Beginner-friendly leagues?

[andrewdaniele]

I've been casually playing sim racing games for about 2 years, never really focused on being the best I can be or anything, more just really enjoyed the experience of being in a race car that felt believable.

This game is the first game to make me really start looking at the complete package of what sim racing has to offer. I'd love to join a league as the next step, but I haven't even driven online in a sim yet (crazy as it's been a 2 year hobby lol).

Are there any leagues that are for people like me who are just starting out to race others?

Edit: I'm in Canada on the East Coast

[EF_Neo1st]

In case, I think groups accept slower guys, only thing to consider when in a group is that you are to respect racing rules and avoid crashes.

Mistakes happen, for everyone, but certain things are usually taken more seriously when in a racing group for a league or even for practice.

[andrewdaniele]

Originally posted by EF_Neo1st:

In case, I think groups accept slower guys, only thing to consider when in a group is that you are to respect racing rules and avoid crashes.

Mistakes happen, for everyone, but certain things are usually taken more seriously when in a racing group for a league or even for practice.

Awesome thanks for the info, yeah when I say beginner, I meant more for the speed aspect, where I wouldn't be finishing 5 seconds behind the 2nd last place driver every race lol, I've been practicing a lot of safe driving, both in terms of driving near cars without any contact (and keeping a safe distance when trailing), and also in terms of clean overtaking, no stupid moves, etc.

[EF_Neo1st]

Originally posted by andrewdaniele:

Originally posted by EF_Neo1st:

In case, I think groups accept slower guys, only thing to consider when in a group is that you are to respect racing rules and avoid crashes.

Mistakes happen, for everyone, but certain things are usually taken more seriously when in a racing group for a league or even for practice.

Awesome thanks for the info, yeah when I say beginner, I meant more for the speed aspect, where I wouldn't be finishing 5 seconds behind the 2nd last place driver every race lol, I've been practicing a lot of safe driving, both in terms of driving near cars without any contact (and keeping a safe distance when trailing), and also in terms of clean overtaking, no stupid moves, etc.

Believe me, there are groups where the guys ahead drive close to world record pace and the midpack is like 2s to 4s behind these guys, the back of the grid usually some 5s to 6s behind the faster guys.

No matter if you are slower than the faster guys by 2s, 4s, 6s, 10s or more, many groups accept drivers of many race paces (that is what I meant, I also dont know what you consider fast or not, but as you mentioned "never really focused on being the best I can be or anything, more just really enjoyed the experience of being in a race car that felt believable" I understood you meant you was not driving to take the car to its limits.

These guys really try to take the car to its limits and to be always improving, still groups dont need to be elitists accepting just the top drivers for a competition (and that is what I meant).
Only thing a group would ask of you is to drive safe, as you said you already do, and to follow the racing rules the group set for their races.

[geri12622]

I had a league race in Spa, totaly not my Track. After the qualy i was on P33, 6 seconds behind the top. I ended the Race on P16.
Consistency is the key. You must not be the fastest guy to be on Track. Drive clean as possible and in every League you are welcome.

[Simmo 99x]

Multiplayer is literally dead/dying, ACC is great for league racing and the in depth game is good fun, but it just doesn't work online with the current format.
Joining a race is a nightmare, you either miss practice/qualy so dont stand a chance in the race, because of the setup/tyres/ambient temps or just too far back to mount a challenge.
Then the session just resets and everyone leaves, now you have the advantage and everyone joining is in your previous situation, which in turn leads to crap racing again.
We nee set lobbies that rotate through the tracks for a chosen Class of car, with set conditions and maybe just a flying lap for qualy........

[andrewdaniele]

Originally posted by geri12622:

I had a league race in Spa, totaly not my Track. After the qualy i was on P33, 6 seconds behind the top. I ended the Race on P16.
Consistency is the key. You must not be the fastest guy to be on Track. Drive clean as possible and in every League you are welcome.

Yeah I'm working on consistency a lot lately, I don't mind if I finish last, I just want to be able to keep up with at least a couple of other cars on the grid so that I actually feel like I'm racing with other cars lol. If there's the chance of finishing 2nd last, to me that's exciting (probably sad too haha).

In a 488 around Nurburgring, I'm starting to consistently get lap times of 2:01:8xx to 2:03:xxx, should I try getting that lower? Or is that good to be able to at least stay near the other cars at the back?

I saw a post with a link to TheSimGrid, I'm going to try that site

[Inardesco]

ACCSS is a noob league.

[grizta30]

Im in the OTCR league https://www.otcr.online/, would thoroughly recommend it, has guys with a wide range of skill levels.
Remember racing with quicker guys is how you learn to go quicker.

[andrewdaniele]

Originally posted by grizta30:

Im in the OTCR league https://www.otcr.online/, would thoroughly recommend it, has guys with a wide range of skill levels.
Remember racing with quicker guys is how you learn to go quicker.

This looks good and the time is perfect (Sunday afternoon in Canada), I like how the races are every 2 weeks so it gives me a chance to practice and learn the tracks for 2 weeks ahead of time. Can people join mid-season? I see it's on race 5 of 10 next (I'd probably look at joining on the 6th race in Zaandvort to give me more time if spots are open still)

[goobMB]

I second with ACCSS. It is a nice community and nicely managed too.

[EF_Neo1st]

In case you want to learn better, he explain a lot of things:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvcuGoVhpxw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZlOkt1oU2k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-eFpAu50rs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQV3zZuCtkw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUdaWbr1KB4

There are a lot more videos of his channel and a lot of other channels that also explain how to drive better and faster.

[grizta30]

Originally posted by andrewdaniele:

This looks good and the time is perfect (Sunday afternoon in Canada), I like how the races are every 2 weeks so it gives me a chance to practice and learn the tracks for 2 weeks ahead of time. Can people join mid-season? I see it's on race 5 of 10 next (I'd probably look at joining on the 6th race in Zaandvort to give me more time if spots are open still)

You can join anytime, just need to join the discord and fill out the registration form

[andrewdaniele]

Originally posted by grizta30:

Originally posted by andrewdaniele:

This looks good and the time is perfect (Sunday afternoon in Canada), I like how the races are every 2 weeks so it gives me a chance to practice and learn the tracks for 2 weeks ahead of time. Can people join mid-season? I see it's on race 5 of 10 next (I'd probably look at joining on the 6th race in Zaandvort to give me more time if spots are open still)

You can join anytime, just need to join the discord and fill out the registration form

Done :) I joined AM, I'm excited for my first online race!

[Arcangelo Gabriele]

Buy Going Faster by Skip Barber and read it many times ;)

[Rummy1963]

Our “Gentlemen’s Club Sim-Racing” league is a private North American League. We have 25 members from all over North America. We race every Thursday @ 7:00 pm PST. We start with a 15-minute Qualifying and race for 40 minutes or about 20-25 laps. Our next season will be the GT4 class and will be a 10-race season. We have some highly skilled drivers but also welcome and coach beginners. Our high-speed server is rented out of Los Angeles so we have zero lag issues. We use Discord for discussions before and after races. We use a Facebook page for posting results and standings. We have been operating for 4 years. Send me a friend request if you’re interested and we’ll get you setup.