My first Telemetry Analysis 🏎️

Introduction

As a passionate virtual racer, I recently took part in an online race using the Toyota GR86 on iRacing—a platform known for its incredibly realistic racing simulation. In this race, I wanted to go beyond just driving. I was eager to dive into telemetry analysis to understand my performance and find areas for improvement. With the help of Garage61, a fantastic tool for telemetry analysis, I was able to break down my race and learn valuable insights, which I’ll share with you in this post.

iRacing: A Quick Overview

For those unfamiliar, iRacing is an incredibly popular online motorsport simulation that offers one of the most realistic racing experiences out there. It’s developed by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations and features a wide variety of licensed cars and tracks, ranging from road and oval racing to dirt racing.

While it’s definitely on the pricier side, iRacing gives you access to a solid online community with great career progression and a sophisticated ranking system that rewards both speed and safety. It’s perfect for anyone serious about competitive racing.

What is Garage61?

Garage61 is a free telemetry analysis platform (for now), created by Ruben Vermeersch in 2019. Since then, it’s grown into a large community with over 10,000 drivers and more than 50 million telemetry laps available for comparison.

The platform makes it easy to:

• Collect telemetry data using a simple agent.
• Analyze driving and car setup.
• Sync setups and ghost laps effortlessly.
• Compare your performance against leaderboards and other drivers.
• Support team-based analysis and strategy.

To get started, all you need to do is install their telemetry agent, and you’re good to go!

Production Car Sim-Lab Challenge

The Production Car Sim-Lab Challenge is all about racing real-life production car models that have been recreated in the simulation. This season, the available cars include:

• Mazda MX5 Cup
• Renault Clio Cup
• Ford Mustang Cup
• Toyota GR86 Cup

After spending last season in the MX5 Cup, I decided it was time to step up to the Toyota GR86. The good news? I didn’t have to buy a new car. The bad news? I needed to get a few more tracks to complete the championship.

This series lets you tweak your car’s setup, but since I’m still learning, I stuck with the base setup for now. Sure, it might have cost me some speed, but hey, I’m still getting the hang of things! 😄

The Race: A Laguna Seca Adventure

The race took place at one of my all-time favorite tracks: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Located in Monterey County, California, this iconic circuit is known for its tricky layout and massive elevation changes. Fun fact: Laguna Seca means “dry lake” in Spanish, a nod to the area’s history.

Finishing Where I Started

I qualified in 5th place with a time of 1:39.360. From the start, it was clear the race ahead would be interesting, full of the typical Class D crashes. Most of the drivers ahead were quicker and sharper than me, but after 16 laps, one off-track incident, and one car contact (thanks to some late braking on my part), I ended up finishing right where I started—5th place.

Here’s a great overview from Garage61 of how the race unfolded:

Best Lap Breakdown

Let’s dive into the fastest lap I managed during the race:

The tool gives you a detailed look at the track layout, the racing line I followed, and key metrics like speed, throttle, braking, gear changes, and steering input.

After the Long Straight

One thing I noticed was how long I stayed on the ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) after the long straight, which is represented by the red color on the braking graph.

I also saw that I made small, inconsistent adjustments to the throttle after hitting the apex. This is something I definitely need to work on to improve my consistency, especially on this corner, which happens to be the toughest one for me at Laguna Seca.

Sector 3

In Sector 3, I wasn’t trail-braking when I should’ve been, which would’ve helped me carry more speed into the uphill section that comes next.

I also noticed that I was losing too much speed in the next corner (highlighted in green).

Sector 4

Sector 4 revealed more throttle inconsistencies, with small tweaks that I need to smooth out.

Comparing Laps

One of the coolest features of Garage61 is that it lets you compare laps, either with other drivers or with yourself. I decided to compare my own laps from the same race to see where I was being inconsistent.

Andretti Hairpin

In the Andretti Hairpin (Turn 2), I could see how inconsistent I was with both braking and throttle inputs after the first apex.

Turn 3

On Turn 3, I was much more consistent with my braking, thanks to visually memorizing the brake point. However, my throttle application after the corner still needs work.

Corkscrew

Ah, the Corkscrew, arguably the toughest corner on the track. I was terrible here—holding the brakes too long and triggering the ABS.

I also noticed that my fastest lap had the least amount of steering input, which is always a good indicator of smooth driving.

Turn 10

This fast corner is one of my favorites, and I usually gain ground on my opponents here. But even in my favorite section, I saw that I was still making unnecessary corrections with the steering.

Conclusion

I originally thought telemetry analysis would just help me get feedback from more experienced drivers or compare my laps to much faster ones. But even with no prior experience in telemetry, I found it super helpful to just compare my laps to myself. It highlighted where I was being inconsistent and where I was doing things wrong that I didn’t even realize.

Analyzing telemetry is an amazing tool for improving performance, and I’m excited to keep using it to get better on the track.