TORA MSA GT Endurance Series - Rulebook

RuleBook

General Rules & Driving Etiquette
GT racing, as defined by TORA, is a non contact sport. It is understandable that on occasion some contact may occur that is not expected by either party, for example due to lag. Competitors with 'lag' issues will not be penalized, but may be asked to improve their connection, if the issue is persistently hindering other's experiences please see connection section.

TORA expects competitors who partake in its championships and meetings to behave in an appropriate and respectable manner. Insulting comments or behaviour towards fellow competitors and race stewards is unacceptable and will be dealt with severely.

Competitors who are being followed on a straight part of a track by another car may move their position on the track ONCE to defend, any further sufficient movement outside of cornering will be deemed as weaving and your actions may be reported to the race director or head steward after the race.

If a competitor leaves the track at any time, it is advised that extra caution is taken not to impede other drivers when rejoining, please check and look before rejoining the track. Common courtesy stipulates that a driver in a dangerous position on the circuit should alert oncoming drivers of their position to avoid additional incidents, (essentially the yellow flag rules.)

Track Limits
During a race meeting, each time the track limits are not adhered to, a warning will be given. Each driver are allowed five warnings for exceeding the track limits, at any part of the circuit. If a sixth and subsequent occurrences happen within a race meeting, then that driver will lose a position for each time the track limits are exceeded.
The track limits must be adhered to in the event of gaining an advantage whilst having an on-track battle. If the limits were exceeded to avoid a collision no warning will be given, however if a driver overtakes a driver by exceeding track limits, the driver must give that position back before they may continue their race. If the driver which was overtaken backs off heavily either through incident or "mechanical" failure, then the position will not need to be given back.
The inside of a corners limits are denoted by the the edge of the tarmac of the course (and painted track lines in a majority of cases)
The outside of a corner, both entrance and exit, are denoted by the edge of the “rumble strips”.
Where no “rumble strips or painted lines exist, the track limits are the main tarmac areas.

2012 TORA MSA GT Endurance Series Championships

GT3 and GT4 will be scored by class individually

1. DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP

This will be a championship fought by each driver for themselves. The total amount of points at the end of the series, minus the lowest scoring round from their overall points will be their final points total and will result in their position in the overall drivers standing at the end of the year. There will only be an overall Championship, no separate table for privateers.

2. TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP

A team will be made up of upto 4 drivers, all driving the same car. This championship will be scored by the total points score of the top 2 drivers for each race meeting, over the course of the championship.

3. WORKS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

This will be a championship fought by each team who enter the series using a replica paint from the below 2012/2013 race series. All rules remain the same as the standard Teams Championship.
FIA GT1
FIA GT3
Blancpain Endurance Series
British GT
ADAC GT Masters
American Le Mans Series
World Endurance Championship
European Le Mans Series

- Team Driver Changes
From the start of the series (Race 1), any full time driver change will result in the total point score for the team taking a 10% reduction at the end of the year, and a subsequent 10% more for each further change. A full time driver change would need to be applied for via a new entry form as per championship sign-up.

- Substitute Drivers
For the length of the entire series from race 1, a team may make use of a substitute driver if a full time driver cannot make a meeting. This substitute driver is eligible to score points for the drivers championship, and towards the points for the team they are driving for that meeting. A team has a maximum of 2 substitutes per season. Any further substitutes, and the replacement driver will not score points for the team they are driving for. Substitute drivers must be made aware to the series runners before commencing the race meeting itself.


Race Meeting
We ask that all competitors are on Xbox live 15 minutes prior to the start of the race meeting, make sure their NAT settings are setup correct, and appearing online to everyone. Any competitor who does not follow these runs a very high risk of not receiving an invite, or being able to compete.

Each competitor must also post "IN" in the relevant race meeting thread on the TORA forums, until one hour before the race meeting at the very latest. Anyone who doesn't post “IN” in this time frame will not compete.

QUALIFYING
Event qualifying will begin at 7pm for the Endurance Series meetings. Apart from if someone has already attempted to join a lobby but had connection issues, there are no exceptions to this start time. If you appear online after the start time, you will not receive a qualifying invite.

A maximum of three invites will be sent out to all race entrants. This invite will denote your qualifying lobby. Competitors who are not connected to the host’s room at the start time without reason stated before the start time of the race meeting will not be able to take part in qualifying. The qualifying session should start no later than 5 minutes from the designated race meeting start time.

If a connection issue is apparent please contact the race director or lobby host as soon as possible and they will do their best to ensure you can connect to the qualifying lobby.
Qualifying Set-Up

There will be 1 qualifying sessions per race meeting.

- A 4 second roll off delay will be in effect to accommodate a greater opportunity for clean running and driving concentration. Collisions will be set off, and damaged will be limited.

- Qualifying 1 will be set to 20 minutes, 15 minutes for qualifying times, and the remaining 5 minutes is used for the lobby hosts to collect times before competitors cross the line to finish the session. "Clean" qualifying laps are over "Dirty" laps. A slower "Clean" lap will start the race ahead of a quicker "dirty" lap. Make it count!

- Once Qualifying is over, ‘Live Timing’ will be updated along with who will host the various racing lobbies. TORA will ensure that this process is completed as quickly as possible but please expect a minimum of a 20 minute break after the qualifying session for which the TORA team will set up race lobbies.

- Any driver who had not set a qualifying time will be able to join the race at the back of the lowest lobby, upon the race directors approval.

- Any qualifying is set to collisions off, and damage to limited.

RACE
Race conditions begin under rolling start, in the order of qualifying, and mixed lobbies of GT3 and GT4 where possible, when the last driver has confirmed they are in place the lead driver has said says 3,2,1, Go!

Settings
- Collisions during all races will be on, and set with Simulation. All driving aids will be available, apart from ABS, STM and auto-brake. Steering will be a choice between "simulation" & "normal" due to issues made aware by Fanatec for wheel users.

Each race will be approximately 1 hour 45 minutes in length, denoted by a lobby length of 2 hours. Racing conditions will end once 105 minutes have elapsed and 15 minutes remain. All drivers must then complete the lap they are on, and take note of what the timer says as the cross the finish line. The victory is given to who completes the longest distance, and then in the shortest time to complete that distance. This gives a race victory opportunity to any of the lobbies, however each lobby has a 4 second deficit to the lobby above it. So if your in lobby B, you get 4 seconds added to your time over lobby B. We take race start times into consideration everytime.

Rolling Starts

Competitors are asked not to move off their grid slots until the lobby host reads out the grid order and confirms when they can move off. All cars must proceed in order at no more than 80mph and at a distance of at least 80ft from the car in front. We ask that competitors do not race one another in the formation lap as to not interfere with the grid order, any resulting infringements will be reported to the race director and penalties may be given.

To achieve a rolling start the competitors will be led by the lead car until the start signal is given. Once the lead driver reaches a pre-designated section on the track (usually before the final corner), they shall let the pack bunch up side by side in a two by two formation. the lead driver is given the choice what side he wishes to begin the race on, and all following competitors must follow this lead.

When all drivers are in position and the field are all on the start / finish straight, getting confirmation from the last driver that all are in position, the lead driver may start racing conditions by shouting "Go" and accelerating before the field reaches the start / finish line, if “Go” hasn't been called at the line, race conditions will begin automatically.

Under no circumstance shall any competitor be allowed to pass the vehicle in front until they have passed the start and finish line. Should a car overtake another before the line, the offending driver must give the place back within 3 corners, or penalties will be given out.


Mandatory Pit Stops
There will be no mandatory pit-stops for this season. Anyone wishing to make a stop at anytime can do so without penalty.

Safety Car Rules
There will be no ‘safety car’ in the Endurance Series races.

Race Restarts
Race restarts may only take place in the event of a collision involving 50% or more cars within the lobby, either on the warm-up lap or the first lap, or if there is a lag crash, and at the lobby hosts discretion.

The lobby restarts in the same order as the intended previous start, and with 1 lap less than the original race length, and a new starting procedure takes place as a safety car start, not a side by side grid start.

A race lobby will only be restarted the once, after which any consequences of another collision will be the end results of that race.