Racecraft mentor program

[smskeeter23]

Of course the others is worse. But if you would be good, you would either be long gone once he comes there (the really quick guys are very rarely dirty) or you should have prepared so he can't do much. Yes. If he get's you, get better. Great racecraft is maximizing your potential, whatever happens around. Claiming "but I'm better" won't win you anything, better learn from it.

Wow.

 

[GTP_CargoRatt]

Wow.

Yea, I had that same exact thought.

 

[ShiftingGears]

Yea, I had that same exact thought.

I can see where he is coming from - there's definitely a certain skill involved with being able to get out unscathed against a dirty driver. He's not attributing blame to clean drivers, but you're going to encounter dirty drivers whether you like it or not, so you might as well learn what you can to minimise the chances of you coming off second best. As a normally clean driver I won a lot of dirty shuffle races in GT5 from knowing what tactics dirty drivers use.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I also think @Z1-AV69 has a good point, you have to be aware of who is around you at all times and sometimes do things you wouldn't normally do to avoid contact from someone you know is an erratic driver. For example, if you're in a room and know someone is not a good driver and they end up behind you entering the first corner, I'll often move over if I can to get out of their way entering the corner, knowing they are probably going to late brake and take out a couple of cars and themselves. I'll do the same thing if I'm following an erratic driver, pull off the normal racing line for braking just so I don't run into them entering a corner.

Racecraft involves dealing with everyone on the track, not just the good drivers, we have to keep that in mind as well.

 

[smskeeter23]

I understand that generally after a race or two with any given group you can usually figure out who does what, their driving skill level, and distance you need to keep from them, so I get it. The way some things have been worded in here though are a bit edgy at times. That was my primary response to the post. I don't race much if any online right now due to the loss of shuffle. I don't like tuning and I don't like running on SS or RS tires so it's pretty limited anyway.



A bit of background where I am coming from in this topic: I'd consider myself "fast enough" to race, but obviously like anyone always learning. I finished 446th in US region GTA 2013. Is that good? I don't know. Does it matter? Not really. I'm proud of it but there are still alot of people much faster than I am. Just because I might be able to produce a decent laptime and control the car doesn't inherently make me a great racer.

Regardless if you agree with him or not Richard Petty (quoted by his son Kyle) used to say ‘Lots of drivers can drive fast, but very few drivers can race.’ I think it holds alot of truth that not many people think about. Hence the topic of this thread.

My personal goal is to find out whether or not I fit in the "racer" class right now or have alot more to learn before starting WRS events other than time trials. I don't want to go in there and be a menace to society if I can't hack it.



Gauging interest and possibly getting something going to provide a proper environment for people to learn is the primary goal of the OP.

 

[Z1-AV69]

I understand that generally after a race or two with any given group you can usually figure out who does what, their driving skill level, and distance you need to keep from them, so I get it. The way some things have been worded in here though are a bit edgy at times. That was my primary response to the post. I don't race much if any online right now due to the loss of shuffle. I don't like tuning and I don't like running on SS or RS tires so it's pretty limited anyway.

A bit of background where I am coming from in this topic: I'd consider myself "fast enough" to race, but obviously like anyone always learning. I finished 446th in US region GTA 2013. Is that good? I don't know. Does it matter? Not really. I'm proud of it but there are still alot of people much faster than I am. Just because I might be able to produce a decent laptime and control the car doesn't inherently make me a great racer.
Regardless if you agree with him or not Richard Petty (quoted by his son Kyle) used to say ‘Lots of drivers can drive fast, but very few drivers can race.’ I think it holds alot of truth that not many people think about. Hence the topic of this thread.
My personal goal is to find out whether or not I fit in the "racer" class right now or have alot more to learn before starting WRS events other than time trials. I don't want to go in there and be a menace to society if I can't hack it.
Gauging interest and possibly getting something going to provide a proper environment for people to learn is the primary goal of the OP.

In case of my statement above the wording was of course full on intentional provocation.
But please note that confession doesn't mean I wouldn't be serious with the statement. I truly believe as a racer you have to think it like that to improve.

But my point for coming to this thread was, you learn these things from experience. After you did enough races you won't need 1-2 races with a group, you will be able to judge strangers (at least most of the time) after watching them for 2 corners. Or by looking at their cars or usernames. No long read or course will bring you such knowledge. Next step is learning the right amount of caution in balance to speed (for which you have to take more risk). Nobody can teach you that, but with enough experience you'll get it right without thinking.

My suspicion, not directed at you, @smskeeter23 or anyone else in this thread, but regarding the general mood towards online racing here on GTP, is a lot of people find excuses to stay within their comfort zone, where their self-perception remains uncontested. "I don't go there, it's all just dirty", "I have to learn this and that first, so I can make a good impression when going to the real thing", "I race only this and that, which nobody does online", what is that good for? All one needs is to relax the demands of the ego, accept one might have to learn and gain experience first, take it easy and just try it. When you race with other real people for the first time, you will totally suck anyway. It's ok, it was the same for everyone. One can only overcome this by going for it still.

The great thing about digital racing is, you can find races at almost any time of the day, every day. It doesn't need the expensive preparation and all these limits. You don't waste a career-opportunity if you do it wrong initially. You can easily get much more kilometers of actual racing than any real life racer could (of course it's a different thing). And all those kilometers add up to a lot of experience in racing situations, a.k.a. great racecraft. Don't look for some course or something, just do it. Racecraft will find you if you let it.

 

[smskeeter23]

My suspicion, not directed at you, @smskeeter23 or anyone else in this thread, but regarding the general mood towards online racing here on GTP, is a lot of people find excuses to stay within their comfort zone, where their self-perception remains uncontested. "I don't go there, it's all just dirty", "I have to learn this and that first, so I can make a good impression when going to the real thing", "I race only this and that, which nobody does online", what is that good for? All one needs is to relax the demands of the ego, accept one might have to learn and gain experience first, take it easy and just try it. When you race with other real people for the first time, you will totally suck anyway. It's ok, it was the same for everyone. One can only overcome this by going for it still.

This is the single biggest reason I am upset about no shuffle.