The problem that I see is that it takes two to tango. The passer and the passee (cool new words) have to work together to make it work.
If you jam the car down the inside, and you get alongside me, I recognize that I made a mistake, square up the corner and try to get you with exit speed. The classic re-overtake maneuver.
However, if I instead just take a wide line and push for all I am worth, we end up coming together on the exit, with me getting pushed off into the wall.
How do you know, as the overtaking driver, which kind of opponent you are facing? Public servers are not like a racing series where you get to know your opponents. So, I generally end up taking the conservative approach. I try to leave myself enough of a buffer to stay inside on the corner exit in case the guy I am overtaking tries to stay alongside.
I think that some of you are saying that this is an improper overtaking maneuver. That if I don't go in fully committed, I will cause the accident. I do agree, to an extent. If I go in fully committed, AND I can get my rear bumper in front of the passee prior to corner exit, then yes, this works great. But if not, somebody is mowing lawns.
In my league races, I am much more comfortable with this. But on public servers, or when I am racing with people I don't know... well you take your chances.
My problem comes in when I am setting up for a fast chicane, and somebody late brakes and takes the inside, I am already committed to taking the the apex, or I will crash. They on the other hand got on the brakes later, but in order to not miss the exit, they have to be slower when they hit the apex of the first curve of the chicane. So my options at this point are to take the apex and hope that it is only a minor bang. Or, try to keep braking and stop before hitting the wall or the tires and let the other guy go. To me, this is not aggressive overtaking and being fully committed. This is overly optimistic and expecting the other guy to just give room because you happen to be inside, even if you are not in a position to allow room for the other guy.
So what do you do in the case of the T1 T2 and T3 at Blackwood? I have had this happen a lot and seen all kinds of different outcomes.
Driver 1 is leading and stays outside going into turn 1 hoping to apex normally and maintain a fast exit speed. (probably a mistake, he should have protected the inside line)
Driver 2 late brakes and gets alongside.
Driver 1 can take turn 1 on the outside and hold position to the left of Driver 2.
Driver 2 loses exit speed because Driver 1 is still on his outside. (is this because driver 2 was not fully committed or because the outside line on T1 at Blackwood is not that much slower?)
Driver 1 now has the inside line to the first corner of the chicane, but driver 2 is determined and hold his position.
They are now both going fast enough where if they don't apex on both the corners of the chicane, they will go off track.
Who has right of way?
