Lars Hansen
Buggered if I know.....
I'm sure everybody already knows this, but some recent developments made me realize that perhaps it's time for a refresher.
Nobody should take any of the following personally, nor does it excuse any sort of attacks or recriminations.
This is simply posted so there are no misunderstandings, and everybody knows where we stand as a club.
Club races are first and foremost to be FRIENDLY, FUN and NON-COMPETITIVE.
The friendly part I think we got pretty well covered.
Now, non-competitive is a little fuzzy, to be honest.
We are after all driving race-cars (even if they are pretend), and we all want to be the first to be over the line.
But there are rules for club-racing here, the two biggest of which are:
1) If you caused an accident, you're expected to give the position back.
2) It is always the responsibility of the faster car to overtake safely.
The first one is pretty self-explanatory.
The second one has several implications, especially since the Club grids tend to have people of diverse skill-levels.
And if you do get mixed up in an incident, just re-join safely and get back to the racing.
When it comes to backmarkers being lapped, the second rule still rules supreme.
If possible, it's good back-marker etiquette to get out of the way, but don't try to do so unless you can do it SAFELY.
Learn the track, and learn where you can pull to the side without risking either your car or his. It's no use trying to get out of the way in a chicane, you'll simply spin and take both of you out.
And whatever you do, don't spend so much time looking in your mirrors that your driving becomes unpredictable. Concentrate on keeping your line until such time as you deem it safe to pull to the side.
This goes both ways; if you're approaching a soon-to-be-lapped car, and the track-position doesn't lend itself to a safe over-take, don't attempt to force your way past.
Wait until you can do so safely.
And again, if at all possible use TeamSpeak to communicate your intentions.
I know we can't completely avoid accidents, we are after all driving right to the edge.
But hopefully we can eliminate most of the moronic ones.
Then there's the most important thing, the fun-factor.
Whether you're fast, slow or somewhere in between, I assume we are all doing this because we think it's fun.
And the focus of Club races is fun, not competition.
What this means (among other things) is that we don't talk about lap-times in the Club threads.
Now, I don't want accusations or apologies, and I'm most certainly guilty of having done exactly the same in the past.
But just so everybody is clear, from here on out all statements re. lap-times will be quietly modded-out by either myself or Kenny.
If you're one of the fast guys, please don't misunderstand this. There is no problem with you being fast.
But it does become a problem when new racers see the lap-times and think "Bugger me, I'll never be able to match that pace. I won't even bother signing up."
The more people we get to sign up, the better the chances of everybody having someone at their level to race against.
And if you're one of the guys with a little less talent, let me give you a piece of advice.
Sign up anyway.
There will always be a few alien-speed guys around, but the Club races usually have a spread of 5-6 seconds from first to last, so the odds are pretty good that there will be someone at your level as well.
And it honestly doesn't matter if you can't race for first place.
One of the most memorable races I've ever had in RD was a 4-way fight in the GSC Minis that lasted almost 15 minutes.
And we were fighting for the glory of 10th place.
RDs Paul Jeffrey has the best signature: "Winning's great...Racing's better"
Hopefully the above wasn't too much of a sermon.
Enjoy the racing, guys.
I certainly plan to.
Cheers,
Lars
Nobody should take any of the following personally, nor does it excuse any sort of attacks or recriminations.
This is simply posted so there are no misunderstandings, and everybody knows where we stand as a club.
Club races are first and foremost to be FRIENDLY, FUN and NON-COMPETITIVE.
The friendly part I think we got pretty well covered.
Now, non-competitive is a little fuzzy, to be honest.
We are after all driving race-cars (even if they are pretend), and we all want to be the first to be over the line.
But there are rules for club-racing here, the two biggest of which are:
1) If you caused an accident, you're expected to give the position back.
2) It is always the responsibility of the faster car to overtake safely.
The first one is pretty self-explanatory.
The second one has several implications, especially since the Club grids tend to have people of diverse skill-levels.
- Don't do close drafting unless you're sure of the braking-points of the guy in front.
- Don't assume the other guy will take the same line as you.
- Don't assume he has even seen you.
And if you do get mixed up in an incident, just re-join safely and get back to the racing.
When it comes to backmarkers being lapped, the second rule still rules supreme.
If possible, it's good back-marker etiquette to get out of the way, but don't try to do so unless you can do it SAFELY.
Learn the track, and learn where you can pull to the side without risking either your car or his. It's no use trying to get out of the way in a chicane, you'll simply spin and take both of you out.
And whatever you do, don't spend so much time looking in your mirrors that your driving becomes unpredictable. Concentrate on keeping your line until such time as you deem it safe to pull to the side.
This goes both ways; if you're approaching a soon-to-be-lapped car, and the track-position doesn't lend itself to a safe over-take, don't attempt to force your way past.
Wait until you can do so safely.
And again, if at all possible use TeamSpeak to communicate your intentions.
I know we can't completely avoid accidents, we are after all driving right to the edge.
But hopefully we can eliminate most of the moronic ones.
Then there's the most important thing, the fun-factor.
Whether you're fast, slow or somewhere in between, I assume we are all doing this because we think it's fun.
And the focus of Club races is fun, not competition.
What this means (among other things) is that we don't talk about lap-times in the Club threads.
Now, I don't want accusations or apologies, and I'm most certainly guilty of having done exactly the same in the past.
But just so everybody is clear, from here on out all statements re. lap-times will be quietly modded-out by either myself or Kenny.
If you're one of the fast guys, please don't misunderstand this. There is no problem with you being fast.
But it does become a problem when new racers see the lap-times and think "Bugger me, I'll never be able to match that pace. I won't even bother signing up."
The more people we get to sign up, the better the chances of everybody having someone at their level to race against.
And if you're one of the guys with a little less talent, let me give you a piece of advice.
Sign up anyway.
There will always be a few alien-speed guys around, but the Club races usually have a spread of 5-6 seconds from first to last, so the odds are pretty good that there will be someone at your level as well.
And it honestly doesn't matter if you can't race for first place.
One of the most memorable races I've ever had in RD was a 4-way fight in the GSC Minis that lasted almost 15 minutes.
And we were fighting for the glory of 10th place.
RDs Paul Jeffrey has the best signature: "Winning's great...Racing's better"
Hopefully the above wasn't too much of a sermon.
Enjoy the racing, guys.
I certainly plan to.
Cheers,
Lars
