New to Sim racing?
A sim rig set up can definitely take a while to get used to. iRacing, among many other titles, definitely has some cars that are unforgiving to new racers.
If things are not working on the day, it's not a bad thing to have some patience and try again.
Once you get a few more hours on the track under your belt, analyse your data. If you find yourself doing endless laps without progression, it's a whole lot easier to improve when you are aware of what's going on in your driving.
The two most important things in the sim racing world are visual and audio cues. Learning the visual and audio cues of what the car is doing is what separates the good sim racers from the struggling. Listening to gear changes and making sure you see those in front braking can shave seconds per lap.
Many drivers on console games such as Forza and Gran Turismo Sport opt for using a controller. Whilst this is often easier to start with, eventually you will want to make the move to pedals and a wheel if you wish to progress in the sim racing world.