Dubrok:
Training and combat sensor is the key (and not forgetting giving yourself some nice combat bonuses at race setup). If you can’t hit the other guy, it doesn’t matter how many ships you got
As for strategies, here is the Primitive way:
Unless you are 100 % sure you are ahead in the bonus race, go for Point Blank (as ship strategy) and select Nearest first. And don’t forget to make your ships break formation.