My favorite part of sim racing is spending 45 minutes tweaking force feedback settings in a new car, doing one lap, deciding the physics are broken, and going to bed.

No one remembers second: Despite missing out on the championship title by a measly two points, Max Verstappen was voted driver of the year by F1 team principals for the fifth consecutive season. Actual World Champion Lando Norris slotted into second place in this secret ballot, while Oscar Piastri’s third-place ranking perfectly mirrored his finish in the official standings. The anonymous poll rewarded grit over glory, highlighting veteran Fernando Alonso’s ability to wrangle a difficult Aston Martin and giving rookie Ollie Bearman a nod in eighth place.

Sim skills pay off: Connor Bell bypassed the traditional karting ladder, utilizing the COVID lockdown to master racing simulators before quickly graduating to real-world Spec Miatas and eventually NASCAR Canada. The 20-year-old credits his low-stakes experimentation on Assetto Corsa for his rapid adaptation to 500-horsepower stock cars, a strategy that recently culminated in a headline victory at his home track of Calabogie. Looking ahead, the young talent aims to tackle iconic venues like GP3R and Mosport in the upcoming season while maintaining a long-term dream of piloting a Porsche GT3 R at legendary circuits like the Nürburgring.

Another Tragedy strikes NASCAR: Denny Hamlin’s father, Dennis, has died and his mother remains in critical condition after a massive fire destroyed their North Carolina home on Sunday night. Emergency crews found the couple outside the engulfed structure near Charlotte, but the 75-year-old succumbed to his injuries while his wife was rushed to a burn center for treatment. The devastating loss comes just weeks after Hamlin revealed his father, who made immense financial sacrifices to launch his son's career, was already battling a severe illness.

Hello readers, I’m Marian Barbieru, the coach behind GITGUD Racing and in this short article I’ll walk you  through the five more important aspects of improving your driving technique. These are things I’ve noticed made a big difference for my students, and with the new year, this is a perfect timing to set ourselves up to a structured approach to learning. So, let’s get started!

Alright so it all starts with the line. Doesn’t matter your iRating, the line can still be the way you'll squeeze A LOT of lap time. If you're using the driving line assist that's fine, start with it if you absolutely can't figure it out otherwise, then make the goal to remove it asap. The more you use the racing line the worse it gets in terms of bad habits (vision, car placement, track knowledge).

So many telemetry tools show you the line deviation when comparing with other drivers. That's because it really matters. Half a meter left or right can make a huge difference. And if you're still a beginner-intermediate you can be sure your deviation over a full lap compared with the absolute best line is quite big. A little bit on entry, cutting more at the apex, using a tiny more the exit.

Use the far chase camera, analyze if there's more space you can use, it sounds simple but if it was that simple everyone would have perfect lines but they don’t. The key idea: make sure you KNOW what's the best line in each corner, then compare yours to a good lap.

Next are our main inputs Braking, Steering, Throttle (and also the downshifts but let's keep it simple. You absolutely need to know the theory of how each input should be used and how they affect each other. I call it input resolution because I think about it as a video resolution.

You start out with a 360p resolution just copying the boxing braking shape, or the throttle stomp, then you go to 720p add more details as you get better, eventually you reach 1080p when you can see some modulations as the mechanical / aero grip is changing, and you progress to 2K, 4K and so on. In each corner there will be a braking shape, steering angle + steering speed and throttle modulation that will yield maximum lap time. Instead of going like: ok, I’ll figure it out myself, it's more sensible to see what works first in a fast lap, then experiment with it. If your resolution is 360p but the fast lap is 8K, ofc you won't be able to replicate. Still, it will be a huge benefit of having the idea of what should happen in that corner.

I think this is the natural progression from the line and inputs. You'll copy the line, and the braking point, steering shape, but the next challenge is putting the right amount of speed in the corner so that the timing is right. What I mean here by timing is the throttle timing. If you brake too early or too hard, you decelerate more than you need, and as a consequence you'll feel to press the throttle earlier, potentially going wide on the exit. You missed the timing.

So, even though you might do everything right, if the timing is wrong, you'll see it in the lap time. It's like dancing or playing an instrument. Timing matters a lot. So, if you're decent at the first points but you still can't figure out how others are faster than you go ahead check a track guide or a hot lap, don’t look at braking points but throttle points, see how other drivers are timing the exits and apply this for yourself.

Here I don't mean 'seat time' but specifically track time. Last time I checked I had 350 hours of practice on Monza and if I were to race there compared with a track where I barely have 50 hours, guess on which track I'll be faster. Your pace will be different based on how much track time or track understanding you have and that is COMPLETELY NORMAL.

Both in-sim and in-rig. I'm not encouraging spending more to get fastest setups and having the most expensive hardware. But I saw a lot of drivers improving by optimizing their already existing setups to their likings.

Even a G29 if you add a custom elastomer to it, you play with some 3rd party FFB software, you mount it so that you don’t slide when using it, yeah you invested a little bit of money to make it better but mostly what you did is fine-tuning. Same with a setup, adding a click on rear wing so you can run more consistent laps will be a good factor. I know it's obvious but you often downplay the benefit of small things like this.

If you focus on these five, progress will come.

Thanks for being part of the newsletter community here, our mission is to deliver all the best parts of sim racing directly to you, so stick around with us for this amazing ride that’s going to happen in 2026.

Marian Barbieru, GITGUD Racing

Check out GITGUD Racing’s free MX5 and GR86 course for a limited time [HERE]

Most sim racing careers don't start in the bargain bin. Robert Nobles’ did.

What began as a purchase on a whim of an F1 game on console, evolved from a casual hobby into a genuine pursuit of pace. After upgrading to PC and putting in the hours, the California native is starting to find his rhythm on the grid.

He helped pilot SRN Team Bravo to a 3rd place finish at the 12 Hours of Bathurst. It was a gritty performance that secured SRN’s first-ever endurance podium—a proud milestone that suggests his trajectory is pointing upward.

Nobles isn't just turning laps for the fun of it anymore. Inspired by the likes of James Baldwin and Suellio Almeida, he’s eyeing the transition from the virtual rig to real-world competition. He knows it's a massive leap, but he’s taking the craft seriously to see if the skills translate to the physical track.

Off the Sim

When he isn’t managing tire temps, Robert is usually managing a creative production. His life outside the cockpit is just as busy:

👉Follow Robert's Journey👈