I tried recently to race in time attack in Rivals online in A class. I’m very upset about the leaderboard. For example, on Catalunya track, the best time is 1 min. and 41 sec. with a KTM. My best time, with the same car and with the Ferrari 458 Italia is 2 min. and 8 sec., which is a big difference for 1 lap. I wondered why so I settled the difficulty at Easy with all the assists (I was at veteran with no assists), but it changed nothing. I tried over 30 laps and still not better.
I’m about 226 610th over 319 000 gamers approximately.
Can you help me or try it and tell me your results.
If you are at 226k on the LB, you have quite a long way to go. KTM is a very fast & nimble car. The #1 time is actually 1:47.261, not 1:41, looking at T10 Leaderboard at
For reference, I’m at 1:55 using GT40 and I know KTM is a faster car.
Using assists are not going to make a huge difference (10+ seconds), it is your driving that will make the most difference. You may be driving very conservatively.
The best way to see the difference is to choose a driver on the LB who has about 2:05 time and try to beat that time.
Both responses so far are VERY spot on. I just wanted to add that the KTM is not only fast and nimble but for some, really hard to drive. Especially while learning. The thread that Monkey linked is the perfect starting point. Have a read through that post and take in what you can. Practice for a couple days and read it again taking in more. Good luck bud.
And if you have a specific problem while driving let us know what it is and maybe we can offer some better advice.
Also, you may want to download a good build/tune. Driving and tuning and car choice are all important. But the build of a car (it’s chosen parts) can really sway your time as well.
It’s very likely that the 320,000 odd drivers will include players who are professional gamers, real racing drivers and hugely experienced Forza players who have lots of experience. Often you see a favoured car that can outperform all others on a certain track. If you don’t use it this might be another obstacle. Although many players deliberately won’t use leaderboard cars on principle.
Wherever possible use ghosts and watch replays to give yourself tips on how the times were achieved. Then you need to invest endless hours of practise. Getting fast is hard work, getting to the very top is by no means certain at all.
I do think its important to realise that there is no need to be at the top to enjoy the sheer brilliance of FM5. Find your level and look for other players who are near to you. I guarentee you will love it.
Also… (sorry 3rd post lol) Make sure your lap is clean. If you see a “!” next to your time, the lap is dirty. That means even if you ran a " ! 1:48.000 " then you could be down 100,000 places on the leaderboard right there. Don’t touch walls or cut any track.
Set small goals e.g top 10 percent ,then 5 percent etc. I’ve just got my first top 1000 so i’d b maybel ooking more or a top 900.never look at the seconds difference with the top, those guys are magicians lol.
That’s exactly the way I’m going about it. And, as a learning driver myself, I thought I could provide some insight based on my experiences:
I’d say on average, right now, I’m about 12-15 seconds behind the top guys on a lap. What’s the difference between me and them? Let’s say a track has 15 turns. For me, I might nail 5, do 8 of them “good” and 2 of them I “could do better”. The top guys are nailing all 15. That’s the difference. A little oversimplification but I’d say that is the bulk of it. The bulk of your time gains are going to come from properly executing turns and maximizing your speed in and out of them. Knowing the proper gear/speed for a turn is a big part of that. For a turn, 3rd gear might be perfect but 4th turns you into a lawnmower. You’ll learn that with practice.
Right car/right track: This is important. You mentioned Catalunya. If you try taking a supercharged powerhouse through Catalunya, you are going to have a rough time. That’s because the cars that excel at Catalunya are nimble cars with good handling. The LB cars are LB cars for a reason - they are well suited for that particular track. I completely understand if you think “Hey, I bought this game to race Ferraris, not Mini Coopers”. I was guilty of that, myself (except muscle cars, not Ferraris). But, when I decided I wanted to become a better driver, I shut up and got in the Mini Cooper. And, it made a big difference. Speaking of this…
If you really want to learn how to drive and get better times, you will have a much easier time in a lower class like D or C than A. Right now, I’m focusing exclusively on the D class rival series. You have to balance this with what it takes for you to enjoy the game. If you can only have fun racing souped-up Ferraris, then, race Ferraris. I’m simply suggesting what to do if you want to learn to drive.
Watch the top guys. The point here is not to try to copy them. Because, you can’t. You aren’t going to turn into Chronic or Zernatt by watching them do a couple of laps. But, watching them do laps can provide you valuable insights that can help you. Example: the left turn after the straight at Road Atlanta always gave me fits. I watched the top guys do it and thought “wow, that 's a much better way”. Helped my lap times out significantly.
Get advice in these forums. The people in these forums are generally nice and happy to help. But, you have to give them something to work with. They can’t really work with “How do I go faster?” because there are so many variables. But, something like “What’s the best angle to take the carousel turn at Road America?” is something they can help with. The one caution I offer regarding these forums - they are mostly populated with top drivers. Because of this, it is easy to feel insecure. It seems like everybody has top twenty times except you (and me). Don’t feel insecure. As long as you enjoy the game, try your best to improve and be respectful, they will be respectful back to you. People who insult or belittle other drivers without provocation don’t last long.
Improvements will come. In December, I was a guy who picked up this game after not having touched a racing game since the original XBox. Now, I’m generally running top 2-5 percent on the D class tracks (don’t ask about Spa - just, don’t) with no assists. I only mention the “no assists” to demonstrate improvement. Race with whatever assists make you comfortable and have fun. Ignore the folks who say “hey, take off the training wheels, Nancy”.
Most important thing - Forza is a game. And, games are meant to be fun. Hope this helps.
As someone that has recently gone through what you are, you have to take baby steps. I know its cliche, but its pretty accurate. Learn to crawl first and then worry about walking before running. As others have said, first worry about clean laps. Forget the time entirely, just concentrate on running the course without having the dirty lap indicator come on. At first, your times might be super slow, but ignore that. Even a 5:00 lap that is clean will advance you up the leaderboard a fair amount. Once you get to the point where you are able to run clean laps fairly consistently, then focus on bettering the time on those laps little by little. It won’t take long before you start to move up on the leaderboards. You need to be realistic too. A lot of these guys have years of practice and us noobs just aren’t going to catch many of them for a long time. Don’t let that discourage you and keep trying to improve. If you think its going to happen overnight, it just isn’t. Sorry, but that’s reality. Be happy with modest gains on your times. Eventually, those modest gains will add up and you’ll be running times you’re really happy with.
Oh, and listen to every word that some of these guys tell you. I’ve been very fortunate to have some of the best drivers in the game give me advice. I’ve done everything I can to apply it all too. A lot of it comes down to your ability, but listening to the best drivers (it won’t take you long to figure out who they are) on here is invaluable.