ACC [PC] The Rooz Guide to Courteous Driving

Discussion in 'Assetto Corsa Competizione PC Monday Night' started by marty, Mar 25, 2020.

  1. marty

    marty AC Server Legend

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    New guide posted here to keep this original thread as the definitive reference, based on @marty 's work but updated September 2020 by the new admin team. ~ SteveDrivingSlowly

    Etiquette Guide

    General guidance:

    ⦁ If you make contact with another driver, or gain a position by cutting the track, redress the position when safe to do so
    ⦁ "redress" means give the position back
    ⦁ “when safe” means do not obstruct any other drivers while redressing​
    ⦁ If you leave the confines of the track (4 wheels outside the white line the marks the edge of the track), it is your responsibility to re-join the track safely. You must
    ⦁ Never impede another driver whilst re-joining
    ⦁ Try to not re-join the track at 90 degrees to the direction of travel – you will have a very poor view of what is coming
    ⦁ You should attempt to re-orient yourself to the direction of travel and check both the relative and your mirrors to re-join safely​
    ⦁ You should always leave racing room
    ⦁ Swerving across the track is prohibited
    ⦁ When you defend a corner, you must not move across the racing line to defend a different line
    ⦁ Again: never stop your car on the race track; whenever you need to recover to the pits ensure you are off track
    ⦁ Starts are an obvious place to make up places! However, they are also the prime time for drivers to accidentally ruin their own and multiple other drivers races. Driver errors on lap 1, and overly aggressive passing moves that cause damage to other cars or force them to take evasive action will be viewed dimly by the admin team

    Never:

    ⦁ Stop your car on the race track;
    ⦁ Cross the pit lane entry or exit merge lines when entering or exiting the track
    ⦁ Hold anyone up in qualifying if you are not on a flying lap
    ⦁ Run people off the track on straights or corners – always leave racing room
    ⦁ Take out brake or pit markers on purpose
    Breaches of the above may lead to the driver in question being sanctioned by the admin team

    Blue Flag Etiquette:

    ⦁ Being shown a blue flag means there is a faster car approaching that you must let past when safe
    ⦁ In qualifying sessions:
    ⦁ Move your car off the racing line out of the way of anyone on a hot lap behind you
    ⦁ It is best to let other drivers pass on straights, as forcing a driver to make an overtake into or out of a corner will cost that driver time
    Always keep an eye on your relative times and check your mirrors when not on a hot lap​
    ⦁ in race sessions:
    ⦁ blue flags indicate you are about to be passed by a car a lap ahead of you. Do not defend your position​
    ⦁ When letting someone past in race or qualifying:
    ⦁ Do not brake or lift off the accelerator exiting a corner if another car is directly behind you
    ⦁ Make it clear which side of the track you are going to stay on, and allow the faster car to have the other side
    ⦁ Do not panic, keep calm, hold your line and do not swerve or brake unexpectedly
    ⦁ Avoid all random unexpected moves or control inputs
    ⦁ Do not drive off the track to allow cars past
    ⦁ Be safe, smooth, predictable
    ⦁ If a car has moved to one side of you and has an overlap before a braking zone, allow that car to have the corner and pass you safely
    ⦁ It is recommended that the driver of the car being lapped rolls out of the throttle towards the end of a straight when being lapped. This allows a safer pass and minimises time loss for both the faster and slower driver
    ⦁ If you are in a battle and you are shown blue flags, you must still find a way to not hold up the faster cars​
    ⦁ Passing a driver under blue flags
    ⦁ You must execute the pass in a safe manner, with no contact and without forcing the other car off track. As the faster car, the onus is on you to do this safely, and if a collision is caused there will be a presumption that it is the faster driver’s fault unless there is clear evidence to the contrary. This is especially the case for a GT3 passing a GT4.
    ⦁ If you are not close enough into a braking point, take the normal line and await the next straight to pass
    ⦁ Cars being lapped are not expected to move aside and abandon their race to allow leading cars to pass them
    ⦁ If you come up to lap a battle pack of cars, you need to be aware that getting past will not be easy and everyone has the right to race​
    ⦁ Unlapping
    ⦁ Unlapping is permitted; however any pass must be clean and fair
    ⦁ If you are unable to get clear of the blue flags after a lap, you will need to let the car a lap ahead back past
    ⦁ Lapped cars are not to get involved in on-track battles with cars that are a lap or laps ahead​
    ⦁ The golden rule that underpins the ROOZ Blue Flag Etiquette:
    All drivers must do their best to avoid negatively impacting the race of drivers with whom they are not directly racing


    • Stop your car on the race track
    • Cross the pit exit line when entering the track
    • Hold anyone up in qualifying if your not on a hot lap
    • Run people off the track in straights or corners
    • Take out brake markers or pit markers on purpose
      • anyone doing so may get a penalty or race suspension

    General things to do
    • If you make an error and make contact with someone, redress the position when safe
      • "redress" means give the position back
    • If you go off track, only re-enter when it is clear you wont effect anyone else still on the track
      • Try not to re-enter at 90 degrees to the track - you will not have a good view of what is coming!
      • Turn your car so you are facing the direction of the track and check your relative to see what is coming, and your mirrors as you re-enter safely
    • Give racing room, if there is an overlap then leaving racing room is expected
    • If you defend one side then make sure you don't go back to the other side if it will block the other cars run or push them off the track
    • If you need to stop to escape to pits, do this well off the track preferably as far away as possible and escape quickly to avoid yellow flags being triggered while your car is parked
    • Avoid contact as much as possible, any damage will greatly affect your race and those you have contact with
    Exiting the Pits
    • During qualy, enter the track only when clear and avoid blocking anyone's run into T1
    • As you exit the pit during a race, you must stay inside the merge line.
    • After the merge line ends, it is full racing rules as usual and you are free to battle into the next turn (unless its under blue flags)

    When you are shown a blue flag
    • Blue flags mean that you should let the oncoming car past when safe
    • In qualifying sessions:
      • Get completely out of the way of anyone on a hot lap behind you as soon as it is safe
      • It is best to let people pass on straights as anyone passing you into a corner will lose time and perhaps bin the lap
      • Check your relative and mirrors when you are not on a hot lap and try and plan ahead to let people past without slowing them
    • In a race blue flags indicate someone is about to lap you - do not defend your position
    • When letting someone past:
      • On corner exit - don't brake or slow exiting if another car is directly behind you
      • Make it clear which side of the track you are going to stay on and let them have the other side
      • Don't panic, keep calm and hold your line
      • Avoid random unexpected moves
      • Don't drive off the track to let cars past
      • Be safe, smooth and predictable - if you do this, you won't lose control or cause an accident
      • If a car has moved to a side and got overlap before braking then leave them enough room to pass safely
    • Cars lapping others:
      • You still need to do so without forcing the slower cars off track or making contact
      • If you aren't close enough into the brake point the car ahead can take a normal racing line
      • Cars being lapped don't have to move aside and abandon their race to let cars lap them
      • Lapping cars need to be aware that if there is a battle under blue flags, getting past wont be easy and everyone has the rights to race no matter what position it is for
      • All cars should do their best to avoid negatively impacting the race of others they aren't directly racing with
    • When un-lapping yourself:
      • Make sure its a clean and fair pass
      • If you then can't get clear of the blue flags you will need to let the car past again
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 25, 2020
    krunch, Rolz, LuciuxNexx and 5 others like this.
  2. Jarmel

    Jarmel Rookie

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    When getting lapped i tend to go to the inside line soon after corner exit and slow down so i can tuck back in behind (unless i see them going for the inside first ) ,is that preferable or is it better to hold my line let them have inside and then slow down to let them back onto racing line ?
    andyo450 likes this.
  3. andyo450

    andyo450 Team Driver Super ROOZ

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    Right on corner exit if theres someone right behind you will cause issues. If you’re going to change lines to let someone through as long as you do it early enough so they have time to understand what you’re doing its fine.

    You will lose more time lifting on corner exit than you will if you lift coming into a braking zone or 3/4 or the way down a straight though
    LuciuxNexx, Jeremy Talbot and marty like this.
  4. Jarmel

    Jarmel Rookie

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    I don't lift until i'm on the inside line . so don't lose much time. But if its preferable to hold the racing line and let the passing car decide what to do i'm happy to do that
  5. andyo450

    andyo450 Team Driver Super ROOZ

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    I dunno about anyone else but I don’t really have a preference either way. As long as its obvious what you’re doing I reckon either way is fine.
    nanlatt likes this.
  6. Jeremy Talbot

    Jeremy Talbot Rookie

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    Personally I'd prefer what Andy said and people pull out and lift earlier into a braking zone or 3/4 down a straight. Pulling aside out of a corner just creates a bit of confusion, if the car behind is quick enough out of that corner they'll be able to pass anyway as long as you hold that line.
    tezpez85 and andyo450 like this.
  7. tezpez85

    tezpez85 Professional Gold Member

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    Same, pre-corner on straight is good. It's a matter of judgement. If you think you're fast enough to not hold up the guy coming through, by all means take the corner and do it on the next straight. If you have any doubts, slow down.
    Jeremy Talbot and andyo450 like this.
  8. andyo450

    andyo450 Team Driver Super ROOZ

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    I would say if the guys being blue flagged have doubts and its only one corner or a difficult section then stay on the racing line and run your normal pace. Most situations should be a pretty easy call but there are always a few more difficult ones.

    Its the times when guys have doubts that cause issues. That leads to confusion between both parties and slows everyone down, if not causes an incident. Its multiple half committed moves and late moves that make things unpredictable.
    Jeremy Talbot, tezpez85 and marty like this.
  9. marty

    marty AC Server Legend

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    Best to not do any sudden unexpected lane change, if someone is close behind at exit staying on the normal race line is safer. If you quickly move to the inside its fairly likely the car behind will assume cars ahead will be on the racing line. Further down the straight if you want to make it clear your conceding the corner you can move inside if the car behind hasnt but dont ever lift while the other car is directly behind, its likely trying to get a draft.

    The guys lapping cant expect to be miles back move inside and assume the car ahead will conced a corner to a big dive bomb. It has to be a 2 way thing and we want to encourage everyone to race here and have fun. This means the slower guys arent expected to lose lots of time to let all cars lap them. The faster Pro class guys doing most of the lapping should have better control and be capable of making clean passes. Sometimes you will lose some time but thats just part of racing and larger grids and longer races means its something we all need to try manage as well as possible to not ruin other peoples nights.

    In qualifying its a bit different to racing there under blue flags you are expected to get completly out of the way and give the entire race line to any cars on a hotlap of your not on one. If you are on a lap then no matter your pace you have full rights to the race line. If both are on a hotlap there is no rule against making a regular clean race pass. Often your better off to back up and make space for your next lap as making a regular pass at a corner likely will lose lots of time for both cars meaning both will have wasted their laps.

    Backing up and making space you need to be very aware of any traffic behind as you cant block their laps trying to find a gap either. ;)
  10. Wally

    Wally Team Driver

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    It's also good to just pipe up on Discord "Go left Andy".
    andyo450 likes this.
  11. Coanda

    Coanda Team Driver

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    What is your guys take on turn indicators..? If I use the indicator it's to let the driver know which side he should pass me on.. I vaguely remember others and maybe the official rules (don't hold me to that) being the opposite whereby they should be used to let the car know where you intend to place your vehicle..
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2020
    andyo450 likes this.
  12. marty

    marty AC Server Legend

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    Thats where its tricky, I think in general track driving but maybe not everywhere you indicate where your going to go. That seems more logical to me as its also how you use an indicator on a public roads. A few do do the opposite which is why I dont take that much notice of an indicator more go by what I see the car ahead is doing. Usually they will indicate and move the car early enough to understand what they intend to do. Also the indicators in ACC are easy to leave on and not know which one you have on meaning its not something that helps me much when passing other cars.

    If a car is damaged and slow putting hazard lights on is a good idea to show your probably going to be slower then expected.

    Anyone doing very fast, late and unpredictable movements just means I need to slow down more as I am not sure what they are doing or if they are in control. Thats the same with those people that have gone off track to let you past. The dust in the air makes it hard to see and your not sure if they are out of control and will come back on the track in a sketchy way so usually it means I lose more time passing these guys as I need to slow more.
    Coanda likes this.
  13. Rolz

    Rolz ACC Nutter Team Raceonoz Gold Member

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    good points and certainly a post to read for newbies :thumbsup:
  14. krunch

    krunch ACC Server Legend Team Raceonoz Gold Member Super ROOZ

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    I find ACC's indicators very hard to see especially in VR so not a lot of use to me :).
  15. SteveDrivingSlowly

    SteveDrivingSlowly ACC Results Ste(ve)ward

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