Beginners - Hurry up and slow down... slow right down!
added: 05.01.2014
I thought I should elaborate on the standard advice on slow and steady, consistency is key, advice with a technique I've been using to help improve my skills which other newbies like me might want to try.
Take some time out of trying to go fast - ignore the clock completely.
Pick a track you want to focus on, and then in a practice session hold a fixed
slow speed around the course - I mean
real slow. Slow enough to get round the slowest corner of the track without slowing down any more.
Then just steer.
Just concentrate on the track and getting round cleanly. Concentrate on the sequence of corners and the wheel/stick movements you need to make. Resist the temptation to increase the throttle yet.
If you are off-road, resist the temptation to jump big or go for that 'big triple'!
Do this some more.
This should help to ingrain the general track layout into you brain and the sequence of wheel/stick movements you need to get around the track start to become automatic.
Watch the pro's (enter an event and watch some replays). Watch the lines around the track they are taking. Then go back to a practice session and do the same. Don't try and go fast, just aim to keep a good line on the track.
Then do this some more.
Only when you are consistently putting in clean laps, and keeping a decent line and position on the track, start to add throttle.
If things start getting loose and erratic, (and you find you are reaching for the spacebar again), back off the throttle, go slow again, do a few slow laps before you start to ease the throttle back in.
By making the steering function more of a reflex, you can then start to concentrate on when/where you can add throttle. I've learnt that you can't do it the other way around!
This takes a bit of patience and persistence, but I've found that this has helped me to improve my consistency and I not using the spacebar as often. I still have a long way to go!
