Short Turns, 180º

This is basically the same maneuver as taking the long turn but you will need to make sure not to go too fast when taking it. You almost always drive on two wheels through a turn like this.

1. Try to decelerate as little as possible but do not go too fast. If you need to brake, brake before the turn!
2. Make sure you start of as far as possible in the outer lane but be careful not to touch the curb or drive off the track! Now, gently start making your turn.
3. Steer more and more aggressively towards the inside of the turn. Be careful not to slip out of the turn!
4. When everything went well, and with a little bit of luck, you will be at the inside of the turn, driving on two wheels with your inside wheels above the dirt.
5. Return to 4 wheel driving and gently steer out of the turn.
6. You will end up at the far side of the outer lane. Again, make sure you do not touch the curb or drive off the track!

Short Turns, 'S'

These turns are not really that difficult and with some practice, you will not even lose any speed while taking them:

1. Start at the far side of the outer lane.
2. Gently steer towards the middle of the track and point the front of the car towards the center of the turn.
3. Keep your car strait and try to drive as close as possible to the side of the tarmac. But watch out not to drive in the dirt or against the curb.
4. Keep going strait until you reach the center of the next turn, again staying as close as possible to the side of the tarmac.
5. Gently steer out of the turn and try to align you car strait in the middle or at the outer side of the track, depending on the next turn or the next obstacle.

Driving Down a Slope

Do not always jump off a slope, but try to remain in contact with the tarmac with your wheels all the way down. This way, you can accelerate while going down, if required. In order to achieve this, it is sometimes required to brake just before the slope.

1. The purple car does not brake before the slope and jumps off.
2. The car lands on the next ramp and loses a lot of speed.
3. Because the car lost most of it's speed, it cannot take off again so it bumps into the landing ramp.

1. The yellow car brakes before the slope.
2. It brakes just enough to keep in contact with the tarmac while driving down the slope.
3. The car can accelerate all the way down the slope so it can take off at high speed on the next ramp.
4. It safely makes the jump and continues driving...

Brake Before a Turn, Not In a Turn

The first lesson in this school is about a very essential thing but something you do not want to do very often in TrackMania: braking!

In real life, when it is slippery on the road, you do not go braking while taking a turn. You brake before the turn and then you take the turn.

In TM you do the same thing. When the turn is too sharp for the speed you are driving at, decelerate before the turn (you can even make skid marks) and only start turning when you are no longer braking, most importantly, when you are no longer making skid marks on the road!

1. The yellow car brakes before the turn. It draws some skid marks on the tarmac but because it is going strait, the car stays stable and under control. The purple car does not brake, so it can overtake the yellow car. (Purple Car Driver: "a-ha!")
2. The yellow car reaches the optimal speed and steers towards the center of the turn.The purple car is going too fast and tries to brake in the turn. But this locks up it's wheels and makes it slip away. (Purple Car Driver: "Oh sh*t!")
3. The yellow car takes the turn without any problems and without losing speed nor slipping away.The purple car slips off the tarmac and into the crash barrier thus losing all it's speed.
4. The yellow car can already accelerate and overtakes the purple car easily. (Yellow Car Driver: "Eat this!")The purple car is now almost slowed down to a stand still and drives slowly out of the dirt back onto the tarmac. (Purple Car Driver: "Grrrr.")

TrackMania driving school?

First of all, I do not pretend to be the best driver in the world, I'm even not ranked as one of the 20 best players on the TrackMania Exchange (TMX) WR Leaderbord.

I have, however, played TrackMania (TM) for numerous hours, too many hours actually, and during this game play I found out some stuff about the physics engine of the game and I also gained general driving experience which improved my driving skills and thus improved my track times. Now I would like to share this experience with you.