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5 Golden Rules / Race Briefing
#1
Lightbulb 
(Edited) My original post was to suggest a quick briefing before the races to reinforce the main rules that I thought were common sense, because the SRS regulation does not cover them and few people reads it anyway... However, based on the feedback I got here I realised that there is no consensus on basic rules (such as allowing or not dive bombing), and as a consequence we have disputes where each driver is playing based on different rules, which is a recipe for disaster. Therefore I adjusted this post to be a suggestion to revise the SRS regulation.

This is the current SRS regulation (http://www.simracingsystem.com/regulation.php):

- Never drive the wrong way 
- Abusive contact between vehicles is forbidden
- Do not cause accidents on warmup laps
- Respect yellow and blue flags
- Chat is not allowed 

I like the fact that they kept it short and simple. However, I don't think they are properly covering the main issues we enconter on SRS servers, and certainly not in a didatic way. For example, "abusive contact" is subjective and should be more specific, preferably with video examples, since we have many new players that join us everyweek. The info about overtaking rules and ethics are scattered accross the foruns and it took me years to learn concepts that now I find obvious, so it would be great if SRS could accelerate this process.

Here is a suggestion for revisiting the Basic Rules of SRS, based on the accidents I have seen here and my experience with rules of other online communities which I found very effective (with some revisions based on the feed back here):

1- Nobody wins a rece in T1, but many loose it It's hard to win a race on T1, but it is easy to loose it. Break early Be extra carefull on T1. 
2- You need to pass half the rear of the other car on the straight to gain the right to dispute on the braking. Don't dive bomb.
3- Always leave space for you opponent. Don't cut or push him out of the track.
4- If you hit another car, wait and return behind your victim to prevent protests.
5- Respect blue flags.

Number 2 and 3 certainly deserves videos demonstrating dos and don'ts, but I could not find any good one on youtube. If you find (or produce) any, please share!
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#2
I don't get into discord or any sort of voice chat during races because it is too distracting. However, I am a strong proponent of the regulations page getting an overhaul.... even though I bet maybe only half the members here have actually read that page in in the first place. Smile
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#3
(07-18-2019, 08:02 PM)Luiz Lotito Wrote:  1- No one wins a race on turn 1, but many loose it. Break early on T1.
Uhm, no, depends on the track and the racers. If track has little opportunity for passing and racers are of similar skill, race may be decided before, in, or soon after T1.
Also braking early for T1 is a good recipe for being destroyed from the back even harder. For online racing probably the best strategy is tap the brakes gently early to turn on your brake lights , and then brake normally. Of course in cars that have brake lights


(07-18-2019, 08:02 PM)Luiz Lotito Wrote:  2- You need to pass half the other car on the straight to gain the right to dispute on the braking. Don't dive bomb.

The "half the car" rule is not set in stone and depends on the series.

(07-18-2019, 08:02 PM)Luiz Lotito Wrote:  3- Always leave space for you opponent. Don't cut or push him out of the track.

I can agree to that.




(07-18-2019, 08:02 PM)Luiz Lotito Wrote:  4- If you hit another car, wait and return behind your victim.

No, that's too much. Just return to the track safely. The victim may have spun out so that he needs to do a 6 point turn to get back on track, no need to wait for him. Whatever happened, happened. Even last weekend in Silverstone, Vettel cam back on track in front of Verstappen.



(07-18-2019, 08:02 PM)Luiz Lotito Wrote:  5- Respect blue flags.


Yes
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#4
I agree with Pawel, especially with nr. 4
NEVER GIVE UP!
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#5
(07-18-2019, 09:31 PM)Pawel Kusmierek Wrote:  
(07-18-2019, 08:02 PM)Luiz Lotito Wrote:  1- No one wins a race on turn 1, but many loose it. Break early on T1.
Uhm, no, depends on the track and the racers. If track has little opportunity for passing and racers are of similar skill, race may be decided before, in, or soon after T1.
Also braking early for T1 is a good recipe for being destroyed from the back even harder. For online racing probably the best strategy is tap the brakes gently early to turn on your brake lights , and then brake normally. Of course in cars that have brake lights

"Braking early" isn't what the front of the pack needs to do... it's what the rest of the pack needs to do... the further back in the pack, the earlier you need to brake. Beginners don't typically understand how a slow turn actually works in a crowd; they approach the turn like they do any hotlap and end up finding a lot of solid objects in their path for some reason.

I'd rephrase this to "Be mindful of the fact that slow turns will bunch up a tight grid. You will likely need to brake earlier than you are used to to avoid contact with cars in front."

But even then... that isn't really a "rule" but more like "good life advice". Big Grin

Quote:
(07-18-2019, 08:02 PM)Luiz Lotito Wrote:  2- You need to pass half the other car on the straight to gain the right to dispute on the braking. Don't dive bomb.

The "half the car" rule is not set in stone and depends on the series.

Sure, but I think that's what he is getting at. Currently the rules as stated means that dive bombing is perfectly legal and those on the outside in a dive bomb situation are required to suddenly give space on the inside even though they are likely not going to be able to at the last moment. Pick whatever overlap rules you want but then make them explicit for each series, or more conveniently, for all series on SRS.

Explicit rules are good for so many reasons, but being able to point to a rule and say "This guy did that thing that the rules say he can't, and so should receive a penalty/reprimand." Currently it's "well, this guy broke this rule that F1 has and ended up hitting me, so here's a video of him doing it, what do you think?" and then waiting around for a few weeks for the guy to MAYBE understand why he just got suspended for a month.

Quote:
(07-18-2019, 08:02 PM)Luiz Lotito Wrote:  4- If you hit another car, wait and return behind your victim.

No, that's too much. Just return to the track safely. The victim may have spun out so that he needs to do a 6 point turn to get back on track, no need to wait for him. Whatever happened, happened. Even last weekend in Silverstone, Vettel cam back on track in front of Verstappen.

Yeah, I wouldn't want a rule for this either. I will make the decision to wait and give the spot back if 1) I know it was my fault and 2) less than 2-3 cars are going to pass both of us while I'm waiting. But that should be entirely my call at the moment of the incident. I will say that I'm likely to never file a protest against someone if they give the spot back... so for your own benefit I'd say if you just did something that warrants a suspension (like full on t-boning someone at a chicane) giving the spot back might let you keep racing in the long run. Wink
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#6
Another “issue” is the way several drivers serve their penalties.

About T1 I agree with Luiz. And you can take care about the driver ahead, but what happens behind you is other’s responsibility. You can watch your mirrors and take a look to Helicorsa, but you can’t smash other’s brakes. I lost 3-4 pos at T1 just trying to be safe and letting more aggressive drivers to pass me. And I don’t mind it if I can survive lap 1 doing that way. But it’s not (F3)
Shaun Clarke Racing team.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXFr32FURbIpcY7IAMUaO7A
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#7
Totally agree with those basic 5 rules, Luiz.

Points no. 2,3 and 5 are fundamental for fair and regular races.

About point no.1...well, this behaviour is absolutely needed (and should be a natural instinct) if you start in the second half middle of the grid (as always happens to me...).

Point no. 4, as Russel said, should be a voluntary decision of each driver (in this case we can talk about "Gentleman driver"). More than a rule, it could be and advise like; "In case you hit another car, try to return him/her the position back if possible". If the guy you have hit "spun away" in the grass for a mile, you don't need to wait for him back; but an apologizing message to him after the race is a nice thing to do.
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#8
Tks for all the feedback! Very constructive. So much so that I felt the need to revise and improve what I proposed:

1- Nobody wins a rece in T1, but many loose it It's hard to win a race on T1, but it is easy to loose it. Break early Be extra carefull on T1.
2- You need to pass half the rear of the other car on the straight to gain the right to dispute on the braking. Don't dive bomb.
3- Always leave space for you opponent. Don't cut or push him out of the track.
4- If you hit another car, wait and return behind your victim to prevent protests.
5- Respect blue flags.

(07-18-2019, 08:37 PM)Russell Sobie Wrote:  I am a strong proponent of the regulations page getting an overhaul.... even though I bet maybe only half the members here have actually read that page in in the first place. Smile

Russell, I did not want to get into this at first, but you are right: the SRS regulations page needs an overhaul. Although not many people ready it, it is important that we all play by the same rules and if there is an argument, we can refer to the regulations. I actually updated my 1st post to focus on this revision prior to doing pre-race briefings.


(07-18-2019, 09:31 PM)Pawel Kusmierek Wrote:  1- Uhm, no, depends on the track and the racers. If track has little opportunity for passing and racers are of similar skill, race may be decided before, in, or soon after T1.
Also braking early for T1 is a good recipe for being destroyed from the back even harder. For online racing probably the best strategy is tap the brakes gently early to turn on your brake lights , and then brake normally. Of course in cars that have brake lights

2- The "half the car" rule is not set in stone and depends on the series.

4- No, that's too much. Just return to the track safely. The victim may have spun out so that he needs to do a 6 point turn to get back on track, no need to wait for him. Whatever happened, happened. Even last weekend in Silverstone, Vettel cam back on track in front of Verstappen.

1- Good points. Should never say never (win on T1), as there are exceptions, even if they are rare. Breaking early could also cause issues. I revised the proposed recommendation based on that. Let me know what do you think.

2- I was very surprised to see that this could be acceptable on online races, but I understand it. I think Russell's answer nailed it: "Pick whatever overlap rules you want but then make them explicit for each series, or more conveniently, for all series on SRS." Players assuming different rules is a recipe for disaster.  Anyway, I revised this proposal to a less conservative measure.

4- In an organized championship there is always a way to punish a driver later. But in our day to day races at SRS, we should avoid protests as much as we can, because it is a hassle for everyone involved. Self penalty is a great way to solve incidents imediatelly and demonstrate to the other driver that what you did was unintentional, that you take the blame and you are sorry. All that without even entering the chat. If a driver thinks that waiting 10 seconts for his victim to return is too much, then he should be more carefull not to cause such incidents. Thats the principle of a penalty - make the action not worth it for the aggressor. Anyway, I added a complement to that rule: wait for your victim to return, to prevent protests". I think that is easier to agree on.



It would be great if rules number 2, 3 and 4 had videos demonstrating dos and don'ts, but I could not find any good one on youtube. If you guys find (or produce) any, please share!
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#9
Im all for having a few written "guidelines" when joining (or as the welcome page on the servers, like on most public servers), but race incidents will always happen and while sometimes it's debatable, some attitudes are really just the lack of experience for example in quali, there are a couple of more specifics that often drive me mad, and im sure a lot of others too :

- Look at your map/mirrors when going out of the pit in quali and people are on their hotlaps, especially tracks where pit exits end up in the middle of T1 (ex: Brands hatch) Crewchief can spot that for you as well. It's a really basic thing everybody would do in the real world but i keep seeing people going out of the pit chilling right into the first corners while people behind are starting their laps.
- In similar way if you are on a outlap, get out of the way (there s no point not doing it, as your time won't count anyway)
- No need to fight on outlaps in general, the smart thing is to try to get space instead. Also use common sense, if you know the guy behind is going to be significantly faster, get your space behind him, you ll make a much better quali than driving in the mirrors checking how fast he gains on you, and maybe you can even get a bit of slipstream.
- Also in Quali if you did screw up your lap, get out of the way, if the guy behind started his lap with a 5-10s space to you and he is right on your bumper halfway into the lap, yes it's a bad lap, prepare for the next one instead of screwing the guy's behind lap too.

About blue flags:
- The game in general is to NOT be on the racing lines at the particular moment you get lapped, it's not multiclass lapping where everybody fights for a different race, it's lapping because you are 1 lap down or more ... some are really experts for that, sitting on the apexes at half the speed in the tightest corners of the track (like it's a gift for you  Big Grin ), really it's easy, think of the regular racing lines, and go to the opposite ones at lower speed, but most of the time it will save you troubles or any thoughts process about it, even very likely time by just lifting in the straight than waiting the last moment, panic and end up slowing down or wrecking everybody yourself included. Also try not to copy braking points right away behind the one who just got by, either it will end up in a crash or ramming the leaders. 

Except a few there and there, i think blue flags got a bit better lately, but quali it's still a thing regularly.


Bonus : Avoid parking for whatever reason around the track during the race, it triggers constant yellow flags for everyone (which is needed on highly blind tracks like Laguna Seca, Road Altanta, etc..)
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#10
I agree more in-depth rules and explanation would be helpful. I think alot of the time people make these silly calls due to a lack of experience and knowledge. A written guide along with a couple of instructional videos would be a massive help. Especially if it can be done in manner which forces new members to read and whatch before competing online.
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