Racing Etiquette, how to enforce?
 

So as of late there have been some issues at the local club with simple race etiquette, mainly with letting faster drivers thru when racing the Mains, this gets even more an issue when guys are racing for bumps to the next level of Mains.
For me the rule has been, if they are lapping me, I take a wide line on the first available corner, let the racer past, and then move back on the line.
This is status quo with most drivers, but a few people seem to think that even at a lap (or 2 down) they have every right to race at top speed and not move off the race line, even when the race director and everyone else is yelling for them to give way.
With a new driver with minimum experience allowance are given, hey they are new, but unfortunately we are having the problem with some guys that have quite a few years under their belt.

Just curious how other clubs deal with these issues. We have had a few drivers meetings discussing it in hopes that the offenders will get the message, but so far....deaf ears.....no one wants to create friction and the reality is, we are racing toy cars, but anyone have any good suggestions short of telling said driver(s) don't show up on race night (yes, that's how bad it has gotten)

Most good race directors, after a warning, will issue a stop and go. If a racer is coming up on lapped traffic that fast, then the old 3 turn rule comes into effect, regardless what else is happening.

Is there a list of ettiquette rules for racing that one can reference? For example, new racers may not be aware of the "old 3 turn rule"... is there a list online that can be shared?

Racers unaware of the three turn rule usually learn it pretty fast.

There is no list of racing etiquette. It's something you learn as you go along. You can try but for the most part it's unenforceable. Part of racing is knowing who you're racing against, and how to race them.

Starters and experienced drivers together will always give a conflict. The pro's will not take the time to wait until a starter is making a gap and otherwise the starter is very busy keeping his car on the track without knowing what is happening arround him.

It is important that race directors keep their eyes on the track and tell the drivers to make room or take care. Sadly today more and more tracks rely on the full automatic mode of RCM so race directors can walk arround and do some chats.

Here is what I think...

You have to teach new folks how and what is appropriate, BUT...

You also don't want to run people off. We have had a real hard time keeping OnRoad up with the lack of participants in our area so I feel it's a mix of them feeling comfortable AND knowing how to race and the rules.

I also think that if you are a leader then you should be able to pass lapped traffic as you are clearly much better than the folks you are lapping. I see that when there is just one main in a class and you have beginners and veterans in the same race. If its a bigger race, then I would expect people in your race to know the rules.

Bottom line - Don't run people out of the hobby, teach them how to be fun to race with!

For getting lap traffic to give way to leaders, the RD has to do a good job of calling traffic. I was just at a race where the RD didn't do this at all and there were many issues with lap traffic. I'd like to give benefit of the doubt to some drivers that just legitimately don't know what place they're in.

How can you really enforce it especially with new racers not to mention the RD have enough to do already I think it comes down to the more experienced racers to show the guys .

One issue also is that in my case i don't know everybody I'm racing with or notice what color body they have that if there the leader i wouldn't know to go wider in the turn to let them go.

The only way i know really is if i notice the guy is much faster .

Thanks For all the input.

Our RD is good, actually all our Race callers do a great job, very vocal, ID'ing the leading Car, advising of upcoming hazards if they can, advising drivers when to let a driver pass, etc...
I am the first to give new drivers pointer, whether it is tuning ideas, helping them fix their ride, or teaching rules and etiquette, I really want to invest in them because I understand without them showing up, racing will die out, and I am a Dad so part of me has that 'I must educate the young' thought process :smile:.
It is definitely a balancing act as you don't want to scare them off, but at the same time you don't want to let them do things that will cause issues.

But in this case, our worst offender is a guy is my age and in fact, has 2 years of experience over me.

We actually have some video of the major incident from our club race that sorta set this post in motion and it is a really telling.
The offending racing in question bobbles coming into the first turn, he is at this point now a lap down on 1st and 2nd as they get past, he is running 5th, with 4th just ahead of him about to get caught by 1st and 2nd. They round the next bend, 4th goes to the side to let 1st and 2nd go, the leader making his way up over the table top and the offending racer goes full throttle from the last turn, totally off the race line and at a bad angle for coming onto the table top and just smashes right into the side of the leader (missing second place by a few inches).

What has me going WTF...the speed at which his car accelerates. We are running 17.5 blinky...and the way his car takes off it just doesn't seem right, hence the recommendations to do a tech inspection next race.
The second WTF .....he wasn't on a race line, it was a damn near straight line ram, he had no reason for this, he wasn't racing 1st 2nd or 3rd (actually it was me in 3rd a few seconds back of all the frakcous) he was running 5th, and to top it off it seemed highly intention.

The reason golf works out so well , is the rules and etiquette are readily available to everyone long before they step on the course.

Waiting to correct a new racer fouls as they commit them is not the way to handle it . POST the track rules !! Make the expectations clear and clearly accessible and hard to ignore . They will catch on , no one wants to look like / or be the dumb ass...

Good Point, they are readily available at our outdoor spring site, but as we race in a Gym in the fall winter season we don't generally put up anything but lap times.

maybe I will do up a handout before next race, try to make it pretty clear what is expect of all racers.

Without strict rule enforcement you may keep some new people but you're going to scare away your dedicated racers. Once they are gone and word of mouth travels that your track lets people run a muck then more people won't show and it snowballs. I've seen this already at a few local tracks. To the point of owners finally kicking some people out and begging others to come back. Rule enforcement and making sure you run a quick program are the two biggest complaints I always hear in the pits.

We had a Meeting before Racing, RD made it clear that people needed to clean up their driving, and people had to stop loosing it when things went bad.
He also said that he and other people would be watching and if there was anything intentional their would be penalties assessed.

For the most part it worked, no major issues.

I think after all the frackous last week and some....snippy facebook posts....people realized they had to cool their jets a bit.

always be patient and take your time.

i except it for what it is a challenge. if i dont make the A-main and i'm not in the top
3 spots in the B-main. i will go all the way back to the end and start last. then work my
way up from there. there will be times someone in front of you will not let you bye.
be patient, you will find away around them if your a faster driver. always be patient don't get mad.
once you get mad you make mistakes and that will ruin your run faster then anything.

My take on this is the opposite. Rules don't scare away racers, people who don't follow the rules scare away racers. 99% of the people I race with respect and enjoy the rules because it's keeps the racing clean for the most part. If we had guys banzaing into other cars on a regular basis and nothing was being done about it there would be a lot of guys who wouldn't come back. I'm as competitive as it gets and I absolutely hate getting passed let alone being lapped but out of respect I go wide when teh leaders are coming around and then retreat back to my line once they're ahead of me. I like having rules as I think most racers do too.