How to not ruin your night Racing

Ok, so this will probably be long. Stick with me though, I'll throw in pictures!
This post is designed for everyone, regardless of skill level. The real title should be "How to not race like a D-bag".

We all want to do well. It makes sense that racing fast and not messing up will help us to finish better. That's only part of it, what I'll talk about here is the other part - the part of racing that ruins peoples nights. I'll summarize in some nice pretty general topics:

Why are other people wrecking me all the time?
This is a fun one. You race your own race, then - for no reason at all - someone ends your racing dreams.
I hate to be the one to say this, but a lot of the time there is a reason. I'll list some of the most common reasons.

• They lost control. Honestly nothing you can do here. If someone makes a mistake and hits you, it sucks. This happens in racing and you have to deal with it.
  
• You cut someone off in a corner. If you go side-by-side in a corner, it is extremely difficult to avoid collisions. Apex and I have had a LOT of very close races and are pretty solid drivers. That being said, we both generally avoid going side-by-side. It's better to wait for a legitimate attack opportunity than both wreck out being stupid.
  
• Pretty much everyone else really has to do with the previous. However other common issues are Going side by side in a straight approaching a corner, braking without considering the cars around you, swerving across the track, take a crazy line through a turn, abruptly re-enter the track.

Why can I never get to the front of the pack?
This probably ties in with the previous point. If you get in wrecks, you won't win. The more dangerous attacks you make the more wrecks you will have. Look at me and Husker racing on catalunya. We both ran very similar lap times. I caught up to him with 3 laps to go. I did not make a move until the last lap. I also knew exactly where I would try to pass him to get the win. Did I win? No. But we finished 1st and 2nd.
You need to race carefully and make a plan for where you will pass. These races are long. Unless you're running 5 seconds per lap faster than someone you probably can't just blow by them anywhere. Just stay close to them. BTW having someone right on your @ss makes it a lot harder to not make mistakes. So next time you're racing just try to not make any mistakes, and take your opportunity to make a pass. If you stay close enough they'll make a mistake and you'll get a free pass. A prime example: look for a high speed gradual corner. MANY people go into the grass on these. That literally gives you a free pass and 200 foot lead.
Finally, there is that tricky little thing called an Apex. We've all seen the racing line in game (even if we don't use it). We also know that you are supposed to brake before the turn, coast the 'point' and accelerate out. Obviously this doesn't always work. Those stupid cars get in the way. However, there are MANY very solid lines through every turn. Here's an example of a favorite (poorly drawn) I use:


This let's you cut inside while they are going outside AND will give you higher speeds in the following straight. This is a great way to pass someone safely. I will note that it will not work on someone who is as fast or faster than you around the track. But if you are running faster than someone, this is a great way to get by them without endangering other racers.

Style? What style?
Ahh style. My favorite part of racing. Everyone knows that different cars have different strengths. The same thing applies to drivers. Here are some general types that I've come up with:
Speed Demon - Pretty obvious. These people just wanna go fast. Nurburgring? Who cares about the first 19/20ths of the race, I'll pass you in the final straight! Usually weak in corners, but difficult because you pass them in a corner and they fly by you in the straight.
Sprinter - Just the name I came up for people that love launch and acceleration. They may not blow by you in a straight, but watch out for them passing 10 cars in the first 5 seconds of the race. Cornering is usually okay, top end decent as-well.
Corner Pro - These people will blow everyone away... if they start in 1st. Their cars do not have crazy launch or top end but they hardly ever need to let go of the gas. Heavy traffic is extremely difficult on them as they have to execute a flawless racing line to pass anyone.
All-Arounder - Some people are good at all of this. They race to their cars strengths but still do abnormally well in other areas. They have a car that launches with the fastest, has great top end, but somehow they finesse it just right through the turns that they can keep their lead or even pull away.
Specialist - Finally, some people have one thing they are just awesome at. They probably fit in another category but really like to do one thing. I personally REALLY enjoy braking. Not just taking the optimal line, but changing how I brake for where people are, what's coming up, etc. I use trail-braking, engine braking, and the car I'm in to do some sweet passes this way. Another example I can think of would be Interseptors corner exits. If you don't take a turn just right, he will find a way to exit a corner just right so he accelerates past you. Everyone has things they're good at, taking it to the next level would make you a specialist.

-------------------------Interseptor Part 1-------------------------

Interseptor's Pro Tips: Part 1

Practice

This is fairly obvious but practice is HUGE for this game, especially for clan events. In this section I am going to talk about the various forms of practice and the benifets of such practice.

Hotlaps – A great way to get to know the tracks, how fast your car is and a great way to get faster on any given track. Hotlapping is when you go to the Leaderboards and race your own ghost around the track. It’s simple and effective way to test different cars you are considering as well as get better at driving any particular track. Simply go to the Leaderboaders, pick a Class, pick and Track and “Launch Race” right from the Leaderboards. You will then be able to pick a car and your off and running. After each successfully completed lap the computer automatically launches your best previous lap for you to race against (it appears as a ghost).

This is super helpful as you can track how well you are doing against yourself. Comparing yourself to other times is great but the best measure is how well you can do against your own ghost. You can see in real-time where you mess up or where you go faster. After about 8-10 laps on any given track and you should have a pretty good benchmark.

Now it is usually good to take out another car and test it against your first. I do this almost every time I practice. Go to the same track and launch again with the new car. Put in a good 4-5 laps this time and see how the new car stacks up against the old one. Your old “fastest” will still appear giving you a real-time comparison of the two cars side by side. You will have a very good idea of which car is faster and where on the track you have an advantage.

Repeat this process as many times as you have cars you want to test. Find the best car for you and move on to test vs the public

Apex Open Track Nights – This brings us to Open Track Nights. This is a fantastic way to test your cars against real people. Both clanmates and public randoms are present and it is a great way to get ready for the Tourney. These practices are held EVERY Wednesday night. We only race on track that are listed for the Tourney and we only race the same Class too. This means you are getting practice against real people, on the same tracks we are going to race on the Tourney. And because it is every week, you get two chances to practice before the “real thing.”

The benefits to this are you get to race in against real people. This allows you to see how well your car performs against other peoples cars. You also get to practice racing in a pack, which is very different from racing Hotlaps. And you get to practice all the track we are actually going to race for the Tourney. Acceleration, handling and speed all come into play here. You can NOT just race your line in a pack. You have to learn how to adapt. The only time you can Hotlap in a live race is if you are way in front or way behind. Use your knowledge of the track to find a spot and make your move. Then use your Hotlapping skills to pull away and put some distance. Live racing against the public/clan is often invaluable experience come Race Night and coupled with Hotlapping should have you in the best position you can be in come Race Night.

By doing these two things you will not only know which car is best for you but also a good understanding of the tracks and how your car will perform in a pack. Fortune favors the prepared. More to come. I'll let you digest that some first.

-------------------------Interseptor Part 2-------------------------

Interseptor's Pro Tips: Part 2

Racing – Part 1

In this section I am going to talk about racing and the different aspects that go with it. I have already covered practicing so you should be somewhat prepared at this point. Now it’s time to put the practice into real use. Below are some tips and general guide lines for racing in live events.

Pack racing – This is the hardest part of racing a live event. Racing 1 v 1 is much easier, though still takes some skill, but pack racing is VERY dangerous. Wither you are headed down a straight or into a corner, if more than a few of you are together things could get ugly fast. Different people use different views and some people are more aware of their surrounding that others. All this comes into play racing in a pack.

Someone racing in-car view might not see you next to them while someone racing outside the car might not judge breaking as efficiently. Mean while everyone is trying to get past one another and all of them have different skill levels. It’s a recipe for disaster.

So how do you survive?

Communicate! Talk to the other drivers. Let them know where you are. People are much less likely to drift off into you if they know your there. And try to be specific. “on your left” is pretty useless in a room or 12 racers. “Husker, on your left” will yield much better results. Also remember their view could be different than yours. Let them know what is going on and thing will usually go much smoother.

Braking - Take it easy! and error on the side of caution. This is especially true for braking. All cars will brake at different intensities. Some stop faster, some longer, some are heavy, some are light, some slide out and others turn in. So in order to survive a corner, take it easy. Back off a little sooner than you normally would and make sure the guy in front of you has plenty of room to stop. Apply this theory double if you are 3rd in line for the turn (2 people in front of you). If the first guy breaks normal, the second a little earlier to give him some room, you need to be even earlier. Doing so will largely avoid major wrecks and the little extra time you lost breaking early is much better than wrecking out with a yellow engine. And since most cars are front engine, you will most likely end up with worse damage than the guy you hit.

Down the Straight - The same principal is true on the straights. Take it easy. Even back off just a bit. Give yourself some room but stay with the pack. Someone is going to mess up and either create an opening or wreck the entire pack. Either way simply bide your time and wait for the right oppertunite. Eventually the pack will thin and you can start to take on each racer 1v1. Then you can play to your strengths and make your move.

Side by side – Go crazy! Oh, wait, I mean Take it easy. And in fact, for most drivers, I recommend pulling back and letting the other guy take the lead (whoever is slightly ahead or better poised to take the faster line). Side by side driving is EXTREMELY difficult. Especially in turns. Even slight turns take a good bit of movement across the track. The slightest error from either of you and it’s all over. Once again, it’s better to give up a second on the split time than to end up on the side of the road with damage.

Be courteous and wait for an opportunity to come along. Trust me, most of the time it will and even if it doesn’t it’s better to finish 5th, than in last place cause you wrecked out going for a glorious 4th place victory. I know "taking it easy" and letting the other guy take the lead in a corner seem counter intuitive for winning a race but trust me, you will see higher finishes overall once you learn to nogoitate the pack.

More to come…

S7 OC wrote:I know I'm not the best racer but some tips from me.
When you go off the track be very cautious of reentering. If there is a car with in 50ft of you trying to reenter the track let them pass them got back on the track safely.
Like Atrum said don't go two wide in a corner or try to cut into the corner to pass some one. I did this to Puppet last night on Catalunya but I let him get back in front of me so he could retake the place he would have had if I didn't f#ck him up in the corner. On that note be courteous if you mess up down be a dick. But at the same time still race aggressively.

Excellent post, and yes, that Catalunya race was nerve wracking as you just consistenly kept catching me. You definitely had the opportunities to take me out if you had wanted to. Same goes with Apex in a race or two. THAT is the kind of racing I love. Not a big fan of the guy that will drive right through you because that's "his racing line" or something to that effect. You have to know your surroundings.

Racing like this means NOT racing like you're on a hotlap. If you are by yourself then by all means go for it, but if you're in a pack you can't just push and shove your way through...well, you can, but that's a great way to make enemies and get paid back later.

I know I'm not the best racer but some tips from me.
When you go off the track be very cautious of reentering. If there is a car with in 50ft of you trying to reenter the track let them pass them got back on the track safely.
Like Atrum said don't go two wide in a corner or try to cut into the corner to pass some one. I did this to Puppet last night on Catalunya but I let him get back in front of me so he could retake the place he would have had if I didn't f#ck him up in the corner. On that note be courteous if you mess up down be a dick. But at the same time still race aggressively.

S7 OC wrote: On that note be curious if you mess up down be a dick.

That was throwing me through a loop. I'm guessing that's supposed to be?

S7 OC wrote: On that note be cautious if you mess up don't be a dick.

Probably "courteous" actually. I know some people will hit you and drive off. While others like Apex will usually pull off and wait for you to pass before continuing on. Accidents happen but if it is truly your fault it is only proper to pull off/slow down to let the person you screwed catch back up and retake the position.

Not many people will do this in a race but it is the right thing to do.

Now, if it is an accident and completely beyond your control, that is different. For instance, someone hits you into someone else. At that point you can attempt to get going as quickly as possible as it's not your fault you hit the second guy.

Still, be courteous to your fellow drivers coming back on the track. Make sure it is clear before reentering the track/raceline. I know the instinct is to get back on the track as fast as possible to make up lost time but a few extra seconds at that point is not a big deal to you. But pulling on the track and killing someone else car can be devastating, to both parties.

Yeah Zaks right courteous. Stupid auto correct

Also, when you see OC's car flipping going around a corner on Nurburg try not to t-bone him!!

Man, there was a lot of flipping on that track, lol.

Yeah my right tires slide out and up on that first carousel.

S7 OC wrote:Yeah my right tires slide out and up on that first carousel.

Lol, I remember hotlapping that track in forza 3 and ALWAYS flipping in those when I tried taking them as fast as possible.

Interseptor's Pro Tips: Part 1

Practice

This is fairly obvious but practice is HUGE for this game, especially for clan events. In this section I am going to talk about the various forms of practice and the benifets of such practice.

Hotlaps – A great way to get to know the tracks, how fast your car is and a great way to get faster on any given track. Hotlapping is when you go to the Leaderboards and race your own ghost around the track. It’s simple and effective way to test different cars you are considering as well as get better at driving any particular track. Simply go to the Leaderboaders, pick a Class, pick and Track and “Launch Race” right from the Leaderboards. You will then be able to pick a car and your off and running. After each successfully completed lap the computer automatically launches your best previous lap for you to race against (it appears as a ghost).

This is super helpful as you can track how well you are doing against yourself. Comparing yourself to other times is great but the best measure is how well you can do against your own ghost. You can see in real-time where you mess up or where you go faster. After about 8-10 laps on any given track and you should have a pretty good benchmark.

Now it is usually good to take out another car and test it against your first. I do this almost every time I practice. Go to the same track and launch again with the new car. Put in a good 4-5 laps this time and see how the new car stacks up against the old one. Your old “fastest” will still appear giving you a real-time comparison of the two cars side by side. You will have a very good idea of which car is faster and where on the track you have an advantage.

Repeat this process as many times as you have cars you want to test. Find the best car for you and move on to test vs the public

Apex Open Track Nights – This brings us to Open Track Nights. This is a fantastic way to test your cars against real people. Both clanmates and public randoms are present and it is a great way to get ready for the Tourney. These practices are held EVERY Wednesday night. We only race on track that are listed for the Tourney and we only race the same Class too. This means you are getting practice against real people, on the same tracks we are going to race on the Tourney. And because it is every week, you get two chances to practice before the “real thing.”

The benefits to this are you get to race in against real people. This allows you to see how well your car performs against other peoples cars. You also get to practice racing in a pack, which is very different from racing Hotlaps. And you get to practice all the track we are actually going to race for the Tourney. Acceleration, handling and speed all come into play here. You can NOT just race your line in a pack. You have to learn how to adapt. The only time you can Hotlap in a live race is if you are way in front or way behind. Use your knowledge of the track to find a spot and make your move. Then use your Hotlapping skills to pull away and put some distance. Live racing against the public/clan is often invaluable experience come Race Night and coupled with Hotlapping should have you in the best position you can be in come Race Night.

By doing these two things you will not only know which car is best for you but also a good understanding of the tracks and how your car will perform in a pack. Fortune favors the prepared. More to come. I'll let you digest that some first.

Very good tips Zak. I wish I had practiced our last track before-hand. It wasn't until laps 8-9 that I found a good 2+ seconds I could have cut off earlier and kept my lead on Apex, which would have moved me into 3rd place.

Interseptor's Pro Tips: Part 2

Racing – Part 1

In this section I am going to talk about racing and the different aspects that go with it. I have already covered practicing so you should be somewhat prepared at this point. Now it’s time to put the practice into real use. Below are some tips and general guide lines for racing in live events.

Pack racing – This is the hardest part of racing a live event. Racing 1 v 1 is much easier, though still takes some skill, but pack racing is VERY dangerous. Wither you are headed down a straight or into a corner, if more than a few of you are together things could get ugly fast. Different people use different views and some people are more aware of their surrounding that others. All this comes into play racing in a pack.

Someone racing in-car view might not see you next to them while someone racing outside the car might not judge breaking as efficiently. Mean while everyone is trying to get past one another and all of them have different skill levels. It’s a recipe for disaster.

So how do you survive?

Communicate! Talk to the other drivers. Let them know where you are. People are much less likely to drift off into you if they know your there. And try to be specific. “on your left” is pretty useless in a room or 12 racers. “Husker, on your left” will yield much better results. Also remember their view could be different than yours. Let them know what is going on and thing will usually go much smoother.

Braking - Take it easy! and error on the side of caution. This is especially true for braking. All cars will brake at different intensities. Some stop faster, some longer, some are heavy, some are light, some slide out and others turn in. So in order to survive a corner, take it easy. Back off a little sooner than you normally would and make sure the guy in front of you has plenty of room to stop. Apply this theory double if you are 3rd in line for the turn (2 people in front of you). If the first guy breaks normal, the second a little earlier to give him some room, you need to be even earlier. Doing so will largely avoid major wrecks and the little extra time you lost breaking early is much better than wrecking out with a yellow engine. And since most cars are front engine, you will most likely end up with worse damage than the guy you hit.

Down the Straight - The same principal is true on the straights. Take it easy. Even back off just a bit. Give yourself some room but stay with the pack. Someone is going to mess up and either create an opening or wreck the entire pack. Either way simply bide your time and wait for the right oppertunite. Eventually the pack will thin and you can start to take on each racer 1v1. Then you can play to your strengths and make your move.

Side by side – Go crazy! Oh, wait, I mean Take it easy. And in fact, for most drivers, I recommend pulling back and letting the other guy take the lead (whoever is slightly ahead or better poised to take the faster line). Side by side driving is EXTREMELY difficult. Especially in turns. Even slight turns take a good bit of movement across the track. The slightest error from either of you and it’s all over. Once again, it’s better to give up a second on the split time than to end up on the side of the road with damage.

Be courteous and wait for an opportunity to come along. Trust me, most of the time it will and even if it doesn’t it’s better to finish 5th, than in last place cause you wrecked out going for a glorious 4th place victory. I know "taking it easy" and letting the other guy take the lead in a corner seem counter intuitive for winning a race but trust me, you will see higher finishes overall once you learn to nogoitate the pack.

More to come…

I think on the 'take it easy' note, it might be good to think of it as your own car. Think if you bought that thing in Real Life and were racing it right now. Would you be going 160mph into a hair-pin turn - planning to edge someone out and pass them with 'hopefully' no damage?

Edited in other tips to the original post. Keep them coming. Once this post has everyones tips I'll make a new one with everything organized/written in together.

I do appreciate OC pulling over to let me place when I got clipped, that was one of the few class moves I encountered last night and while I got hit on that track it was handled in a manner that didn't suck.