I started racing on ranked servers about a month ago. It started okay, getting a good top 5 finish here and there. Sometimes I'd mess up, but other than that my reputation kept on climbing. I have been getting a lot better recently and started qualifying very well (P3 today). However, using today as an example, two laps into the race I was in the lead and was knocked out into P11 by a dirty driver (I don't remember who did it). I then got back to P5 and was knocked out AGAIN, this time making me DNF. Another time, I was on a different server and I was P7 after starting P9 Halfway through, a player rammed me in a corner and destroyed my body and engine. This keeps on happening, over and over, race by race. My reputation has dropped almost thirty points because of this (~80-~50). What should I do? Is there a specific server I should look for? Is there a way to restart from scratch to get rid of all of this red? Along with this, how do I reduce the incident points I receive from people hitting me? I don't know if this is considered a stupid question, but I am just a little bit frustrated that my chances of getting my name out there keep on getting ruined by people who can't drive.
Avoid the rookie servers and try the ones with minimum reputation to enter (if you have enough yourself). Combos that include items not in the starter pack also tend to offer cleaner racing, except for WTCR, which is a battle royale. GTR2 at Spa or GT2 at the glen would be good choices on the current roster.
I don't have enough reputation because of all of those dirty drivers. I just don't know what to do, because the plan was to get enough to get to the top servers so professional esports teams could notice me, but now I don't know if that is possible.
So then just spend a few races cruising round at the back till you build rep back up again. Try short races on almost empty servers maybe late at night or in the morning.
You might be trying too hard. If you're not at and among top level, or with people you know follow racing etiquette and are aware of their surroundings, take it easy and wait for other people's mistakes instead of battling with them. Also, if you see people you don't know, assume they got a big fragile ego and can't handle being contested or god forbid passed. Then some people simply don't use mirrors or radar, or do but don't see them because of stress. And some just follow their own racing line no matter what... There are many reasons, but start by looking at what you can do with your attitude and your driving. Don't do any silly "last to podium"... This isn't Gran Turismo. Qualify and do your best, and then be happy if you don't lose places. Don't go for the win - just let it happen if it ever happens. RaceRoom is far better than anything I've encounterd in the gaming world, these rookie servers included. On the better servers, most of the time you can have a really good time.
looking at your profile ; your are getting a lot of disconnect penalties ; not dnf due to points click on the races in ranked then table on bottom right ; click on incident points Andi
Yes, there have been a couple of times where I disconnected from the game due to frustration, but other times I disconnected because I was hit off or messed up badly and there was no point to continue going. Only a few of those invalid laps and spin penalties were my mistakes, most of them were due to being touched in the rear or sent off the track. Because doesn't DNF stand for "did not finish?" I drive with a steering wheel, so when I get suspension damage my wheel goes in whatever direction my steering is broken, meaning I need to turn my wheel 90 degrees left to go straight. Sometimes I can't steer at all. Suspension is usually my problem due to the wheel, but sometimes (for example in Brands Hatch) I get vaulted off in Turn 1 and slide off into the tire barriers. When I raced the Lotus there, if I hit the barriers head-on, it wasn't that hard to fully damage the engine and body to 100%. And I wasn't saying that I was DNFing due to incident points, which I am not because I only got black flagged once due to that. But I am getting awfully close to it, with 26/30 points and such, which makes it harder to concentrate on the racing but on not hitting anything or going off. I might blame some of the incident points on FPS and MS for other players, but I have had the occasional dirty driver who went full throttle through Hockenheim T2 or Portimao T1.
So you recommend me to just stick to my own pace, not to fight with others, stick to the top half of the group so I don't lose points but gain them, so I can get to the intermediate servers?
You don't need that if your only goal, for now, is get back your Reputation to 75+. Your Rep is not affect by where you finish, so you can even drive behind everyone. This is how Rep is calculated after a race: number of incident points you got are weighed against number of corners you drove, then it also takes in account your Rep before the race (the higher your rep, the stronger your incident points affect your Rep). Then, if it wasn't changed recently, in your first 20 races you get your Rep and Rating doubled, and yes, it also applies if you lose them. So for the next few races it would be reasonable to start last and simply drive to the finish while avoiding any incidents/off tracks/etc. This will help you get your Rep back as fast as possible. Since your Rep gains/losses are affected by how many corners you drove, it actually makes sense to stay in the race even if your car is damaged. Drive back to pits, fix your suspension and complete the race. This will help you not lose as much Rep as if you simply quit. Don't worry about your Rating for now. When you stop grinding your Rep back and start racing properly again, your Rating will quickly adjust to reflect your skill.