The Pits Touring Car Championship Rules
Contents:
Registration
Email the mailing list with your name, email address, online name, car number (check the drivers page to see if your number is taken), car make and model, team name, and where you live. League signups may close if a certain number of racers join, spots will not open up then until another driver leaves. Car numbers are first come, first serve, and drivers who submit cars with identical numbers will have to change to a new one, please check the driver page first. Drivers MUST belong to the TPTCC mailing list as all official mailings about races will come through there.
If league registration does close, drivers will have a responsibility to insure that they make races. If a driver does not make 3 consecutive race weekends (without contact with the league administrator) then they will be dropped from the roster to make room for other drivers who may want to join.
2. Race Formats, Times and Driver Responsibilites
1) Race formats
Races will be one of the following formats: sprint, touring, or endurance. If the race is a sprint race, there will be two races on the date, with each racing being rather short and no pitstops. A touring race will feature about 45 minutes to one hour of racing with one pitstop. An endurance race will be several hours of racing, with multiple pitstops and driver swaps.
2) Championship, Team & Manufacturers Points
Points will be scored as follows: Race winner of touring races, 60 points, then each driver behind will get -4 points until place 5. Following the 5th place driver, points decrement by 2. (60, 56, 52, 48, 44, 42, 40, 38...). Race winner of sprint races, 30 points, with 2 point decrements between the top 5 drivers. From 5th place on back, points decrement by 1. (30, 28, 26, 24, 22, 21, 20, 19...) Pole position for race start, 1 point. The endurance races will have DOUBLE the points of a touring race. (120, 112, 104, 96, 88, 84, 80, 76...). All drivers may drop ONE race result from their season, either two sprints or one regular race. If two sprints are dropped, they must be from the same weekend.
Manufacturers points run as follows. The winning car recieves 3 points, the 2nd place car recieves 2. The rest of the cars placing *in the top 5* all recieve one point.
Team points run as follows. Teams recieve 2 points for any team driver who wins a race, as well as one point for every driver in the top 5 (the race winner would gain 3 points for the team). Teams also get a point if a team driver takes the pole. There is a maximum team limit to 3 cars per team, however, and only the *top 2* finishers per team get any team points.
3) Qualifying
Qualifying position is based on the best time out of 3 laps. The 3 laps are consecutive. Due to the somewhat restrictive nature of some of the online racing software, however, it may not always be possible to get 3 laps of qualifying, so don't always count on it.
4) Driver/Race Meetings
Driver meetings will be published on the website and sent out via the TPTCC Yahoo Groups list. All active drivers MUST subscribe to the list, however, the format by which they subscribe is up to them (emails, read online, journal). All important information, including race meetings, will be marked with "TPTCC Official" in the subject header of the email. All races will be passworded, so do not forget it. Drivers CANNOT invite 'guest' drivers into TPTCC races, and passwords cannot be given to non-TPTCC drivers. If a driver would like to invite another driver to a TPTCC race, they can contact the league administrator so that the administrator can insure that the guest driver is properly aware of the rules and conduct of TPTCC online racing.
5) Race & track familiararity
Drivers MUST be aware of the race format and the track before competition. It is imperative that drivers practice for each meet before racing online. TPTCC subscribes to the idea that sim racing is not a spectator sport, and therefore is for the enjoyment of the drivers...and for that to happen, a driver's knowledge of a track MUST be good. Driver should NEVER go onto a track that they have not practiced for, as their likelyhood for an ontrack incident increases dramatically if they are on the grid and have barely turned a few laps.
6) Scheduling and Connections
Online racing can at times be a pain. TPTCC will attempt to schedule all races to fit into a time period that is good for all drivers. However, dropped connections are sure to happen. Since N2003 allows drivers to re-enter the race, unfortunately drivers will have to deal with it when it happens and take the penalty (of being several laps down). If there is a constant bad connection that is causing havoc with most or all of the race drivers, the race may be rescheduled.
1) Racing Lines
Drivers are required to keep at least 2 wheels on the race track at all times. Cutting through the grass or completely over curbs where all four tires leave the track will result in a 20 second penalty per incident if it is deemed that the driver was abusing the rule. Consistent abuse may result in a disqualification and no scoring for that race. The administration realizes that accidents and mistakes can happen, however, blatent or consistent breaking of this rule will result in a penalty. Drivers who overshoot a corner must NOT gain positions on drivers who properly made the corner, and must slow and wait to pull behind any cars that they may have passed while off the racetrack. See "Pitting" for more information.
2) Race Chat
Autochat functions (F1-F8 keys) and regular chat should be used extensively when needed to signal moves in or out of the pits, or if a car is damaged or having other problems. However, drivers should not use chat for anything other than those functions when qualifying or a race is in progress, as doing so can cause the other drivers to get distracted. If drivers wish or want to conduct a more extensive conversation, they should utilize the /whisper function.
3) Driver Conduct
Drivers need to insure their conduct on the track is beyond reproach. Intentional hitting of other drivers will not be tolerated, and will result in immediate disqualification from that round. By the same token, 'questionable' incidents will result in a 'strike' against a driver. (see probation below). Drivers should operate as if they were driving a real race car, and had money invested as well as other driver's lives to think about when considering an action. Cursing and/or insulting other drivers or administrators, no matter WHAT the circumstances, will not be tolerated and will result in severe penalties.
Race cars that are damaged or laps down do NOT have to give way to lead cars if they are racing for position, or attempting to stay on the LEAD lap. However, cars that are damaged or more than one lap down should allow leaders to get past as quickly and safely as possible, and should NEVER purposely block a leader. By the same token, leaders should NEVER punt a lap car because they were 'in the way'.
Drivers need to be aware that on track incidents should NOT immediately be protested. Drivers should first talk to the other driver (on email), as well as have both of them view replays from both of their perspectives. Many times conflicts can be resolved when drivers see that what they *thought* happened, really didn't.
Drivers who wish to file an 'official' protest as a result of an incident on track MUST have a replay available as evidence. Be aware that replays, by the same token, will not be considered 'concrete' evidence due to warps...but that it needs to be present for administrators to at least gain some insight as to what may have happened. Drivers should also submit testimoney from other drivers who may have witnessed the incident.
Last but not least...while mistakes can and will happen, and bumps and taps, blatant stupidity can and will be penalized. Example: Car33 starts in 33rd position at Cleveland (which is a track famous for this maneuver). Coming up to the very sharp turn 1, and seeing cars fan out 5 wide ahead, car33 decides to pull the 'Hail Mary' pass down the inside and grab about 10 positions. Unfortunately, car33 realizes upon coming up to the braking area that he will be using his brakes (and a few vehicles) to stop his now ballistic race car...and takes out about 8 cars who DID manage to slow his vehicle down. This is an example of 'blatant' stupidity that WILL result in a penalty. Complete loss of brain functions do not constitute a simple mistake.
4) Starts & Restarts
The leader of the race must maintain the speed of the pace car UNTIL he takes the green flag (and not when the pace car leaves the track). At no time should any drivers attempt to 'brake check' or get 'flying starts' on other drivers. All cars must maintain the pace speed until the green flag, and used consistent spacing, no holding back to attempt to get a run on the car in front. Cars may NOT pass to the inside of the car ahead of them until after the start/finish line. IF a car ahead suddenly does not come up to a 'reasonable' speed, a driver can pass to the inside to avoid a collision.
DO NOT weave back and forth on pacing laps! It does absolutely nothing to heat up your tires or scrub off debris, but is more likely to cause drivers to make contact with the car next to them, and WILL result in penalties.
5) Pitting
Cars should take extra care when pitting or exiting pits. Always signal your intentions to enter the pits via the autochat messages. Do NOT wait until the last minute to signal cars behind you...let them know with enough time that they are not forced to make severe maneuvers to avoid your car. When exiting the pits, also use autochat messages to warn other drivers about your entry back into the racing line. Insure that *if* there is any 'merge' area coming out of the pits, that you use the full merge area (below any racing line) until you are back up to speed and can enter the racing line safely. Due to the fact that many road courses have strange and unique entry/exit areas to the pits, there is going to be only one rule concerning this (besides "use caution and signal"): IF there is a line dividing the racecourse from pit entry or exit, cars should NOT cross that line to exit onto the track, likewise cars on the racing line should never cross the line entering into pit lane or while racing. Exceptions to this rule will be noted in the driver's meeting. Crossing the line will incur a 20 second penalty per incident.
6) Safety car & Yellow flags
Because NASCAR Racing does not call local yellows and this league does not use yellow flags when racing on road courses, the race offcial has the OPTION of throwing a yellow flag if conditions on track warrant it. Note that it is the option of the race official, and that in most cases they will not do so. If the race official does call "full course yellow", there will be NO racing back to the yellow flag, and the leader will slow as soon as they cross the start/finish line. The leader should bring the field around at a steady pace of 50-70 mph or so (during yellow) until the signal for a green flag is given. After the track is sufficiently clean, and damaged cars get a chance to pit, the race official will then call 'green' and the race leader can accellerate on crossing the S/F line, not before. Lap cars MAY attempt to get a lap back coming to the yellow flag if they are in sight of the leader, and can safely make a move without endangering other cars.
If several cars have a collision behind the race official (3 cars or more) and are unable to safely make it back to the pits (wheel damage), one of the drivers should call out to the race official the number of cars as well as what corner. There MUST be 3 cars or more, and there MUST be wheel damage involved. If a driver does get wheel damage in an on/off-track excursion, and is having trouble making it back to the pits, they should call out "car #(whatever) is slow with wheel damage" before getting back on the racing surface, and should do everything possible to stay out of the racing line. Cars may NOT race back to a yellow flag, but lap cars may attempt to get laps back, as long as they are in sight of the leader, and can do it safely.
7) Other items
Cars should always have the spotter turned on in some form or fashion to give them the best information available.
There is a limited amount of time from the point that the race "opens" and drivers may enter the track. If a player does not enter the race in time and is unable to select the "drive" button, the player should IMMEDIATELY open the chat window and inform the race administrator. The race administrator can then restart the race with the click of the "race" button. If the driver fails to do so before the green flag flies, the race will not be restarted.
4. League Administration, Protests & Penalties
1) Officials and Driver's Panel
A panel of 3 chosen drivers and a league administrator will form a committee that will rule on all protests, incidents, rule violations, and questions relating to race finishes, ect. The committee's decisions are final. There are 2 types of officials that form the TPTCC administration body, a race official, and a league official. Race officials will be the host and TPTCC official for the race. Drivers should follow all instructions from race officials while at a race meet. Race officials should automatically save race standings, whether they are actually conducting the race or not, to insure that there are several copies of race standings in case one race official does has a problem.
2) Probation
Strikes are a form of probation for drivers for incidents on track. A strike is carried over for the next 2 race meets and then dropped from the driver's tally. If a driver receives a total of three 'strikes' during the course of a season, it will result in suspension for the next race meet. Continued strikes after a suspension could result in dismissal. Be aware, drivers who manage to not recieve a suspension, but have a total of 5 strikes in a season could result in suspension for 2 races.
Example: Driver 1 recieves a strike on race 1. At the next 2 race meets, he recieves no strikes. At race meet 4, Driver 1 now is back to NO strikes. Example 2: Driver 1 recieves a strike on race 1. At race 2, he recieves no strikes, but at the following race meet he recieves 2 strikes. He now has a total of 3 strikes, and will be suspended from racing in race meet 4.