Middle Aged Racers Association
Mara E Official Regulations
November 2006
Choice
of Formulas and Marques
Choice
of Marque (both series)
Final
Classification for the Championships
Groundless
or Frivolous Protests
FIA regulations adopted by Mara
Additional Mara conduct regulations
The following
sections apply to all Mara Divisions:
This is
supposed to be fun, damn it! All we want is clean racing and camaraderie. While
we all sink a lot of time into learning the tracks and creating car set-ups, it
is still just a simulation.
Don't get too bent out of shape over the little incidents that are bound to
happen. On the other hand, we all expect clean racing, so there are a lot of
rules and regulations here that we don’t really want to use. But they are there
if we need them, and they may whack you occasionally. So to repeat the mantra:
Don’t get mad if you break the rules and get caught. We tried to make penalties
fit the crime, and make sure that they are not capriciously handed out.
The rules will
not undergo major modification during the season. If minor corrections are
needed, they must be accepted by an e-mail vote of the majority of the members.
Major direction changes will have to wait for the next season unless they are
deemed necessary by the Commissioner and supported by a majority of the
divisions involved..
The League
Commissioner is elected by a majority vote of the membership.
The League Commissioner has overall responsibility for managing the day-to-day
operations of the league and is responsible for organising the pre- and
post-season meetings, establishing the rules and the schedule. He is also to
guard that the rules are known well and interpreted correctly by other staff.
The webmaster
maintains the Mara Site.
Mara consists
of multiple Divisions. The following refers to the European Division of Mara
otherwise known as Mara E
League & Division Membership
Membership will
be by referral. A majority of the members must approve the addition of any new
member to the Division. Membership is currently restricted to 20 active drivers
per series. An increase in the number of drivers will require the approval of a
majority of the members.
To fill the
grid if some regular members are absent, the leagues may allow for “alternate”
racers at the discretion of the Divisional admin.
Membership in
any division will be determined by the methods discussed above, with the following
caveats:
1. Only the active members of the concerned division will vote on prospective
members in that division.
2. Within the driver limit specified above, preference shall be given to
current members in any MARA division.
Membership applicants must meet a mini
Members who
miss 3 consecutive rounds will face the possibility of being excluded. The aim
here is to prevent meaningless races as a result of a lack of competitors.
The
Administrator is responsible for assuring availability of a server and server
replays, sending race invitations, guarding attendance and recruiting and
guiding new members.
This role will
also act as the Clerk of the Course and make real time decisions during the
event, for example concerning race restarts. They receive protests on incidents
and gather information from other drivers involved. They then forward the lot
to the stewards for assessment and act as the contact point for the handling of
the protest. Unsolicited reviews by the COTC will be done only in special
cases, like new drivers on probation or drivers recovering from penalties.
These reviews will be for comments only and by themselves will not lead to
penalties.
It should be
noted that these events are rare within MARA where the driving standards are
generally high.
There will be
two stewards functions for each series. The Review
Stewards will judge incidents reported to them via the COTC. The Appeal
Stewards will bindingly handle appeals to the judgements. The role of Appeal
Steward will be filled by an admin member of another division. Again these are
rarely called upon but provide a due process in the event of their need.
The
scorekeepers keep the scores for each race, calculating the championship total.
Also they will determine the actual finishing order in the following cases
1. The sim has
stopped scoring one or more drivers.
2. The sim has
issued a black flag that is later overruled by the stewards.
3. There was a
guest driver who must not be scored.
4. A driver has
illegitimately made use of the reset function and continued his race
This table
lists the league officials:
Mara |
League Commissioner |
Dave Erb |
Web Master |
Fulvio Policardi |
|
Mara E |
Race Co-ordinator & Clerk of the Course |
|
Review Stewards |
Jan Verschueren, Barry West |
|
Appeal Steward |
Keith Lawrie |
|
Score Keeper |
|
|
Mara E Web Master |
|
In addition to the
membership that is described in the general rules, the GT Legends divisions
recognize an Alternate Status, or Alternates. Alternates are registered by the
COTC as normal members, but without a guaranteed place on the grid. If there is
a full turnout, the Alternate members will have to refrain from racing. This is
the only restriction. Alternate members may qualify normally, score
championship points, use the mailing list and participate in voting. The
rationale behind this rule is to better fill the grid, and not have drivers on
the waiting list while in practise there is still room. The COTC shall keep the
number of Alternates limited in such a way that
they have a reasonable chance to join in.
The current championship
is as follows
·
GT Legends 65TC in the E Division
Championship points will
be awarded to the top finishers. See Race Points Scoring for details.
Drivers may choose any
marque at the beginning of the season without restriction.. Once the season has
begun, drivers may change to a different marque. Only one such change will be
allowed, except that drivers may return to their original marque if the change
isn't to their liking.
Graphical car updates
are allowed. However, updates that change the physics of the cars are not
allowed.
The tracks as provided
by the COTC must be used. It is allowed to use graphical modifications like
enhanced textures and higher resolutions. However, track modifications that
add, delete or alter objects that the car can collide with are not allowed.
Set the replay to be
dated in the plr file to ensure you get a replay. It is not necessary to save
the replay of the qualification runs.
Server
Settings:
Wear factor = 1X
Formation – Standing start
Pace lap & pit road speeds = as coded into GTL
Aids allowed = auto clutch only
Cockpit view only
Cars and classes allowed = 65TC only in championship races unless specified in
the race schedule
Each race meeting will
consist of two races, a sprint and a feature race as detailed below
Sprint Race
Where available a shorter variant of the race weekend track (e.g. Donington
National)
Approx 12 miles total distance
Only race finishers score points
10 mins practice
6 mins qualifying
Points are awarded as follows
12,10,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Feature Race
Where available a longer variant of the race weekend track (e.g. Donington GP)
Approx 40 miles total distance
Only race finishers score points
15 mins practice
15 mins qualifying
Points are awarded as follows
20,16,14,12,10,8,6,5,4,3,2,1
Of the 11 race meetings the best 9 race meetings count to the final score for
the championship.
The race schedules will
be publicized on the MARA Racing League web page. An email will be sent to all
drivers at least 24 hours in advance of each race. This email will specify the
server, the track, the number of laps, the time (preferably in all affected
time zones but if not then at least in Eastern USA/Canadian time for MARA A
races, CET and GM for MARA E races), the IP address of the server, the password
and the method of joining (e.g. lobby, VROC and/or TCP/IP). If a change is
required, notification will be sent to all drivers as soon as possible. If a
last minute change is required, we will switch to the back-up server for that
race. In most cases the races will be available through VROC or WinVROC for GPL,
but they will always be available through TCP/IP connections. GT Legends races
will always use the direct connection TCP/IP.
MARA E Races will
generally be held at 10:00 pm CET on Wednesdays.
MARA members wishing to
race as a guest in another division must inform the host division of his/her
intentions via the mara1list in advance. Guest drivers will not be scored for
championship points in the host division, and scoring for the regular drivers
of the division will be done as if the guest driver were not present.
The Race Co-ordinator
has the option to refuse entry to a guest driver, but this must be for valid
reasons. The Race Co-ordinator’s decision can be appealed to the Commissioner,
who shall make the final decision.
If the host server is at or near capacity the guest driver should graciously
drop out so that regular members and any Alternates of that league have a fair
chance of getting in. The Race Co-ordinator can ask the guest to leave if
he/she does not volunteer to leave in the case of a full server, and if
necessary "kick" them out.
If the guest driver is
involved in a protested incident, the incident is reviewed as normal. If
penalty points were to be applied against the guest driver they will be
converted to a warning or an exclusion for one or more
races from the guest league.
In the event that a
large number of participants are "booted", or disconnected from the
server, and are unable to complete the first lap, the COTC will red flag the
race, and restart it, using a random grid. The race will be restarted with 5
minutes on the practice clock, however, drivers may
not leave the pits during this time. If the race is delayed by more than 30
minutes for whatever reason, the race is cancelled and all drivers will score 0
points.
The COTC may not red
flag and restart a race due to on-track driving incidents. In the event of the
simultaneous disconnection of the majority of currently running drivers after
the first lap and before 75% of the race distance has been completed, the race
will be cancelled and all drivers will score 0 points. If 75% or more of the
race has been completed, the results will stand as of the point of the disconnect.
If a server crashes,
results and replays will be unavailable, and all drivers will score 0 points.
Re-runs at the end of
the season will not be held. The failure of a race is covered by the new rule
that 9 out of 11 race meetings will contribute to the championship (scratching
of the two worst race meeting results).
Championship points will
be awarded as per the chart below, which uses the "CART' (Championship
Auto Racing Teams) points scoring system for feature races and a reduced points
scoring for sprint races. Points will be awarded as follows:
Feature
Race Points
1st |
20 |
2nd |
16 |
3rd |
14 |
4th |
12 |
5th |
10 |
6th |
8 |
7th |
6 |
8th |
5 |
9th |
4 |
10th |
3 |
11th |
2 |
12th |
1 |
Sprint Race Points
1st |
12 |
2nd |
10 |
3rd |
8 |
4th |
7 |
5th |
6 |
6th |
5 |
7th |
4 |
8th |
3 |
9th |
2 |
10th |
1 |
Should there be a dead-heat in any race counting for the Championship, each of
the drivers so classified is attributed a number of points equal to the
arithmetical average, taken to one decimal, of the points corresponding to the
places which they would have occupied if they had been classified one after another.
Note that only drivers
running at the end of the race will be classified for points scoring
A Points Penalty may be
assessed by the race steward for violations of the rules, particularly the Code
of Driving Conduct below. Penalty points will be subtracted from the race
total. The race total can never be negative: if the penalty points exceed the
points score, the resulting score will be zero.
The
season consists of 11 race meetings. Of these 11 race meetings the 9 best results
will be counted towards the championship total. So every driver may drop his
two worst results (or miss two race meetings without consequences). The remaining results
are then added to give the championship total.
In case two or more
drivers finish the season with the same championship total, the driver with the
most wins shall be champion. Should the number of wins be equal, then this step
is repeated for 2nd places, and so on.
Every driver has the
right to file a protest against another driver who he thinks was the cause of
an incident or otherwise showed behaviour not in line with the Code of Driving
Conduct.
Incident, as described
by the FIA, means any occurrence or series of occurrences involving one or more
drivers, or any action by any driver, which is reported to the stewards by the
race director (or noted by the stewards and referred to the race director for
investigation) which :
·
necessitated the stopping of a race under Article 155;
·
constituted a breach of these Sporting Regulations or the Code of
Driving Conduct;
·
caused a false start by one or more cars;
·
caused a collision;
·
forced a driver off the track;
·
illegitimately prevented a legitimate overtaking manoeuvre by a
driver;
·
illegitimately impeded another driver
during overtaking.
If a driver escapes a collision by taking evasive action, he may still file a
protest against the driver who made him do so. Mind that it will be harder to
prove that the other driver was at fault in such a case.
Protests should be
lodged via e-mail to the Clerk of the Course within 24 hours after the race has
ended. Protests should specify the lap number and the race clock on which the
incident occurred, a description of the incident, an identification of the
other party(ies) involved and the local replay clip if
it is available. (Normally all drivers should save their local replay after the
race. An early disconnect however would prevent this.)
The hearing of the
protester and of all parties concerned by the protest shall take place as soon
as possible after the protest has been lodged. All parties will have an
opportunity to review the charges, send their local replays, and respond to any
allegations.
The protest, the reactions and all evidence will be reviewed by the Review
Stewards. If a Review Steward is himself involved in the protested incident, an
alternate will be selected from among the drivers at-large by the Clerk of the
Course if needed.
If a groundless or
frivolous protest is filed by a driver, the driver may be reprimanded or
assessed a one (1) point penalty, at the discretion of the Review Steward. This
decision may be appealed.
The decisions of the
Review Stewards may be appealed. The appeal should be directed to the Clerk of
the Course. He will then forward the case to the Appeal Stewards for a final
decision. If the Appeal Steward is involved in the protested incident, an
alternate will be selected from among the other Stewards or even the drivers
at-large by the Clerk of the Course.
Incidents will be
reviewed for all of the first race lap, and on the basis of a protest from one
or more drivers. All drivers involved will send their replay clip, starting at
a point where the racing was still normal and lasting sufficiently long to
cover the whole incident. Also the server replay will be examined.
Thus there are three replay types when viewing one car in a specific incident:
·
Local Replay, the cars own replay
·
Server Replay
·
Remote Replay, a replay from another client in which the local car
is visible
These replays may show slightly different car positions for the same car due to
the online latency and the sim’s position prediction mechanism.
It happens quite often that a remote replay will show a hit by the local car,
while the local replay still shows some gap to the remote car. To a certain
extent, this is due to how sims online work, and the
stewards will handle the case as a possibly accountable incident. The
difference between the local and the remote replay can also be the result of
warp or sim error, when the distance in the local replay is too large to
attribute the collision to latency alone. The stewards will handle such a case
like a racing incident. Alas it is not possible to give exact distances to
distinguish latency effects and warp effects. The stewards will have to go by
experience.
The responsibility for
incidents will be judged mainly on the basis of what each driver can see from
his cockpit and mirrors at the time, that is what is shown in the local replay
using the In Car view with the standard Field of Vision. It is allowed to use
other views or another field of vision, but the driver is then
expected to have compensated in some way for possibly degraded vision. For example by focussing on sound, or a talent for estimating the
speed and position of other cars.
Note however that all drivers are supposed to be familiar with the effects of
latency and take these into account. Simply saying “But I did not touch him in
my replay!” won’t do if one was driving so close that the “kiss of latency”
could be expected.
A driver can only held
responsible for his own actions in the course of the
incident. Among these are:
·
Unsafe behaviour as mentioned in the Code of Driving Conduct
·
Loss of control over the car during overtaking or while in close
combat
·
Deliberate actions aimed at damaging another driver (we should
never see one of these!)
Drivers will not be held responsible if the root cause of the incident was
determined to be:
·
Malfunction of one of the cars involved (this includes malfunction
of the computer and controller)
·
Loss of control over the car as the result of an incident caused
by someone else
·
Singular connection troubles or warp
·
An error of the sim prediction mechanism (the car “stepping out”
in the local replay of the affected car)
The primary
responsibility for avoiding incidents in passing manoeuvres lies with the
overtaking driver, and in most cases, that driver will be held mostly
accountable. The Stewards will penalize overly aggressive passing manoeuvres
most severely of any infractions, because they are avoidable. Haste to get
round the track does not make it necessary to run into people. However, it is
also the responsibility of the slower driver to make way, and allow him or herself to be passed. Deliberate blocking of the racing line
will not be tolerated, and will also be severely penalized.
Collisions from behind
will in general be attributed to the driver behind, unless the driver in front
made an unsafe move, lost control over his car or suffered from malfunction,
for example engine failure. Stalling on the grid will occur from time to time,
and shall in general not be seen as unsafe behaviour.
Sideways collisions will
be attributed to the driver who makes a clear move towards the other car, or
who has lost control over his car by his own actions. If this applies to both
drivers in more or less the same amount, or if it applies to neither driver, it
will be called a racing incident.
Incident chains are
sequences of successive incidents that are linked by one or more cars, where
these cars do not regain control in the meantime (call it chain collisions if
you like). In general, only the first incident of a chain will be reviewed for
responsibility of one of the drivers involved. An incident chain ends when all
drivers involved are in control of their car again; and likewise stops the
involvement of a particular driver when he is in control of his car again.
IMPORTANT: this means that recovering from the incident(s) is usually NOT part
of the incident chain, as drivers are then in control again. So
collisions/incidents that take place during recovery and re-entry of the track
will generally be regarded as a separate incident and will therefore be
reviewed separately for responsibility.
Any breach of the Code of
Driving Conduct may be penalized by the race stewards.
Penalties may be imposed
as follows, in order of increasing severity :
Following are the
guidelines for assessing penalty points. Warnings will be remembered for the
next two events. A second offence after a warning will incur a penalty. Note
that if two or more penalties are to be applied to one driver in one race, only
one offence will be eligible for a warning.
The stewards have
considerable freedom in determining the “right” penalty. In general, the
penalty will be aimed at undoing the advantage gained by the offending driver,
or compensating the disadvantage for the offended driver. The stewards must
take care to maintain consistency in their rulings throughout the season.
Infraction |
Warning possible |
Penalty |
Frivolous or Groundless Protest |
Yes |
1 point |
Causing an incident (see Incident Reviews) |
Yes |
Moderate Points, Time or Position penalty |
Ignoring the blue flag for more than 1 lap |
Yes |
Moderate Points, Time or Position penalty |
Unsafe driving (see The race) |
Yes |
Moderate Points, Time or Position penalty |
Deliberate blocking of opponent |
Yes |
Severe Points, Time or Position penalty |
Ignoring a black flag for a jump start |
No |
Disqualification from the race. Note GT Legends will DQ the
driver regardless |
Deliberate or egregiously negligent shunt or damage to opponent |
No |
Disqualification from the race |
First Lap Incidents |
No |
2 points in addition to the normal penalty; extra strong warning
in the case of a warning |
Reset after lap 1 |
No |
Score corrected as if there was a disco at the
time of the reset. |
Ignoring a black flag (excluding jump start) |
No |
The GPL scoring is maintained if the stewards determine that GPL
issued the black flag correctly; else the score will be corrected by the
scorekeeper as if there was no black flag by analyzing the server replay. Note GT Legends will DQ the driver regardless |
Using updates to car, track or track side
objects that change the physics |
Yes |
Disqualification from the race |
Frequent repetition of infractions above |
No |
Exclusion for one or more races, Suspension or
Deprivation of membership. |
Following are rules
taken from the FIA’s regulations that lay out the rules of the road for drivers
being overtaken.
a) During a race,
a car alone on the track may use the full width of the said track. However, as
soon as it is caught up on a straight by a car which is either temporarily or
constantly faster, the driver shall give the other vehicle the right of way by
pulling over to one side in order to allow for passing on the other side. (As a
general rule, it is safer for the slower car to maintain the current racing
line and ALLOW the faster car to select when and where to pass. If there is
enough time and the faster car is clearly able to see the slower car’s
intention, the slower car may pull over to the side if it can be done safely.)
b) If the driver
who has been caught does not seem to make full use of his rearview mirror the
flag marshal(s) will give a warning by waving the blue flag to indicate that
another competitor wants to overtake. (The blue flag is part of the sim, BUT it
is only used during the race in a situation in which a driver is about to be
LAPPED by a faster driver. In that situation, the slower driver must give way
to the lapping driver within a lap or penalty points may be charged. The blue
flag in Qualifying is only advisory and will not result in penalties.) Any
driver who does not take notice of the blue flag may be penalized by a
deduction of points imposed by the Stewards. Systematic or repeated offences
may result in the exclusion of the offender from the race. (In the case of MARA
races, repeated offences may result in the expulsion of the driver from the
league.)
c) Curves, as well
as the approach and exit zones thereof, may be negotiated by the drivers in any
way they wish, within the limits of the track. Overtaking, according to the
circumstances, may be done either on the right or on the left. However,
manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers such as premature direction changes,
more than one change of direction, deliberate crowding of cars towards the
inside or the outside of the curve or any other abnormal change of direction,
are strictly prohibited and shall be penalized, according to the importance and
repetition of the offences, by penalties ranging from a fine to the exclusion
from the race. The repetition of dangerous driving, even involuntary, may
result in the exclusion from the race. (See above for MARA applicability.)
d) Any obstructive
manoeuvre carried out by one or several drivers, either having common interests
or not, is prohibited. The persistent driving abreast of several vehicles, as
well as fan-shaped arrangement, is authorized only if there is not another car
trying to overtake. Otherwise the blue flag will be waved.
e) The penalty
inflicted for ignoring the blue flag will also be applied to the drivers who
obstruct part of the track and shall be more severe in the case of systematic
obstruction, thus ranging from a fine to the exclusion from the race. The same
penalty shall be applied to drivers who swing from one side of the track to the
other in order to prevent other competitors from overtaking.
f) The
repetition of serious mistakes or the appearance of a lack of control over the
car (such as leaving the track) may entail the exclusion of the drivers concerned.
g) The race track
alone shall be used by the drivers during the race. Repeated use of off-track
shortcuts may result in the driver’s exclusion.
As a suggestion, but not
a rule, when you are sitting in your car in the stall and start to drive away,
be sure to FIRST swerve to the outside. Why? If you don't, some other car may
be just "appearing" in the pits in front of you and you'll have a
horrendous crash that does awful things to the nerves.
When you're leaving the pits, look first and be careful that you're not
entering the track in front of someone else who's already on the track. Some
tracks it just can't be avoided, so be careful and try to get out of the racing
line until you're up to speed.
During the quals, if
you're on an "out" lap (the lap where you are leaving the pits) or if
you've blown the lap already, be kind and move aside to let faster cars get by.
Remember that they're likely on a hot lap and you don't want to screw it up for
them.
Everyone is expected to
take extra care at the start of the race and during the first few turns.
Incidents in this phase can easily destroy the competitive nature of the whole
race and they can easily involve many cars. Overtaking in this phase is not
prohibited, as it can sometimes be safer to overtake than to brake, but by all
means save the neck-to-neck racing for the rest of the race.
In normal racing
situations, a car in front has full freedom to choose where he drives. However,
blocking a faster car by swerving across the track is not allowed; you may make
only one move in a sideways fashion to protect your position. Note that
“Driving wide" is not blocking, unless the driver in front is making
repeated or erratic moves to vary his racing line, especially on a straight.
In any situation where
cars are going side by side, even if there is only a partial overlap, both
drivers must leave each other enough room to be able to stay on the track while
avoiding a collision. This may mean that one can no longer steer for the apex
of a turn and is forced to drop off some additional speed. Remember to account
for the latency effect by leaving a bit more room than seems necessary!
Unsafe behaviour must be
avoided. This includes among others:
Braking unexpectedly (outside of a braking area
or incident), thereby effectively forming a blockade. Instead, steer the car
away from the race line and off track if possible, then slow down.
Braking too late in a straight line behind
another car. Remember the extra effect of latency here! Either brake early
enough, or pick a line not directly behind the other car.
Slow driving on the race line or in the path of
other cars. When returning to the track after an off, or coming up to speed
after an incident, spin or pit stop, stay well out of the way of the normally
racing cars until you are up to racing speed again. When you need to stop the
car for some reason, first get out of the way and then slow down and pull off
track or into the pits.
·
Showing persistent lack of car control, to a degree where it puts
others at risk.
·
through each turn. You will need this in encounters with other
cars.
·
Not observing yellow flags.
The chat feature is not
to be used AT ALL during the race. If there's still a car on the track, please
don't chat until they've crossed the finish line. This includes the traditional
"I'm Sorry" and "You #^%$*$&%^(@IDIOT".
We can chat after the race. We are a bit more loose during the quals, but as a
general rule keep it short so you don't distract everyone who's trying hard to
get in a good lap.
EXCEPTION TO RULE: If you have to pit during the race, please indicate that you
are leaving the pits after your penalty stop by typing "
Qualifying: Again, please indicate that you are leaving the
pits in the same manner during quals.
Since checkpoints are
now generally switched off for online racing and most black flags are wrongly
given as the result of warp, if a driver thinks or knows that the black flag
was wrongly given he can ignore it and hope to be reinstated by the stewards
after the race. Note: Black flags that do have to be served at all times are
for jump starts. There is no way that a jump start can be the result of a warp.
If the black flag for a jump start is not served ok, the sim will DQ the driver
and that DQ will stand.
A yellow flag means
trouble ahead. So ease off a little, and refrain from overtaking until you pass
a green flag that signals the end of the danger area. A woven yellow flag means
big trouble ahead. So ease off considerably until you pass the
green flag.
All drivers are expected
to be familiar with the peculiarities of racing online over the Internet and
act accordingly. It is a mistake to assume that you can drive online in the
same fashion as locally against the AI. The most important thing is to keep
larger margins in the distances to other cars. Most importantly while braking
in a line behind each other and while cornering side by side. Here are two
sources of very helpful information:
The Recommended Driver Behaviour page, pay
particular attention to the section on blind spots. Note that these are
recommendations and not rules!
Drivers are also
expected to make sure they have a good quality connection so as to guarantee
that racing is actually possible. A high latency in itself is not a problem as
long as one’s car is well visible to others and displayed in the right
position. A driver suffering from persistent connection troubles that lead to
the car warping, winking in and out of view, or jumping across the track, is
expected to leave the race.