How Fast is Fast Enough?

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Pretty much every new sim racer asks this question at some point in their early days. I know I did back when I got hold of Grand Prix Legends on its launch in 1998. (Yes, I'm that old.) I suppose most of us are looking for a nice, straightforward answer, a target to aim at. The snag is that there often isn’t one, at least not one that can be given in black and white terms. But to get you started, here are a few tips that should help give you some idea of what you need to do to be competitive.

Speed is not everything

That may sound paradoxical in a racing game – after all, isn’t the whole point to cross the finish line ahead of everybody else? Well, yes… but both parts of that are important. If you don’t reach the finish line, it doesn’t matter a jot if you were three seconds faster than anyone else on the track. Driving smoothly and consistently is better than throwing the car around on the very edge the whole time. (At least in races it is – hotlapping, the art of pushing to get the quickest possible single-lap time, is another matter.)

If you happen to be racing online, it’s even more important to be smooth. Most of your competitors will be fine with drivers who are a bit slow, provided they’re not absurdly so – but if you keep losing control and hitting other cars because you’re trying too hard, that will quickly get you into trouble. Keep doing it and you may be warned, be banned, or worst of all gain a reputation as someone to steer clear of. You do not want to become known as a wrecker. One of the nicest compliments I ever had in online GTL came after a thrilling race-long battle around Hockenheim Short, when my rival sent me a simple message: “Clean Driver.”

Keeping things competitive

Obviously, being a clean driver who’s 30 seconds a lap slower than everyone else is pretty dull, for you and your rivals. If you’re playing online, your server or league may have its own rules or guidelines, so follow those. Offline, racing against the AI, it’s more a case of giving yourself a competitive race. GT Legends doesn’t have such fine control over AI skill as many more recent simulations, so the best thing to do is to start with the lowest level (Beginner) on a track you’ve practised and see how you go. Once you can win easily, step up a level, and keep going.

Ideally, you want to be at a level where competing at the front is tough but achievable, although some people (including me, sometimes) also enjoy battling it out in midfield. Although GTL doesn’t have penalties for contact with the AI cars, smoothness and consistency are still important as being punted off the track because you couldn’t keep control is going to lose you plenty of time – annoying in a long race, potentially disastrous in a five-lap sprint.

Yes, but how fast should I be?

All right, I admit it: smoothness isn’t everything in motor racing, speed is important too. You want something more specific? Choose the Lotus Cortina in an Open Practice session at Donington National; make sure the “Private Test” box is ticked. Then, go into the setup to reduce your fuel load to a few laps’ worth. Leave all the other numbers at their default settings. Use as few driver aids as you can manage; in particular, change gears manually if possible. Drive with the controller you prefer – you can have plenty of fun as a keyboard driver, whatever some hardcore sim racers may insist!

Try to complete a clean, no-contact lap of Donington National in the Cortina inside one minute, thirty seconds. To reach 1:30 you won’t need to be perfect, but you will need to avoid any huge mistakes. As such, it’s not a bad time to keep in mind. When you’re done, watch the replay of your hotlap to see where you can still improve – and then try to do it. Eventually, try to drive so that you can stay below 1:30 consistently for several flying laps in a row. As with most things GTL, it may look a long way away at first, but you can get there. Good luck!