Racing manager guide: strategy, pit stops and car development
RetroGM Racing is a free motorsport team manager game in your browser: you run a team in open-wheel racing, stock cars or rally, on a real calendar with the real circuits. You hire the drivers and the staff, develop the car and call the strategy from the pit wall. This guide explains each part of a race weekend and how a small team climbs.
Getting started
Quick start puts you in open-wheel racing with a midfield team, straight into the first weekend; on that first weekend the engineers run qualifying and you start at the race plan. From the second weekend, qualifying is yours. You can also start in another era: open-wheel in the 2000s, 90s or 70s, stock cars in the 90s or rally in the 80s, each with its own points, reliability and rules.
Qualifying
In open-wheel racing, qualifying runs in three sessions and the slowest five go out after each of the first two. For each driver you choose when to go out (early, on a clear track, or late, on a faster track with a risk of traffic) and how hard to push (a safe, normal or flat-out lap, which is faster with more mistakes). The track gets quicker every session. Check the rain forecast first: it is right most of the time.
The race plan
Before the race, the plan shows every tyre strategy with its estimated cost in seconds, and you can change the length of each stint. Open-wheel races require two dry compounds unless it rains.
- Fuel: light fuel is quicker early but has to be saved in the last laps; a safety car pays that debt.
- Team orders: let them race, hold positions, or favour one driver.
- Live: switch each driver between attack, normal and save, and call him in with the tyre you want. The radar warns of rain about eight laps ahead: intermediates on a damp track, full wets in heavy rain.
Stock cars: cautions and the Chase
Stock car races have many cautions. The pit road is closed on the lap the yellow comes out and opens on the next one, and the race stops to ask you: stay out, four tyres, two tyres or fuel only, with the engineers' advice and the fuel left. Staying out keeps track position until the green flag. Races are split into stages that also pay points.
The top 16 in points enter the Chase for the last ten races, with the points reset and a bonus for wins. You can enter up to four cars: each new entry costs money but brings sponsorship.
Rally: stages and the service park
A rally has nine stages in three loops, on snow, gravel or tarmac. For each stage you set the pace (safe, normal or attack): attacking gains time but risks punctures, spins, crashes and damage that carries over. Between loops the service park repairs the car within 45 minutes; every minute late costs 10 seconds. Choose soft, hard or snow tyres and one or two spares. The last stage is the power stage, with bonus points for the top five.
Developing the car
Choose a development focus (engine, aero, chassis, reliability or balanced) and how much to spend. Factory projects upgrade one part in three paid steps. In the garage, seven slots (engine, gearbox, front wing, rear wing, suspension, brakes and pit equipment) take parts from three tiers, upgraded from level 1 to 5. A low-drag rear wing suits fast tracks and a high-downforce one tight tracks; Best setup fits the best parts for the next track.
Tip: New regulations every four years in open-wheel racing make old parts obsolete. Do not pour money into the garage in the last season of a set of rules.
How a small team climbs
- The cost cap in open-wheel racing covers development and garage parts, so a rich team cannot simply buy speed.
- Development bonus: the further back you finished last season, the more your development counts this year (from 0.8 for the champion to 1.3 for the last team).
- Sponsors judge you on expectations: beat the target your prestige sets and the budget grows; miss it by three places or more and it shrinks.
- Staff: a better technical director makes every upgrade count more, and a better pit crew makes faster stops.
Quick checklist
- Read the rain forecast before qualifying.
- Compare the strategies in seconds; the cheapest is usually right.
- Under a caution late in a stock car race, track position often beats fresh tyres.
- In rally, attack only on stages that suit your driver and the car.
- Spend on staff early; they make every dollar of development go further.
Play it now
RetroGM Racing is free in your browser, on a phone or a computer, with no account and no download. Your save stays on your device and the game works offline.