I'm guilty of a couple side swipes today. My patience isn't endless and after a car comes plowing through from behind, giving me SR Down or a penalty, and I later end up overtaking them with a corner coming up, yeah not going to risk getting rammed off again, I'll earn that penalty.
One SR Down takes another contact free race to over come. Two of them takes 3 contact free races to restore. I don't mind it being hard to gain SR, but -10 for getting hit from behind or punted off is ridiculous. And those side swipes, you don't get penalties for that
I was almost back to SR.A today but it didn't last. Be patient at the start, get hit from behind, get SR Down. Get punted off at Aremberg, get a penalty.
I wish PD would change the matchmaking based on experience with the track. Since I'm stuck between SR.B and SR.C this week I get to race a lot of DR.E drivers. Some are clearly alts yet some are also just starting (on the most difficult track in the game) and it's a guessing game where they will or will not brake. As of today I have completed 1348 races on the Nordschleife, why match me with drivers that are on their first couple races there
Another observation, SR.B has the most non qualifiers (only 5 in one race today). SR.C most people in the races have qualified and are much better drivers. The system is so backwards. It's fun though down in the lower ranks. Nobody bothers cursing at each other after the race and I often end up racing through the pack with the pole sitter who got rammed off to the back at the start
Plus you have all the opportunities to learn to anticipate and perfectly time your movements to overtake anywhere on the track right when that gap opens. Contact free right in between two battling cars, shoot through the inside with a perfect slow in fast out when the car ahead goes slightly wide, or race along the outside when they over correct a bit too much. Car ahead goes left, you go right etc. It's such a fun game.