AC FF1 2015 @ Spa - Thu 5 Mar 2015

[Keith_G]

Also I would like lapped cars to be careful when letting others pass, I almost crashed because @Keith_G suddenly braked too hard infront of me, I managed to avoid him within milimeters, happened on Silverstone last week also.

@Costi Trandafir , just so you know I was fully aware that you were behind me and am happy to let you pass but please understand that my skill and setup do not allow me to always go into corners at the same speed as you. I do brake before Pouhon corner because it is the only way I can make it through safely but i certainly did not do it to impede you. Had you been a bit more patient and passed at the corner exit or the ensuing straight I would have gladly let off the gas and let you pass. I make every effort to let faster cars by but I can't always change my driving to let that happen in corner entries.

If you look at the replay you did hit my car and pushed me off the track as you passed. I don't have a problem with that and understand that you are racing and I caught you by surprise but please know that we slower drivers will probably brake sooner and harder than you since, our skill and setup don't allow us to enter corners as fast as you. Again I'm sorry if I hold you up but that is why I am racing in club races so that I can gain experience. I am learning at each race so that I can eventually be competitive but until then you should look at us slower drivers as just another racing challenge rather than an irritant.

 

[Costi Trandafir]

@Costi Trandafir , just so you know I was fully aware that you were behind me and am happy to let you pass but please understand that my skill and setup do not allow me to always go into corners at the same speed as you. I do brake before Pouhon corner because it is the only way I can make it through safely but i certainly did not do it to impede you. Had you been a bit more patient and passed at the corner exit or the ensuing straight I would have gladly let off the gas and let you pass. I make every effort to let faster cars by but I can't always change my driving to let that happen in corner entries.

If you look at the replay you did hit my car and pushed me off the track as you passed. I don't have a problem with that and understand that you are racing and I caught you by surprise but please know that we slower drivers will probably brake sooner and harder than you since, our skill and setup don't allow us to enter corners as fast as you. Again I'm sorry if I hold you up but that is why I am racing in club races so that I can gain experience. I am learning at each race so that I can eventually be competitive but until then you should look at us slower drivers as just another racing challenge rather than an irritant.

I was talking about the race not the Practice, in race there was no contact

 

[Mathias André]

I'd like to see the race start again if anyone who left early kept it.

Well that was a crappy race here. First of all I was following @Akis for a first hot lap in quali, I was quite happy with my lap but pushed a bit too hard and spun out of the last chicane, losing 3 seconds... Tried again and my second hot lap was better, enough for a 10th position on the grid if I remember correctly.

On turn 1 I was in the middle of three cars side by side and we were hit on the right, thankfully I managed to escape without much damage, but re-emerged in 14th place I think, by the time I got back in the groove I had lost a couple more places.


Race Department - FF1 2015 @ Spa - Thu 5 Mar 2015, First lap incident by Mathias André on RaceDepartment

Anyway, I gained back a couple of positions, and was slowly catching up with @Tasos Olympou and @Keith_G on the back "straight". I apparently carried much more speed through Blanchimont, and panicked watching Keith's car getting closer as I wasn't expecting it! At the last second I decided to go right as there wasn't much space on the left, but forgot that my DRS was still open, lost the rear and went sliding through the grass at 340kp/h, took off and after a beautiful 180 degrees turn landed exactly on @James Hemp car who was exiting the chicane and probably had no idea what happened, sorry mate

The car was completely destroyed and teleported back to the pits, my virtual self was carried to the nearest hospital in helicopter. When I woke up I allegedly told the doctors:
- My name is Ferndando, I race karts, and I want to do Formula 1
to which they replied:
- Sorry, your real name is Mathias, you never made it to F1, nor did you really try, you work as a DevOps, but that's OK, because you can race online with a bunch of other racing nerds online whenever you want



Surgical strike by Mathias André on RaceDepartment

 

[Keith_G]

Race Department - FF1 2015 @ Spa - Thu 5 Mar 2015, First lap incident by Mathias André on RaceDepartment

Anyway, I gained back a couple of positions, and was slowly catching up with @Tasos Olympou and @Keith_G on the back "straight".

Sorry, you caught up so quick because I slowed down to let Tasos by since I knew he was much faster!

 

[Keith_G]

I was talking about the race not the Practice, in race there was no contact

Video of the overtake in Lap 13 of the race,

Again, sorry I caught you up, but I know I was thinking too much about you coming up from behind and not enough about me getting through the corner better. This led me to come into the corner poorly resulting in more braking than usual which I'm sure caught you by surprise. Rookie mistake, and lesson learned to pay more attention to what I'm doing and less to what others are doing - although it takes a while to get confident enough to do that well!

 

[Dragos Haba]

@Costi Trandafir @Keith_G



Whether it's in practice or in the race, you should already know the abilities of drivers you've had races with. You should approach with caution if you are that much faster and then perform the pass when it is safe to do so.

This really should be a note. The fault in a passing incident does not always lay with the person being passed. It is the duty of the driver approaching to judge the situation and pass when it is SAFE to do so. Similarly, it is the duty of the driver in front, IF being LAPPED, to hold their line OR otherwise indicate which side to pass on if they are much slower. When FIGHTING for position, this obviously does not apply. When fighting for position spacial awareness is key, as is also allowing space if someone gets on your inside/outside. No signature Schumacher cuts...

I have had quite a few races, with the likes of @Si @Akis @Geof @Cristian Haba and many others, where mutual respect was shared and when someone was on the inside or EVEN DIVING on the inside resulting in NO incidents. That's because we knew what to look for, and making sure that we were using our mirrors and other STANDARD tools in Assetto Corsa to know where the other driver was.

To conclude, when you are being approached, DO NOT change your driving. When you approach, do so with caution and pass when it is safe to do so. Both drivers have a duty here, and both are equal.