Your first
online race

Before you join

Five minutes of preparation saves you half the problems:

• Know the track. You don't need to be fast, you need to know where it goes. Ten laps alone is enough not to be an obstacle.
• Check your controls. Make sure you have mapped: pit limiter, lights, brake bias adjustment if your car has it, and above all the look-behind or mirror view.
• Turn up the volume on other cars. It sounds trivial, but hearing the car in your blind spot prevents a lot of contact.
• Read the race rules. Duration, whether there's a mandatory stop, which tyres, and what gets penalised. Every organiser has their own.

How a race is structured

An organised race almost always has three phases:

1. Free practice. Track open, come and go as you like. This is where you test the car and dial in the setup.
2. Qualifying. A flying lap against the clock; your time sets your grid slot. Unwritten rule: if you're on a slow lap and someone is on a fast one, move aside and give them room. It's expected of you, and you'll be asked to do it.
3. The race. Formation, start and however many laps are scheduled.

In an open session like our 24/7 there's no qualifying and no grid: you go straight out on track. That's why it's the best place to start.

The pit lane without drama

The pit lane has three rules that get broken constantly:

• Engage the limiter before the line, not once you've crossed it. Speeding in the pits is an automatic penalty in almost every rulebook.
• Don't cross the white exit line. Rejoining, stay on your side of the line until it ends, even if the racing line pulls you across. It's where most penalties are handed out.
• Look before leaving your box. Cars already in the lane have priority.

And on the way in: signal by lifting a little early and move to the pit side of the track in good time. Braking hard on the racing line to make the entry causes accidents.

The start, where it all goes wrong

Most incidents in an online race happen in the first thirty seconds. How not to be part of them:

Formation lap

Keep your distance to the car ahead, don't overtake and don't weave aggressively. Warm tyres and brakes with gentle bursts and short stops, without leaving your position.

Rolling start

You form up in two lines, at a constant speed, and nobody accelerates until the lights go out or the organiser gives the signal. Passing before the line is a penalty. Stay in your column: the other one isn't yours.

Standing start

Gear engaged, clutch ready, revs where the car has traction. On the signal, release progressively. A long wheelspin doesn't give you a start — it takes it away.

Turn one

One rule: leave a car's width. There's nothing to gain. Positions taken at turn one come back on their own within three laps if you have the pace, and they're gone for good if you end up in the gravel.

Flags: what they actually mean

Blue causes the most confusion. It doesn't mean "get off into the grass": it means hold your line, be predictable and lift a little at the sensible place. The car lapping you is the one who has to execute the pass.

The three rules that prevent almost everything

1. Be predictable. Same braking point, same line. A slow, consistent driver bothers nobody.
2. Check your mirrors before you move. It sounds obvious and it's the cause of 60% of contact.
3. When in doubt, lift. No position is worth someone else's race.

With that you can enter any race. Everything else — pace, setup, strategy — you learn by racing. If you want something with a real rulebook and stewards, there's the league, and if you'd rather ease in without pressure, the 24/7 is always open.

When you're ready to start fighting for places, read how to overtake without wrecking the race.

Frequently asked