Incidents in TORA

Definition
"Incident" means any occurrence or series of occurrences involving one or more drivers, or any action by any driver, which is reported to the stewards by the drivers (or noted by the stewards for investigation) which:
- Caused a collision.
- Forced a driver off the track.
- Illegitimately prevented a legitimate overtaking maneuver by a driver.
- Illegitimately impeded another driver during overtaking.
- Impeded any of the rules in this book.
- Was unsporting.

Stewards
It is up to the stewards to decide, upon a report or a request by the driver(s)
involved, if a driver or drivers involved in an incident shall be penalized.
If an incident is under investigation by the stewards, all the teams and drivers will be informed. All drivers can view the officials and stewards at any point by looking on the forums, and if they are still unaware they may ask at any point.

Investigation procedure
The head steward and 2 selected, impartial stewards will decide whether the incident was beyond the rules and if so, what the appropriate penalty is. Both the defending and prosecuting parties must be given the opportunity to argue their cases, individually to the stewards. Once a decision has been made it will be announced on the TORA forums.

Penalties
The stewards may impose any one of the following penalties on any driver
involved in an incident:
- A stop-and-go penalty. The driver must take a pit stop. This is not counted as the driver’s mandatory pit stop for the race( if one applies), and must be taken at there next race meeting in the series in which it applies.
- A grid drop can also be imposed at the driver’s next race meeting in the series in which it applies. The severity of this penalty will be altered according to the incident.
- A lap removal penalty may be applied to the final number of laps a driver completed if it applies in the ISCC
- A disqualification may be issued, where a driver will have there result removed.
- A race ban may be inflicted where a driver may not attend a set number of
events. This will vary with the severity of the incident.

Procedure for in race stop-and-go penalties
If a driver receives a stop-and-go penalty:
- The driver will be informed by the stewards of the penalty.
- The driver must then take the penalty at next race meeting in the series in which it applies.
- If a driver fails to comply with the penalty he will be disqualified from the race.

If a driver receives a grid penalty:
- They will be dropped the places at the end of the qualifying for the next race.

Announcing Incidents
If a driver is involved in an incident he must announce this to the other drivers and the stewards so that an investigation can be launched if necessary and so that other drivers are aware of the problem and can drive more cautiously.

Other Incidents
Abusive language and/or trash talking will not be tolerated under any
circumstances. Threatening behavior will also not be tolerated under any
circumstances. Lagging is very off-putting and can cause severe accidents; if a driver is lagging he may be asked to retire by the stewards. To ensure a lag free race all drivers should try and turn off all other Internet using devices in their houses.

Protests
Drivers
Any driver can mount a protest against a penalty and also has the right to defend his or her actions during investigations. In the case that an appeal is launched the penalty will not stand and will be reviewed.

Reviewing Penalties
If a penalty is to be reviewed the stewards will meet once again, only this time with the addition of members of the TORA staff team. A new decision will then be made, however if the appeal is rejected the penalty may be worsened.