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Blue Flag on last lap? What to do?!
#1
Seems like this is something not a lot of folks understand (or care about), but perhaps a simple list of guidelines might help folks that are new to competitive racing.
If you have a blue flag warning on your HUD (because someone a lap ahead of you is within a short distance behind you)...
...And it is the last lap of the race...
...And you have no chance to pass the driver in front of you during this last lap...
Stay on the racing line as best as you can until you come to the next straight...
Then calmly reduce your acceleration and allow all of the cars that are ahead of you in laps, pass you nice and cleanly. Since this is the last lap, and we've already decided we aren't gaining any more positions, let whoever needs by, by.
Whether it is the last lap or not, if you have a blue flag, be sure that...
  • You never make abrupt line changes (either off of the racing line, or on it)
  • You never apply brakes in a non-braking zone to try to let people pass
  • You never go off track to try to let people pass (this will usually just result in you coming back ON the track out of control)
  • You let everyone in racing groups pass as a group. Don't be a "moving wall" that causes other racers to lose their chance at an overtake. 
  • You never, ever try to race against the driver you are being blue flagged for. No defending, no blocking, no brake checking, etc..
I think that's everything. Any other tips for less knowledgeable/experienced racers I'm forgetting on this subject? Add them below!
Tutorial on how to use Autodesk Mudbox and Adobe Photoshop to make custom liveries! https://tinyurl.com/yaetz4qz
Grab my PDash Skins (an Assetto Corsa HUD app) here: https://tinyurl.com/y95ewubz
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#2
You summed it up nicely. I follow these guidelines but always take a moment to breath and assess the situation just in case I am the lapping car and there is a better alternative. For example if on the last lap I am coming up to 2 blue flagged cars battling it out and I have a decent gap behind and have no chance of catching the car ahead then I'll back off just enough so that they don't scramble to let me through and they can freely duel to the end.
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#3
Good tips, maybe a free protip for lapping drivers :

try not to divebombing / trailbraking overtake the lapped driver.
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#4
(06-13-2018, 02:04 AM)Very good guidelines! I have a question. I sometimes get lapped on the 60 minutes races. What do I do when the driver that lapped me suddenly is slower than me? Can I pass him again? It actually happened to me once, I had to pit early due to a crash, pit took forever, and when I got back on  track I got the blue flag. I did let him pass me, but then I was like 0.5 seconds faster than him, probably due to fresher tyres. I did an overtake on a strait, and got the blue flag immidistely, so I had to let hom pass again. Drove behind him for 7-8 laps til he went to the pits. What to do?ErikRussell Sobie Wrote:  Seems like this is something not a lot of folks understand (or care about), but perhaps a simple list of guidelines might help folks that are new to competitive racing.
If you have a blue flag warning on your HUD (because someone , a lap ahead of you is within a short distance behind you)...
...And it is the last lap of the race...
...And you have no chance to pass the driver in front of you during this last lap...
Stay on the racing line as best as you can until you come to the next straight...
Then calmly reduce your acceleration and allow all of the cars that are ahead of you in laps, pass you nice and cleanly. Since this is the last lap, and we've already decided we aren't gaining any more positions, let whoever needs by, by.
Whether it is the last lap or not, if you have a blue flag, be sure that...
  • You never make abrupt line changes (either off of the racing line, or on it)
  • You never apply brakes in a non-braking zone to try to let people pass
  • You never go off track to try to let people pass (this will usually just result in you coming back ON the track out of control)
  • You let everyone in racing groups pass as a group. Don't be a "moving wall" that causes other racers to lose their chance at an overtake. 
  • You never, ever try to race against the driver you are being blue flagged for. No defending, no blocking, no brake checking, etc..
I think that's everything. Any other tips for less knowledgeable/experienced racers I'm forgetting on this subject? Add them below!
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#5
Turns out this topic has come up before on the forums... by me actually!

http://www.simracingsystem.com/showthread.php?tid=1766

Blue flag doesn't mean "let them pass" it means "don't defend". In the example above, this is what you do when the race is essentially in a state where your position on the field is very unlikely to change... that's the only time you literally let them pass. All other times you should be racing your race... but if you have a blue flag AND they are in a situation to safely overtake you, allow it to happen without any defense.

In your example I would say if you are faster than they are, you just keep pulling away from them even though you have a blue flag in your HUD. It might get annoying, but just keep glacing in your mirror and/or checking RealTime differences between you and him. If they start to pick up the pace, don't put up any defense and let them by eventually.
Tutorial on how to use Autodesk Mudbox and Adobe Photoshop to make custom liveries! https://tinyurl.com/yaetz4qz
Grab my PDash Skins (an Assetto Corsa HUD app) here: https://tinyurl.com/y95ewubz
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#6
Great question, Erik, and answer, Russell! That clarifies it very well. Thanks.
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#7
(06-16-2018, 01:13 PM)A good advice. TanxErikRussell Sobie Wrote:  Turns out this topic has come up before on the forums... by me actually!

http://www.simracingsystem.com/showthread.php?tid=1766

Blue flag doesn't mean "let them pass" it means "don't defend". In the example above, this is what you do when the race is essentially in a state where your position on the field is very unlikely to change... that's the only time you literally let them pass. All other times you should be racing your race... but if you have a blue flag AND they are in a situation to safely overtake you, allow it to happen without any defense.

In your example I would say if you are faster than they are, you just keep pulling away from them even though you have a blue flag in your HUD. It might get annoying, but just keep glacing in your mirror and/or checking RealTime differences between you and him. If they start to pick up the pace, don't put up any defense and let them by eventually.
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#8
Popular series have enforced rules about blue flags, generally as follows in the FIA regulations:


During practice: Give way to a faster car which is about to overtake you.

During the race: The flag should normally be shown to a car about to be lapped and, when shown, the driver concerned must allow the following car to pass at the earliest opportunity.



In F1 passing 3 Marshall spots without complying to a blue flag gets you a pit penalty or disqualification. We are talking about long races here (F1, GT,..), where it's normal for backmarkers to get lapped. In 20 min races, it's just common sense or basic racing courtesy to give ways to leaders, regardless of laps or positions, because it means you are 10-15s slower a lap on average, clearly you don't know, either the track, the car or both, and have other issues to sort out first than trying to save 1s at the end of a race.
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#9
Interesting to know the FIA rules on blue flags. I would be more than happy to have SRS adopt those as official rules. I think I've even been on some servers that have wacky Blue Flag penalty modification.... not sure that would be a good fit for SRS, however.

That said, back markers aren't always 10-15 slower than race pace... sometimes they get taken out in lap 1 with some minor damage and either are just slow from then on, or end up having to pit for repairs. In these cases it is going to be more likely that the front runners are going to have to pass someone going nearly their speed when the time comes, and that's when this discussion really takes place. If someone is actually 10-15 seconds slower than someone lapping them, then of course they should let them pass at the earliest opportunity.
Tutorial on how to use Autodesk Mudbox and Adobe Photoshop to make custom liveries! https://tinyurl.com/yaetz4qz
Grab my PDash Skins (an Assetto Corsa HUD app) here: https://tinyurl.com/y95ewubz
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#10
(06-17-2018, 02:36 PM)Russell Sobie Wrote:  Interesting to know the FIA rules on blue flags. I would be more than happy to have SRS adopt those as official rules. I think I've even been on some servers that have wacky Blue Flag penalty modification.... not sure that would be a good fit for SRS, however.

That said, back markers aren't always 10-15 slower than race pace... sometimes they get taken out in lap 1 with some minor damage and either are just slow from then on, or end up having to pit for repairs. In these cases it is going to be more likely that the front runners are going to have to pass someone going nearly their speed when the time comes, and that's when this discussion really takes place. If someone is actually 10-15 seconds slower than someone lapping them, then of course they should let them pass at the earliest opportunity.

I ve seen some servers having an auto kick for blue flags, but not quite sure how it works and it's maybe a bit too extreme. Of course yes it's not always because people are that slow, but i can tell you it's also very frustrating when the race results completely changed because someone didn't look in his mirror on the last lap. If you remember the C7R race on VIR, we were kidding about it at the end, but we were all in the same second or so for 20 minutes, then comes a guy driving out of the pits for instance, just in front of us 3 taking T1 like a grandma in the middle of the road and it's a carnage... i could cite dozens of examples where the race was decided by backmarkers rather than anything else.
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