I got the game 24hrs ago and have just completed my fourth race at Charlotte in the Mazda. In these 4 races many crashes happened that shouldnt have. The first race, I got a stop go for jumping the start (my own reaction at the cars jumping due to lag). After serving the penalty, I caught up to a lap car within half a lap but whilst trying to lap this car, I got taken out due to him weaving off the racing line causing me to crash. After getting towed back to pits, I came out after 2 minutes and 45 seconds of repairing my badly damaged car only to come out behind the same car who nearly wrecked me again at the same corner doing exactly the same thing. I thought that by having the pay-by-the-month feature would allow for better racing from drivers who can actually hold a line. Honestly this is worse than the crap that happens on F1 2013
I'm getting ready to run my first Mazda Rookie Cup tonight, and in preparation (beyond reading/watching every conceivable resource) I've tried to readjust my entire mindset, and focus almost exclusively on being the most effective defensive driver I can possible be.
Although I may end up forgetting my entire gameplan the moment the lights drop, my intention is simply to avoid incidents, from 1x off tracks to 4x contact. To avoid focusing on lap time, I'm going to disable the delta bar, and enable the relative position (F3) box. Hopefully, I won't even be aware of my lap times until post race.
I'm even debating starting from pit lane, to remove any possibility of ensnaring myself in a T1 cockup.
Instead of the typical plug n' play multiplayer racing experience, I'm trying to view iRacing as a longterm, career-like experience. To that end, my time in Rookies is but a means to an end, and the perfect opportunity to learn as much as possible. I couldn't really care less if I win a race in the next 10 weeks, as my specific goals beyond SR
are pretty explicit: 1 - learning to drive smoothly; 2 - driving as consistently as possible; 3 - learning how to practice as effectively as possible; 4 - learning how to develop a proper racing line, establishing proper brake, turn-in, and throttle application markers; 5 - developing the muscle memory to consistently hit those marks; and lastly, 6 - earning the respect of other, more experienced members, learning as much as possible from them, and getting the hell out of Rookies. Hopefully, I'll then be able to begin using telemetry (through iSpeed) to find some lap time, begin to really develop my racecraft, and eventually compete for wins. For now, my biggest competitors are the myriad bad habits I've unfortunately learned all too well.
It probably helps that I'm not at all preternaturally fast (1:01.9 at LRP after 3 days of pretty committed practice) and can't expect to win any races worth winning until I actually learn to drive properly. Were I actually quick now, I doubt very much I'd be thinking of much more than the moment, and I'd likely be quite the on-track menace.
Abstractions aside, from a practical standpoint, I recommend watching Scott Hanley's 3-part "Surviving Rookies" series on YouTube. In addition to persuasively communicating that WE ARE AT FAULT for any avoidable incidents (and 98% of all incidents, including being hit from behind etc, are avoidable), he highlights the mindset and skills underlying defensive driving, and demonstrates both very effectively.
Although the concepts seem obvious, and the skills second nature, I learned more than I would have ever expected from the series. Moreover, everyone bemoans the rookie racing experience precisely because so few inexperienced racers are actually able to drive safely. Worse still, too many of us think we know, and can do it all when we really can't, and look to blame others when our problems are staring back at us in the mirror.
Sorry for the wall of text, but your complaint is an absurdly common refrain on the iRacing boards, and the solution lies not with everyone else, but ourselves.
Any incident that could've been avoided is your fault.
Henk