Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Taylor
I thought the general rule in sportscar racing was that blue flags are advisory that there is a faster car behind, but it is up to the car behind to actually make the pass.
Dangerous blocking on the other hand (if this is what actually happened) should be clamped down upon whether it's for position or lapping traffic.
|
I was about to answear that Blue flag is a categoric invitation to let the faster car pass, but a quick check on the official sources left me puzzled. Indeed, the
Le Mans Sporting Regulations pdf does not even contain the words "blue flag"
(that, or I am a crappy reader, and a poor user of the CTRL+F function...)
Only place to display info about flags on the
lemans-series.com website is
here, and surprisingly the only description to Blue Flag is: "A faster competitor is about to overtake."
So indeed it seems the Blue Flag waiving is just informative for the slower driver, but does not imply a mandatory pass of the faster car...
Anyway I'm not for the hard blue flag rule ala F1, because in sportscar a laped car must have the right to unlap itself if it's faster, but obviously no one is pleased by the blockings like the ones from Pugs at 2010 Zhuhai and 2011 LM, and Audi's 2011 Sebring etc...
My feeling is that the lack of rules forbiding blocking is a sensible choice for Sportscar racing, but somehow ACO should find a way to prevent abuse from competitors.
(ie clarifying the limits of the line between defensive driving and dangerous blocking.)