Want to get ahead of your mates in the GTA multiplayer races? Sure, they can be chaotic and there's an element of luck involved, but you can maximise your chances of winning with our handy tips guide. You should find that most of these hints apply to most other online racing games too. So, ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.

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 inevitable first-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 happening outside 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?