1991 IMSA Camel GT Championship : Series rules

This series aims to be as historically accurate as possible, so we'll use the tracks from the 1991 season when available, and a suiting replacement when not (I.E : St Petersburg instead of West Palm Beach for the 1st Florida urban race). We shall use the real point rules. Race-length will be about 2h00 for each sprint event, and there will be two endurance races of 24 and 12 hours.

The data for each Sprint race will be the same, with slight adjustements for Endurance races :

Simulation: NASCAR Racing 2003 Season using the Redline GTP Mod
Server Connection: IP Address and password to be given before the race in the Driver's Meeting email
Race Length: Approximately 2h00; the race will end at the lap distance specified on the schedule page
Mandatory Minimum Number of Disconnects: NONE (except for endurance races)
Yellows: Off
Starts: Single file, Staggered with 0.5 - 1 second interval
Weather: 70°C Clear, fixed
Pace Lap: Full
Pit Road Speed Limit: none (even if Nascar says you have to respect a 70MPH Pit Road speed limit, you can actually blast through the pit lane at 200MPH+ with no penalty)
Car Setup: Open
Hardcore Mode: Driving Aids Off & Open Cockpit View
Pitstop Frequency: 1x
Damage: Moderate


Race Date: Saturdays (Sundays if GMT +7 or greater) every 3-4 weeks
Practice Time: 3:45 pm - 4:45 pm
Qualifying: 4:45 pm
Qualifying Laps: 3
Happy Hour: Approximately 4:50 am
Race Time: 5:00 p.m


General Rules

These rules can be added to, taken away from, changed, or modified at any time. It is up to you to keep current with the rules.

1) Drivers will be accepted on a first-come/first-served basis. All others will be placed on a waiting list until spots become available. In order to be accepted for a roster spot, each team will have to name at least 1 confirmed driver being registred to the forum with his real name. Entries for the Endurance and Sprint races are separated. In the Sprint roster, one driver per car only is allowed, whereas in the Endurance roster teams from 2 to 5 drivers are welcome. All drivers must be registered to the forum under their real name.

2) No flaming, obscene, or inappropriate language will be tolerated. Remain courteous even in annoying situations. HSO admins won't waste time with unrespectful drivers, those will be banned from the league if they behave in a negative way towards the league or towards other drivers.

3) No intentional wrecking. Every race will be reviewed and the admins will pay special attention to the protests they will receive on HistoricSimracing@gmail.com mailbox. If a driver is judged to have intentionally wrecked another team, he will be expelled from our events.

4) No cheating. If someone is judged to be cheating, they will be banned from all future events.

5) All rules of the simulation will be enforced. (Black Flags, Stop and Go, Drive-through)

It's up to you to know what's allowed and what's not in Nascar Racing 2003 Season, and especially on Redline GTP mod

6) In the unlikely event that we would have mass server connection issues before the start of the race, we will delay the race for up to 30 minutes in an attempt to clear up any problems before considering cancellation. Also, a race could be cancelled for the following reasons:

a) Last minute server unavailability.
b) Critical bug found for the track to be run without time to reschedule to another track.
c) Server crashes during the course of the race.

*If a race has to be cancelled, we will attempt to reschedule it at a later date.

7) SERVER CRASH RULE: If the server crashes and/or all drivers get booted, the race will not be scored, UNLESS the leader has completed more than, or equal to, 60% the scheduled race distance. In cases where server and/or connection issues arise, ALWAYS make multiple attempts to reconnect. If the race leader has completed more than 60% of the distance, and if we could not satisfactorily recover the running order reasonably close to the time of the mass disconnection, the race will not be scored and will be considered a 'rainout' and either postponed or canceled.

8 ) We understand that from time-to-time drivers will not be able to make a race. Please notify the Administrators if you plan to be absent as there are maybe drivers on the Waiting List that will be able to fill you position. Two consecutive absences without notifying the Administrator will result in termination of membership.


Cars

There are 23 cars available. However if more than 23 drivers want to enter the competition, more cars could be added to the roster. They run in two different classes. There are 17 GTP entries and 6 Lights entries. We would like people to use a "gentlemen-agreement" in order to let faster cars for slower drivers.

Rules to comply with/advice as far as chassis choice is concerned :

- Light cars should be let for slowest drivers only.

- Most of the Porsche 962 in the GTP Class are chassis A cars. These should be let for very fast drivers who seek a tough challenge in the Major Class. Same goes for the Spices of Milner Racing, who are chassis D cars.

- Chassis B and C are the main contenders of the 1991 season. These shall be taken by average and fast drivers.

The HSO Admins team have all authority to deny a driver the right to drive a car which is too fast for his driving skills.

Once a driver has make at least one sprint race with a car, he can't switch but for another car of his team (I.E a Bud Light Jaguar driver may drive #2 and 3 alternatively during the season. But he will be able to drive only for the Bud Light Jaguar team throughout the whole season.)

NB : These rules don't apply to Endurance races

Transfer of a driver from one team to another during the season might be allowed in exceptional cases, and with proper justification.

Drivers can only use cars from the official HSO carset, to be found on the car's booking topic.


Pre-Race and Practice

Practice will start at the prescribed time set above. You are expected to have plenty of practice before the start of these races.

During Endurance races, only the driver starting the race for your team may enter the practice session. Teams that violate this rule may be ejected.

Qualifying

Qualifying will start at the prescribed time set above. If for some reason the qualifying session cannot be started at the time mentioned in the Driver's Meeting, or within a maximum delay of 30 minutes, the race will be cancelled.

Qualifying will consist in a 3 lap shoot-out, every drivers being alone on the track.

No chat or autochat will be allowed during qualifying sessions. No exceptions.

Starts

Before the green flag is dropped to start the race, the field of cars needs to quickly get into a single file, staggered, pacing line. The even numbered qualifiers (2nd, 4th, 6th, etc.) will drop into position behind the car that out-qualified them. Keep the pacing line fairly tight, maintaining between 0.5 and 1.0 second distance between your car and the car staggered in front of you.


The driver on the pole will lead the field, maintain the pace speed set by the pace car, and will not accelerate until the green flag is dropped.

Absolutely no jump-starting, lagging back, or brake-checking on starts.

A driver may ask for a restart if he's been wrecked during the formation lap. But he MUST do so before the Green Flag waves. Only 2 restarts will be allowed.

Race starts will be under special investigation by the admins after each race. A driver lacking skills or self-control during this process will be warned.

Green-Flag Conditions

It is the responsibility of each driver to execute a clean, safe pass. If you are trying to complete a pass but do not think it can be done without putting anyone at risk of spinning or wrecking, lift and wait for a better passing opportunity.

Excessive blocking is not permitted and will get you a time penalty if a valid protest is brought to the attention of the admin team. Any blocking is not recommended, but will not be penalized unless an incident occurs that causes damage to a competitor. Defending your position by holding a tighter line than normal when a car catches you is not blocking. Blocking is defined as making a sudden change in line in response to a competitor’s attempt to pass you in order to prevent that pass. Those who continually hold up faster cars should expect to be moved, however.

Two tires should be on the tarmac/pavement/racing surface at all times. For purposes of this rule, curbs, rumble strips, & the like ARE NOT considered a part of the tarmac/pavement/racing surface. They are considered to be just like grass or dirt. Drivers who repeatedly put more than 2 tires off the tarmac/pavement/racing surface, with the intention* of gaining a lap time advantage, will be warned and subsequent violations will be penalized. Those who intentionally bypass the course in an attempt to gain a lap time advantage will also be penalized. Exceptions are if you have an accident, are avoiding an accident, or if you are trying to avoid causing an accident.

*For purposes of this rule, intention is defined as a driver that continues to repeat the same action without having made an obvious mistake.

Selected autochat is allowed during the race only to signal pit entry/exit. No apologizing or thanks to other drivers before the checkered waves, even by private chat. The forum is a better place to discuss all those race facts.

When rejoining the track after going off-course, or in case of a spin that results in your car stopping on the racing surface, you should stay exactly where you are until the immediate cars have passed. Allow your competitors to maneuver around your stopped car. DO NOT move your car until the immediate traffic has moved around you. Cars that leave the track due to loss of control must come to a complete stop and wait until the track is clear before rejoining the race surface. Use your F2 key to stay away from incoming traffic. In the case of off-track excursions on the first lap, drivers must wait for the entire line of cars to pass, and then rejoin at the end of the field.

Severely damaged cars must give way and stay off the racing line on the straights only. Hold your normal racing line through any turns, but immediately move off the standard racing line once you reach a straight.

Player/Team Names

During sprint races, all the entries will be individual. A driver must use a profile with his real name, stating his Name and Surname in the right fields and with proper use of capital letters. (I.E Gregger Huttu)

As far as endurance races are concerned, teams will have to state the name of ALL their drivers (2 to 5 allowed) in the car booking topic, and precise the name they will choose for their common racing "player". Choice is free, but you have to comply with this rule :

-Leave the first name part blank.
-Fill the last name part with the name of your team

I.E a team consisting of drivers Martin Audran and Guillaume Siebert, both having agreed to call their team HSO will be named as follows: HSO

Driver changes/Disconnects (Endurance only)

-Each team will be a required to make a mandatory number of disconnect for each endurance race. In order for a mandatory disconnect (with driver change or not depending on whether the car is ran by one or two men) to count, you must do the following:

-The disconnecting driver must stop in his own pit stall (driver changes anywhere else on the track will not count toward the minimum number of mandatory disconnects), AND
-Initial pit crew service to the car must be started, (you do not have to wait for service to be completed - the pit crew just needs to start moving as you disconnect), AND
-In the event that your car is disabled somewhere around the track due to damage etc., and you wish to disconnect, you still need to be in your pit stall before disconnecting which requires that you 'CALL TOW TRUCK' to return to your pit stall, wait a few seconds for the car to get there, and then disconnect for the driver change.
-The mandatory disconnects have to be performed between Lap 3 and 95% of the race distance.

Replays will be used to verify the compliance of these rules after the race is completed. Any Driver/Team having failed to perform one/several mandatory disconects, for whatever reasons, will receive a 3-lap penalty for each missing disconects.

Drivers running from the same physical location can swap as many times as they want during pit stops. However, they will still need to perform the mandatory disconnect during the course of the race.

Do not drive through other teams' pit stalls when pitting. Drivers performing changes can be reconnecting and pop-up out of nowhere causing a collision if you are running through their stall. If there is a collision on pit road the replay will be reviewed and the team at fault will be penalized.

HOW TO PERFORM A DISCONNECT: Keep the Ctrl key pressed and click 5 times on the - key of the numeric paddle (top right of the keyboard usually). It will shut your GTP down. OR use the KillNR programm, available here: KILL NR (faster but not as stable as the other method).


Protests/Penalties

Protests can be sent to HistoricSimracing@gmail.com along with a replay, when possible, to the league within 24 hours of the race. Penalties will be assessed on an case-by-case basis. We strive to be fair to all parties. Be sure to specify the lap number your team was on when the incident occurred so that it may be reviewed by the admins team.


Points Rules

Official IMSA 1991 Points Rules:

1st: 20pts
2nd: 15pts
3rd: 12pts
4th: 10pts
5th: 8pts
6th: 6pts
7th: 4pts
8th: 3pts
9th: 2pts
10th: 1pt

Pole Position : 1pt
Fastest Lap : 1pt
Most Laps Led : 1pt

- A "clean sweep" (i.e getting all three bonuses on a single event) gives you not 3 but FIVE (5) points

- All drivers scoring during the 3hrs of Daytona event will receive a bonus of ONE (1) point added to their total.
- All drivers scoring during the 12hrs of Sebring event will receive a bonus of FIVE (5) points added to their total.

Drivers Championship

All drivers or teams starting the race will get the chance to score points, regardless of the distance they cover.

If a driver has driven two cars during a race, both having scored points, he will score the result of the best car.
I.E if Gregger Huttu has driven both Jaguar 2 and 3, Jaguar #2 having won the race and Jaguar #3 having finished 2nd, Gregger Huttu will score 20 points from the race win. This won't affect the rest of the standings.

Every results will be taken in account to determine the Champion.

Constructors Championship

Engine manufacturers have their championship as well. The best car representing a brand will score for its side. The points rules stay the same than for the drivers championship, and all results are taken into account.


Tie-Breakers

If at the end of the season, two or more teams are tied in championship points, then tie-breakers will be used to determine their final position in the standings. Ties will be broken in the order of precedence as follows: number of 1st-place finishes, number of 2nd-place finishes, number of 3rd-place finishes, etc. etc., until the tie is broken.
If the tie still cannot be broken then a second tie-breaker will be used: Qualifying positions.
If the tie remains, (I.E in the case of two drivers having made the whole season together on the same car), they'll be declared ex-aequo.


Antoine de Mautor, GTP admin

A few tweaks have been made to the rules, in order to get closer to the actual 1991 Camel GT Season :

- The Daytona event having had its length reduced from 24hrs to 3hrs, the Bonus points for this race is now ONE instead of EIGHT.

- "Clean Sweep" rules added.

- Constructor Championship added.