Lapping and Being Lapped


Lapping requires patience and sensible driving. The single most important thing is being predictable.
Do not rely on voice or text chat (eg pass left): many drivers have the chat disabled when racing and chat is forbidden in iGPFun. I may not look at the chat but I will always look at your car, so make your intentions clear and don’t do anything sudden.

Lapping should always happen on a straight; it is safer and more efficient for both cars. Lapping in the middle of a corner costs time and carries a risk of contact.

If you are lapped, you must help the leaders through as soon as it is safe to do so.
This does not mean stopping, slowing down a lot or going off track. Safe usually means the first straight you encounter, and ‘help’ usually means lifting a little bit on the straight.

Do not lift on corner exit. It is unexpected and thus dangerous. Furthermore, cars are on the limit of control on corner exit and the lapper won’t be able to adjust his line to move around you.
Do not aim to be lapped in a braking zone, either. The lapper will have to take the corner on a sub-ideal line so he will be slower, and you too will be slow behind it.
Aim to be lapped in the middle of a straight. When the lapper is getting closer, move off-line to indicate your intentions and lift a little bit. After the car has passed you can move back on the racing line, but be careful not to hit it into the braking zone. This is the fastest and safest way to be lapped for both you and the lapper. Time can actually be gained, rather than lost, when things are done right.

Think ahead. For instance, if you have somebody approaching you on the start straight, try to help him by before reaching a twisty section where passing is much more difficult and dangerous.

A typical mistake is slowing too much to help one car, only to find yourself very slow in the middle of the corner or racing line when other cars are approaching. This is done out of kindness, of course, but can be very dangerous. Always be aware of the situation around you. You should know if there is an isolated car or a train of cars coming up to lap you. Ideally, lapping should be concluded with the minimum speed differential between lapper and lapped.

If you are lapping, be aware that cars are not required to slow down a lot and let you by as soon as you are in the mirrors. You need to get reasonably close to the other car, typically in draft range, and wait for a safe opportunity.
At times the leaders will have to sit behind a slower car for a few corners, waiting for a safe passing spot. This is not the end of the world, just learn to deal with it. You might even use lapped cars to your advantage, but we won’t get into that here.

Keep the race situation in mind
For example: if there are two laps to go, you are leading with a 10 seconds advantage and are approaching two lapped cars battling for position, then it makes a lot of sense to sit back instead of trying to pass the lapped cars.
Conversely, if you have a 20 seconds gap to the closer car and two battling leaders are approaching you, it is a good thing to get out of the way and slow down a lot to let them lap you safely without affecting their battle.

A few examples:
– If you are being lapped and have a car close behind you on a straight you should never lift (or brake!). This will cause the other to crash into you. You can, instead, move off the racing line and gently ease off the throttle.
Please be advised that drivers will stay behind you as long as possible to exploit the draft.
The car behind starts gaining speed due to the draft when it is ~0.7 seconds away.

– If you are gaining on a slower lapped car approaching a corner, do not brake late and dive to the inside at the last moment. First of all it is not expected so the lapped car may simply close on you. Furthermore, lapped drivers often have less car control than the leaders, you don’t want to put them in a difficult situation and see them spinning just in front of you.

– A lapped car sees the leader approaching just before a set of difficult corners (the Esses at Road Atlanta, for instance). The best thing to do is to stay on the racing line and let the leaders pass only after the corners. If it will cost the leaders a second… so be it.
There is nothing worse than leaving the racing line to help the leader, lose control and end up crashing into them (it happens!).

– Lapping should always happen on a straight, never in the middle of a corner.
Side by side through a corner costs a lot of time; by contrast, passing on a straight has minimal impact.
A good strategy is for the lapped car to exit the corner normally and then lift slightly (possibly off the racing line) at the beginning of the straight, helping the leader through.
Do not lift on corner exit! The car is at the limit of adhesion on exit and the leader will have a hard time trying to change line to avoid you if you slow down.
Do not force the leaders to take an unusual line into a corner (side by side). It will cost time to both of you. Much better to lift earlier, on the straight, as written above.