Moderator's Report
The opening race of the season always throws up some interesting incidents and this was no exception.
We had one starting from the pit lane and we had Norbert closing his eyes and counting to 10 while we all ran away to hide, but would he find us or not?
This race also goes to show that having speed does not necessarily give you race wins. Actually it also goes to show that crossing the line first doesn't necessarily give you race wins.
If anyone knows why Karliss took a Stop n Go after lap5 please send your answers on a postcard to:
Unsolved Mysteries
UKGPL
P.O. Box 1965
Server replay time: 0h01m20s
Karliss follows PWhitfield into T3 and hits him, spinning him off.
At the point of turn Karliss he has no overlap and PWhitfield was always going to take the racing line and close the gap.
- karlisss — penalty — Simple Ambitious Overtake — 1 place lost
- karlisss — penalty — Lap 1 incident — 1 place lost
Server replay time: 0h01m25s
Paul Whitfield spins off and rather than simply rejoining the track he takes a SHIFT R to get back.
As this was not a free SHIFT R he should take a Stop n Go penalty at the end of the lap.
New drivers should be aware that they should carefully rejoin the track where possible as a SHIFT R has a few consequences.
(1) It drops you straight back on track at a standstill, sometimes on the racing line.
(2) It resets your fuel level and tyre temps to the way you started the race, making you slower for the rest of the race.
(3) If it is your fault, you have to take Stop n Go penalty for every SHIFT R you take.
Advice (see later)
Server replay time: 0h04m45s
AA recovers to the track and is getting back up to racing speed but before he has done so he goes straight to the racing line.
Karliss goes to overtake him and can be clearly seen in AAs mirrors but AA moves over and the 2 crash
AA takes a SHIFT R but does not take a Stop n Go.
Karliss takes a free SHIFT R.
Nigel Smith gets caught up in the incident and also takes a free SHIFT R.
AA admits to being "a bit cheeky there" and seems to miss the point in his explanation of what his options were and where Karliss should have gone.
Karliss should have been given the racing line and had every right to it. AA should have lifted if necessary to avoid interfering with a car traveling at racing speed.
Drivers must always, always, always stay off the racing line when rejoining and until they get back up to racing speed.
The 30s penalty is waived as the place punishment is deemed sufficient.
Server replay time: 0h04m46s
Al Baldwin exits moss and touches the grass on the exit and loses momentum but recovers.
Ronnie Peterson is following closely and is slow to react hitting Al.
As Mike exits Moss he sees the dirt kicked up by Al but the incident appears to be over before the 2 cars collide and block the track
Ronnie had already avoided a collision at Moss by backing out of a pass but he seemed to react slowly to Al's error
Mike gets caught up in the collision but has nowhere to go to avoid it
Ronnie takes a SHIFT R
Al takes a SHIFT R
Mike does not
Ronnie is following very closely after backing out of a pass and has already avoided a collision. He has little time to react to Al's mistake and hits him.
Server replay time: 0h06m50s
Ronnie Peterson tries to overtake Al Baldwin but does not quite have the speed to do it as they approach the end of the straight
Al takes the racing line at the approach to turn 8 as Ronnie has no overlap.
Ronnie should have known Al would take the racing line and should have lifted.
Ronnie takes a SHIFT R with a Stop n Go
Ronnie intended to drop in behind Al having given up on the pass but misjudged the gap.
Al checked his mirrors before moving over and thought he had enough room, but it is always the responsibility of the following driver to avoid a collision.
Only Ronnie was affected and he took a Stop n Go.
Server replay time: 0h15m50s
Norbert loses control at Moss but recovers and continues.
Ronnie sees him lose control and goes to the inside to pass expecting Norbert to spin wide
He hits Norbert as he turns in.
Ronnie should have lifted and given Norbert the line as at the turn in point he has no overlap.
Having said that, Norbert had lost control of his car and hit the armco making him unpredictable which would let Ronnie off the hook.
Server replay time: 0h20m50s
PWhitfield is being passed by Ronnie Peterson and moves over into him Ronnie takes a free SHIFT R.
Ronnie is clear in Paul's mirrors from Moss and disappears alongside so PW knows he is there and should not have moved over.
Whether this move over was careless or due to the car losing control as it went over the hump is not clear, but drivers must always be aware of what is around them and take care when being passed.
Server replay time: 0h22m28s
Vosblod is lapping P Whitfield
Vosblod goes for the inside but PWhitfield covers that line.
Vosblod moves to the outside but does not leave enough room on the inside and ends up in the middle of the middle of the circuit.
Although Paul hits the kerb and slides into Vosblod, he was not left enough room on the inside.
Only Vosblod was affected.
Server replay time: 0h23m40s
Vosblod enters Moss1 and gets hit from behind by MHunt.
MHunt comes from a long way back and simply brakes too late giving himself nowhere to go as Vosblod takes the racing line to which he is entitled.
The gap that MHunt had to aim for was always going to close as he was not close enough to have any overlap at turn in and simply arrived too fast.
It is doubtful that this was an attempted overtake and probably MHunt was caught out by Vos' braking, but it is always the responsibility of the following driver to avoid a collision.
MHunt took a Stop n Go following the incident but did not need to as they should only be taken following a SHIFT R.
Server replay time: 0h24m00s
PWhitfield spins and is stuck at the exit of Moss2.
He reverses across the track and over the racing line almost collecting Vosblod.
He should have stayed on the inside of the track away from the racing line and reversed away from the corner before rejoining more safely.
P Whitfield took a SHIFT R but did not need to, so I will use this SHIFT R to offset the untaken one from lap 1.
Server replay time: 0h28m00s
AA is lapping PWhitfield who can see and hear him clearly.
AA goes to the left and can be seen in PWs mirrors but AA moves over into him as he had with Vosblod earlier
AA should stay further left because when they touch they are both in the middle of the track, but having said that the impact is clearly PWs fault.
AA takes SHIFT R with no Stop n Go.
When overtaking a car, either for position or while lapping, it is important to stick to your own side of the track. To stray towards the centre line, even if that is the racing line is asking for trouble. In this instance the driver was being lapped and should have lifted off (without compromising his own race).
Server replay time: 0h32m10s
AA attempts to pass Mike but is on the centre line as oppose to his own side of the track. As they reach the right kink before turn 8 AA is already on the centre line and turns right into Mike who stays right of the centre line.
The 2 cars are running closely together but neither replay suggests actual contact though the cars' collision boxes may have touched.
AA is on the centre line similarly to his other incident 4 minutes earlier which also resulted in a crash.
It is the responsibility of the overtaking driver to execute a move cleanly and to stick to their own side of the track during the move.
The violent reaction of AAs car suggests that warp is involved and is a mitigating factor though care should be taken to avoid inviting a warp incident in the future.
Warp Incident
