Art. 5: Generic rules
5.1 Drivers are expected to participate in a friendly, patient, sportsmanlike manner, both on and off the track, in any session or race.
5.2 Drivers are expected to avoid any dangerous driving, as well as impeding or distracting other drivers.
5.3 If a driver is not active on the track, he/she is expected to either use the Return to Garage command, or to vacate the server.
5.4 During qualifying/racing sessions it's discouraged to leave the server because this can cause lag for the other drivers. If you cannot continue to drive (e.g. due to damage), return to the pit lane, or use the "Return to Garage" option so there is no continuous yellow flag situation.
5.5 Drivers are allowed to swap 2 times of a car during the season.
Art. 6: Qualifying rules
6.1 Priority is always given to the car on a fast lap. Cars on their out-/in lap or invalidated lap are expected to give way to the fast car without impeding.
6.2 It is up to the driver to find a suitable window to set his/her qualifying lap. If a driver comes across a slow(er) driver on his/her fast lap does not warrant priority.
6.3 If a car on a fast lap makes a mistake this does not make the lap invalid, and thus doesnât give him the requirement to give space to a fast(er) driver coming up behind. It is still the responsibility of the driver behind to find a suitable gap. Only if the driver in front invalidates his/her lap, does that give the requirement to give room.
6.4 Overtaking a slower driver is not allowed, unless the performance of the slow(er) car is unimpeded. âRushingâ a slower driver (e.g. by driving really closely, flashing lights, etc.) is also not allowed. Practically this means that overtaking is not possible.
6.5 Slowing down to give yourself room in front, and/or to warm up your tyres/brakes for a fast lap is allowed. However, the driver should be aware of drivers coming up behind who may be driving at fast pace. The driver behind cannot be forced to have to slow down as well, regardless if the driver behind is on a fast lap or not.
6.6 Usage of the in-game chat function is not allowed during the qualifying session. Before/after the session it is allowed.
Art. 7: Racing rules
7.1 Races will not be restarted, except in case of server malfunctions.
7.2 Flashing your lights at your competitor is in itself allowed, but keep it civil. Donât be a firetruck.
7.3 Usage of the in-game chat function is not allowed during the race. Before/after the race it is allowed.
7.4 Registering for a race (which is done by default if registered for a championship) means you will race. If you cannot join a race (for whatever reason), that race registration needs to be cancelled. Failure to do so, may result in a reprimand (see section reprimands).
7.5 To be eligible for points, at least 80% of the race distance has to be made. So if the winner did 20 laps, you must have done 16 laps to be eligible for points to the championship.
7.6 Blue and yellow flags have to be respected. See the FLAG RULES for details.
7.1 re-joining rules
7.1.1 After a spin, crash or exit of the circuit, the re-join of the race must be performed in a safe, predictable manner.
7.1.2 While re-joining you may not impede any incoming drivers in any way.
7.1.3 If you are close to the track, you must wait off-track for all cars to pass before making a (safe) re-join. If you are far away from the track surface, you may start re-joining if it is safe to do so.
7.1.4 Re-joining the circuit must always be done as parallel to the circuit as possible. Never make a re-join perpendicular to the circuit, even if you think it to be clear.
7.2 Pitlane entry & exit rules
7.2.1 On pitlane entry the driver is free to cross any entry line (beware of the ACC automatically enforced track limits though). Rationale behind this is that it is safer to keep accelerating out of the last turn before the pitlane entry, instead of fumbling the exit of the corner only to make the pit entry âcorrectlyâ. Good examples of this are Barcelona, the Nurburgring and Watkins Glenn.
If a lead car that is followed closely needs to go into the pitlane and has to respect the entry lines, braking/slowing down on the racing line can be needed. This is not safe and therefore not necessary. It is (highly) advised for the lead car to use the cars indicators when followed closely by another car to indicate the intention to enter the pitlane.
7.2.2 The pit exit lines and route have to be respected. Not following the route or crossing the exit line can lead to a (time or points) penalty. For two reasons: an unfair time advantage can be gained by not following the pit exit route and it is a matter of driver safety. A driver (unexpectedly) crossing the pit exit line/route can find him/herself on the racing line, not up to speed.
Art. 8: Flag rules
8.1 Yellow flag
8.1.1 Yellow flag indicates a dangerous situation; e.g. a car in the gravel trap, guard rail or slow/stationary on the circuit.
8.1.2 No overtaking is allowed during a yellow flag.
8.1.3 Overtaking during the yellow flag is only permitted if the vehicle is moving very slowly or is stationary.
8.1.4 Caution must be taken during a yellow flag situation. You must be prepared for one or multiple cars, on or off the track, stationary or at speed. Expect to slow down and/or manoeuvre to avoid the stricken car(s).
8.1.5 An overtake under yellow flag may lead to a (time) penalty (in a future race).
8.2 Blue flag
8.2.1 Blue flag indicates that a fast(er) car is approaching, both on track and while exiting pit lane.
8.2.2 In principle, the lapped car is expected to maintain his racing line and be predictable. However, it is possible for the lapped car to vacate the racing line to make room, as long as it is done predictably and safely.
8.2.3 The lapped car must not fight the lapping car. If the lapped car sees a faster car approaching, brake a little bit earlier to let the faster car past, or take a wide(r) line through the corner.
8.2.4 Impeding/defending a lapping car is not allowed and may warrant a penalty to the lapped car.
8.2.5 Unlapping yourself is allowed if it is safe to do so.
8.2.6 Usage of the indicators is encouraged to indicate where the lapped car is going to go. Do not indicate where the lapping car should go! Use them like you would use real indicators.
Art. 9: Penalty overview
9.1 automatic penalties
The sim will apply the following penalties automatically:
9.1.1 Pit lane speeding - penalty is automatically applied by the sim (Stop-and-Go 30 seconds).
9.2 after race stewarding
9.2.1 After an ACC GT3 championship sprint race (so not endurance races), the steward team will review the race for incidents and apply appropriate penalties. Note that the steward team will only autonomously review the racing session, not the qualifying session. An incident in the qualifying session must be brought up by the driver(s) involved. Also, incidents in any other championship must be brought up by the involved driver(s).
9.2.2 The driver is free to report any incident for review. Usually most of the incidents will be caught by the stewards review, but they are also human so can miss something. Drivers can only report their incident(s) after the steward panel review. A message will be posted on the relevant Discord channel saying the review has taken place and any penalties applied where necessary.
9.3 types of incidents
9.3.1 Ignoring yellow flag/overtaking during yellow flag.
9.3.2 Ignoring blue flag.
9.3.3 Unsafe re-join - i.e. a driver not safely re-joining the racing circuit after a spin, crash or exit of the racing circuit.
9.3.4 Blocking.
9.3.5 Ramming.
9.3.6 Avoidable contact.
9.3.7 Aggressive driving (e.g. not leaving racing room, (multiple) minor contacts, dive-bombing, etc.)
9.3.8 Gaining an advantage (e.g. cutting the course, running outside track limits to not lose time or aggressive driving which results in position/time gained, etc.)
9.3.9 Breaking a (specific) rule not caught as specific type of incident
9.4 incident categories and penalties
9.4.1 Racing incident - no penalty involved, no clear instigator, or both drivers equally at fault. These incidents will not be noted in the incidents overview as posted in the Discord after the steward meeting.
9.4.2 Warning - driver found to be at fault, but no penalty warranted.
9.4.3 Minor incident - Driver violates a (or multiple) rule(s) and found to have caused minor time/position loss - time penalty between 5-30 seconds to be applied after the race to the final result, or applied to the next participated race.
9.4.4 Significant incident - Driver violates a (or multiple) rule(s) and found to have caused significant time/position loss and/or damage - penalty is 30-240 seconds to be applied after the race to the final result, and/or a DT/Stop-and-Go 30 seconds in the next participated race.
9.4.5 DQ - Driver shows significant un-sportsmanship behaviour, like intentional ramming - penalty is a disqualification from the race. Because the penalties are awarded after the race, this means that the offending driver can be removed from the race result.
9.4.6 Ban - Driver is showing significant un-sportsmanship behaviour in multiple races, and/or his/her behaviour is unacceptable in for example the Discord pages - penalty is the driver will be banned from the League and all the results removed.
9.5 incident quantification
9.5.1 Incidents are judged on a few aspects:
9.5.1.1 Driver intent (was the move malicious, brave, optimistic, âdoomed to failâ, âŠ).
9.5.1.2 Time/position(s) lost and/or damage (by/for the victim driver(s)).
9.5.1.3 Race consequences; e.g., a race ending incident early in the race will have a different penalty consequence than an incident in the last lap, without any significant (positional) consequences.
9.5.1.4 If a driver causes an incident, but waits for the âvictimâ driver after the incident, this will be taken into account into the assessment and corresponding penalty.
9.5.2 As a rule of thumb, if the time lost for the victim driver is equal to or less than ~15 seconds, itâll fall in the âMinor incidentâ category. 15 seconds and over, generally falls in the âSignificant incidentâ category. Though this is a rule of thumb, the exact classification of the incident will always be at the discretion of the stewarding team.
9.6 Warnings - and penalty carrying over system
9.6.1 The warning system will work as follows: Every driver accumulates warnings for incidents during the races of a championship. If a driver has 5 total warnings on his name, he/she will receive a 5 second penalty applied to the (end result of the) next participated race. 5 more penalties and the driver will be given a 10 second penalty, and again, after another 5 warnings have been noted a 15 second penalty will be applied.
In summary:
5 warnings received -> 5 second penalty awarded
5 additional warnings received -> 10 second penalty awarded
5 additional warnings received -> 15 second penalty awarded
An overview of the accumulated warnings per driver will be provided after each race, after the steward review. This overview can be found in the same PDF as uploaded to our Discord displaying the incident/penalty list and steward decisions. After the 15 second penalty stage, the driver is given a reset and will start from zero again.
9.6.2 The penalty carrying over system will work as follows: If a driver gets a (or multiple) penalties, but does not finish the race (DNFâs, rage-quits, âŠ), the relevant penalty will be carried over to the next round where he/she participates.
Rationale behind this is to ensure that if a driver quits after an incident or doesn't finish the race, and should have been given a penalty, the penalty will still be applied to the driver. If a driver does not finish the race, the penalty awarded will have zero consequences. If a penalty (or penalties) is carried over to a next race, it will be noted in the published incident sheet.
Note: this only applies to steward awarded penalties. Automatic penalties applied by the sim itself are not carried over.
The definition of finishing the race is that the driver has to have crossed the finish line, after driving the entire race.
Waiting in the pitlane until the session ends (which, if unable to continue, in itself is encouraged to not cause unnecessary lag to other drivers when disconnecting), does not constitute finishing the race.
9.7 record keeping, stewarding rights, misc
9.7.1 A record is kept of each warning/incident. If a driver continually shows penalty-warranted behaviour, more (severe) penalties may be applied. See ch. WARNINGS- AND PENALTY CARRYING OVER SYSTEM for details on warning implementation.
9.7.2 Drivers are free to report any incident on Discord. Usually the incidents will be assessed by the steward team, but an incident can be missed. If you feel an incident was missed, report it on our discord report section of Quantum Racing League. Please do the report after the review by the steward panel.
9.7.3 Stewards who are involved in an incident will not take any part in the judging of said incident. The other members of the stewarding panel will form an opinion.
9.7.4 All incidents reported/reviewed by the steward panel will be listed on the incident page for the specific race event. If you find an incident is not noted in the incident list, it is either deemed a racing incident, or it was missed by the stewards.
9.7.5 The result of the stewarding panel review is final.
9.7.6 The stewarding panel have the right to warn/penalize any behaviour deemed dangerous/unsporting/etc.. not specifically noted in the rulebook.
