Too early?

Alex Townsend · Apr 3, 2021

So guys, I'm having a blast in iRacing having only just joined the service.
Having lots of good races now that my iR and SR have risen over the time in Rookies.
I've had my D License for a week or so now and I've noticed that, at D2.78 with an iRating of 1526, the Mazda Cup is no longer part of the MPR, meaning I'm not getting any closer to the next license racing in this series.

My main question is this; Is it too early for me to be considering the Class D Ferrari GT3 Challenge, understanding of course that I've been sim racing for over 10 years now and seem to be doing ok in iRacing so far?
Or, do you think I should stick to and finish this season of Mazda first, before going to the Ferrari GT3 Challenge for next season?

I've noticed also that the Rookie Mazda race numbers have dropped off a little, (where they used to be 160+ they are now circa 100), and the Ferrari numbers have risen considerably, could this mean that a lot of the rookies that I may have been racing with have already jumped onto the next rung of the career ladder already, whilst still being able to take the odd Rookie race in the Mazda if they feel like it?

TIA from you knowledgeable guys n gals!

alexSchmurtz · Apr 3, 2021

I would say the most important is to enjoy your races. Stats are very addictive in iRacing like you said in an another thread, and we all want to climb the ladder and get to the A license. But honestly, once you're there... Yes, you can run whatever series you want! But that's about it. Many C class series are really fun and full of A people.

I don't think there is a wrong choice, whether you stay in Mazda or go GT3. It don't think it's bad to jump a bit around and see what you prefer. But if you really want to get faster and better in a serie, then you need to focus on that one. What I've noticed is that once you get higher in iRating, you're facing people who have been on the service for years and have lots of experience with the car and the track. It's hard to beat that. That's why you hear people saying "practice, practice,..." When you're against someone who know every inch of the track by heart, it's really difficult to keep up.

Mazda is a great little car that will teach you a ton; it is easier to learn with a slower car, then use this knowledge with a faster one, the basics will be the same. That's why the Skippy is highly rated too: it's slow, doesn't really work like any other cars but will teach you about momentum and race craft.

On the road side I rushed through A; now I don't see the point. On the oval side I thought I would take my time and climb much slower. I stayed in rookie street stocks and my iRating is putting me in the top split each time now, where I find the racing excellent: I'm with more experience people, don't really see rookie mistakes. (To be complete, I really should get more into oval but found hard to do both road and oval at the same time... so I have very few ovals races. I still didn't make any D race so can't tell if my plan is working or not!

)

Alex Townsend · Apr 3, 2021

Sounds like some solid advice there @alexSchmurtz
I have found that driving in a single series, whilst having a specific car and track for that week is very refreshing in that you don't jump around the tracks like you do on ACC for example racing 5 or 6 different tracks in an evening, but rather concentrating on practising and qualifying well for a race and then being as careful as possible during that race as it affects you directly. In other sims you don't have that worry of rating so much. I know ACC did a fair job of it recently, but its still too easy to get it back by offline farming. I'm not sure you can do this in iRacing, not that I'd want to.
Think I'll see how this series goes and then maybe take part in the Ferrari next season.
Ive got to say that I tried the Dallara DW12 at Laguna last night and today and its a brutal combination. Love the fact that some of this stuff is free too

alexSchmurtz · Apr 3, 2021

What I'm realizing after a while is that there isn't a single path. Each of us can freely choose the races he wants to do, how many times a week, focus on a championship or jump in individual races, go road or oval, paved or dirt. Nothing is wrong, as long as you find something that suits you.

Ole Marius Myrvold · Apr 3, 2021

Alex Townsend said:
So guys, I'm having a blast in iRacing having only just joined the service.
Having lots of good races now that my iR and SR have risen over the time in Rookies.
I've had my D License for a week or so now and I've noticed that, at D2.78 with an iRating of 1526, the Mazda Cup is no longer part of the MPR, meaning I'm not getting any closer to the next license racing in this series.

My main question is this; Is it too early for me to be considering the Class D Ferrari GT3 Challenge, understanding of course that I've been sim racing for over 10 years now and seem to be doing ok in iRacing so far?
Or, do you think I should stick to and finish this season of Mazda first, before going to the Ferrari GT3 Challenge for next season?

I've noticed also that the Rookie Mazda race numbers have dropped off a little, (where they used to be 160+ they are now circa 100), and the Ferrari numbers have risen considerably, could this mean that a lot of the rookies that I may have been racing with have already jumped onto the next rung of the career ladder already, whilst still being able to take the odd Rookie race in the Mazda if they feel like it?

TIA from you knowledgeable guys n gals!

While it's not a part of the MPR (no "lower license" race is), you still get SR from it. But you will need to do 4 D-License races, or 4 D-License time trials to get a C-License

It also depends how you want to do it. If you jump to Ferrari now, and do one official race that counts towards the series, each weak, for the rest of season 2, 2021, you do get some iRacing credits from it. While it's not enough to get a new track or car, everything helps, eh?
It also depends if you want to specialize yourself or not. I don't, and I drive whatever I feel like when I feel like it. Of course, it means I'm slower (relatively speaking) than I could've been.
You can jump in to a Ferrari practice session and drive among other humans(or similar) there, and get a feel for it, if it's safe to take the jump or not.

In regards to Mazda numbers, it's Easter, so even with many countries in lockdown, it will have an effect. Also, IIRC from some stats, Wed, Thur is often the lowest numbers in races. I might remember wrong though...!