I have noticed over the past few days, that a majority of drivers think its a good idea to get winnings, by pitting on the last lap on Mandatory pits races.

How do you guys feel about it, do you think it should be allowed, or do you think it should be illegal, with a death sentence on it?

I'm up for death sentence, it not only spoils other drivers races, but it is a very cheap way of boosting up your stats *for those that are stat obsessed* and making you think you earned it, but you know its wrong.

How do you guys feel about it?

Yeah, i agree, not very sporting is it. Think the death sentence is a bit harsh though, maybe just a lifetime ban

Is there a way to set a pitstop window, (and anyone pitting outside of that was disqualified)
Not sure how these things work, but maybe a server admin might be able to shed some light on it ?

It is legal (so to speak) to pit on the last lap of the race but i think it takes away from the spirit of the game. Really all it is is a way of cheating IMO.
Although i have dne it on occasions where ive suddenly realised ive got a manditory pit stop to make

nay

I guess I really dont like it, but next time do it too. Then after a few races the whole field will pit on the last lap. It will look like a nascar caution period. Today I did an experiment similar to this. It was a mandatory pit at SO classic. 10 laps in the FOX. I waited until the restart came up, then I went to the pits. once the race started I pulled out of the garage and stopped in a pit box. 1/2 second later I was free to go and I was only a few seconds behind the leaders. Not sporting, but I wanted to see if it would work.

Only cheaters do it (or forgetful people, but that excuse only works once). I hope that Scawen implements a thing where last lap pitters are disqualified.

Usually pitting removes two absolutely perfect hotlaps from the race, and destroys any ongoing fights for positions. When pitting on the last lap only one lap is lost and no action is lost. Mandatory pits don't add anything to the game anyway, as there is no strategy involved. As a conclusion every action is allowed and should be encouraged to minimize the effects of mendatory pits.
If you don't want to have people pit on the last lap, remove mandatory pits.

Pitting on the last lap is unsporting unless everybody does it. But mandatory pits artificially destroy the race as close fights are destroyed once one of the drivers pit. Every action should be taken to get close fights back on the track.

Vain

Quote from Vain :

Usually pitting removes two absolutely perfect hotlaps from the race, and destroys any ongoing fights for positions. ... Mandatory pits don't add anything to the game anyway, as there is no strategy involved. As a conclusion every action is allowed and should be encouraged to minimize the effects of mendatory pits.
If you don't want to have people pit on the last lap, remove mandatory pits.

Vain

That is is odd logic... but to each their own.

I would say that there should be an option to allow or to not allow pitting on the first and last laps in the server setup. That would take care of the issue.
I think pitting on shorter races can be fun. There are plenty of opportunities to screw up and it is good practice for longer races.

@vain: I don't think that's a valid argument. The people that set mandatory pitstops in their servers don't do it just to make it harder to have a fair race. They want to have to do a pitstop during the race, and when someone comes along and "cheats" the system it spoils the fun for those that want to complete their pitstops in a "fair" way.
If you don't like pitstops drive somewhere that doesn't force you to make them.

I don't like the whole pitstop system either right now btw. Racing series' IRL that force pitstops do it to test the pit-crews, and make the race more of a team effort. Pitstops in LFS are almost invariably a stop-go affair, with no strategic element at all, and if someone has damage the lack of an option to not repair it ruins their race.

The only times i have pitted on the last lap is when i've been 30+ seconds ahead of everyone since lap one or two out of 5 or 10.

But it does make you laugh when the 5 people in front do it and you sail into 1st place and win.

Any race series that has to force pit stops to make it interesting has a problem IMO, real or virtual.

There is a very obvious downside to pitting later in the race that everyone is overlooking...

I always try to pit early in mandatory pit races because the car is less likely to be damaged, and the pit stop is MUCH faster.

A few seconds for a splash of fuel > 20 second stop for damage.

Quote from ajp71 :

Any race series that has to force pit stops to make it interesting has a problem IMO, real or virtual.

+1

I don't understand the logic behind forced pit stops. I shouldn't have to pit unless I need tires, fuel, or repairs.

+1(unless penalty?)

i think Schumacher did it during one race 'cause he got a penalty.

If you pit and someone crosses the line and your in a stop i think that your car is automatically pitted(i mean the setup area).

NO to forced pitstops! Only if you are out of gas or have a popped tire.

Quote from BigDave2967 :

illegal, with a death sentence on it?

preceeded by a long torture...

actually i don't mind about it, if someone is using this dirty trick i will get much more satisfaction when i beat him

There's nothing wrong with pitting on the last lap IMO (its not against the rules ... im not saying i do it though), its a tactical move, you either run heavy with fuel and go easy on the tyres (which costs time) and pit at the end, or run light and push the tires (earlier stop). The main problem is that people put in mandatory pitstops in races which are quite short.

The problem with forced pitstops, is that, if forced on short races, are pointless, since I always make sure I don't need to take on fuel, and it usually takes me ages to warm tyres up anyway, so I don't want cold ones again. So my pitstop is instantly unless I've damaged my car.

So rather pointless, and yes, it means one less lap of action.

Some people like, others don't. A bit like LFS and all the poo games trying to copy it

Personally, I don't like it when people do it, but as long as it is a legal move there is no point in getting your panties in a twist. I'd be in favour of a pit-window option.

Anyone remember a few years back when schumi got black flagged? The rules stated you could do 3 laps I believe it was after getting the flag before you were disqualified. It just so happens that the third lap was the last lap, and schumi's pitbox was across the finish line, so, at the end of the last lap schumi entered the pits, crossing the line before he got to his pit stall and winning the race.

Technically speaking, what he did was perfectly legal, but pissed a lot of people off. Just one more thing to add to his record of bad sportsmanship. (not that he hasn't been a good sport at times aswell, though)

Quote from VALE 46 :

There's nothing wrong with pitting on the last lap IMO (its not against the rules ... im not saying i do it though), its a tactical move, you either run heavy with fuel and go easy on the tyres (which costs time) and pit at the end, or run light and push the tires (earlier stop). The main problem is that people put in mandatory pitstops in races which are quite short.

This discussion isn't on tactics, it's about taking the opportunity to not drive the whole pit lane at 80 and instead cross the finish line.
And my opinion: nay.

If its a 30 lap race, and the people that take a pit stop half way through are doing 1.20 lap times on average ... they would take 40 mins.

If you are fuelled to the end of the race, and have to look after your tyres, your going to be slower. If you are roughly 1 second slower each lap that would take an extra 30 seconds ... do you get a 30 second advantage from pitting on the final lap ... i dont think so


How are these not tactics?

I hate it when ppl pit on the last lap...deffy a NAY from me

Quote from VALE 46 :

If its a 30 lap race, and the people that take a pit stop half way through are doing 1.20 lap times on average ... they would take 40 mins.

If you are fuelled to the end of the race, and have to look after your tyres, your going to be slower. If you are roughly 1 second slower each lap that would take an extra 30 seconds ... do you get a 30 second advantage from pitting on the final lap ... i dont think so


How are these not tactics?

I know what you are saying. The question, though, is whether a pitstop on the last lap, where you do not have to drive through the entire pitlane, should be considered a completed pit-stop at all.

I just cannot see it being acceptable in any real life series, which seems to be why the series' which employ mandatory-stop rules use pit-window systems like those suggested above.

Pitting on last lap, gives you around a 7 second lower overall race time ( at ASnat)than the majority that does pit .

Its not tactics its disrespect to you fellow driver's .. VAST majority of races with pit are 20 laps at most, would you say its then wrong to pit on last lap in 20 lap race, or 10 laps? where is the cutoff point where its ok?

There is no way you can defend pitting on last lap.

Winning is everything, but winning fair and square...priceless.

John

Personally I think the fix for this is easy, Ask the dev's nicely if they can put a pit window option onto race setup - 20 lap race - pit window laps 5 - 15.

This would sort the whole problem out & make it more realistic as this is the usual racing option ( at least down here ) for enforced pitstops during a race.

I'm all in favour of having pitstops in longer races & it adds another dimension to a race.

As for last lap pitting, automatic DQ would be a good answer, It may be legal within the rules at present but not the most sporting option to take.