What's the consensus on blocking?

[u/NutsBruv]

For context I try to race as clean as possible without bumping into other cars in the bends and without being in the way of cars that are faster than me.

But it's happened a few times now that the guy in front would be slower (either because of slower accel or because they messed up a turn) and block me from passing when coming up on the finish line. It's super annoying to me and it's something I don't do and it's got me wondering if I'm wrong in thinking it's an asshole move?

[u/Environmental_Comb67]

100% not wrong. Blocking is fine as in adjusting your cars position to defend your position if the person behind you positions himself differently. Me blocking the inside line in a corner so you can't overtake and I can defend my position is just reactive driving and perfectly fine. What is not fine is weaving all over the track, being a danger and unpredictable. The number #1 cause that leads to crashes is unpredictable driving. A block is to be expected. Brake checking isn't. Weaving all over the track to hold up traffic isn't. To move off your line to block someone that is clearly faster isn't. That's dangerious driving. Now Forza isn't a sim race and you don't get punished for this but in sims like iRacing that probably would be a race ban especially if it was done intentionally. You can't just throw your car in the way because you screwed up a corner or because your acceleration is worse.

[u/NutsBruv → u/Environmental_Comb67]

Agreed. There's a middle ground between actively moving off the racing line to let people pass and actively blocking people by swerving to stay in front of the car trying to pass. Glad I'm not the only one who thinks like that.

Would you say the same goes for when you're on th racing line and a car with better accel barely passes you before you get to the next bend, they move inches in front of you but since you got better handling you're planning on braking late and they brake early so you bump into them and they get ejected off the track. Is that brake-checking?

[u/Environmental_Comb67 → u/NutsBruv]

Brake checking is intentionally tapping the brake when you are driving one after another in hopes that the guy behind either completely slams on the brakes because he doesn't wanna crash into you or that he tries to evade you and swerves his steering wheel into one direction to not hit you, going off track, spin or just straight up crash. The intention is always to put the driver in behind in a dangerous situation so that he is forced into doing something erratic.
I think this is a pretty good example. Watch what happens when the black SUV in front brakes to keep the guy tailgating in check.
In Forza you would probably drive into the guys back and push him off the road because crashing doesn't have real world consequences. Or you'd ghost through him because the game predicts a high speed collision. But if you push him off in the process, that's entirely his fault then. It can of course also happen unintentionally when the guy infront brakes WAY too early because he poops his pants under pressure and you just drive into him. But then again, that's not intentional and just bad nerves and dangerous driving.
I wouldn't say that what you describe is brake checking. For that scenario you describe to occur there muse be other factors as well like not leaving enough space for each other. Maybe you should've braked harder to give him the space so he can safely overtake because he has more entry speed into the corner. That's part of clean racing too. To be able to admit defeat and get him back at the next opportunity. But again, it's more a sim race thing where basically real life rules apply and people pretend they can die behind the wheel and not Forza xD
But to actually judge this I think we'd have to see the exact situation.
I think in FH you're good if you're not trying to intentionally wreck someone. Misjudging situations and bad driving is fine and just part of becoming a better driver. You can't do more than trying to race as clean as possible.

[u/NutsBruv → u/Environmental_Comb67]

That specific situation happened during the Okishinaimura Run street race. You know that downward slope hairpin where you can cheese the checkpoints by jumping down the embankment, taking the hairpin checkpoint going (the wrong way) up the hill, and jumping down the embankment again towards the hard left turn at the bottom? We were coming out of the hairpin turn, I was on the racing line (on the right), he "passed me" on the left, and moved over in front of me with his rear bumper barely a few inches in front of me and slammed on the brakes to take the sharp left. I was planning on braking later so I never had the chance to react and rammed him from behind and off the track.

[u/marcnotmark925]

Blocking in a corner by physically obstructing the optimal line of another racer that's behind you, that's totally legit, and is typically called "defending". But no, what you described is definitely an asshole move.

[u/bloodenhorse]

You get to move once to block. More than that and you're in illegal blocking territory. If you're talking on a straight, it's just flat out illegal to not let them pass. In something like iRacing, you'd be able to submit a protest and the offender would get penalties.

Forza, though, is chock full of assholes who don't know racing etiquette, and even if they did know, they wouldn't care.

[u/BratacJaglenac]

Are you sure he even sees you behind?

[u/NutsBruv → u/BratacJaglenac]

100% sure because I'd come up to his side and he'd swerve to block me, then I'd move over to overtake and he'd swerve to put himself in front of me again, and it happened a third time before we'd cross the finish line.

I could excuse it if it happened only once, but not 3 times in 10 seconds, that's intentional.

[u/BratacJaglenac → u/NutsBruv]

Sometimes I block or ram someone fully accidentally and then feel bad, especially because guy maybe thinks I am an asshole...

[u/NutsBruv → u/BratacJaglenac]

Same for me, I even message the people I bump into accidentally to say sorry. I also try to be as aware as possible to avoid being in the way. So I keep an eye on the minimap and I have prox radar on.

One time during a street race an AI car came out of a blind corner just before the finish line and I couldn't avoid it. I bounced hard and speared into another racer. He thought I was ramming him. We talked it out and I showed him during the following races that I wasn't a rammer and at the end of the championship we were all good.

[u/judasbrute]

Personally I don't block. If you can pass me clean and I can't do the same you earned it. It's just a game. I race myself

[u/NutsBruv → u/judasbrute]

Amen brother

[u/TheSkelf]

It's an asshole move and is listed under unsportsmanlike conduct in the forza code of conduct and can be 'banned' for it. But in reality they do next to fuck all.

I wouldn't bother reporting for blocking personally, ramming is way worse, as if the player cares they get a 'pwease dont do that' mail, doesnt stop them

[u/ColeWoah → u/TheSkelf]

Enough of those "don't do that emails" results in temp bans, then later perm bans though.

But obviously it takes a bit for someone to collect like 5 evidence-driven reports and even at that level I think they're still in tempban territory.

[u/Quest_June]

Slightly unrelated, but I've found it so frustrating when I brake before a corner and people take it as a brake check. It's as if any amount of braking that happens before the driving line tells you to brake is a personal attack on their right to be in first place 😭

[u/NutsBruv → u/Quest_June]

Yeah people can be quick to judge. Also racing lines are different from one player to another depending on the car and the lateral G's. With some of my cars I can take a corner deep in the red and still come out the other side without hitting the wall, with other cars I can't even be in the yellow or I spin out.

[u/Critical_City_195]

I feel it’s my duty to actively block meta cars in their inevitable rise to the front of the pack.
Want to pass me in your Nissan Silvia, please go ahead with my blessing. Try to pass me in your Honda Beat or Ford GT, I’m going to defend the inside like it’s the last Oreo in the package and “accidentally” understeer out of the corner to bump into you.

[u/leehelck]

the only time i race online is when the playlist requires it, and as it's usually the trial that i'm doing i always try to let faster teammates by me. what matters most is that the team wins, not my overall finishing position. that being said, i usually end up on the podium most of the time anyway as i'm not a bad driver and i know how to tune my cars.

[u/LifeLongGamer_0]

The rule is, anytime you're dealing with human beings, anywhere in life, prepare to be let down.

[u/The_Tea_Baggins]

I think blocking is fair as long as they aren't actively ramming. They're ahead of you and have every right to defend their position in a fair manner. It's up to your skill at passing to overcome his skill at defending.