Moderator's Report
A nice clean lap one and all drivers who reset took a Stop and Go.
Server replay time: 0h02m28s
Mike T clips a haybale, spins and ends up facing backwards on the grass. He then rejoins by doing a 360 across the track. Paul and Hannah are approaching and, Paul at least, can be clearly seen. Paul has to swerve to avoid him but does not go off. It does not look like Mike was attempting to rejoin straight onto the racing line so our rules have this;
"Inconsiderate Bad Rejoin: Penalty 1 Places
The rejoining driver was in full control but nevertheless drove straight back onto the track without leaving enough room for other cars. Contact was NOT made but other drivers had to take avoiding action."
However I am going to mitigate this down to a Warning purely because Mike does appear to make efforts to stay to the side and no major harm was done. He may well have decided there was enough room to rejoin without affecting the oncoming traffic but really should have waited for the cars to clear first.
Server replay time: 0h02m36s
After the above incident Paul and Hannah have passed Mike T when Paul clips a curb and spins. It all happens very quickly and Hannah does the correct thing and slows right down until the situation becomes clear. In the meantime Mike goes into the back of Hannah. Mike does not appear to slow very much and is travelling at much greater speed then Hannah at point of impact. He had time to see Paul going awry and should have slowed much more. According to the server replay the flagman is not waving yellows. This type of thing falls under the incident approach rules which have this;
"Avoidable Lack of Care: Typical Caution
The yellow flags were difficult to see. The approaching driver was unsighted because of circuit topography, other cars or bandwidth limitations (i.e. number of cars that are visible). The cars from the incident were resetting or driving unpredictably. The approaching driver slowed down but contact was made with the cars from the incident."
Whilst the yellow flags were not shown I feel a Caution is more appropriate then the next level down to reflect the fact that, notwithstanding flags, Mike could have been more cautious and slowed more then he did. It also reflects the fact that Hannah was not at fault here. Hannah, whilst not spinning, can be considered part of the incident as he had to slow.
Server replay time: 0h07m23s
At 6m54s Ross takes a solo spin finding himself facing backwards. He then drives backwards for a distance, possibly to put himself in the position of rejoining on a straight rather then a corner. Ross then goes to rejoin, but appears to struggle, and by 7m23s is spreadeagled across the track. In the meantime Hannah has come upon the incident and slows to get round Ross. Whilst doing this he is hit by Sky. There are really two aspects to look at here;
1) Is Ross to be penalised for the Rejoin? Well he actually does his best to rejoin safely although the whole process is somewhat convoluted and takes nearly 30 seconds. When he finds himself across the track and realises cars are approaching he does the right thing and waits to allow some predictability for cars trying to avoid him. The actual coming together between Hannah and Sky may be a consequence of the rejoin but is not caused by the rejoin. Accordingly I cannot find fault in what Ross did excepting, in those circumstances, perhaps a reset might have been a much simpler option. However that is easy to say with hindsight.
2) Hannah and Sky's coming together; approaching the corner the flagman is clearly waving yellows. Hannah does the right thing and slows right down to be on the safe side. He rounds the corner, see's Ross and moves right to go round him. At this point he is hit in the rear by Sky. Sky can see the yellow flag too and obviously slows to make the corner BUT when he rounds onto the straight, where he can clearly see a stricken Ross with Hannah approaching, he actually accelerates. It is not for me to put myself in Sky's mind but, perhaps, he decided there was a potential gap to make a place on Hannah. The reason is irrelevant as the fact is, despite warning flags and seeing a car lobstered across the track with another car clearly attempting to go round, instead of slowing he goes faster. That is much more serious then the incident at 2m36s. Our incident approach rules have this;
"Total Lack of Care: Penalty 3 Places
The yellow flags were clearly visible. The cars and debris from the incident were clearly visible. The cars from the incident were either stationary or moving very slowly. The approaching driver made no attempt to slow down and contact was made with the cars from the incident."
The 'incident' in this case is Ross spreadeagled and stationary across the track. Again Hannah, whilst not spinning, can be considered part of the incident as he had to slow.
The next penalty down, Blatant, would only apply if Ross had been moving. The speeding up towards an incident really means only the most severe penalty can apply.
Special mention must also go to Dave Rainier, the first driver to come across Ross having a wobbly, who did a textbook manouvre to safely avoid him. A great lesson in evasive driving.
