First off know that you're not alone. Auto racing (sim or RL) is very difficult, takes a lot of practice, studying, and patience. So please don't let your first week or 4 make you feel as though you won't be able to have fun and compete.

A few things that may be helpful.

• Read and understand the comments previously posted. There's a lot of great tips in there and don't be afraid to post more questions. Even for specific stuff.

• If you haven't done so, watch all of the iRacing driving school videos. There available under the resources section of the members page, as well there is a link in the FAQ for this sub-reddit.

• Set small, accomplishable goals at the start. From one of you're replies, I believe you're on the right path with that. Goal 1 - run an incident free race. What do you have to do accomplish that? Perhaps skip qual and start from the back. This has a few nice advantages such as. If you do make a mistake, you're less likely to take out a bunch of other drivers. Your nerves should be a bit more relaxed as your not starting right in the middle of the pack. And, you should be able to run a safe, more comfortable pace. Once you get that goal under you're belt, you can set the next one - perhaps a podium finish, then a win, and so on. This approach allows you to continue to feel improvement while also sharpening your skills.

• Watch replays of both your own laps as well as other more experienced racers. I can't tell you how valuable this can be. Even simply reviewing your laps with other faster drivers in practice session can help you see if you're running the right line, braking early or late, and turn in points. A nice trick with this is watching faster drivers run from their cockpit. If you slow down the replay or even pause it you can pick out what they may be using for their marks.

Good luck out there and feel free to keep the questions coming in.