Our own Luca was racing in an iRacing championship, and during the penultimate round, he was accused of not relinquishing to a pro driver. This got him wondering about how car and driver categorisations should be implemented in racing.
I have been competing in a league on iRacing called the Prototype Challenge, and on 3 September I won my first race in the penultimate round of the season on the Suzuka circuit. But the mood was spoiled by a driver in the category above mine. They accused me of purposely holding them up so they could not mount a challenge against my teammate who was in their class.
To put it into context, there are two categories of car: LMDh, which features all four GTP cars on iRacing (BMW, Cadillac, Porsche and Acura), and then LMP3 with the Ligier JS P320. But within those car categories are two driver classes as well. If you have ever had your Road/Sports Car iRating over 3,000 then you qualify for Pro, whereas everyone else is in Am.
All points are scored separately in each driver class, so I would not have lost any points by letting this person through, but there was no explicit hierarchy within the rules from the organisers hosting these races that said Ams had to make way for Pros. If this person had been in the LMP3, they certainly would have not been happy either, as the LMP3 Am drivers were quite often ahead of the Pros.
Coupled with a previous incident I had in an ACC league, it has got me really wondering about the assumptions made about car category and driver class etiquette. Because it is never always a case of "this car or driver is slower and should therefore get out of the way".
In sports car racing, there are different classes for the same category of car depending on who is driving it. In GT World Challenge Europe for example, teams will fall into one of five classes depending on the driver level determined by criteria set out by the organisers. So even though all teams are racing GT3 machinery, they all have something realistic to fight for.
But in this series, if let's say a Bronze driver passes perhaps a Pro driver - maybe they had an excursion and were slow re-joining - does the Bronze driver get a blue flag? No, if it is for position then the Pro driver does not just get it handed to them. They have to get past, and presumably the Bronze driver will realise the Pro is faster, so defending from them would just slow them both up.
The question is further complicated by different car categories. If one driver is in a car category with a blatant performance disadvantage, the faster car has to safely navigate around them with no expectation for the slower car to get off line and come off throttle. But remember back to the World Endurance Championship in the latter seasons of LMP1?
There were LMP1 cars with hybrid systems that were ran by manufacturers like Audi, Porsche and Toyota, then there were privateer outfits like Rebellion and ByKolles who did not run hybrids in their cars. The pace disadvantage was clear, but with the exception of 2014, they ran in the same category. It is all a bit confusing, but regardless, the non-hybrid cars were not expected to let the hybrid ones through for position.
With all this in mind, why has it become so normalised in sim racing that the attitude is "I am in a higher class than you, so move aside and do not try to race me"?
SRO's GT2 category differs from the old GT2 cars of years ago that were clearly quicker than the GT3 cars of their time. These cars are more powerful than GT3s but have dramatically less aerodynamic reliance, meaning on tracks with a lot of long straights, they can beat GT3s on pure merit. In this league, GT2s did win a few races overall such as Bathurst and the one I will be referencing, Monza.
In this ACC league, GT2 and GT3 cars were often mixed together in terms of pace.
In the race at Monza, I was behind a GT3 car with a couple of GT2 cars ahead. The GT3 had a dreadful run out of the first chicane and thus I was pulling alongside them. I was from what I recall partially alongside and attempted to out-brake the GT3. I did not pull it off and we both skipped over the chicane, and I sent a message to the GT3 driver afterward apologising and taking responsibility.
But what really got to me was their response. They claimed I was naïve to try to pass him as he was in the faster category car and I should know better for next time, that we are not racing each other - since the points were scored per category and not overall - so me attempting that just wasted our time. I really did not appreciate this perspective.
Yes, I would not have stood to gain points by passing this GT3 driver, but there were GT2 drivers ahead and if I had a chance to gain points by passing them, I was going to try. But because of this guy's perspective of GT3s being traditionally faster, it felt like they thought that gave them permission to pass GT2s, but no GT2 was allowed to pass them.
The cars may all be the same category but some drivers were classified as Pro and some like me were classified as Am.
The spat I had in the Prototype Challenge league on iRacing was equally frustrating. The Pro driver in question was about 1.5 seconds behind me when they started spamming the headlight flash, and I was not going to let them through. It was for position and I had reason to believe I could have gotten a penalty for an incident on the opening lap, so I could not risk making the gap to the next driver in my class any smaller. On that note, I was determined to be not at fault for that incident, thankfully.
Eventually, this driver did get alongside and I did not bother putting up a fight, I knew better than to do that. But immediately after the race, they messaged me asking why I did not let them through and went on to insinuate that I held them up to prevent them from catching my teammate who was also in the Pro class. Despite the fact we were racing the same car category, I should have just let them through, apparently.
The criteria set out by the organisers for driver class being based on iRating is not entirely fool proof of course. Just because someone's iRating is higher it does not automatically mean they are faster. As the LMP3 category proved in the league, Am drivers were quite often beating Pro drivers on pure pace.
Ultimately, it has to be looked at on a case-by-case-basis and what the organisers determine. But just because you are supposedly on the surface determined to be faster, it does not entitle you to not having to muscle your way past or stay ahead.
So I knew if I won the race, I would win the championship regardless of where anyone else finished, and win it I did. I will not go into details now, I may save that for a future article. I used to write a set of columns called 'My Sim Racing Journey' before the OverTake and RaceDepartment websites merged in March where I would detail events I take part in. Hopefully a few of you on here would be interested in hearing about that.
Anyway, that aside, I would like to know when is the time in mixed multiclass racing where a driver must pull aside and when they can hold their ground. Any and all perspectives would be appreciated!
When is it warranted to let someone through in a race outside of lapping the same category of car? Let us know in the comments down below!
I have been competing in a league on iRacing called the Prototype Challenge, and on 3 September I won my first race in the penultimate round of the season on the Suzuka circuit. But the mood was spoiled by a driver in the category above mine. They accused me of purposely holding them up so they could not mount a challenge against my teammate who was in their class.
To put it into context, there are two categories of car: LMDh, which features all four GTP cars on iRacing (BMW, Cadillac, Porsche and Acura), and then LMP3 with the Ligier JS P320. But within those car categories are two driver classes as well. If you have ever had your Road/Sports Car iRating over 3,000 then you qualify for Pro, whereas everyone else is in Am.
All points are scored separately in each driver class, so I would not have lost any points by letting this person through, but there was no explicit hierarchy within the rules from the organisers hosting these races that said Ams had to make way for Pros. If this person had been in the LMP3, they certainly would have not been happy either, as the LMP3 Am drivers were quite often ahead of the Pros.
Coupled with a previous incident I had in an ACC league, it has got me really wondering about the assumptions made about car category and driver class etiquette. Because it is never always a case of "this car or driver is slower and should therefore get out of the way".
Real Life Racing Examples
For the sake of keeping things clear, the word 'class' will be used to refer to drivers and 'category' will refer to types of car. Both words can be interchanged very indiscriminately, so when you see each word in this article, you will know what I am referring to.In sports car racing, there are different classes for the same category of car depending on who is driving it. In GT World Challenge Europe for example, teams will fall into one of five classes depending on the driver level determined by criteria set out by the organisers. So even though all teams are racing GT3 machinery, they all have something realistic to fight for.
But in this series, if let's say a Bronze driver passes perhaps a Pro driver - maybe they had an excursion and were slow re-joining - does the Bronze driver get a blue flag? No, if it is for position then the Pro driver does not just get it handed to them. They have to get past, and presumably the Bronze driver will realise the Pro is faster, so defending from them would just slow them both up.
The question is further complicated by different car categories. If one driver is in a car category with a blatant performance disadvantage, the faster car has to safely navigate around them with no expectation for the slower car to get off line and come off throttle. But remember back to the World Endurance Championship in the latter seasons of LMP1?
There were LMP1 cars with hybrid systems that were ran by manufacturers like Audi, Porsche and Toyota, then there were privateer outfits like Rebellion and ByKolles who did not run hybrids in their cars. The pace disadvantage was clear, but with the exception of 2014, they ran in the same category. It is all a bit confusing, but regardless, the non-hybrid cars were not expected to let the hybrid ones through for position.
With all this in mind, why has it become so normalised in sim racing that the attitude is "I am in a higher class than you, so move aside and do not try to race me"?
Mixed Category Racing
Earlier I made mention of an incident I had in an ACC league. The GT2 cars had just been introduced and a community I am involved with put together a mixed GT3 and GT2 league, so I signed up with the new KTM X-BOW GT2. It proved to be a very fascinating series, as there was no huge pace disparity between the car categories.SRO's GT2 category differs from the old GT2 cars of years ago that were clearly quicker than the GT3 cars of their time. These cars are more powerful than GT3s but have dramatically less aerodynamic reliance, meaning on tracks with a lot of long straights, they can beat GT3s on pure merit. In this league, GT2s did win a few races overall such as Bathurst and the one I will be referencing, Monza.
In this ACC league, GT2 and GT3 cars were often mixed together in terms of pace.
In the race at Monza, I was behind a GT3 car with a couple of GT2 cars ahead. The GT3 had a dreadful run out of the first chicane and thus I was pulling alongside them. I was from what I recall partially alongside and attempted to out-brake the GT3. I did not pull it off and we both skipped over the chicane, and I sent a message to the GT3 driver afterward apologising and taking responsibility.
But what really got to me was their response. They claimed I was naïve to try to pass him as he was in the faster category car and I should know better for next time, that we are not racing each other - since the points were scored per category and not overall - so me attempting that just wasted our time. I really did not appreciate this perspective.
Yes, I would not have stood to gain points by passing this GT3 driver, but there were GT2 drivers ahead and if I had a chance to gain points by passing them, I was going to try. But because of this guy's perspective of GT3s being traditionally faster, it felt like they thought that gave them permission to pass GT2s, but no GT2 was allowed to pass them.
The cars may all be the same category but some drivers were classified as Pro and some like me were classified as Am.
The spat I had in the Prototype Challenge league on iRacing was equally frustrating. The Pro driver in question was about 1.5 seconds behind me when they started spamming the headlight flash, and I was not going to let them through. It was for position and I had reason to believe I could have gotten a penalty for an incident on the opening lap, so I could not risk making the gap to the next driver in my class any smaller. On that note, I was determined to be not at fault for that incident, thankfully.
Eventually, this driver did get alongside and I did not bother putting up a fight, I knew better than to do that. But immediately after the race, they messaged me asking why I did not let them through and went on to insinuate that I held them up to prevent them from catching my teammate who was also in the Pro class. Despite the fact we were racing the same car category, I should have just let them through, apparently.
The criteria set out by the organisers for driver class being based on iRating is not entirely fool proof of course. Just because someone's iRating is higher it does not automatically mean they are faster. As the LMP3 category proved in the league, Am drivers were quite often beating Pro drivers on pure pace.
Ultimately, it has to be looked at on a case-by-case-basis and what the organisers determine. But just because you are supposedly on the surface determined to be faster, it does not entitle you to not having to muscle your way past or stay ahead.
Champion In Prototype Challenge
On the note of this Prototype Challenge series, I went on to win the finale in probably the best race performance I have ever done. I started the round five points behind the class leader in the standings, and the series employed the FIA points system with 25 for a win and 18 for second.So I knew if I won the race, I would win the championship regardless of where anyone else finished, and win it I did. I will not go into details now, I may save that for a future article. I used to write a set of columns called 'My Sim Racing Journey' before the OverTake and RaceDepartment websites merged in March where I would detail events I take part in. Hopefully a few of you on here would be interested in hearing about that.
Anyway, that aside, I would like to know when is the time in mixed multiclass racing where a driver must pull aside and when they can hold their ground. Any and all perspectives would be appreciated!
When is it warranted to let someone through in a race outside of lapping the same category of car? Let us know in the comments down below!
![Luca [OT]](https://overtake-data.community.forum/avatars/s/3235/3235113.jpg?1697196734){kind=avatar}
