Recommendations for Safe iRacing Series

[Michel Bélisle]

Hello,

Yesterday, I spent an afternoon on iRacing after a few weeks hiatus. Right now, I am completely gutted by yesterday's experience.

I am a safe but average pace driver.

Typically, out of 20 participants, I will qualify in the 8-12 range. Often, I will finish in the top 5 due to faster drivers crashing then DNF or being relegated to the back of the field.

Since, I am not that fast, I am focusing on D class races but I am wondering if this is a smart strategy?

In my experience, D Class is in fact Rookie+. There is a lot of people that do not have good control of their cars.

Yesterday, in two different races, I got punted exactly the same way.

On the first race, a Skip Barber race, I am following closely another driver. there is a left hand corner coming. The driver in front of me is in the right lane and I am in the left lane. We both drive to the corner and on exit, surprise, there is a spun driver that is in the middle of the track at a 90 degree angle with the nose of the car pointing toward the left lane.

The driver in front of me, passes the wreck on the right side. I am on the inside lane on the left side so I try to pass the wrecked car on the left side. As I pass, the impatient driver hits the throttle and hits me in the engine. I lose power. My car is completely wrecked. In disgust, I quit. I ended up having a DNF and lose tons of sRating and iRating in the process.

On the second race, a Ferrari GT3 Challenge, the same exact scenario happens. This time, I try to tow myself to the pits but the game client froze.

In both cases, these were low Strength of Field (SOF) races, so my car number was high, #1 in the Skippy race and #2 in the Ferrari race. So, I lost over 200 points of iRating in the process.

I tried the Skippy and the Ferrari races because these are popular races and I would get a better chance to have an SOF advantageous to me.

However, since these races are populated with a lot of Rookie+ drivers; it's a wreckfest.

I wonder, if I should not move up to C Class races even though I will face drivers that have better pace than me?

 

[Shovas]

Yep, been there. The short answer is to get into the higher splits, regardless of license, at times where there's lots of entries to evenly separate out skill levels.

Don't worry about license. With big enough grids, there will always be faster and slower drivers than you. Actually, the main thing about pace is open setup racing. You'll be seconds slower just because you haven't tuned your setup as well as others in open setup racing. I don't find that too enjoyable so I stick to fixed setup racing for that reason. Then it's down to my skill level.

Rookie MX-5 in the top split, for example, is often really good.

Other series I often have decent enough races in include D Ferrari 488 GT3, D SCCA Spec Ford Racer, D Ruf GT3 (often not enough drivers sadly), D Skip Barber Race Series, C Radical SR8.

And, of course, the super popular GT3 type series will always have enough drivers to get good higher split racing.

You never quite get rid of backmarkers or over-drivers crashing, in any split, so I'd recommend training yourself in crash avoidance. One way to do that is to start at the back or let everybody pass you and make it a challenge to move up through the field during race, ignoring for the time being any chance of winning. I think you'll still be surprised how far you move up. Do a few weeks of that and then try challenging from your real qualifyng position.

Check this site to make sure your series have enough drivers:

iRacing Stats - Most popular iRacing series

iRacing participation statistics. Which series are the most popular? This list will show you the most popular iRacing series each week as well as detailed series stats.

www.iracingstats.com

^ You probably need at least 15-20 DPR (drivers per race) to have a good series.

You'll never be done with unlucky wrecks or bad drivers but at the same time my most recent day I actually had 3 races in a row that were clean and I was competitive. That's super rare, though. Usually I can get one race that's clean, maybe another where I get damage and just hold on but still finish, and another where I get wrecked out.

Bottom-line: Get into higher splits. It may seem annoying but it is what it is and once you do have good races in higher splits you'll be satisfied, I think.

 

[Alex Townsend]

I'm kinda having the same dilemma... Just started out and Rookie sometimes is really close and fair racing. Other times you get crazy blocking, swerving on the straights bully tactics.
Just had a race where I was clearly faster than the other driver, I passed him fairly, gave him room and then we came up to a corner where I had nowhere to go and he turns into me causing a pile up...
It's frustrating but I think we just need to carry on and try and predict idiots and drive accordingly...

 

[Michel Bélisle]

Yep, been there. The short answer is to get into the higher splits, regardless of license, at times where there's lots of entries to evenly separate out skill levels.

Don't worry about license. With big enough grids, there will always be faster and slower drivers than you. Actually, the main thing about pace is open setup racing. You'll be seconds slower just because you haven't tuned your setup as well as others in open setup racing. I don't find that too enjoyable so I stick to fixed setup racing for that reason. Then it's down to my skill level.

Rookie MX-5 in the top split, for example, is often really good.

Other series I often have decent enough races in include D Ferrari 488 GT3, D SCCA Spec Ford Racer, D Ruf GT3 (often not enough drivers sadly), D Skip Barber Race Series, C Radical SR8.

And, of course, the super popular GT3 type series will always have enough drivers to get good higher split racing.

You never quite get rid of backmarkers or over-drivers crashing, in any split, so I'd recommend training yourself in crash avoidance. One way to do that is to start at the back or let everybody pass you and make it a challenge to move up through the field during race, ignoring for the time being any chance of winning. I think you'll still be surprised how far you move up. Do a few weeks of that and then try challenging from your real qualifyng position.

Check this site to make sure your series have enough drivers:

iRacing Stats - Most popular iRacing series

iRacing participation statistics. Which series are the most popular? This list will show you the most popular iRacing series each week as well as detailed series stats.

www.iracingstats.com

^ You probably need at least 15-20 DPR (drivers per race) to have a good series.

You'll never be done with unlucky wrecks or bad drivers but at the same time my most recent day I actually had 3 races in a row that were clean and I was competitive. That's super rare, though. Usually I can get one race that's clean, maybe another where I get damage and just hold on but still finish, and another where I get wrecked out.

Bottom-line: Get into higher splits. It may seem annoying but it is what it is and once you do have good races in higher splits you'll be satisfied, I think.

I had another race that I survived to finish 4th from a 9th starting position this weekend. The driver with the #1 car did not qualify and started going up the ranks. The only problem is that he dive bombed me. He bumped into me but I was able to swerve and stay on track without losing a position. Two laps later, I caught up to him and the the guy in front of him and he dive bombed the other guy in front of me again. That poor guy was just sent flying off the track.

So, I am ambivalent about the don't qualify part. There is a lot of stars that do this and often, they just bully people on their way up the ranks.

 

[Michel Bélisle]

Another thing is, to go up the splits, you need to level up your iRating; right?

My iRating is in the dumpsters right now. I wonder if I should go up to C Class and finish further down but with less crashes. Or, just muscle my way through Rookie/D Class hoping that I can get a sixth sense for crash avoidance?

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

I'm kinda having the same dilemma... Just started out and Rookie sometimes is really close and fair racing. Other times you get crazy blocking, swerving on the straights bully tactics.
Just had a race where I was clearly faster than the other driver, I passed him fairly, gave him room and then we came up to a corner where I had nowhere to go and he turns into me causing a pile up...
It's frustrating but I think we just need to carry on and try and predict idiots and drive accordingly...

You've had a fairly nice time in the Rookie-series though 4.42 Inc avg. isn't bad if you are actually trying to race among rookies.
I had 3.9 avg Inc on Road courses in 2020, I was mainly doing it to go from D to C license so I did my best to stay out of any fighting.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

So, I am ambivalent about the don't qualify part. There is a lot of stars that do this and often, they just bully people on their way up the ranks.

I never qualify when I do "SR-races". If I start on the back row, I stay still for 3-4 seconds to avoid any T1 mayhem, and then just pluck my way through the field as people mess up.
Doing this have actually caused my iRating to go up as well.

 

[Michel Bélisle]

I never qualify when I do "SR-races". If I start on the back row, I stay still for 3-4 seconds to avoid any T1 mayhem, and then just pluck my way through the field as people mess up.
Doing this have actually caused my iRating to go up as well.

Well, at least, I will give it a try. Thanks to you and @Shovas for the recommendation.

 

[Shovas]

Another thing is, to go up the splits, you need to level up your iRating; right?

My iRating is in the dumpsters right now. I wonder if I should go up to C Class and finish further down but with less crashes. Or, just muscle my way through Rookie/D Class hoping that I can get a sixth sense for crash avoidance?

iRating is just about finishing high in the grid. For small 12 grid fields, you want to finish 6th or higher to earn positive iRating, otherwise it's usually negative. It's always somewhere in the middle. Like if it was a 24 grid field you probably want to be 12th or higher.

I'd just recommend practicing and making sure you're quick and farm your iRating that way. It might seem irksome that it's not a better system, I used to think that way, and I used to be an Safety Rating care bear maintaining my 4.0 SR, but in the end I realized it was pointless, all the fast guys have low safety ratings and it's not because they're unsafe it's just because every little touch affects your SR. So right now I think I'm 2.5 or something and I barely think about. It's actually nice not to worry about it. You just race. Remember that at higher SR each incident point results in a greater SR penalty so maintaining 4.0 is much harder than simply maintaining a low SR. In the end, all your SR does for you is maintain your license so as long as it's 2.0 I think you're fine.

Safety Rating is the only thing affected by incidents, as I understand it. You could have 15x in a race, finish 3rd, and still get the same amount of iRating you would if you had 0x.

 

[Alex Townsend]

You've had a fairly nice time in the Rookie-series though 4.42 Inc avg. isn't bad if you are actually trying to race among rookies.
I had 3.9 avg Inc on Road courses in 2020, I was mainly doing it to go from D to C license so I did my best to stay out of any fighting.

I had no idea about this incident average stat. I think I need to delve into the stats on this title more.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

I had no idea about this incident average stat. I think I need to delve into the stats on this title more.

Just me loving all kinds of stats!

 

[alexSchmurtz]

Very good advice here:

I'd just recommend practicing and making sure you're quick and farm your iRating that way. It might seem irksome that it's not a better system, I used to think that way, and I used to be an Safety Rating care bear maintaining my 4.0 SR, but in the end I realized it was pointless, all the fast guys have low safety ratings and it's not because they're unsafe it's just because every little touch affects your SR. So right now I think I'm 2.5 or something and I barely think about. It's actually nice not to worry about it. You just race. Remember that at higher SR each incident point results in a greater SR penalty so maintaining 4.0 is much harder than simply maintaining a low SR. In the end, all your SR does for you is maintain your license so as long as it's 2.0 I think you're fine.

We all start farming SR as it is the way to get up in the license ladder but yes, you actually get "cleaner" races once you get in higher splits, not by having a high SR. Some can get pretty fast lap times without a lot of practice/experience, but still have pretty low race craft, leading to accidents. To get a decent iRating you need to constantly (or at least often) be in the first half of the grid. So in higher splits, you'll more likely meet drivers with experience and more practice.

To get there, you still need to go through lowest splits in the meantime! So accident avoidance is a skill you need to develop. It doesn't matter if it is not your fault: if you're involved in an accident, you'll get damage, loose position, need to pit for damage or even retire. So you need to learn to spot a dangerous driver and avoid him, learn when to give the position to a faster driver instead of putting both of you at risks, when to pass safely a slower driver that is not aware he is slowing both of you...

Starting from the back is the worst advice imho: first you don't learn how to spot dangerous situations and avoid them, it is easier to learn with slower cars. Then you penalize yourself from the start: yes in some cases you will avoid an accident and a bad result. But other times qualifying and being upfront will give you a much better result and a lot more iRating!

At the end of the day, you cannot have 100% incident free races, at least it is very difficult. Keep in mind iRating will match you with people from the same level: it is the best way to have nice battle but it is also more difficult to make the difference if you have similar pace! I have very nice races now that I got a better iRating, but every few races I still get a bad one. Frustrating but often looking at the replay I see what I could have done to avoid being in this situation. Next race will be better hopefully.

 

[Alex Townsend]

Just to say I started a race today, thought s0d it, took fastest lap in practice, put it on Pole for the race and then when I pulled away at the start, I bogged down a little, felt the heat coming, but then there was daylight and an empty piece of tarmac, I went for it, car started to slide on cold tyres, caught it and managed to keep hold of it, fought with another driver for a couple of turns and eventually came out in the lead.
Looked behind and a few cars back there was all sorts of mayhem.

20 laps later, I was about 15 seconds ahead but I'd had a few wheels off here and there meaning I'd collected a few incident points but won the race and felt like I'd achieved something whilst also managing to stay out of trouble.
Looking forward to another few races later, just need to book myself a day or two off work and just crunch through as many races as possible.
Stats are really addictive, I'm hooked on the whole thing now and looking forward to getting the Mazda wrapped up and then on to the F488 series

 

[Shovas]

Just to say I started a race today, thought s0d it, took fastest lap in practice, put it on Pole for the race and then when I pulled away at the start, I bogged down a little, felt the heat coming, but then there was daylight and an empty piece of tarmac, I went for it, car started to slide on cold tyres, caught it and managed to keep hold of it, fought with another driver for a couple of turns and eventually came out in the lead.
Looked behind and a few cars back there was all sorts of mayhem.

20 laps later, I was about 15 seconds ahead but I'd had a few wheels off here and there meaning I'd collected a few incident points but won the race and felt like I'd achieved something whilst also managing to stay out of trouble.
Looking forward to another few races later, just need to book myself a day or two off work and just crunch through as many races as possible.
Stats are really addictive, I'm hooked on the whole thing now and looking forward to getting the Mazda wrapped up and then on to the F488 series

Haha good job! Overcoming the obstacles we put in our own way, like SR, is half the battle!

 

[alexSchmurtz]

Just to say I started a race today, thought s0d it, took fastest lap in practice, put it on Pole for the race and then when I pulled away at the start, I bogged down a little, felt the heat coming, but then there was daylight and an empty piece of tarmac, I went for it, car started to slide on cold tyres, caught it and managed to keep hold of it, fought with another driver for a couple of turns and eventually came out in the lead.
Looked behind and a few cars back there was all sorts of mayhem.

20 laps later, I was about 15 seconds ahead but I'd had a few wheels off here and there meaning I'd collected a few incident points but won the race and felt like I'd achieved something whilst also managing to stay out of trouble.
Looking forward to another few races later, just need to book myself a day or two off work and just crunch through as many races as possible.
Stats are really addictive, I'm hooked on the whole thing now and looking forward to getting the Mazda wrapped up and then on to the F488 series

Well done, congrats on the win! Both wins I would say: staying out of trouble in front is a win in itself!

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

Stats are really addictive, I'm hooked on the whole thing now and looking forward to getting the Mazda wrapped up and then on to the F488 series

yes they are. I've done one Dirt Oval. That was Pole position, 0 incident points, led 20 out of 20 laps and thus won. Which means all avg.positions are 1, inc is 0 and all percentages pole, win, top 5 is 100%

I don't really want to do more events now

 

[Alex Townsend]

yes they are. I've done one Dirt Oval. That was Pole position, 0 incident points, led 20 out of 20 laps and thus won. Which means all avg.positions are 1, inc is 0 and all percentages pole, win, top 5 is 100%

I don't really want to do more events now

I tried the oval with the nascar truck things this evening. Luckily it wasn't official as it was a destruction derby. Went from near the back somewhere in the mid twenties to the top ten but so many incidents. Most, if not all, were not my fault.
Then I just tried the Dallara Dash at Laguna Seca... Man that was intense just trying to keep the thing on the track. Awesome experience and the sense of speed you get coming out of the pits, pressing the pit limiter button and accelerating fast next to the pit wall with the catch fencing never gets old.

 

[Ole Marius Myrvold]

I tried the oval with the nascar truck things this evening. Luckily it wasn't official as it was a destruction derby. Went from near the back somewhere in the mid twenties to the top ten but so many incidents. Most, if not all, were not my fault.
Then I just tried the Dallara Dash at Laguna Seca... Man that was intense just trying to keep the thing on the track. Awesome experience and the sense of speed you get coming out of the pits, pressing the pit limiter button and accelerating fast next to the pit wall with the catch fencing never gets old.

Ah, the trucks... They needed more practice and setup-work (I bought it in 2010 when it was a C-class thing) than I've ever bothered with, so I kinda stopped paved oval, and iRacing then