"I had a driver that i passed fair and square going into the boot and he then proceeded to stay on the outside all the way round trying to force me into the inside kerb area, eventually exiting the boot just before the last corner he managed to succeed in lifting my kart up and throwing me straight into the tyres.. Now any good driver knows if your on the outside going round a corner that is 9/10 not going to work but not this driver"
This passage highlights what may be part of the problem.
One: If you passed him fair and square how come he remained outside you all the way round the corner? It would seem that at best you only got alongside of him, not past him.
Two: Was he trying to force you into the gravel on the inside of the corner? The rule book states that all he has to do is give you room to drive, not room to drive as fast as you like. You aren't allowed to push him off on the outside and he isn't allowed to push you into the inside either.
Three: It appears that you stayed side by side through several corners. Clearly this driver was aware that he could drive round the outside and stay alongside you. This makes me suspect that the excursion into the tyres might have been as much you trying to close him down and coming off worst as it was him trying to do it to you.
Four: Your outrage suggests that you haven't appreciated what the rule book says. I agree its a wooly area, and at the last meeting at Clay there was a new driver who created a situation by trying to 'take a driver to the kerbs and force him to brake' and then blamed the other driver for staying on the track! Once he said 'so I gave him a few whacks and then he started driving in to me' one knew there was a classic cornering incident in the making.
I think that the majority of first corner incidents are down to mistake rather than intent. A driver goes into the corner too fast and becomes unstable under braking and a following driver doing the same thing touches the kart and causes the multiple wipeout effect.
It seems to get worse in 'visitor' grids where one doesn't know the potential of another driver and doesn't make allowances for 'normal' errors. Since visitors are often drivers intending to drive that circuit for a national event later, they often feel, and maybe are, superior to 'clubby' drivers. Additionally, if you are used to racing in a 'bump and bang' formula where drivers can survive the odd nudge, you may not get the same result in clubby racing. I know that I will follow a known, seeded driver much more closely than , say, a novice.
There are some drivers who are so worked up about championships, even club championships, that they are determined to win no matter the cost. They often appear in visitor races.
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