The New Year is right around the corner and it’s time for improvement. But forget bettering your life, there are plenty of simracing resolutions to keep to.
Image Credit: Reiza Studios
It’s that time once again. The New Year is a matter of days away, leaving many anxiously wracking their brains for easy resolutions in hopes of finally being able to keep to them. You can’t set yet more fitness goals for yourself only to give up four days in, so you need something new. Something simple. Maybe it’s time you tried a New Year’s resolution for simracing?
The simracing world is certainly not perfect. Toxic competition pushes many to drive in an overly aggressive way. Countless forms of communication become fields of insults. And to many, the whole idea of racing from the comfort of your own home is turning into a chore rather than a hobby. This week is the perfect time to change that.
Simracing in 2023 will be More Laid-back and Fun
We’ve all been there. Entering an online lobby against other drivers of a similar ranking to yourself, doing everything you can to prove yourself, pushing to the absolute limit, and even beyond. This can be fun when everything goes to plan and you manage to out-race your rivals. But a small mistake, an inconsiderate move from another car or even poor setup choices can ruin your mood. Much of the time, online racing can cause an overwhelming sense of anxiety leading to a rage-induced DNF.
At the end of the day, simracing is supposed to be a fun hobby, not a chore. So perhaps some time away from the hyper-competitive world of online ranking systems is a good way to start the New Year. Running laps in single player against the AI can be just as rewarding, all while being able to reset the race at the touch of a button. If you’re getting tired of the online racing scene, commit to single player simracing as your New Year’s resolution in 2023.
To Finish First, you First have to Finish
Understanding that our skill has a limit is something most simracers must come to terms with. We can’t all be the next Lucas Blakely with seemingly endless potential behind the wheel. In fact, most of of us will tend to over-step the boundaries of our own ability far too often. Especially when aiming for that extra tenth of a second in qualifying, or going deep on the brakes up the inside of a rival.
These situations frequently end in spins, contact, crashes, and worst of all, a bruised ego. It’s actually very easy to lose confidence in oneself after a few too many shunts where the blame can’t be thrown to someone else.
In 2023, preserve your fragile self-belief by ensuring you get to the end of races. As the old adage goes, “to finish first, you first have to finish.” This goes for championships and leagues races, but can also help your enjoyment of typical quick races, be they online or not. After all, no-one wants to restart an AI race after a dozen laps because they made a mistake sending it up the inside of fake Nicholas Latifi for P19.
In the New Year, I will take it Easier on Lap 1
It’s all well and good aiming to finish races. But, when you’re struggling to even do that, you may need a simpler goal. Because ultimately, we are looking for easy New Year’s resolutions to stick to in simracing. I for one won’t be setting myself the goal of winning anything before the end of 2023, but I can aim for more realistic targets.
In that sense, perhaps getting to the end of Lap 1 is a good place to start. Turn 1 often involves massive pile-ups with drivers absolutely sending it, trying to gain as many places as possible. That’s not quite the way to finish an hour-long race. You might not be able to win a race at Turn 1, but you can definitely lose it.
Instead of flying into any gap that fits the shape of a car, try following the pack gently into the first corner. At tracks like Monza with terribly slow opening sections, that can be excruciatingly boring. But it is the best way to survive. From then on, focus on nailing your braking points and getting the best run out of each corner. Finally, I’d advise looking far ahead of you as not everyone will have this mindset, so you’ll surely gain a few places by dodging spun cars.
By this Time next Year, I’ll have an amazing Simracing Rig
Improving yourself may be important and all, but there is no better feeling than unboxing a new wheel rim or putting together a new chassis. Yes, for this simracing New Year’s resolution, I’m advising you spend more of your hard earned money on this already expensive hobby.
Especially after the recent Simracing Expo, new hardware isn’t uncommon meaning there are plenty of websites to look through. Direct Drive wheels, intricate sim rig chassis, handbrakes and shifters, state-of-the-art pedals, the simracing industry is full of tech. So perhaps give yourself the goal of upgrading a certain element of your rig.
Personally, I want to be heel-toeing my way round rally stages thanks to a new shifter. This small addition to my rig will certainly add to the immersion of driving cars other than modern GTs.
The best Simracing New Year’s Resolution: Being Kinder
In simracing, we’re very fortunate to be able to communicate with our rivals on-track. On iRacing in particular, the voice chat system means I can inform other drivers of incidents at certain parts on the track. Though, in many cases, this is used to lob abuse at one another after botched divebomb attempts.
Obviously, it’s not the nicest feeling to have your race ended by a poorly judged overtake. But it’s not particularly pleasant to feel attacked after making an honest mistake either. I think it’s time the simracing community came together and made a collective New Year’s resolution. In 2023, let’s all try to be a bit kinder to our fellow racers. After all, we all share one passion; competing in virtual racecars.
What are your New Year’s resolutions for 2023? Do they involve simracing at all? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
