Online Racing Etiquette Questions

[Raven_WET01]

When I'm online, I usually do street car races around 650pp and almost always wind up in a premium car. Here are the questions:

When passing, do you...

signal for the pass? If so, how?

wait for a safe passing zone with concern to the other player?

make sure the pass won't severely interfere with the other player's racing line in the next corner?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

To answer these myself, yes, I do the universal headlight flash to signal an upcoming pass. If they're in the middle of the road and not moving when they should be, I'll honk once or twice.

Yes, I never pass in a risky area because a collision in a tight area affects both drivers. I also won't pass if it involves cutting someone off in the next turn, the best example would be the chicanes on the straight on Sarthe. Some people brake late on the outside, then cut up the middle (resulting in an awful racing line for both people, thus slowing each person down). I was just wondering how far everyone else takes the whole racing etiquette idea and how they go about doing it.

 

[cb1021]

Thats good you have good etiquette.

I always try to do an overtake in the corners by going in the inside, then you have the right of way even if the cars end up touching.

 

[lav01]

the whole etiquette thing is very touchy to some people. but i agree, if you think it will wreck the cars in real life, dont try it. and by going inside under breaking for the pass make sure you get way up next to the car before turn in. i say that because if the driver you are trying to pass is in chase cam (meaning he can see his whole car) he can easily see you move in.

on the other hand, if he is using bumper/inside car cam, it is waay harder to see the rear car. and just the opposite is true also. chase cam, diving underneath, you can see how far you got under him. but you can see your fender up on his front wheel and he cant see you. if you are passing under bumper cam, once ur near the car you cant see him anymore. so if its bumper vs. bumper, once your anywhere near side by side you cant see each other. so expect to have the outside turn down on you since he cant see and he will be mad a lot.

one thing i have found is just make a clean pass, people have to understand it is racing and there will be contact. if you get together with someone the easiest thing is say whoops sorry buddy. didnt mean to/see you/what are you doing?/i totally messed up/etc... whatever you feel appropriate. if they are rude and a jerk about it and it wasnt on purpose..... oh well.

hope that may help a little

 

[Vitzio]

I flash my high beams and honk my horn if I'm in a road car. If they don't move to that I'll barely tap their bumper to give an idea that I'm right behind them. Also in overtaking I'll late brake and go for the inside line. Basically I drive clean and try not to wreck, which is hard not to do when there's stubborn people in front of you on the Nurburgring.

 

[jackargent]

As I see it if I am in front of you, I am entitled to the racing line & am not obliged to slow down or move aside to let you past. It is your responsibility to find a clean way to get past me. I am not entitled to deliberately block you by constantly changing direction. The only times i need to allow you to pass are if I am being lapped or if I have gained position in front of you unfairly.

 

[W3H5]

signal for the pass. 👍

wait for a safe passing zone with concern to the other player. 👍

make sure the pass won't severely interfere with the other player's racing line in the next corner. 👍

I think it's important, in a serious room, to use correct racing form so that people will want you to race with them again. That way, enjoyment for one's self and other is guaranteed.

 

[Adrenaline]

Yeah, I'm not moving out of your way, but I won't block you. I'll give you room if you get beside me, but I'm not gunna go out of my way to let you drive by. That's not racing, it's highway traffic. As for the light flashing? I don't look back, so I'll never see it. If you have time to flash lights to signal a pass, then you've already wasted the time it takes to pass someone.

 

[Beliall]

I always wait for an opportunity to pass. I also find that hanging on someones bumper for a couple of laps and applying pressure can be effective, as the driver in front makes a mistake. saying that I always worry when there is contact, Even accidents can lead to people accusing you of ramming them off the road and lead to a kick.

 

[United6694]

Like others have said, I won't move out the way to let you pass unless I'm being lapped.

And if I am side by side with someone then I will tend to give them just enough space for their car and take a defensive line into corners.


When overtaking, if I see a gap and think I can make it then I go for it.

"If you no longer go for a gap, you are no longer a racing driver" - Senna

 

[Bigbazz]

I signal I am passing by passing, when my car passes their car, they will get the picture.

 

[Chqr]

In shuffle races, it is much harder to follow true etiquette because cars are of similar speed and are rather forgiving so one has to almost bump the car in front to pass them. I love shuffle races as they are the closest thing to realistic touring car racing which is what I love the most.

 

[Nismo34]

I wont normally overtake unless I know my car is faster to hold them off for longer. If my car doesnt have the grunt, I'll follow as close as possible then wait for a mistake then take the lead. The one thing that annoys me is people who know their car is slower, and yet they overtake in dirty ways just so I can breeze past them again.

 

[f1webberfan]

Well ... since as a racing driver you can use the whole track I don't see a reason not to attack both on the outside or the inside. That's just common sense. Whenever an opportunity arises you have to grab it.
Also, veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery impoooooooooooooooooortant - change your racing line on the straight just once. I'm tired of ppl driving like raving on the long Nurb straight.
And just to clarify ... If you brake for a corner, "lean" on another car and went on infront ... that's not a clear pass. In any way.

 

[abaxas]

There is no such thing as 'clean racing' or etiquette. It always boils down to 'politics' in the end. And those who complain the most, tend to get rewarded for it.

I just want to race, but sadly there are lots of people who dont practice what they preach and complain to gain advantage. I only complain on repeated offences.

 

[f1webberfan]

There is no such thing as 'clean racing' or etiquette

Well if there was no "clean racing" I think there won't be any racing at all. Just game of russian roulette.

 

[abaxas]

Well if there was no "clean racing" I think there won't be any racing at all. Just game of russian roulette.

That's exactly what it's like!

Even if you are clean and take the right line, lots of the time you get a 'ramming penalty' becasue someone jammed it up the inside.

Therefore you cannot have clean racing.

 

[f1webberfan]

That's exactly what it's like!

Even if you are clean and take the right line, lots of the time you get a 'ramming penalty' becasue someone jammed it up the inside.

Therefore you cannot have clean racing.

Well ... in my rooms/servers actually you can. I was a marshal in an online F1 racing league for like 5 years. I know what's clean racing and how to put "dirty" racers to their place.
And yes I know there is a differnece between cyber/online racing and real life racing. In fact I find online racing much more fun to marshal because you know the cars/tracks better. I presume not everybody can do 10 laps at the Silverstone track but you can go around Suzuka in an enduro in GT5.
So yes - there is clean racing imho. It just has to be agreed upon and properly marshaled.

 

[killa_kandy]

Like others have said, I won't move out the way to let you pass unless I'm being lapped.

And if I am side by side with someone then I will tend to give them just enough space for their car and take a defensive line into corners.

When overtaking, if I see a gap and think I can make it then I go for it.

"If you no longer go for a gap, you are no longer a racing driver" - Senna

I was just about to say that...sir jackie got told..

 

[f1webberfan]

I was just about to say that...sir jackie got told..

I don't see him talking about bad driving. Just pointing the limits.

 

[sinbad]

In shuffle races, it is much harder to follow true etiquette because cars are of similar speed and are rather forgiving so one has to almost bump the car in front to pass them. I love shuffle races as they are the closest thing to realistic touring car racing which is what I love the most.

No, you just sometimes have to accept that try as might you can't always pass somebody, and you can't always win, no matter how much faster you might be. That's what happens in real racing. If you have to resort to bumping someone out of the way, you suck.
This is why shuffle races are typically utterly crap, though. You get a room full of people that basically don't care about how they get to the front and it turns into a brawl with people that would rather be the rammer than the rammed.

Forget about etiquette in typical public rooms. There isn't any. Although the OPs idea of etiquette seems a little weird to me. "Flashing to pass" "Honking when people aren't moving over when they 'should be'". Nonsense!

 

[Sohvakettu]

The car behind is responsible of making the pass clean while the car in front is responsible of driving predictably and not changing his line more than once to defend. The car in front has the right for the racing line and the passing car has to get side by side with the leading car aproaching the corner (No dive bombing! Not even if Hamilton thinks it's ok! ) to gain a right for his side of the road. neither has the right to push the other out.

The direver in front is responsible to watch his mirrors when he can by the way. If you can't spare attention to cars around you, you are driving outside of your comfort zone and should change to a slower class of racing.

Edit: It is common real life racing etiquette to present yourself for the car in front before attempting the pass. To do this you can for example try to use flashing lights. The idea is that the driver in front sees you in his mirrors and is able to be mindfull for you to possibly appear besides him at some point. The car in front is not obliged to make room for you just because you show yourself though.

 

[SkateNj]

I flash my high beams and honk my horn if I'm in a road car. If they don't move to that I'll barely tap their bumper to give an idea that I'm right behind them. Also in overtaking I'll late brake and go for the inside line. Basically I drive clean and try not to wreck, which is hard not to do when there's stubborn people in front of you on the Nurburgring.

yup this is the proper way to do it. Flashing high beams is how real racer drivers do it in darker conditions

 

[KingSakery]

I try to pass hard but clean and fair. Sometimes you have to trade paint a bit. Look at WTCC or BTCC races.
What I dislike the most: If someone has a Crash and spins, they always try to go direktly on the Track (even while spinning) just to ruin others races.
Also some people don´t know the "Etiquette" of beeing overtaken. They change the Racingline 2-4times, try to ram you if your side-by-side etc..

 

[alx-ndr]

I beep my horn and flash my lights until they let me pass...
If they don't then I overtake them even if it makes them spin out.

I only do this with slow cars... faster cars I wait for an oppertunity.

 

[f1webberfan]

I beep my horn and flash my lights until they let me pass...
If they don't then I overtake them even if it makes them spin out.

I only do this with slow cars... faster cars I wait for an oppertunity.

LOL! Is that irony?

I find that idiotic - to bump others to make a pass. What? If you are in veyron you are lightning on the straights? But what if I make up on the corners?

 

[Johnnypenso]

The overall etiquette level in online racing is pathetic, in my opinion. First corner melee's are the order of the day in most random lobbies. Passing at any cost, anywhere on the track is common. Luckily for me, I'm usually not in the pack unless I am tuning a new car or something, and most guys racing for the lead are the better, more courteous drivers. I've raced Adrenaline online for example, and when we had a minor shunt, he actually pulled over to wait for me to pass, something I think I've seen less than half a dozen times online, but something I will do on the rare occasion I make contact.

To me, contact is not inevitable. I've made 99.5% of my passes without touching anyone. If I take an inside line, I take it at the speed that allows me to hold the line, not at the same speed I'd try and take the corner on the racing line. When I go to a new track online, I will usually practice starts and first corners when the track is clear behind me in qualifying, if I'm not sure what speed I'm at in that car from a standing start and where the braking point is at the start, which is different from the flying lap braking point.

One thing that has really helped me, is when driving with the hood view, which is my standard view, turn the map scale to 2 and use the map to determine where cars are on the track close behind you and if they are making a move or not. Cars are just small triangles but it's quite accurate, and saves having to look back or sideways. A quick glance before entering the corner, saves a lot of heartache.

You must also be prudent about where to pass. Straighaways are your friend on most tracks, and you should know whether you have enough grunt to make the final straightaway pass or you need to do it earlier. Running behind someone for a few laps often causes them to make mistakes and opens the door for a clean pass.

And remember, you don't have to win. Winning is great, winning is fun, winning is the goal, but it's not real life, it's a game. I choose not to ruin someone else's enjoyment of the game, just so I can win, it's not worth it to me. A clean victory is the only one worth celebrating, the rest are hollow. How guys can just wreck you and go on to win and not be bothered by that says a lot about their character and the rest of their real life that such a hollow victory could mean so much to them.

 

[Johnnypenso]

And...if everyone just read and understood and followed the GTPlanet Rules for online racing, well that would fix 99.9% of the problems with online racing...lol.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I beep my horn and flash my lights until they let me pass...
If they don't then I overtake them even if it makes them spin out.

I only do this with slow cars... faster cars I wait for an oppertunity.

This is your typical online racer, who thinks that when they are faster in the draft they somehow have the God given right to your position. If you can't catch me and get parallel with me before the turn in point of a corner, stop flashing your headlights and wrecking me when I don't pull over for you and let you by, and go back to driving school.

You are only "faster" if you can get by cleanly. If you only have enough speed to keep up and flash your headlights, but not get by clean, you aren't "faster" than me, you are "slower".

Sedan racing championships are not a realistic comparison to GT5 racing. They are real cars, with real weight and the guys are professionals. Their contact while spectacular sometimes, is mostly trading paint, rubbing etc. They aren't divebombing into corners at 150 mph and shooting across the inside of the track at me trying to maintain an outside racing line as often happens online.

When I started out in karting, in 4 cycle karts, we often had packs of 4-8 guys running nose to tail for the entire race, literally just inches apart. I knew all the drivers and knew their tendencies and knew they could handle their karts. In online racing you have a huge variety of skills, and some guys are near the front because they have a fast car and mediocre skills, and can keep up because of the exaggerated draft effects.

 

[f1webberfan]

In online racing you have a huge variety of skills, and some guys are near the front because they have a fast car and mediocre skills, and can keep up because of the exaggerated draft effects.

Or ... using the BOOST = HIGH function of the room.

 

[Beliall]

I like to give a short "pap" on the horn as i come alongside, just to say hello