TORA 24H Rennen in der Grünen Hölle - Rules & Regulations

Welcome to the 2019 TORA 24H Rennen in der Grünen Hölle. This race will take place on Forza Motorsports 7 on Xbox One and PC on Saturday, December 7th - 10:00 EST / 15:00 GMT.  

Before you decide to enter the series, please take the time to read the rules & regulations very carefully.

By registering for the race, you agree to the rules and regulations as written in this thread. TORA reserves the right to alter the rules & regulations as necessary, for the purpose of fairness and clarity in the competition.


1.0 GENERAL RACING RULES AND DRIVING ETIQUETTE
1.1 Motor racing, as defined by TORA, is a non-contact sport. It is understandable that on occasion some contact may occur as a consequence of incidents caused by either party; for instance "lag".  At TORA lag is defined as sudden high internet latency or ping causing visual inconsistencies between players. 
1.2 Competitors with lag issues will not be penalized, but will be asked to improve their connection for future participation in TORA’s events. If the issue is persistently hindering other competitor’s experiences, or you cannot join lobbies (see rule 14.0), please perform a speed test on your connection via http://www.speedtest.net/. 
1.3 TORA expects every competitor who partakes in our championships to behave in an appropriate and respectable manner. Insulting comments or behavior towards fellow competitors, race stewards, lobby hosts and staff is unacceptable and will be dealt with severely by TORA Staff. Respectable on-track etiquette is expected of all competitors. This includes on-track battles, track limits, dirty driving etc. 
1.4 The track limits are determined by the solid white lines either side of the track, or for lack thereof, the edge of the tarmac (or other racing surface). At all times, two wheels must remain on this part of the circuit, unless of an occurrence where it is near to impossible to keep two wheels on the track, such as avoiding a collision. 
1.5 All TORA members must read and follow the TORA Sporting Regulations. Note that and specific rules defined in these Rules & Regulations will take precedence over rules outlined in the Sporting Regulations.


2.0 CHAMPIONSHIPS

2.1 TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
2.1.1 This race will be made up of teams of up of a minimum of three and a maximum of five drivers.  Ideally teams will want the full five to make the races less challenging on yourselves and your consoles. Teams must drive in the same car throughout each stint of the race. If any team members switch into different cars throughout the race then their stint will not be counted in the team's overall distance and will be an instant stint DQ.


3.0 LIVERY RULES
This race has defined rules about liveries that drivers must adhere to in order to race.  Failure to do so may result in a penalty or disqualification. The livery rules are defined in the Livery and Decal Rules thread linked here.


4.0 CAR RULES
This race has a defined list of cars and build rules that drivers must adhere to in order to race.  Failure to do so may result in a penalty or disqualification.  The car rules are defined in the Car List and Build Rules thread linked here.


5.0 RACE SIGN-IN
5.1 All teams who register for this race are automatically signed in for each round after registration. Unless signed out in the relevant Sign-In thread, as found in the championship's forum section, drivers will receive ONE invite to the race lobby.



6.0 HOSTING AND MARSHALS
6.1 The race may be split into 3 lobbies, named A-C, depending on the qualifying results. Each lobby will be hosted by chosen members of the Marshals or Staff.
6.2 Marshals who have Signed-In to the race may be expected to host a lobby if no other hosts are available.
6.3 For each lobby, a specific Marshal or Staff member will be given "Lobby Marshal" status, whether or not they are hosting the lobby (if none of the aforementioned members are available, the lobby host will be given the status). They will be responsible for collecting times, race positions, reading the start grid and rules, and deciding whether or not a race restart is required.
6.4 The lobby settings must be abided by, and can be found here: Lobby Settings


7.0 QUALIFYING RULES
7.1 Qualifying for the TORA 24H Rennen in der Grünen Hölle will take place during the week leading up to the race. There will be lobbies hosted throughout the week to accommodate racers in different time zones. The sessions can be found in the Qualifying thread linked here.

7.2 QUALFIYING PROCEDURE:
7.2.1 The qualifying secession will last 5 laps. The host will set up the lobby to 6 laps to provide time for data collection. Drivers have 5 laps to set their fastest clean lap. Once drivers have finished all 5 laps, they must park in turn 1 in an orderly fashion (no donuts or other tomfoolery) while other drivers finish their laps. Lap 6 must not be used to set a time.  
7.2.2 Drivers are not required to use all 5 laps to set a clean lap. If a driver sets a time that they are happy with before they finish all 5 laps, then they must inform their lobby host that they are leaving before backing out. Drivers are also welcome to pull over and take breaks if they feel they need one.
7.3 At the beginning of the qualifying session, drivers will be instructed to drive backwards to the Dottinger-Höhe in a safe manner. From there, drivers will have 5 laps to set their fastest clean time.
7.4.1 Drivers are instructed to take a mandatory pit stop between the end of lap 1 until the end of lap 4. Revised 12/5/19
7.4.2 The pit lane will be opened the entirety of the qualifying session. Drivers are welcomed to pit whenever they will like. However drivers must pit during lap 3 and/or 4.
7.5.1 To determine grid position, best two times from a team will be taken and added together.
7.5.2 If a driver sets a dirty time, then 10 minutes will be added to their time.
7.6.1 While all drivers from a team may take part in an qualifying secession, a team must have a minimal of two drivers qualify or their car will be placed at the back of the grid.  
7.6.2 Each driver may only compete in one qualifying session. If a driver attempts to compete in multiple qualifying sessions then their times will be invalidated and removed.
7.6.3 Drivers are reminded that they should not drive backwards on the track while qualifying is occurring, this does not include rule 7.3.

7.3 QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS:
7.3.1 The last few times this event has been run, we've experienced overlap between the bottom of the field in the GT class and the top of the TC/Production car class. This has led to frustration between drivers as well as crashes that should not be happening. For this reason, we are asking that drivers that are not familiar with the Nürburgring Nordschleife or GT cars to sign-up and race the TORA-Specials Touring (SP-T) class. To enforce this, all TORA-Specials Experimental (SP-X) class drivers will need to be able to prove that they can go quicker than an 8 minutes and 50 seconds laptime by their qualifying time (dirty or clean), a practice session (official or unofficial) which includes a TORA Staff or TORA Race Marshal, a screenshot of a clean laptime, or a recording of a full lap that can be dirty at the staff's discretion. Anyone slower than 8 minutes and 50 seconds and wishing to participate, must enter the SP-T Class.
7.3.2 Any team which is negatively impacted by rule 7.3.1 may be permitted to race with 2 drivers so long as staff are informed. The team may also as a whole or in part withdraw their lap times and re-qualify in either a different SP-X team or in SP-T.
 
8.0 STINT RULES
8.1 Be sure to submit your teams stint order by using the stint form.  
8.2 The start of the race will be a ROLLING start, and will have different start procedures depending on the stint.  
8.3 WARM UP LAP PROCEDURE:
8.3.1 The Lobby Marshal will read out the grid order in the pre-race lobby.
8.3.2 Drivers proceed around the circuit in single file. Tire warming is permitted but brake testing is NOT.

8.4 STINT ROLLING START PROCEDURE: 
8.4.1 Since the Nürburgring is a long track, the starting procedure will be the same for all stints.
8.4.2 Instead of doing a full warm up lap, there will be a designated start point somewhere in the first sector of each track. This start point will be the gantry right before the Ford-Kurve. Clarification for this will be posted in the Driver's Briefing.  
8.4.3 Drivers will line up in single file and will not start until THEY pass the designated start point.
8.4.4 All cars should remain under 80mph/129kph until THEY pass the designated start point.
8.4.5 The SP-T class must line up 100-200ft behind the last car in the SP-X class.

8.5 END OF STINT PROCEDURE:
8.5.1 While stint lobbies will be set to two hours, racing will actually last only 1 hour and 40 minutes to allow for a 20 minute stint turn around.  
8.5.2 The stint will "end" with 20 minutes left on the race timer. Once the race timer reads 20 minutes, drivers must come to a complete stop where they are on track.  
8.5.3 The host will then take record the distance that the driver in overall 1st place traveled during the stint (in miles), everyone's distance to 1st Place (in feet), and then the distance between the cars in overall 1st place and 2nd place after 1st place has moved to the next mile marker. If the host is unable to hear 2nd place, they will fall back to 3rd place, or to anyone they can hear.  (If you have your distances in meters, we can convert it).  
8.5.4 Once the host announces that they have collected all data drivers may then back out of the race / wait in the lobby.  
8.5.5 Drivers that are double stinting will have their data collected first, provided that they are not in 1st or 2nd place, so they can make their next stint on time to reduce delays. 


9.0 PIT STOPS
9.1 There will be a mandatory number of pit stops during the each stint. The exact number will be announced in the Driver's Briefing. 
9.2 Drivers are permitted to pit at their own accord to refuel and change tires, or if they have damage to their car or wish to retire.  
9.2.1 However, drivers are not permitted to pit during the last 10 minutes of the stint.  Once the race timer passes 30 minutes left, the pits are closed.  


10.0 SAFETY CAR
There are no safety cars for this race.


11.0 STEWARD INQUIRIES 
Standard SI rules in force please refer to sporting regulation handbook.


12.0 ENTERING THE LOBBY
12.1 The host or Lobby Marshal will invite each driver to the lobby they will be Qualifying or Racing in.
12.2 They will send each driver one invite to the lobby. If the driver cannot join, the host or Lobby Marshal will send a maximum of two extra invites before the meeting is due to start.
12.3 If the driver cannot join the Qualifying session in time, they will start at the back of the grid in the race.
12.4 If the driver cannot join the race session, they will score 0 points for that stint.
12.5 Ultimately, joining the race will be the responsibility of the driver. A list of lobby hosts will be posted in advance of the race so it is suggested that drivers add them as a friend on Xbox Live to make it easier for them to find them.  


13.0 ENDURANCE RACING "LAGOUT RULE"
13.1 It is unfortunately not uncommon for races to be decided by a disconnection during a stint. As voted for last year, the majority of the community are in favor of a lagout rule to be implemented to reduce the amount of distance you lose should the worst happen.  

13.1.1 The lag formula used will be as follows.  If you do lagout, at the end of the race the lobby host will check the pause screen and take note of the lap count currently showing. The lap you were on will be taken and entered into the doc along with DNF.  The number of laps will be then subtracted by 1 to get the total amount of laps completed (when you start the race this is on 1 but you haven't actually completed a lap yet).  This will then be multiplied by the track length to get your distance driven before lagging.  The distance driven will be subtracted from your team's lowest, non DNF stint mileage to calculate how far you could have driven after lagging out, and this will be multiplied by 0.75, and added to the distance driven.

So in simple terms, if you lagout you will given the distance driven, plus 75% of the potential mileage you missed out on by lagging out.


14.0 MULTICLASS PASSING AND LAP DOWN CARS
14.1 The overtaking car in the faster class must ensure their pass of the slower class is done safely and correctly. All drivers are instructed to use mirrors and communication to ensure safe overtaking, although vocal communication between classes might not be available for the pass. Faster classes purposely impeding the progress of the slower classes, and vice versa, is forbidden.
14.2 Lapped drivers must be aware of faster classes approaching and must make sure they stick to their racing line; drivers should not make sudden or unpredictable changes to their course in an attempt to allow the faster classes to pass. 
14.3 Lapped drivers in the same class are expected to give the right of way to the lapping drivers. Purposely impeding the progress of the lapping drivers, is forbidden.

There will be 3 mandatory pitstops for both classes during each stint.

Qualifying rules updated in bold