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well, i was the guy following the miata. all my attention was on him and getting past him, so i was late in seeing the spinning vette in front of him. as a result i offed in the rhubarb and when all the pieces stopped moving i carried on. our flag guys are quick and sight lines into the corner were good for upcoming traffic.
in the situation where i spun the corner is blind (albeit slow - a chicane) and both cars were justified in using the pass for 'situation avoidance'. i get that.
in the op's case i probably would have done the same thing. and i would have been wrong. i would have thought about it afterwards, discussed it, hopefully learned from it. just like op is doing. kudos.
i got taught to drive as fast as you can afford. if you have the reaction time to follow right up a tailpipe then do it - it's fun. if you don't then don't. situational awareness will give you clues - are you pressuring him by following too close - is he getting loose on turnout or making mistakes? is he not giving immediate pointbys indicating he's a novice (or full or testosterone and idiocy)? braking early? missing lines? are you at the beginning or end of the sprint (ie, what condition are tires and brakes in)?
ultimately, if you want to pass in corners then get a race licence. they'll teach you avoidance maneuvers as well. but think about this: you could have stood on the brakes and slowed in time, but were probably worried about the pack behind you - consequence of a rear-end collision - not the end of the world - street cars are designed for front and rear collision (crumple zones, engineered understeer). however, if he had spun or turned in in front of you - consequences of you t-boning him - potentially fatal. that's why cars that do uncontrolled passing have cages and door bars.
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