There is no better way to improve, then to challenge yourself.

Michael if you need some support me and my fellow team members would be happy to help, just say the word. Tim's right you need to keep trying I can help with setup advise but the key to success is keeping the car on the track and staying out of trouble. The speed will come in time you just have to learn how to get the brakes on your side as we can all drive fast in a straight line. :)

It's good to take a break. But WHEN you come back, make sure you ask one of the compeitive guys for help, they will be happy to assist in any way they can, I'm sure ;-)

Michael I know how you feel. I joined R2P a couple of months ago. I'm 53 and been using Sims for the last 25 years, you name it I've driven it. I've also driven in a offline league.

I always thought I was a reasonably quick driver but I was getting a little bored - no challenge! So I finally decided to go Online, something I have put off for way, way too long. I thought I would be able to run with the mid field drivers at least!

Well it didn't quite turn out like I expected! I'm way off the pace of the front runners and mid field as well, I’m struggling to be consistent over some of the race distances, I hadn’t got a clue about tire wear in relation to race distances and the list goes on……

You see although I have been driving Sims for 25 years the only person that has been challenging me is myself and I wasn’t anyway near as good as I thought I was. So it was quite a shock to me and very disheartening to come last and be the slowest all the time and still is!

So what to do? Well I love sim racing and there is no way I am going to give it up! I want to be a better driver, but I’m not going to improve racing myself! So I set aside my disappointment and I am determined to improve as far as I possibly can.

I came to the conclusion that the only way to do that was to learn from the best and you don’t need to look much further than R2P. Here you will find without doubt some of the best racers anywhere online. You only need to look at rFRank and GTR2rank and compare pole and fastest lap times at races here to see these guys don’t hang around and remember these times are in race conditions not hotlapping, then look at the consistency over a 90 lap race – incredible! More often than not there is less that a second lap after lap after lap and that is much more important than being super quick IMO.

I looked at one of your races PRC West Monza. Lets just suppose you could increase your pace by just 2. secs a lap (not easy but achievable) and you achieved that lap after lap - you would have finished 4th!

So like Tim says “There is no better way to improve, then to challenge yourself”.

All I can say is to not compare oneself's abilities with those of the aliens. They are aliens. Only Ripley knows how to deal with them. LOL

Make sure you have the settings of your wheel etc. such that they do not hinder driving, setup setup setup, pit strategy and drive your own race. Results will be what they will be. Drive more and they may even improve.

If you need a break then you take a break. Keep in mind that things won't change by themselves. I'd stick around and keep my eyes peeled and ask for advise and race. Then I'd race some more. And have fun while doing it.

Aw, cmon and stay. I need some company at the back of the grid.

Don't feel like you are alone. I've had help from Tim and Todd and still can't seem to be anything more than a field filler. Can't setup a car for crap and with the talent here that just isn't going to cut it. So I encourage you to keep plugging away and hopefully we will both eventually see the light of day. Cheers, Max

It can be a little frustrating running around in the back like I do. But I try to keep it in perspective. When I started sim racing it was in N2003 ovals and I was running in the back. Lots of practice, lots of races, tons of seat time and I have won my share of races. It wasn't overnight. Now here I find myself at R2P running lots of RC and the learning curve is severe. I know I won't be good at it if I don't get lots of seat time, watch the fast guys and listen to advise. Here is the head game I play to keep things in perspective. I look at my ratting for the event I'm in. Then based on the rating I set a goal for my finish. First goal is run mistake free. I don't try to keep up with the front runners. My goal is the try to race with and beat the guys who are in my rating. So here is how it works. If I'm in a race with some 8-9 guys and I'm a 2-3 and the field is split with 8-9, 4-7 and 1-3 then I know I'm going to finish in the lower third of the field. If I race successfully with the 1-3s and am at the top of that category I have succeed. Sim racing is like golf. Its a high learning curve sport. If it was easy everyone would be fast. If it was easy I wouldn't do it. I enjoy the process of leaning with each event. Anyhoo....enough of my ranting for now.

(wow, great post Bill)

Hey Mike, you know you can ask me for a setup anytime you see me in a race w/you. Maybe it's because of an engineering degree and real-life racing, but I generally understand what everything does and can make a stable, predictable setup. Haven't figured out the sim-specific or alien-specific tweaks yet to make a stupid fast setup, but maybe I will one day :)

20 races? Shit, it took me 20 races here to figure out which way was up! Too many bars, too much loud rock&roll...

Michael, since I am slower and less consistent than you are, I think I can add a few relevant comments here. I was very frustated by my performance in the PCC race at Monza. Unforced errors after a good start caused a retirement. Almost ready to quit then and there.

Consistency is the key - - forget the talk about the "fast" set-up for now. Like Chris, I had been playing racing sims against the AI for a while, albeit not for 25 years! Mainly, it was GPL and F1C. Being one of the world's worst sim racers, one of the reasons I signed up for Race2Play was to be in a structured environment which would help me focus on getting better against human racers.

The most important thing is to find a neutral or stable set-up and start lapping consistently using all of the race track. Tim and Bill J. have some great information in the set-up forum. I find until I get more experienced (hey, I'm a slow learner) with a mod or a sim, other people's set-ups do not help that much. After you find a stable set-up, just use one or two variables and dial in some understeer or oversteer(what you prefer in a given car and sim) and make sure you can do 10 - 15 laps without too much fluctuation in your times. Then analyze where you were most slow on the race track. Usually, it doesn't take Motec to help you figure it out at this stage. For instance, I knew in the Aussie V-8 race at Monza, I was losing a tremendous amount of time in the Ascari chicane. Taking that information back, I can then work on getting a better line and going a little faster through that chicane and the T1 chicane. I should be able to take off 3 - 5 seconds/lap with just that information. Then you refine your set-up....How soon will I do it? Who knows? After all I am old and slow. But if I am able to put that into practice, I could be knocking at the door of the top top ten in weeks or, more likely, months in my case.

Take a break if you need to, but always remember that perseverance furthers.