Moderator's Report
Summary
After setting a blistering pole time just edging out Tristan, Alessandro blew his engine after a spin. With Tristan missing the start because he discoed at the end of practice and wasn\'t able to rejoin the server in time, Sam was able to capitalise the their misfortune and bring his Eagle home for a well deserved win. Clive grabbed second place with Andy Livingstone being promoted onto the final step of the podium after Axel was awarded a place penalty.
Server replay time: 0h12m05s
Lap 7 - Turn 8 Exit - Axel Cookie and Dean Logan
Dean pulls off a great pass on the inside at Charlton and leads Axel into the long right hander at Turn 8. The adrenaline is pumping and Dean runs slightly wide inviting Axel to try and take back the place. Axel hugs the inside whilst Dean tracks round the outside. They are side-by-side with neither driver more than a metre ahead as they exit the turn. Dean is as close to the white line on the outside as it is possible to be. Axel doesn\'t realize Dean is there and he moves across to take up the racing line. Contact is made and both cars spin out. Axel can continue but Dean is out of the race.
Dean may have left his braking to the very last second (in an effort to fend off Axel) causing him to run slightly wide, or he may simply have been driving in a very gentlemany manner and staying wide to ensure Axel had enough room. Either way, Dean did nothing wrong.
Having attempted the pass Axel should have stayed on his own side of the track until he was certain he was ahead of Dean.
This type of incident is covered by the penalty guideline \"Simple Side by Side contact, Scenario 4\". In fact there is a detailed explanation including screenshots from both inside and outside the cars. This incident is a perfect match for the penalty guideline so very little interpretation is required by the moderator.
Server replay time: 0h28m44s
Lap 16 - Bridge Turn - Bastian Grupp and Francesco Molteni
Bastian is pressurising Fancesco, he is looking for any opportunity to overtake on this tight twisty track. Francesco makes a tiny mistake at The Gulch, he looses momentum and slews to the inside. Bastian closes up just as Francesco moves to the right in order to resume the racing line. Contact is made between Francesco\'s gearbox and Bastian\'s nose. Bastian spins out but Francesco is unaffected.
There isn\'t a penalty guideline to specifically cover this type of incident. However there are a couple of general principles and a section in the Recommended Driver Behaviour which are appropriate. The first principle is that it is up to the following driver to make a safe pass and the second is that the lead driver must not block or weave to defend their position. There is also the guidance in the Recommended Driver Behaviour which encourages drivers to avoid close racing when it is not necessary.
Was Bastian attempting a safe pass? It is not obvious that Bastian was actually attempting a pass, he was merely sticking to the normal racing line and had more speed than Francesco thanks to his cleaner exit from The Gulch. Was Bastian driving too close? He closed up on Francesco because of Francesco\'s loss of momentum but he certainly wasn\'t constantly driving inches from Francesco\'s gearbox.
Francesco made the mistake and drifted off the racing line. Should he have moved back onto the racing line without considering other drivers? If Francesco had not moved off the racing line but had simply skidded and lost momentum, then there would be no question of him doing anything wrong. The onus would be on the following car to maintain a safe gap until a viable overtaking opportunity presented itself. However is it fair to move back onto the racing line and cause an opponent to change their line or speed to avoid a shunt? Does that not have the same effect as blocking or weaving?
Both drivers must share some responsibility for this incident as they both had an opportunity to avoid it. Having slewed to the inside, Francesco could have stayed on the inside for Bridge Turn thereby completing a legal defensive move. Having seen Fran was heading back to the racing line, Bastian could have backed off and waited for a better opportunity. However neither driver behaved in such a way as to warrant anything more than advice. A penalty, warning or even a caution for either driver would be harsh.