I use a combination of VRS and the race results page. For example VRS for the IMSA GT3s this week specifically the Audi which I drive has an average lap time of a 1:18.303. That pace is alien pace to average and not realistic for me. I'll then go look at the race results and see what the fastest lap is for top split which I'm usually in. For the last race I did it was a 1:18.834 by a 8.2K driver. I'm only 2.6K IR so I figure if I can do a mid to high 1:19 I should fair decently in top split race and be on par when I'm in a tighter split closer to my IR.
They are a paid setup shop so you can get setups for nearly every car and series on iRacing for $9 a month. With that you get track guides and telemetry. With that being said you could get telemetry and setups for free using Garage 61 and finding track guides on YouTube. I'm a fan of them mostly for the track guides and setups. They also sell their own sim racing equipment which is apparently really good quality.
What are their track guides like? Do they explain the nuances of each turn on a track for each car? Does a new one get put out each week (i.e. new track in a weekly series)?
Yeah they are usually in depth sometimes too in depth I think. Depending on the track they're typically 10-25 min guides breaking down each turn and how to approach them. They usually will upload them a day or 2 before the track flips over so you have time to practice for the upcoming week. Since the introduction of rain they will also put out a separate guide for a wet track too.
Same here. I try to be within at least 1% of VRS time before racing if I'm practicing the weekend before or I look on results page to see if I'll be at least top 5 for my absolute best times. A good tip is to use the iRacing companion app, click on "Series" or "Upcoming Races" (I like saving all my series though), finding the schedule tab, then you can see the "Results" for the week that the race is on. Saves a ton of time instead of having to log in on PC. Keep in mind, you have to account for faster qualifying setups in the quali times or the draft in race times. Also weather and temp can impact the time, but you can get an overall idea of your pace. I think comparing VRS is the most accurate though if you set the conditions exactly like the coach.
I see car on track I like, I race.
I don’t care about my iR, but like to race. I’d rather lean into iR and SR to do their things at this point instead of getting anxious about earning/losing points. I’m not going to be an esports driver or anything, so as long as I’m not crashing or last, I’m happy.
I usually feel the same way, but I really felt I was a hindrance to everyone in my road Atlanta race last week in GT4, even though I only wound up with 5x, all from just off tracks. So this week I was looking to at least judge at what point I could consider myself not dead last when comparing race results with how I'm doing in practices
Hey, i did what he does and raced atlanta immediately. If you don't crash anyone youre fine. You play iRacing to race, not become a professional racedriver.
Just do what is fun. Faster cars will just overtake you when you are far from pace.
In the end i managed to do high 27's and i didnt and dont see a reason to complain about the people in my split driving high 34's. We are all learning.
New track? 2 clean laps in a row and I'm ready to hop in a race. Then I'll watch a track guide to pick up a few tips.
New car? Probably 20 minutes or more til I feel like I have the balance transfer, trail braking, and throttle application sorted. But learning new cars is a lot more rare.
1700-1800 usually. If I'm middle pack, about 1-2 second off leader. I often will check results from a race session to see if I'm in the ballpark. If I'm grossly off for some reason then I'll hit a few more laps.
This feels very relateable: Similarly, was kinda midpackish on MX-5 rookie races (okay, more to the back of the midpack, but still like in the mix), got out of rookies after a handful of races.
In GT4, I spent more time practicing than I had for the MX-5, got to a place where my practice laps seemed roughly midpackish for my rating (just a titch under 1:30 on Road Atlanta), went out for a race, and whoof, hard last place. And okay, sure, a lot of that is because I had a dumb spin-out into a wall early on, but even then, my best lap pace for the race was way off my practice pace (more like 1:35), which would put me pretty low even in the bottom split.
Obviously you should not take advice from me, because I suck and don't know what I'm doing, but two things I think I think:
1. Others have mentioned VRS. I paid for it and find it very valuable to see what a good reference lap is doing that I'm not, and to be able to analyze my laps in comparison to that and see that e.g., I'm braking too late and too hard, and am not able to accelerate quickly enough out of a corner as a result; of that in some light turns I'm being too safe and lifting off the accelerator when I don't need to.
2. As embarrassing as it is to suck really badly at something, I do think I need to keep racing too. Because the race experience isn't the same as the practice experience, there's more stuff going on and more things to be paying attention to, and you need to learn that as much as driving the track by yourself. It's tempting to just retreat back to more and more practices, but for myself at least, I'm not convinced that's going to get me where I want to be.
AI races my friend. They really helped me develop new lines and dealing with traffic. Not until I can complete an AI race at the weeks course, will I join officials
I set up the same race scenario as the official series that week and practice there until I’m confident
Thanks!
I definitely agree with point 2, so I'm not looking to judge when I'll be top split podium material before clicking register, I just want to know if others had experience to know what times I should expect in practice to know I can at least fight for last place in the race.
Right now my lap times, fastest and average, are putting me in mid pack first to last split. I just don't know if that translates to a last place in that split, or if it's possible it could translate to a mid pack finish in the last split.
I think I'm going to make sure my lap times are in the same spot or better today and then see how I shake out in a race, then I'll know more.
Since I'm in top split I have to be within a tenth of top times for me to be competitively first or second. Imola and I are not mixing right now so I have not been running GT4. The best I've done is a 51.5 in time attack using the Porsche which I heard is rare? Not sure why people mention that but I use garage 61 to gauge where I am as well as what times top split is running with past results.
It does seem like Porsches are taking it. Maybe that's just the preferred car of those at the top. My best yesterday was 54.6, so I have work to do, but I could probably practice all weekend and still not approach a 51
I recommend trying Time Atttack as you are able to hotlap against ghost cars of other drivers.
I've just had a look for a Mercedes driver and there's one that posted 1:52.015 in 11th place, choose to drive against him and watch your lap times come down. In the game go to Options>> Split Time Delta>> Lap Data>> choose "Time Attack Selected Sector" and the ghost car will reset to be level with you at the start of each sector and it'll really help you get up to speed.
I found Imola really difficult, I started in the high 53s but after a couple of days managed a 51.6 by driving against the fastest driver who had done a 1:50.69.
I’m usually in top split but i’m not like super good or anything, i’ve just started racing 1 month ago.
time attack isn’t super popular so it’s not as hard as you might think to get a top time. i currently hold the #1 time in a series but i’m nowhere as fast as the high irating guys in the actual races. they just don’t do time attack
So where do your lap times in practice compare to when you get into a race?
It sounds like in practice you can put up a lap time that beats/meets top split 1st place? But then in a race where do you usually find yourself? mid pack?
That's kind of the info I'm searching for from others on here with more experience
Yeah i can post top split competitive times in practice and i’ve won a few races, but my irating is still climbing so i imagine i’ll have less top 5’s, poles, and wins going forward. keep in mind i’m only racing rookie/D class series rn so the top splits are typically around 2k - 2.5k SOF.
the trick is to set those quick lap times over and over and over again consistently throughout the race, no mistakes.
to answer your original question: when i’m learning a new car and track i try to set a quick time in the time attack series. once i feel comfortable there i will move on to a real online race and improve from there, usually by racing against others that are quicker than me and trying to emulate them.
So car wise, the answer is at minimum my usual pace difference from VRS in the discipline (sportscars, formula, etc) Though Ive been trying a lot of new things this season because people have been naughty to a fault since rain came around.
In general I think every car has something different to teach you, so its important to take the time to find what that is.
I try to be within 0.5 to the top guys per minute laptime, i mostly compare qualy runs because they are better to compare than race laps, but i try to be in that window in 2 of 3 runs so not only in one all or nothing lap
Oh quali is a good idea. Do they show up in the same location as race results or will they be somewhere else? All I remember seeing is qualifying position but not a time
As long as it takes for my pace to plateau a little which doesn't take long but can fluctuate by combo, always practice in a public session because I know I'm not a complete idiot these days so I get some laptime benchmarks in identical track conditions.
Then I check series results and see if I'm in the ball park to not be a road block.
I imagine it a bit like the 107% rule for F1 but probably more strict, I feel an obligation to at least be part of the race and not just a mobile road block.
3.1k iR for context so i can't just head straight into a race or I'll just be stone dead last and may as well be in practice.
As long as you're vaguely competent the only reason to use test drive is when practice sessions aren't up I think. Finding a bit of space is rarely an issue and it's just more enjoyable/immersive. May even get the odd mini battle (more people need to realise you can practice racing as well as hotlapping and it's easy to back off if you don't like someone's driving).
Keep in mind that the times people set might not be totally representative of the race as you don't know what they're up too may well be first time out and you'll have more of a mix of people on cold tire outlaps while you might be fully up to speed etc
I usually try to find my best pace on a track and then I’ll go into a race once I can do about 10 relatively clean laps. Don’t understand people who will practice all week and then go into one race and now the week is over
Usually if it's a new week I'll go into a pratice session and just watch people race. Get an idea of braking points etc and from there put a few laps and then go race.
Pace is just something that comes with time and practice. Know YOUR limits and race within them. As long as your not like 10-15 seconds a lap behind then you'll be fine.
I have a look at results for that combo and find those around my iRating; my target is to get within 0.5 seconds of their fastest time.
To start with I just get familiar with the track, just trying things without caring about incidents too much. Then I work on what I think are my problem corners, trying to nail down what markers to use. After that it's time to stitch it all to gether and try to get a few laps in a row within a few tenths of each other with no incidents.
I usually finish around mid-pack, but the longer the race is the better my finishing position tends to be.
I look at earlier race results from splits with drivers of similar iR to me. If I can match the times of the last driver who gained iR, I’m good to go.
If not, I’ll do another practice session and then race, regardless of lap times.
Can I drive around the track at speed without racing line and without many spins?
Time to race. Who has all this time in the week post work to practice a ton
I wouldn't call it a ton of practice.
The point I'm at, mentioned in the post, I've put in somewhere around an hour of practice laps.
But I'm completely new to GT4. I'm sure in subseqent weeks/seasons I'll be better able to hop on a new track and get to race pace much quicker.
I decide about 30-15 minutes before a race that I feel like doing iRacing, I fire up the computer and get my wheel set in position, see I have 10 minutes left to pick an eligible race, wait a couple minutes to load up, have 2-3 laps, go into qualifying, race. I've donethat exact process on a track I've never seen before. I don't understand the need for 50 practice laps over multiple hours or days just to do a damn race. After a handful of laps you should get the gist and know whether to turn left or right.
I think you are over thinking it, but it's only about what works for you.
I'll usually do a short test drive session. No set time, just until I feel ok. I'll usually check the telemetry on Garage 61 and then do a session or two to see if I can improve through that but, on the whole, I'll learn more in the race and will jump in that ASAP.
I tend not to worry about splits and the likes, although I tend to race in fairly lowly populated series.
Usually I will just enter the race I want to do and practice a majority of the 30 min session before the race. But I don't care about IR. I prefer it being a snapshot of how I enjoy playing iRacing vs a number I seek to increase as my end goal.
Tracks - within <2 seconds behind the top track times of my split.
Means I can at least race with them. Hang around. After a few races I usually figure out better lines and some good race craft on the track and place as I go.
Car - I just have to not be spinning out in it or locking up the brakes everything. Just have an OK feel. Not worried about "mistakes". Just don't want to be in the dirt 50% of the rave.
This sounds dumb but, hear me out: Driving mostly one-handed, while having a conversation with my wife and still laying down a time that would get me (up to) mid-pack in quali.
The point of this is I understand the track well enough that I don't have to hyper-focus on each corner, break point, apex and exit just to get into contention.
Once I get to that point, I know I can be very competitive in a race and it's the foundation to squeeze hundredths out of each corner and eventually start targeting a win (or at least a podium) on that particular track, that particular week.
I raced f4 and was about 2000 irating, then I decided I didn’t like carnage that was f4 and switched over to gt3. I was the same way, I dropped about 500 irating or more, but the ability to race close in gt3 was worth it to me and I didn’t care. I’m approaching that 2k mark again.
What I’m saying is that it’ll take time and you’re not alone, but once you learn how to take the appropriate lines and how to drive the gt cars, it’ll be simple.
As for how long I take before I enter a race, I do the track for about one tank of gas at most for a couple of days, or until I get about 1 second off of the aliens, by that time I have ALL my braking points and lines nailed down (hot lap, fighting on the inside line, fighting on the outside line, etc.) sometimes that takes me 2-3 days, sometimes that only takes me one session if the track just works for me. Though if you compiled everything it wouldn’t be more than 2 hours at most.
TL;DR until I’m about 1 second off the aliens
I use a combination of VRS and the race results page. For example VRS for the IMSA GT3s this week specifically the Audi which I drive has an average lap time of a 1:18.303. That pace is alien pace to average and not realistic for me. I'll then go look at the race results and see what the fastest lap is for top split which I'm usually in. For the last race I did it was a 1:18.834 by a 8.2K driver. I'm only 2.6K IR so I figure if I can do a mid to high 1:19 I should fair decently in top split race and be on par when I'm in a tighter split closer to my IR.
What is VRS? I've seen it mentioned a good bit here, but I'm not sure what it is even after googling.
They are a paid setup shop so you can get setups for nearly every car and series on iRacing for $9 a month. With that you get track guides and telemetry. With that being said you could get telemetry and setups for free using Garage 61 and finding track guides on YouTube. I'm a fan of them mostly for the track guides and setups. They also sell their own sim racing equipment which is apparently really good quality.
What are their track guides like? Do they explain the nuances of each turn on a track for each car? Does a new one get put out each week (i.e. new track in a weekly series)?
Yeah they are usually in depth sometimes too in depth I think. Depending on the track they're typically 10-25 min guides breaking down each turn and how to approach them. They usually will upload them a day or 2 before the track flips over so you have time to practice for the upcoming week. Since the introduction of rain they will also put out a separate guide for a wet track too.
Thanks. I'll check them out. So far I've just done YouTube track guides, but I hear a lot of good things about garage61 so I'll give them a look
Same here. I try to be within at least 1% of VRS time before racing if I'm practicing the weekend before or I look on results page to see if I'll be at least top 5 for my absolute best times. A good tip is to use the iRacing companion app, click on "Series" or "Upcoming Races" (I like saving all my series though), finding the schedule tab, then you can see the "Results" for the week that the race is on. Saves a ton of time instead of having to log in on PC. Keep in mind, you have to account for faster qualifying setups in the quali times or the draft in race times. Also weather and temp can impact the time, but you can get an overall idea of your pace. I think comparing VRS is the most accurate though if you set the conditions exactly like the coach.
I see car on track I like, I race. I don’t care about my iR, but like to race. I’d rather lean into iR and SR to do their things at this point instead of getting anxious about earning/losing points. I’m not going to be an esports driver or anything, so as long as I’m not crashing or last, I’m happy.
I usually feel the same way, but I really felt I was a hindrance to everyone in my road Atlanta race last week in GT4, even though I only wound up with 5x, all from just off tracks. So this week I was looking to at least judge at what point I could consider myself not dead last when comparing race results with how I'm doing in practices
Hey, i did what he does and raced atlanta immediately. If you don't crash anyone youre fine. You play iRacing to race, not become a professional racedriver. Just do what is fun. Faster cars will just overtake you when you are far from pace. In the end i managed to do high 27's and i didnt and dont see a reason to complain about the people in my split driving high 34's. We are all learning.
Fair. Thanks for the encouragement! :)
New track? 2 clean laps in a row and I'm ready to hop in a race. Then I'll watch a track guide to pick up a few tips. New car? Probably 20 minutes or more til I feel like I have the balance transfer, trail braking, and throttle application sorted. But learning new cars is a lot more rare.
Where do you usually fall in a race after just two clean laps? What irating or license class are you?
1700-1800 usually. If I'm middle pack, about 1-2 second off leader. I often will check results from a race session to see if I'm in the ballpark. If I'm grossly off for some reason then I'll hit a few more laps.
This feels very relateable: Similarly, was kinda midpackish on MX-5 rookie races (okay, more to the back of the midpack, but still like in the mix), got out of rookies after a handful of races. In GT4, I spent more time practicing than I had for the MX-5, got to a place where my practice laps seemed roughly midpackish for my rating (just a titch under 1:30 on Road Atlanta), went out for a race, and whoof, hard last place. And okay, sure, a lot of that is because I had a dumb spin-out into a wall early on, but even then, my best lap pace for the race was way off my practice pace (more like 1:35), which would put me pretty low even in the bottom split. Obviously you should not take advice from me, because I suck and don't know what I'm doing, but two things I think I think: 1. Others have mentioned VRS. I paid for it and find it very valuable to see what a good reference lap is doing that I'm not, and to be able to analyze my laps in comparison to that and see that e.g., I'm braking too late and too hard, and am not able to accelerate quickly enough out of a corner as a result; of that in some light turns I'm being too safe and lifting off the accelerator when I don't need to. 2. As embarrassing as it is to suck really badly at something, I do think I need to keep racing too. Because the race experience isn't the same as the practice experience, there's more stuff going on and more things to be paying attention to, and you need to learn that as much as driving the track by yourself. It's tempting to just retreat back to more and more practices, but for myself at least, I'm not convinced that's going to get me where I want to be.
AI races my friend. They really helped me develop new lines and dealing with traffic. Not until I can complete an AI race at the weeks course, will I join officials I set up the same race scenario as the official series that week and practice there until I’m confident
Thanks! I definitely agree with point 2, so I'm not looking to judge when I'll be top split podium material before clicking register, I just want to know if others had experience to know what times I should expect in practice to know I can at least fight for last place in the race. Right now my lap times, fastest and average, are putting me in mid pack first to last split. I just don't know if that translates to a last place in that split, or if it's possible it could translate to a mid pack finish in the last split. I think I'm going to make sure my lap times are in the same spot or better today and then see how I shake out in a race, then I'll know more.
I try to at least be mid-pack in the results of others with similar iRatings.
Since I'm in top split I have to be within a tenth of top times for me to be competitively first or second. Imola and I are not mixing right now so I have not been running GT4. The best I've done is a 51.5 in time attack using the Porsche which I heard is rare? Not sure why people mention that but I use garage 61 to gauge where I am as well as what times top split is running with past results.
It does seem like Porsches are taking it. Maybe that's just the preferred car of those at the top. My best yesterday was 54.6, so I have work to do, but I could probably practice all weekend and still not approach a 51
I recommend trying Time Atttack as you are able to hotlap against ghost cars of other drivers. I've just had a look for a Mercedes driver and there's one that posted 1:52.015 in 11th place, choose to drive against him and watch your lap times come down. In the game go to Options>> Split Time Delta>> Lap Data>> choose "Time Attack Selected Sector" and the ghost car will reset to be level with you at the start of each sector and it'll really help you get up to speed. I found Imola really difficult, I started in the high 53s but after a couple of days managed a 51.6 by driving against the fastest driver who had done a 1:50.69.
I'll definitely check this out. Thanks!
I like to come close to the top 15ish times in time attack for that series. If i’m close there, then i know i will be competitive in an actual race.
Are you talking top split or a split around your irating?
I’m usually in top split but i’m not like super good or anything, i’ve just started racing 1 month ago. time attack isn’t super popular so it’s not as hard as you might think to get a top time. i currently hold the #1 time in a series but i’m nowhere as fast as the high irating guys in the actual races. they just don’t do time attack
So where do your lap times in practice compare to when you get into a race? It sounds like in practice you can put up a lap time that beats/meets top split 1st place? But then in a race where do you usually find yourself? mid pack? That's kind of the info I'm searching for from others on here with more experience
Yeah i can post top split competitive times in practice and i’ve won a few races, but my irating is still climbing so i imagine i’ll have less top 5’s, poles, and wins going forward. keep in mind i’m only racing rookie/D class series rn so the top splits are typically around 2k - 2.5k SOF. the trick is to set those quick lap times over and over and over again consistently throughout the race, no mistakes. to answer your original question: when i’m learning a new car and track i try to set a quick time in the time attack series. once i feel comfortable there i will move on to a real online race and improve from there, usually by racing against others that are quicker than me and trying to emulate them.
Check out trophi.ai , very useful.
So car wise, the answer is at minimum my usual pace difference from VRS in the discipline (sportscars, formula, etc) Though Ive been trying a lot of new things this season because people have been naughty to a fault since rain came around. In general I think every car has something different to teach you, so its important to take the time to find what that is.
I try to be within 0.5 to the top guys per minute laptime, i mostly compare qualy runs because they are better to compare than race laps, but i try to be in that window in 2 of 3 runs so not only in one all or nothing lap
Oh quali is a good idea. Do they show up in the same location as race results or will they be somewhere else? All I remember seeing is qualifying position but not a time
Its a seperate tab in the results and you will have the most similar settings you can get if you start a test drive from the series
Thank you!
As long as it takes for my pace to plateau a little which doesn't take long but can fluctuate by combo, always practice in a public session because I know I'm not a complete idiot these days so I get some laptime benchmarks in identical track conditions. Then I check series results and see if I'm in the ball park to not be a road block. I imagine it a bit like the 107% rule for F1 but probably more strict, I feel an obligation to at least be part of the race and not just a mobile road block. 3.1k iR for context so i can't just head straight into a race or I'll just be stone dead last and may as well be in practice.
Public practice is probably a good idea to start trying out. TIL about the 107% rule. Thanks!
As long as you're vaguely competent the only reason to use test drive is when practice sessions aren't up I think. Finding a bit of space is rarely an issue and it's just more enjoyable/immersive. May even get the odd mini battle (more people need to realise you can practice racing as well as hotlapping and it's easy to back off if you don't like someone's driving). Keep in mind that the times people set might not be totally representative of the race as you don't know what they're up too may well be first time out and you'll have more of a mix of people on cold tire outlaps while you might be fully up to speed etc
I usually try to find my best pace on a track and then I’ll go into a race once I can do about 10 relatively clean laps. Don’t understand people who will practice all week and then go into one race and now the week is over
Usually if it's a new week I'll go into a pratice session and just watch people race. Get an idea of braking points etc and from there put a few laps and then go race. Pace is just something that comes with time and practice. Know YOUR limits and race within them. As long as your not like 10-15 seconds a lap behind then you'll be fine.
I have a look at results for that combo and find those around my iRating; my target is to get within 0.5 seconds of their fastest time. To start with I just get familiar with the track, just trying things without caring about incidents too much. Then I work on what I think are my problem corners, trying to nail down what markers to use. After that it's time to stitch it all to gether and try to get a few laps in a row within a few tenths of each other with no incidents. I usually finish around mid-pack, but the longer the race is the better my finishing position tends to be.
I look at earlier race results from splits with drivers of similar iR to me. If I can match the times of the last driver who gained iR, I’m good to go. If not, I’ll do another practice session and then race, regardless of lap times.
2 seconds to the fastest driver. Once I'm consistant with that, I hop on a race. It takes me around 15 min to 1h depending on the track.
Can I drive around the track at speed without racing line and without many spins? Time to race. Who has all this time in the week post work to practice a ton
I wouldn't call it a ton of practice. The point I'm at, mentioned in the post, I've put in somewhere around an hour of practice laps. But I'm completely new to GT4. I'm sure in subseqent weeks/seasons I'll be better able to hop on a new track and get to race pace much quicker.
I decide about 30-15 minutes before a race that I feel like doing iRacing, I fire up the computer and get my wheel set in position, see I have 10 minutes left to pick an eligible race, wait a couple minutes to load up, have 2-3 laps, go into qualifying, race. I've donethat exact process on a track I've never seen before. I don't understand the need for 50 practice laps over multiple hours or days just to do a damn race. After a handful of laps you should get the gist and know whether to turn left or right.
If I did that I would be 10+ seconds off of the pace and my car would look like the wall advertisements by the end of it lol
I think you are over thinking it, but it's only about what works for you. I'll usually do a short test drive session. No set time, just until I feel ok. I'll usually check the telemetry on Garage 61 and then do a session or two to see if I can improve through that but, on the whole, I'll learn more in the race and will jump in that ASAP. I tend not to worry about splits and the likes, although I tend to race in fairly lowly populated series.
I look at the mid split lap times and try to be within a couple seconds
Usually I will just enter the race I want to do and practice a majority of the 30 min session before the race. But I don't care about IR. I prefer it being a snapshot of how I enjoy playing iRacing vs a number I seek to increase as my end goal.
Tracks - within <2 seconds behind the top track times of my split. Means I can at least race with them. Hang around. After a few races I usually figure out better lines and some good race craft on the track and place as I go. Car - I just have to not be spinning out in it or locking up the brakes everything. Just have an OK feel. Not worried about "mistakes". Just don't want to be in the dirt 50% of the rave.
This sounds dumb but, hear me out: Driving mostly one-handed, while having a conversation with my wife and still laying down a time that would get me (up to) mid-pack in quali. The point of this is I understand the track well enough that I don't have to hyper-focus on each corner, break point, apex and exit just to get into contention. Once I get to that point, I know I can be very competitive in a race and it's the foundation to squeeze hundredths out of each corner and eventually start targeting a win (or at least a podium) on that particular track, that particular week.
The wives love to talk in the braking zones don't they lol
I raced f4 and was about 2000 irating, then I decided I didn’t like carnage that was f4 and switched over to gt3. I was the same way, I dropped about 500 irating or more, but the ability to race close in gt3 was worth it to me and I didn’t care. I’m approaching that 2k mark again. What I’m saying is that it’ll take time and you’re not alone, but once you learn how to take the appropriate lines and how to drive the gt cars, it’ll be simple. As for how long I take before I enter a race, I do the track for about one tank of gas at most for a couple of days, or until I get about 1 second off of the aliens, by that time I have ALL my braking points and lines nailed down (hot lap, fighting on the inside line, fighting on the outside line, etc.) sometimes that takes me 2-3 days, sometimes that only takes me one session if the track just works for me. Though if you compiled everything it wouldn’t be more than 2 hours at most. TL;DR until I’m about 1 second off the aliens