THSCC Forums

will probably start talking about watches or something.

The responsibility for the decision to pass another car, and to do it safely, rests with the overtaking driver. The overtaken driver should be aware that he/she is being passed and must not impede the pass by blocking. A driver who does not watch his/her mirrors or who appears to be blocking another car seeking a pass may be black-flagged and/or penalized. The act of passing is initiated when the trailing car’s (Car A) front bumper
overlaps with the lead car’s (Car B) rear bumper. The act of passing is complete when Car A’s rear bumper is ahead of Car B’s front bumper.

Punting.
The term “punting” is defined as nose to tail (or side-of-the-nose to side-of-the-tail) contact, where the leading car is significantly knocked off of the racing line. Once the trailing car has its front wheel next to the driver of the other vehicle, it is considered that the trailing car has a right to be there. And, that the leading driver must leave the trailing driver enough “racing room.” In most cases, “racing room” is defined as “at least three quarters of one car width.” If adequate racing room is left for the trailing car, and there is incidental contact made between the cars, the contact will be considered “side-to-side.”

In most cases, incidental side-to-side contact is considered to be “just a racing incident.” If, in the case of side-to-side contact, one of the two cars leaves the racing surface (involuntarily) then it may still be considered “a racing incident.”

Right to the Line
The driver in front has the right to choose any line, so long as not to be considered blocking. The driver attempting to make a pass shall have the right to the line when their front wheel is next to the driver of the other vehicle. Note: This rule may be superseded by class specific rules.

Blocking
A driver may choose to protect his or her line so long as it is not considered blocking.
Blocking is defined as two (2) consecutive line changes to “protect his/her line,” and in doing so, impedes the vehicle that is trying to pass with each of the two (2) consecutive movements. Drivers are encouraged to check with the Race Director for a full explanation before the start of the race.

Example 3
Car B is attempting to pass Car A going into a corner. There is contact between the two cars at point 3 (Track out). Car B does have its front wheel next to the driver of Car A and therefore does have a right to be there. However, Car A does not leave Car B more than enough room to make the pass. In this case, “more than enough room” is defined as “at least ¾ of one car width.” Therefore the fault is placed on Car A.

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Example 5
Car B is attempting to pass Car A going into a left-hand corner with a K wall. There is contact between the two cars at point 3. Car B does have its front wheel next to the driver of Car A and therefore does have a right to be there. However, Car A does not leave Car B more than enough room to make the pass. In this case, “more than enough room” is defined as “at least ¾ of one car width.” However, in this case there is “K-wall’ to the inside of the corner. Therefore the fault is placed on Car A.