rec.autos.simulators

by **Yippee3** » Fri, 23 Dec 2005 12:19:22

Maxx,

Thanks for you guide. I've had it for a long time now and have read
through it a couple of times. Only a few days ago I read through it and
started doing what you recommended.

I've been driving GPL for a very long time (almost exclusively '67 F2).
I've always been a very inconsistent driver. I can turn out some pretty
fast laps, but in races I do horribly because every third or fourth lap
I go off. It's been frustrating. My GPLRank Handicap for F2 has been
around +175 since '03. In the few days (4) since doing the excercises
you suggested in GPLEGS, I brought it down to under +150. Most of that
was at the Ring because I've been driving more smooth.

What I have noticed was that in my practice sessions, I'm staying on the
track almost every lap. I was working at The Glen where my best lap in
the past was 1:10.368. I was driving 1:12's pretty consistently. Then
all of a sudden, I started driving 1:11's consistently. I got stuck at
1:11s - 1:12s, and although not that fast, I was pretty happy that
almost every lap was within a second of each other. Today I started
working on looking further ahead through the turn (I've known that for a
long time, but have gotten out of the habit). I started driving less
consistently again for a while, but then I got used to it again, and
suddenly I started getting laps in the 1:10s. It didn't take long
before I broke my PB with a 1:10.34 on an "easy" lap. I was fighting
the car and struggling to stay on.

I think it will take a lot of laps to beat that time, but after
practicing your techniques for 3 sessions, I'm driving faster and many
times more consistently. I have very no doubt that I will be able to
lower my times at the rest of the tracks (except maybe Spa) and be able
to place well in future races.

Thanks again.
--
Yippee38

by **Uwe Schürkam** » Fri, 23 Dec 2005 17:24:46

> What I have noticed was that in my practice sessions, I'm staying on the
> track almost every lap. I was working at The Glen where my best lap in

I read somewhere a long time ago that simracers should aim for the same
amounts of spins / session as real racing drivers: zilch, zero, or maybe
one spin / month at most. Spinning doesn't tell you much except that
you've gone too fast and overdriven the car, which is already quite
obvious from its current physical state ;)

Another good thing is to be determined to *finish* every race you
compete in. Might seem pointless and frustrating at times (esp. if you
spin, see other paragraph), but it helps build the willpower and
determination to hang in there and make the best of your abilities and
resources at your disposal.

Not that I'm a highly successful racer, but those two concepts have
improved my driving and race performance significantly.

HTH, uwe

--
GPG Fingerprint: 2E 13 20 22 9A 3F 63 7F 67 6F E9 B1 A8 36 A4 61

by **Andreas Davou** » Fri, 23 Dec 2005 19:59:58

> I think it will take a lot of laps to beat that time, but after
> practicing your techniques for 3 sessions, I'm driving faster and many
> times more consistently. I have very no doubt that I will be able to
> lower my times at the rest of the tracks (except maybe Spa) and be able
> to place well in future races.

Curious minds (and slow drivers) wants to know, what kind of practice
technique is that?

/andreas

--
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by **Andreas Davou** » Fri, 23 Dec 2005 20:01:41

> > What I have noticed was that in my practice sessions, I'm staying on the
> > track almost every lap. I was working at The Glen where my best lap in

> I read somewhere a long time ago that simracers should aim for the same
> amounts of spins / session as real racing drivers: zilch, zero, or maybe
> one spin / month at most. Spinning doesn't tell you much except that
> you've gone too fast and overdriven the car, which is already quite
> obvious from its current physical state ;)

> Another good thing is to be determined to *finish* every race you
> compete in. Might seem pointless and frustrating at times (esp. if you
> spin, see other paragraph), but it helps build the willpower and
> determination to hang in there and make the best of your abilities and
> resources at your disposal.

Definitely!

I often finish last in my league races, but I try to keep driving. The
more laps you drive at racing distance makes you learn a lot about long
time consistency and how to exploit the mistakes of faster drivers. They
do some, you know. ;)

/andreas

--
A: Because it fouls the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?

by **Yippee3** » Sat, 24 Dec 2005 01:38:39

says...
Here's his link: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/medeson/GPLEGS.zip
--
Yippee38

by **Lefty** » Sat, 24 Dec 2005 05:24:42

I'm not sure in Maxx still reads this but if he does let's all wish him a
happy holiday and a happy new year for all the help he's given us with
GPLEGS. And personally I can tell you he's about one of he nicest people
you'll ever meet who can drive and drive well.

Leftyx (Jordan)

> says...

>> Curious minds (and slow drivers) wants to know, what kind of practice
>> technique is that?

>> /andreas

> Here's his link: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/medeson/GPLEGS.zip
> --
> Yippee38

by **Ruud Dingeman** » Thu, 29 Dec 2005 07:36:15

> I read somewhere a long time ago that simracers should aim for the same
> amounts of spins / session as real racing drivers: zilch, zero, or maybe
> one spin / month at most. Spinning doesn't tell you much except that
> you've gone too fast

> Another good thing is to be determined to *finish* every race you
> compete in. Might seem pointless and frustrating at times (esp. if you
> spin, see other paragraph), but it helps build the willpower and
> determination to hang in there
> Not that I'm a highly successful racer, but those two concepts have
> improved my driving and race performance significantly.

Absolutely. I always try to finish a race without ever spinning or
leaving the track as well. Doesn't make you faster or better per se, but
it does help make you a better *racer*.

Not just for yourself - it did work for finishing and winning some
dozens of Vroc/iGor races in my case - but your fellow racers will like
you a lot more on the track, too, not having to avoid your car sliding
on or off the grass.

Besides, if you get into this habit and ever do get into a real racing
car, it should help make the transition a lot less fearful for everyone
on the track that day ;) I just can't dare to imagine what could
happen if one of these typical spineasy GPL "hotlappers" would try and
do a race for real...

Regards, Rudy
(GPLRank: -24)