Big Brain Racing Endurance League 2023

1.         COMPETITION

Big Brain Racing Endurance League 2023 is an Esports competition, based on Assetto Corsa Competizione (PC platform). Big Brain Racing Community Racing League is organized by Big Brain Racing with the support of our partners.

2.         REGISTRATION

Drivers who wish to enter shall do so though SimGrid at the following address: Big Brain Racing Endurance League 2023 | The SimGrid Registration will remain open throughout the duration of the competition or until the sign-up is full.

3.         DRIVER ELIGIBILITY

A “Driver” is any person who has registered through SimGrid during the registration time window. Drivers must meet the following requirements in their entirety to be eligible to compete:

1. Have access to all tracks that feature in the championship (including DLC content)
2. Have the sufficient track ratings for all tracks that feature in the championship
3. Agree with the Sporting Code;
4. Agree with the Code of Conduct (see art. 8);

Drivers who do not meet these requirements will be deemed ineligible and will be removed from the Big Brain Racing Endurance League 2023 championship. Administration reserves the right to investigate Driver information when eligibility is in question.

4.         PARTICIPATION

All the Drivers registered through SimGrid must meet the following requirements:

• SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
• Own an original copy of Assetto Corsa Competizione on Steam (PC version only);
• Own the Intercontinental GT Pack DLC of Assetto Corsa Competizione;
• Own the 2020 GT World Challenge Pack DLC of Assetto Corsa Competizione;
• Own the British GT Pack DLC of Assetto Corsa Competizione;
• Own the American Track Pack DLC of Assetto Corsa Competizione;
• Own a driver profile in-game with real Forename and Surname (see below “Driver Names”);
• Own a Discord account with real Forename and Surname.
• Be a member of Big Brain Racing Discord
• HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
• Gaming PC that meets the game minimum requirements;
• Internet connection with max ping of 150ms (Drivers can test their ping here);
• Wheel and Pedals set.

DRIVER NAMES

• In-game Driver Names must be the real ones and must not contain any of the following: nicknames, acronyms, obscene or suggestive language, corporation, company, sponsor, product;
• Drivers who attempt to change their in-game names and last names during the event may be disqualified from the competition.

5.         TEAM ELIGIBILITY

A “Team” is a group of drivers who are registered as a team through SimGrid. All drivers on the team must meet the Driver Eligibility criteria in section 3. Teams must meet the below requirements:

• Teams can consist of 2-4 drivers and drivers may be changed between races.
• There will be a cut-off period for driver changes 24 hours prior to the race start.
• Each driver in the team must not exceed the maximum driving time. There is no minimum driving time.

6.         FORMAT OVERVIEW

The competition is arranged by the following:

• Dates and times: please refer to chapter 7
• Tracks: Barcelona, Monza, Bathurst, Paul Ricard, Indianapolis, Spa Francorchamps, Kyalami, Imola & Silverstone
• Rules: no mandatory pit stop – Fixed pit window not set
• Cars allowed
• All GT3 cars
• Driving assists:
• Traction Control: allowed
• ABS: allowed
• Stability Control: not allowed
• Ideal Line: not allowed
• Automatic Gearbox: not allowed
• Engine Start: no restrictions
• Wipers: no restrictions
• Lights: no restrictions
• Pit Limiter: no restrictions
• Car Setup: no restrictions

RACE DETAILS - RACE 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 & 8:

• Free Practice: 30 minutes
• Qualifying: 30 minutes
• Race: 360 minutes (6 hours)
• Stint Timer: 65 Min
• Maximum Driver Time: 210 Min (3:30 hours)

SCORES

Based on the order of arrival at the finish line of every championship race, Teams will be assigned the following points for their finishing position:

1st place: 66 points 2nd place: 60 points 3rd place: 55 points 4th place: 51 points 5th place: 48 points 6th place: 45 points 7th place: 42 points 8th place: 39 points 9th place: 36 points 10th place: 33 points

11th place: 30 points

12th place: 28 points

13th place: 26 points

14th place: 24 points

15th place: 22 points

16th place: 20 points

17th place: 18 points

18th place: 16 points

19th place: 14 points

20th place: 12 points

21st place: 10 points

22nd place: 9 points

23rd place: 8 points

24th place: 7 points

25th place: 6 points

26th place: 5 points

27th place: 4 points

28th place: 3 points

29th place: 2 points

30th place: 1 point

Additional 5 bonus points will be awarded for fastest lap during the race.

RACE DETAILS - RACE 3 & 6:

• Free Practice: 30 minutes
• Qualifying: 30 minutes
• Race: 480 minutes (8 hours)
• Stint Timer: 65 Min
• Maximum Driver Time: 270 Min (4:30 hours)

SCORES

Based on the order of arrival at the finish line of every championship race, Teams will be assigned the following points for their finishing position:

1st place: 66 points 2nd place: 60 points 3rd place: 55 points 4th place: 51 points 5th place: 48 points 6th place: 45 points 7th place: 42 points 8th place: 39 points 9th place: 36 points 10th place: 33 points

11th place: 30 points

12th place: 28 points

13th place: 26 points

14th place: 24 points

15th place: 22 points

16th place: 20 points

17th place: 18 points

18th place: 16 points

19th place: 14 points

20th place: 12 points

21st place: 10 points

22nd place: 9 points

23rd place: 8 points

24th place: 7 points

25th place: 6 points

26th place: 5 points

27th place: 4 points

28th place: 3 points

29th place: 2 points

30th place: 1 point

Additional 5 bonus points will be awarded for fastest lap during the race.

RACE DETAILS - RACE 9:

• Free Practice: 30 minutes
• Qualifying: 30 minutes
• Race: 720 minutes (12 hours)
• Stint Timer: 65 Min
• Maximum Driver Time: 390 Min (6:30 hours)

SCORES

Based on the order of arrival at the finish line of every championship race, Teams will be assigned the following points for their finishing position:

1st place: 132 points 2nd place: 120 points 3rd place: 110 points 4th place: 102 points 5th place: 96 points 6th place: 90 points 7th place: 84 points 8th place: 78 points 9th place: 72 points 10th place: 66 points

11th place: 60 points

12th place: 56 points

13th place: 52 points

14th place: 48 points

15th place: 44 points

16th place: 40 points

17th place: 36 points

18th place: 32 points

19th place: 28 points

20th place: 24 points

21st place: 20 points

22nd place: 18 points

23rd place: 16 points

24th place: 14 points

25th place: 12 points

26th place: 10 points

27th place: 8 points

28th place: 6 points

29th place: 4 points

30th place: 2 point

Additional 5 bonus points will be awarded for fastest lap during the race.

7.         DATES AND TIMES

OFFICIAL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS:

• Barcelona: March 11th, 2023
• Monza: April 15th, 2023
• Bathurst: May 13th, 2023
• Paul Ricard: June 10th, 2023
• Indianapolis: July 15th, 2023
• Spa Francorchamps: August 12th, 2023
• Kyalami: September 16th, 2023
• Imola: October 14th, 2023
• Silverstone: November 11th, 2023

The schedule of each race session will be published on the official Discord and on SimGrid. *(dates and times may be subject to changes)

8.         CODE OF CONDUCT

The respect of the Code of Conduct is a fundamental aspect in every Esports competition. Every Driver who doesn’t respect the rules of the Code of Conduct will be considered ineligible to participate in the Big Brain Racing Endurance League 2023 championship and, if an evident breach of the following rules of the Code of Conduct will happen during the event, the organizers may remove the guilty Driver.

• All Drivers are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects positively on the organisers and shall not engage in conduct considered harmful to the organisation, reputation or relationships of an individual or of their partners; 

All Drivers agree to avoid the following behaviours online and offline:

• Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour: Drivers must not use language that is deemed by the organisers to be obscene, vulgar, insulting, threatening, abusive, libellous, defamatory or otherwise offensive or objectionable, or promote or incite hatred or discriminatory conduct, at any time, off or on broadcast. Drivers may not use this type of language on any social media or during any public facing events such as streaming; 
• Harassment: any kind of harassment is strictly prohibited; 
• Discriminatory language: any kind of discriminatory words, phrases or gestures offending the dignity or integrity of a private person, a group of people, a team, a brand, a sponsor, a country through contemptuous or discriminatory words or actions on account of race, skin colour, ethnic, national or social origin, gender, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, financial status, birth or any other status, sexual orientation or any other reason, are strictly prohibited; 
• Trolling: posting inflammatory, extraneous or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, blog, or any social media, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion, is strictly prohibited. 
• Drivers must be respectful of the staff involved in the tournament by the organizers, sponsors, and/or their partners at all times; 

FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY

In any moment during the Competition, the organizer has the right to exclude the Drivers in the event of:

1. Hardware modification: any modification made to a piece of hardware allowing it to function in a way which gives that driver an advantage; 
2. Software modification: any modification made to Assetto Corsa Competizione and third parties’ software, allowing them to function in a way which gives that driver an advantage; 
3. Exploiting game glitches: intentionally using any in-game bug to seek an advantage; 
4. Impersonation (including playing under another driver’s Steam account) – to be understood as playing under another driver’s account or soliciting, inducing, encouraging or directing someone else to play under another driver’s account; 
5. Collusion: any agreement among two (2) or more Drivers and/or other persons to affect any competition or race and/or opposing drivers; 
6. Any other behaviour as determined to be cheating, gameplay, gamesmanship or gaining an unfair advantage in any way by organisers.

Any conduct that is considered in violation of this Code of Conduct is punishable at the sole discretion of the organisers and may result in disqualification from the Big Brain Racing Endurance League 2023.

RACE DIRECTION AND SPORTING CODE

Please refer to the Sporting Code below for more information regarding Race Control, driving standards and penalties.

9.         OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION

All Drivers must be connected to the official Discord server. The official Big Brain Racing Discord server shall be considered as the main channel of communication between the organizers, the Race Direction and the Drivers.

It’s mandatory for every Driver to join the official Discord server with his/her real Forename and Surname in order to be aware of official communication, participate in the Driver Briefing (mandatory) and let the admins coordinate the different racing sessions and communication.

All the official results of the races and the penalties will be published on the “details” channel on Discord. 

10.     CONTACTS

For any additional information please refer to the following contacts:

• Email: [email protected]
• Discord server: https://discord.gg/2JcxmHjKWN
• Official website: https://www.bigbrainracing.co.uk

11.     PRIZE POOL

TBA

SPORTING CODE 

1. General Rules & Driver Conduct

1. Drivers must use their full name in the game in order to participate in the competition. 
2. To participate in the competition, the maximum allowed ping is 150. 
3. Drivers with higher ping or a spiky connection may be asked to leave the server or may be removed from it by the event administrator or Race Director. 
4. All drivers are expected to be ready to run at the designated time for official sessions. 
5. Drivers are expected to have familiarity with the regulations of the championship, as well as the specific and relevant features and rules of the game platform used. 
6. Drivers are expected to have read and understood the General Regulation 
7. Only the race admins will decide whether a session should be delayed or restarted. 
8. It is not allowed to push the vehicle of another competitor to assist him/her – in case he/she has run out of fuel or experienced a mechanical breakdown etc.. 
9. Bump drafting is also prohibited. The drivers shall provide ‘racing room’ to each other. 
10. Unsportsmanlike conduct is subject to penalties. Any driver attempting to wreck or intentionally ram another competitor may be banned from the session or even from the Big Brain Racing Endurance League 2023 championship. 
11. Event administrators, Stewards and the Race Director will oversight the sessions. Administrators can report any misconduct to be reviewed by Stewards and the Race Director, and may lead to penalties or removal from the session and/or formal rebuke or ban.

2. Qualifying/Hotlap Sessions

1. Drivers must achieve their fastest lap without exploiting external factors. It is forbidden to gain an advantage by exploiting other players on the track, such as bump drafting or driving too close to opponents in front. If a driver does so, he/she may receive a warning or even a penalty for the race session, which may include removal of the best lap time set or the obligation to start at the back of the grid. Slipstreaming may be allowed only if the aforementioned factors are not violated. 
2. Lap invalidation resulting from off-tracks are entirely handled by the game. 
3. It is strictly forbidden to stop on-track to teleport back to the garage. Teleporting to the garage may only be allowed from the pit lane. Any transgression will be penalized by the Stewards, and repeated offenders may receive a formal rebuke or may be banned from the event. 
4. Drivers on the outlap must let other drivers on their fast lap past by moving out of their way. The in-game blue flag system assists drivers in that. Ignoring the blue flag and holding up another driver on their fast lap are conducts that may be penalized by the Stewards. 
5. Exiting the pitlane must be done by exercising caution in order not to disrupt the timed lap of other drivers. It is strictly prohibited to cross the white line / veer and jump onto the ideal line; any violation may result in severe penalty from the Stewards. 
6. Approaching a driver on his/her fast lap and overtaking is forbidden. The driver behind must make sure that there is ample space in front before starting the timed lap while predicting potential pace differences, so that he/she does not disrupt the qualifying lap of the car in front. Drivers who disturb another driver on a fast lap from behind may be penalized by the Stewards and repeated offenders may receive a rebuke or ban from the event.

3. Race Start

1. Formation lap and race start procedures are handled by the in-game system. Test sessions will provide opportunities for participants to practise and become familiar with the system. The game may hand out automatic Drive Through penalties for jumping the start or being out of position during the pre-green flag phase. Automatic penalties may be left in place or cleared at the discretion of the Stewards and the Race Director. 
2. Tire and brake warming (accelerating and slowing abruptly or weaving) is prohibited in the pitlane and during the double-file phase of the formation lap. Tire and brake warming is permitted during the single-file phase of the formation lap. Drivers not adhering to this rule may be penalized by the Stewards during or after the session. 
3. During the formation lap, opponent cars are ghosted (collisions are disabled). Collisions are re-enabled at the Green Flag, or when any car coupling is disengaged after the Green Flag.

4. Track Limits

1. Track limits are determined by the game itself, utilizing the in-game warning and penalty system for infractions. More on this can be found in the Assetto Corsa Competizione drivers’ manual. 
2. Pit entry/exit lanes are considered part of the racing surface for the cars on track, unless admins decide otherwise for certain track layouts. Drivers using the pits have to stay within pit entry/exit lane lines with all four wheels and are not allowed to cross over. Riding on the line will be acceptable and any penalty decision will be at the discretion of the stewards. 
3. Going off track with all four wheels due to a mistake is considered part of racing. Repeated leaving the track at the same corner(s) may be deemed as gaining an advantage and a penalty may be given either by the in-game penalty system or the Stewards. 
4. Gaining a position or gaining an advantage against a competitor or gaining track position (gaining time) by leaving the track in any way is against the rules, regardless of any in-game penalty that may be handed out, and the Stewards may apply penalties because of that, unless the driver gives back the position immediately or slows down to compensate within the same lap.
5. For clarity, the white line is deemed as track limits for all stewarding decisions, regardless of if the in-game penalty system identifies this as an off-track.

5. Flag Rules

1. Yellow flags are enforced and drivers must respect the “No passing when under yellow” rule. Drivers must be cautious and prepare for slowing down to avoid any incident ahead.
2. If the drivers ignore yellow flags, it is within the Stewards discretion to apply or not a penalty. 
3. Blue flags: they are advisory only, slow/lapped drivers do not have to pull aside, they can stay on their line. 
4. A blue-flagged driver is not allowed to defend his track position against the lapping car and he/she should stay on his/her line. Intentionally holding up or defending against a lapping car may determinate the application of a penalty or even the disqualification of the driver by the live Stewards. Drivers about to be lapped have to behave in a predictable way without sudden changes of direction or track position. 
5. Lapped drivers are allowed to unlap themselves as long as they can pull away after passing the driver that has a lap advantage.
6. Black/Orange (meatball) flags might be shown when a player has excessive damage. Not responding to the warning and staying out on track may result in Disqualification by the game or the Stewards.

  6. On Track Behaviour

1. The driver in front has the right to choose any line at any section of the track. The driver in front loses this right when an overtaking driver brings their front wheel to line up with the other driver’s head. At this point drivers are in a “side-by-side” position, and they both have to give each other at least 1 car’s width room. 
2. Defending is allowed and accepted as a reaction by the driver in front. It is not allowed to defend if there is any overlap between cars. Note that following a racing line into a corner is not considered defence (unless cars are deemed side-by-side). 
3. Both the passing driver and the driver in front are responsible for fair racing during the pass. It is the passing driver’s responsibility to choose a safe timing for the pass. 
4. Pass attempts at a turn is what causes most accidents. The preferred racing line through most corners is usually very narrow and sometimes it will be impossible for two cars to share tight corners side-by-side at full speed. For each corner, the right to the preferred racing line is decided at the turn-in point. A driver attempting to pass at corner entry has to be in a side-by-side position at the turn-in point to have a right to enter the corner side-by-side. If not, this driver must back off and give way to the driver up front. 
5. Dive-bombing should be avoided and is subject to a penalty. If the attempting driver was out of control and caused contact, or time loss to another driver, the penalties applied may be harsher than normal. 
6. Brake checking, unnecessary slowing through a corner, punting, bump-passing, cutting-off or chopping, whether there is contact or not, are not permitted and will be subject to penalty. 
7. Blocking is not allowed and subject to a penalty. 
8. Weaving to break a draft is considered blocking. 
9. Out-of-control or spinning drivers should lock their brakes to make it easier for other drivers to predict their movements. After a spin, the driver must keep the brakes pressed to make sure the car does not roll forward or back in order to not create an unpredictable situation for cars passing by. 
10. Drivers who go off track limits, if they can keep their cars under control, should slow down or wait for traffic to clear and re-join in a safe manner. 
11. Flashing of lights are permitted to alert the driver ahead you are about to pass or driver ahead will give way to help the pass. It cannot be more than 3 repeat flashes.

7. Incident Reviews & Penalties

1. Official Race sessions will be reviewed by race Stewards live in conjunction with the Race Director. 
2. Reviews will be conducted by a minimum of two Stewards and the Race Director. Warning/penalty decisions will be issued by the Race Director. 
3. Live Race Director or Steward(s) will have authority to assign in-session penalties. 
4. Penalty criteria is as follows: – Unavoidable contact or action: Racing incident, no penalty. – Avoidable contact or action: Warning, TP (Post-Race Time Penalty), DT (Drive Thru Penalty), SG (Stop and Go Penalty – 0 to 60 seconds in length), DQ (Disqualification from results) – Unsportsmanlike conduct or any other misdemeanor: Warning, Disqualification or Ban from the event/championship determined by the Administrators and the Race Director. 
5. Serving penalties: In-session penalties (DT or SG) must be served during the course of the race with the exception of penalties handed out during the final lap. 
6. Receiving a DT or SG penalty in the final lap will add an appropriate time penalty to the driver’s final result, depending on severity of the penalty (80 to 180 seconds).
7. Post-race time penalties (TP) may be handed out during the race session if deemed necessary by the Stewards in conjunction with the Race Director.  
8. Race Control will post warnings or other messages via the chat message window during the race
9. Other penalties given by live stewards and the game itself will be displayed as RCTRL messages at bottom or right-hand side of your screen (DT, SG, TP) once assigned. 
10. If a driver makes an avoidable contact and causes another driver to spin, lose positions or sustain heavy damage, the offending driver can expect a DT as a minimum. 
11. Repeat offenders will receive SG penalties with gradual severity. 
12. Stewards will exercise reasonable judgement at all times and particularly when reviewing light contacts, taps, bumps. 
13. The Stewards will note and review all incidents happened during each session. During a race, priority will be given to incidents involving cars in the first 10 positions, however all incidents noted will be reviewed either during or after each race. Any incident brought to the attention of the Stewards using an incident report submitted via the post-race Protest system will be reviewed as soon as possible, but after the Stewards have completed their review of incidents noted during a race. Incidents not filed via the Protest system may not be reviewed by the Stewards. 
14. Incidents where insufficient time or evidence prevents an in-session penalty to be handed out will be dealt with and communicated after the race. Post-session penalties may be post-race time penalties, disqualification from the race results or even ban from the event/championship.  
15. The final results may be issued only after the Stewards have reviewed all incidents and applied the corresponding penalties. The final results will include any post-race penalty applied by Race Direction.

8. Protest

1. Participants may be allowed to file protests up to 48 hours after the race session is concluded. A ticket on the Big Brain Racing Discord server can be opened by the driver, and in that time the driver may submit their protests in the following format: Car #         Opponent car(s) #: Lap #: Turn #: Short description of the incident: ………………
2. A message will be posted by an Administrator confirming the start time of the Protest window (the time that the race ended). Protests not sent in this timeframe will not be accepted and examined. Protests sent with the wrong format or incomplete may be discarded by the Stewards without viewing their content.
3. Participants misusing the Protests channel by needless chatting, flaming and calling out other drivers will be penalised or even disqualified from the event.

9. Additional Rules on the Server

1. In-game CHAT window must be enabled for all official event sessions in the game’s UI settings. The organizers will not accept any complaints about missed messages if sent using this chat. 
2. No in-game text chatting is permitted during Qualifying and Race. Players not complying to this rule may be warned or penalized during or after the session. Repeated offenders may receive a penalty affecting his or her race result or standings in the series or even a ban from the championship.