I'm pretty lucky as rarely get kicked in the back on T1. I have picked 1 to 10 as there is sometimes a collision but as i said it's rare.

I'm always watching for incoming bomb in my mirrors so i can escape from the carnage.

Quote from Skil :

The fast drivers don't have this problem - then start from front rows and go smooth the T1.

That is far from the truth, unless you're very lucky. Another forum I started a LFS league on I was the fastest guy on most tracks so was always near the front of the pack. Some days I'd get lucky and squeeze past the madness, others I'd get caught it in, so the bast way I learnt was to just go in hard and hold my line trying to make sure I stay on the inside. More often then not I come out the other side unhurt. But don't try and out brake people at T1, go in safe and you have less chance of being back ended.

Well, this is usually where you can make up alot of positions. In league races the T1 isn't quite as bad as Public servers, reason being - everyone in league races can drive (most of the time) and actually want to finish.

I'm actually going to disagree with most of you here..
When I'm going through the lap, starting from midfeild or the rear, I usually try to find the gaps and drive through them. Everyone wants to follow each other, but if you can find a gap, inside of outside, alot of the time you can make up 2 or 3 postions. You have to be careful when doing this though, and look left/right and use your mirrors alot. If you do not, this is when accidents happen.
If you back off/hesitate, that's when you get crashed. There's people behind you trying to go too fast, and you're trying to go too slow.
If you just take it at a normal speed, a little slower than race speed you should survive.
If you're too agressive, you may crash, if you're not agressive enough, you may get crashed. Also you have to be thinking of your actions to others eg:
Going into t1, you brake
car behind you brakes too late
car behind hits you
you go nuts and shit hits the fan

To solve this problem you could (or should) have run a little wider and let off the brakes slightly, so the other car wouldn't rear end you. He will most likely run wide and you can gain this position back up.
It basically comes down to taking calculated risks, looking left/right and using your mirrors, that's it basically.

just look at my CTRA yellow flags record .

Quote from Zachary Zoomy :

just look at my CTRA yellow flags record .

How bad is that? Mine is 21%
Damn, I just doing too much misstakes, and spins a lot of times when I trying to get a record of some sort :/

I voted for almost never. I always make at least 3 passes by T1 unless i start in the top 4.

Quote from Dajmin :

I have to disagree with dadge here - I find the inside line is where EVERYBODY tries to push through, so that's where the most accidents tend to happen.

I'd like to go with Skil's tactic 1, but more often than not I find myself getting punted from behind in that situation. These days I tend to come off the line and take the corner as wide as possible, or stick to the inside at the back so you can get the power on early when the muppets throw themselves out of the way, then (hopefully) catch up to the front runners.

i don't know dude, but sticking to the inside means that you have less chance of being hit from all sides. going round T1 on the outside (just thinking of of it) is just asking for trouble imo. at least on the inside if you are tapped you still have loads of track to correct your line. (me finx)

Thanks for all advices / ideas about going through T1

I must admit that I've been too cautious about not getting crashed in T1 and I think that was my biggest mistake. I'm not saying that going fast and hard no matter what is solution to this problem but here is what makes the best results for me:

I start as fast as I can and try to make position or two if that's possible or just stick to guy in front of me (if I'm not faster than he is). What makes me surprised is that going outside is (in most cases) the way for me. On the inside line there are always bunch of cars and risk of getting pushed out of the track is very big. I know that going outside could have fatal consequences when you are hit by the car on the inside but anyway it works for me quite well.

Thanks one more time cause now I see what was wrong is my first approach

I've very simple strategy for T1. I make damn sure I hold my position or try to improve it in the drive up to T1. Depending on if I have a car alongside, I'll take far inside, or outside, and brake early... and have a slow apex. I also tap my brakes to warn those behind I'm braking. By going slow thru T1, all the accidents happen in front, n u can avoid them. By slow, I don't mean SLOW. I mean just off my normal pace, so I have room to manouvre.

If you're up the frnt somewhere, that should keep you out of trouble. If you are mid pack or down the back, expect to be hit, as those drivers have less experience, n more likely a back marker will cause a ripple effect n take alot out, unless someone gets tapped in the wrong spot.

A number of strategies I hold....

1) Take a steady and balanced line, try to avoid large groups, and just respect other peoples spaces...if your going to be hit by an idiot then thats sod's law im afraid. Being too conservative is almost as dangerous as being wreckless, just do simple maths, if there are more than 2 cars abreast then someone is bound to come off worst.

2) If carnage is a certain issue at turn 1 and you never survive it, then you might consider starting from the pit lane, sure you will start about 10 seconds later but you will start on a clear track and more than likely catch straight back up to the back of the pack.
The only problem with this is that people using this tactic seem to make up extra time if pit stops are mandatory (Redline Racing 2 for example) you can just exit from the pits and make an immediate pit stop, then drive the entire race.

T1 is a nightmare, but its also part of the immense fun and enjoyment, skill and composure do have their part to play. But ultimately T1 is all about the Luck.

Quote from f1r3b4ll :

A number of strategies I hold....

1) Take a steady and balanced line, try to avoid large groups, and just respect other peoples spaces...if your going to be hit by an idiot then thats sod's law im afraid. Being too conservative is almost as dangerous as being wreckless, just do simple maths, if there are more than 2 cars abreast then someone is bound to come off worst.

2) If carnage is a certain issue at turn 1 and you never survive it, then you might consider starting from the pit lane, sure you will start about 10 seconds later but you will start on a clear track and more than likely catch straight back up to the back of the pack.
The only problem with this is that people using this tactic seem to make up extra time if pit stops are mandatory (Redline Racing 2 for example) you can just exit from the pits and make an immediate pit stop, then drive the entire race.

T1 is a nightmare, but its also part of the immense fun and enjoyment, skill and composure do have their part to play. But ultimately T1 is all about the Luck.

There is no skill in surviving the T1, just luck, as you said
You canot use the start-from-pit strategy on CTRA servers, because if you`not on the start grid when the lights have gone green, then you have to wait for lap 2 before you can join the race.

there is skill in surviving turn 1, i cant remember the last time i crashed, in LFS and real life.

my tactic is to stay right on the inside, and brake fairly late, then hug the inside all around the corner and exit, still on the inside. sometimes people coming from the outside will turn in and hit you, but normally they dont have any affect on you.

i always look very far ahead for crashes, and try to see where they will 'go' once they have happened.

I definetly think that the inside is the best way to go. Usually people decide to roll to the outside when they spin which you don't want to hit.

I voted for 1/10. It depends on the server, with a bunch of ridiculously late brakers it can be impossible to get a clean start. Generally the best place to be is at the front or the back because any collision at the front can easily take out the mid field. Generally I find it's best to try and take the outside line so you don't get stuck on the inside, often you can get ahead and drive around those who've taken the inside line, obviously only doing it after you've confirmed they aren't going to pile on into you. There are far too many people who go far too hard into T1, they tend to be easy to repass on the exit though, especially with a long straight like at Blackwood.

It's also important to remember that avoiding contact at T1 is far more important than track position. If someone makes a silly 'karting' style move it's best just to run wide and let them through at T1, they usually don't finish anyway. At Blackwood you can use the pit exit as well, just be careful rejoining, in the end of the day it's still better to loose several places and continue on with an undamaged car than have contact loose more places and have to pit for damage.

Starts can be a lot messier at the long Aston configs, people get really silly squeezing each other off on the flat out run to T1 then cars following just sit on full throttle as more and more cars plough into them, you've got brakes and a steering wheel, when you see yellow flags or spinning cars be prepared to use them and stop frustrating pointless pile ups. Also never dive up the inside of T1 at As Club, it always results in you having a slower line through the corner, even if you manage to take a tight line you won't have the run through the first chicane.

Chicanes on lap 1 are another thing which people don't take very sensibly, I have never seen a clean overtake through the Blackwood chicane, it physically isn't possible, so don't try it on the first lap. Also at the Blackwood chicane you've got to be very weary of cars which haven't taken a good line through T1 and the start of the chicane and suddenly lift when they realise they can't make it. The Aston Club chicanes are slightly different, in the FOX you can race two cars side by side through them without lifting, but only just and it certainly isn't advisable on the first lap with cold tires and so much to go wrong. I also find a lot of people are far too cautious through the first As Club chicane, with the right line it should be flat so if you're not able to take it flat normally then whatever you do don't take it slower with a pack of faster drivers on the first lap.

There is no set tactic for surviving turn one. You just need to be aware of the cars around you, and try to predict the movements of the cars ahead. The key to overtaking and avoiding incidents is picking out the small individual movements that could lead to a bigger incident. Some people can do that better than others, apparently I am very good at it, but even I can't avoid every incident...sometimes its just pot luck.

My wreck on T1 ratio is low now but then I only play on certain servers where I know I will get a good clean race.

I seldom chrash in T1. You will soon learn how "the field" behaves, and then act with this information.

I allways try to keep my lane and I prefer to go wide in T1 in fast cars, and the inside curbe in the slower cars.

I do not figth for position in the fast cars, just in xfg and uf1000

People should be more carefull, and the T1 wreckers should be banned. Everybody can see who they are, so just vote and ban them

We have to punish the wreckers, and T1 insanes, are amongst the worst of the kind. ban them often, so people know it doesnt pay to wreck in T1.

Sadly it is allways bad drivers which are T1 wreckers, you seldom experience this, with the very good racers. So no one will miss them in the specific race.

I always start from the back... that way I can hold back a little and let all the crazies dive into T1, and I just carefully drive through the mess and usually gain up to 5 places without too much trouble.

I usually don't have a problem, keep good spatial awareness and keeping to the inside line wherever possible. Brake early with a little brakes (to get your lights on) and then brake harder a little before you need to. Look around for late-brakers and don't get your car loose, make your car as stable as possible so if it gets tapped you won't loose it (although this is a skill that's easily acquired, but that few racers have imo). I never advise starting from the back simply because there whenever i tried that there was always 3 cars spinning sequentially blocking the road.