The Time Reality Check

You don't need 20 hours per week to enjoy sim racing. But you do need smart use of whatever time you have.

My schedule:

• Wednesday: 1 hour (practice)
• Saturday morning: 1.5 hours (race prep + one race)
• Occasional Sunday: 30 mins if I'm lucky

Total: 2.5-3 hours weekly. I've finished top 5 in multiple league seasons with this.

The 60-Minute Practice Session

When you only get one practice session per week, make it count.

Minutes 0-10: Warm up

• 5 laps easy pace, getting feel back
• Check controls, adjust seat position
• No pushing, just remembering the car

Minutes 10-40: Focused practice

• Pick ONE skill (braking points, or turn-in, or exits)
• 20 laps drilling that skill
• Track improvement, not lap times

Minutes 40-55: Race simulation

• 10 laps at 95% race pace
• Practice consistency, not speed
• Fuel/tyre management if applicable

Minutes 55-60: Cool down

• Review session notes
• Plan next week's focus
• Save any setup changes

This structure beats random hotlapping for hours.

Weekend Race Day Routine

Saturday morning (90 minutes total):

30 mins before race:

• Coffee, bathroom, settled
• 15 laps practice for rhythm
• Check Discord for league announcements

20 mins qualifying:

• 3 warm-up laps
• 2-3 flying laps
• Accept result, don't stress

40 mins racing:

• Typical league race length
• Focus on clean driving
• Finish every race

Post-race (10 mins):

• Quick replay check if incident occurred
• Note one thing to improve
• Done, back to family

Choosing What to Practice

Limited time means prioritizing ruthlessly.

High-value practice:

• Consistency (most important for part-timers)
• Race starts (huge impact, 5 minutes practice)
• One track deeply (better than many tracks poorly)
• Racecraft in traffic

Low-value practice:

• Hotlapping for leaderboards
• Learning every car
• Perfect qualifying laps
• Chasing alien pace

I practice one track for 3-4 weeks, then switch. Deep knowledge beats broad familiarity.

The Low-Maintenance Setup

Time-limited racers need plug-and-play equipment.

Good for limited time:

• Logitech G923 (reliable, no fuss)
• Playseat Challenge (folds away, 30 seconds setup)
• Single monitor (no alignment issues)
• Console racing (turn on and go)

Bad for limited time:

• Complex PC setups needing updates
• Triple monitors requiring adjustment
• High-maintenance direct drive wheels
• Sims with complicated setups

I run Logitech G29 on a Playseat Challenge. Folds out in 30 seconds, folds away when kids need the room.

Mental Game for Part-Timers

Accept you won't be fastest. I'll never beat people practicing 15 hours weekly. That's fine.

Aim for personal improvement. Compare yourself to last month's you, not to aliens.

Enjoy the process. If racing feels like work, you're doing it wrong.

Take breaks guilt-free. Missed two weeks? No problem. The sim will wait.

Making It Sustainable

The enemy of good sim racing isn't lack of time. It's guilt about not having more time.

Set realistic goals:

• Bad goal: "Win the championship"
• Good goal: "Finish every race cleanly"

Communicate with family: My wife knows Saturday morning is my time. In exchange, Sunday morning is her gym time. Fair trade.

Skip sessions without guilt: Kid's birthday party on race day? Skip the race. Family first.

Tools for Efficiency

SimHub (free) - Quick setup, saves configs

Track guides - Watch one 5-minute Track Titan video instead of 50 laps of exploration

Fixed setup series - No time for setup work? Race fixed setup leagues

Quick-join races - iRacing, ACC public lobbies - race when you want, no schedule commitment

The Bottom Line

You don't need unlimited time. You need focused time.

I've raced against people with 10x my hours who I consistently beat. Why? They practice aimlessly. I practice deliberately.

Two focused hours beats ten unfocused hours.

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