Incident begins at approx.12:35ish.
Context: This is in the late stages of the heat. I had been fending off a gentleman in a slightly faster kart pretty much all race. When he would get a good run, he could jam his way past me into 2 and occasionally, 4.
But, fortunately, I had more local knowledge and had a more efficient line. Despite being down on power, I could take my position back each time he passed me, but only just barely.
So, coming out of turn 1, I see the backmarker lose it wide in 1. As I start closing on him, he goes very wide again, and appears to not really have full control.
So, I gingerly make my way inside and end up making my presence known alongside him, coming out of 3. I play, “Hello, Neighbor.”, which he seems to acknowledge.
I maintain the inside taking the narrowest line possible alongside him into 4. Then, he turns into me.
At this point I have two choices.
- Brake and disentangle.
- Keep going.
I opt for 2.
Am I a Jerk?
My logic:
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I had to assume the gentleman I had been trading places with was still behind me.
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I also had to assume that if I had a major reduction in momentum, given his slightly more powerful kart, if the gentleman chasing me were to gap me in the fracas, I might not be able to make the ground back up. It was getting late in the race.
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It’s on me to get around folks cleanly but if I am lapping you, you should probably be letting me by. That being said, this is rental racing and this was a new fella, so its on me, not him.
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This was unintentionally, tactically brilliant. The guy I spun took out the kart that had been chasing me, which gave me a gap he could not recover from. Hurray for Chaos!.
As a result, I can put my nose down and start grinding out some fast laps. Shortly after this I drop into the 45s and finish out the race at good pace.
Your opinions, please…