Quote from -wes- :

"unethic movement" aka "the Schumacher method"

ROFL

I am not in favour of cutting, but on an oval, I do not see the apron as cutting the track - unless - there is a rule that states you may not use the apron. AFAIK only NASCAR has such a rule. I do not think it should be allowed as it takes away from the spirit of the oval, so something should be done to disallow it. But, as it is now, it is a perfectly legitimate practice.

However, cutting the track over grass or straight-lining a chicane on the other hand is not a legitimate practice, and should not be done or allowed; in racing or hotlapping.

Lets face it, hot lapping is about finding the fastest time that is still legal in the HLVC, therefore I have no problem with the racing like this. In the Reverse rally on blackwood my friends at the LAN decided that rather than negotiating the left right before you enter the rally part they would simply steam over the hill, onto the gravel and get a much straighter line into the next corner. That is quite clearly cheating but due to the fact that the game did not black flag them they assumed it was legal. So long as the rules are the same for everyone, it is still fair, if not sensible.

I remember 1 Indy car race where the broadcast listened in to driver's spotter who coached him to be defensive and said,

"Anything between the grass and the wall is the race track!"

IMO that's the way it should be. Artificial out-of-bounds lines are just that...artificial. Contrived, meddling with the on-track product. Pit exit blend lines excepted of course.

Aside from pit lane, any detached warm-up lanes, and paved run-off, any paved area on the general racing surface should be fair territory and allowed to be used as practical. I say that because as was said, fast cars like the BF1 lose more than they gain by using the unbanked apron on the oval. Slower cars like MRT do have an advantage. No harm no foul IMO.

What would've been neat was if the all the oval turns were banked low like the final turn or even lower. With the banking low the transition onto the apron woul've been smoother and faster cars like BF1 would get an advantage by using the apron.

The out of bounds rule was to prevent drivers trying to pass in the grass, and prevent drivers from being forced into it. All about safety.

Nascar has allways been a bit wild, part of its charm.

I bet you could get some of the fast cars to use the apron, just need a nice soggy setup and the balls to do it.

I wasn't questioning NASCAR's motives for the rule, just stating that they have the rule, and AFAIK no one else does

I used to be a huge NASCAR fan.. pretty much up until the intimidator was lost. After that, NASCAR really took a spin down the ol' crap chute. Anyways.. that aside.. Yes, it is fair game imho. Until there is a rule that says 'no,' of course.

Quote from -wes- :

have a look at the fe green hotlaps, true cutting but legal.
I'm supprised it was so long before people got on the oval apron, I saw it was possible the first time I saw the oval.

Do it if you like.

I wouldn't really say it was cutting, I just done a OLFS race (even though it embarrissingly ended 10 seconds into the race) but all the time when I hotlapped and practiced online I used the same lines.

I can see what you mean by the small cut at the last chicane but really, 2 tyres on the track, not much of a cut. Where as here the argument is that you should stay on the cambered stuff instead of cutting by about 3 car lengths or more.

Since Gianni though, 2 guys cut the 1st and last corner, where as Gianni only cut the 1st corner, but I don't really care, I don't think the devs should waste time on fixing this "Bug" where they could be doing something way more important.

Quote from Bawbag :

2 tyres on the track, not much of a cut.

That's not cutting at all. Most leagues have a rule that states 2 wheels must be within the white lines at all time. The other 2 could be in the grass for all they care. As long as 2 wheels on within the white lines, it is fine.

When it comes to the oval cutting, obviously the whole car is outside of the lines, quite considerably actually, but that is not a league race with those rules, so it is legit.

Maggot you're thinking of Daytona (the 2 1/2 mile oval) that has the yellow line you can not go under and advance your position.
Darlington is the egg shaped 1.366 mile oval. The knid of oval I think would be a blast to drive UF1000's around banging doors for 50 laps. But thats just me.