Do you ever get this when racing in say a 10 car race

You get the guys who are always at the front. Usually one car will always walk away with the race and a couple more cars battle it out for 2,3,4.

Towards the back of the pack you get the slow drivers and the people who spun out at turn one.

Then you get the midfield racers!

Every race I seem to do its always just me. In the middle of the field (5th or 6th) and no one to race against! Too slow for the fast guys and to fast for the slow guys!

Gets frustrating sometimes!

Yes, keep practicing and it'll pass.

edit: Jesus, finally found it. I just knew I made a similar post back in the day:

Quote from FEL :

Let's say you're a little like me, im not fast enough to compete with the very expierenced players but too fast to actually have fun when racing the newcomers. I usually feel like i am the one who's last of the ones actually trying to complete the race.

(http://forum.rscnet.org/showthread.php?p=2202051#post2202051) (beware of incredible speed)

I'm usually somewhere in the middle too. It's not a win, but it beats being last

I am currently in this position however I do get some good races in the middle of the field. TBH the position I finish doesnt really matter to me, I am more interested in putting in consistent quick laps and bettering my PB.

You will find though that sometimes you can push it up into the top half easily just by keeping clean and consistent, when you are racing against someone usually you are going slower than your fast pace, the guys up at the front might be pushing too hard and give you the chance to get up there.

Stick with it and enjoy. I am (when my crap tiscali connection lets me of course).

Chris

Well sometimes yeah. But then there can be those days when I can drive several races on 1st place with no real competition...which is really boring to be honest. I rather lose with 0.02 seconds after a really good fight than win with
15. Really depends what kind of aliens there are on the server

I depends on whose on the server and what combo it is. Take gtr's at AS national - an overdone combo imo but one where there are some really fast people or something like the stcc server where it used to bed xfg/xrg at aston. As xfg/xrg aston isnt a popular combo (altho is a good one) then there seemed to be few aliens.
I know im not the quickest but on combos like gtr's AS Nat im really slow but on the xfg/xrg Aston i wasnt quick compared to WR but was always in about the top quarter.
To be honest though unless you become like biggie or flotch then there will always be people faster than you and if you end up on the same server as the aliens you wont keep up lol. But you can practice and then you will be able to keep up with the normally fast drivers. Or in my case try desperatly to hang on to the back of them

Quote from SimonT :

Then you get the midfield racers!

Every race I seem to do its always just me. In the middle of the field (5th or 6th) and no one to race against!

And you never notice me? I'm the truly middle racer!
By the way when you make a lot of laps on the same combo it will be easyer to pass in the category of the fast ones, so keep up the practicing!

I usually seem to find myself racing mid pack... Although, quite often I get lucky and a couple people crash or spin. I'm not the fastest driver out there, but I can hold my own I suppose. I didn't get all those wins fer nothin! :P I've been told by some pretty good guys that I'm tough to pass, though. That contributes to my relative online success I think.

its all the same, in sims, karting and other racing mid field is NOT the place to be if u wanna survive.

i was midfield in karting for 1 race and the drivers were fools, half decent pace but inexperienced and stupid race craft wise. at the front its hard but clean most of the time, and smart.

it just takes a bit of time to be at the front in LFS

Quote from ayrton senna 87 :

it just takes a bit of time to be at the front in LFS

Sure. Problem for me is, as I improve, so does those front runner guys, LOL. I'm not a front runner, nor do I concider myself a midpack runner. I'm the guy lagging behind the front runners and smokin the midpack running all by myself. I typically start last due to racestart frame rate and lag, then pass all the carnage in T1, pass all the mid runners by lap 2, and run around staring at the gap on the map between me and the top 3 for the rest of the race, LOL.

What does that make me? Am I the fastest of the mid-decent pack runners or the slowest of the fastest? LOL.

Depends on the combo and practise, I can usually get to midfield pace pretty quick, after that it varies a lot. For instance on Saturday I turned up for the LXCC league with no practise and got whooped, on Sunday I turned up to the MRNL MRT league (also with no practise) and after a few laps I was keeping up with the WR holder (at times), got my pb down to about half a second from the WR. That said SO Classic only has 3 corners anyway...

On the whole the alien speeds elude me though, but longer races certainly help (tyre destroying sets are switched for more sensible ones).

Quote from SimonT :

Do you ever get this when racing in say a 10 car race

You get the guys who are always at the front. Usually one car will always walk away with the race and a couple more cars battle it out for 2,3,4.

Towards the back of the pack you get the slow drivers and the people who spun out at turn one.

Then you get the midfield racers!

Every race I seem to do its always just me. In the middle of the field (5th or 6th) and no one to race against! Too slow for the fast guys and to fast for the slow guys!

Gets frustrating sometimes!

I'm surprised you find nobody to race against, as in most races the midfield is where most of the best close racing happens. Not to blow my horn but last night I got frustrated because I was winning most races without being challenged by anyone. I would rather had been in your situation then at least have something to aim for. I'm not saying I'm the greatest, there are literally hundreds of faster drivers than me, but what I mean is you should be making the most of what LFS has to offer the average racer

I'm normally midfield, can work my way up to the front pack sometimes which is where the best racing happens I find for the bottom of the podium.

Quote from jamesgp2viper :

Not to blow my horn but last night I got frustrated because I was winning most races without being challenged by anyone.

alter your name slightly and start at the back, thats what i do

Usually it just depends on the combo, how much time I've had to practice and if I've got a set that suits my style. I'm generally towards the front, but once in awhile I'll end up on a server where it's obvious that the top racers have more than a few laps of experience putting together some fast times .

However, even if I know I'm not quite as fast as the top guys, I'll just do my best to defend my position cleanly and hope that they run into trouble amongst themselves .

Yes, it's all in good fun, but the desire to win is always front and foremost.

Quote from ayrton senna 87 :

alter your name slightly and start at the back, thats what i do

Nope, spectate to wait for the race to start, when you see the grid set on the field, join then. Other than possibly others doing it or folks just joining the server and joining the track the same time you do, you get plunked down in the final start position. This is what I always do. Thus my comment above where I say I pass half the field in the T1 carnage.

Yeah, it happens to me most of the time too. I'm not an extremely fast driver, but I'm not a bad driver altogether. I can hold my own, but usually I end up alone in the midfield, or what happens often, I get in the front because the fast guys touched and spun out, but I have to hold them back, until they can finally get through. That made me develop a strong defensive driving, even if I'm not overly fast.

Great things will happen though, just keep practicing! I won my first league race last thursday (ok, it's a small regional league, but there's at least 3-4 faster drivers than me in there) so there,s hope even for midfielders!

Who wants to run at the front? Its boring being up there hotlapping. Its so much more fun being in the middle or back running side by side through the corners and swapping positions. But more often then not if I get a few clean races in I will be nipping at the heals of the lead pack.

Its not a huge jump to go from midpack to front runner. The increasses in speed come through being smooth and consistant. When you are midfield or backfield its a great time to experiment with lines, corner stratigies, close racing and application of pressure. You will often find that the really fast driver but by no means all of them, are only fast when they can drive their perfect hotlap line. Force them use somthing different and they crack and make mistakes under the pressure.

all the midfield racers normally get taken out in t1, and restart from the pits... I'm one of the slow guys at the back watching the midfield self-destruct

I'm a confirmed midfielder - not by choice but hey, you make do with what you've got. The (very) few times I've found myself out in front with noone to race but the clock, the novelty soon wore off and I found myself disco'ing and looking at the server list for any decent combo with more than half a dozen racers. I'd like to be mega-fast sometimes but the best racing I've ever had has always been in the middle of the pack, duking it out with a few other guys for the scraps. There's nothing like being in 4th place with the sound of another engine or two or three on your six to wake you up And yep, sometimes we middies get destroyed at T1, either by someone up front being a genius or someone behind being an even bigger genius, but if you're lucky enough to find a good pack who can all start like grownups, it's nice to let the aliens go and just have a good scrap :up:

I gave up on alien-hunting years ago. That's not to say I just putt around like my nana - I give my entire soul over to the racing gods, whatever the game or combo - but I don't like hotlapping and simply can't be bothered spending the time and effort needed to be a WR setter. 'Tis just a game after all

evO, you don't have it right! The guys splashing at T1 are backmarkers trying to get past midfielders in the first corner. Midfielders take either a very safe but slow inside line, or a completely safe outside line and let everyone smash themselves . If you're a midfielder, but after checking the outside and inside lines you get stuck in the racing line, you pray. Pray for baby jesus to lift you from the imminent chaos.

Oh, and Hankstar, I don't know about you, but being a slower driver and getting the front position is totally awesome. That last league race I won, I ended up in second place behind one of those aliens, but he screwed up and had to pit after 5 laps of 22. Being still in front at the 19th lap, knowing the guys behind are better drivers really makes it awesome. You are hotlapping, but you're hotlapping because you actually cannot let them catch you, not cause you want to increase your gap. THAT is what I discovered is the best fun I ever EVER had racing. At the same time, you're shaking, and the adrenaline makes it hard staying focused, and you're also aware that you need to stay calm, and you count the corners, then think it's only 5 more laps, check your tires, etc. Being in front is really fun.

Quote from Hankstar :

... or someone behind being an even bigger genius...

I am generalising quite a bit, some of the midfield races I have had were the best races I have had so far - I prefer battling for a position, rather than just drive undisturbed.

I agree and disagree with you there - every time I start from position 1 - 5, t1 seems ok, and then there is a nice midfield battle, position 5 -10 just seems as if it is not worth it, I'd rather start from the back or from the pits, end up in the same position after the carnage, but with a car that is not broken...

If I'm 3/4 of the way to last place and all alone it can be a bit of a downer but I generally end up in the middle, regardless of how good or bad a start I get. But even if I'm battling just one guy who's about my speed for second to last place it can be awesome. Like I said, I make do

@Nard: that kind of situation is different. To battle through most of a race and then grab the lead through someone's mistake (or your own brief flash of brilliance) and have to run like hell to keep the lead until the end is an awesome thing! Really gets the blood rushing

The situation I was describing is where you line up with a bunch of guys, get a great start, grab the lead and then realise the only reason you're leading is because you're totally out of their league and beating them really isn't going to any fun, because you're 5 seconds a lap quicker and could do smack them without even hitting top gear Nothing wrong with a win, but I'd prefer to earn it than to just hotlap unmolested for 5 or 10 laps.

I am a midfielder, also. That way, I can watch the chaos of turn one in front of me and (usually) survive.

I like being in the middle, it gives me an incentive to try harder.

Hankstar, thats a weird avatar. illepall