Whats your opinion on blocking?

[TartanGamer]

To an extent I'm okay with blocking, as it's understandable to fight for your position. The thing about it is that if you're swerving around to block me, and the only way you can hold your position is to keep blocking me, I'm clearly faster than you, probably because I'm better than you. If I'm better/faster, I really deserve to be ahead of you, as your superior.

At that point someone is thinking, "If you're better, work for the overtake" or something to that effect. True, the superior car/driver should earn the position and if truly superior should be able to do so. However, clean overtaking can be difficult on a road course, so with a few well-timed blocks even the greatest driver on Earth can't get around without just knocking you out of the way. If excessive blocking is employed to hold a position, that driver shouldn't get too upset if excessive force is used to take the position, so if that means you get to eat a wall or spin off into the kitty litter, there isn't much room to whine about shoving a mobile wall out of the road.

^^This.

I generally make a few attempts at blocking to gauge what kind of opponent I'm up against, and if I can see that they are much quicker, I'll move over and tell them to come on through on my mic. It's a fair system

 

[byegad]

The seasonal challenges taught me that blocking, and punting off from behind, is part of the AI repertoire.

So in the Seasonals I do both if that's what it takes to win.

 

[peter_vod69]

The seasonal challenges taught me that blocking, and punting off from behind, is part of the AI repertoire.

So in the Seasonals I do both if that's what it takes to win.

Why would you need to block the AI cars once you overtake them?

 

[carfanatic45]

I think blocking ok, as long as you are not bumping the other person to keep them from passing you, than I'm fine with it.

 

[[Nor]MclarenF1]

Blocking, as in weaving back and forth across the track is not OK in my book. Defensive driving however is more or less an art form. Here we're talking about keeping your opponent behind you by choosing a line through corners that allows you to get the advantage at the corner exit. Thus keeping the distance until the next corner, or the chaser makes a mistake.

 

[Carbonox]

Blocking a clearly faster driver repeatedly in an aggressive manner is nothing but a sign of that driver's lack of racing conduct. Fortunately that's quite a rarity in GTP events, which are the only races I really take part in. Got tired of dirty driving back at my GTA IV days already.

 

[Motor City Hami]

Blocking is not the same as racing hard. I will race you the way that you race me. If you are clean, I am clean. If you are ahead and make a move to the preferred passing line, that's you're right. If I then choose to take an alternative line and pass you on the outside, that's my right. If we both give a little through the corner, side by side, I will love racing with you. A little respect from each of us and friend request is sent your way because I want to race with you often.

On the other hand, if you take the preffered passing line, then swerve back in front of me to stop a run or punt me when I take the outside line, I will remember. This is a video game. I will do things in a video game to move you out of the way that I would not do in real life. In real life, we both could be killed. In a video game, you'll just be mad for a few minutes then rage quit the room. See ya.

I prefer to race with people who race hard, but relatively clean. If you are the same way, please send me a friend request and let me know where we will be racing on Firday and Saturday night.

 

[tlfarns]

One move of blocking is considered ok in most races. More than that is considered poor sportsmanship (rightfully so). There is certainly a difference in keeping your racing line while dicing for position. The passing car is required to pass you cleanly. No one requires you move out of line for an opposing driver. My exception is when I am racing an event with a few "aliens". If Gar529, Choat or RackAttack are suddenly on my bumper, I move aside as they have proved over and over that they are screaming fast, clean and deserve my respect.
BANG

 

[peter_vod69]

Move over? Really? If someone is that fast then they should be able to find a spot to overtake. No need to make it easy. If I choose to go defensive and take an inside line through a corner and then run it out to the ripple strip on the outside to maximise my exit speed, then that isn't blocking, simply defensive racing. What the attacking driver should do in this case is start wide, and criss-cross back to the inside as my car runs wide. That is just racecraft. Be damned if I'm letting anyone through (unless in an effort to apologise for an accident earlier in the race).

 

[Imari]

I think this thread explains exactly why random rooms online are the way they are. At least half the people have no idea how this stuff is supposed to work, so race exactly the same way they do offline.

 

[kleefton]

I dont usually block but if a car behind me is faster i just focus on following my normal racing line and i will try to hit the apexes even tighter. Usually if i do that the only way for them to pass cleanly is on the outside so its harder. Or if i make a mistake and miss an apex they will pass and i congratulate them on a clean pass. I think im being quite fair with my approach?

 

[nealcropper]

I think the F1 ruling on this is best. If you defend your position, you cannot change position on track back to the racing line, and you must leave at least a cars width between you and the apex of the turn.

This is what I do.

 

[MrWednesday]

I dont usually block but if a car behind me is faster i just focus on following my normal racing line and i will try to hit the apexes even tighter. Usually if i do that the only way for them to pass cleanly is on the outside so its harder. Or if i make a mistake and miss an apex they will pass and i congratulate them on a clean pass. I think im being quite fair with my approach?

Yes, you are being quite fair with your approach. By sticking to the line, you're predictable about how you're going to drive the course, making it easier for the overtaking car to plan a clean pass.

 

[KinLM]

No matter who is behind me, I will always simply stick to my driving line, even if they're right on me. This makes what I'm going to do very predictable in hopes of letting them have a fair shot at passing me. If they beat me under braking and get inside of me, I'll give them as much space as they need. The most I'll ever do is maybe move one lane over on the straight so I'll be able to have the inside line on the next turn, but that's it. That's about what I consider blocking, anything beyond that can start to become a bit too dirty of racing.

 

[jagenigma]

If i know someone is going to punt me online, i always slow down at least 10mph slower than the turn needs and they go wide because they didn't expect it. Then i just proceed as normal.

 

[GBRC tyrrell]

I'm of the opinion that if a car behind is moving to overtake you, you may make a single defensive move, either left or right, but if the overtaking car moves in the opposite direction, you may not move likewise to block them again. This would be dangerous and unsporting. Since the overtaking car has committed, an attempt at a double-block makes contact much more likely. Also, if the overtaking car keeps to the line they have selected, you can move right to the edge of the track - UNLESS they have already got their nose past your tail. At this point, it counts as ramming. It's for situations such as this that I find setting the track map size to 2 very useful.

 

[nealcropper]

I'm of the opinion that if a car behind is moving to overtake you, you may make a single defensive move, either left or right, but if the overtaking car moves in the opposite direction, you may not move likewise to block them again. This would be dangerous and unsporting. Since the overtaking car has committed, an attempt at a double-block makes contact much more likely. Also, if the overtaking car keeps to the line they have selected, you can move right to the edge of the track - UNLESS they have already got their nose past your tail. At this point, it counts as ramming. It's for situations such as this that I find setting the track map size to 2 very useful.

My sentiment exactly.

 

[KinLM]

I'm of the opinion that if a car behind is moving to overtake you, you may make a single defensive move, either left or right, but if the overtaking car moves in the opposite direction, you may not move likewise to block them again. This would be dangerous and unsporting. Since the overtaking car has committed, an attempt at a double-block makes contact much more likely. Also, if the overtaking car keeps to the line they have selected, you can move right to the edge of the track - UNLESS they have already got their nose past your tail. At this point, it counts as ramming. It's for situations such as this that I find setting the track map size to 2 very useful.

Well put, I share a very similar viewpoint.

 

[VBR]

I'm of the opinion that if a car behind is moving to overtake you, you may make a single defensive move, either left or right, but if the overtaking car moves in the opposite direction, you may not move likewise to block them again.

If you were driving in a GT Planet series that required you to race according to the OLR, you might be in trouble if you got caught doing that. Rule 10:A states:

"Leading cars have the right to choose their own line down a straight...However, they're not allowed to change their line when the behind driver is directly behind and changes his line to try and make a pass."


👍

 

[nealcropper]

they're not allowed to change their line when the behind driver is directly behind and changes his line to try and make a pass.
👍

There's your difference, if the driver is DIRECTLY behind you. If he isn't however, you can make one move and no more than that. At lest that's how every league I have been in has ran it.

 

[VBR]

There's your difference, if the driver is DIRECTLY behind you.

If a driver isn't directly behind you, you wouldn't be able to block him as he'd be too far behind to attempt a pass, therefore it couldn't count as a block, you'd merely be changing your line for the next turn which is just considered defensive driving.

I guess the confusion in this thread is down to people having their own definition of what blocking is. Maybe we should have a thread that asks that question.

 

[nealcropper]

If a driver isn't directly behind you, you wouldn't be able to block him as he'd be too far behind to attempt a pass, therefore it couldn't count as a block, you'd merely be changing your line for the next turn which is just considered defensive driving.

I guess the confusion in this thread is down to people having their own definition of what blocking is. Maybe we should have a thread that asks that question.

Well, yeah, I suppose it is defensive driving, but if you change your line to off the racing line, in order to stop someone passing you on a certain side to stop them getting access to say an apex is that considered blocking? I suppose it comes down to what you deem blocking or defensive driving.

For me defensive driving is anticipating someone's efforts to make a pass on a bend, when speeds are quite evenly matched and moving off the racing line in order to make the other driver either slow down or spin out on the bend.

Blocking, IMO, is if you are on a straight, lets say the main straight at Sarthe, and someone is coming up on you with a overspeed of let's say 20MPH, and you move into the area that you would expect them to overtake in order to make it more difficult, if then you move again after the initial change of line, then I consider that dirty.

Although, if you move over at Sarthe to make it harder to pass, chances are your going to be involved in a collision, because the following car is almost certainly going to be in your slipstream, and moving with it would require you to do so whilst very close to the following car, so maybe that would be dirty.

Seems to be quite a grey area this then, lol.

Like you said, it comes down to how each person see's it.

 

[VBR]

See post 145 in this thread. I agree with your definition with blocking on Le Sarthe.


👍

 

[GBRC tyrrell]

@ VBR:

...you may not move likewise to block them again....

If you didn't miss the 'not', I'm not sure I understand your objection. I basically subscribe to the F1 doctrine on this point.

To elaborate on the topic, you've got blocking, which I think you can only do once in a given pass attempt. There is also what I call 'squeezing'. This involves a car moving to pass in one direction, and you moving over the track in the same direction, and continuing to move over, 'chasing' the car behind. Kind of like a progressive block. In my opinion, this is acceptable, but you should leave enough room at the edge of the track for the passing car to fit through. Reason for this is that the passing car has committed to the move at this point, and forcing them to change direction would be dangerous. Vettel and Shumacher are particularly guilty of not doing this. As to what the F1 rule on this is, whether you can fully close the gap, I don't know, but my own position is to err on the side of caution.

 

[VBR]

@ VBR:

If you didn't miss the 'not', I'm not sure I understand your objection. I basically subscribe to the F1 doctrine on this point.

I didn't miss that, the OLR considers even 1 move to stop someone passing you as a block. Read 10:A again.

"Leading cars have the right to choose their own line down a straight...However, they're not allowed to change their line when the behind driver is directly behind and changes his line to try and make a pass."

It doesn't say they can do it once without it being considered a block.


Like you say, there are different "doctrines" for different forms of motorsport, & certain things are tolerated by the stewards in one series that are not in another. I try to stick to the GT Planet OLR when racing online, & my opinions on the matter can be found in post 145 of this thread, & The Good Racecraft Guide in my sig.


👍

 

[nealcropper]

@ VBR:

If you didn't miss the 'not', I'm not sure I understand your objection. I basically subscribe to the F1 doctrine on this point.

To elaborate on the topic, you've got blocking, which I think you can only do once in a given pass attempt. There is also what I call 'squeezing'. This involves a car moving to pass in one direction, and you moving over the track in the same direction, and continuing to move over, 'chasing' the car behind. Kind of like a progressive block. In my opinion, this is acceptable, but you should leave enough room at the edge of the track for the passing car to fit through. Reason for this is that the passing car has committed to the move at this point, and forcing them to change direction would be dangerous. Vettel and Shumacher are particularly guilty of not doing this. As to what the F1 rule on this is, whether you can fully close the gap, I don't know, but my own position is to err on the side of caution.

They have just changed the rulings in F1 because of Shumi and Vettel. You have to leave room. Be it on a corner, or on a straight. You have to leave at least a cars width.

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/175816/1/fia_clarifies_blocking_rules.html

 

[sems4arsenal]

I think the F1 ruling on this is best. If you defend your position, you cannot change position on track back to the racing line, and you must leave at least a cars width between you and the apex of the turn.

This is what I do.

/thread

 

[nealcropper]

/thread

I don't know what "/thread" means, could you tell me?

 

[GBRC tyrrell]

@ VBR, I see what you mean now. Does seem quite strict in general, although on the straights at Le Mans, it is understandable. Indeed, I don't block anyone there, as due to the narrowness of the track and length of the straights, there's often negligible advantage to be gained from it, not to mention the added danger.

 

[VBR]

@ VBR, I see what you mean now. Does seem quite strict in general, although on the straights at Le Mans, it is understandable. Indeed, I don't block anyone there, as due to the narrowness of the track and length of the straights, there's often negligible advantage to be gained from it, not to mention the added danger.

I understand your point of view too. That's the good thing about this thread asking for opinions on blocking, as the definition of it differs from person to person. The OLR does seem quite strict compared to most rules of motorsport, however, it's all about encouraging clean & fun racing rather than the 'win at all costs mentality' that so often blights forms of real racing.

It's always good to respectfully exchange opinions with fellow clean racers such as yourself.