I get rear ended a lot by other people in sim races (painfully too often), and the reason that it happens so often is that most drives lack mental bandwidth and drive over their head. It's frustrating, because many of the incidents are avoidable, but most sim racers don't program their brain to give themselves the extra capacity to race without overwhelming themselves.

This one-hour session is designed to help you build a strong foundation as a racer—no matter what sim you play. Instead of focusing on car setups or sim-specific tricks, we’ll dive into you as a driver. Together we’ll: Talk about your racing background and goals Identify strengths and areas for growth Build a framework for improving fundamental skills like consistency, awareness, and racecraft…

In sim racing, it's easy to get caught up chasing lap times or downloading setups. But if you're serious about improving your driving, raw hours behind the wheel won't get you there alone. What separates sim racers who actually improve from those who just repeat the same mistakes is one thing: intentionality. In my coaching experience, I often see sim racers willing to put in thousands of hours of 'junk laps', driving around without a plan, or review, but not willing to critically think about how to improve their driving.

Over time, regardless of whether I'm karting, autocrossing, or sim racing, I’ve come to realize that racing isn’t just about speed — it’s about how well I can make decisions when I have almost no time to think. There are two types of decisions we all face. The first kind are the deliberate ones — things like whether to take a new job, buy a house, or switch teams.

When you’re driving at high speed, everything happens quickly. Corners appear and disappear, braking zones fly past, and opportunities to make a pass come in an instant. To handle all of this effectively, you need to be looking *well ahead* of where your car currently is. The further ahead you look, the more time your brain has to process what’s coming up and prepare your body to react.

In sim racing, traffic management is a skill that separates good drivers from great ones. Whether you're lapping slower cars or being lapped yourself, knowing how to handle backmarkers efficiently can make or break your race. Mishandling traffic can lead to lost time, unnecessary crashes, and blown race strategies. In this guide, we’ll break down the best strategies for…

(Author's Note: I'm not a psychiatrist or anything like that, but I have found some strategies that have helped me focus and perform better on track. These articles are just sharing my tips and tricks. Use them as you'd like.) A few days ago, I wrote an article about some learning strategies that have helped my neurodivergent brain and other racers.

As a neurodivergent thinker, I’ve always struggled with the typical ways people learn racing. Watching hours of YouTube tutorials, studying data graphs, memorizing braking points—they all left me overwhelmed or zoning out. I’d hop in the car and still forget what I was supposed to focus on. The usual advice didn’t stick. My brain doesn’t work like that—and forcing it to just led to frustration and inconsistent results.

One of the biggest mistakes that I see new drivers make is refusing to observe or follow faster drivers on track, or ask them for help when they are available. One of the best ways to improve in sim racing is by studying faster drivers. However, blindly mimicking their driving without understanding why they do things can lead to mistakes, frustration, and even slower lap times.

Sim racing is evolving rapidly, and AI-powered coaching tools are becoming a game-changer for drivers looking to improve. In my latest article for Coach Dave Academy, linked below, titled "AI Sim Racing Coaching: Unlock Faster Lap Times with Delta AI & Auto Insights" I explored how AI can accelerate driver development by providing instant data analysis, lowering the barrier to telemetry learning, and helping racers fine-tune their performance with actionable insights. 

🏁 Want to improve your racecraft? Start practicing smart defensive driving, clean overtakes, and race consistency in every session. That’s how you start winning more races! 🏆 I also host racecraft clinics (at paid group rates) where we breakdown the elements of overtaking and defense. Here is an example of a clinic I did for the North American Sim Racing Series teaching how to overtake inAssetto Corsa Competizione.

In sim racing, raw speed is only part of the equation. Racecraft—the ability to read your opponents, anticipate their actions, and make intelligent decisions—often determines whether you finish ahead or behind. A crucial but often overlooked skill is observing your opponents before attacking or when setting up a defense. Lucky for you, most racers don't pay attention to the obvious information that could help them succeed in battles, and will help you to easier to pass them.

One of the most common mistakes sim racers make is applying throttle too early while still having steering input. This leads to understeer, traction loss, and slower corner exits. Understanding the timing of car rotation, weight transfer, and how they affect the traction circle is crucial to improving consistency and lap times. Let’s break down why this happens and how you can fix it.

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Mario Andretti once said, “It's amazing how many drivers, even at the Formula 1 level, think that the brakes are for slowing the car down”. Braking isn’t just about slowing the car down; it’s also a powerful tool for controlling weight transfer and enhancing corner rotation. Andretti meant that brakes allow drivers to control the car and by understanding how to use the brakes effectively, drivers can improve their ability to navigate turns efficiently while maintaining control.

We've all seen this graphic so many times, that it's almost a meme in the racing community, but the Vortex of Danger has an important role to play, especially in sim racing, because so many people do not understand how the timing of cars work, when trying to work a pass. I take absolutely no credit for the concept of the "Vortex of Danger." We all know that it is the genesis of Randy Pobst, and it's in the SCCA rule book for a reason.

Racing, whether in the real world or in a sim, demands a high level of focus, awareness, and control. The challenge isn’t just about speed; it’s about maintaining composure under pressure. Staying calm when racing around other people comes down to proper mental programming—training your brain to focus on the right things during high-stress situations. We see this kind of mental discipline in fighter pilots, firefighters, and police officers who remain clear-headed in life-threatening situations.

It's one of the most frustrating experiences in sim racing — you've prepared, practiced, and qualified well, only to get collected in a Turn 1 accident caused by someone else's mistake. The temptation to hit the escape button and quit can feel overwhelming. After all, why should you continue in a race where your chances of a good result feel ruined by something out of your control?

I still remember my first wheel-to-wheel battle in a sim racing league. It was a high-stakes moment—last lap, two cars ahead, one behind, all of us within a few tenths. My heart was racing, my hands were tight on the wheel, and I second-guessed every move. When the driver in front hesitated into a braking zone, I had a clear opportunity to send it up the inside.

Overtaking in sim racing isn't just about being faster than your opponent—it's about understanding their patterns, anticipating their behavior, and choosing the right moment to strike. The key to setting up a successful pass lies in analyzing your opponent's driving habits and identifying their vulnerabilities. By approaching overtakes with patience and precision, you can improve your chances of making clean, efficient passes without sacrificing lap time.

I've been a hobbiest racer and driver coach for almost 20 years now, helping friends and clients getting faster. I started in autocross, moved to competition karting and now have devoted significant efforts to sim racing. Over the last year, I've really put a focus on developing 'Apex Advisory Racing' as a brand and program designed to simplify racing and provide practicial coaching advice for grassroots drivers.

We've all seen the meme joke of crashing in Turn 1 at Monza, and it's caused by the most common and avoidable errors in sim racing - When a chasing driver rear-ends the car ahead in a braking zone. It’s frustrating, unnecessary, and almost always the fault of the trailing driver. But, besides a lack of driver skill, why does this happen?

In sim racing, maintaining focus is key. Many of the rookie drivers that I work with struggle over an entire race to keep a constant pace, instead of just setting fast laps. As race distances increase, drivers must develop mental strategies to stay engaged, avoid mistakes, and keep performance consistent. The challenge is a lack of mental preparation, and training properly for the race ahead of time.

Author’s Note: There are several links to other articles in this one, marked with a (*) In sim racing, mastering car control isn’t just about keeping the car on track—it’s about constantly testing the limits. Unlike real-world racing, sim racers don’t have a G-meter or the ability to physically feel G-forces through their bodies. This makes it difficult to develop an intuitive sense of the car’s grip when braking, cornering, or accelerating.