At CRGRT, pace matters — but driving standards matter just as much.
We want close racing. We want drivers fighting for positions, attempting overtakes and defending under pressure. We don’t expect everybody to drive cautiously simply because another CRGRT member is nearby.
But aggressive racing must remain fair, controlled and respectful.
These standards apply whenever members represent CRGRT on track, with particularly high expectations placed upon drivers competing as part of CRGRT Esports.
Our philosophy is simple:
Race hard. Race clean. Leave room. Take responsibility.
1. The Fundamental Rule: Race Fairly
Every CRGRT driver is expected to make a reasonable effort to race fairly.
Motorsport involves risk. Contact occasionally happens. Drivers misjudge braking points, lose control and make incorrect decisions.
An accident is not automatically dirty driving.
What matters is the difference between a genuine mistake and behaviour that demonstrates recklessness, retaliation or deliberate intent.
We will always encourage competitive racing.
We will never encourage deliberately ruining somebody else’s race.
2. Overtaking
The attacking driver is responsible for attempting an overtake that has a reasonable chance of succeeding safely.
Simply reaching another driver’s rear bumper does not automatically create an entitlement to the corner.
When overtaking:
- Establish meaningful overlap before committing to a move.
- Maintain reasonable control of your car.
- Avoid desperate lunges from unrealistic distances.
- Respect the other driver’s racing line when appropriate.
- Once substantially alongside, expect both cars to leave reasonable racing room.
- Don’t use another car as a brake.
- Don’t deliberately push another driver off the circuit after completing the move.
A great overtake requires commitment.
A divebomb that only works because the other driver abandons the circuit to avoid being hit isn’t necessarily a great overtake.
3. Defending
Drivers are absolutely allowed to defend their position.
You are racing.
You don’t have to politely move aside because somebody behind you happens to be faster.
However, defending must remain predictable.
Drivers should avoid dangerous late movements, deliberate contact or repeatedly changing direction simply to prevent another car from passing.
Once another car has established significant overlap, both drivers should recognise that they’re now sharing the corner.
Defend the position — don’t defend it at any cost.
4. Racing Room
When two cars are legitimately alongside each other, both drivers should make a reasonable effort to provide racing room.
That doesn’t mean giving your opponent half the circuit unnecessarily.
It means recognising when another car has earned the right to be there.
Side-by-side racing is one of the best parts of sim racing.
CRGRT drivers should be capable of doing it without treating the other car as something that needs to be removed from the track.
5. Divebombs
Not every late-braking overtake is a divebomb.
A driver who brakes significantly later but remains under control, establishes overlap and makes the corner can execute a perfectly legitimate late-braking move.
The problem occurs when the attacking driver arrives from an unrealistic distance with no reasonable ability to make the corner without contact or forcing the other driver to take emergency avoiding action.
Ask yourself:
Would I still have made that corner if the other car hadn’t moved?
If the answer is no, the move probably wasn’t on.
6. Contact
CRGRT does not pretend that all contact can be eliminated.
Close racing sometimes produces contact.
Minor door-to-door contact is very different from deliberately driving through another car.
When contact occurs, drivers should consider:
- Who had established track position?
- Was reasonable racing room available?
- Was either driver out of control?
- Could the collision reasonably have been avoided?
- Did latency contribute?
- Was the contact deliberate?
- Did one driver gain a significant advantage?
Context matters.
7. Giving a Position Back
If you clearly gain a position by causing avoidable contact, giving the position back is strongly encouraged.
Waiting a few seconds can sometimes resolve an incident far more effectively than twenty angry messages after the race.
It also demonstrates sportsmanship.
This doesn’t mean drivers must automatically surrender a position every time two cars touch.
Use judgement.
If you know you got the position because you knocked somebody out of the way, do the right thing.
8. Rejoining the Circuit
Unsafe rejoins are one of the easiest ways to turn one driver’s mistake into several drivers’ problem.
If you spin or leave the circuit:
The cars already on the track have priority.
Before rejoining:
- Check approaching traffic.
- Rejoin predictably.
- Avoid immediately crossing the racing line.
- Don’t reverse blindly onto the circuit.
- Don’t accelerate directly into the path of another car.
Losing several seconds waiting for a safe gap is frustrating.
Causing a multi-car accident because you refused to wait is considerably worse.
9. Yellow Flags and Incidents Ahead
When approaching an accident, drivers should be prepared for cars to be stopped, moving slowly or rejoining unexpectedly.
Winning two seconds because you went flat-out through an obvious accident isn’t worth destroying several cars.
Use situational awareness.
Sometimes the fastest decision over the course of an entire race is temporarily slowing down.
10. Brake Checking
Deliberately braking unexpectedly for the purpose of causing the following driver to collide with you is prohibited.
Normal defensive braking is obviously permitted.
Drivers are allowed to brake early, alter their braking point or take defensive lines.
The distinction is intent.
Using the brake pedal as retaliation is not racing.
11. Deliberate Wrecking
CRGRT has zero interest in deliberate wrecking.
This includes intentionally:
- Ramming another driver
- Turning into another car to cause an accident
- Waiting for somebody in order to wreck them
- Retaliating for an earlier incident
- Brake-checking another driver
- Forcing somebody into a barrier
- Rejoining specifically to cause a collision
There is an enormous difference between making an aggressive mistake and deliberately crashing into somebody.
Deliberate wrecking can result in immediate disciplinary action or removal from CRGRT, depending on the circumstances.
12. Retaliation
Somebody hitting you does not give you permission to hit them back.
Even if you are completely convinced the original incident was deliberate, retaliation usually makes the situation worse.
Finish the race where possible.
Save the replay.
Report the incident afterwards.
Don’t become the second person breaking the rules.
13. Blocking and Moving Under Braking
Drivers should not make dangerous reactive movements after committing to the braking zone.
A defending driver may choose a defensive line before braking.
What we don’t want is somebody waiting for the attacking driver to commit and then suddenly moving across their path at the last possible moment.
At high speeds, predictability is essential.
14. Track Limits
Where a game or competition has established track-limit rules, CRGRT drivers are expected to respect them.
Occasionally exceeding track limits by mistake is completely different from deliberately exploiting areas outside the circuit to gain repeated advantages.
When competing in organised CRGRT events, any event-specific track-limit rules take priority.
15. Qualifying Etiquette
Qualifying requires cooperation as well as speed.
Drivers on preparation laps should make reasonable efforts not to interfere with cars completing competitive laps.
Likewise, a driver on a flying lap does not gain ownership of the entire circuit.
Be aware of traffic.
Create gaps where possible.
Don’t deliberately ruin another driver’s qualifying lap.
16. Blue Flags and Lapped Cars
Lapped drivers should remain predictable.
Do not suddenly disappear from the racing line without warning if doing so creates more danger than simply maintaining your line.
Faster drivers also have responsibilities.
Being a lap ahead does not grant permission to drive through another car.
Both drivers should cooperate to make the situation as safe and efficient as possible.
17. Teammates Are Allowed to Race
CRGRT teammates are allowed to race each other.
We don’t want drivers automatically surrendering positions simply because another CRGRT car appears in their mirrors.
If two teammates are fighting for position:
Race.
But remember that taking yourself and your teammate out of the race is generally a fairly terrible outcome.
Give each other room and recognise when the potential reward isn’t worth the risk.
18. Mistakes Are Allowed
This is one of our most important rules.
You are allowed to make mistakes.
You can miss a braking point.
You can spin.
You can accidentally hit somebody.
You can completely misjudge an overtake.
Even highly experienced drivers make errors.
CRGRT does not judge driving standards based on the impossible expectation that nobody should ever make contact.
What matters is how you respond.
Recognise the mistake.
Apologise where appropriate.
Learn from it.
And try not to repeat it.
19. Aggressive Driving Is Not Dirty Driving
CRGRT does not want to eliminate aggression from racing.
A driver can brake late, defend firmly, position their car aggressively and put enormous pressure on an opponent while still racing cleanly.
Controlled aggression is a skill.
The difference is whether you remain in control and respect the presence of other cars.
Fast and aggressive? Absolutely.
Reckless and destructive? No.
20. Esports Drivers
CRGRT Esports drivers are expected to demonstrate particularly strong driving standards.
Our esports drivers represent the competitive side of CRGRT and should demonstrate that outright pace and clean racecraft can coexist.
An A or A+ Driver Rating doesn’t place somebody above these rules.
If anything, greater ability brings greater expectations.
Esports drivers should demonstrate:
- Excellent situational awareness
- Predictable racing behaviour
- Controlled aggression
- Strong car control
- Respectful overtaking
- Intelligent defending
- Safe rejoins
- Good judgement under pressure
- Responsibility after mistakes
Being extremely fast isn’t enough if nobody can safely race beside you.
21. Incident Review
Where a serious incident is reported, CRGRT may review available replays, footage and other relevant information.
We look at the whole incident, not simply who ended up in the barrier.
Intent, positioning, overlap, car control and surrounding circumstances can all matter.
Where rules have been broken, action may be taken under the CRGRT community disciplinary process.
22. The CRGRT Standard
We want CRGRT drivers to have a reputation for being people you can race hard.
Not drivers everybody is afraid to approach.
Not drivers who disappear the moment another car gets alongside.
Drivers you can battle through several corners, centimetres apart, while trusting that both people are trying to keep the cars on the circuit.
That’s good racing.
That’s what we want to encourage.
Be aggressive when the opportunity exists.
Be patient when it doesn’t.
Take responsibility when you get something wrong.
And remember that the person in the other car is trying to enjoy their race too.
Race hard. Race fair. Race with respect.
That’s the CRGRT driving standard.
