I roughly translated to english a track-guide I made for the GVRteam, with the XFG at Blackwood GP.

It shows the basic lines, gear shifts and braking-points for an acceptably fast lap on the track (1:34.000). The lap was done a year ago (November 2006) with patch U, using PartyBoy's setup, when the wr was still 1:33.100 (today it is 1:32.940 I think). There are a few driving mistakes though, especially at K3 and K6, which most probably cost me a couple of tenths.

Even so, I thought it could be helpful to some people, especially newcomers to LFS. Please feel free to comment on it, and most importantly feel free to correct possible faulty guidlines I may give in the video.


1. youtube english version (lo-res streaming)
2. youtube greek version (lo-res streaming)

3. filefront english version (downloadable hi-res)
Video: MPEG4 (Intel H264), 640x480, 30.00fps, 2151Kbps
Audio: MPEG Audio Layer 3, 44100Hz, stereo, 256Kbps
Size: 48.0 Mb rar'ed (53,3 uncompressed)

4. filefront greek version (downloadable hi-res)
Video: MPEG4 (Intel H264), 640x480, 30.00fps, 2151Kbps
Audio: MPEG Audio Layer 3, 44100Hz, stereo, 256Kbps
Size: 47.8 Mb rar'ed (52,9 uncompressed)

nice track guide

nice! I'd like see more of these

Very nice.

But I think you are aiming at teaching people to look at their speed too often.... that they don't focus on the actual driving line. (Also distance values that aren't even relevant).

You should just be teaching braking points and driving line in my opinion. People that look at their speed are for ones looking to get the smallest amount of time out of a few corners, when the focus should be on driving on the edge... and not looking at your speedometer. If you teach someone general braking points, and their entry speed is too slow, they will obviously understand that through trial and error. So all they need to do is practice the braking zone and driving line to get the most out of their lap. Speed is only relevant with a specific driver and car setup... not everyone is the same.

Great video

Thanks for the kind words guys! I'm really glad you liked the guide

Dear Tweaker, what do you mean "Also distance values that aren't even relevant"; They are not relevant to what?

As for the speed (either turn-in, apex or exit, epsecially the apex speed), it is the best way to understand on the fly whether you made a good pass through the corner or not, regardless setups and/or gear ratios.

Actually, (in your quest for a fast lap) when you watch the replay of a fast guy trying to get hints, the very first things you should focus on are:
a) Lines
b) Braking zones
c) Apexes speed.

If you manage to reproduce them, even roughly (no matter what setup you're using) then at the end of the lap you'll have managed a pretty fast laptime. From that point on it is only a matter of setup and/or driving fine-tuning to further improve both your laptimes and your ability to repeat them. So I would say that speed notations are more important than selected gears
Keep also in mind that at GVRt the track-guide comes with a setup (here I just named it, there I included a link to it), which makes things a bit more easy!

The plan is to have more of these coming, but with our own pace.

PS1. Yesterday I decided to give the combo another go, this time using Duck's setup and I found some of those missing tenths I was talking about in my first post (1.33.880 ). Duck's pb with that setup is almost a sec better (1:32.930).

PS2. Both setups, and many more, are availabe on the excellent Team Inferno site. They only have wr setups there!

i always take a quick look at my speed. and i usually use the lowest speed i did as the apex speed (when passing this info on). i have had no problems with it yet

Well you were getting all specific in some parts of the guide migf1. For example the turn after 2nd split... something about 35 meter marker, and then turn in 15 meters before the black tarmac for the last turn? You don't need to be that detailed because like I said, people all drive differently, and their exit speeds out of the corner could make these instructions a little off for them.

You also have to remember that not everyone uses the same FOV and/or view, so generally precision of where to brake and turn-in according to distance markers is not always the best way.

Make more of them, they can be helpful sure, but I just think you could do a recap of the lap (or corner of focus) and switch it to slow-mo (after you show each pause-note) showing the general braking points and steering movement. That way it is easier for viewers to interpret the driving -- because it is very hard to see/analyze the lap when you pause the video about 50 meters before a braking zone just to read... and then it speeds up again.

Just my thoughts. Oh, and you should maybe have some kind of audio when it pauses?

The slow-mo is a great idea Tweaker, I will try it to the next one, thanks!

As for the (overbloating) details, you may be right generally speaking, but as I said earlier, this (and the upcoming) guides was made for the GVRteam, where we all share the same setups, we use similar driving techniques and we have specific needs. I just thought the guide would also be helpful to others outside the team, and that's why I posted it publicly.

TBH, all upcoming guides will keep featuring the same info since we are a racing team and even small details count. But I may code the info somehow, perhaps on a fixed spot of the screen like the following...

where...

Dst = Distances
B = Breaking
T = Turn-in
ASp = Apex Speed

... or something like that.

Of cource someone may choose to ignore them
For those who like to watch their speed through their passes, it may helpful to enable the Digital Speedo on the lower part of the screen, as shown in the vid.

dp (sorry)

Very nice instructional videos

More!