Time for a couple "gentle reminders" about our actions on track guys. I have reviewed a few replays, and we have been having more than a few incidents lately. There will be no finger pointing here, but I would like everyone to keep in mind a couple of the basics of what is expected from an SJ gentleman racer in this series.
1. If you are following or behind, and contact the car in front, you are at fault. If the car in front goes off track because of the contact it is required for you to slow and let the offended party retake their position as soon as is safely possible. Please do not clog up the track further by parking mid track to wait! An apology as soon as possible afterwards either in comms, chat, or post race comments goes a long way towards maintaining good feelings within the group.
2. It is the responsibility of the driver lapping another driver to do so safely and without incident. I do not expect drivers that are being lapped to pull over or slow way down, or pull off the track. There is no requirement of a driver to immediately yield his position to be lapped. We must all remember that everyone is racing someone else. Whether it is for P1 or P10 makes no difference. Respect ALL drivers and their race! If a driver is going well enough to lap someone else, he should be able to find a good way round at a safe part of the track! If you make a dicey pass and pretty much leave the other driver no choice but to go off track or in the wall, the gentlemanly thing to do would be to wait. And apologize.
3. When qualifying, please remember to keep an eye on your mirror when exiting the pits and during your out lap. You have no rights to position on your out lap, and must yield to anyone else who is on a hotlap!
4. As always, please be EXTRA cautious on the first lap! Nothing is more ugly than to watch replays with multiple punts on the first lap. Take it easy! Remember you are on cold tires, brakes, and heavy fuel. (I may re-think the inverted start in race 2 sprints. It seems those are the races we are having the most carnage on the first lap.)
Now please understand that none of this means we have to drive like a bunch of old ladies.
When in battle, shite will happen and mistakes will be made. We are racing in wobbly sim autos, in a a not so perfect sim platform, so perfection is not possible. Basically it all boils down to respect for your fellow drivers. If you are in doubt whether you were at fault during an incident or not, just ask yourself if points and positions really matter in the long run. As nice as they are, the medals in our sigs are really just a bit of fancy color on a computer screen. Isn't camaraderie and friendship just as important as the competition after all?
Thanks for reading!
All the best,
Steve
