Bad Rejoin
Any car that has three or four wheels outside the track boundary, intentionally or unintentionally must rejoin and obviously do so safely. Cars are also in a rejoin situation whenever they have stopped racing for whatever reason - a spin, stopping to avoid other cars etc.
This seems to happen regularly at all levels. A rejoin can only be considered bad if an incident (or potential incident which caused another driver to take avoiding action) took place. The primary objective of
the moderator is to establish how inconsiderate the rejoining driver was.
A rejoin can only be considered bad if an incident (or potential incident which
caused another driver to take avoiding action) took place. It is quite
feasible for a driver to have a complete grasp of his position on the track
relative to the rest of the field. It may be that he is dead last on the
first lap or is using an add-on like Pribluda and he knows there is a very large
gap behind him. In such cases it would be acceptable for the rejoining
driver to drive straight back onto the track.
Factors to consider here are:
- Was the joiner unable seen the victim due to circuit topography?
- Did the joiner rejoin carefully and gradually?
- Was the victim accounting for the Rejoin?
- Did the 1 behind problem affect the incident?
Typical Scenarios:
Appallingly Bad Rejoin: Penalty 3 Places
- The rejoining driver was in full control and drove straight back onto the
racing line without any consideration for other drivers and contact was made.
- The rejoining driver was in full control and drove straight back onto the
racing line without any consideration for other drivers. Contact wasn't
made but only because the following driver took drastic avoiding action that
effectively caused him to crash.
Blatant Bad Rejoin: Penalty 2 Places
- The rejoining driver drove straight back onto the track, but not the racing
line, without checking for other cars and contact was made.
- The rejoining driver drove straight back onto the track, but not the racing
line, without checking for other cars. Contact wasn't made but only
because the following driver took drastic avoiding action that effectively
caused him to crash.
- The rejoining driver was NOT in full control but nevertheless attempted to
drive straight back onto the racing line without any consideration for other drivers
and contact was made.
- Reversing on-track when other cars are visible in mirrors and contact is made.
Inconsiderate Bad Rejoin: Penalty 1 Place
- The rejoining driver was in full control but nevertheless drove straight
back onto the track without leaving enough room for other cars. Contact
was NOT made but other drivers had to take avoiding action.
- Reversing on-track when other cars are not visible in mirrors and contact is made.
- Reversing on-track when other cars are visible in mirrors, contact is not made but other cars have to take avoiding action.
Incompetent Bad Rejoin: Warning
- The rejoining driver was NOT in full control but drove straight back onto
the track without leaving enough room for other cars. Contact was NOT
made but other drivers had to take avoiding action.
- Reversing on-track when other cars are not visible in mirrors, contact is not made but other cars have to take avoiding action.
Unavoidable Bad Rejoin: Racing Incident
- Only practical place to join is onto the racing line but topography prevents rejoining driver from checking if another car is approaching. Rejoining driver pauses to listen for approaching car. Nothing heard so rejoins promptly but a car appears and contact is made.
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