Any online driving coaches available with RF2?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Andrew Nagy, Feb 12, 2021.

  1. Andrew Nagy

    Andrew Nagy Registered

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    Now that I'm turning some fairly respectable lap times (at least based on youtube videos of people driving actual cars at my track of interest), I'm interest in hiring an online coach to help get me to the next level. I reached out to several sim racing online coaches, but so far haven't heard back from any of them. Reading their web sites, it appears that they primarily support iRacing, which I guess isn't too surprising. Anyone know of a good online coach who's familiar with RF2? I suppose the odds of finding someone intimately familiar with Atlanta Motorsport Part aren't too great, but I thought I'd ask. Thanks.
     
  2. davehenrie

    davehenrie Registered

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    There was a gent offering coaching with another sim, but when I check the site I didn't see any mention of it.
    see if you can contact the owner of this site: https://simracing604.com/
     
  3. David O'Reilly

    David O'Reilly Registered

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    Michi Hoyer offers online coaching.
    He is an expert in RF2 and one of the fastest drivers in the world having set pole and won in FSR and top 10 in the Virtual 24 hrs of LeMans.
    This week he was called up by Audi to race in the Accelerate E-Sports challenge.

    If you haven't already done it I implore you to watch Skip Barber Going Faster. Watch it all the way through at least twice. take notes and then practice, then watch it again a week later.



    Then... (My plug) I wrote a 78 page guide for sim racers called "The Sim Racers Performance Guide". It all crosses over into real racing (which I do as well).
    Its €10 and will have enough content to keep you going for a year or two of practice.

    Lastly I did a few online videos about coaching. Here is one.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2021
  4. Stevy

    Stevy Registered

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  5. David O'Reilly

    David O'Reilly Registered

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  6. JamesB

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    I cant quite see how Michi being a "Meme" makes him less able to coach someone. I have been watching several of his youtube videos on setup and training and from what I have seen he is MORE than capable.
     
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  7. Andrew Nagy

    Andrew Nagy Registered

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    Thanks - I'll reach out to some of these guys. I also found a couple of candidates from recent articles in Grassroots Motorsports magazine.

    I watched that Skip Barber video years ago, and have also read his book (and many others). But what I'm looking for here is much more specific, and may be very hard to find. I'm looking for someone who is not only familiar with RF2 (which seems to whittle down the field quite a bit right off the bat), but who is also intimately familiar with AMP, because that is the only track I care about at the moment, since that's where I'm headed next month for a 3-day race class in preparation for driving in an arrive-and-drive series there. I've never raced competitively (just many years of DEs and noncompetitive track sessions, private lessons, etc.), and I'm expecting that other students in the class have had actual racing experience, so I want to use my time on the sim to attempt to level the playing field as much as possible. But if I can't find a coach, just my practice time on the sim, especially now that I've been shown how to use the shadow car, will, thanks again to all the help I've gotten from this forum, leave me vastly better prepared than I would have been otherwise.
     
  8. Stevy

    Stevy Registered

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    Hey, I'm not gonna answer you guys as I know what game you want to play.
    I don't can, want or will OP say how to spend his money or what service to choose. You're free to do and spend your money how you like.
    I just want to help him with saying he should be really carefull what or who to choose.
    There are some really good services out there which are really good and are worth the money (sadly most of them are heavily if not only iRacing focused)

    BUT there are even more scammers out there. YES, I call them scammers.
    What they offer for what money is laughable at best. I know because I had some of these premium setups and saw what "service" they offer.
    Not gonna say names or point a finger. And I never did say something bad or good over Hoyer.
    The video speaks for itself.

    But it looks like OP found something which is good.
    I don't want to start anything here. If someone feels addressed, well....
     
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  9. David O'Reilly

    David O'Reilly Registered

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    You said;
    "I wouldn't want to waste my money on him"
     
  10. David O'Reilly

    David O'Reilly Registered

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    @Andrew Nagy
    It sounds like it will be fun but quite intense too.
    2 1/2 years ago I started my journey from sim racer to real racing.
    I'm going to make some remarks if that's ok.
    Learning the track and learning to drive a racing car are two different things even if they occur concurrently.
    Learning that track can occur on foot (nothing beats walking it) , from a video (I learned many race tracks by watching onboard video and saved the €600 for a test day) or in the car or in the Sim.
    You mainly need to know where to turn in from and where to apex (line) and what gear to be in. Braking and throttle become obvious.
    Before sitting in the car you should be able to draw the track and place turn- in points and apexing points on all corners from memory.

    Learning to drive the car
    Is much more exciting and demanding.
    Getting the feeling for its behaviour on the limit when both ends are sliding. Feeling the limits under brakes or on throttle. Bleeding off the brakes smoothly to aid turn-in (trailing brake).
    Getting comfortable for managing the car more of the time on its limits vs the street car drivers "whoa the rear end moved a bit then". Feeling the grip build as the tyres "come in".
    These skills come with "seat time" but need to be nurtured.

    Then you put both these pictures together, taking a car on its limits and placing it on your chosen line. Then you are racing the track.

    The seasoned hands might be 7 or more seconds a lap faster on session 1. It's focussing hard on the basics that will quickly whittle that down. How quickly the "feel" comes to match the knowledge will decide how much.

    So, there may be a better/simpler track to use to develop skills (even on a sim). Then import them to AMP. Which lacks run off, sight lines and has big elevation changes.

    Have a great time.

    Mid corner speed not braking point is king!

    Oh and unless you can tell me from knowledge what the impact is of moving your apexing point 6 feet further or closer then you need to watch Skip Barber again!
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2021
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  11. JamesB

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    @Stevy, it is entirely up to you what your opinions are but REALLY? "And I never did say something bad or good over Hoyer." That's at best spineless and more accurately total BS. If you are going to say something like your first post, at least have the sphericals to stick to it!
     
  12. Andrew Nagy

    Andrew Nagy Registered

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    @davidporeilly,

    Good advice all the way around. I'm kind of coming at it from the opposite direction - I've been doing track sessions in my track-prepped Porsche 968 for years, but am very new to the sim world. I've taken several classes, and have used data acquisition with private coaching quite extensively. But never having raced competitively, I realize I'm nowhere near the level of skill and experience as a seasoned racer. My main goal at this point is for AMP to become so second nature to me that I won't have to waste time in the class struggling with not knowing whether the upcoming blind turn is on- or off-camber, where the grip is good, and where it's going away due to an upcoming crest, where I can link turns together with minimal rotation of the wheel, etc. From what I've experienced so far, it looks like the sim is an effective tool for achieving these goals, and with some coaching, it can only get better. So with this under my belt, I hope I can rely on the class to really drive home the in-car skills you mention.

    I took a two-day race class at Sonoma Raceway (also a very technical track with large elevation changes and hardly any run-off) last March, before I had my sim, so I just used videos to learn the track. This did a reasonable job of teaching me the the track layout, but I was surprised how much more "scary" for lack of a better word actually driving Sonoma (in very potent KTM X-Bow's) was compared to watching a bunch of videos and visualizing myself driving the track. One of the things that I'm most gratified about with the sim is that I get that same sense of "dread" when I know I've made a mistake that could lead to a spin if I don't correct immediately, as I do in a real car. But I'm old enough to have learned that humility is one of the most valuable traits one can attain, and I'm humble enough to know that no sim is a substitute for a real race car, and that I have a ton to learn, but there is nothing quite as exciting as being on the steep part of the learning curve.

    Oh, and yes, I will re-watch the Skip Barber video before I head out to AMP.
     
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  13. Andrew Nagy

    Andrew Nagy Registered

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    What an outstanding video! I'm going to have to add Replay Office to my list of software packages I need to get and learn. If you don't mind, I may reach out to you via IM for some guidance on how to use it, as I think it will be very helpful when I start working with a coach.
     
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  14. David O'Reilly

    David O'Reilly Registered

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    I made 2 videos on using Replay Office and put detailed instructions in the thread. So I'll point you at those.
     
  15. Andrew Nagy

    Andrew Nagy Registered

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    Thanks, David. I didn't catch your link Replay Office in the description in your video, as I went immediately to full screen mode to watch the video, and must not have caught the very beginning of it where you mentioned the link.

    Edit: I went to the link in the description section from your video, and of course I have several newbie questions, so rather than ask them here, I'll go to the thread in you link and ask them there.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2021
  16. Kahel

    Kahel Registered

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    The best way to improve you'll ever find... is being part of a team.
    No coaching session will ever match that.
     
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  17. JamesB

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    Yes, I am not sure that a pro cold not get a bit more out of you but years ago in gt legends I raced in a team and the mutually beneficial learning was huge and made me personally much faster.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2021
  18. expdom

    expdom Registered

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    Andrew
    You may find this series of videos quite interesting. Have a look



    Hope it helps
     
  19. Andrew Nagy

    Andrew Nagy Registered

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    @Kahel and @JamesB, I'm sure you're right that being part of a team is bound to be hugely beneficial to ones driving, but that's a ways into the future for me. For now, I want to be laser focused on mastering AMP as best I can on the sim before driving the track for real in the race class. I've worked with real-life coaches, using the Aim data acquisition system in my track car, and it was hugely beneficial, so I'm a big believer in the benefits of working with a coach.

    As far as sim racing, with as much I've struggled just getting RF2 up and running, getting everything assigned and calibrated, and all three of my monitors working, just so I can to solo sessions, I can only imagine how competing in actual online racing would be orders of magnitude more complicated and technically challenging than what I've been through so far as a complete computer novice, so it may be awhile before I dip my toe in that adventure, lol!

    @expdom, Yes, I've watched all of Randy Pobst's videos on driving AMP, and found them to be very helpful. In fact, I was planning to brush up on reviewing Turn 1, which I've been struggling with a little lately.
     
  20. David O'Reilly

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