I can't make it but would deffo be up for any in the future, I miss the old GPL community we had going round here...
That's a shame, although with the response so far it might just be me anyway
Those days were good, if only I had the control/'skill' to be more consistent back then rather than pushing over the limit the whole time, whilst I still make mistakes now I'm a lot more consistent than I was
iRacing, still not sure I am gonna stick with it, as I still think the content is hugely overpriced. The interface is confusing garbage, and for a beginner doesn't really show you what your aiming for or what you gain from racing.
I don't want to sound patronising but that's what the sporting code is designed to do, albeit it's a fairly hefty document...
On the interface I never found it too bad, however I did start when it was a fair bit simpler (on the website side at least, the garage gets a bit mad with some of the more advanced cars) and then they've tacked bits on over time so maybe I just got an easy ride
However, I just got into the 1:44's at Laguna Seca after being stuck in the 1:48's for ages in the mazda, had 1 win and a couple of top 5's and really starting to enjoy it. The safety rating system is a harsh mistress, and its really frustrating being punished when someone else makes mistakes infront of you. I really think its anti beginner, and must put a lot of people off.
I think with scenarios like that SR acts like a training tool, the aim there is to spot from the actions of the driver/car that they're likely/going to spin and drive in a way that allows you to avoid it, after all even if SR wasn't there your race would still be over...
From a personal perspective during a race (but excluding the start) I have a habit of braking very early if I'm right behind someone, at least initially.
Ultimately my aim is to be as close as possible (0.1 on F3 basically) leading up to the corner but I brake a good chunk before I would usually do, this gives me the gap and car control needed to spot any errors.
The best bit about this is that people generally leave the braking too late in that situation meaning that you get the better line and one the power better and almost always end up right behind them shortly after the corner (and generally going a bit quicker).
Obviously once you've been following someone for a while you get to know their braking points/overall speed and if they're a good drive you can start driving a lot closer during cornering, it's amazing how effective it is to just get a slight overlap mid-corner and get the spotter telling them you're to the right/left, even though there's no chance of collision