Can I escape the iRacing rookies? 

How long did it take you to get out of the rookies?

Something to keep in mind is that rushing to get to a "better car" could actually work against you becoming a better race driver and finishing higher up the order. Everything you're struggling with in the MX-5 will just happen faster and punish you harder if you make those same mistakes in a GT3 car or whatever you're aspiring to. Learning the race craft, passing, defending, etc. is already hard, but it's a lot easier at 70 mph than at 150 mph. Learning weight shift and trail braking in a "slow" car will give you the time to actually perceive them and get a feel for them. Learning first hand all the ways that other rookie drivers will make mistakes around you will also help you not crash in more advanced cars. You do you, but I think your expectation that everything will somehow change and get easier or better in "better" cars might disappoint you. I got out of rookies a couple years ago, but I went back and spent about a year doing Formula Vee races until I actually got competitive in that class and THEN started playing in faster cars and the skill that I built over those months in a "slow" car made all the difference in being a better driver than when I started. I still have so much to learn, but if you haven't progressed the the point that you're winning in a Rookies race, why would you expect to somehow be competitive in more advanced cars that require more skill to drive quickly?

Dont forsake the MX-5 when you leave rookies. This car can teach you a lot. You can race with it in PCC championship or Advanced Mazda championship. It is great fun to race in this. Or the GR86 in PCC. It is especially fun if you get into a bit higher splits. Low splits are wreck fests and spin cities. but that can still teach you incident avoidance and reading how people drive and what they may do.

Concentrate on having fun, not just escaping rookies. I still race the mx5 after 5 years. I still get crashed out by rookies...and A lic drivers. It happens, it's a game, have fun.

You're getting better every video, its great to see. A couple tips, I think Marian was talking about this in the video that you posted but I think he just assumed you understood braking points but I'm not so sure. You seem to be braking at different points for a given corner. This might just be not knowing this track, but it might help you learn it otherwise. Typically you'll pick a point on the track at which you'll start braking for a corner, this point varies depending on the car of course and sometimes tyre or fuel conditions, but say there's a 100m board, or its maybe halfway down the length of a curb, its important to pick a spot and brake there consistently. Now obviously you're going to change this on the fly for things like cold tyres, worn tyres, heavy fuel, etc. But generally you want to pick a detail on the track that catches your attention so you can brake properly for it. I don't know if this was something you were already doing or not, if you were feel free to disregard and keep up the good work. Remember what Marian was saying about braking the most at the start and trailing off as you go through the corner. Secondary to that, I think it was something you didn't really get into during that coaching session, but saving a slide is an important skill to have in your back pocket. Ideally you'd never need it, but we all overcook corners sometimes and lose the rear, even the F1 drivers in real life do it every so often. You want to be sure to quickly turn the wheel into the slide and then when the tail is back under control, turn the wheel back into the corner and continue on. The real trick is being ready for it when you're likely to get a slide, in the MX5 for example, you aren't likely to spin the rear wheels with too much throttle on exit, but it does like to rotate on braking, so you're more likely to need to save a slide braking into a corner than on the exit. As always, great seeing someone learn new stuff and improve. You got this!

Everyone talks about getting out of rookies like it's a bad place, or that once you hit D license you're suddenly a lot better of a driver. Truth is, getting out of rookies is more than a license change, it's a mindset and one that's soon realized as you jump in a GT3/4 immediately after gaining the D rank..

BTW. It is pretty crazy how a "game" can make you so nervous, elevated heart rate and everything, just trying to drive a few laps around a track and not crash. You will do more races, start getting more comfortable and feel confident, but then the time will come when you qualify on pole for the first time and the nerves will totally eat you again. Or you drive a decent race, consistent, hit your apexes, then a few cars crash in front of you, you are suddenly P1 and suddenly the heart rate increases, you miss your breaking point and lose the lead within a couple laps. It's all going to happen!

The MX-5 is the best car on iracing to learn how to race. I often go back to it as it's such fun to drive once you know how to handle it.

Hello! the main thing is, is that you're having fun and that's what it's all about. I've been around racing since 1967 yeah, I'm an "oldie-modie" in real life racing,(was), but new to iRacing since 2023.I'm up to class C and let me tell you as I get to pick and choose different makes of other race cars to race as you go up in class, the MX-5 will ALWAYS be the fun category car to race. the Mazda is a fun car to drive and you learn a lot with this car, I still pick races with this car You're getting faster with each corner and little more relaxed, just stay positive as you practice and race more and things will fall into place...ALOHA!

you are doing quite well and you get better everytime i watch you

@Christinaruddell - Having a lot of experience prior, real and sim, it took a few hours, but no racing, just time-trails.. But don't rush out of rookies. It's the only place where your rating and so, does not really matter, you have no rating :) because it's intended as a tool to learn. What happens when you get to D-license, is that you get a faster car, will be placed in splits of around 1350, and your Irating will fall rapidly, making you race in even worse splits, hence why you see A-licens drivers with 800 ratings and splits in popular series around 700.. they are horrible.. all because they never learned to drive, only focusing on their safety rating, and getting out of rookies. All that is required for safety rating, is to drive from the back, and just don't leave the track. iRating however, is judged on your ability to finish in the rankings on splits appropriate for your level, failing to do so, will send down, and that's where all the bad drivers are. Rookies is just a mix, because noone is actually judged on anything other than safety.. so you could have Max Verstappen creating a new account, racing there 2 times, and then skyrocket in rating over a season in D-licens. What you need to be doing, is actually learn to drive the car comfortably and practice being around other drivers, or AI, because otherwise, what will happen is that you just encounter the same, at the other license grades. You qualify, and then drop to the back, and yet still are not able to control the car on track. All fine, when new, and for the rookie series, but that does not teach you anything outside of what you already know. In relation to your driving, you are squeezing the brake into corners, and slowing down very slowly, and inconsistant. Go to your pedal software, and learn to apply 80-85% brakepressure at an instant, train your muscle memory to that, so you are able to do it with your eyes closed.. then learn to release slowly, down to 5%, and back up again.. Train your muscles, so you don't have to think about it. You need to be able to brake to the same point, every time, and control where you are.. Your throttle inputs during many corners, are not constant, you press, then release, then press, and release, and go full throttle, creating a lot of inbalance in the car, because you shift the weight back and forth doing that.. Insted, slow the car down with the brakes, on entry, coast trough to apex, and then apply throttle to accelerate out, in a steady curve. When you got the balance feel sorted, you can hammer the throttle when you know it's steady.. You loose control a few times, because you are doing the opposite, and focus on speed, rather than control. Hope it makes sense, and not taken harshly, it's not ment in a harsh way, though it is the harsh reality of it. Watch some of Suellio Almeida's videos, or purchase his book/course, a lot of the points I'm trying to make, you can see in action and diagrams etc. the main points, is to be confident in your car and control, before even racing others. then practice with AI, then go racing and you will have a much better time post rookies. Also feel free to write if you have any questions.. :)

Don't worry about how long it takes...it's the journey you are taking that counts in the end, and I'm sure you'll hit the 3.0 next race. Keep it up, keep smiling, and having fun!! You have improved tenfold, for sure!! I'm proud of ya, and hope you are too!!

I am so excited for your journey! driving was decent too. i am also extremely nervous to the point where sometimes my foot is twitching on the brake pedal. btw thats how I won my first race. i saw the brake lights of the leader flashing and then I knew he was more afraid than i was and I attacked :D huge respect for you putting it online! I also like that you don't start from the pits ory shennanigans like that. i see you take a lot of comments to heart. there are a lot of sim racers and as many opinions. feel free to ignore any of it and have fun. feel free to ignore this one too :) for example i can understand that you like to switch cars once out of rookies, but there is great racing to be had with the mazda in the higher splits or the Production Car Challenge series. It's definetly easier to learn the basics in one car. everything you learn in the mazda can then be trasferred to higher classes. looking forward to your next uploads :)

The MX5 is the perfect car to train you. No matter how slow you go the back end will slide around at the exact same moment after you gear down in the middle of a corner. Other cars might not. But this car will do it every single time. Keep at it!!

Awesome stuff Christina! You're smashing it. I love that you're showing your journey.

Very good, you are improving👍

Hi Christina, apologies if I'm teaching you to suck eggs, but when your in practice before quali, before you go into practice if you click on ENTRIES, then you will see My Grp, click on the button and you can stick yourself in any group, you can have the track to yourself, I use it all the time as a full lobby of 25 can be pretty chaotic, keep up the practice you'll soon be out of rookies

If you really really want to get out of rookies quickly, skip qualifying, start at the back and do your race alone. As long as you don't spin or go over track limits you'll be out in no time

Good race management, started 5th finished 5th all in all 5th from 12 is pretty darn good in my book. Keep in mind also that your learning a new skill, it's a lot harder than people think, probably like myself your not a F1 Driver. You have a 1.2k Irating, that's pretty darn good to be honest. You have a great foundation to build upon and for those of us watching we can see the improvement. Keep it up your doing just fine, 5th place job done.

It's interesting to watch someone in iRacing rookies as well. I started my iRacing journey a week ago. Although I have some sim racing background from other games I am gathering too many incident points because of overdriving or battling too much for positions. So my safety rating is 2.57 :D But I've won my first race! And what was very surprising was that you get a certificate for it, haha :D

Hey, you're improving!! Inputs are improving!! Some of what your coach pointed out seems to have sunk in (some of the time lol). There isn't any rush to get out of Rookies, it's where you are supposed to learn basics, but it can be frustrating. You do need to learn your braking references though, nearly every lap was in a different place, but overall, 100% better. Just chill out a bit though, there's nerves and there's nerves, and I think you've got nerves As for shoes, a light weight pool shoe would work, although I'd recommend Sparco KX6 with those pedals you've got.

Consistency is key, keep it on the track. I have won races against people 2 and 3 secs a lap faster before now. Thats my view anyway, just keep putting the laps in and progressively increase the speed. Im Class D Division 8 after a month still mostly racing the mx5,I do only get to play it 2 nights a week as I work away the rest of the time. Just dont rush out of the rookies, It doesnt suddenly get easier or safer ;) Good luck

I had to laugh my behind off when practice started and CC says "Track's clear push" You reply saying "Or don't push and actually stay on the track.." and watch as both cars that left the pits right in front of you do exactly that! Absolutely PRICELESS!! What's important is you didn't end up last on the grid, you managed to set a time with very limited track time and experience, yeah you only beat one player that managed to set a laptime in quali but you roflstomped them with a larger gap to them than to Jensen on pole, all whilst thinking you'd be back of the grid! Yeah sure, you gave up a lot of places in order to chase the safety rating instead and almost hit your target and got a bigger safety rating increase than 3 out of the 4 cars in front of you. PLUS you still ended the race in the same position you started from on the grid. The old adage applies here "To finish 1st, 1st you have to finish" Great work despite the problems, your situational awareness is greatly improved and you're reacting well to anyone steaming up behind you. Your racecraft is also coming along in leaps and bounds, chatting to us as you are trying to make progress must be a big distraction as well.

Great job avoiding the chaos on the first lap.

We're all behind you, Christina!

It's not about getting it done, it's about having fun. Just relax and race, the results will come.

Dai, ho visto che hai mogliorato tantissimo... Complimenti vai avanti così....

Think there is no rush to get out of rookies if it's your 4th race. Suggest to spend some time in rookies and do races offstream to build experience with the cars and traffic. D license races in a GT3 car with 24 drivers on track can be rough.

You’re further than I was when I started, crash’s, barriers and scenic tours through the grass to I got used to it 😅

Every Rookies desire it's to get out of Rookies. Don't listen to anyone saying you need to stay there. You will get to D, you will try other cars/tracks and you'll figure out what is fun to drive, what is easier, and surely what is hard. MX5 It's a great car, you will have races with it even in C (and trust me, a Nurburgring race with MX5 it's insanely fun, and hard in the same time). If you are not feeling safe driving with other cars, start from the pits, or you can try AI for practice before races (they are well made, and you can disable the Car damage for AI races so if you're gonna crash, you can continue the race and learn from your mistakes. You can push the car a little to find what is happening and why and not be penalized in terms of safety rating). Experience things and enjoy racing!

Getting better!

Practice is key to being consistent in any car. I have 15yrs of experience and still practice for 30 mins at least before a race. Dont rush out of the mx5 it holds some of the best close racing that will be had in that lil beast. And once you tame the car and speed up, it will be a go to car for fun races. Practice practice practice. Check out some of my races i am consistent with lapt times quite often.

The mazda is tricky. Its slide-y but also slow and takes a lot of time and effort to get really good at. I can completely understand wanting to drive a more "conventional" race car! You're doing great! Keep going out and having fun!

I started iRacing in 2019 so it's been a long time since I was in Rookies. I totally forgot how much chaos there is. People just randomly hitting walls and spinning everywhere. It's super funny to watch :D

The Nigella Lawson of Sim Racing ❤

Hi Christina, what an improvement! 👏 Still quite a bit of panicking in quali, but no more impostor syndrome 😃 You've improved a lot in your pedal inputs, much smoother than before, but you should try to think more of the car's load transfer, that's why you're getting caught still pretty often (especially in the last sector before the downhill part where you spun quite a few times having too much speed, braking too hard and adding steering input will spun you every time). Now try to memorize you braking points for every corner, way too much inconsistency in that area, and apply throttle only when you know you won't back off from it, it's better to coast a little longer toward the apex if you braked too soon and only go on throttle past it. Re adjust the next lap in that corner to get the right braking point. You'll get a much better understanding of the track flow that way. Keep on! 👏

stay in the mx5! so much to learn there. I drove it for 8 months before moving to a different car and it helped me a ton. Moved to the porsche cup which I highly recommend if you are looking to continue to learn

Es un circuito genial !!!

Don't let yourself be scared of people behind you. I know you want to avoid wrecks and get out of rookies but people are always going to be behind you, regardless of license level.

well, first, Rute, is a lady name, and a portuguese one probably, hehehe. second , you are in the good path, i guess you just need to relax a bit more, you seem like you are too tense, and not enjoying the ride. last but not least, you kept it clean, even tho those races tend to mess up really quickly! and thats something you should be proud of yourself. Keep up the great work! and the videos! :D

Fijn om te zien blijf racen tot volgende keer groetjes Paul 👍👍

I miss those nerves just before the race starts 😂 If it wasn’t for the spins and the hillarious overtake where you were both sat there you’d have been fighting for a podium (which I know you want your objective but you wasn’t horribly off pace)

I really dont understand the desire to get out of rookies. You are a rookie, why move into other cars and faster drivers before you are ready .. do this the right way .. stay there . race rookies 50 times .. You will get more viewer ships on you tube if you stay there . / we like to see the carnage and watch your stress level go through the roof in the future .. i would say if you cant podium 3 times in the rookie class you dont deserve to be out of rookies .. after all they are pitting you against drivers wih similar ratings .. learn to drive race pass and compete. . I am glad your experiencing this and enjoy your commentaries and struggles.. keep coming back

This track is one of the harder tracks. :D

I just started too - Ledernon (?) was my first race. It is a difficult track with blind corners/crests etc. I got lucky with clean qualy, started P3, finished P2 with a totally clean race. Beginners luck. maybe. Just did Oulton park yesterday and finshed 4th but mainly because I didn't crash and most of the others did. That chicane followed by chicane is a death trap for rookies! what are your plans after rookies? I'm curious about touring cars as they use a lot of the free tracks, but I might also dip back into rookies to try the formula cars. I don't feel in a rush to get up into higher tiers, will probably dabble with rookies and D license for a while

Strong performance! Well done 🔥

Don’t feel bad. I never made it out of the Rookie level. It’s almost impossible with all the intentional wrecking and whatnot.

How many AI races did you do before this race?

Quick way out of the rookies is not doing quali. Start at the dead end. Just need to make sure to dodge people spinning with happen every time! All you should focus right now is Safety rating no need to worry about the other ratings. People often give up and disconnect so you wont finish "last" either!

opposite lock when you start to spin out. 👍

A tip for learning this track: on all the uphill blind cresting corners, look for the skinny towers to know roughly where to point the car.

It'd be fun to watch you try to learn ovals at some point. It's a completely different discipline in that you're racing other people a lot more than you're racing the track. Probably not a good idea to get into while you're still trying to get into things, but it'd be fun to watch once you have a better footing.

the adrenaline is why you should either drive the mx5 or the toyota gr86 in the production Car Series for a season or two once you get your D License, (Do not try and drive f4 or gt4 just yet). That will help you stay cool in traffic and amongst the crazies.

2 Jahre later, still there. I do ACC und Ams2 mainly, a little Iracing on the occasion. The Mazda is fun regardless of Rookie stature.

mometum and slip angle is what you need to learn the most. once you have those under your built you'll be able to steer less and use more pedal input than steering input and less jerking on the wheel smooth inputs

Nice race ! At the start don't be afraid being in the pack or you'll never be used to. You can let pass the ones who want to win in the first corners or seems dangerous.

I’ve worn shoes the whole time on my sim rig and actually tried shoeless the other day. You get waaay more sensitivity without shoes! Have you tried stiffening the brake springs? All it takes is one big toe to brake just like SpongeBob

I have also just started in iracing been tryng to get out of the rookies with the formula vee. Its a nightmare 8 races in and I have been in race ending incidents in 6 of them if u cant quali in the first 2 rows u are better off being all the way at the back.

No rush. Rookies is far more entertaining anyway!

@christinaruddell Are you racing with a standard round wheel or a GT3 style wheel? I feel a round wheel that you can let slip through your hands is much better for driving the Mazda. You can toss the Mazda and get a little loose in the corner, let the wheel slip a little in your hands then grab and pull it back, where with the GT3 wheel you cannot let go (I mean... you can, but trying to grab it and not hurt your fingers is a bit like trying to catch a falling knife!).

this happens to me too, everytime i try to make a clean race 'sunday drive" for safety rating , i keep finding myself pushing for faster laps alone in the circuit with 25 seconds gap in front and behind until i crash on my own into a wall, why m i pushing ? I don't even know ...

Just wondering what dram you had after the race?? My go to is the Glengoyne 12 year

quickest way out of rookies. Start from the back or pits. Keep it clean. No off trackss or 4x

I stayed in Mazda, even when I got to C license, was going to get some cars and tracks, but had 18 months off now back with Vee, was looking at getting some cars and tracks, now have a broken foot, can’t win 😊

well done

Nearly done, keep going!

Im not a crazy high rated driver, but i would focus on braking harder initially getting to around 80-90 brake power and then slowly lifting. It seems u brake to around 50ish and then increase as needed. if u were looking at ur braking data on a graph it should look like closer to a large spike or incline and then look like a downhill slope. And dont be afraid to use the brakes slighlty between 5-10 brake pressure to assist in turning the car more. Throttle and brakes especially in mx-5 rotate the car more than the steering wheel alone.

Someone tell her 3.0 SF doesn't mean she's out of Rookies immediately

Love it! Not finished watching it yet, but had to be first commenter. :) Great Vid.

The point of rookies isn't to just cruise around trying to gain SR. This is where you're meant to learn the basics of racing and racecraft. The MX5 is a great car to learn in. It teaches you how to keep a stable platform through braking, acceleration, steering inputs and gear shifting. You do you of course, but I wonder how you'll handle jumping in to GT4/GT3 with your current approach to rookies.

Very wise decision to let the competitors pass. You didn't penalize anyone. You need to work on concentration and consistency. Recording a video probably adds extra pressure. Keep confidence in yourself. With more experience, you'll learn to stay calm throughout the race. You made some mistakes, but that's necessary for your progress. P5 is an honorable place. Hang in there Christina. You are far from reaching the limits of your potential. Be patient and don't try to rush things.

As much as you want to move on from the mx5, it might be in your best interests to finish the season.

If you want to run the quali laps without setting a time you can just cut the line on pit exit so you get a black flag so none of your laps get a time but you can still drive the laps without having to quali.

I will say again..!! Start practicing in GT3 with all driving aids off..!! It will help develop your timing at a much accelerated rate..!! Go all or nothing..!! It's a sim..!! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain..!!

Do a full time trial, the full 27 min and you will be out of rookies

rookie, C, B don't actually make a big difference, you will always be placed to race with people with similar IRATING

I think You use brakes too carefully.

Give yourself some credit in that you are providing commentary for us while trying to concentrate on feel and performance. I could not do that well.

should of put 3rd instead of 3th lol

Pedal to the metal !

This track is very hard and this car is very boring for drive :) congratulations anyway

Socks are better than shoes IMO

have you thought of useing the automatic gear shift,till you get used to just racing

turn your rear mirror off

You should stop putting yourself down and no matter the reason bringing up the last in a race is not cool

Why bother qualifying if you are going to become a rolling road block trying to let people pass?

damn women really live on easy mode, 6 videos and 3.5k subscribers yikes

Women SIMRACING? Hello there ;>

I will never understand why rookies install and pay for iracing and immediately do everything to get out of rookies fastest as possible. You are still rookies race as long as you can in rookies improve - that is the point. Why you want to get fast car if you can't handle mx5 properly? Fact that you got your licence ranked up doesn't mean anything. Keep on racing. Iracing suck btw. it is literally not a good sim but only good platform for online gaming "racing".

what is the overlay you are using

Don't grid and you can go to the back even with qualifying rather than being a hazard trying top let everyone pass