Every single one of us has been that driver who goes faster than they can handle. Yes, even you, with your sim racing gloves that make you feel extra professional. And me too.
At some point our brain convinced us we were braking like Senna, but reality, always so brutally honest, sent us straight into the wall, the runoff area, or worse, into the car of the poor soul who had been doing everything right.
But there are levels to this.
This article is about them. And about how to survive them.
Why It Happens So Often in Rookies and Class D
There is something deeply human about wanting to go fast before learning to go clean. At rookie levels, excitement beats technique every time. And that leads to wonderful situations like:
- “I’ll enter the corner like Verstappen.”
- “I’ll exit the corner like a shopping cart with a jammed wheel.”
The issue is that a novice’s brain tends to believe the car can do far more than physics, training, and muscle memory permit. They come in motivated, confident, sometimes overconfident, and proud of “not hitting the brakes until absolutely necessary,” which usually means braking about two meters too late.
Add a sprinkle of ego and a spoonful of “I’m not losing this position no matter what,” and you get a cocktail that explodes in turn one, turn two, or every turn if your luck is truly terrible.
How to Identify a Driver Who Is Over the Limit
If you want to survive, you need something like a sim racer’s spider-sense. Fortunately, drivers who push beyond their limits reveal themselves quickly.
Clear warning signs:
1. Braking Based on Faith, Not Physics
If a car approaches at a speed that makes you question whether it even has brakes, it’s probably overdriven.
2. Racing Lines That Look Like They Were Drawn by a Drunk GPS
They enter wide, exit wider, and rejoin as if the track were a free-for-all.
3. Constant Corrections
Wheel jerks left and right, throttle where it shouldn’t be, frantic movements. The universal sign of “I also have no idea what’s happening.”
4. Rejoins That Make You Reevaluate Your Life Choices
When they go off track (and they will), they return as if no one else exists.
5. The Eternal Dive Bomb Cycle
You let them pass, they outbrake themselves. You pass them back, they dive bomb you again. They go long once more. And there you are, trapped in an amateur Fast & Furious sequel.
How to Protect Yourself from Them
You can’t change these drivers, but you can become almost immune to their chaos.
1. Give Them Space, But Not Too Much
The trick is to avoid leaving a huge open door on the inside. That only invites wild dive bombs. Show you intend to close it without blocking dangerously.
2. Brake Earlier When They’re Behind You
I know it sounds absurd, but hear me out. When a driver brakes late (very late, dangerously late), you brake a bit earlier and cut the corner cleanly. They rocket past, you take the position back. When this works, it is a thing of beauty.
3. Don’t Marry the Ideal Line
The ideal line is a luxury. The safe line is a necessity.
4. Wait for the Mistake
It will happen. And when it does, capitalize. Don’t force anything. Consistency beats chaos nine out of ten times.
5. Remember They Aren’t Malicious
Most aren’t trying to ruin your race. They’re fighting themselves, the limits of physics, and the corner approaching at 200 km/h.
We Are All Drivers in Progress
Overdriving isn’t malice, it’s a learning stage. It’s wanting to go fast before learning to go well. It’s the adolescence of a driver.
Some outgrow it quickly. Others take more curves, more mistakes, and more emotional collateral damage along the way. But if you learn to read them and protect yourself, something magical happens: every time you survive one of them, you become a better driver. You learn patience, anticipation, control, and most importantly, humility.
And one day, without noticing, you become the driver everyone else tries to follow, without overdriving.
- Remember, you can join iRacing clicking here.
See you on the track!
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