I’m a sim racer and amateur racer with a passion for Motorsport, good racecraft and the technical and setup aspect of sim racing.
Featured image: My sim racing coaching analysis by trophi.ai
In today’s post, I’m taking a close look at the AI-powered sim racing coaching app: trophi.ai. But, what is coaching, why is it important and what does a coaching app look like?
About 8 years ago, I started racing (in real life) and I couldn’t have been less prepared for it. Having had essentially no relevant experience, except for driving a road car, braking, cornering and managing oversteer were ideas that were completely new to me.
Luckily, I met a driver coach, Scott Mansell, who basically went on to teach me everything I now know about driving on the circuit, and helped me learn how to do laps like this:
What did I learn from the coaching experience?
As a beginner (or intermediate driver) you need a coach. It’s as simple as that.
The temptation to just drive around, and not learn efficiently is too great without one and, on a real circuit, driving around not learning (and not improving) is a really expensive mistake.
Getting coaching improves you in ways you might not have considered. For example, capacity; your ability to free up enough mental bandwidth while you’re driving to be able to “self-coach”. A good example of self-coaching is the ability to check your delta on the exit of a corner and naturally plan a different approach on the next lap, just in case that’s faster.
Perhaps most importantly, I learned that it doesn’t matter how fast you think you are. There is always more to learn. You’ll almost certainly be faster than me, you may even post a faster lap time than your coach – but looking at the data, were you perfect by comparison in every corner? Never stop learning.
So, what does this have to do with the simulator?
All of those points apply just as much in real Racing as they do in the simulator.
Learning when to brake, what line you need to take, opening up your vision, applying the right brake pressure and trailing off to turn the car, and more are essential skills you need to learn if you ever want to improve your lap time.
Getting faster after you plateau on your own is incredibly difficult without the right help.
I got a sim racing coach
Let’s fast forward to today. I’m busy, and sim racing is a hobby that I wish I could fit more time into. As I’m “time-poor”, practice is little and infrequent. When I do practice, I’m very open to better ways to make the most of my time.
In walks trophi.ai – an AI-powered sim coach that analyses your driving technique and, in real time, gives you feedback on your technique at various points around a lap.
Getting started
After downloading trophi.ai and going through the initial setup, I began with the Formula 4 iR-04 at Okayama.
The platform requires five initial laps to gather baseline data, which gives you time to familiarise yourself with the track and the car while the AI learns your driving style. I chose Okayama because I thought I knew it, and the iR-04 is very easy to drive.
Once the baseline laps were complete, I activated the coaching mode. While driving, Mansell AI began providing real-time guidance before each corner, complemented by telemetry overlays that compared my inputs to expert reference data.
The AI talks you through a lap and instructs you on where and what to focus on around the lap.
I’ll admit that the first few laps were challenging – processing verbal coaching while driving requires some mental re-adjustment.
I found a natural tendency to focus too much on the feedback rather than the driving, and make mistakes because of it. However, after about 5 minutes, I came to terms with it all and started to find the capacity to drive my best while being coached.
Within 20 minutes, my lap times were improving on most laps – the kind of progress that might typically take several sessions to achieve. What’s particularly interesting is that this improvement came not from one big change, but from multiple small adjustments to braking points, turn-in positions, and throttle application. The wins are small at first and you really have to commit yourself to the challenge. Despite thinking there wasn’t the time to find, I improved by around 1.8s in that session. Nice.
Coaching progression and analysis
Trophi coaches you to develop skills in key skills, such as braking. In “My Laps” you can get a lap report showing a breakdown of your ability level in the braking zones, your steering inputs, throttle control, etc.), which gives you a clear picture of your strengths and areas that need improvement. The lap-by-lap improvement shown (from 29% to 68% technique score) illustrates how you can track your progress over time.
As a testing aid, this is huge. I like that you can jump into a coaching session whenever you have the time, rather than having to set a time and date to share a screen with a coach on Discord. The vocal feedback is powerful, particularly if you’re not fully up to speed with standard data telemetry. Also, the coaching is real-time – so rather than exiting iRacing (or ACC / F1 2023 – whichever platform you prefer), you get the information in a productive and immediate way.
Expert Lap Analysis and Implementation
One of trophi’s most powerful features is how it implements expert lap data. Rather than just showing you a replay of a faster driver, the platform breaks down the expert’s approach corner by corner, comparing your inputs directly against theirs.
The telemetry overlay shows you where the reference driver is braking, their throttle application, and gear selection—all in real-time as you drive. This immediate comparison helps you understand not just where you’re losing time but exactly why.
You might notice they’re braking later but more progressively into a corner, or carrying more speed through a particular section. When combined with the coaching feedback, you understand how to implement these techniques yourself. It’s the difference between knowing someone is faster through a corner and understanding how to replicate that speed yourself.
AI Sim coaching vs telemetry tools
What sets trophi apart from simple telemetry tools is its structured approach to improvement. The platform includes specific skill development exercises – like the brake control training – that help you focus on individual aspects of your technique. These are complemented by reference lap analysis and weekly track preparation guides.
For me, this systematic approach transformed how I use my practice time. Instead of trying to find time through trial and error, I could focus on specific areas that needed work. The real-time feedback meant I could make adjustments immediately, rather than spending time analysing data after the session.
This is particularly valuable for anyone preparing for a race weekend. You can quickly get up to speed on an unfamiliar track, understand where you’re losing time, and develop a clear plan for improvement. The combination of immediate feedback and structured learning means you’re not just lapping – you’re actually developing your technique with every session.
If you want to give trophi a try, it’s free for the first 7 days, it’s priced at $12.99 a month. Signup with coupon / discount code: SRC12 for a 12% discount on all payments for the first 12 months. Enjoy!