I have found no reason to penalise anyone for their actions during the 1st race, although people need to be a bit more careful with their braking points.
i'm unhappy about this. regardless of driver experience (or lack of it) leading to one off mistakes, rule breakers should still be punished, if only to be made an example of, otherwise there's no point in having a penalty system in place.
as i've already used the PM function and have not been satisfied with the outcome i guess i have to publicise the incident and name the drivers involved:
firstly, on the first racing lap (lap 2 in the replay), lizard50 made a passing move on me into the 4th corner (the right hander) which resulted in me being forced off the track. i was not let through after the incident. if you watch the replay, you'll see he was about a whole car length behind me before darting up the inside. admittedly, i was going around steadily as i'd already had a few bumps, but not so much so that i could be regarded as slowing down the field.
you'll also notice the speed at which he enters the corner... had i not been there to act as his 'barrier' i imagine that he would have gone off the track instead. unfortunately, the replay understates this as it seems as though the cars are moving slowly at this point.
my understanding is that if a driver is not alongside another driver before making a passing move on the inside line going into a corner he has no right to make a move unless he has reason to believe he is being held up by a slower driver - not the case here.
it's basic racing etiquette as set out in gtplanet's own set of rules.
i understand that with this being the first race people may not be comfortable with the cars or the tracks or even with their fellow competitors, but this does not mean the agressors involved in incidents should escape punishment. the idea of a penal system is actually to act as a deterrent to prevent would-be violators committing offences against others but should they make mistakes (and then not correct them by, in this case, letting the driver through) they should be punished, if only to set an example to the other drivers, set the tone for the rest of the series and to promote consistency.
i ask that this incident is looked into again and a penalty brought against lizard50 for wreckless and inconsiderate driving.
secondly, there were also incidents involving drivers swerving across the track more than once to prevent themselves being slipstreamed (drafted) and incidents involving lapped drivers being uneccessarily inconsiderate, one of the team lotus drivers and blastomatic respectively... this is 'dangerous' driving and i don't feel it's acceptable.
the team lotus driver apologised after the race and even told me that he tried to let me through after another incident. hopefully, this means he already knows that his driving was a little erratic and will try to prevent a repeat of this in the future.
blastomatic, though...hmmm. seems like has was making a lot of apologies after the race and i know of at least one other driver who was involved in several incidents with him (i shan't name him), so it's hard to believe that no penalties have been brought against him.
again, i ask that the organisers review the driving of blastomatic and issue an appropriate penalty.
some may deem this as being overly killjoy, but the point of rules - and adhering to them - is to create a universally enjoyable, mutually beneficial, safe, fair and competitive driving environment in which to compete. if no penalites are brought against lizard50 and blastomatic then i shall have to adjust my driving style to better suit theirs (and others) as, by implication, their driving is acceptable and i will expect that my driving will also go unpunished - i'm a fair driver, but i've no desire to become the series' resident punch bag.
i was also unfortunate to be involved in an incident in a totally different league recently where a car in front of me trying to pass a back marker collided with him and had a mild spin off the track. i was caught up in the aftermath and because the damage was set to heavy, my race was effectively over. ironically, the driver involved in this tussle (who went on to win the race, i should point out) seemed to think that there were no incidents in the race whatsoever. i recall lizard50 also displaying a similar outlook on the race (although his excuse was something along the lines of "i got some bumps too so it's ok, right?"). why only the aggressors and the blatantly guilty believe this to be true is beyond me and is becoming a common occurence, i've noted, in these seemingly 'organised' leagues.
speaking of which - thanks to the organisers for putting together the series, i do understand that getting 16 mainly unknown people together for a racing series has it's difficulties.
all i ask is that if you're going to be serving out penalties to people who can't regularly attend then it should follow that penalties are also given to those who, purposefully or otherwise, display disregard for their fellow competitors through dangerous or incompetent driving.
FYI: if i ever find myself involved in a similar incident, you can rest assured i will have no issues with being penalised unless i feel it is unjustified.
however, in these cases, i do not believe my complaints, or the reasons for them, are unwarranted.
and the rules are Racing Softs - Racing Hards!
Didn't make much difference in the end and was soon behind Europa in about 8th before the end of the lap.
