I completed a qualifying round in a Rookie Ranked server last night, however once the race countdown timer started, my screen went black. I could still see the interior of the car and my gauges, however the world was not rendering. I assume this is an issue with my hardware, and I have made settings changes since (drivers and reduced graphics settings). As such I left the race before the grid was populated. I logged into my account this morning to find that I was slammed with a -12.148 rating and -15.605 reputation hit. I have participated in only a handful of ranked races, wherein I have completed all of them, even after being sent into a barrier by another racer (resulting in a pit repair of >120seconds). I can understand a rating drop for losing positions. I respect that there are algorithms in place to prevent foolish behavior, but having to retire before the lights go out should not result in a lynching by the auto-marshall.
As you are only a few races in your numbers will move up and down quickly. A disconnect for any reason is counted the same. If you leave, get disconnected, or your game crashes it doesn't matter. This is to avoid exploits such as people pulling the cable if they are having a bad race. It is what it is. Your numbers won't be changed retrospectively for any reason.
Do you think that there needs to be a change that maybe lessens the rating beatdown from leaving before the lights go out?
No. The aim is to make sure that players who enter qualifying see it through and race. It's not good for anyone if we allow people to leave with no penalty at this stage as a person who wants to race is left with an empty grid. As I said, in the early stages your numbers move a lot. After you've completed more races this settles down. You have already earned back what you lost. Chalk it down to a bad race and move on.
Fair enough, thanks for taking the time to clear this up. I will continue to keep it between the lines.