Beat your mates in GTA IV multiplayer racing

1: The start

Want to emerge from the first corner at the front of the field every time? It's really rather simple. You see, no matter how many times you play, or the quality of opposition, there are always going to be some idiots who don't know how to play the game, or think it's funny to cause the biggest crash they can. So here's how to avoid the inevitablefirst-corner pile-up.

If you start the race on the inside (on the right for a right-hander and vice versa) you're already halfway towards success. Simply position your car so that nobody can get between you and the wall or kerb. This way, everything is happeningoutside of you. Any accidents in the corner will be travelling away from your car, leaving you to hug the inside and emerge either at the front of the field or in the top three or four positions.

If you should start in the outside lane, try to get across if you can. The worst place to be is on the outside and at the front (as the video shows), as there's no way you're going to be able to brake for the corner and make it to the apex without being smashed. Our advice? Hang back if you can't get across early, and just avoid the inevitable pile-up. It's all about damage limitation here.

2: Surviving the pack

OK, so you've made it around the first corner or two. The temptation now is to veer into your fellow drivers to try and push them off. But don't do it! More often than not, the other drivers around you (assuming you're at the front) will be seasoned racers who don't really want to get involved in the old argy-bargy. So if you don't start on them, they hopefully won't start on you.

We've tried instigating a little push, only to have the front of our car bounce off the wing of the car to our side, leaving us worse-off. Basically, the less drama you get involved in, the better a race you'll have. So be quietly brilliant, yeah?

Justin Towell

Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.

Latest in Grand Theft Auto
Players in GTA Online running businesses and playing missions
GTA publisher is suing a GTA Online website that lets you buy hacked accounts, which "risks upending the GTA 5 player experience"
Former Xbox boss says GTA: San Andreas and its infamously NSFW Hot Coffee minigame "signified a maturing of the industry" and put games "on par with movies and music"
Grand Theft Auto 3
A GTA streamer is trying to beat every single 3D entry without dying, and in 33 hours he's made it as far as San Andreas but keeps getting caught in Vice City purgatory
Lester sitting at a computer in some artwork for GTA Online
Some GTA 5 players can't bring their characters to the new PC upgrade, and the open-world game's mixed Steam reviews are hammering FPS caps and a lack of text chat
John Cena stares evilly while embracing Cody Rhodes
"We got heel Cena before GTA 6": Even John Cena himself is comparing the 20-year wait for his WWE heel turn to the 12-year wait for the next Grand Theft Auto
Players in GTA Online running businesses and playing missions
It sounds like GTA Online could have a life after GTA 6 – but after 400 hours in Los Santos, I'm ready to say goodbye
Latest in Guides
Umaga is a key player in The Bloodline Showcase
How to unlock all wrestlers in WWE 2K25
FC 25
FC 25 FUT Birthday guide and full cards list
A Sim celebrates his tattoo shop in The Sims 4 Businesses and Hobbies
How to complete The Sims 4 Esteemed Entrepreneur aspiration in Businesses and Hobbies
Assassin's Creed Shadows Claws of Awaji expansion Naoe and Yasuke in Awaji forest
Assassin's Creed Shadows roadmap, DLC and future content
A scary emoji shown in horror game REPO.
Is REPO coming to consoles?
Monster Hunter Wilds Nu Udra Palico
How to get the Monster Hunter Wilds Aqua Sac and Flame Sac