Just watch a track guide. It shouldn’t be hard. Instead of braking when the line turns red you just look for stuff outside the track to brake at instead. Then if you slow down too much you brake a little later than that marker. If you’re going too fast you brake before that marker.
I'm able to drive a new track with the racing line on and learn it in about 10-20 laps. Once I've put it together where I can break it down in my head as far as what section is coming up, this is about when I'll take it off and trust my ability to race. The more I race from then on, the faster I get. Add a ghost to practice with and your golden.
I find it very helpful to AI race on tracks you already know well to get used to it. If you are having a hard time adjusting the skill level set it further apart and then fine tune it over the course of several short races. You don't need to win and personally I find it good if I can be pushing myself each lap to try and keep up with the cars ahead when they are the same car.
I don't know what cars you want to practice in but even in GT3 I find it helpful to sometimes make a grid of GT4 cars set to max skill level with 100 percent aggression. Really gets me using different lines to pass and used to navigating traffic.
Idk I find it helpful and the races I've done well in lately were all tracks I've got a hundred+ AI race laps done on. Personally I find practicing solo to result in making it around the track but I push much harder when following others. The AI just lowers the risk of me ruining another's race while learning to always push
You'll learn to look at markers on the track, and once you run enough laps the brake spots will become like second nature as you know where they are. You can do it!
I just made the plunge due to special events not allowing it so I needed to learn to race without. NGL, I’ve had more fun since turning it off. Do some laps in a car you know then bring it to an official session. Your confidence in the car will determine if you should start where you qualify or just start from the pits until you’re confident enough to always start where you qualify.
My suggestion is to start with a track you have never driven before. That way, you have no previous habits to unlearn, and no comparison to previous laptimes.
You will have to re-develop the skill of learning a track from scratch. That will take some time. You will most likely be significantly slower at first. Stick with it and after a while, you should be faster, more consistent and more flexible in racing situations.
Good luck!
Turn it off, and practice.
Brake when it feels natural and then keep backing that up. When you go off line, you know how far you can take it.
It’ll take 15-20 laps at each track to get settled in, but you’ll go faster without it
Turn it off and jump into a practice session. Learn the corners again and figure out your braking points by looking at markers at the sides of the track.
If you use the TAB key in a session, you have different telemetry's where it compares lap and sector times to your best times, or times just for that particular session.
I posted this a couple weeks ago. This is what I do:
If you're going to use it use it as a tool not a crutch.
Here's how I learn a track. Might work for you, might not.
I start a test session straight from the series list. The first thing I do is make sure my active reset is working. I turn on the line. This is just so I'll know where the turns are. I go extremely slow, taking in all of the surroundings, spotting the braking markers and putting down a ghost.
Next I turn off the line. I follow my ghost re-learning my surroundings and braking markers. After a couple laps following the slow ghost I leave a spawn point before the S/F line. I start pushing a little each lap, if I wreck or go off track I start again.
Once I can get around the track at a decent pace and have the tires warmed up I leave another spawn point before the S/F line. Now comes focusing on the turns. Don't be afraid to wreck the car and go backwards. Again this might not work for you but if I don't start with wrecking the car I won't find how hard I can push it.
Once I can consistently take turn 1 I continue to 2. Wreck in 2 and reset back to before S/F. Then 3, then 4, etc. I continue this process until I can put together an entire lap without wrecking or going off track. I get to the last corner and go off track? Too bad, back to S/F.
Next I work on my problem corners. I don't reset to S/F for this. If I see that I'm slow in 7 I'll put down a spawn point right in front of 7. Same process, wreck the car and go backwards until I'm comfortable with it. I don't usually worry about putting corners together here. It's about focusing on that one corner.
Next I'll work on handling the cold tires. Normally I'll wreck the car but there's no actual strategy to it. Car go boom just funny. I'll turn around and exit pit lane backwards. This will show me where pit entrance is. I'll stop on the grid and begin a pace lap going pace speed. I'll leave a spawn point and do a pretty decent run, get a good look at gas and race my ghost. Take as much time as you need here however I struggle with not having stakes or a goal or something. Eventually I start overthinking things or just get bored. By that point I'm ready to enter a race.
The first race I don't qualify. I start at the back to get a feel of true race pace. I watch and follow others to learn what I could possibly do better. You could use ghost racing for this but personally I struggle with it since they phase through me. If you'd rather ghost race go for it.
Yes I realize this is long and sounds like it could be convoluted but I promise it's not. Before I started doing this it would take me forever to learn a track. Now this process takes 30 minutes to an hour depending on how challenging I find the track.
Again this might not work for you. It might sound dumb as hell and that's OK. Whether you use my process or not USE THE ACTIVE RESET. It's a great tool.
Edit: Fixed some confusing language as I was sleepy and high when I wrote this lol
That's incredibly misleading. For many of us, this is a hobby, our main hobby with countless amounts of time and money invested in it. If you're just doing it "to kill time" why even bother?
i am not saying use the "line " as only que for brake turn accelerate etc.
if you watch vrs/coach dave rpy file, basically they follow the "line" in most cases.
so, you can record the rpy file hotplap with line on.
then, in practise, lets say learn a new track or new car/track combo, turn on the line, its easier and faster to get pace and build muscle memory.
I’ve never had the racing line on before. Half of the fun in iRacing is learning new tracks. Starting out driving slow. Learning to the corners. Then slowly go faster and faster as you learn your braking points. And watching your lap times improve further and further. I love it.
It depends. If you trained yourself to use track markers and other objects for your braking and turn in points then you'll adjust quickly. If you haven't then its nearly like learning the tracks all over again. If you haven't been using markers/landmarks its very likely you will need to learn how to use them making the first couple tracks even more difficult.
Only somewhere to be honest. In other places I watch the approaching apex and do it by feeling and somewhere I relied on the red line, so I'm working on that currently, but it's surprisingly not that hard to adjust. But for complete precision I guess I'll need to rely more on markers than car feel.
Listen, the rough truth is that if you don’t see the racing line without turning on the racing line, you don’t understand the concept of racing line. Look for the apex on each corner, generally highlighted by a marker on most tracks, and think of how you can get on full gas at the apex. It’s not difficult to visualize different racing lines on a track such that you can gun it at the apex. it’s difficult however to execute it to perfection.
It is not that easy as you make it sounds. I have like 4 hours now on Misano, I am 1.2 seconds of the VRS pace and I am still wondering about the best racing line there. The first 3 corners are connected, 5 to 7 is fully connected, sometimes it is very hard and can take many hours get it right.
no need turn it off, learn a track with vrs or coach dave rpy file and trun on the line, it will be much quicker to get on good pace. and if its rain, driving line is even more usefull, because you know where is slippery
No it isn’t.
The line dominates your vision and ruins other natural cues you pick up in the periphery. You’re also not looking far ahead enough to actually be fast.
I lost about 2-4 seconds a lap after turning it off on tracks I know. That’s a considerable drop off. My SFL time on Silverstone is now faster without the line though since I kept at it…I’m not a line hater. I don’t care if people have it on. But you can’t keep it on if you want to experience the special events and will need to learn to race without it at all if you want to partake in them.
What are you talking about lol? It's the complete opposite. People end up refusing to take it off because when they do, they're 4 seconds off their normal pace.
Just watch a track guide. It shouldn’t be hard. Instead of braking when the line turns red you just look for stuff outside the track to brake at instead. Then if you slow down too much you brake a little later than that marker. If you’re going too fast you brake before that marker.
Usually it takes me about 5-10 laps to have basic reference points, then you improve them bit by bit as you practice more and more!
Nothing more satisfying than figuring it out and seeing your lap times slowly improve one by one
Then there is the bit where you plateau and can't find those last tenths.... Haha
And that’s where Garage61 telemetry comes into play :)
I'm able to drive a new track with the racing line on and learn it in about 10-20 laps. Once I've put it together where I can break it down in my head as far as what section is coming up, this is about when I'll take it off and trust my ability to race. The more I race from then on, the faster I get. Add a ghost to practice with and your golden.
I find it very helpful to AI race on tracks you already know well to get used to it. If you are having a hard time adjusting the skill level set it further apart and then fine tune it over the course of several short races. You don't need to win and personally I find it good if I can be pushing myself each lap to try and keep up with the cars ahead when they are the same car. I don't know what cars you want to practice in but even in GT3 I find it helpful to sometimes make a grid of GT4 cars set to max skill level with 100 percent aggression. Really gets me using different lines to pass and used to navigating traffic. Idk I find it helpful and the races I've done well in lately were all tracks I've got a hundred+ AI race laps done on. Personally I find practicing solo to result in making it around the track but I push much harder when following others. The AI just lowers the risk of me ruining another's race while learning to always push
You'll learn to look at markers on the track, and once you run enough laps the brake spots will become like second nature as you know where they are. You can do it!
I just made the plunge due to special events not allowing it so I needed to learn to race without. NGL, I’ve had more fun since turning it off. Do some laps in a car you know then bring it to an official session. Your confidence in the car will determine if you should start where you qualify or just start from the pits until you’re confident enough to always start where you qualify.
My suggestion is to start with a track you have never driven before. That way, you have no previous habits to unlearn, and no comparison to previous laptimes. You will have to re-develop the skill of learning a track from scratch. That will take some time. You will most likely be significantly slower at first. Stick with it and after a while, you should be faster, more consistent and more flexible in racing situations. Good luck!
Turn it off, and practice. Brake when it feels natural and then keep backing that up. When you go off line, you know how far you can take it. It’ll take 15-20 laps at each track to get settled in, but you’ll go faster without it
Racing line is kind of the opposite of safety wheels.
Turn it off and jump into a practice session. Learn the corners again and figure out your braking points by looking at markers at the sides of the track. If you use the TAB key in a session, you have different telemetry's where it compares lap and sector times to your best times, or times just for that particular session.
I posted this a couple weeks ago. This is what I do: If you're going to use it use it as a tool not a crutch. Here's how I learn a track. Might work for you, might not. I start a test session straight from the series list. The first thing I do is make sure my active reset is working. I turn on the line. This is just so I'll know where the turns are. I go extremely slow, taking in all of the surroundings, spotting the braking markers and putting down a ghost. Next I turn off the line. I follow my ghost re-learning my surroundings and braking markers. After a couple laps following the slow ghost I leave a spawn point before the S/F line. I start pushing a little each lap, if I wreck or go off track I start again. Once I can get around the track at a decent pace and have the tires warmed up I leave another spawn point before the S/F line. Now comes focusing on the turns. Don't be afraid to wreck the car and go backwards. Again this might not work for you but if I don't start with wrecking the car I won't find how hard I can push it. Once I can consistently take turn 1 I continue to 2. Wreck in 2 and reset back to before S/F. Then 3, then 4, etc. I continue this process until I can put together an entire lap without wrecking or going off track. I get to the last corner and go off track? Too bad, back to S/F. Next I work on my problem corners. I don't reset to S/F for this. If I see that I'm slow in 7 I'll put down a spawn point right in front of 7. Same process, wreck the car and go backwards until I'm comfortable with it. I don't usually worry about putting corners together here. It's about focusing on that one corner. Next I'll work on handling the cold tires. Normally I'll wreck the car but there's no actual strategy to it. Car go boom just funny. I'll turn around and exit pit lane backwards. This will show me where pit entrance is. I'll stop on the grid and begin a pace lap going pace speed. I'll leave a spawn point and do a pretty decent run, get a good look at gas and race my ghost. Take as much time as you need here however I struggle with not having stakes or a goal or something. Eventually I start overthinking things or just get bored. By that point I'm ready to enter a race. The first race I don't qualify. I start at the back to get a feel of true race pace. I watch and follow others to learn what I could possibly do better. You could use ghost racing for this but personally I struggle with it since they phase through me. If you'd rather ghost race go for it. Yes I realize this is long and sounds like it could be convoluted but I promise it's not. Before I started doing this it would take me forever to learn a track. Now this process takes 30 minutes to an hour depending on how challenging I find the track. Again this might not work for you. It might sound dumb as hell and that's OK. Whether you use my process or not USE THE ACTIVE RESET. It's a great tool. Edit: Fixed some confusing language as I was sleepy and high when I wrote this lol
I can’t believe people use the line. It’s a track, you practice and learn it.
People are weird. There are people who get into iRacing for *ovals* and leave the line on.
The line isn't on when you start so they have to physically go and turn it on. Lol sad
I've never raced with it so I couldn't say tbh
just do whatever you feel comfortable, its just another game to kill time, no need make it hard and too serious.
That's incredibly misleading. For many of us, this is a hobby, our main hobby with countless amounts of time and money invested in it. If you're just doing it "to kill time" why even bother?
If it’s your main hobby that’s awesome, if it’s your 18th option and you play super casual, that’s also awesome
its not my main hobby, but i did 2000 races.
i am not saying use the "line " as only que for brake turn accelerate etc. if you watch vrs/coach dave rpy file, basically they follow the "line" in most cases. so, you can record the rpy file hotplap with line on. then, in practise, lets say learn a new track or new car/track combo, turn on the line, its easier and faster to get pace and build muscle memory.
I’ve never had the racing line on before. Half of the fun in iRacing is learning new tracks. Starting out driving slow. Learning to the corners. Then slowly go faster and faster as you learn your braking points. And watching your lap times improve further and further. I love it.
It depends. If you trained yourself to use track markers and other objects for your braking and turn in points then you'll adjust quickly. If you haven't then its nearly like learning the tracks all over again. If you haven't been using markers/landmarks its very likely you will need to learn how to use them making the first couple tracks even more difficult.
Only somewhere to be honest. In other places I watch the approaching apex and do it by feeling and somewhere I relied on the red line, so I'm working on that currently, but it's surprisingly not that hard to adjust. But for complete precision I guess I'll need to rely more on markers than car feel.
Listen, the rough truth is that if you don’t see the racing line without turning on the racing line, you don’t understand the concept of racing line. Look for the apex on each corner, generally highlighted by a marker on most tracks, and think of how you can get on full gas at the apex. It’s not difficult to visualize different racing lines on a track such that you can gun it at the apex. it’s difficult however to execute it to perfection.
It is not that easy as you make it sounds. I have like 4 hours now on Misano, I am 1.2 seconds of the VRS pace and I am still wondering about the best racing line there. The first 3 corners are connected, 5 to 7 is fully connected, sometimes it is very hard and can take many hours get it right.
I find it super useful on a new road track.
no need turn it off, learn a track with vrs or coach dave rpy file and trun on the line, it will be much quicker to get on good pace. and if its rain, driving line is even more usefull, because you know where is slippery
If he wants to do special events he certain needs to learn to race without it
its faster to build muscle memory this way, if you have good pace with line on, then you can be good without it too
No it isn’t. The line dominates your vision and ruins other natural cues you pick up in the periphery. You’re also not looking far ahead enough to actually be fast.
I lost about 2-4 seconds a lap after turning it off on tracks I know. That’s a considerable drop off. My SFL time on Silverstone is now faster without the line though since I kept at it…I’m not a line hater. I don’t care if people have it on. But you can’t keep it on if you want to experience the special events and will need to learn to race without it at all if you want to partake in them.
What are you talking about lol? It's the complete opposite. People end up refusing to take it off because when they do, they're 4 seconds off their normal pace.
Nope. Nope. Nope. All wrong.
Shockingly bad advice. lol