Table of Contents:
5. Qualifying Session Regulations
1. The Championship
1.1) The game platform for the league is rFactor 2.
1.2) New rFactor 2 builds are installed the day after the first Grand Prix after the build is released, never before. In case there are back-to-back races, the new build is installed after the second race. For example, the race is on Thursday and a new rFactor 2 build is released on Monday before the race, this new build will be installed on Friday after the race. Prior to installing a new build, always check the forum for special announcements from the management regarding new rFactor 2 builds.
1.3) The league's official mod is is based on F1RHS2014 by RaceSimHome using F1RFT_2013 tires.
1.4) Mod updates are not allowed once the season has officially started.
1.5) All drivers use the same physics files.
1.6) The races are held on Thursdays starting with Qualifying at 9:30PM Eastern US time.
1.7) Drivers missing 2 consecutive Grand Prix without any justification and/or is not approved to race due to not meeting the minimum requirements will have their seats revoked.
1.8) Drivers must confirm their participation in an event by the time of the Official Practice (Tuesday nights) at the latest by registering on the event's page (see Calendar). Registering for an event and not showing up will impact the driver's reputation and could eventually be removed from a team to give opportunity to a more committed driver. Drivers can always un-register from an event, if so, please inform the management promptly.
2. Racing Format
2.1) The race format is as follows:
- On Tuesdays before the Grand Prix:
- Official Practice: 90 minutes Tuesdays starting at 9:30PM ET.
- The day of the Grand Prix (Thursdays):
- Last Free Practice: 30 minutes starting at 9:00PM ET.
- Qualifying: 15 minutes starting at 9:30PM ET.
- Warm-up: 8 minutes starting at 9:47PM ET.
- Race: published number of laps starting at 9:55PM ET.
2.2) Practices are not mandatory, however, there's a minimum of 25 timed laps be set on the server in order to be accepted to race the given Grand Prix. See rule 4.6 for more details.
2.3) On race day, drivers are required to be in the server before Qualifying. During this session, the server is open; any driver can enter and record timed laps if the remaining session time is sufficient to do so. It is strictly prohibited to chat during Qualifying. The use of the chat is allowed after one of the league directors says so.
2.4) The term "Parc Ferme" is defined as the car's setup condition during Qualifying. After a driver sets a lap time, the car's setup is locked completely and said to be in "Parc Ferme Conditions". The adjustable parts in Parc Ferme Conditions are:
- Starting Fuel Load
- Tire Compound
- Front Wing
- RPM Limit
- Engine Boost
- Steering Lock
- Brake BIAS
- Brake Pressure
- Brake Map
2.5) Parc Ferme conditions apply only to drivers that set a timed lap during the Qualifying session.
2.6) Drivers that join during the 8-minute Warm-Up session, are moved to the back of the grid in the order in which they arrive the server. There is no additional time added to this session nor it is restarted under any circumstances.
2.7) The race length in laps is published in the event description page.
2.8) Tire wear is set to normal (1x).
2.9) Fuel usage is set to normal (1x). Refueling during a race is strictly prohibited.
2.10) The damage multiplier is set to 70%.
2.11) It is SimRacingHub's philosophy to race as pure as possible, without the intervention of electronic aids, therefore, electronic aids are not allowed with the only exception of the clutch assistance (F11).
2.12) Clutch Assistance (F11) is allowed.
2.13) All races are ran with dry weather. The two weather factors that change from location to location are the temperature and cloud coverage. Since rFactor 2's track surface temperature is always equal to the air temperature, the following method is used to configure the weather on the server in an effort to improve realism:
- On Tuesday prior to the race, the temperature and cloudy coverage is obtained from The Weather Channel's forecast at the time that the race will be held.
- Depending on what the forecast cloud coverage is, the following scale is used when cloud coverage is:
| Forecast Cloud Coverage | Addition to Forecast Temperature |
| Sunny | +13°C |
| Light Clouds / Mostly Sunny | +10°C |
| Partly / Mostly Cloudy | +7°C |
| Cloudy / Overcast | +4°C |
3. Both forecast temperature and cloud coverage from The Weather Channel as well as the configured temperature and cloud coverage will be published on the event details page on Tuesday prior to the race.
2.14) Tire change is allowed during a race. At each Grand Prix, every team is given access to two specifications of dry-weather tires. Unless wet tires have been used, drivers must use both dry specifications during the race and failure to do so will see them excluded from the results.
2.15) rFactor 2's RealRoad is configured on the server. The track grip will constantly build up every day depending on the amount of drivers using the track and automatically save itself in an "Autosave" file. Using grip files from external sources or other drivers' local grip is not permitted.
2.16) There is a formation lap in every race. The drivers must go out to the grid on time and start the formation lap when the game indicates to do so. Drivers that do not go out on time to the grid will have to start the race from the pit lane. If a driver goes excessively slow during the formation lap and causes engine overheating and even an engine failure from one or more drivers already waiting on the grid ready to start the race, will be penalized according to a decision made by the stewards. If this driver’s bad intention caused a massive retirement, the judges will apply the adequate penalties. As a reminder to the drivers positioned on the grid; the rpm’s must be at minimum until the lights start the count to green. The driver that blows up his engine before or during the start must retire from the track as quickly as possible to prevent accidents and also without using the chat.
2.17) With the exception of the loss of connection from the server within the first 2 laps, meaning that all drivers disconnect from the race due to a server failure, once the starting lights go off and the race gets underway, there will be no restarts allowed. If an accident occurs on lap 1, the drivers behind are required to use extra caution and avoid escalating the incident further, that said, drivers are required to reduce their speed substantially until they (the drivers behind) safely clear the zone of the accident. Drivers that do not reduce their speed substantially will be severely punished with up to a race suspension. Furthermore, calling for a race restart using the chat or voting system is forbidden and will be punished according to the stewards criteria..
3. Scoring System
3.1) There's one Drivers' Championship and one Constructors' Championship.
3.2) Points are awarded to drivers as follow:
| Finishing Place | Points Awarded |
| 1 | 25 |
| 2 | 18 |
| 3 | 15 |
| 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 10 |
| 6 | 8 |
| 7 | 6 |
| 8 | 4 |
| 9 | 2 |
| 10 | 1 |
3.3) Drivers are awarded points only when they have completed 75% of the race distance (in laps).
3.4) There are no double points awarded on any event.
4. General Restrictions
4.1) The chat can only be used during the practice sessions and the warm-up. It is absolutely prohibited to use the chat during Qualifying and Race sessions (including the formation lap). If a driver crashes, suffers an incident and does not wish to continue in the race nor score points, this driver must retire from the race without saying anything. Drivers that use the chat during the race, even if it is a single character or to apologize to a driver, will be penalized with 10 additional places on the grid for the next race. If there is excessive chat from a driver, the decision to suspend the driver will be analyzed by the stewards.
4.2) Drivers that use the chat during Qualifying before chatting is allowed by the race directors will be penalized with 5 additional places on the same Grand Prix.
4.3) The only damaged parts from the car that can be repaired are the two wings (front and rear). Severe damage in the suspension or the loss of a wheel cannot be repaired during a pit stop. Drivers that suffer from any of these irreparable damages must retire immediately from the race. Drivers that continue in the race, in or out of the racing line, will be penalized according to the stewards' criteria.
4.4) If a driver suffers the loss of a wing, it is obvious that his performance will decrease substantially, for that reason, the affected driver must, at all moments, yield the racing line to the other drivers until his car is fixed. Drivers that do not follow this rule will be penalized according to the stewards' criteria.
4.5) The use of the Safety Car (SC) is disabled.
4.6) All drivers in the league must complete a minimum of 25 timed laps in the server in order to take part in a Grand Prix. The cutoff time for this requirement is at 02:00PM Eastern USA time the day of the race. The day of the race at 02:00PM, a screenshot will be taken of the "Top 50 Best lap by Driver since <date>" table in our LiveRacers and the laps shown in the "Compl" (Completed laps) will be the ones counting towards the 25 required practice laps. Finally, the league directors will go through the table to see who did not complete the required laps and his participation in the Grand Prix will be denied. Any lap completed by any driver after the cut-off time will not be counted towards this requirement.
4.7) In addition to rule 4.6, drivers must also set a lap time within 107% with respect to the average of the three fastest recorded laps on the server. The cutoff time for this requirement is at 02:00PM Eastern USA time the day of the Grand Prix. The day of the Grand Prix at 02:00PM, a screenshot will be taken of the "Top 50 Best lap by Driver since <date>" table in our LiveRacers and the top three fastest laps will be averaged, then the 107% time will be calculated based on that average. Finally, the league directors will go through the table to see whose fastest lap is not within the 107% and his participation in the Grand Prix will be denied. Any lap completed by any driver after the cut-off time will not be counted towards this requirement.
4.8) The server will be password protected on race day. The password will be given through Slack only to those drivers who have met both 4.6 and 4.7 requirements as well as have registered for the race in the event description page. Each event has a unique password and should not be shared among drivers. Sharing the password with a driver that did not meet requirements 4.6 and 4.7 will be taken negatively by the league's management and will be further investigated. Sanctions may apply to those that share the event password.
5. Qualifying Session Regulations
5.1) It is strictly prohibited to violate the pit speed limit during the Qualifying session, in fact, violating the pit speed limit during any session is forbidden. Drivers that violate this rule will be penalized by rFactor 2 itself.
5.2) It is strictly prohibited to violate the pit indication lights. Drivers that exit the pit under red light will be penalized by rFactor 2 itself.
5.3) It is strictly prohibited to overtake drivers while they wait for the pit light to turn green. The drivers must make a cue in the order in which they arrive the pit exit. Drivers that violate this rule will be penalized with 2 additional places on the grid of the same race.
5.4) It is completely prohibited to cut the track during the Qualifying session, in fact, track cutting in any session is forbidden. After each Grand Prix, the replays from Qualifying will be evaluated to detect cutting. Drivers that cut during the fastest lap will be penalized with 4 additional places on the grid of the next race.
6. Race Regulations
6.1) If an incident occurs and it is proven (by the replay or allegations) that it was avoidable using the mirrors correctly, the driver that caused the incident will be penalized; such penalties are described in section 7. “Contact Related Penalties”.
6.2) Holding a driver from lapping you will be penalized by the game’s judgment; however, if the game does not impose a penalty on a driver that the stewards find out deserved to be penalized, he will be penalized according to the stewards’ criteria.
6.3) Rights to win the curve: The driver must establish enough overlap with the driver ahead before the curve’s turn-in point. Enough overlap means that the front of the car behind must be at least up to the front wheels of the driver ahead at the turn-in moment. If there is not enough overlap with the driver behind, the driver ahead has the right of choosing any line he wants without incurring in blocking. The overlap distance must be achieved progressively and not violently or due to excessive aggressive driving. Any incident caused by not following this concept (being the driver behind or the driver ahead) will be penalized according to the severity of the crash (in case of having a crash).
6.4) Every driver that executes maneuvers such as: pushing others to overtake them, make constant line changes to prevent being overtaken, drastically closing the line in a curve, or any other maneuver that could be considered as dangerous driving, will be penalized according to the stewards’ criteria.
6.4.1) Dangerous Driving: Any maneuver considered as “Dangerous Driving” will be evaluated by the stewards and they will establish the penalties based on the following factors:
6.4.1.1) A driver causes another driver behind to lock the wheel(s) to avoid contact due to an aggressive or dangerous maneuver. The driver in front will be penalized.
6.4.1.2) A driver causes that another driver behind to lose control of the vehicle and leaves him bad positioned on the track. The driver in front will be penalized.
6.4.1.3) A driver caused another driver behind to lose control of the car and leaves him off tracks. The driver that caused the incident will be penalized.
6.4.1.4) The driver behind caused the driver ahead to lose control due to an aggressive overtaking maneuver, or for contact itself, in an “unsafe overtaking zone” and leaves the affected driver bad positioned on track. The driver that caused the incident will be penalized.
6.4.1.5) The driver behind caused the driver ahead to lose control due to an aggressive overtaking maneuver, or for contact itself, in an “unsafe overtaking zone” and leaves the driver off track. The driver that caused the incident will be penalized.
6.4.1.6) Either of the drivers (behind or ahead) causes an accident due to aggressive or dangerous driving and it involves two or more competitors (apart from the incident causer) and these are affected with repairable damages, the driver that caused the incident will be penalized.
6.4.1.7) Either of the drivers (behind or ahead) causes an accident due to aggressive or dangerous driving and it involves two or more competitors (apart from the incident causer) and these are affected with irreparable damages, the driver that caused the incident will be penalized.
6.4.1.8) It will be considered as “dangerous driving” to any maneuver that is associated with an excess of aggression from a driver and his actions lead to incidents or desperate maneuvers by other drivers in order to avoid an accident, the infringing driver will carry a penalty even if there was no accident caused.
6.5) Off-track: Any car that has its four wheels out of the track must yield the race line to all visible incoming traffic behind it. The car at the moment of re-entry on track must not force any drivers to change their lines. Those that break this rule will be penalized according to the stewards’ criteria.
6.6) If a driver loses control and ends up positioned 90 degrees or more on track (90 degrees being the angle made by the longitudinal axis of the car with respect to the parallel lines that limit the track) must stop immediately and let all visible traffic through. If the car is completely off track, the driver can correct its direction assuming he will not enter the track in an incorrect way and must follow the rules from point "6.5 Off-track" before re-entering the track. Drivers that break this rule will be penalized according to the stewards' criteria.
6.6.1) It is logical to think but important to clarify that if a driver gets stuck in the middle of the track, and there is no visible traffic, he must immediately re-position the vehicle so the irregular situation does not affect the vehicles that are approaching.
6.7) It is totally prohibited to cut the track and gain advantage by doing so. If a driver gains positions by cutting the track, he is forced to let pass the drivers he overtook illegally. If the driver does not let the others pass, he will be penalized with 20 seconds added to his final race time. It is the driver’s responsibility to check the replays from his rivals to detect any irregularities and report them immediately to the stewards (see section “8. Protests and Complaints”).
6.8) Track definition: It is considered “the track” to the asphalt surface limited by white or yellow lines on the borders. The curbing is also part of the track, this is generally painted with the color combinations blue/white, green/white, or red/white. The curbing extensions are not considered as part of the track. It is considered a cut if any wrongly intentioned maneuver has the purpose of gaining time on the others on track. The stewards in the league will dictate if a driver cut or not. The drivers must maintain a legal line at all time. Excessive cutting is totally prohibited, so is going extra wide on turn exits. Going wide will be tolerated if an only if it was indeed a driver’s error and without the intention of gaining time on the opponents. During the briefings it will be clarified which sections of the track are prone to be cut.
6.9) If a driver cuts the track and gains advantage with the maneuver, he will be penalized according to the stewards’ criteria.
6.10) If a driver cuts the track to avoid an accident with another car, this will not be penalized, only when the driver reduces his speed in order to not gain advantage with the cut.
6.11) If a driver cuts the track to avoid an accident with a driver he was going to overtake, the same will not be considered as cutting, if and only if the driver does not gain a position for such maneuver.
6.12) Crashes due to lag: This could be a common problem due to the inefficiency of some connections. In case of observing lag in the game or in any other driver, the recommended action to take is to use wider zones to overtake, this it will minimize the occurrences of accidents caused by lag. In the case that an accident does happen and the stewards do confirm that it was caused by lag, then the application of a penalty could be avoided; however, if it is determined that a driver was using the lag to his advantage to violate the rules, then he will be penalized by the stewards depending on the violation.
6.13) Driving in the pits: It is important to clarify that the pits are an essential part of a race and the track, thus it includes driving restrictions inside this zone. The following points must be taken into account at the moment of entering the pit zone:
6.13.1) The pit entry and exit lines must not be violated at any time. Cutting the pit exit line involves an incorrect track re-entry and will be penalized with 20 seconds added to the final race time of the violator, even if this did not affect any drivers on track.
6.13.2) The pit entry and exit must be done in a cautious way, without sudden braking, acceleration or unpredictable maneuvers that could affect the concentration of the other drivers on track. These types of actions could carry a penalty. Penalties will be imposed by the stewards according to the points explained in this section and to the gravity of the situation.
6.13.3) The pit circulation line must not be violated at any time. The drivers must not circulate the pits inside the service zones, nor on any other zone except the pit circulation lane. Any driving that does not follow this rule will be considered as a track cut (see section 6.9) and will receive the according penalties. Moreover, if a driver is parked on a service zone and is being serviced, and at the moment this driver rejoins the circulation lane finds another driver coming close, the driver joining the circulation lane must let this driver pass in order to avoid a collision. Not following this rule could result in a penalty. The penalties will be given by the stewards according to the points in this section and to the gravity of the situation and according to the before presented points.
7. Contact Related Penalties
7.1) If a driver causes an “avoidable” accident that makes another driver go off track, spin or any other inconvenience that affects “significantly” his normal driving without his car being affected, the driver that caused the incident will be penalized with 20 seconds added to his final race time.
7.2) If a driver causes an “avoidable” accident that makes another driver go off track, spin, or any other inconvenience that affects “significantly” his normal driving and also caused repairable damages on his car, the driver that caused the incident will be penalized with 10 additional grid places for the next race.
7.3) If a driver causes an “avoidable” accident that forces a driver to go off track, spin or any other inconvenience that “considerably” affects his driving, and on top of that has caused a non-repairable damage to his car, the offending driver will start from the pits the next race.
7.4) If a driver acts unsportsmanlike during the race, i.e. going the wrong way on the track, intentionally crashing into other drivers, deliberately leaving his car across the track, knocking down the track’s signs, or any other offense that could massively affect the normal development of the race, he will be prosecuted by the group of administrators and stewards, and will be penalized with a suspension from some races or even from the league, according to the severity of the offense.
8. Protests & Complaints
8.1) If an incident occurs between two or more drivers, the first step to follow is to establish communication among the drivers involved in the incident and offer apologies. It is of high importance to record the conversation between the drivers and make it reach the stewards with the purpose of evaluating the attitudes from the drivers towards incidents.
8.2) The drivers must be in contact within the first 2 hours after the race has ended. If there is no communication between the drivers involved in an incident, then there will be proceeded to the rules mentioned further in this section.
8.3) The concept of “Race Incident” will be taken very seriously when evaluating reported incidents.
8.4) The complaints must be done in a private way and not of public knowledge only when 8.1 and 8.2 could not be accomplished. Drivers that make public a complaint, in the game chat, league forum, or any other communication medium, will have his complaint automatically rejected, erased from the place it was published, and will also receive a warning, if the driver continues doing the same, the league directors will take more severe sanctions.
8.5) Any driver that wants to introduce a formal complaint will have to fill the form found in the following link: Race Incident Complaint .
8.6) Complaints will only be accepted within the first 24 hours after the race has ended.
8.7) Once a complaint is received, the stewards will take up to 48 hours to review it and make their decision public.
8.8) The stewards decision is final and unappealable. Once a decision has been taken, the case will be closed and made public.
9. Notes
9.1) The terms “abruptly”, “illegal driving”, “legal driving”, “wrong intentioned”, “avoidable”, “significantly”, “repairable”, “non-repairable”, “massively”, “aggressive driving”, “dangerous driving”, “sudden way”, “unsafe zone to overtake” and “considerably” will be managed by the stewards and will depend on each incident that is being analyzed.
9.2) There has been an overview of the most common incidents that can take place in this competition. However, if an incident that does not apply to one of these regulations happens to occur, such incident will be analyzed by the stewards and they will give the correct penalties according to their criteria (these penalties could be warnings, additional time, points deduction, etc.). Additionally, there will be an update in the regulations with the purpose of standardizing the incident.
9.3) As a reminder, some of the league directors are also drivers in the league; therefore, those drivers that join the server at the moment of the official race (including Qualifying and Warm-Up) and present problems, will have to solve them themselves. The league directors are not forced to use their valuable time during official sessions to help others. For this reason there is a dedicated server opened 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
9.4) Official results will be published once the incident evaluation time has elapsed. Any results previous to this will be considered Un-Official. Once the official results are published, the website will be updated on the standings and statistics.
9.5) The league directors reserve the right to editing any reply or topic considered as offensive (to the league or a driver) in the forum. Edited topics or replies will include the sentence “This post has been edited by the SimRacingHub F1 League Directors for not fulfilling the forum rules”.