Menu
Menu
These pages are intended to provide a guide to SRGP Policies and Forum Rules, as well as a reference for Procedures both on the track and surrounding Racing activities.
The information presented herein has been collected from a variety of sources, and is provided free of charge. Please address any concerns regarding the rules to contact@simracing-gp.net
Use the side bar menu to navigate to the area of your choice. You will find detailed information about what is expected of you as a member and driver, and what you can expect from the SRGP staff.
It is recommended that you allow plenty time to become familiar with the information; there is a lot to read, so refer to this page often. In particular, you should read relevant sections before sending an incident report, and before posting on the forum in response to on-track incidents.
This disclaimer applies only to the information presented here. By using these guidelines, you accept this disclaimer in full.
SimRacing-GP.net (SRGP) is not liable for any actions or reactions concerning the use of simulators for racing. You must not rely on the information as an alternative to advice from an appropriately qualified professional. If you have any specific questions about legal, medical, financial or any other matter you should consult an appropriately qualified professional.
If you think you may be suffering from any medical condition you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of the information presented here.
SRGP will not be liable to you in respect of any losses arising out of any event or events beyond our reasonable control. This includes business losses, damage to profits, income, revenue, production, anticipated savings, business contracts, commercial opportunities or goodwill.
SRGP will not be liable to you in respect of any loss or corruption of any data, database or software.
SRGP will not be liable to you in respect of any special, indirect or consequential loss or damage, including hardware components.
The SimRacing-GP policies are adapted from real life racing regulations, where applicable to online racing. Policies of safety, conduct and expectations are as relevant to virtual racing as they are to real life racing.
The rules and regulations describe what is expected from all SRGP members concerning behaviour both on the track and on the forums. Failure to comply with the rules will result either in a warning or in immediate action, depending on the severity of the offence.
Members are expected to read the rules; ignorance of the rules is never an excuse. However, we do understand that there is a lot of information, and you are not expected to memorise them. Please refer to the rules before submitting a protest after an on-track incident.
Simracing-GP.net takes privacy seriously.
This is one of the reasons why the use of the real name is not required to participate in the hosted competitions.
However, Members taking part in the hosted competitions acknowledge the results are public datas and meant to remain publicly available. Statistics being based on the results and actions during the competitions are therefore also public datas.
During the website registration process, the email address is collected. It is stored and protected in a database.
The Member email is only ever used :
- as part of the Password recovery process ;
- to receive Newsletters ;
- to receive Reminder mails.
The Member has the possibility to refuse to receive these mails in his Account settings.
The Member email is not transmitted to any third party. This would only happen with the Member explicit agreement.
The website "Remember Me" functionnality uses Cookies to store and transmit uniquely identifiable data.
These cookies are deleted when expiring, when the Member connects without ticking the "Remember Me" option or simply by logging off.
In order to personnalize advertising on the website, Cookies can be used to store the country of the website visitor. The country is deducted from the IP address.
By browsing the website or participating in the hosted competition, you acknowledge having read, understood & accepted these policies.
You do not have to use your real name, but you may have only one UserName at a time. Multiple accounts are prohibited. If you want to change your site username, please contact the site admin.
You must keep your in-game name updated on your site profile and ensure that you use that name in the sim.
Your UserName must not purposedly impersonate someone else. Your UserName must not contain offensive, vulgar or obscene terms.
We have implemented the following guide for using our community forums. This guide is designed to strike a balance between the main goal of our forums, simulator racing and keeping the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere of our community.
We reserve the right to ban any member who violates our guidelines or disrupts our community. We will be fair and provide warning in most cases.
Helping Race Directors enforce driver discipline is down to you, the drivers. However, sending a protest does not guarantee that a penalty will be imposed, and it does not guarantee that you will feel any better about the incident. Also, please be aware that the stewards/race directors cannot magically give you your race back.
Not every transgression requires a penalty in response. There is a distinction between "mistakes" and "violations". We do not penalise any unintentional mistakes, and we examine the context and circumstance of every reported incident.
Was the incident a result of reckless disregard, or was it just a mistake? Does the driver have a history? What was the net result? Did the driver gain an unfair advantage in the incident? Did he repeat it, or did he catch the error and learn from it? If he gained a position, did he move to give it back? These are all context and circumstance, and help guide our response. Not everything warrants a negative penalty.
Responses to incident reports vary from simply giving advice (educating the driver(s) involved), to deducting laps and positions, to suspensions and outright bans. This is not an enjoyable task, and usually there will be someone who feels unfairly treated. Rest assured that we do our utmost to resolve things in the most fair way possible.
Why report An Incident? It's a notification. "Please look at this incident." It may or may not be something. The results may need a correction. The driver may need to receive some coaching or a warning, a penalty or not, or may need to be watched. We thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Usually a resolution can be found by simply giving the involved driver(s) some coaching, telling them why a particular course of action is not recommended. The times when a penalty is required are far fewer.
We have developed this system over the last few years, and it's the best system we have for managing a community of drivers that wants to be treated with decency and respect.
Someone out there is thinking: "... nobody at SRGP really does anything about it". Others may be thinking: "...SRGP really overdo the penalties"! Rest assured that every incident and the actions that followed, went through the same procedure and every driver involved was given the opportunity to state their case.
Mistakes happen in the heat of competition. They happen at every level of the sport, even at the highest levels of the professional ranks. They're going to happen here, too. We can't go back in time and undo them. So if you can't enjoy racing without the guarantee of vengeance and punishment over every mistake, you're not going to enjoy it here because that's not what SimRacing-GP.net is about. Likewise, if you can't enjoy the racing if a penalty is imposed for one of your transgressions, you're not going to enjoy it here.
Context and circumstance.
The most common way to start a race.
A formation lap means driving from the grid around the track at slow speed, until your reach the grid again. The normal procedure for a Standing Start then occurs.
This procedure may not be supported by a given simulation and would therefore need to be "manually" performed by the Drivers.
Failure to respect these directives is considered a False Start and as such subject to penalties, either during or after the race.
In rFactor2 and most other sims, you can start from the pit lane either by choice or by not taking the grid before time expires.
Anyone who wants to complain about an other SimRacer behaviour will have to comply with this Protest Procedure. To understand what sending a protest is about, see Why Report an incident ?
All the Procedure is made via Private Topics.
Wait no less than 24h and no more than 72h for submitting a Protest. This is meant to avoid "fuming" comments. All protests submitted outside of this window will be automatically dismissed.
The incidents are reviewed exclusively on the server replay, unless it is technically not available. The server replay will be available on request.
Fill the Protest by sending a Private Message to the Series Host. Indicate the replay time tag and the reason for the protest. Do not start a lengthy explanation, a few words are enough.
The Series Host will first review the incident. If he decides no further action is needed, he will advise the protest submitter. If he decides he needs more details before making a decision, he has to ask the submitter and all the drivers involved in the incident to give their point of view.
The Series Host will announce his decision to the submitter and all the drivers involved in the incident. This decision can not be appealed.
The Host has the possibility to raise a Protest Procedure on his own initiative. In this case, he has to contact all the drivers involved in the incident and ask them to give their point of view before making and announcing his decision.
When a driver is asked to give an explanation he has 48h to do so. After this time, the Series Host will be free to make his own interpretation and announce it.
All this procedure is meant to promote and protect respect on & off track. Use of abusive language during this protest procedure can be sanctioned.
As much as possible, the sanction will be applied to the results of the Event during which the incident occured. Depending on the severity, the Series Host can decide within the Penalties List.
All flags, lights, pit-lane, and on-track lines rules must be obeyed at all times.
Green Flag means "Go !"
The track is clear for racing; it will be waved on the first lap of a race, and in a sector following an incident.
White Flag means there is one lap to go.
The next time you cross the start/finish line, the race will be finished.
Checkered Flag means the race has finished.
It is acceptable to press ESC to return to your garage, but in some cases (when the race is being broadcast, for example) you may be asked to continue driving around the track, and return to the pits that way.
Yellow Flag indicates a "Danger !"
You must slow down and be prepared to stop. Overtaking in the 'yellow zone' is not allowed in real racing, but most sims do not give a penalty for this. Use common sense to avoid causing further incidents.
Red Flag means the race is being stopped.
You must slow down and then press ESC to return to your garage. The race will be restarted by the race director.
Black Flag means you must return to your garage, because you have been disqualified from the race.
This will only happen if you repeatedly ignore warnings. Most sims will show several indications that you must pit for a drive-through or stop/go penalty. Ignoring these warnings will result in you being excluded from racing.
Blue Flag will be shown to drivers who are about to be lapped by a driver who is a lap ahead.
If you are shown a blue flag, you must try to let the faster driver pass as soon as you can so so safely. You are not expected to move off the racing line unless you can do so safely, preferably on a straight. It is up to the driver behind to indicate his intention to pass, and you should drive your normal line (unless on a straight as described). Do NOT brake heavily, especially in corners and do NOT drive off the track to let someone pass you.
Red Light means "Stop !"
If you see a red light at the exit of the pit lane, it means you are not allowed to join the track yet. You must wait for a green light before doing so. Failure to stop at a red light will result in an immediate penalty. There may be occasions when this does not apply, e.g. if the track's graphics are not working correctly. The Race Director will inform drivers when this is the case.
Lines & Kerbs marking the edge of the track.
Most sims give warnings and penalties automatically. If you get a warning, it means you have exceeded track limits and repeating this will result in a penalty. On some occasions, it is necessary to apply these rules manually, and penalties may be handed out after the race. At all times, you should obey the principle of 2 wheels on the track at all times. This means you must always have at least 2 of your wheels inside the white lines. Where there is no line, the edge of the track (usually coloured grey) is the limit.
Pit Exit Path is defined by a white line which must not be crossed when you exit the pits.
Drivers are expected to obey this rule in every official session (Practice, Qualifying and Race). The only time this rule can be disregarded is when you are the only driver in the server.
Blue Light means "Car coming !"
Cars on track have the priority over cars exiting the pitlane. Some tracks have a blue light flashing at the exit of the pit lane to signal a car on track is approaching. You are allowed to exit the pit lane, however pay extra caution before rejoining the racing line and respect the Pit Exit Path.
The rules are intended to help drivers determine when they should attempt a pass, and who may be at fault if an incident occurs.
The purpose of the "space to race" rule is not to allow one driver to squeeze the other; the intent is to bring to the attention of the driver who is attempting to overtake that he must be certain that he can make the move with room to spare, and must be prepared to take evasive action if necessary.
In simracing, your view is much more restriced than in real racing (even with multiple screens!), so you need to allow more room for error. If there is a car close to you, give that driver space to race even if you can't see him.
Lastly, remember that even though you may have the "right of way" it may not be the best policy to insist on it. You may be involved in a collision that was not your fault, but you may end up crashing your car, being damaged, or at the very least, be spun out of the race. The other driver may get penalties, but that will not help you to regain your position.
The rules are intended to help drivers determine when they should attempt to overtake, and who may be at fault should there be an incident.
See Space To Race for an explanation of when the attacking driver has earned the right to some space when attempting to overtake.
See Penalties for details of what to expect for which type of transgression.
A driver may choose to protect his position so long as it is not considered blocking. Blocking is defined as 2 consecutive changes of line to "protect position". More than one move across the track is seen as impeding the driver who is trying to overtake.
For example, if you decide to take the inside line on the approach to a corner, you must stay on that line until after you have successfully defended your position. In most cases, this means you must stay on the inside line until after the corner, and you may only return to the racing line after you have successfully defended your position. Once you have taken a defensive line on the approach to a corner, you must leave space for your opponent on the outside, and you may not return to the racing line.
The exception to this rule is when the attacking driver drops behind you while you are on the inside line: at that point, you may return to the racing line providing you have not yet reached the braking zone. Changing lines in the braking zone is considered bad etiquette. Please note that you may NOT change lines again after returning to the racing line.
Contact in racing falls into two broad categories: intentional and non-intentional. For race directors and stewards, determining this distinction is the most important aspect of judging who is at fault in an incident.
At SimRacing-GP.net we have developed a system of procedures to follow, which every member of staff must use when reviewing incidents. Combined with this system is a standardised set of penalties which may be applied to any given situation, as well as a way to appeal the decisions.
See Penalties.
For an in-depth look at the philosophy which SRGP staff adopt when reviewing incidents, read Why Report an incident ? It is not always clear whether a driver's actions were deliberate or not, but by setting out these principles, we have established a base line of fairness to which both staff and drivers should aspire.
Penalties are issued only if there is clear and obvious malicious intent in a driver's actions, or repeated misjudgement. Accidental contact is part of racing and is not considered malicious.
In general, the rules regarding cutting the track are determined by the simulator. When receiving a Warning message, you know that you have exceeded the limits. If you continue to cut the track, you will receive a penalty (a drive-through, a stop/go, or a time penalty added after the finish).
What is and what is not acceptable is defined here. However, it not always clear whether exceeding the track limits gains any advantage or not. This will be left to the discretion of the Race Director and stewards, because it will vary from track to track.
Failure to respect the track limits is detrimental to the competition and considered unsportsmanlike. Taking an advantage from an off-track or repeatingly using the runoff areas are subject to penalty. To complain about a Driver behaviour, see Protest Procedure.
The track limits are generally indicated by painted lines all along the track edges ; therefore the curbs are considered outside the track limits.
On some tracks or areas of a track, these limits may appear unclear ; in such cases, the correct path will be notified to the Drivers (AIs can be used as indicators).
These boundaries define the racing surface as opposed to the run-off areas.
All the Drivers are required to stay within the marked boundaries of the track when racing normally. Failing to do so can be qualified as an Off-Track Excursion.
If you exceed track limits after a mistake, it is important to rejoin the track safely. See Rejoining the Track.
An Off-track Excursion is defined as exceeding the track limits by more than a Vehicle width. The Drivers are expected to keep 2 wheels on the racing surface at all times.
Leaving the racing surface on purpose must be justified by necessity, such as an evasive action, minimizing or recovering from a loss of control of the vehicle.
Cutting is defined as a Driver taking an advantage from an Off-Track Excursion. A Cutting may happen anywhere around the track, including on corner entry, apex and exit.
Such advantage must be direct and measurable. This includes, for examples : gaining time, passing an opponent, preventing a pass. This will be left to the discretion of the Race Control, because it will vary from track to track and case to case.
Can be qualified as Careless Driving a Driver who exceeds the track limits repeatedly and uses the run-off areas as the racing surface.
Not showing any effort to come back within the boundaries as quickly as possible or not trying to limit the time gained by going wide can be indicative of Careless Driving.
Whether or not there is a measurable benefit derived from this behaviour is not required in this case and subject to Race Control interpretation.
If you go off the track for any reason, it is extremely important that you rejoin in a safe manner.
This is particularly important during a race session: in some situations, you must wait until all the cars in the field have passed you before you can continue safely. Often you will need to get back up to speed before rejoining the racing line.
Failure to observe these basic principles will result in a penalty.
There is no reason to use the Horn during an Event. It is only tolerated to celebrate at the end of the race.
Headlights should be turned off. On some cars, headlights can make the brake lights difficult to see or cause frame rate drops for all drivers on track.
The use of headlights must be necessary, either due to poor lighting conditions or as a safety signal before passing a blue-flagged driver. Repeated flashing is regarded as Unsportsmanlike Conduct.
No chat is permitted in Race or Qualifying sessions. Chat during Practice and Warmup sessions is allowed. If you want to settle a dispute, please do so using TeamSpeak or via private message. DO NOT write a post in the public area of the forums.
There is no restriction on communicating on TeamSpeak during Race or Qualifying sessions. SimRacing-GP will provide a private channel on request. If you do not wish to hear TeamSpeak comms during the official sessions, you can disconnect or mute the sound.
The use of a Push-To-Talk button is strongly recommended.
The standardised penalties outlined below indicate which violation of the rules will receive which penalty. Clearly, new members are given some leeway to learn before receiving penalties. Repeat offenders will begin to receive more severe punishments such as disqualifications or bans.
Penalties are issued only if there is clear and obvious malicious intent in a driver's actions, or repeated misjudgement. This list does not guarantee any penalty, nor does it restrict SRGP from using any other penalty.
It is not always clear whether a driver's action is deliberate or not, but by setting out these principles, we have established a base line of fairness to which both staff and drivers should aspire. For an in-depth look at the philosophy which SRGP staff adopt when reviewing incidents, read Why report an Incident ?
Penalty table for each Infraction depending on its severity :
(for illustration purpose only)
