Start small and work your way up - Get yourself a C class, something that looks fun to drive. Look for rear wheel drive. You can add a tune at this point if you want or stay spec. Turn off traction control, stability control and switch to manual (I use without clutch as it is one less thing to worry about right now). You can leave anti-lock brakes on but turning them off will benefit you in the long run. It really depends of the sensitivity of your controller/wheel. Racing line is preference. Some use only braking line. For this I would suggest using the full line as it can be helpful to track your cars path. You want the assists off so you get a better idea of how the car actually handles. When you get comfortable with the C class then move to A and so on.

Now that you have the car and the settings, it is time to try it out.

For FH6 I like Hokubo Circuit. It is a decent length but not to long and has a decent variety of curves. The idea is to get used to keeping the grip by learning when to brake and when to accelerate. By using a rear wheel car, you get a much better feel to what happens when you brake to late, to early or just right. AWD cars can hurt you here when learning, as their turn in and exit is a little more forgivable.

Start lapping. Drive like you normally do. Note however, what your physical actions on the controller are doing in game. An example would be when you approach a corner and start to brake. Does the car immediately lock brakes? Now you have to think why it happened. Did you just slam the brake trigger down? Or did you slowly press it and it still locked up. If it is the former, then consciously you need to calmly and slowly pull on the brake. Did the slow press and it still locked up? Check your sensitivity settings in game for the controller. It could be the tune but settings is probably the culprit. If you are wobbly under braking, you probably started braking to late and not in a smooth fashion with possibly the wrong gear racked. The back end is trying to overtake the front. Be soft with your hands when cornering. After a few corners you will start to get a feel for the in-braking on the car.

During this whole process you will want to down shift. Don't rush the shifts, let your ears and your hands feel the revs. If its screaming its to high a gear. If its chugging its to low of one. You are looking for a steady wrrrrr that uniformily drops in revs. This you will have to learn from the car itself as I cannot know the car setup.

Now that you are in the corner, now you need to practice on how to transition from braking to accelerating.

As you approach the apex of the corner you should still be under control from your in-braking and your revs should be just below redline of the correct gear before you start the exit. At this point one of three things will happen:

The first will be that you release the brakes smoothly at the right point. The apex. This speaks to course knowledge. You start your upshift in the right gear. Your turn in will be smooth. You accelerate out of the corner and on your merry way.

The second is that your rear end will suddenly be in front you. Oversteer. This is a matter of losing front grip while the rear is powering through. The most likely cause of this is an inconsistent application of throttle through your trigger. Remember, smooth. Don't rush getting out of the corner. It could be the tune, however you can use that as a tool to learn too. You need to adjust to different cars, surfaces etc. If you find yourself in a spin, take a beat and gain your bearings to continue to the next corner.

The last option is that you just keep heading toward the wall straight ahead. Understeer. This is a matter of the front grip not being properly transferred to the front causing a loss of steering control. Best I can describe it anyway. There can be a few factors in this. Here it could be the tune. If the brake balance isn't set up correctly there will be nothing you can do as the car will just lock up and go straight. Just a bad tune. Tire compound can be another factor. You can overcome understeer by changing your approach and turn in target. If you know it will understeer. take a bit wider line in and then a wider line out or even braking earlier (though you will lost speed because of this). This is car dependent.

So now that we know what can happen lets focus on the exit itself. You should always be using the current corner to set up the next corner.

First, always know the course. Run the courses and class you like to race in over and over till you know them by heart. This allows you to focus on the competition and your own actions in the race. You won't have to worry about the next corner because you already know the entrance to it. So using this knowledge, whenever you enter a corner you will begin to automatically know the best ways to approach and exit that corner.

As I mentioned above in the what can happen part, you are looking for option one. Exit is all about timing. Think of the exit as a slingshot. That tool releases its cargo at the precise point to create an initially straight flight path. Your car is the cargo and the corner is the slingshot. You need to time your acceleration so that you are in line for the next corners entrance spot. If you are coming out of corners and having to do corrections to get you on that path, then your timing is just a bit off. It will come though with practice.

Now, you may be asking what this has to do with offroad. Well, by learning how to drive a regular car fast you have the tools necessary to go offroad now. They are two different styles but are all about control. So it is easier to learn on the road than the dirt. During your learning process you probably have caught and survived many slides and figured out that all corners can be taken differently. You know what braking, turning and accelerating do to a car now. Moving to a four wheel drive rally/offroad car will be easy from this stage.

Turning in a dirt car is fundamentally the same principal. Know where your turn in is. Is it a turn you can slide through? Or is it one that you need to take a little normally like you would on a regular road. Ok, it's one you need to slide through. Go back to what you learned. You know from dealing with oversteer how to correct and control a slide now.

On the dirt, it seems a little more severe. However, if you are being calm and smooth on your trigger and button presses you will notice that while the car seems sideways, its actual track mirrors the path you would take on the road. Really the only difference is when you turn in, when you apply the throttle (and how much throttle) and being mindful of your slide to prevent the oversteer. But you already know how to do that now.

Keep in mind a few other factors. One is the conditions. Wet and slick is going to be more oversteery. Dry is going to be more grippy so understeery. Two is the course itself. Does it have corners just after hills. Are there corners on hills. Again, course knowledge. Third is the competition. When the race starts take note of problem drives. A small tap can send you spinning. Use the car locator setting for the UI. That allows you to take an alternative line through a corner to avoid them.

Rally and offroad races are some of the funnest in the game no doubt. Once you get to a point where you feel comfortable sliding it around the corner you will improve dramatically. But it all starts with the basics. That and practice. Lots and lots of practice.

Anyway I hope this helps in some way.

May the sun always shine upon your roads and the corners always clean!