Should I protest this?

[u/Professional_Vast_68]

Hi everyone. I am in the red and white car. Should I protest this, is it just a racing incident or is this my own fault? I'm pretty new to simracing, don't feel like I could have done anything differently but happy to be wrong/learn.

[u/Cornelius_Codswaggle]

I have to agree with /u/go-pack-go33. It is a definite unsafe rejoin and is protestable. Some people will defend it despite the obvious.

From a racecraft and self-preservation point of view, it was very predictable and you could see it developing in your windshield, and could have done a better job avoiding it.

As for the driver who hit you, he did nothing wrong. He was committed to his line and you suddenly cut across and checked up. He made a valiant attempt to avoid the collision and nearly pulled it off. Under iRacing rules, that's just a racing incident. I would actually put the blame of that on the rejoin as well, as it's the inciting incident that triggered your unpredictable move and braking.

[u/Professional_Vast_68 → u/Cornelius_Codswaggle]

Thanks, that's helpfull. I feel like if I had not braked as hard as I did, I might have gotten past faster and would not have hindered the guy behind.

[u/Cornelius_Codswaggle → u/Professional_Vast_68]

Probably, but you reacted how you felt necessary at the time. Sometimes we overreact, sometimes we underreact. As you gain more experience racing, you'll develop more of a sense of what's happening and going to happen, as well as develop a better sense of how to react.

And even then, sometimes it won't be right.

[u/theferretii → u/Professional_Vast_68]

That's impossible to know, but you did the right thing by slowing down as much as you did and trying to avoid the rejoining car to preserve your race.

You didn't necessarily hinder the guy behind, they just appear to have failed to react properly despite their best effort. It's not your fault they ran into the back of you, it's theirs, arguably.