TORA BRITISH GT ESPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP 2020 - RULES & REGULATIONS

Welcome to the 2020 British GT eSports Championship, the official eSports series for the premier sportscar series in the UK. This championship will be contested on Forza Motorsport 7 for Xbox One and PC.  This season will consist of 7 rounds and 13 races.  Before you decide to enter the series, please take the time to read the rules & regulations:

1.0 General Racing Rules & Driving Etiquette
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 example “lag” and hardware issues. Competitors with lag issues won’t be penalized, but will be asked to check/improve their connection before future participation in TORA’s events. If the issue is persistently hindering other competitor’s experiences, please perform a speed test on your connection via http://www.speedtest.net/ Once you have completed this, see the connection section via the link below:

http://support.xbox.com/en-GB/xbox-one/networking/network-connection-error-solution

TORA expects every competitor who partakes in our championships to behave in an appropriate and respectable manner. Insulting comments or behaviour towards fellow competitors, race stewards, lobby hosts and staff is unacceptable and will be dealt with severely. Also, respectable on-track etiquette is expected of all competitors including but not limited to on-track battling, observing proper track limits, and not performing “dirty driving”.


2.0 DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
This will be a championship fought by each driver for themselves. The sum of points earned by each driver at the end of the series, less their worst race meeting result, will constitute their final points total. Drivers in GT3 will only be scored against other GT3 drivers, and GT4 will only be scored against GT4.

3.0 INDEPENDENTS CUP
To be eligible in the privateers/Independents championship, drivers should only compete for themselves and not be part of a team. The sum of points earned by a privateer at the end of the series will constitute their final points total. Privateers in GT3 will only be scored against other GT3 privateers, and GT4 will only be scored against GT4. It should be noted that if a driver leaves a team midway through the season to become a privateer, points they scored for their original team will remain with the team, and only new results from that point on will count towards the privateer championship.


4.0 TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
Each team will consist of a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 3 drivers. The amount of points scored by the top two drivers from each team in all 11 races will count towards their team’s points total. There will be two individual championships for the GT3 & GT4 categories. Drivers in a team must all be signed up in the same car. A team cannot consist of two different cars.


5.0 SUBSTITUTE DRIVER.
There is one free substitute driver allowed in this series. Subsequent changes will result in a 25 point cost per driver per race. Once a team of drivers has been registered, it is preferred that the team stays with their original line up throughout the entirety of this championship.


6.0 DROPPED ROUND
Dropped rounds apply to Drivers Championship only. There are no dropped rounds for the Teams Championship or the Independents Cup.
The dropped round will be the driver's lowest score. This does include 0 pts as we appreciate, on occasion, real life may not permit drivers to attend races.


7.0 PRACTICE & QUALIFYING RULES:

7.1 Each TORA British GT event will commence with qualifying which starts at 8:00pm BST (3:00 pm EDT)
Each lobby host will send out ONE blanket invite to their lobby. The emphasis is on each competitor to be online on time and ready to qualify at the appointed slot. Lobby hosts may send out additional invites if they so choose. Qualifying sessions for each meeting will be 15 minutes in length. Drivers are able to enter and exit the pit lane freely during this time. Once the time has elapsed, all drivers must stop in Turn 1 once they have crossed the start/finish line at the conclusion of the lap they were on when time expired. The Lobby Host will then collect qualifying times. Once this is complete drivers are free to leave the lobby and await their race lobbies.


8.0 RACE RULES:
Race meetings for this championship will consist of 6 rounds with 2x 30 minutes (in equivalent laps) races and a single 1hr race (in equivalent laps). Please check the season calendar for confirmation. Each race lobby will be comprised of both GT3 and GT4 entries, split up to ensure as many lobbies as possible have cars from both classes. It is possible that the lowest lobbies may be a single class if one class or the other is lacking in numbers.
All of the races will commence with a rolling start which will include a formation lap and conclude with an extra 'slow down lap' for GT3 cars at the end of the race to allow the GT4 field to conclude their race without danger of collision with AI cars. Therefore all races will have TWO additional laps over the advertised race distance. For example: Road Atlanta Race 1 = 25 laps + 1 Formation Lap + 1 Slow Down Lap = 27 'lobby laps'

Race 1 grid will be formed by the results from qualifying.
Race 2 grid will be formed by the results of Race 1

The slow down lap requires GT3 cars to form up in a location indicated by the lobby host in the correct finishing order and remain there until the GT4 field completes their lap. They will then complete the train of cars. The lobby host will then make note of the results and request the field to complete the final lap in formation. To be clear, after the GT3 winner completes the final race lap, all subsequent cars (GT3 and GT4) are to cease racing the next time they cross the line and line up in order.


9.0 START PROCEDURE:
The lobby will commence with a warm-up lap. Drivers proceed around the circuit in a single file in the correct grid order. Tyre warming is permitted but brake testing is NOT. Towards the end of the lap, the lobby host will request drivers to form up in 2x2 formation. EXTREME CARE MUST BE TAKEN. Drivers are instructed to hold 60 MPH at this time. The driver in the last place must confirm to lobby host once all cars are in position. The rolling grid will then start racing as each pair crosses the start/finish line. No passing is allowed prior to crossing the start/finish line. * If serious contact occurs between cars on the warm-up lap a lobby restart will be called for the first TWO occasions only. On the third occasion, any damaged cars must return to the pits - this will NOT count as the mandatory pitstop. Damaged cars may be allowed to overtake the rest of the field in order to make this pitstop HOWEVER upon completion they must stop at pit exit and allow the field to pass before rejoining the circuit.

*The start/finish line is denoted as the line by which the lap counter is programmed.


10.0 PIT STOPS
There will be ONE mandatory pit stop during each Sprint race. For the feature length race, there will be TWO mandatory pit stops.

10.1 PIT PROCEDURE
When making their mandatory stops, drivers are reminded that they must stay within the designated pit lane (indicated usually as lines painted on the track). The pit lane will be opened after the second racing lap and will be closed two laps prior to the finish.

11.0 Safety Car Rules
Where more than 3 cars are confirmed to be involved in an incident on track, the lobby host will call a Safety Car (SC). Immediately following the SC call, the race leader in GT3 shall reduce their speed to 60 MPH. All other drivers are to reduce speed and catch up to the leader in a timely and controlled fashion. Passing during SC conditions is forbidden unless a driver leaves the racing surface or is unable to maintain SC speed. GT4 drivers caught behind the GT3 leader should continue past the slow car train unless the GT4 leader is already present. All cars involved in the incident will be allowed to return to the track but must adhere to the SC rules, and will circulate in line in the position they re-joined the track. During this time the pit lane will remain open, and the GT3 leader shall pass the pit lane under safety car no more than twice. After this occurs, the lobby host will select a restart time. Once the time is reached all competitors will return to regular racing conditions.


12.0 Steward Inquiries Rules
Standard SI rules are in force. Please refer to Driver's Handbook