Wed Dec 17, 2008 10:23 Age: 2 yrs
Racing on Ovals
By: Jimmy Larsen
iRacing.com™
1. Find out if track position is important at the track: in the finishing stint of a race, it's always important. But in the first 80%, you MAY be better off holding off and following the guys who are about as fast as you. This way you can get into the rhythm, save your tyres and strike when it counts. However, be sure not to stay behind a SLOWER driver.
2. Save fuel. Select appropiate gear under yellow.
3. Focus on the track instead of the drivers.
4. Before the race, find out if you should repair damage. Some tracks, for example, you can be perfectly competitive with a broken right front fender and it would be a waste of time to repair it.
5. When you are crashed out by another driver's mistake, don't waste your energy too long thinking what the other guy did wrong. You won't be able to change that in the future anyway. What you can change, however, is your way of dealing with these kinds of mistakes: use your energy to try to find a way to avoid being taken out when such an accident occurs in future races. It'll gain you a lot.
6. It's ALWAYS better to loose a place than to brake a piece of your car.
7. Don't get panicked when in the lead and being followed closely: keeping the car in one piece is most important.
8. At the finishing stage of a race, THINK before entering the pits: do you REALLY have to pit?
9. Relax on (re)start. DON'T BLOW YOUR ENGINE!
10. THINK!
11. Please read the last line again. Always act on conscious thinking, never act on instinct.
12. Relax! Don't get heated up, stay calm all the way.
13. Never fight a guy who's lapping you when you've already been lapped by the leader of the race. You will lose speed, he will lose speed, and he will get you anyway. So you won't gain anything. By letting him pass, however, you will gain respect and he will probably let you pass when the time comes.
14. Never try to pass on the first lap after a (re)start. This lap is for sorting out the field, not for gaining places. Many, many accidents happen in the first lap under green. Remember you can't win the race in the first green lap, but you sure can lose it.
15. Use your F3-key in real-time update mode all the time. This way you get a very good idea of where you are on the track and overall what's happening. You will also know if the car behind you is lapping you and, most important, how much faster he is. If he's a lot faster you know you should let him pass as soon as possible.
16. Never attend a race unprepared. If you don't know the track and don't know if you can hold a line, don't join the race. You'll end up crashing out anyway and will most probably take other drivers with you.
17. If you see the entire field disappearing from time to time you're warping. It sounds harsh, but as a true sportsman you should park you car in the pit and disconnect. You will destroy other drivers' races otherwise.
18. Finishing is ALWAYS more important than gaining a place. To finish first, you first must finish.
19. If you crashed out, never start telling people interesting stories about the crash when the race is still in progress. Other people will get distracted and crash too. If you crash out with someone else and you want to talk about it, take your chat to ICQ. Be sure to first cool down though...
20. Beat your opponents on the details: practice qualifying, pitting and tyre saving.
21. Treat other drivers the same way you would like to be treated.
22. On a (re)start, keep your distance to the driver in front. Most likely he will brake early to avoid trouble in turn 1, so be prepared for that.
23. When setting up your car only change one thing at a time, that way you can learn what each change does.
24. Always pee before a race, it's very hard to concentrate when you need to go and a pitstop to pee can cost you dear.
25. Try and make your own setups, everyone drives differently and what is fast for one driver is not always fast for another.
26. Never make a race setup on the basis of one fast lap, having a consistent setup throughout a run is far more important.
27. Check your mirrors when entering a corner to see if someone is attempting a pass.
28. When in the middle of being lapped do not alter your line, the faster cars will try and get a tow then pull to the inside, if you move over at the same time problems will occur.
29. When running super speedways and you're on your own (not drafting and not being drafted), you're usually better off letting the driver behind you catch up: the two of you together are faster than you are on your own.
30. More often than not, the fastest way around the track is NOT 'Kicking some major butt' but sitting back and relax instead.
31. In every corner, consciously remember the following phrase: 'Smooth in, smooth through, smooth out'.
32. Practice your starting/restarting technique: drive to the line at pace speed on cold tyres and hit the pedal when your imaginary green flag waves. This way you'll know how your car will react when entering turn 1 on cold tyres at a (re)start.
33. When passing someone who just crashed, be *very* careful: the guy in front will be very busy recovering from his crash and may not notice you, resulting in another crash, but with you as the victim!
34. Don't only practice the perfect line: run some practice laps using only the low line and some laps using only the high line as well. This will give you much better feel for the track, will save you when you're about to lose the car and will better prepare you for the two-wide fights.
35. This may sound obvious, but nevertheless: when in the lead under yellow, make sure you are NOT in front of the pace car (which has entered pit road) when the green flag drops! He may brake sooner than you think, so you'd better keep your distance.
36. Make yourself wide on a (re)start, so you can take it easy without getting passed by a bunch of guys.
37. When practicing for a race, make sure to do at least one or two full fuel runs. This way you know how your car behaves on worn tyres and empty fuel tank, so you know what to expect during the race.
38. When you've caught up a driver and are on his tail, even though you are faster, don't ever try to pass right away. You don't know his braking points! Just follow him for a while and make your move when you know where he's vulnerable.
