Blancpain Rules Q&A

I have a long set of rules here inevitably I know some issues will have been overlooked. In such a case please post your questions here.

I will update the actual posted rules as we progress through the season using amendments. Each revision will be dated as I have the original rules thread dated.

White line rule, im assuming that differs from Forza's dirty lap rule?

Yes, certain tracks have spots where you can cut the track and still be clean. Eau Rouge at Spa is the biggest example. Yas is riddled with this issue as well.

Alrighty man. Dont need to have it done now but ill be online whenever if you could just clarify certain areas on certain tracks that would be cool. Thanks.

I'll try not to write a book here,

Could you expand on the white line rule?

There were numerous things I did last night at Road Atlanta that most likely were in violation. namely running wide after the esses on the escape way. I cant really recall any intentional violations, just racing really hard with Halen. Spa, obviously as already mentioned, takes on a whole new level though, and since its next week I figured I'd ask. It's very easy to run wide on corner exit on many corners, namely the high speed Pouhon corner as well as Blanchimont. Putting 4 tires on the outside of the white line in either of those corners is a given, especially for amateurs (myself included). Unfortunately both corners lead back onto high speed straights, which means maintaining corner exit speed to remain competitive. Will we be expected to lift or even brake in the heat of a battle to maintain/gain a position? It's easy to push too hard at Spa. I'm not looking for a way to justify any violation, just looking to see what qualifies for a honest mistake vs. gaining a competitive advantage.
Obviously if its lap after lap then it's not an honest mistake. I just ran 13 laps there and about 10 of them were RR worthy Eau Rouge included! Thanks for the help!

Road Atlanta has yellow lines along side every rumble strip. I have asked around and have come to the conclusion that marking extends the track surface to include the rumble strips.

The concerns at spa are created when you overshoot the turns. If you are off the track and make no effort to return to the track, which inevitably means lifting, you are going to gain an advantage. Also Forza will call you dirty on those turns where an advantage is attained except for Eau Rouge obviously. In short if you find yourself off track by accident, get back on the track to avoid a penalty. The thing to consider is that repetition of the mistake is what gets the penalty. Simply missing your turn a couple times does not warrant penalty. The guy who lap after lap, using the off track area as the normal race line, is the driver who the rules most pertains to.

Thanks for clearing that up! Much appreciated. Trying walk on eggshells as a new guy to the series, lol. Good series are hard to find. Luckily this is yet another one I've had the chance to participate in.

Just a little add on - If you do accidently run over the lines in the heat of battle and complete a pass because of it simply give the spot back.

Courtesy goes a long way when you are racing in a series or for an extended period of time. If someone gives it ill give it back. Ive raced long enough to know it makes a huge difference on how i race someone.  I will give an extra inch to the guys that earned it by being good sports you know?

Is the early pit due to damage, counting for your mandatory pit rule open for discussion? There's a huge advantage there for those that would be involved in early accidents. I know racing is part strategy, being involved in an accident not of your making though can leave you sitting pretty good. One way to maybe even things out would be to expand or have an open pit window? Just throwing out some thoughts.

It only turned out that way due to there also being a caution. If it only involved 2 cars their races would be over if they had to limp around the track and make an extra pit. In last night's incident the only cars that had qualifying damage were the ones effected by the lag. Going by past race history I would estimate this situation only taking "advantage" once or twice during the series.

Well 1-2 times counts as a lot over a series. They got a 30+ second advantage because they wrecked where as i avoided the accident yet they were rewarded. I think it should be that if you pit under caution outside of the window, regardless of reason it doesnt count as your mandatory pit.

1 or 2 times over a series is only 1 or 2 times total. It's not very often compared to the number of times it will happen that your car is totaled, not under caution, and this rule will be helpful.

Qualifying damage early in a race that brings out a caution will be rare, but 2 vehicle accidents that don't bring out a caution will happen multiple times per race.

There is also a tradeoff on a restart after caution. I went from poll to the back. Going through the field, passing cleanly, is a difficult task. The top 3 or 4 cars are really at an advantage to put separation on the pack. I watched Doctorz place nice and it cost him at least 20 sec on the final time.

2 out of how many races? 8? and if one is on a 2x point race? And you dont have to go through the pack you can cruise and when everyone has to pit your home free. Whoever was able to pit early in taht situation gained a free 30+ seconds simply because they wrecked early. I knifed my way through that, where many drivers would have wrecked.

Also. i was in 2nd during that whole situation, i ran 26s in draft and 27s in clean air the entire race. After i had to pit, where others didnt i came out in 4th. with no sight of the 2nd place car and roughly 4 seconds behind the guy in 3rd.

SaintedPlacebo4 wrote:Also. i was in 2nd during that whole situation, i ran 26s in draft and 27s in clean air the entire race. After i had to pit, where others didnt i came out in 4th. with no sight of the 2nd place car and roughly 4 seconds behind the guy in 3rd.

Those were the same times I was running. I was in 1st before being wrecked from behind. It took me so long to get through traffic that you were in front of me when you cycled out your pit. If that incident never happened you may not have even had 4th. You were able to get around at least 5 cars for free during that incident. Going to the back is a big enough penalty.

passing 10 cars does not equal 30 seconds. there for you run your times pass the cars that are genuinely off your pace and then cool your jets and once everyone pits you gain back a 30 seconds.

Even if you ran 3 seconds off lead pace every single lap from lap 3 when we started again, you would lose 30 seconds exactly when pits closed and the leader would exit pit lane right as you come by. So you were doing something wrong to end up back there.

I put a vote up to address this.

My own interpretation of this is as follows: Mind you I did not save the replay.

Off the start I was near the back, cant remember exactly but I was double digits. I had a great run through Eau Rouge before the collision so I think I had gained 1-2 positions before the chicane wreck.
I was braking rather early as you have to in traffic. The lag wreck happens I have two options: steer right go slightly off track and avoid or continue to slow down in the hopes of stopping before I become involved in said wreck, while also praying hard that I do not get hit from behind. It was a no brainer for me, I steered right and went around the wreck. I think by the time all was said and done I came out 5th or 6th, I can't remember. Those involved got to pit and have it count for their mandatory pit. It took another 4-5 laps for me to overtake all the cars in front of me. For the next 4-6 laps (idk how many exactly) I pushed super hard to utilize all the clean air I could, knowing that atleast 3 cars behind me did not have to pit under race pace. Well despite pushing as hard as I could I got passed for the lead while pitting. I was in such a hurry to get back out that I spun my car into the wall upon pit exit. Luckily for myself I was able to catch Halen, which I did not expect to do since he was so fast last week. My thoughts at that point were, I lost this race due to a caution and the current pit rule.

It's easy to appreciate the current rule when it plays out in your benefit. As already mentioned by Dan I wouldn't expect this scenario to happen very often, but last night was proof that it can, and should it happen during a Double Points Race, then that situation could very well define a championship.

It's not so easy to appreciate the current rule when you're the on the otherside. I don't think it can honestly be justified as a "fair" rule. I'd be lying if I said I think I'm the only one who was surprised last night by the rule. Thank you s0ul harv3st for making this decision a public vote.

If the current rule changes and a pit under caution before the pit window no longer counts as your mandatory stop there's still quite a bit of strategy that can be played during the event of a caution within the pit window.

Either way I will continue to race and enjoy the company here at RR.

Thanks!

It has come to my attention several times so I will state this here as a clarification.

You can pit whenever you want during the race for whatever reason you want. Unless you meet the early pitting criteria, you will still have to pit during the scheduled pit window or face penalty.