SIM Racing
Helping Sim Racers Fulfil Their Potential
Coaching
We have taught 1000s of sim racers how to get faster on track. Our coaching sessions can be taken one-on-one or in a group. Join the Sim Racing Academy for weekly coaching at an affordable price.
Courses
Improve your core technique and get faster with our various courses, including the Sim Racing Masterclass, a 4-week programme of online learning, live coaching and seminars with our elite coaching team.
Tools
The tools to make your journey to the sim racing podium faster and easier. Get better faster with our groundbreaking AI coach, trophi.ai, and shave off seconds off your lap time.
Sim Racing Uni
From setting up field-of-view to your steering wheel and pedals, the Sim Racing University will help you find pace. Improve your driving too, with tutorials on techniques such as braking and car setup.
Live, On-Track Assessment
30 MINUTES WITH A LIVE COACH FOR $30 $24.99
Get a 30-Minute, On-Track Assessment with one of our expert instructors. Come away knowing exactly what you need to improve on to become a faster, more consistent driver.
Our Coaching & Courses
One-on-one Coaching
Driver61 One-on-One Coaching is laser-focused on understanding where you can find your next 1% of lap time while being consistent.
The Sim Racing Academy
The Sim Racing Academy has a full range of different coaching sessions to choose from. Create your own training plan and take your sim driving to the next level.
The Sim Racing Masterclass
The Sim Racing Masterclass is a 4-week programme that consists of online training, four live coaching sessions and five seminars all designed to help you win.
Our Most Recent Content
Here at Driver61, we use simulators to help train our drivers, as well as offering sim training and courses. The blend between real-world and simulated racing is getting closer each year, meaning real-world and sim drivers can blend between disciplines more easily.
Here you can find our sim specific videos and well as more information about sim equipment below.
Driver61’s Ultimate F1 Setup Guide
At Driver61, we receive a lot of requests for setup advice on the F1 gaming franchise. Whether you're new or experienced with vehicle...
Pedal Settings in F1 2021
Introduction Sim racing can be an expensive hobby, with drivers investing some serious money into their rigs and setups. Overlooking the...
How to Choose the Right Sim Wheel
Introduction Passionate motorsport enthusiasts and gamers have been dipping their toes into sim racing for a long time now. If you are...
F1 2021 FFB Settings Guide
Intro In this article, Driver61 hopes to give you a full step by step guide to FFB in the new F1 2021 racing game. Whether you are...
How to set FOV in F1 2021
Introduction FOV (Field of View) is a topic that generates a lot of discussion at Driver61. It is a fundamental part of any sim racing...
Driver61’s Top 5 Tips for Getting Faster at Karting
Intro At Driver61, we understand that the majority of motorsport enthusiasts are keen to get involved with the sport. Often, the easiest...
30 MINUTES WITH A LIVE COACH FOR $30 $24.99
LIVE, ON-TRACK Sim Racing ASSESSMENT
Expert Advice
Our Live, On-Track Sim Racing Assessment is an excellent way to get started with training and see the value of instruction. Perfect for beginner and intermediate drivers, the 30-minute session is designed to leave you with a personalized action plan that will start your journey to being a naturally fast driver.
During the session, your coach will assess where you are and where you want to be, then you’ll head out on track in your sim, car, and track of choice. While you drive, your coach will identify what’s holding you back and provide you with actionable steps to improve straight away.
You’ll shortcut our decades of learning on track as we transfer our knowledge as efficiently as possible. Instead of just focusing on braking a few meters later or turning in at a different point, rather we assess your overall technique – then we help you understand practical ways you can rapidly improve.
If you’re looking to significantly improve your technique, reduce lap time, and make lasting changes as efficiently as possible, this sim racing assessment package is for you.
Customized plan
The 30-minute session is designed to leave you with a personalized action plan that will start your journey to being a naturally fast driver.
ANY SIM, CAR, TRACK
We have instructors for all sims, cars, and tracks. Work on the combo of your choice to find the pace you need to win races.
IDEAL FOR BEGINNER & INTERMEDIATE DRIVERS
This is a super simple way to get started with training and see the value of instruction.
Sim racing – How to get faster
At Driver61 we believe that drivers should be trained so they have the skills required to make their own decisions as to how to be faster on track. This means that we focus on perfecting the fundamentals first, which primarily include vision, braking and steering. Get these right and you’ll be well on your way to being a faster sim driver.
If you’re keen to dive deeply into your driving technique, and we suggest you do, then take a look at our free 25-part tutorial series called the Driver’s University.
It was originally created for real-world drivers, but as sim racing has become more sophisticated we’ve found sim racers are also learning a lot from it.
The Driver’s University will take you through the basics of the racing line and the phases of a corner, before leading you through to more advanced techniques such as how to trail brake and understanding how weight transfer affects grip.
In addition to the University, you can find sim-specific content above. These videos focus on similar principles but are adapted slightly for sim racing.
Here's how to get faster
1. Vision
Vision is important when driving on track whether it’s real-world or sim because you need to give yourself the right information at the right time. Most drivers will begin by not looking far enough ahead, meaning they’ll likely make quite a few mistakes and will commonly “run out of road” on the corner exits.
The other issue with vision is that a driver’s vision is often not active enough when they should be “scanning” around different areas on the circuit. You can take a look at our Driver’s University tutorial on vision – you’ll be amazed at how much it helps.
2. Smooth Initial Steering
How you turn in to each corner, is actually based on where you’re looking on the circuit – hence why vision is so important. If you’re not looking where you’re going to end up, you won’t have a clear idea of when and how much to turn in.
Once you’ve turned in, however, the steering wheel should be reasonably smooth as extra steering angle or correction will unsettle the car. Focus on having one smooth increase in steering angle as you turn your car into each corner.
3. Don’t Overslow Your Car
Keeping up speed throughout the corner sounds obvious, however, it’s one of the key areas sim racers and real-world driver lose loads of time. Most drivers will try to brake too late, before actually reducing speed too much before the apex.
If your technique is feeling a little “lumpy” try to think about your car’s fluidity as you drive through the corner. Of course, heavy braking is still required when you need to shed a lot of speed, like into a hairpin bend, but just before turn in you’ll need to begin to blend out of the brake pedal. This should make the car easier to drive and actually generate more grip, leading to a higher cornering speed.
If you are interested in getting faster in the sim and learning skills that make you a “natural” driver, check out our sim training courses.
Here's our suggested software
Finding the right sim software is the first step on your journey. There are quite a few different types of software that vary in terms of realism and physics. If you’re new to sim racing, the physics and feel of each game is something that you’ll begin to understand over time.
Here’s a list of the best sim racing software:
- iRacing
- Assetto Corsa
- rFactor2
- Project Cars 2
- Raceroom
- Automobilista
There are other less realistic sim titles out there such as the F1 series, GT Sport and Forza, but for the most realistic experience, we recommend the list above.
Here's our suggested sim wheels
Again, as with software, there’s a lot of choice when it comes to sim racing wheels. Unfortunately, to get the most realistic feeling the wheels aren’t cheap.
If you’re looking for a complete guide of how to build your own sim rig, there’s an excellent article here from Sim Racing Cockpit.
As with real-world driving, it’s critical to get the best feedback from a steering wheel as possible and without the G-force feeling it a sim, it’s even more important.
Here’s a list of the best sim racing wheels:
- Logitech G29
- Thrustmaster T300 RS
- Fanatec CSL
- Fanatec Clubsport v2.5
- Simucube 2
- Fanatec Podium F1
- Fanatec Podium DD1
The direct-drive sim racing wheels offer the most authentic and realistic experience, which naturally translates into fast times on track. Granted, the direct drive wheels are the most expensive, but they feel they offer gives an immersive experience.
Our Sim Racing Tools
Sim Racing AI Coach
Our sim racing Ai coach helps you get faster in iRacing, Assetto Corsa Competizione, and the F1 series games. With an AI coach by your side, you’ll overcome persistent personal roadblocks and establish a direct path to track dominance.