That MAGICAL moment when you "get it"

[Barricade]

Not sure why I'm writing this. Maybe just to lay out my thoughts and feelings down- waste some bandwidth, or maybe give some words of encouragement? I just wanted to talk about that moment when you're completely terrible at something and then the fog rises and everything just begins to click for you. For me, these are moments that are far and few between in life. However, I seem to have found a few of these moments in iRacing.

Maybe it's just me? When I first started iRacing I was completely new to sim racing all together. I just knew I was tired of the crap Need For Speed kept pumping out each year. When I first began racing in iRacing, I avoided road courses like the plague. Ovals were short, thrilling and wide open throttle fun that was easy for me to get a handle on. I was in heaven racing door to door at 178 mph and I learned that there is so much more strategy and physics that go into Nascar racing than I previously thought. These are things that other racing "games" tend to leave out- tire wear, ambient air temps, drafting, runs, etc. However, as much as I loved racing Nascar, I knew there was another complete other half of the game that I was ignoring, and every once in a while- I'd log into a session with people just to get my ass handed to me. Not by the other drivers- oh no. I wasn't even on the same level as them. I was in a race with myself trying to figure out how to stay the course and not wreck others at the same time.

In fact my first Road race in the MX-5, I wrecked out twice. I spun out of control through a turn and ended up clipping someone sending us both into the wall. I did this twice. To the same driver. At the beginning and end of the race. Needless to say, I'd go another week or two before setting foot back onto Road courses.

Every once in a while after getting wrecked one too many times on Oval races (by other people- it happens), and waiting for the next oval race to begin- I'd log onto the test Road courses and take a stab at running the track, primary focusing on staying ON the road. Soon after a bunch of laps- I got that hang of it enough to keep my own. First I could make it one lap without wrecking. Then two. Then 4-6. This to me feels like the hardest part of getting into road racing. That initial hump that's no fun- but you've got to force yourself to do it. Having a good wheel and VR makes this experience much more enjoyable. Being able to race the track with no longer wrecking,this was the first eureka moment. The joy of saying to myself "Holy crap I'm doing it!" In a sim like this, It's something that you have to work hard for, it's not just given to you. And when you finally see the results of your hard work and concentration- man there's not too many other feelings like it out there in the world.

Eventually I wanted to see where I stacked up when it came to other racers, I signed up for my first Road race and while trying to stay out of everyone's way, I paid close attention to the quickest times of the race, I then even followed them for as long as I could before they left me behind. This was the magical number that I remembered when I went into practice with myself. I ran the track 10-20 times before I came anywhere near it. But finally- the next Eureka moment hit when I was able to get within the same second as that magical number I kept thinking about. Again the rush of "Wow, I'm really doing this!" fills my head and brings another release of endorphin's.

Finally it was time to add the final component of the race. The other drivers. On the day that I was prepared and ready to race- I qualified 1st, for the first time ever. During the race however it was another story. I'd jump the start and got black flagged, then after serving my time, I wrecked on one of the simplest turns that I had practiced so hard on mastering. It was a horrible race that I ended up wrecking too many times to even finish- so I quit.

Today however, all that finally changed. I was able to qualify 3rd and finished 1st for the first time ever- and that same feeling of euphoria again hit hard. "I did it, I can't believe it!". I've been racing road so much in fact, that my SR has surpassed the Oval track racing. lol

People tend to complain about the 10 dollar monthly subscription- but for me? Man it's so worth it. No other game gives me the "feels" like iRacing does. My heart is pounding at the beginning of the race, I have NO clue what will happen during the entirety of the race, the huge sigh of relief when the guy who's been chasing me down looses it. To me- that's all worth it. I'm so in love with this game- and I can't wait to see what else I'm capable of doing. I hope you guys are having the same experiences out there on the track that I am.

Cheers!

[Jbark51]

i dont get it. j/k +1

[Arcticspyder]

Agreed, I own a lot of racing games and none of them give the thrill of Iracing. +1

[Arcticspyder]

Today I entered my first late model dirt at USA international, just getting the hang of turning right to go left, qualified 3rd, finished 1st.

[Barricade]

Haha right on. I've yet to try dirt racing yet! Something I will have to try later on. Today I placed 1st in qualifying and finished first as well, even after making really stupid mistakes and loosed a couple of places. I think I'm .08 away from a Class D XD So stoaked!!!

[Arcticspyder]

Escrito originalmente por Barricade:

Haha right on. I've yet to try dirt racing yet! Something I will have to try later on. Today I placed 1st in qualifying and finished first as well, even after making really stupid mistakes and loosed a couple of places. I think I'm .08 away from a Class D XD So stoaked!!!

Something I learned about dirt racing, thought I would pass it on when the chance was right. When you get to the corner make a small turn left, hit the brake, and as soon as the car sets and starts back on the gas and turn right. Dirt is a blast.

[Willy OD]

Yeah, my first road race had my knees shaking, something I've never experienced in games before. Also my first oval race opened my eyes to ovals (seems kinda boring alone but once you add 16 other, usually faster cars, it gets interesting). I know I suck (learning to play with wheel+pedals and VR instead of Xbox controller) but I'm taking this first season as a learning exprience and trying to get to know some of the tracks better. Quite frankly I'm not sure what series I want to participate once I'm "good enough" but I'm ok driving C-D (and even Rookie) class races until I've found what I'm looking for...

[Passero]

I've got 126 starts and 20 wins this year alone. Total of 300+ races and I'm still feeling nervous and anxious when I'm waiting on the grid. No matter if I start p1 or p5 or p10.

The first few times I was running in the top 3 in the top split I got very nervous and sometimes made stupid mistakes because of it. Now I settled down and I'm just making stupid mistakes :P

It's fun and addictive. I however do notice that i enjoy it more once I was able to run in the top 5 of the top splits. The racing there is much cleaner than mid pack or lower splits.

[BaronVonHaggis]

Good job sir!

[LithiumFox]

That's just it. You either get it or you don't. If you don't, there's other games out there. Personally, I own most the racing sims out there so it's like whatever ya know?

[Seth]

thanks for sharing, great read!

[R.C. Collins]

Go try real Karts, do a track day, or save up enough to do even a one day school in a real race car. Trust me, once it gets in your blood, you will be hopelessly addicted.

[DubChain]

I love your post dude. So pleased you stuck with it too. I struggled with iRacing coming from RR. I would quite far from my display, because it was wall mounted and couldn't use the bonnet camera. It felt like I was driving from the back seat in cockpit view.
Needless to say, I struggled and was a danger on road courses. But my Eureka moment was getting VR and mastering breaking. I went from 1k to now 3.5k since the change and I love it. Still get butterflies on the grid like you, but the satisfaction of just getting it right, nailing that apex and exit, whatever it may be it truly out of this world.

Ps, I'm rubbish at oval, takes a different approach and I don't have the talent.

I have found the best car and track for this. See video below. It's one of my videos.

https://youtu.be/V2FfRq2MGEM