How Do You Practice Sim Racing? [Discussion]

[@tankslapper1000]

Great video! I'll give some insight into my general process for practicing for iRacing Pro Series events. 1. The first time I start practicing for a race, I will aim to do a stint of about 5 to 10 laps to get a feel for the braking points, turn in points and any kerbs that I can attack. Luckily most of the tracks used are pretty well known so I rarely have to learn a new track completely from scratch. 2. Like you stated, I like to look at my best lap from a couple of different angles to get a better understanding of how I approached each corner. If there is a lap I know I did one corner better, I will consider that too. 3. I will usually then go out with the basically the same setup to set a representative laptime before I start looking at setups or data. 4. After this, I will generally have a look at a reference lap time from teammates, somewhere like VRS or a past race. Depending on how I compare and how comfortable I am with the track, I may decide to do one more run but generally, I would begin doing some setup work. 5. At the conclusion of testing on the first night, I will spend about an hour looking through telemetry on VRS. Usually I compare this with a replay of my laps so that I can understand visually why I gained or lost time on the data. Later on, I will begin testing within traffic. For the Special Events, I usually try to enter into an open practice so that I can expose myself to places where I have to deal with traffic in the race and to also understand how my markers are impacted by aero push from being behind another car. Another underrated thing is practicing race stints. This is extremely beneficial for knowing how the behaviour of the car changes during a stint, improving l consistency and becoming better at managing the tyres over the course of a stint. I usually try to do this with team mates though to make sure the intensity is still high.

[@ChrisHaye]

Andrew, thanks for the detailed and insightful post. I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to pin your comment to the top of the page, because I'm sure lots of people will find this helpful.

[@giuseppeguiso9240]

Someone like me... Thanks !!!

[@izieky]

Wow thanks for sharing!!!

[@MsTheCops]

Thanks a lot for the needed help! I'm extremely new to this sport & you guys are extremely helpful ...the dedication & time members put into iRacing surprised me ...I thought this was a little hobby-thingie I could do when I was bored. I'm one of those that looked at practice & the entire art of Sim Racing as more carefree ...& just for fun. I'm pleased to find I was wrong & being retired I find myself 100% involved & dedicating much more money on the equipment & dedicating time to practice. I'm still learning "Set-ups" & such technicalities. If I may throw something out there to those at my level ...I suggest you practice racing against those much better than yourself ...it taught me as I learned by example often following their line on the track & seeing HOW the turn can be done at a faster speed. I realized there is a reason the car is in FRONT of me ...lol & I had a perfect view of his/her driving style. And losing to a professional teaches one far more than winning against amateurs.

[@aledmb]

in his karting times, Senna used to practice each sector separately... while everyone was turning fast laps, he would learn sector 1 and discard the other sectors... then he would proceed to sector 2, and so on... at the end of the session, he would lay a flying lap with everything he learned and would stomp the leaderboards.

[@juancete0107]

Alexandre Martini in Gran Turismo Sport when u want to learn a track, they give u the Sector separetly an then u do a flying lap

[@TVieira91]

@@juancete0107 gt spirt have a chellenge to learn that. Circuit experience

[@tonybucca5667]

BRILLIANT!

[@tuningsnow]

Thats how top musicists learn music They break down the music in several pieces and learn them separately

[@Hunkeykung]

Yes this is the way. But how to approach this in ACC. Can you select a sector seperately to train? Does anyone know?

[@pantau7337]

FOCUS - that is what i've been learning for a long long time. 100% concentration on the track is key for consistency, almost meditation mindset. You cant focus while ur dog is running around, while needing to pee, being hungry, thinking about the next day etc. The state when there is nothing in your mind but engine sound and the tarmac ahead is a great feeling, hard to achieve tho. Many pro drivers perform bad while their personal life is bumpy, they cant clean their head.

[@ActNasty5]

pan tau accurate af

[@robspleen6205]

How?

[@StevenWatters]

That's what I've already learned. Focus, concentration on the track. I memorized the braking zones and the turning.

[@1993mxscooter]

I really enjoyed this video as a new sim racer with absolutely nobody to learn from but myself. Great content

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey man, glad the video was helpful. Thanks!

[@toby7647]

You shouldn't limit learning solely from yourself. There are many free videos on KZbin which will help you

[@toby7647]

@@Dusty175 yeah, watch "Driver61 Sim Racing" and even his main channel "Driver61". Even though his main channel is centered around real life racing, you can apply those techniques in relation to sim racing as well, as popular driving sims are quite realistic. There's plenty of videos which will make you become a much faster driver than getting fast on your own. You can also watch videos such as this one on this channel. It's been a while since I've watched this video so I can't remember what's in it, but as my tip you need to atleast learn a track and the best racing lines for it.

[@simonpennyirish7556]

Great Vid as always, But id like to share something that stuck with me ever since my time at Uni, where i studied, ....Teaching. specifically , music teaching. your comments on "20 min per day" is definately better than 2 hr on a sunday. but one thing i would like to add, is regarding learing new routines/ bahaviours, and more secifically, when i comes ti iRacing/Simracing. New Tracks. The brain takes 14 continous CORRECT repitiions, (just think about that last part) to learn a new bahaviour. for every mistake you make, it takes another 14 continous correct repitiions to undo that mistake. for example, write the numbers 1 - 14 o a piece of paper, and leets say you make three mistakes on those forst 14 attempts, so now under the number 2, 7 and 10 write 1 - 14 again downwards now cos were human we make 1 more mistke per downward number sequence, and very quickly you see how it all mounts up. And its in here, that we build up those bad habbist.where you always make that same mistake at "turb7" you learn it in here by not getting it right the first time So its quickly becomes easy to see that when learngin a new track, its SO important to start at a lower speed and on your first laps, be disciplined and make sure you stay on your lines and hit every apex, This disciplin will pay off quickly as you will be able to have that learnt muscle memory alot sooner, and then the speed will flow from there. sorry for bad typing im in a rush to go to work hop this helps Simon

[@Bralph888]

Sum it up, practice does not make perfect, however perfect practice 10plus times in a row makes perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect....

[@guidohorvall1484]

I never thought of it like that. Now my consistent mistakes on certain turns now makes more sense.

[@johnmaaate2833]

My percussion teacher once told me the saying, "Don't practise till you get it right, practise till you can't get it wrong."

[@cg-keuka]

Thanks

[@viperion_nz]

Empty Box did a video a few months ago on this topic which boiled down to "practice as if you're in a race, because that's where you're going to need the experience" which I thought was really good advice. My particular problem is that I'll jump in a car, take it easy for a few laps, ease into getting faster and faster until I find a point where I'm consistently as fast as I can be, then come away from the practice session satisfied with my progress...... and then find that I'm still 2 seconds or more per lap off pace compared to basically anyone else. At which point I get discouraged and stop practicing. The thing about practicing by myself is that the lines, braking points, turn in points, etc I settle on are obviously not correct, but by that point I've practiced so much that changing them requires unlearning things.... it's just a mess. I think I have to resign myself to the fact that I'm just a shit sim-racer, basically :(

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey man! Yeah, I remembered the Empty Box video lat last night. Was that the one where he kept deliberately crashing on the Nordschleife to prove a point? Whatever the case, good advice. I find that getting to within 1-2 seconds of the fast guys takes a little while. But, then chipping away at the rest of the time takes bloody ages. That's why I gave up with hotlapping. It might take 100 laps to get within a second... but probably takes another 1000 to chip away at the rest! But, I'm pretty comfortable with that. On a race circuit with 15 corners, being 2 seconds off the pace is 0.13 per corner. It's not a lot. Probably less than 1/10 of 1% off the pace.

[@viperion_nz]

But still slow enough that everyone drives away from you :P I tend to finish in the top half of the bottom half of the field (unless there's some kind of carnage further up) - I'm doing some testing for a GT3 series (trying to get some baseline times so the race organisers can set BOP's) at the moment and my times are way slower than everyone else's, which is a little discouraging. I'll just have to settle for racing against AI - at least I can set them to a point where I have a good race :)

[@Bonkikavo]

Practice against AI. Set it up on a skill you can barely handle, and start last in a 6 lap race. See how you do. They will definitely pull you to drive over your limit.

[@PhO3NiX96]

Yeah I know what you're feeling man. For example in ACC, I practiced on Nurburgring GP but I already knew the track from PCARS 2. Though I never played online on PCARS 2 so i didn't know where I was compared to others. To give more details, i was in the 1:58 against the best being in 1:54 and the aliens having 1:52, I was roughly 4/5 seconds OFF !! I was completelly discouraged and I was happy when Misano got released, because I was far better on it. Now that multiplayer is ON, i realised something else. 95% of fast drivers I met so far are not consistent at all. They may be 2 seconds faster than you a lap, but if you do 3 laps behind them, they'll make mistakes before you and crash. At the moment I lost only 1 consistency battle, and I must admit, this is a lot more enjoyable than crash every 3 laps because you pushed too much.

[@Gusomilkprod]

Bonkikavo This one is a tip I like, I’ve been doing 10 laps on a track by myself, and then 10 laps with the AI cranked to 90. Definitely has gotten me out of my funk for sure, but also watch your replays and see what you can do to improve on time as well. You lose a lot speed in turns, at least from me observing myself.

[@johanndaart7326]

My tips are: 1) Always set a practice goal before the session, otherwise you might not feel satisfaction after, because you weren't concrete about what you should have accomplished. 2) Balancing keeping things fresh and limiting yourself. It's good to focus on one track&car combo, but it's bad to drive it to bored I'm so that you are pushed off your rig when you even think about it. It's good to have fun with lots of cars and tracks, but it's bad not getting a feel for one car and now knowing even one track well. 3) When practicing for better hotlap time, pushing my focus, not just "pushing more". So for example focusing on where I look, at the apex during braking, at the track out point while touching the apex. Next lap focusing on using whole track on entry and exit. Next lap focusing on smooth inputs, one increase of steering angle on entry, then one decrease on exit. Focus is what gives better lap time, not just "pushing".

[@alphalobster8021]

Hey Chris. Alpha Lobster here with a temporary name! Right then. Practice is about three things i the following order of priority. 1) Technique 2)Track Knowledge 3)Setup. Obviously technique can change from car to car as can setup. But one cannot say they have learnt the track if their technique is lacking. Neither can one make a setup unless a baseline technique and track knoweldge is established. So my approach is pick the car, and drive dozens of laps with the default setup. Until I thnk I have adopted a proper technique and cannot improve within the limits of my ability. Only then do I start to make changes to the setup. This is important because I need to be able to detect how the change affects the car and only constant repitition permits that. Now some changes are obviously good others are obvioously bad. If I am on the fence I undo the change. Every change requires another laborious process of lapping before deciding what the next change might be. How I decide to setup up a car is another 1000 words. If one is aware of weaknesses in general tecnique those are nailed in the technique phase. For example I recently became aware of an odd habit of touching the gas halfway around a turn. Lap after lap of forcing my foot away from the gas pedal until I was certain it was time to floor it was required. It took a suprising amount of work!

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey dude. Great comment - thanks for your contribution. I'm going to pin your comment because I'm sure lots of that will be useful to people. As for your final point, I think that's something that lots of us are guilty of. I find I do it when I'm not quite as confident with a track as I should be.

[@bencevarga3508]

What about those who (has limited free time) use setups from other people? Could it work or you have to tailor the setup for your own style?

[@alphalobster8021]

I would consider a downloaded setup a default setup and hence my baseline. Do the laps before considering any changes with the assumption that changes are going to be minimal to be quicker than default. Personally, I find most online setups are made to compensate for very different style/technique and thus would require to many changes with my style to adapt. I generally find the default setups neutral and easy to modify.

[@MagicAyrtonforever]

Anorak alert 😁

[@stuartkeithguitars4251]

One of the fundamental tenets of musicianship....learn a new piece slowly until it's is learned perfectly....THEN pick up your speed. Apply that next time you have to learn a track.

[@danielthunder9876]

For me with iRacing, I found turning off the timer at the top of the screen telling you how close you are off your best lap was hugely helpful. I couldn't help but race against it and it was throwing me off just feeling the car on the track.

[@ApeStep]

The biggest problem/problems i have is knowing what to look for. I understand the simple techniques of how to enter and exit a corner but i really struggle to identify how a car should feel and what is important to take note. I spend most of my time hot-lapping and I'm fairly capable of getting some good times, I realise that just because you're quick on a single lap doesn't mean your ready or as good as you could be going into a race on the same track you set the quick hot-lap on. I find myself making all sorts of silly mistakes because of the added pressure that comes with racing that you don't have on a hot-lap. Also, spacial awareness is something i think myself and a lot of other people could improve on. I hope this discussion continues as I'm always open to improving at the hobby i love and adore so much. Thank you Chris & Ted for opening up this topic.

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey Franky, thanks for the comment. I think you've touched on something there that's really difficult to teach, and that's 'feel'. A few other commenters have suggested that it can only really come with seat time, and I'm inclined to agree.

[@lewisgordon2473]

Doing lots of laps at a constant pace, w/in 1 sec, is better than hot-lapping. I hate just doing laps so if I'm doing a race online on GTS, I'll do ~10 laps against my ghost w/ the the goals of consistency, not going off track or hitting anything (sometimes in a slower car first)

[@SimonSNB]

This might be what I needed to finally get to the level I want to be at, this will help me to be so much more consistant. Thanks so much Chris

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey Simon - glad to have helped. There's more than one way to skin a cat, as they say - that's just what works for me.

[@verdammteaxt8651]

i have worked as a guitar teacher for a couple of years. ive noticed that every student needed an individual approach to learning new stuff. some are naturals (very few), some need to focus and repeat the same thing over and over at a stretch for 1,2 or even more hours to develop muscle memory, dexterity (car control, track knowledge), etc. it doesn't matter if it's guitar playing or sim racing, it is essential to find out what "type of learner" you are to maximize your gain/time. i for example learn best in short practise sessions of about 15mins. first, i play the guitar faster than i can/ overdrive the car, analyse the areas where i'm lacking, then continue at a pace that i am comfortable with, but which is slightly lower than my maximum speed without errors, forcing myself not to go faster. that way i can consciously work on the areas that need improvement. after that routine i stop and do something completely different, let everything settle and come back a couple hours later and repeat. during that time the newly learned stuff has been processed subconsciously and i observe improvements.

[@lewisgordon2473]

+1 on every student is different. When learning piano I really struggled Bk I got sick of the material I was supposed to play long b4 I got close to learning it. What worked for me was learning LOTS of easier material that required a variety of techniques. This increased my nessasary practice time by 6Xs to all my classmates. If I had kept at it & played for fun I'd probably have a much easier time learning new stuff now.

[@JayStapley]

I'm a musician too: another similarity is the feeling of being in the moment, in the zone, whatever you want to call it.

[@Smoked_Cheddar]

I remember reading in manual for an older racing game it would take about 500 laps per track to really get a handle on the track. I believe it. Granted it gets better the closer you get to 500. I certainly wouldn't do those laps all at once.

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey dude. Interesting - I guess 500 is a bit of an arbitrary number, but I certainly believe it.

[@Smoked_Cheddar]

If it means anything it came from the original Nascar Heat game in 2000, so that was for ovals. Could be more or less for Road Courses. I've done thousands of laps at watkins glen, so when i test a new car, i usually start there because I know the track.

[@ChrisHaye]

So, 1000 laps for a course that also has right turns then? ;)

[@lewisgordon2473]

Like Malcom Gladwell's 10,000 hours.

[@hamishthecat4370]

Look at that 140 likes and still no haters, totally agree with the 20 minute learning curve mate, great video.

[@ChrisHaye]

Thanks Hamish (or should that be Mr Thecat?) - much appreciated!

[@lars_2109]

Just drive. Anything. You can literally drive everything: Offline against AI, offline alone, pubs or leagues. Just drive the car/track combination you want to learn. Rewatch a good lap and look at the entry/apex/exit and see if you hit them. If not: Keep practicing. Once youve got that done do long runs. Even though you said its not effective its the way to get perfect. You just need to get a feel for everything: Car, track and setup and that comes with practice. Thats my way. But have to admit that Im a fast learning person and been doing simracing since a few years already :) But I recently joined a league with tracks I never drove before and the way mentioned above was my way to learn them.

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey Shadowoff - thanks for the comment. Good points - especially about practice needing to encompass everything. And, I guess at the end of the day, there's no substitute for seat time.

[@lars_2109]

@@ChrisHaye Well, my way is the most simple one but also the most time eating way. As you, said its not really effective but at some point - once youve got a solid basis about sim racing - its the only way to improve. If you dont want to spend so much time you can also try to learn creating setups to kind of build your way around. Its no secret that setup can make you 2 maybe even up to 3 seconds faster depending on track. I really like your videos and that you try to help other people. Always click them as soon as I see them :)

[@ChrisHaye]

Thanks man! It's fair to say that people learn in different ways. What may be efficient for me, may be totally useless for someone else.

[@lars_2109]

@@ChrisHaye Yeah, thats also true. I guess everyone needs to find his own way and also a way which he enjoys. You cant force someone to take a way he doesnt like.

[@phatbass23]

As I was learning to drive in sim games, I took every phase of the driving experience as a separate piece. I cut braking, cornering and accelerating into separate pieces and spent time doing each one alone. The way I learn tracks is, I take each section and drive it over and over until I have the braking, cornering and accelerating down before I move to the next section. Once I have all the sections, I then pay attention to complete lap times. Once I can complete 10 laps without having a conference with walls or guard rails, I go back and record 10 straight laps. I take the video from each lap and run them side by side to see my braking, accelerating and cornering times per section. I can then tell why my best sections are the best sections. I go back and work on being consistent at achieving those best sections in multiple laps. I drive using the cockpit view. The replays are invaluable. Especially on the Nurburgring. I never touch setups until I know I have completely hit my limit with cars just as they are. I don't want to change the car to fit my inability to drive properly :) It also helps me to adjust to cars that don't necessarily drive they I want them to. I have never used the racing line, traction control, ABS, braking assist, steering assist. I actually don't race much. I use the games for the driving experience. Depending on what I want to do, I will use Assetto Corsa, Assetto Corsa Competizione, rfactor2, Project Cars 2, F1 2018, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2010.

[@angryginger791]

I've found it to be a mistake to only practice alone on the track. I used to just run laps and focus on lap and sector times. I figured if I was running as fast or faster than the competition I'd be fine. Then I'd get my ass kicked in a race. The problem was that I wasn't used to racing with others. I had no experience taking alternative lines when the typical racing line was blocked, or learning to brake or turn in differently when driving in a pack since the dirty air would affect downforce. So now, I still practice alone to learn a track and put in decent qualifying laps, but I try to race against AI often to keep sharp with all the skills you don't use when alone. I also keep the AI aggression level high because, well, most guys in online races are pretty aggressive, but also because then the AI also tends to make mistakes now and then. It's important to train yourself to recognize when a mistake has been made and to know when to take advantage. I keep the AI skill level at a point where they are faster than me, but not just driving away. This makes me push harder my limits, but won't let me be rewarded for overdriving the car. One big benefit to racing AI is learning to be patient. I find that guys who don't race against AI or other people often enough make hasty moves. They're too eager to make that overtake NOW, so they force it when they have 18 of 20 laps left, instead taking a lap or two (or at least a few corners) to looking for weaknesses, set up the pass, and then choosing the right moment to execute it and make it stick.

[@Joopyter724]

I had this problem on f1 2018 where I found out if you clip the apex of turn 12 while in dirty air it would spin me while normally it un settles the car but not much more

[@jimhargreaves1526]

Chris ...if there is one thing that matches your racing skills ...it is the skill of "communicating" ...you're an ace!

[@leerigby5735]

I tend to practise on 10-20 lap runs, I focus on two things: avoiding mistakes and improving my slowest time run to run. The reason for this is because a quick lap is great and squeezing out that extra few tenths can really make the difference sometimes but pushing too hard for a few extra tenths can sometimes cost you seconds on a lap if you make a mistake... or worse... whereas if your slowest time on a 10 lap stint is 95%+ as fast as your quickest time, with no mistakes, then your race time is going to be very fast.

[@muthannacheref7802]

I dont get wat u mean by slowest time run.. elaborate plz?

[@burdineestep4224]

As a previous driving/racing instructor, your spot on. In sim. I learn the most difficult corner first. I take the GILLES Villeneuve approach throw it " off" spin till you find the limit.then I start to string them together for the correct line = entry / exit- entry / exit. Build the laps by building the laps. Was J.P.M.' s Skip Barber Dodge instructor.

[@ChrisHaye]

Thanks for the insight man! Concentrating on the most difficult corner first is something I've heard a few people mention - either that or the most important corner (time-wise). I have to say, J.P.M is a bit of a hero of mine - though I know very little about his career pre-F3000. Was he quick right out of the box?

[@TheKwod]

I was one of the fastest GTR Evo drivers back in 2011, I got there by accident, ie, I spent 3-4weeks driving 6-8hrs a day, and even though I was using my horrid DFGT pedals, I could drift the F1 mod downhill!! I then played Skyrim for 400hrs and had no time for racing, but after Skyrim I went back and couldn't get any closer than 2seconds off my previously fast times, IOW, if one does a whole bunch of practice over the course of 2-4weeks at approx 6hrs per day, they develop incredible fidelity in the steering but obviously also the brake and throttle. How many people even know this....?

[@lewisgordon2473]

I'm no pro but I'd say the most valuable turn, which may be the most difficult, but could also be the highest speed turn or leading to a long streightaway. For me it's the esses at COTA.

[@39KHall]

Current practice plan (GPL SC mod): Keep my T-70 right side up and pointed the right way through the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca, which means coming up the rise at a good clip yet getting down to first gear without totally crawling into the Corkscrew. Interesting balancing act.

[@Jessiejam-44]

I like to go through a couple of progression. Car Views: Chase View to roof cam ( really dial in Your entry exit points ) and last bumper can... Tries I start with the hardest compound working to softest to understand the differences in lap times... slowly building to lower lap times. Time to Race!

[@johntaylor2971]

Being a guitar player myself I believe in a constant „learning by playing“ concept which helped me to settle the things I know combined with new elements added frequently. In racing termes: Right now I‘m trying to improve my pedalwork and try to achieve results while driving long stints so that I can settle the feeling of smooth braking/ accelerating changes. It might not be as effective as your method but it works good for me. So far. Thanks for your video, I‘ll definitely give your method a try! One never knows....😃 Regards John

[@kanaziras]

So a fellow musician and a sim racer :))) I am a musician (playing guitar and all string based instruments + composing, mixing, editing) for a 20sh years, and a sim-racer for 20sh days HAHAHA!!! And to all my friends I was telling how I was amazed that playing guitar (as my main instrument) was so similar as to sim-racing. It takes time to learn track basics and car basics ant then hour by hour, day by day you master them untill you are the master!

[@AidanMillward]

Like you and Ted, I'm also a musician, but I fall into the trap time and time again that I do when playing the guitar. I start out by practicing where I go over a song I'm learning or something, then I go off track really quickly and start shredding over stuff. Similarly in sim racing, I'll start by doing a race stint to work on consistency but then it degrades into a hotlap session where after six laps the inevitable happens and I stack it and give up.

[@dergrunepunkt]

Love this video, one idea I would add, or make it more clear is "Only perfect practice makes you perfect", if you plan on improving just by doing laps you're lost, you will only laser-etch the mistakes into your brain and muscles, repeating those mistakes with Swiss perfection.

[@sd70m2man]

A guide on how to set up your car in assetto corsa would help a ton, especially changing your set up based on how your car is performing for example if you’re struggling with lift off over steer and oversteer on braking.

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey sd70m2man - Funny you should mention that, I'm working on something at the moment, but it's tuned into something pretty big, so there's probably still a couple of weeks worth of work to put in. Keep your eyes peeled!

[@ApeStep]

Yes, that would be fantastic.

[@MrTimdtoolman1]

You offered some very good practice tips and as a fledgling sim racer I listened closely. I find it more enjoyable to 'practice" with other cars on the track and not doing laps by myself so I have been doing races on the track I am learning with other cars. I do like to go back and watch replays to see how I am making apexes and what line I am taking and try and make a mental note for the next practice. Thanks for the great video and keep them coming.

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey dude. I think there's something to be said for practising around other cars - totally agree. If I recall correctly GamerMuscle did a video about learning tracks a while back that basically said, spend a bunch of laps learning which way the corners go, then jump into some offline races to learn it properly! It's good advice I think, stops you getting bored., and gets you practising racecraft at the same time.

[@MrTimdtoolman1]

LOL! It's funny that you mention Gammer muscle's video because now that you mention it that's where I got the idea almost a year ago now. When I got my sim rig I watched tons of YT vids to try and obtain as much info as possible on how to learn because I was so surprised at how difficult driving a car in AC was at first since I have done a lot of arcade type racing games over the yers but nothing like AC. The first week or so I was thinking "this is way harder than I expected it would be." It is really rewarding to get to the point in a particular car and track where I can start being competitive against the AI. I start with the AI difficulty turned way down and once I get to the point where I am faster than the AI I turn the difficulty up a notch and start the process over again and tweak the car setup along the way as I get a good idea from driving a lot of laps where the car needs improvements in handling on the track I'm running at the time. Thank you for your positive influence on sim racing.

[@Jason558]

For something like Iracing, I tend to see what lap records are beforehand, or what good average lap times are and use that as an ultimate goal. I'll go into practice for maybe an hour each time? something like that. When I'm at a point where I can't learn much more from a solo/group practice session I'll go into a race and I tend to drop my lap times quite a bit there just because other people help me push myself. When I first purchased Assetto Corsa, I'd do the Nurburgring track days every day. I'd start out with like a gt86 or an old DTM car and once i got the hang on the track, I'd move up to GT cars. Now i only really use the GT cars on the track day servers and I'm down to a 6:19 on the tourist layout. It's very ad hoc, but I think you sometimes need to just jump in, even when the unknown variables scare you.

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey man. Jusdging by the responses, this is a pretty common approach. I've never taken a GT86 around the Nords - what sort of lap time can it manage... I imagine that long drag up the hill takes a fair while!

[@Jason558]

I think an 8 minute lap is okay, from memory. It's a long slog on the hills and straights, but not as bad as its older AE86 cousin.

[@brentmcknight5344]

Great video again Chris. I usually just try and drive the wheels off the thing. So as you can imagine I drive until I crash and then restart until I complete a full lap without crashing.

[@brentmcknight5344]

I have started to back off a tenth or two after realising I’m over driving the car. The results have been a good surprise. I’m not only more consistent I’m also faster.

[@alexandersiebert4302]

I always try to impove my driving skills. I am not racing in racing cars but usually i drive road cars around nordschleife in assetto corsa. I try to improve my "butt-sensor" for the car and the track. To smooth out my inputs and getting faster and faster in corners where i have problems or not feel so safe to step on gas in them. Sometumes i still pump gas in corners or release the brakes and step on them again. So i try to fight my inner self currently, i try to look forward on the track and be more aware of what i do or what happens to the car.

[@MichaelDisney]

Everyone has their own way of learning things. As for a musical analogy, I'd say the way I improved at playing bass is 1) Inspiration - i.e. know whats possible. For bass it was listening to Jaco, Norman Watt-Roy, John Wilson, Daryl Jones, Dean Garcia, etc, etc. For sims it's watching Nicki Thiim. The right attitude is a very important aid to ability, so paying attention to the entire performance gives valuable insight. 2) Experimentation - i.e. try changing fingering techniques, scale patterns, leave out, add in, try different string gauges, guitar setups, sounds and effects. I guess the equivalent in sim racing is trying different car setups, lines, braking markers, brake pressures, corner approaches and hardware settings to see what changes, what works and how it all flows together. For both things, it's all about "the feel". 3) Validation. With my music it was whether it sounded good to me and others. That may create further loops of inspiration, experimentation and validation. Racing has more objective success criteria and delta feedback, although if you're doing similar hot lap times but being more consistent; that's still an improvement. The analogy remains, where playing at 100% and really going for it is riskier than playing within your means, but sometimes it really pays off - being out of your comfort zone. I'm not a fan of a very structured approach to either interest (note taking - excepting occasional tablature, warming up, time limits and mandatory high alertness are not for me), since the enjoyment comes in not thinking too hard - just doing and being in the moment. Otherwise it's all a bit of a chore. Learning a craft is such a personal experience that it would be hard establish a best practice for all. Thanks on a thought-provoking video.

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey Mike - thanks. This is a very interesting comment. And, I think you do highlight where the music analogy falls down, in the sense that ultimately art is subjective, while success in sport is, by default, measurable. When it comes to instruments that I've been playing for a long time, like guitar/bass - then my practice is far less structured, and generally geared towards composition - because, playing my own stuff is more rewarding than imitating someone elses! But when it comes to new instruments (drums... oh god, drums!) I feel like I have to have a plan. Maybe when I've got my 10,000 hours in Assetto Corsa, I'll feel less need for structure!

[@MiaReiFilms]

I wouldn't say I'm really very good at coming up with practice plans and sticking to them, but what I can say is that for me I've found that most my improvement comes from subconscious digestion of long practice sessions. Typically what I'll do is I'll practice long and hard for about 4-5 days, then I'll take another 4-5 days to decompress, and the next time I pick up my wheel I typically find I'm quite a bit closer to where I want to be at in terms of pace. I think for me and people that learn things the way I do, the best way, once you know all the pieces of the puzzle like smoothness, efficient braking, carrying your momentum, etc is to let your subconscious do most of it for you. Breaks are good, as long as they're not too long.

[@The_Bag__]

I think this is more aimed at a more experienced racer. Tips for any inexperienced drivers would be practice practice practice. On the same track, weather and car set up combo until they can hit consistent lap times. You make some very valid points. Watching vids of yourself is a great tool. The only reason i post my races on here is to do just that + also compare to others who are faster. I've learnt a lot from this. I've always said to myself to make notes but never do.

[@ChrisHaye]

Thanks for the comment. And, I think that you make a good point. When someone is still learning the basics, then making detailed notes about how to shave off 1/10 through turn 4 is pretty low on their priority list!

[@Dogfencepa]

Interesting thoughts never really thought about it as practicing or improving my craft more went into it as just trying to have fun but it gets frustrating when you're not getting better. I'm definitely going to take these suggestions and create a practice schedule thank you for this.

[@lewisgordon2473]

Fun is important to not forget. I hate just doing laps so I'll make a goal of what to work on then do that against the AI (or my ghost) in a offline race first.

[@Machielcraft]

although I am very late to this video I will be listing my practice "program" that helped me to some online race wins. I started out as a casual gamer how used to rely on the onscreen dynamic racing line a lot. what helped me to learn tracks is stringing corners. I start a few rather slow reconnaissance laps and then try and get up to speed. first t1 pushing it then to t2 and so on. eventually, you know the whole circuit and you have systematically build-up your pace and understanding. usually, I do take long stints but I also take some time off to rest and take in the info I just got and process it before doing it all again. I tent to give myself feedback along the way and just be like o could improve on this corner ill do it next lap until I am satisfied and I do see that I eventually end up somewhere where I am unable to improve. I think your method of taking in other perspectives is a really good way to see what you do and I am planning to adopt this into my strategy to help and breakthrough that roof that I just hit. because there is time to be found but I just can't seem to find it.

[@Rex.ux.]

Totally agree with your method. I’m a musician as well and I was thinking about the similarity of practise racing and music. If I’m not wrong, that famous sim racer Paulo Muia is also a musician and he is magically fast. I watched him playing guitar in another video, very good player too.

[@VinReho]

I mostly practice carefree. But I do it so that I keep constantly thinking what I did wrong in that turn and what went good. Then the next lap I try to do it better. This keeps me focused on the driving and my mind does not wonder to other things. Thia helped me improve my laptimes a lot. I also do a lot of research. I read forums and watch video and other guides on car control, race craft, racing lines. Basically everything racing related. Even real life cockpit footage can be helpful when trying to understand racinglines. I'm not much at all into setups (expect changing tyres and fuel) because I believe that there is still a lot for me to learn from just handling the car better. Though lately I've been more and more into trying out different setups. Just not making my own ones yet.

[@thewelsho]

Practice, as you say, is essential to learning any skill or complex task. However, going out and driving lap after lap won't necessarily improve anyone. Practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent. If we are practising with the same, unchecked errors, these errors will become ingrained and in the end will be detrimental to performance. Therefore, one must practice good things, targeted practice on a single thing until it becomes ingrained. The trouble with SIM racing is that its impossible to practice the entry and exit to a single turn, sadly. If I mess up turn 7 I have to wait the whole lap to try and rectify that and if I get it right, I have to wait the whole lap to repeat it! It would be nice if SIM titles (iRacing for me) would allow drivers to repeat the same corner over and over until its perfected. "Bounce" by Matthew Sayed is a fantastic read that deals with the importance of practice and practising the right things. But, like you say, there are no night classes for SIM racing... yet! So, to that end, I think we have to mine great content online, like the stuff you produce. Its informative, bite-sized and achievable. Keep up the good work. I have only discovered your set-up guides, maybe you should do driving lessons! Anyway, I'm brand new to all this and finding it really tough. Going to tracks, learning as quickly as I can to allow me to compete in races is tough and I find that I am 4 seconds of the pace of the best guys. I don't think the next level is achievable for me unless someone looks at my laps and advises me. Where do I go for that though? GREAT content, keep it up!

[@zerobandwidth]

I am by no means great, or even good, at a lot of tracks, but I've developed some habits that have been helpful. First step is to just learn the track, specifically memorizing the sequence of corners, get a general feel for what gear you need to be in through each one. Then go back and start looking for braking point landmarks - billboards, bridges, pavement changes, and (yes, though it may brand me a "noob", even though this is exactly what it's for) transitions in the "racing line" marker rendered by the game. Only then do I even try to figure out what "race pace" is through each corner. I slowly ramp up speed lap after lap, braking obviously-early to start, then pushing closer and closer until I find myself sliding through the limits. I do this *one corner at a time* so that I don't get overwhelmed or ruin the whole lap spinning all over the place. Once I get my times to a decent pace, I try to ensure that I'm consistent - five laps in a row within the same second. Finally, I'll either join an online race, or set one up myself, to compare my times to others. When I encounter someone who is significantly faster - and I never have to wait long for that discovery - I'll try to follow them along, but I'll also save the session replay, and watch it from the faster person's perspective. Are they braking later? Are they hitting the gas earlier? Are they taking a different line? Might their setup be radically different? I'll take those lessons back offline, make adjustments, and start all over with the repetitions, armed with more experience and new things to try. I don't know when I'll be any good at this hobby, but I'm better than I was, and it's been fun in the attempt. :D

[@jamesmiddleton8335]

I believe that musicians pick up skills way quicker than other people, as a musician myself I like to try to pick up different skills quickly, music really teaches you what practise does and I believe it gives you the motivation to keep going, with the multitude of instruments I have learnt over the years of playing gigs and recording, I usually find that if I can't do something, a few hours of practise, 8 hours of sleep and then an hour of practise gives me the ability to do it, in the rare case it doesn't, just leaving it a month and trying again usually does it, you naturally get better overall at your skill of choice just by doing it even if you are not focused on particularly practising it. You need to find the balance between deliberate practise on your skill and enjoying having your skill, that balance is what will elevate your skill the most.

[@serugiran1992v2]

In my case, one thing that helps me a lot to improve my pace is by watching the onboard camera of fast drivers. Analysing throttle, braking points and techniques, shifting, etc.

[@bricebach2885]

Great video! I am a professional musician who recently started sim racing as a side hobby. I took to it naturally as the practice between my trumpet and the sim rig are virtually identical in process. You can improve for a while by just driving around, but methodical practice, followed by rest, seems to be the key to great improvements day to day. Just as I single out a passage of music I might be struggling with and work through it slowly, I will drive the track with one single corner in mind that I suck at until that corner is consistent every time and then move into the next project. Also just as with music, consistency is the key to success. It doesn’t matter if you can play something in practice once if you can’t go out on stage and nail it every time. Likewise, it doesn’t matter if you can set a blistering hot lap pace once if you can’t put 50 laps together without flying off the track!

[@speedtaperacer8108]

I may do a video on this myself as I have a very unique and effective way of practicing.

[@simonoregan4744]

Practice doesnt make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfection. Its about knowing what to do. Constantly reviewing what you need to do and not taking anything for granted. And then using strong attention & intention to make sure that you implement it. The rest is repetition and time.

[@goodie2shoes874]

I'm a total noob. I don't know any tracks and I play forza with a pad. I usually hop into time trials for a track I don't know, drive a few super slow laps, then try to chase the ghosts that are just a bit faster than me. Sometime I'll learn from the ghost, sometimes I'll teach myself through trial and error. I'm not worried about improving quickly, I'm just worried about consistently improving. I think it's important to know your skill level and your capabilities so you don't disappoint yourself.

[@BrettsGarage]

I like the idea of keeping practice notes. For me, I do a couple 'fun' laps to start. Something to loosen up a little, maybe a couple of fish tails to get a feel for the back end, etc. ya know, get a feel of whats going on, then get to business.

[@DenverLapse]

I've been using assetto corsa (only) since it came out, 2014. Cheap wheel/pedals, no online racing, mostly hotlaps. I'm pretty diverse in what I drive, from goodwood revival cars to modern formulas. But when there's going to be a race on tv in 2 weeks (such as the next F1 or other series race), I like to hotlap it in AC, it makes watching the real race more interesting, I'm totally familiar with the circuit by then. For that kind of practice, especially at a track that is new to me, I do the following: Find racing-line guide videos for the circuit; Nico Rosberg has a terrific series on "how to master the... circuit". I also watch several real on-board vids of that track. I avoid using the in-game ai help line, I want to learn track-side points of the track, not a green or red line. I usually start with a much slower car than the one I'll end up with, and slowly do laps, trying to mimic the line and breaking points from the videos. Eventually I'm in the final car, and begin adjusting setups, using several assetto corsa apps and guides, all of which help the car do what I want it to. I don't use TC and ABS...feels like cheating instead of driving. I've also learned trail braking, adjusting brake bias in lap, detecting any under or oversteer, and how to fix/improve it. When I do practice laps, I aim for smoothness, accuracy, and consistency - not blazing speed by overcontrolling. I avoid jabbing at the controls arcade style. I know I'm doing better when my lap times tumble, getting closer to real-life lap times. After around 20 setup laps and 20 practice laps, my times are at the game's 98% or higher. There is a fatigue point, but, it becomes kind of meditative too. Sometimes I'll do a race with the computer cars set at 100%, keeping up and passing them is good feedback. Passing all of them = my line and setup are nice. By the time I watch the real race on tv, I can really relate to what's going on, love the onboards, still picking up helpful details. After the real race on tv, I'm off to another sim track, trying to find the kinds of cars that really race on it.

[@damiengg7073]

This video is way too good and you can apply everything you said for so many games. Great content man!

[@arissocratous1768]

I certainly found this video very useful especially for online races and although I started playing racing games like gran turismo 3 back in 2008 I still need to learn more everyday

[@RubberStig]

Another interesting video Chris! I am also a musician, and I agree practice is imperative to improvement, and becoming consistent as a musician and a driver. As a musician, my practice sessions are much less structured than they used to be - I no longer perform publicly (after 30+ years of doing so), and so for me, I've learned all of the guitar techniques I'm interested in knowing - as such, I learn mostly music theory, and my practice is more about feeling out how those theories sound, and how to enjoy getting the most out of them. I've always been someone who has felt that my music is an intimate expression of a feeling portrayed though my instrument. I guess what I am getting at is that these days, my musical practice is not structured very stringently, because for me, it's about enjoyment more than improvement - or at least - there is no timetable on the improvement - the learning process itself must also be enjoyable and rewarding. The same final point is also true of my simracing. Although I am a very competitive person by nature, I do not compete in simracing events very often. I do not actually simrace as often as I would like, let alone compete, so once again, enjoying my drive time is paramount. My practice regime is therefore suitably ... relaxed.

[@hectorcsg4624]

I agree with what you said. But what frustrates me is to get to race day and get wrecked in the first turn and see all the time I spend training for that.an other thing I need to practice is self control and don’t screw it up for feeling the pressure of the guy behind me and over cook corners. This maybe the reason why I feel I kind of enjoy more doing rally. Me,the time, and the stage and that set (do you rally at all) keep up with the good videos thanks

[@levi6859]

The more I play GT sport the more I get into it. I find myself wanting to play more and more. I'm still not at the point where I want a wheel but it coold happen. As a vocalist and photographer I can get behind Practicing your craft. I'll definitely be taking some times to develop a solid practice routine. Thanks for the video and idea.

[@WeTheScourge]

I like skip barber in iracing a lot so setup is not an issue, but what i do is 1. Learn the track. 2. Do 20 clean laps 3. Use breakpoints from your best lap, polish and practise untill you're fast, reliabe and consistant. 4. Once you are consistant, look at youtube / other drivers that are faster than you in practise sessions, see if they take better lines than you. It may sound stupidly simple, but for me this has worked out in several cars where i have the setup already and mainly skip barber which provides the best racing in iracing :p I drive on avg maximum one week per month, so on avg 1 week on, 3 weeks off. Still, using this method of practise i was able to get over 4k IR and top 5 in top splits consistantly in less than 2 months with no road racing expirience in sims or real life at all By the way. If anyone knows about a video that explains how to create setups for gt3 cars in Iracing, i'd love to watch it. Setups is the main reason i'm still doing skippy, and iracing has so many options, so watching a setup video from other games makes it confusing.

[@jazbuntu8170]

I had no idea you were a musician too . I tend to apply the repetition tactic to my practice whatever the discipline , like martial arts or music , start by doing slow reps to make sure you're doing it right and then progressivley get quicker , it may not be the fastest way to learn but it's kinda working for me :)

[@MrNiceKnife]

One thing I like about GT Sport is there is a track experience portion that guides you through sections in the tracks and challenges you to get gold for each section then the entire track. Wish more games did this.

[@andrewandrew3713]

I tend to regulate intensity between full on racing and cruises with some pulls, and with that i can keep going near a day if im really enjoying myself

[@Aro3o6]

im back after not watching for a long time, 3k already? nice - your 18th subscriber

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey dude - the lack of 'firsts' has been noticeable! And yeah, it's going pretty well. Thanks for sticking about man!

[@Tom_Swiss]

Asa musician myself i can relate. Thank you for the great input.

[@TomBoi]

My process is completely different, because even though I love road racing, my heart is in dirt track racing with sprint cars, so the process for that is a little different. My first step in practicing a new car/track is try to take the most optimal line, and then after that run other lines. In dirt racing (for those who don't know) during a race the track will wear out, and the more run-in a line on the track gets, the slicker it gets, so you are constantly finding traction every lap, so practicing multiple lines is important. Most often, from my experience, the fastest line on a tacky track (0%-15%) seems to be the middle somewhere, depends on the track. I tend to run that first as its the fastest line around the track, getting a feel for how much turn-in I need along with brake and throttle. Most of the other lines are just slightly modified from that. Once I run the middle long enough, I will tackle the bottom of the track. If I ran enough laps on the optimal line, that line will have burned in a little bit, which will give me a good indication on whether or not I'm hitting my marks. I visualize the RR tire on my car and think about where it's at on the track. Then, once I got a good feel for the bottom, it's time to ride the cushion, also known as the top of the track. I try to be a little reserved, but I want to go as fast as possible, and as wide out as possible, as I want to keep my momentum up to make up for running the top. The more times you ride the cushion, the more you push it up towards the wall, revealing more of the good traction underneath. The next step is to try and run within traffic, to not only learn what lines will work for passing but also to simulate the track deterioration at a faster rate. I hop in an open practice session. Run the same lines as before, and as the track changes, adjust. I don't try to go for lap times, as the fastest your car will be is the first 5 laps, then the times will fall off, so I just judge off of other relative people. This is kind of my method for learning new dirt tracks, and it's worked out. During all of this, take notes of the banking, track width, and how tight the corners are. The Turn 4 wall at Kokomo catches me off guard so much because you have to run the wall for the fastest times, as most of the track is flat except for the outer 1/3rd of the track where the banking is at.

[@jamiedh3036]

Another thought provoking video, Chris, thanks! I am convinced that I can get more from my practice. I tend to throw a few laps in either hotlap mode or just go into an AI race (believing it will help with racecraft - fool!). I am starting to use the replays and they are helping. Apart from that it seems to be a case of beating the clock. Which without a plan seems a reckless way to go about it. Setups I use, either my own or someone else's. Perhaps more a comment about training than practice: I don't believe I have great technique. So I look to KZbin for pointers. There is a lot of good material but it's difficult to appreciate and apply. One channel I have been watching for a while is Driver 61. This is a real life racing tutorial channel that can be easily transferred to sim racing. Scott's approach has helped me enormously. My weakness is not carrying enough speed through the corners. This is, I would suggest, a next level skill following the basics. I'm not there yet and still need practice. Regarding practice I need to work out how to measure progress as lap times (although an ultimate measure) are perhaps not fully helpful when trying to master technique. I am working on the basis that if I can save 0.1 sec per corner my lap times will fall dramatically. I think I could use exit speed, or perhaps speed at return to full throttle to measure progress. My concern is that I need to consider a metric that also accounts for entry speed as well otherwise exit speed can be too variable. I believe I complicate matters, what do you think?

[@DuxDrive]

Another great video Chris! I think testing differs slightly. As someone who won a championship with fixed setup and equal cars as well as equal equipment compared to the other competitors, testing more and driving one particular simulation at the time is very important so you can get feeling of the car at the limit. I remember driving an F1 Championship in 2013 and being called by a friend to do one Formula 3 race as part of one Balkan Cup race at the time (all in rFactor). We tested frequently for it , up to a point I almost lost my feeling to F1. Not to say I forgot to drive it, but considering I lost 5-6 poles because I was slower by +0.004, sometimes +0.045 and another time +0.056 - now I was struggling to get within +0.500 after the F3 practices. And that was solely to the brain memory. Probably we were developed so high in the F1 championship up to that point that such tiny margins had big impact. So it was super important to be in the right place. And I am sure that is important for every other category of sim racing or be it anything else in life really. You cannot be the best in everything, but if you dedicate to one thing - eventually you can do very good job and stand out than most of the people. For example driving the majority of the time F1 cars, I see that I don't do so well in GT cars as I usually know I can, or drive FWD car as good as I can RWD. Anyway....so since we had to pay to test in this championship, because we were all driving from one sim-center, we all tested around 5 to 6 hours before a race and organizating those hours was very important. Knowingly I have limited time I always started testing with full fuel and went on from there because race after all is important and where you score points. Race trim & qual lap are two different things and very often the setup won't work in both situations. I also learned at the time how much for example only one setup setting change such as the engine map brake is important and can make difference of half a second. In rF1 and that mod of F1, putting engine map brake from 1/5 to 1 which meant abrupt engine braking, that wouldn't work in the race trim but would might in qualifying. Car is heavy in the race, and you dont want to disturb the car. You have to be smooth. All in all having the car on full fuel and driving it until tyres completely fall apart almost always did me favor. In that way I could know what the worst situation scenario is and If I could handle that thing, I could then do anything with the car. So after those laps with default setup usually I would make slightly modification to the aero/wings and after same amount of laps, compare both stints both laptimes and tyre wear and go on from there in building first and foremost a setup that would work best in terms of race. For one qualifying lap for me at least it was always good to go out and take risks as much as possible during that one lap, so you build up a memory and how the car behaves at certain points, that way always whenever I had to deliver in final minutes I was able to pull it through. So the same would go for the setup, take risks, push for aggressive stuff, see if one thing works or not. Eventually and slowly you will start to get to the middle of the thing and the golden middle - and thats what you need to win races. Balanced car that would work both in qual and race.

[@StevenWatters]

I actually practice using testing sessions on NASCAR Heat 5, and time trials on Gran Turismo 7 with my cheap sim racing setup (Basically a Thrustmaster T80 clamped onto a desk). It helps me memorize the track from turning to braking zones, it's going to be better performance down the line when I go into the actual race. As right now, I am going into Bristol and WWT Raceway (AKA Gateway). The track is where your mindset needs to be, you may not win the race but practice is the key to the race. Think of racing as school, practice is homework. But, the actual race is the real test. You have to memorize where your braking points and your turning points are. Shift up and down is necessary, when you're shifting... You need to hear the engine. Other than that, enjoyed the video. Keep up the wonderful work!

[@lovelaugh7299]

This video is about simracing not need for speed

[@Dutchsimracingteam]

Hi Great video. A few tips are very use full that I can use on my new SROL Indy car League on project cars 2. Racing against a few of the best on there. Race pace is critical. You don`t have to be the fastest but you have to consistent. And what I learned before entering the race, always have a plan B. My race was planned on 2 stops so I would win time back, but it back fired due to the push to pass. I needed to make a splash and dash, and I didn`t have it setup. So that would be my tip for all follow racers. Thnx for this video !!

[@tonkinesenchill4240]

I've really enjoyed comparing how my (admittedly cheap) sim setup feels by comparison to real life. For example I had some drift tuition in a real car and since then I can drift in game far better than I could before because I knew alot more about starting angles, revs, clutch kicking and left foot braking. I think doing what you do in game, in real life (where possible) can be very helpful

[@deontv100]

Short and sweet! I’m going to watch this before I start practicing next time.

[@chrisfraser2517]

First I learn to car track combo. Then I figure out fuel per lap and race distance so I can build a race setup. Depending on how I go here I will make roll bar and other balance changes. Next comes tweaking driving style looking for ways to be faster through corners or sections I struggle with. Lastly I make other less common set up changes to things like dampners if required. I might also try and do a race stint to see how the car evolves as tyres wear and fuel comes out. Would usually conduct all of the above over a couple of two hour sessions that aren't on race day.

[@AmazingDentist]

Your voice is so calming bro

[@michaelphillips1095]

I like to do an out lap and then really go for a couple of on limit and even over the limit laps. Really push hard and see where my limits and misconceptions are. Then i do a couple of gentle laps to do a smoother and more reliable pace, them i aim to push back towards the limits i found and try to get a fast but consistant pace. Im pretty new to this world but i definitely see that pointless and aimless practice gets me knowhere. The key for me is whatever the focus, be focused. Just aimlessly practicing for practice sake is a complete waste of time, and actually can be a negative forming bad habits!

[@Jaywithacamera]

how do you still not have 100k subs you really deserve it

[@zaidtech95]

I'm new to sim racing and i have to say that your content is really helpful, keep up the great work. I'm planning to get the logitech g29 cuz the gamepad is really hard to learn with. Love and respect from Iraq

[@Mtw1manreacts]

1. consistently putting in lap time's in that are about +-200. 2. watching the replay/recording. 3. I Don't watch hot laps/lap record's 4. Improving the basics. 5. watch people who are better while they are racing not Q 6. I don't do hot lapping 7. I use my own setups 8. i focus on my own race not other driver's 9. i tend to focus on what am i feeling with the wheel not the car 10. I learn by pushing the car limits. above it? i'd change my line. not the way i take the line .

[@jgbalves]

I take words from viperConcept: First of: Practicing for what? Race a specific GP? So train RACING. Learn just the basics of the track and go for 2 races of 20min with AI already.Keep increasing their difficulty. AFTER learning a lot of the track, where you can brake later and such, then you go for qualifying. Which is the hardest part and you need to be perfect and ICE COLD. Of course I'm incredibly mediocre but this works for me. 75% of the race you do behind, side by side, of defending against somebody. In just few moments you are dropping clean laps. Lot of my friends can lap 1sec faster but I win here and there cuz I don't spin, crash and mostly cuz my heart don't race when I put side by side, since I've done this a lot during practice sessions. My motto is: Track time beats lap time.

[@karwannouri8266]

My issue is that I can't overtake properly in online races. I'm very passive when cars are alongside eachother so I don't cause a crash, but this in turn makes it so that it's difficult to overtake. I also have thought about how to practice overtaking on the inside line. I don't know if doing solo and just practicing braking points is a good idea. Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend that was also in to sim racing and could help you out :D

[@yurimolotov5886]

I improve trough watching videos like these. Thanks this is good advice

[@ZeroTheHeroGOAT]

Practice? You mean starting a season, accept that you're forming the back of the line until you improve? That's enjoyment!

[@Fidelis94]

I'm fairly new to sim racing, but after 500 hours in Assetto Corsa I think it all boils down to doing a lot of racing with actual real people, not even with the AI, because that varies from game to game. Racing with real people teaches you to have a steady race pace even in the middle of fights. And as you mentioned, taking lots of notes on your setups or driving style can really help finetune everything. And most of all, you should try and participate in longer races, like 20-30 minute races, instead of a sprint 5 lap race.

[@lewisgordon2473]

I think there are 2 categories one might fit into. 1. Only race single player against AI. 2. Race online against other real people. *** 1. I primarily race against the AI so I take a more casual approach. I usually race cars in the same category in a relatively small list of tracks ~10. I find just doing laps incredibly boring, so I often won't practice at all. If it is a combo I haven't done in awhile I'll do a few laps in a slower car or w/ more of the driver aids on, sometimes a full practice race w/ the AI that way. 2.1 If someone is doing a race online IMO you should always do, say at least 10 laps of practice beforehand. There are some exceptions, again if running a familiar car & track this is less important, but it's harder to run fast safely so you don't ruin your race and someone else's. 2.2 Since i hate just doing laps, If I were iRacing, I'd prob do a ghost race first (or against a single car, mine or another to improve consistency)

[@channelvr1293]

honestly.... being self employed with 2 companies and having 3 dogs and a garden the size of 3 football fields that doesn't leave much time to go and analyze my simracing....so i watch youtube (like your channel) and do a lot of ghost drives so i can actually see myself driving while i'm trying to beat myself...LOL that's about it really.

[@alancestors]

The late great Ronnie Peterson used to get hopelessly lost trying setups during practice he would then tell the engineer just set the car the same as my teammate, and usually then thrash everybody!

[@canadiankrispybacon]

I try to take the SpeedSkater approach. Technique. Hockey skaters and speed skaters both skate fast but not only use different equipment they use different techniques to achieve speed for different reasons...eventually though no matter how much power you have the speed skaters will go faster, much faster. When we skate in public, as novice, for pleasure, we for the most part skate like hockey skaters, maybe without the intensity but the technique is similar. However, speed skaters, they’re very fast, yes the equipment is different and helps but it’s technique that makes them go fast. The ability of learning, having the discipline to force yourself to skate using a technique that quite frankly feels very unnatural, is proven if followed to make you go faster. As mentioned it feels awkward, unnatural, and you will think, feel like you’re going slower at first, but slowly you will get faster and faster, with less energy and effort, building consistency. Learning the course, practicing technique, even if it means going slower, will pay off in the end.

[@doabrad1850]

Great video and great points. Although I'm only a Forza player, these tips are still applicable on a smaller scale. I would love to get a "true" SIM, but unfortunately don't have the funds to do so. So, I'm making due with Forza.

[@memesenpai4556]

I just practice by just doing laps around a track to help me be consistent and find better braking points

[@esef90]

I usually do practice like this, i go in Dirt Rally 2.0 free play on dirtfish track and do a course, try to force slides and controll the car and then i try drifting trough gaps.

[@ChicknNudleSoup]

Practice with a new car by pushing the car way too hard at all times :) Basically wreck the car, then analyze what in your driving/approach caused the crash and then avoid doing that ever again! 😅

[@ChrisHaye]

If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough!

[@carlosfandango2419]

Practice, for one individual sim? Iracing for instance? For me simracing time was given to the sim that felt the most real, imho. I fine tuned that to the particular car I wanted to be at one with. If you feel a particular car in a certain sim is 'how something should handle' then you are onto something. It is this fine tuning that gives you the feeling that your time is not wasted. This combination of sim/car/circuit is the Holy Grail of your time when it comes to investment of your time and effort. This is an individual thing with regards all these factors, I would be interested in your feelings on this subject?

[@ChrisHaye]

Hi Carlos - I know what you mean. For the last year or so I've not been involved in any regular online racing, as KZbin has taken up a lot of my sim racing time - so a lot of my practice time has been dedicated to spending time in specific car/circuit combinations, purely for my own enjoyment. Slowly working on the setup of the Group C cars in Assetto Corsa, for example, has been a long-running project that I've really enjoyed. But, now I've committed to running in iRacing once a week, I have specific races to practice for, which dictates that I apply the small amount of time I have to be able to practice in a much more structured way. Thanks for the interesting comment Carlos.

[@mrchalk9]

Not sure if this is available on Iracing but on raceroom you 'challenge' a person on a hot lap. This will load their ghost car and racing line. This helps me as I can see how they took a certain corner and where I'm really loosing time compared to the fastest person on that particular track

[@thanatosor]

I didn't know iRacing could have this good cinematic camera on replay :D

[@eduardofreitas8336]

I just like to have a race in mind, like a league or SRS race, and practice for it hotlapping, with some metodology involved but sometimes just relaxing and getting confortable with the track, until I feel I know it the best I can in my level,. Then I race, and start again =D

[@Flyman891]

I just started sin racing this week after lots of time playing games like need for speed. I pratice about 30-1 hour then take a break unless I'm feeling good and I think I got the flow down of the track I'm working on. I focus on consistency. I figured drive it slowly and get faster with each lap. Once I got a good flow down and understand the track better I'll add an ai car so I can see how far off pace I would be off in a race, by then I just need to focus on getting fast let, and a bit more consistent.

[@epicninjali3640]

I think AI are one of the greatest practice tools available. While they’re effectiveness can vary a little depending on the sim, practicing laps with other ai on the track will force you to learn not only the track but where to pass and what speed you can take alternative lines. I think these things are underlooked too much and even if they are slow or a little aggressive, I still feel like they’re worth including in a practice session.

[@tarksable]

I only use iracing but practice by chasing my best lap with the ghost car in front. I set it to start .3 sec in front at each lap. The laps go fast and it's like I'm in a race.

[@ChrisHaye]

Hey tarksable - I didn't realise you could do that... that sounds like a great method. Psychologically speaking, I know I'm always a bit faster when I'm chasing than when I'm driving on my own.

[@myGamebox47]

I've gotten better as the years went by, I'm getting the new load cell pedal for I have the new Fanatec CSL pedals

[@vitaliistepin8966]

Thank you for this video, really intresting ideas

[@TheBoostedDoge]

Usually I just go all out in the first couple of laps then adjust the pace and try different braking points until I get consistent times.

[@1xRacer]

If you're not using telemetry data with video you're wasting your time. Well maybe not quite but it's such a powerful tool. Also practicing for qualifying is very different than practicing for a race, this has been very important for me as I am much faster over one lap than in a race.

[@ChrisHaye]

That's a very good point Mymultisportlife - though, some sims are better than others in this regard it has to be said. I'm going a little off topic here, but do you have any experience with the 3rd party data logging services for iRacing?

[@1xRacer]

@@ChrisHaye yes in fact, z1 and vrs.

[@ChrisHaye]

Ah, good! I've only just started back with iRacing, and I've been looking at both options (and iSpeed). Any suggestions for the best one to start with?

[@1xRacer]

@@ChrisHaye hmm well they are both subscription based so know it will cost money either way. I think vrs is a better value as you get their track guides, set up files, and your telemetry data hosted by them. However, if you plan to use hybrid cars z1 has a custom dash ( you can set iracing to be full screen in window mode with an edit of an option file) so that might be more useful. Also z1 has overall more powerful tools to leverage than vrs and it's subscription is cheaper but you have to buy the software. Z1 can be used in pretty much every sim and even codemasters games. If you combine this with crew chief it feels much more emersive, like you really are a professional driver. I am lucky and have worked hard to have disposal income, so I use both.. If I had to choose it would be vrs... Even tho Kraigs setup shop has better setups it's all very good and vrs has amazing customer support and even online coaching. Hope this helps!

[@1xRacer]

You also might want to check out sim hub from racedepartment for dash solutions

[@micheldubuis7597]

Hello , good practice en good vidéo at Zolder.

[@vallsz]

one subject you didnt talk about is the goal of practice, as its offently for a race, pace is more important than a lap record, but with 15 restart caused by crash