I am wondering: Has any seasoned driver perhaps done some observations about whether time of day has any influence or not? (- on how dirty races are.)
Well, I’m far from seasoned however, I have logged quite a few mile in the last year. I’m retired so I have the ability to race at any time throughout a 24 hour day, and I’ve done so.
I think your question has a few variables, the first being the level of driver. There is a huge difference between a bad A/+A driver and a bad C/D driver (bad C/D drivers can’t drive and can be VERY malicious). My main goal isn’t to advance DR, it’s to get to a level where the drivers main concern is racing as opposed to how many cars they can wreck.
The second part of the question is what exactly are you trying to avoid, malicious angry drivers or really good drivers.
Early afternoon I begin to see some fairly malicious driving in the high C/low B lobbies.
If I’m racing in the morning or mid afternoon my QT is usually good for a top 3 on the grid. As the time progresses to 7:00-8:00 PM (West coast-US GMT-8) the really good drivers seem to come out and my QT starts slipping down the grid pretty low, at that point, I’m pretty much just an impediment on the track and it’s time to go do something else. I don’t mind not winning but I hate being in the way.
Late at night when there are fewer drivers to fill a room, I’ve been in races that may have 3 levels of drivers with disparities in QT as high as 4-5 seconds.
There are also differences in week day vs weekend
My main goal is to stay at a B or high C just because the racing is cleaner, I usually try to race before noon.
I had a race yesterday at Nurburgring, I was fighting for 7th with the same car, for 3 laps in a row he tried passing me in the chicane. All 3 passes were clean (I didn’t think that was possible) with no bumping or wrecks. That’s what I’m looking for.