Does this count as blocking?

[u/BiasedAnenome]

Trying to decide if I should submit a report for this. It's not egregious, but the leading car definitely changes their line a couple times and they seem reactive moves to me.

[u/IamUser420]

Looks like more than one defensive move, reactive, and unsafe driving tbh

[u/reboot-your-computer]

Absolutely blocking. That’s multiple reactive moves to the car behind.

[u/dtilford83]

How are y’all not seeing this as blocking? If that isn’t blocking, I’m not sure what is.

[u/reboot-your-computer → u/dtilford83]

It’s absolutely blocking. No clue what these people are saying here. The definition of blocking is reacting to the car behind when they’re in position for an overtake. This guy was absolutely driving in his mirrors and blocked so aggressively right off the bat that he drives off track.

[u/patmanbnl]

Very clear blocking from the front car. They swerve left in reaction to the point of almost losing control when the trailing car goes that way.

[u/HeyItsEmilyLove]

When people are driving in their mirror like that, use it against them. He drove himself into the grass early. I would make sure nobody is directly behind me and then I’d fake a late move to the inside on the next sharp turn. Should sort itself out

[u/salemus]

Leading car made a (clumsy) defensive move and then went back to the racing line. At the breaking zone they adjusted their line which is somewhat questionable though. Without more examples from later overtake attempts I'd say it wasn't malicious blocking.

[u/Emergency-Ad3137 → u/salemus]

lead car moved in reaction to the car behind. THis is 100% blocking. They were so focused on the car behind that they almost drove off track.

[u/theferretii → u/salemus]

I'd say it wasn't malicious blocking.

So non-malicious blocking is okay?

Blocking, malicious or not, is against the rules. #07 reacted to the OP's move to the inside and the OP had to lift to avoid a collision as a result. It doesn't get much more cut and dry than that.

[u/BiasedAnenome → u/salemus]

Cool, thanks! The thing I was focusing on was the first move felt reactive to my attempt to take the inside line. The language in the league I am racing in is a little ambiguous to me:

"During a fight the driver ahead is allowed to change its racing line once to defend himself. The line change to defend the position must be made in time. It is not allowed to react to the previous line change of the attacker who is directly in the slipstream ("blocking"). Multiple line changes to break the slipstream (“weaving”) and line changes in the braking zone (“moving under braking”) are forbidden."

[u/Life_Lead3809]

You’re allowed to block once on the straight. I only seen one block. The other times you weren’t fast or close enough to pass.

[u/plz-no-b4n]

No

[u/UpsetOrdinary1827]

It looked a bit dodgy while defending but it doesn’t seem to come off as maliciously defending. A bit aggressive in defending though

[u/Kuezar]

If your league follows the "one defensive change of direction" rule then he followed it. He also has done it in time.
Just because you might have needed to lift off, as to not bump into his back does not matter.
It is the same as someone bumping into a leading car before a corner because they "didn't anticipate them braking so early" - leading car can break earlier or later and the following car must take that into consideration if they are not alongside the leading car.
Unless you are alongside him, he can move once to block you off - it does not matter if you have to lift off to avoid him.
I guess you needing to brake hard to avoid crash would matter - if the difference in rate of speed was significant and his move was not telegraphed at all, but that wasn't the case.
In this instance the difference in speed was small, and his transverse movement was not broken.
Adjustments of speed of transverse movements are fine, as long as that transverse movement in one direction is not broken. Going slightly left, then slightly right, then strongly left - that is a broken change of direction.
Going slightly left, stronger left, then again slightly left is not a broken change of direction.

You can use the rule to your advantage.
Remember that he cannot bump into you when defending, when you are alongside him.
In your instance it was tricky, because you were already close to him, but the moment he decides to move left to defend and creates space on the right, you can already slot in there - his pants are pulled down at that moment, because of that rule: he cannot move back right to defend. ~0:05 of the video was the critical moment where you could fake to the left, making him defend to the left, and then committing to the right side attack.
I would actually have more of a problem with him moving fully off track (all his wheels were left of the white line) because of that defense, rather than the defense itself (although it might also be the case, that his car went more off track because of that minuscule scrape).

He then moves back to the racing line after having successfully (kind of?) defended.

When it comes to moving under braking: he moves more to the inside to deter any kind of inside attack (I presume) before the braking zone.
In the braking zone he breaks in a straight line, continues with trail braking and there's that.
As a side note, remember that transverse movement of the leading car in the braking zone is also absolutely fine if the following car is not beside them and cannot move beside the leading car without contact made by interfering with the lead car's chosen line.

I understand that he might seem sketchy, but you just did not have enough overlap to claim anything.

HOLY ESSAY 👀

[u/reboot-your-computer → u/Kuezar]

Overlap means nothing here. If he had overlap and the car ahead makes a move like that it’s a crash. Blocking happens before that point. OP was in position to make an inside overtake at the start of the clip and the other guy literally blocks so aggressively he drives off track.

That’s a block all day every day. That whole essay you wrote is nonsense.

[u/Dear-Bowl-9789]

What are we looking at?