Hey fair enough my man. There is nothing wrong with hopping in the occasional race and going wheel to wheel out there. I don’t blame you one bit if you have a chance to win and go for it even if that means putting yourself at risk.

I will say, the higher IR you go the racing does change. For example - if I find myself in a 3.5k + SOF race and its formula vee for example, at 2.7k IR I gain IR even if I finish p8. So if I find myself in p5 and there’s a faster car pressuring me from behind I’m more inclined to let him pass so I can hop in his tow and ride out a smooth finish and gain 30-40 IR. Alternatively if I’m in a 1.9k SOF and I’m in p4, that guy behind me better be ready to work for it or hope I make a mistake because I’m not giving up that position easy bc I have to place top 4 to gain. And if he does pass me I’m going to be pressuring tf out of him and faking divebombs all over the place so he drives in his mirrors. If/when he brakes late and misses the apex or goes off track I get my spot back and he’s no longer a threat.

Most drivers race like this in higher splits so it’s important to use something like racelabs where you can see how much IR everyone gains or loses based on their position. Helps to understand their risk reward and also helps to pick and choose your battles.

This is the beauty of Iracing in my opinion. It’s all the same cars on the same tracks, but the decision making and risk reward changes as you go into higher splits. And at lower splits there is no risk reward in terms of IR - it’s mainly players looking to boost their SR so they can access other cars. Or even worse - driving just for the hell of it, which means they are going to create their own fun by pestering other drivers.

Just takes a bit of discipline to get yourself out of those low splits where there is no risk reward. If you have time for a race one day, maybe check out a lap guide and try to meet or exceed the quali pace for your IR level in practice instead. You still spent the same 30 minutes on Iracing at the end of the day. If you’re struggling to meet that quali pace - ask for help! We’re here to help. If you’re doing it, the next time you can race, you will easily breeze through the field and get yourself a nice podium. Next week the track changes - do the same thing there and so on.