Rules For Trans Tasman Rivals

Requirements

You must have broadband internet with a minimum of 64k speed, both upload and download. 128k or higher upload is preferred.
Use of keyboard control is not acceptable due to its on/off nature. You must have a controller that allows you to have variable control over the car. Steering wheel and pedals is strongly recommended and will allow you to reach your true racing potential as well as provide a high level of immersion.
All entrants must know, and abide by the rules Ignorance is not a defense.
It goes without saying that cheating / Hacking Etc is forbidden, but also completely pointless. There is no prize money or other rewards so cheating in any form will only give you a hollow result, at risk of being banned and tarnishing your name forever.

Behavior

It is expected that entrants will conduct themselves in a manner that will provide a positive experience for other members and enhance the reputation of Trans Tasman Rivals. There are many ways to provide a positive experience for others like sharing your car setups and driving tips is one, but also being appreciative when you receive this as they are someone’s blood sweat and tears. Posting race reports is also a good way of commenting on good driving by other members you may have noticed.
We do expect all our members to show respect at all times to all other members. No intimidation or mistreating of others in any form will be tolerated. This rule stands even if a protest review by an admin confirms the other member is at fault. Remember two wrongs do not make a right. For example publicly criticizing another driver on the forum is bad form.
Entrants are expected to hold fairness, honesty, integrity and courtesy as more important than race results. Racing fairly will provide the best enjoyment, whereas winning by any means less than fair, is not a true achievement at all.  Unsportsmanlike conduct is not welcome at Trans Tasman Rivals. Acts of bad sportsmanship is not acceptable behavior and will be dealt with accordingly by the appropriate people.
Please also be mindful that people under the age of 18 may be on the forum or Teamspeak.

Racing

Driving in the wrong direction is both extremely dangerous and of course forbidden. Cutting the track to gain an advantage or position is not allowed. Most tracks have white lines and/or kerbing defining the edges of the track. Competitors should keep two wheels inside these defined edges at all times. If you continually have  (2 wheels not on the road / Tarmac surface) you will incur a penalty"  either be it time based or points deducted at the discretion of the admin and incident reviewers (See penalties below).
If at any stage your car leaves the defined racing course for any reason a safe re-entry rule will apply. This is obviously for safety. In real-life racing you may have to wait until a track marshal gives you the all-clear to rejoin the course. Rfactor does not have live marshals to guide you, so it is your responsibility to check it is safe to re-enter. Use the position bar to check for cars that may be approaching from behind and avoid re-entering immediately in front of anyone. When you do first get back on course, it is advised to stay off the racing line until you are back up to speed allowing anyone who does catch you an un-impeded way past.  In the opening laps, as the field is bunched up, it is highly likely that a safe re-entry means waiting for the entire field to go past. Any incidents involving a person re-entering the track unsafely will be looked at harshly by the admin(s).  

Qualifying

Team speak and Game Chat Usage of these are allowed during all sessions including qualifying, but out of courtesy for drivers attempting to set a fast time this should be kept to a minimum.  It is recommended to use Team speak during qualifying to check if a driver behind you or in front of you is on a flying lap so you can discuss whether to overtake/move over/ abort your flying lap etc.
Before you leave the pits check the position display (the line down the bottom showing where everyone's car is relative to the lap) and try to find a gap in the traffic. On you’re out lap and any slow laps are aware of drivers who may be coming up behind you on a flying lap, wherever possible and safe to do so, allow them through unimpeded. Note: this is one of the few times that moving completely off the racing line to allow someone through are recommended.
Just like in real-life racing, it is your responsibility to find a suitable gap in traffic to perform a flying lap. If you catch a slower driver who is also on a flying lap they are not expected to let you past and spoil their own lap. Overtaking is acceptable however be aware you may in fact spoil the laps of both you and the driver you overtake. It is recommended to use team speak as described above to avoid any confusion.  

Race Starts

The risk of accidents at the start of a race, just like in real-life lacing is extremely high due to all the cars being tightly packed together. First lap incidents can be avoided by being careful. There is always a temptation to see a gap and attempt a high risk move, but as the tightly packed field congests gaps can disappear very quickly leaving you with no place to go.  You can however by attempting a kamikaze move, create a serious pile up, spoil your race and several other competitors, and lose the respect of others!
For a reverse grid race all the normal rules apply. Just because a faster driver may be behind changes nothing, drivers in front are not expected to give up their positions and the drivers behind need to avoid colliding with drivers in front of them as always. If anything is different from normal, it is expected the faster more skilled drivers who are now at the rear of the field will be better at avoiding incidents.


Overtaking

As in real-life racing, passing isn’t always possible and rarely easy. When you are behind a slower driver, you should remain behind until you can perform a clean and safe overtake.  There are some differences to real-life racing when it comes to overtaking. In sim-racing both peripheral and rear vision is poor, while side and rear cameras can be mapped, it's unreasonable to expect drivers in front to use these buttons in the heat of a battle while driving at speed. The driver behind has significantly better vision of the battle, and accepts greater responsibility for the safety of overtaking moves than in real-life racing. This means overtaking rules that might be used in real-life racing like "up to the B pillar is an overtake" is not acceptable in sim-racing. The driver in front may not even see the overtaking car until they are fully side by side.
Gaining a position by tapping the car in front hard enough that they are forced off track, spin, knocked off of the racing line, or lose forward momentum in the act of avoiding a spin is not a clean safe overtake. A driver who has gained a position in this manner should redress positions as soon as it is safe to do so.
The driver in front has the right to choose any line, providing it is not considered blocking. Blocking is defined as two consecutive line changes which are performed to impede the driver that is trying to overtake. The driver in front is allowed to change lines once to protect their position.

Lapping

The faster driver about to lap the slower driver in front has an obvious lap-time/speed advantage, a significant vision advantage, and is likely to be the more experienced driver. It is expected that "if" it was a battle for position the driver behind would be able to overtake easily and cleanly with the advantages they hold. The driver behind is the one that should make the decision where it is safe to complete a pass and must remain behind until they can do so cleanly and safely - even if it means losing time.  It is highly recommended the driver behind uses Team speak where possible to inform the driver in front - they are about to lap, where they intend to pass, and on what side they intend to pass to avoid confusion and to enable the pass to happen smoothly and safely.
As the driver being lapped you should remain calm and predictable and stay on track. Avoid making sudden line changes or braking manoeuvres as the driver approaches from behind. One safe way is easy off the throttle enough to allow the driver trying to lap you to get past you before the next corner

General Racing

Don't run into the car in front of you! Considered a golden rule, running into the car in front is one of the big no no's in sim-racing.  If you have out-braked yourself coming into a corner, and you realize you can't slow enough to avoid running into the car in front, if possible you should steer away from the impact even if this means going off track.  All drivers should avoid collisions, or taking out another driver. If you cause a collision and gain position(s) because of it, you must redress the position(s) as soon as it is safe to do so. When you gain a position unfairly from another driver by punting them, colliding with them, cutting the track or any other unfair means you must redress the position. It may be that you can simply let the person pass you again into the next corner, but where the driver has gone off track or spun this typically means stopping in a safe place and waiting for as long as it takes for that person to get going again and go past you. You must do this regardless even if you lose multiple positions in the process. Remember the person who you are waiting for has also lost multiple positions through no fault of their own.
If you spin or have an accident and end the spin on the circuit the first thing you should immediately do is hold your brakes on firmly to avoid rolling or moving. This allows drivers approaching to choose a line around you safely, if you do not hold the brakes on, you may start rolling into the gap they have chosen causing a collision. The second thing you should do is wait for a sufficient gap in the approaching traffic to allow you time to either move completely off the circuit so you can safely re-enter later or to get going again safely, you must remaining stationary with the brakes held on firmly until that gap is identified. Use the position bar to monitor cars approaching and identify when there is a gap. When you see a yellow flag you must be slow down and be prepared to avoid a car stuck on the track. It is your responsibility to avoid any stationary cars on the circuit in a yellow flag zone, and their responsibility to remain stationary.  
When racing closely with another driver, you should wherever possible allow room for them on track. You should not squeeze another driver or force another driver off track deliberately. Anyone deemed by the admin(s) to be overly aggressive, rough or careless may be penalized. Racing hard is acceptable but should always remain fair.

Weight Penalties

Trans Tasman Rivals does run a Weight Penalty system to keep racing as close as possible. Admin on the night will decided the Penalty based on performance. If you legitimately believe that you have been over penalized please bring this up with admin before the sessions starts. Saying that the admin is has researched this before the event and is aware of what the weight will do the vehicle and is only applying penalties to make sure everyone has a fun and enjoyable night. Everyone’s race is improved if we are able to battle the distance instead of just lapping miles in front.

Points

Race Points:  These are for the Trans Tasman Rivals Overall Competition.
Position Points
1 12
2 10
3 8
4 7
5 6
6 5
7 4
8 3
9 2
10 1

N.B: Series like the V8 Supercars and NZV8’s will use the same points system as the real series.  
Anyone not completing 75% race distance will not receive any points.

Endurance Race Points:
Endurance rounds are 2x the normal race and bonus points

Protests

Firstly it is easy to be hot under the collar straight after a race and submit a protest, but its best to sleep on it and review the replay again when you are fresh and calm to be sure you are not clouded by anger. At Trans Tasman Rivals we have decided that no protest can be made until the following day once you have slept on it. From past experience please once you have written your protest, leave it for a couple of hours come back and read again before submitting it. I personally have found that once I have written it I get anger off my chest and when I come back and read it I find I don’t quite think the same. Protests have a time limit of 2 days following race nights.
Every racer has the right to race fairly. Anyone who believes they did not get a "fair go" due to a breach of the rules - whether they were punted without redress, forced off-track, lost a position due to a driver cutting the track or any other breach of the rules may submit a protest to the admin(s). The protest should be via PM not on the forum and to recognized admin or moderator of the season. The protest should include - Race#, Lap# section of the track involved and a brief description of the incident including what rule(s) you believe were breached. All protests will be conducted by a 3 person panel so where the decision and punishment will be determined.
If a protest is about an admin once your protest is submitted the admin will then approach a team to run the protest without the involvement of the admin involved in the incident. If you feel more comfortable you can submit your protest to another admin or moderator at Trans Tasman Rivals.  In any case to be fair anyone involved in the incident is not allowed to judge the protest regardless if they are an admin or not.
Because any protest requires a panel of at least 3 suitable judges, frivolous protests submitted without merit will be frowned upon and may incur a penalty at the discretion of those on the appeal panel. Before you submit an appeal take a breather, sleep on it, review the replays to make sure your protest has merit and is not just made out of anger.    
Admin(s) to contact are TTR Benny

Penalties

Application of and size of penalties will be given with the use of discretion. The admin(s) are expected to be fair and even-handed in their approach, and take into account all factors including the driver’s experience, skill level and the seriousness of the incident. Where appropriate the admin(s) may elect to provide a warning only. This is more likely to be when the driver concerned is new to sim-racing, learning and the incident is minor. Whereas experienced racers involved in a serious incident are more likely to receive a penalty up to the maximum applicable without getting a warning first.  This may be perceived as unfair but it allows the admin(s) to base penalties on individual circumstances and give new drivers a "fair-go" whilst recognizing that experienced racers may have already been given a "fair-go" in previous seasons or situations.

Teamspeak

All racers must be on Teamspeak for races....

Why?


1. Pre race rules and meetings are so much easier.
2. Knowing what a members problem is when they dropped out just before a race ie should we wait or not.
3. Dealing with blow ins that are causing issues and we can quickly change the server password and can tell everyone without having to use the whisper command to every member.
4. Text Chat can come across the wrong way people don't always realise that you are joking.
5. If there is an incident, admin can know about it and deal with it easier by talking it out quickly on Teamspeak.


Details: IP Address 203.14.173.58:10037
Password: "use the normal password"
Teamspeak Download Link HERE: http://www.teamspeak.com/?page=downloads

Same rules apply as per the forum, no swearing or cursing



Note

These rules are final and there will be no discussion about them. We have gone and made them as fair as we think is possible without going overboard with rules and regulations.

We are all here to have fun and enjoy ourselves so please take note of these as they are more common sense than anything and are now in place to make this one of the best leagues out there for rFactor.

TTR Benny