Without wasting too much time on details, I ask you just treat the question at face value for now. I have no problem with legit mistakes. I have a problem with intentional contact. Main issues are getting hit very hard from behind, dive bombers ricocheting off of me or just getting flat turned into.
Brief Details:
I just encountered 3 rough drivers in a race with 18 karts. Full bumper rentals and disparity in karts doesn’t help. If anything cause me to slow (traffic, avoiding spinners) I would get hit from behind. I felt overall it resulted in me losing 2 positions in a rental league race, based on lap times for one. I did manage to have to 2 nice battles with respectful drives with no problem, which was rewarding. I had to chase down and pass some guys 3 times after being punted, which was kind of fun in its own way. So not a big deal in the big scheme or is it?
Do I just ignore it?
Do I just worry about adapting, staying away them and figuring out how to counter there actions?
Do I ask race officials to watch them?
I don’t see hitting them and punting them as an option. (not that anyone here would suggest that) I don’t want to stoop to their level. I never want to be that guy. At the very least it may affect some other driver.
I am going to drive in the next race of the series. So far I only see this being solved by race officials. If it doesn’t get sorted I may not participate in the future. Taking my helmet and going home doesn’t appeal to me. More so since the good guys outnumber the bad. The are some quite good guys running up front.
Did you confront the drivers in question and let them know it wasn’t appreciated? Everyone sort of has a different opinion on what constitutes “rough driving” so it’s entirely possible they don’t see an issue with their driving.
Unfortunately, some drivers only understand when you talk with your bumper, so if it comes down to it, you might have to push back a little bit on-track. Obviously within the sporting rules of the league etc., but if some contact is tolerated, I wouldn’t hesitate to start letting those guys know you aren’t going to be a push-over on-track.
Talking to the officials is a good start. I would note the incidents to the race director. Maybe they already know these guys are a reputation and they’re watching them.
I’m not quite old enough to race in a masters class so I’m usually one of the oldest in senior. If the rough driver is really young I’ve pulled his dad or mechanic aside in the scale line and explain what’s going on. If the rough driving was really blatant I use the scale line to tell the always innocent driver to pull his head out of his @ss. Sometimes it’s a simple “Why did you do whatever? Stop driving like an idiot…” and other situations require a more colorful exchange. Go stand by the scale line after any sr. race to see many examples of the above.
I think the problem is worse in rentals in that they have the full bumper rail surrounding the wheels (and seatbelts) so that people feel pretty invulnerable. Also, rentals attract “casuals” that don’t have any idea of the etiquette of racing so it’s pretty much a shitshow.
That being said the YouTube footage I have seen of the club 100 racing rental league in England seems pretty close to regular kart racing in terms of folks trying to race seriously so maybe that’s something to look into. I think that place called BUKC has a pretty solid rental league with rules and everything.
I don’t know why I have the idea you are in England. If not, just ignore me.
TJ,
No, I didn’t confront the driver, for several reasons. First, I want to give the race director a chance to deal with it. I did get a response and “It will be addressed”. Either it will get corrected or not. We all know race officials can only react after a problem.
I think 1 guys doesn’t realize how it feels. So I do see 1 case possibly as ignorance.
Being a rental league I do forsee it as always having a couple in the pack. I don’t know if they do a random idiot pick or how it works.
I have never had any problems with other drivers worth noting in the regular series there. Next race is after a TnT so I will be in my kart for some time then do the rental series.
“I think the problem is worse in rentals in that they have the full bumper rail surrounding the wheels (and seatbelts) so that people feel pretty invulnerable. Also, rentals attract “casuals” that don’t have any idea of the etiquette of racing so it’s pretty much a shitshow.”
Some of the antics would never succeed in a kart without full bumpers. The dive bombing contact for sure.
Not in Engand. Nola MSRP.
I am going to exhaust all “Nice” methodologies. If that doesn’t succeed I will reassess my participation at that time.
To me, it also depends on what vehicle I’m in. I’ve raced in rental kart leagues since 2009, and came to terms that bumping and shoving was just part of it. I don’t do it, and I don’t like it, but it’s hard to really regulate. Personally, I think it came down to good character or not, whether a person can wait to make a pass or shove someone by
Now when I got into racing karts, I had a whole different mentally about it. Bumping and collisions can now get a driver seriously hurt, and so in my book there really is no place for intentional contact.
I understand the occasional touch or rub, but intentional shoving or crashing is not ok. Somone can flip and get seriously hurt. Now in those situations, it depends on who it is, but if it’s a friend or someone I respect, we can just talk about it
If it’s someone I don’t respect, or clearly doesn’t respect me, I got to the race director. That’s also why I have a running camera on my kart at all times, so I can record instances like that and look at them over again to see if I made a mistake, or if that person was just an asshole.
In a rental league, you have to learn how to be rough, no question about it. You also have to learn how to push pass - not bump pass, but push pass. A properly executed push pass won’t even be noticed by most people watching the race. Also is useful for getting traffic out of the way.
Now, noticed I say you have to LEARN how to do these things. My golden rule is that I let other drivers dictate how we race. If you push me around, I’ll push you around. If you’re clean and respectful, I will be the same. So in case you have a known rough driver behind you, be ready for it and be ready to give it right back.
Now with my kart, I always err on the side of caution. Touching wheels can be legitimately dangerous (not to mention expensive) and I am trying to have fun, not go to the hospital over my pride or a plastic trophy. I don’t have a problem with a little bumper contact, but that’s about the extent of it. If a guy is being super aggressive, I just let them go. Most of the time you pass them spun around within a lap or two anyways.
So I did my second rental league race this weekend. As predicted there are between 1 & 3 in every crowd. There was 1 in this one. He had a reputation as a nasty driver from previous events, it was pretty universal. The race director did give a talk to the whole group midway through and it helped. I never spun on my own or got messed up too bad. I was really lucky twice after being hit by the 1 guy both times. My goal was not to stoop to the level and I didn’t have to.
I was exhausted before the event and managed to do OK. 1 thing I noticed was to get a bit of a gap on whoever I passed. Once they were out of dive bomb range I could drive as I wanted. I saw a dive bomb coming in my peripheral and managed to point the guy by & re-pass on exit. Another guy and I would do battle cleanly. I finally got a nice run coming onto the longest straight. I had a sufficient gap and was able to make 1 lap without being challenged. Then I managed keep making the gap bigger. As a rule I am not a look back guy. When it is that close you kind of have too.
I still don’t get some of the mentality and never will. I am just going to focus on not over-driving, find raw speed and use some racecraft finesse to get clear of the crash club. The second I made it up to 5th I knew all I had to do was not ruin it for myself, I was clear of the bumper car drivers.
I ended up 5th and was right under a 5 second gap at the checkered.
I do see the benefits of the rental league along with the problems. It was fun. I TnT’d in my own kart earlier, it did not go well . . .
