if I should think about the usual out-brake, or overtake on exit and into the next corner strategy. In reference to "Aero-wash", it is DEFINITELY a thing in iRacing! I vividly remember setting up for a pass between Turns 1 and 2 at Indianapolis when the track was first introduced - Yep, straight into the wall out of Turn 1 because I was too close to the car in front of me. 🤦‍♂ You definitely have to get a sense for how the car feels when subjected to less than ideal aerodynamic conditions.

[@LastTenth]

I haven't really raced public races anymore, and in leagues, you pretty much know all the races after a while. I race the same drivers week in week out and you get to know them really well.

[@mihaiconstantin-pau5116]

Great video! Another thing to consider when following up closely is that even if both cars have the same braking marker, the car in front reaches the marker first and slams on the brakes. The car behind at top speed needs clearly to brake earlier otherwise they will slam the car in front.

[@lewpearson9800]

Exactly! It took me a while to discover this...after continually crashing on turn 1 Monza. Awesome vid!

[@OneRadicalDreamer]

I literally searched for this a while ago and NO ONE had a video on this. I found your channel through someone's recommendation on Reddit and wow. Where have you been?

[@LastTenth]

Been struggling with the KZbin Algo... lol But thanks for finding me!

[@OneRadicalDreamer]

@@LastTenth That sucks, you've given such great advice, I hope it's uphill from here!

[@LastTenth]

@@OneRadicalDreamer Thanks so much!! And I hope so too! LoL you can help by sharing the videos! 😁

[@lberc20]

Wow this video was super helpful, a huge problem I’ve had in sims and real life racing now is judging my braking to the person in front of me. This really should have more views

[@LastTenth]

Thanks! I would say when following it's always best to err on the side of braking too early. You can always adjust it to later after watching the lead driver for few corners and seeing how much you need to adjust.

[@yeagemk]

Just stumbled upon your channel for the first time. great tips and delivery man! I was doing a lot of this stuff without really thinking about it but hearing you explain it makes me realize why it works. Thank you!

[@LastTenth]

Hey welcome!! No problem. Yeah a lot of good drivers do many of the things I describe in my videos, without knowing or thinking about it. Personally I like to break things down, which helped me, but it seems to help the drivers I coach. It sure beats having to figure it out on your own...

[@felipoto]

Just got recommend this video and found that this channel is a gold mine. Thank you, very informative. Wait for the algorithm to do its job 👌

[@LastTenth]

Welcome aboard and thanks! I've been waiting for the algo so very patiently... lol. Thank your friend for me for his support! And pay it forward! Share it with your friends 😁!

[@mattalford3932]

Also you can't always see in front of the guy your behind so if he has to check up unexpectedly then your gonna crash.

[@marcusmiller8267]

Thanks for a wonderful and instructive video. Great information.

[@chota.cabras]

Leaving a comment to help with algoritm :DDDD Amazing as always!

[@LastTenth]

Thanks Goku!

[@sirsiriussowhy]

Another great video 💪 have you done one of Defending your position ?

[@LastTenth]

Great suggestion, and not yet. I mention it a bit in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6jNi6hjiJtqhdU, but it's doesn't really tell you everything about defending. I will definitely add this to my list!!! I have a few videos in the pipeline already, so stay tuned for those!

[@sirsiriussowhy]

@@LastTenth yes its a great video that few talk about , the vortex of danger 👌 would be interesting to hear your take on "defending your position" , i find my self sometimes "giving up" my position if the car behind is 0.5 faster , later to find out i can peak up his pace and be competitive.

[@LastTenth]

It such a huge topic but here are a few things that I think about if/when I defend... i) How far into the race are we? ii) How aggressive/risky and skilled is this driver? Will s/he get desperate? iii) Why is s/he faster (skill, tires, fuel, etc)? iv) Is there any benefit if I let him/her by? v) Where should I defend? vi) Will I have to defend multiple times? How much will that slow us down? Those are just off the top of my head. I don't want you to have to wait for me to put a video out so I opened a new Q&A section on the LastTenth discord server for exactly these types of questions! You can join it by going to discord.LastTenth.com and I can probably give you a more complete answer!

[@minigator2]

This was a really, really good video. Full of deep knowledge and pedagogy. Subbed Ps: u kinda handsome bro😳

[@LastTenth]

Aww I don't think I've been man-crushed before. This is new, thanks!! I've had lots of thoughts on pedagogy for a while, and one of which is that I don't like the idea of students being force-fed information. I think students should be guided to ask the right questions, then guided to find the answers for themselves. It's hard to do that in a video, but I do my best to conduct my coaching around that.

[@grassrootscience4461]

Excellent video!

[@jedits2256]

Really interesting and useful stuff, especially as a beginner. Thank you for the information.

[@LastTenth]

Glad it was helpful!

[@LDFR]

This is an absolutely excellent video mate. Your way of explaining this is clear and makes perfect sense. I myself often fall into the mistake of hyper focusing on the car ahead when chasing someone closely - so hearing your take on that was very refreshing. Thanks!!

[@LastTenth]

Glad it helped. I'd love to hear if you're able to take some of this information and translate it to better results. Keep us posted!

[@chonglers1513]

How DO you know you overheat when following too close to the car in front?😂🤣

[@LastTenth]

Lol ask me on the LastTenth discord server and I'll tell ya! There's an ask me anything section just for that.

[@SpeedFreak919]

If you're for hire, we should talk.

[@LastTenth]

Hmm depends what you're hiring me for 😅... I'm happy to chat - you'll find me on my discord (discord.LastTenth.com) in the contact me section. See you there!

[@SpeedFreak919]

@@LastTenth Not sure I did the Discord thing correctly. I appear to have opened a ticket. Regardless, I submitted a message.

[@LastTenth]

@@SpeedFreak919 Thanks! You did it right. I got the message. Talk to you there!

[@ahan5833]

Or you could just you know... buy a BMW?

[@marksutherlandjr.2121]

one thing that helps me, is releasing my gas, before my breaking zone, then i can catch my break zone but still kinda tailor my breaking to the car in front

[@LastTenth]

Yes, lifting to decelerate slowly is a great way to manage speed and save fuel, whilst giving yourself some time to decide how much deceleration you actually need. Great coment!

[@Arguyle20]

Amazing video. Great job!

[@ChrisHarrrrrison]

Exactly what I was looking for!

[@TotalDetailing]

I just want to take a moment and say that this is by far one of the best produced videos on race craft I've ever seen. You're doing phenomenal work and would love to speak with you about coaching. I'm still a novice and could use some help. As I increase my exposure to people with far more experience than I, I notice my lack of experience shows. Consider me high class C.

[@LastTenth]

Hey thanks for such encouraging words! You have such an inspirational success story! I'd love to hear learn more about you and see where I can help. Can you contact me on my discord by going to discord.LastTenth.com on your browser? Let's get you started!

[@arccrenshaw8391]

LOVE what you cover, really getting the right info from you.

[@LastTenth]

That's a primary goal of my channel! Thanks man!

[@krupk4]

Who’d have known that if you don’t want to crash into the car in front, you have to brake earlier? No seriously, great video! I learned a lot.

[@LastTenth]

In actuality, at one point, I didn't know... lol

[@patrick247two]

Pure racing wisdom.

[@LastTenth]

Thanks!

[@kasuraga]

I had to really think about this because it's not an issue I've had. I have been punted plenty of times, but I rarely end up punting someone unless they've done something poorly ahead of me. I end up doing pretty much everything he touches on in this video, but never had any of it explained to me. I do a lot of oval racing in iracing so I've gotten quite used to following cars very close on short tracks and bump drafting on bigger ovals.

[@vasman4034]

That's a great video! I wish I've seen it when I started simracing, would have saved me a lot of crashes and penalties! Maybe a video on what to do at the start of the race? In my novice days I found race starts to be very stressful and confusing

[@LastTenth]

Never too late! Race start is a great idea. I went over this with a driver I'm coaching just recently. I will definitely add it to my list. In the meantime, if you have questions, feel free to hop on my discord and ask!

[@shooter7a]

Many if not most elite drivers do not use brake point "markers". They are looking at the apex, or visualizing the apex in their minds eye, clear back on the straight. They have honed their the special acuity and send of speed/distance to know when to brake, without having a specific landmark they use to key their braking. The strange thing is their braking points will be very consistent, as if they are using a specific marker. This is why you will never be a professional driver. Elite drivers develop this ability back when they were 10-14 years old in karts.... By the time you race against them in say....F4, they have been honing that skill for 6 years+

[@LastTenth]

Hmm... I guess Verstappen just isn't elite enough... kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6uaqXRtbNeDacUsi=Ziffq4y4ia3W0QFq And neither is Hamilton and/or Russell... www.mercedesamgf1.com/news/formula-one-brake-systems-explained "Drivers ramp up the braking as the weekend goes on, using practice to really find the limit. They'll start off conservatively, before pushing deeper and deeper into the corner until they find the right marker to begin applying the brake pedal."

[@kcdesignconcepts5216]

Really good information. I track my E36 as much as possible. When I catch up to a car, I use left foot breaking. You never know what the driver in front is going to do. It does take some practice, but it has saved me from being that guy.

[@LastTenth]

Great comment! Yeah if you're not familiar with the driver around you, it's better to be cautious.

[@DaBowse17]

That was actually very informative. The loss of aero for the front grip makes so much sense now. Keep it up man!

[@LastTenth]

Thanks Anil!

[@bsrodeo7s]

Unfortunately, in games like GT7, if you follow close people brake check. I like to bump draft when I can to make up time. Most people in sim games are poor sports.

[@LastTenth]

Yeah it sucks when there's no 'regulatory' body to keep ppl in relatively good behavior. Even when there is, it's very hard to handle conflicts fairly and efficiently.

[@tysonbarrett6608]

this channel is massively underrated

[@LastTenth]

Thanks Tyson! Spread the word! 🙂

[@zilentzap]

very interesting video, even though I don't play Iracing still interesting

[@LastTenth]

Thanks Zil! Do you use other sims?

[@liftedcj7on44s]

Great video, One thing I see way too often is when you get fixated on the car in front of you and you follow them right off the track because they missed their mark. Ask me how I know LOL.

[@LastTenth]

LoL! I've done that before. I sometimes still do when my heads not in it!

[@derekjones4310]

Excellent

[@mart1n10601]

wait what does Offsetting mean?

[@LastTenth]

Basically when you're not following directly behind a car

[@hokmanhakati5377]

nice

[@W.Eric.Anderson]

Subbed...love your style!

[@LastTenth]

Much appreciated for the support!

[@BenFreedmanRacing]

Subscribing

[@LastTenth]

Thanks for subbing!

[@flivverj7934]

that was a good tip video