LuigiVampa

I thought if you blink your lights they are supposed to let you through?!

ir_fuel

Time for car B to be the smarter driver. This is where it pays off to be smart and trick the car in front of you that you will be doing a certain move, car A will try and anticipate, and then you pull your real move, which he will not expect.

Putting pressure might help too. Drive in car A's blind spot (left, right ...) so he will be looking for you in the mirrors and you might get him nervous and he might make a mistake. If the speed delta is that small 1 error should be enough to pass.

Stuff you can train in iRacing

Kein_Ersatz

Only if they reciprocate with a turn signal ...

Midway through the race, Massa’s race engineer Rob Smedley came on the radio and informed him “Fernando is faster than you………Can you confirm you understood that message?”

Juan Lopez

The question on etiquette is (IMHO) not about lifting, letting by, pointing by, etc. it is this:

I know you are being nice by saying "not blocking per se" but you either are blocking or you are not. If you are changing your line to "defend", you are blocking since you are no longer concerned with driving your car or your line but keeping the guy behind you or "driving with your mirrors".

Everyone is racing for overall honors so it is up to the faster car to execute a clean pass. If he can't, then he is not faster.

The problem is if the car ahead is not driving a predictable and clean line.


Seen this way too many times and the result is that both Car A and Car B turn slower laps. I have also seen it turn into a dangerous situation.

And some drivers do this for bragging rights........

Steward B.

"Moving in reaction" is blocking.

For a really good discussion of defending versus blocking, see:

http://safeisfast.com/sections/6-adv...g#.VQL8PdLF_Ak

My bet is Car B allowed himself to drive Car A's line, perhaps even sticking right on Car A's rear bumper. Car B is never, ever going to get by Car A if he's stuck to his bumper and running the same line.

With that said, is this F1? If not, and rather it's racing at a club level with no money at stake, perhaps Car A should let Car B past, if they are equal cars and Car B really seems to be faster. Perhaps the driver of Car A could learn something from watching Car B's driving and become a faster driver?

KaiB

Perhaps Car B had an aerodynamic passenger seat and remote can shocks also...Car A simply needs more cam and a better chip.

sbelles

I would have sworn that the answer involved beer cans.

JustinL

Isn't that a good description of a DE? There's nothing wrong with track days and going fast, but if you don't want to race with the cars in your class, then why go through the hassle of getting into racing?

I've been in races with cars that I could catch but struggle to pass and stay in front of because of a power disadvantage. That's racing, and the struggle is what makes it fun. I lessen the enjoyment if I roll over for a competitor, and likewise my enjoyment is reduced if I'm gifted a spot. I'd rather take it!

Charles A. Toupin

This^^!

I totally agree with that.

Under special circumstances, like when I race at Mt-Tremblant, there is a Mazda RX-7 that parks it in the corners. I hate it. And overall, he's a bout 1 second faster. So when he's behind (happens quite often), I let him pass as I don't race him. And the reason I'm doing this is that if keep on battling him, the other 944 in my run group will start catching me. So I prefer to let him pass before a straight, let him gain some distance and if I'm lucky (he doesn't make mistakes), I will not catch him and I will keep on driving as fast as I can so the the 944's behind me are not catching me.

c.

ProCoach

^^This^^

Blocking is for pussies...

tshort

^^^^^
This, too.

Bottom line is this: Cars aren't fast - drivers are.

IRFuel does a an excellent job of explaining what that means a bit in the above post.

LuigiVampa

........well, that's a little bit of a broad statement. Plenty of times a less skilled driver in a more powerful car can keep a more skilled driver in a less powerful car behind them. The skilled driver can sometimes find a way through but a differential in cars, whether in horsepower or handling, can make a difference.

JCP911S

Club Racing is about exploring your personal limits under stress. Allowing a pass is very dependent upon situation.

If I have a fast driver behind me in a different class, and I don't think they will hold me up, I generally let them by.

If I'm getting lapped (Notice: This is hypothetical, as it has NEVER actually happened to me... I swear!), I will always let them by.

If I'm lapping slower cars, or passing a slower driver in a higher run group, and they chop me off, or start "racing" with me, I get really, really pissed, and I hold grudges.

If I'm racing a car in my class and he's "blocking", I love it, as it proves that he knows I'm faster, and he's scared. Hound him. It's only a matter of time before he makes a mistake... just be patient.... this is when racing is actually fun!

If I'm racing a car in my class, and I have to "block" to hold him off, (unless it is the last lap), this is just a demonstration to everybody that I'm an inferior driver and a clueless ***.

Circuit Motorsports

If you're not at the front you'll probably make a mistake at some point in the race that can be capitalized on. So in the OP situation i guarantee that car A will screw up. Be there to capitalize.

Fwiw I think blocking is a useful thing sometimes. In mixed class groups if I get a head of a guy who out handles me on the straights I will block/defend into the next few turns so I can get a gap and not get held up in the turn.

mikey_audiogeek

Car A should let me by, because I DRIVE FLAT OUT