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Clean Racers Club Race Rules

The CRC are well respected in the online racing community and these rules are acknowledged as the guidelines we all should adhere to and strive to drive by. Please think before you blame others, online racing is intense and very competitive and stressful at times, accidents are part of the racing experience and often caused by lag, competitors inattention due to a home phone ringing, family members interrupting them and such things as they cannot control.

The most obvious rule is: No careless driving. Always show respect for your fellow racers. Be careful. Show some patience. Understand the limitations of your program and drive accordingly. Driving online in a racing sim is NOT exactly the same as real life racing in every respect, and in some cases online sim racing requires even more care.

Perhaps the most important rule is: No running into the car ahead of you. The onus is on the behind driver to take all necessary care and responsibility not to run into an ahead driver.

Please read over and over again. This basically means keep back in first corner after a start, so you know you have room if they misjudge the turn and its your fault if you run into them, learn patience and remember we are not racing for sheep stations!

Race Rules

Knowing the Rules

K-1: It’s the responsibility of drivers to make themselves familiar with all the rules that govern the casual race or competition in which they’re entered.

General Conduct

GC-1: You must compete in a fair and honest manner.

GC-2: You must endeavour to drive responsibly in a way that’s not likely to ruin the racing enjoyment of your fellow drivers.

GC-3: You must not indulge in bad general behaviour.

GC-4: You must not use abusive or offensive language (including but not limited to swearing) in any of the chat or voice facilities.

GC-5: You are expected to behave like sporting gentlemen at all times.

Driver’s Name Etiquette

DE-1: Always use your recognised online name.

Event Participation (competitions only)

EP-1: Drivers should log onto the race event with at least 10 minutes of pre-race time remaining. If you’re not logged on by then it may be assumed that you’re not attending and your place may be given to another driver who, for any valid reason, may be allowed to take part in the race in your stead.

EP-2: If for any reason you know prior to a race you’ll be unable to attend, please advise your Competition Director as soon as possible. If you fail to advise of your intention to be absent in sufficient time before the start of any two consecutive events, it may be deemed counter productive to everyone’s best enjoyment to further allocate you a place in the relevant league.

EP-3: As a general rule, if there isn’t a stated rule, and then the rules as they are within a program will apply - both intentional and coincidental. I.e. the way a matter is handled by a racing program is the way that it will be interpreted by the Competition Director.

Pit Etiquette

PE-2: Drivers should always take to the track with enough care to avoid any interference with those already on the track.

PE-3: Cars on the race track have right-of-way over cars entering the race track from the pits.

PE-5: When leaving your pit stall, you must immediately, and at as sharp an angle as possible so as not to encroach upon any part of an adjacent pit stall, move out and away from the pit stalls lane and into the pit driving lane, exercising due care not to interfere with anyone already in the pit driving lane.

PE-6: Cars on the pit driving lane have right-of-way over cars in, and coming out of, the pit stall lane.

Race General

No careless driving. Always show respect for your fellow racers. Be careful. Show some patience. Understand the limitations of your program and drive accordingly. Driving online in a racing sim is NOT exactly the same as real life racing in every respect, and in some cases online sim racing requires even more care.

Contact Concessions

CC-1: If there’s contact between drivers that doesn’t put either out of the race, but results in the guilty driver making up places on the innocent driver, the guilty driver should make the contact concession of allowing the innocent party to pass freely to re-establish their respective positions as they were before the contact. Even if the guilty driver has to let other non-incident-related drivers past, thus loosing positions, while waiting for the innocent driver to regain their lost respective position - then that is what the guilty driver has to do.

CC-2: If there’s contact between drivers that puts the innocent driver out of the race, but allows the guilty driver to carry on, and then the guilty driver should make the contact concession of retiring from the race as soon they can safely do so.

CC-3: If the appropriate contact concession is carried out by the guilty driver then they may avoid or reduce the severity of any penalties that might otherwise usually apply.

CC-4: If the appropriate contact concession is not carried out by the guilty party then there’ll be no mitigation of the usual penalties that would apply. Contact concession rules are all about just doing the sporting thing in these types of cases - which is why we apply them.

Corner Rights

CR-1: You must establish substantial overlap with the car ahead before they reach the corner’s turn-in point to have the right to drive up their inside, or to expect them to leave inside room for you. Substantial overlap means at least that the front of your car is up to say the driver’s position in the ahead car - and that’s at the very least. You probably should have more overlap in some circumstances. The ahead driver has the right to be fully committed to the racing line of their choice without any interference if there was no substantial overlap before he turned in.

CR-2: If sufficient overlap is established before the turn-in point, then the behind driver has the right to sufficient side room. The ahead driver must then leave sufficient side room for the behind driver.

CR-2A: The car on the outside has the right to outside room all the way through the corner – right up to the exit point. They should not be squeezed against the outside towards the exit point.

CR-2B: The car on the inside has the right to inside room all the way through the corner - right up to the exit point. They should not be squeezed against the inside towards the apex area. The ahead driver can still battle for the position of course but must do so while maintaining side room for the behind driver. The practice of going up the inside of an ahead car after they have already turned in, and where there was no established substantial overlap before the turn-in point, is sometimes referred to as barge passing, ( I.e. you barge your way past ). Understand that barge passing is a high risk manoeuvre for both you and others. You have no rights what-so-ever as a barge passer. Should you cause an accident from a barge passing manoeuvre you’ll be in a defenceless position should you be protested?

CR-3: Where an ahead driver has clearly made a sufficient error to warrant a passing move a behind driver may attack their position, with due caution and care, regardless of whether there was any pre-existing overlap. E.g. - If the ahead driver brakes too late and drifts out wide of the apex and then has to reduce speed etc. This would be a valid passing opportunity regardless of whether there was pre-existing overlap. However, there is still substantial responsibility on the overtaking driver to take all necessary care to avoid contact. Small errors by the ahead driver may not be sufficient to justify an attacking passing move however. Just because the ahead drivers gets a bit out of shape at times doesn’t give you an automatic right to pass uncontested by them or a right to room. You still have to judge if their error provides sufficient opportunity for a safe pass to take place.

Defensive Driving

DD-1: Leading cars have the right to choose their own line down a straight. They may make one move to block an attacking car to protect their position while on a straight - but then must maintain that position as long as the attacker remains affected by their position. Then, naturally, as they approach the next corner, they can of course return to the racing line of their choice for the corner.

DD-2: Leading cars have the right to take their line of choice through corners. E.G. they may drive a defensive line around the inside of a corner to protect their position, thereby forcing an attacking driver to try to pass around the outside. This is not blocking and is part of normal racing etiquette.

In fact, apart from the restrictions of rule DD-1, a leading driver can drive any line which they feel is the most inconvenient for any following car to try to pass them.

Driving a severly damaged car

DC-1: The onus is entirely on the driver of a severely damaged car to take all necessary care, hazard minimization, and responsibility not to interfere with any other car. A severely damaged car has no rights what-so-ever over other cars.

A severely damaged car for the purpose of this rule means a car that for whatever reason is performing substantially below its normal performance expectations. It constitutes in effect a moving obstacle. The damage may be a mechanical breakage or failure of some kind on the car, or it may be an input control device failure, or whatever.

You’ll have no defence if you cause an accident while driving a severely damaged car. The onus is entirely on the driver to assess if they believe the risk of an accident to others due to their cars’ condition is high enough that they should retire rather than continue. If they choose to continue then the risk of receiving a severe penalty, should they cause an accident due to their cars’ condition, is entirely theirs.

If while driving a severely damaged car you drive off the track at any time then the rules on “Returning to the Track” after an off apply.

Initial Fault

IF-1: If you make a significant driving error and another driver or driver’s attempts to capitalize on it then you have reduced rights to counter their attack. If one or the other has to give way, it should be the driver who made the initial error.

E.g. If you go wide at a corner and a close behind car tries to take advantage of this by moving up the inside, you should leave room for them, whether or not they had pre-existing overlap going into the corner. They must leave you room as well of course.

This is a bit of a grey area and requires good judgment. Small errors that don’t much materially affect the speed or direction of a car wouldn’t count here. E.g. Simply going a little wide but maintaining race speed while still half on the racing line would not be enough of an error to expect this rule to apply. For the behind drivers - If in doubt - don’t - should apply. You can always protest after the race if you think you’ve been wronged - but once you’re in the wall that’s you race done - and the other guy might protest you and win.

So ... Behind drivers shouldn’t push your luck with this rule.

Recovering from an incident

RI-1: The onus is entirely on the driver recovering from any incident that leaves them in any way an obstacle or a hazard to other drivers, to take all necessary care, hazard minimization, and responsibility not to interfere with any cars still on the track and not part of the incident. If you are off the track then the rules on “returning to the track after an off” apply.

RI-2: If you’re on the track after an incident and still in an incident recovery mode then you have no rights what-so-ever. You must give way to all non-incident-affected cars until you are fully recovered. An relevant incident may include, but not limited to, being ... Spun out, facing the wrong way, perpendicular to the track, going abnormally slow for where you are on the track, whatever, ...

RI-3: You must do everything you can to minimize the hazard your car may constitute as soon as possible. This may mean driving fully off the track if you’re half on it. It may mean moving as fast as you safely can to the non-racing-line side of the track. It may mean retiring from the race as fast as you can do so. Whatever.

You will have no defence if you cause another incident whilst recovering from an incident, or being unnecessarily slow at removing the hazard your car may constitute after an incident. Even if the incident was not your fault. All non-incident-affected drivers have right-of-way over anyone recovering from an incident.

Re-entering to the track after running off

RT-1: The onus is entirely on the driver returning to the track after an off to take all necessary care and responsibility not to interfere with any cars still on the track.

RT-2: For these purposes being hard up against and/or ‘stuck’ to a railing or wall constitutes an Off.

RT-3: On-track drivers have right-of-way over anyone returning to the track. You can have very little defence if you cause an incident whilst returning to the track. If you leave the track you loose all rights. Even if you left the track through an event that was not-your-fault.

RT-4: The returning-to-the-tack-after-an-off period includes the recovery period after the actual off when your car may be physically on the track but still constitutes a hazard to on-coming race-speed traffic while you get up to speed and orientate yourself.

RT-5: Do not reverse back onto the track unless it is absolutely unavoidable to do so. You are responsible not to cause an incident if you reverse backwards onto the track. This manoeuvre, if carried out, must be undertaken with great care and penitence.

Its probably always desirable to re-enter the track parallel to the road, slowly and gently, and always with great care. This gives you the best opportunity to see what’s coming up the track behind you, and it also gives drivers coming up on you the best chance to orientate themselves to your situation.

Special care applies when returning to the track from being stuck against a railing. You may be steering extremely hard angle trying to get unstuck. But what keeps you stuck is your speed. As soon as your speed reduces to a level where you’re able to get un-stuck, if you’re still steering to an extreme angle trying to get off, you will probably suddenly swing out onto the track and maybe even spin. If you do this in front of other drivers you will be held at fault.

To get off a wall or railing ... Slow down first to a very slow speed, possibly even steering into the wall to be sure of keeping yourself out of the way or others. Then ease off the railing, very gently, and always give way to all other cars on the track proper.

Running into the car ahead of you

RA-1: The onus is on the behind driver to take all necessary care and responsibility not to run into an ahead driver.

RA-2: The ahead driver must not do any malicious or inappropriate braking or slowing. The ahead driver is entitled to be slower or use longer and earlier braking zones than others. They are also entitled to turn in earlier or later and/or apex earlier or later. They are also entitled to be inconsistent and erratic.

Behind drivers are expected to anticipate the possibility that ahead drivers may have longer braking zones etc than do they and should drive accordingly, always maintaining separation.

In short, if you are behind someone then you have the responsibility not to run into them. They do not have to try to avoid you. If all else fails, you should run your own car off the track to avoid such a collision.