in with what I think would be my ideal set for online races. Several of
these have been blatantly stolen from series I have run in:
1 Race to the yellow flag at all times.....slowing is a recipe for disaster,
no matter how noble the intention. Also, coast after crossing the line, do
not slow down, which causes cars racing behind you to slam into the field.
The leaders will pass the pace car, which will catch up to them....it always
does.
2 All 2 time self-spinners or caution-bringer-outers should park it, and
wait for the next race. We all make mistakes, but twice in one event should
be a clue that somethings not right. Do it for your fellow racers.
3 Any lap cars should pit during any caution that will result in a
less-than-10-laps-to-go restart, and line up single file behind the lead
cars.
4 PACE MEANS PACE DAMNIT!!!!! Surely if you think you're a good enough
driver to race online, you should be able to handle driving 55mph behind
another car for 3 laps, without speeding up/slowing down, without hitting
another car, or spinning out. If you need extra room, offset your car one
lane high or low from the car you're following, so that in the event of a
sudden brake check, you'll go by, rather than through, the car ahead.
5 On starts and restarts, use your F2 screen to see the interval between you
and the car ahead....a .5 sec interval is ideal (IMHO) and any larger
interval should be considered an attempt to "get a run" to "jump the start".
The internet being what it is, this is the riskiest part of any race, and
pass attempts gone awry at these times should earn heaping helpings of abuse
on the perpetrator. It's really pretty simple, when we go green, gas it and
follow the car ahead till you're up to speed, then all's fair. ( You may
also find the need to occasionally....horror!....lift, to keep from hitting
someone.)
6 On the subject of restarting races, I'm generally against it, but would
agree to any rule chosen ahead of time, to make it fair to all.
7 Real races have lap cars, dual-file restarts, and cautions, and the most
interesting online races do too....no cautions means that a fast guy can
drive away with no hope of the field ever catching up. Cautions and pit
strategy are crucial to the realism of a racing sim.
I'm no expert, I'm sure there's things I've missed, and while this all seems
like common sense to me, all points above are strictly my own opinion, and
for these reasons I'm sure you'll understand that all flames may be
ignored......but I thought that maybe a quick survey of what people would
like to see might be in order.
--
Ed White
'Just a little loose off'