[Sven]

Latest Skin Pack
V1 (skins for BMW M4, Lotus Evora S and Nissan 370Z Nismo): https://www.dropbox.com/s/tqbu5v4dvpgqz1...1.rar?dl=1
Install: extract to Steam/steamapps/common/assettocorsa

[Bossy]

Out

[LRyder2k6]

Definitely will be good to get some practice with the H-pattern. The retro race we did on Sunday was the first time I've done an actual race braking with my right foot in years and it was a real eye opener on how weak I am with my right foot. Despite right foot braking and using heel and toe whenever I drive in real life, I have a lot of room for improvement in the sim. I estimate that when right foot braking, I have to brake 10+ meters earlier, and lack the same kind of finesse I have with my left foot for trailing off the brakes and carrying speed into the corner.

On the topic of learning about driving in general, I happened to attend a webinar on race craft hosted by Ross Bentley (driver coach and author of Speed Secrets books) last night. Despite my years of (questionable) experience, I still learned some useful stuff. IMO, even supposed "pro" drivers still have room to learn and shouldn't get complacent. Always stay vigilant, keep pushing!

[Zombie-79-]

in - but might not make it for the start.

[Ceolmor]

IN - but may be late now.

[BarryTrotter8]

I am sorry guys, I am too exhausted and just finished with sports. Have a good one. ...when is the next one?

[Nowai]

Wow, I liked Nissan, drives so well and smooth, damn!
Thanks for doing this Sven, driving in a sandwich is quite peculiar experience ：D

[Ceolmor]

Sorry, I had to miss the start, so wasn't really sure what was going on, but it was fun. All the cars in the Cosy Race School livery was cool. Thanks Sven.

[Sven]

Cool!

Thanks for the impressive attendance (12 drivers), hope we can keep it going!

An overview of this week's training:

Exercise #1: Learning the track
- use as few HUD/apps as possible; focus on the track, your car and other cars around you. The more info you're processing, the more focus you're wasting which could've been put into your track performance
- get rid of the ideal line if you're still using it (CTRL+I) ; it doesn't help in side by side racing, it's often not the fastest way and you'll always be dependent on this line
- go by corner markers (the 5-4-3-etc and 150-100-50 markers on the outside of a corner) and other environmental cues; trees, kerbs, buildings, posts, whatever!
- use (near correct) FOV (field of view), this is very important as it completely changes how you experience depth, your braking and your awareness: http://www.cosyracingcommunity.com/thread-9.html (scroll down to the bold "Correct field of view")
- use as much of the track as possible, outside on approaching the corner, brake in a straight line if possible, turn in (often fully(!) release throttle for better turn in), get the kerb/apex, then gently press throttle and build up throttle from there, exit on the outside of the turn.
- be careful when using the kerbs, they're smooth (or very bumpy) surfaces with an increased risk of spinning; apply less throttle when using them. When off track, be smooth on the throttle or risk spinning. Don't try to get out of it fast, this will cost you more time.

Exercise #2: Side by side full lap
- pairs of drivers have to drive side by side during the entire lap for a few laps in a row; be aware of the space the other car needs and keep to your side.
- brake slightly earlier on the inside, leave space for the outside car. Turn in later on the outside, and leave space for the car on the inside when getting out of the corner
- switch positions every few laps

Exercise #3: Three wide full lap
- same as #2, but with three cars. One has to be in the exact middle all the time. Be aware that your braking much less aggressive and leave space on both sides. For the inside and outside car: stay on your inner or outer line. Turn in even earlier (inside car) or later (outside car) than you'd do with #2
- switch positions every few laps

Training to practice: 8 minute qualifying and subsequent 5 lap race!

Hope you enjoyed it, maybe even the faster guys learned something, you never know Post any feedback here, whether it's requests, feedback on exercises, the car's setups or whatever..

I'll make a new thread for next week soon!


..and updated the skin pack so the BMW doesn't have the ugly rim blur: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tqbu5v4dvpgqz1...1.rar?dl=1

[S4b1n]

Was cool got some things reminded back to me, which i had forgotten - like lift off throttle before mid corner , hit the inner apex, etc.
Cars are nice. I'm well used to the M4 as I've been drif...driving it quite a bit by myself offline. I don't really like the lotus, so I went for the 370z. I think the balance of the cars is quite good. Lotus seems faster than the 370z on accelerations, probably in corners as well a bit. Can't tell how the BMW fares, as I didn't have any direct battle with one.

The exercises are good - i think we can gain a lot of awareness in racing scenarios by practicing this once in a while.

When drifting exercises? 2/3 cars 'follow the leader' kind-of?

[DeLof]

"- go by corner markers (the 5-4-3-etc and 150-100-50 markers on the outside of a corner) and other environmental cues; trees, kerbs, buildings, posts, whatever!"

My two cents. On the Nurburgring GP Sprint, braking towards the 180° right-hander (which makes it the sprint configuration), I had the bad habit of using the shadow of the walkway over the track as a brakemarker. As long as you always drive on the same time of day, it works. However, shadows are not suitable markers as different time of day obviously moves the shadow.

[Forest Red]

Really enjoyed the training session last night. I often do solo practice and it was nice to do this with a number of other cars around (even if there hadn't been tutoring going on as well), it's a bit less solitary than just running laps on your own.

The individual tuition was really useful. Thanks Sven for the pointer about using the outside of the track on corner entry. I sort of knew it was a problem (I'm always worried about getting outside wheels off the track and spinning) but it was nice to have it confirmed - I can take it away and work on it more. The side by side stuff was also great practice for start and race situations, improving awareness, that sort of thing.

Regarding ideas for future sessions, more of the same would be good, especially the individual coaching. To be honest, even if no one was coaching running on a shared server is better than practising alone. My own current bugbear is entry into slow corners at the start of long straights. I know you're supposed to take a late apex but judging it is proving to be difficult. The left hand turn at Brands Hatch at the end of Cooper Straight would probably be a good example, or the final corner on the Nurburgring GP circuit. And maybe that's the thing, being able to turn what you know as theory into actual improvements, finding where you're slow and gradually working through the necessary changes (anyone have access to a decent telemetry comparison tool?).

Thanks again Sven for setting it up, I also really appreciated the liveries.

[edtheshed]

...The left hand turn at Brands Hatch at the end of Cooper Straight would probably be a good example....

Surtees corner!

It took me ages to figure out how to take it well, it's definitely a tricky one. Actually so are most of the corners at brands hatch!

If you look at the kerb on the inside, there is a point where it gets tighter. That is where you want to join up to the inside, its basically the apex. But the entry to that is not easy. You must stay to the right for much longer than you think, initially braking in a straight line, but ideally carrying enough speed that requires you to trail brake all the way to the apex. Brake or turn in just too late, and you will run wide.

Once you hit the apex, its easy, full gas, bring it out to the kerb on the right. If you get the entry correct, there is never an issue running wide on the exit.

it's a very precise corner, and a very important corner, considering the longest straight of the track comes after it.

[S4b1n]

Yeah, this is usually the case with corners that are tightening. Also the case with Bergwerk on Nordschleife, followed by the long full throttle climb of more than 1 km long through Kesselchen.

[Zombie-79-]

It was a fun night and I found it really worthwhile. Driving three wide around the track was really valuable - I think many people master the ideal line but don't consider how they have to adjust their driving when battling for position in a race. I was one of them and its caught me out many times in the past, still does.

Another thing to help, especially with tricky corners,  is that on a lot of tracks the corners are signposted. Like at New Jersey, there are cones positioned on corner entry, apex and exit points. Its not always a good idea to follow them religiously (depends on the car) but you can use them to start figuring out how best to take a corner by using them as reference points. Some tracks will have different coloured sections on the curbs that serve the same purpose. Worth looking out for.

[DIMAVIKA]

Was a great session, Sven! Like others said, the 2-wide and 3-wide exercise was especially valuable to everyone. It's not easy to adjust your line on the fly AND trust the other driver to do the same. Took me a fair bit of practice to get decent at it.

Also, in case anyone here ever wants practice during the week, either racing with me or doing what Sven did on-board (now that I have a mic ), I'm free most times during the week around the usual race time. Just drop me a PM or Steam msg if you're interested. Happy to help out

[S0ul01]

- use (near correct) FOV (field of view), this is very important as it completely changes how you experience depth, your braking and your awareness: http://www.cosyracingcommunity.com/thread-9.html (scroll down to the bold "Correct field of view")

Man, this tip right here. I adjusted my FOV, which was off by miles and immediately got used to it. I had lots of battles, where I never felt out of control and never crashed anyone. I got a lot more consistent and managed to get the best result of the season. So even if I did not attend the training, i still learned something valuable.