How to deal with cheaters?

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by smg1138

Either way though, running slicks as a "Novice" seems like a pretty sandbagger move to me.

erm... not all


if he was in a class that allowed rcomps, then he was in his full right to run rcomps

now, if you were in the same class but didn't run rcomps, then that's on you for not running to the prep level allowed.


"novice" championships are run outside of the standard rules, and they are determined by the club organizing that particular series.

In our case, we simply lump anyone who is a novice into a separate group for year end points calculation.


So if John Doe came in 15th overall for Event #1, but was the fastest novice, then in his individual novice standing he would get 100 points for event #1... simple as that.


what class they are in is irrelevant, because pax already exists to handle that variable

so he was only "cheating" if he was in a street tire class but running rcomps or if your series novice rules forbid the use of rcomps, in which case, if you really care, you can email the organizers and let them know that the other person was not following the rules and let them make a decision on how to proceed.

[Wepeel]

What region, and is there a link to results? That might help explain it.

[smg1138]

The matter has been settled with my SCCA regional rep. I was given some bad information from the start which caused some confusion. I really didn't want to make a big deal about it. Just wanted to make sure everything was on the up and up. Thanks for all the feedback.

[TrqlessWonder]

FWIW, most regions expect self-policing. In a friendly manner if at all possible (sometimes it's REAL difficult, and sometimes they're consciously cheating, but most of the time they're just as unaware of the rules as you).

"Hey man, fast car! I'm still kinda new at this, so maybe I don't understand something, but I thought those tires weren't allowed in this class?"

vs

"Hey, no fair, you can't have those! I'm filing a protest!!"

One of those makes you a friend. The other makes you an enemy, or at least drives them away. If you're really unsure of how to approach, find a local pro/organizer for how to address it amicably. I think you'll find that they won't even have protest paperwork and/or be willing to hear one. It's a local. Have fun, accumulate seat time, and then start beating others without needing to worry about such things.

[TrqlessWonder]

Originally Posted by Blue Gt

My son is running the FR-S locally in the Novice class this year, his 1st year Autocrossing. Locally people don't cheat in Novice. They just show up in a modified Miata, a track prepped Evo or a new Alfa 4C. He is driving a butter knife against a Desert Eagle 50 cal. every week. Should I tell him adversity builds character? Just my 2 cents, DP.

No. You should make sure he asks for instructor help, early and often, particularly including instructor runs. If he hasn't done so already, it will be an eye-opening experience. A butter knife can be quite dangerous in the right hands.

[Blue Gt]

Thanks Mike, I agree he just needs some good instruction and more seat time. DP

[ChrisV]

Protesting novice class: silly season has officially started.

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[solort]

Originally Posted by smg1138

I went to an AutoX event yesterday in my region and finished 3rd in Novice Class. After the event was over I discovered that the driver who took 1st was using racing slicks. The last time I checked, only street tires are allowed in Novice. This isn't meant to sound like sour grapes, but it just doesn't seem fair to everyone else who actually followed the rules. What's the best way to deal with situations like this? Should I report it to somebody at SCCA? I've never been one to report people for infractions, but this just seems totally blatant.

If you ran in TN SCCA, the novice that won was an ESP Mustang and probably on Dot radials like Hoosiers which look like slicks but legal for ESP which their PAX is based for novice. So that would make the tires legal. But he has to run a much faster raw time than you to beat you in PAX. But 3rd of 20 in Novice is excellent. Come to Al SCCA and run at our large new site. Should have a National Tour there next year. Come look me up.

Clay

[RedBRZ80]

Not really any "rules" for novice normally. And honestly novice is just a catch all for first timers. You should be worried about driving better etc. not worried about what parts are on other cars in novice.

[cjd]

Originally Posted by RedBRZ80

Not really any "rules" for novice normally. And honestly novice is just a catch all for first timers. You should be worried about driving better etc. not worried about what parts are on other cars in novice.

There are definitely rules some clubs. It's an indexed class with a pretty sweet prize in Milwaukee, so the rules apply.

C

[ultra]

Welcome to competitive motorsports.

My advice would be to sit down, have a cup of tea and ask yourself why you're running.

If you're doing it for fun it's best to just let it slide - forget what other people are doing, what the organizers are doing, how the classification system works and focus exclusively on enjoying yourself and improving your own times, with anything beyond that (trophies and whatnot) as merely being a bonus.

If you're in it for trophies or championship wins then prepare to study the rules and spend whatever it takes to max out your car's specs to the allowable class limits, because that's exactly what everybody else will be doing.

Once you get competitive motorsports is often unfair, political and very expensive precisely because of the nature of the beast - absolutely everybody will be trying to game the system in every way possible, right up to the limits of the rules and sometimes beyond, order to get ahead.

Since you're running in a beginner class I suggest letting it all slide and start training yourself to focus on what kind of enjoyment and personal development you're getting out of it. You'll enjoy it much more that way.

[justinco]

Originally Posted by mrk1

...
I agree with Dave, I thought autox was just for fun and some seat time. When people take it so seriously it just seems silly.

You don't know much about autocross...

[renfield90]

SMH...it's like some of you were never noobs or something. Healthy, passionate competition in novice categories is good for the future of the sport. If there are rules about what you can and can't do in novice they should be followed, not laughed at.

Once upon a time, you sucked too. Don't forget that.

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

I don't even think there was a single protest at Canadian Nationals this year. Event's are much smaller in Canada and everyone seems to class themselves correctly and ask for help if they are new. Lucky we weighed our car before running as I had to add water and tool box ballast to meet minimum weight for my class.