RaceDepartment Rally Championship - Season 2

[Rick Bamford]

RaceDepartment Rally Championship Season 2

Format

The RaceDepartment Forum Rally Championship will be run over an 8 round calendar. By comparison to the RaceDepartment rally club these events will be endurance events running between 12-14 stages per rally. Stages will mostly be used twice each rally and BTB stages may also be included. All rules from the rally club and RSRBR will stand unless they are super-seeded in this forum. The RaceDepartment Rally Championship will run as an RSRBR Championship event (accessed via the Public sessions button in the RSRBR startup screen) and use Accumulating/Reduced car damage. Between service points it will not be possible to change tires so suitable selection for the following group of stages is imperative, (tire wear may also be an issue). Weather WILL NOT be announced prior to the event, drivers will need to check the stages prior to starting for the conditions of the following stages.


Schedule

The RaceDepartment Forum Rally League will run once every 3 weeks in place of that weeks Club Rally event starting on January 24th/25th.

Sessions

1/ As with the rally club 3 times zones will be made available (EU/US/OC) with the times being combined to find an overall winner.
2/ 3 sessions will be created on each day, starting from Saturday to Tuesday. Sessions will be numbered 1 to 4 in regard to the day they are driven on.
3/ Each driver MUST nominate which session they want to drive in when they sign up for the round.

ie - Rick Bamford - Lucifer - RDRC Rd1 OC2 (Sunday session in the OC time zone)

ONLY the sessions that drivers have nominated for will be created and entries close the Friday before the rally.

4/ There will be NO extra sessions created.
5/ The only exception to the creation of extra sessions will be in the case that the organisers make an error with time conversions or stages.

6/ Once a driver logs into a session, even one prior to the session they have registered for, they MUST compete in THAT session. They may compete in later sessions as well for practice however only the FIRST session they log into will be included in the results. Should a driver Log in and not compete they will be classed as retired for all stages not completed in their FIRST session.

· Rd1 - 24th/25th January (Rally of Norway)
· Rd2 - 14th/15th February (Alpine Rally)
· Rd3 - 7th/8th March (Coffs Harbour Rally)
· Rd4 - 28th/29th March (The Ulster Rally)
· Rd5 - 18th/19th April (Kouvola Auto-Ralli)
· Rd6 - 9th/10th May (Rally of Mont Blanc)
· Rd7 - 30th/31st May (Hokkaido rally)
· Rd8 - 20th/21st June (Vauxhall rally of Wales)

Championship

Drivers in the RaceDepartment Forum Rally league will be split into 2 classes. Both classes will compete on the same stages at the same time and will be separated in the points table. Drivers wishing to score points in the championship will have to register by posting in the Rally League sign-up thread. Points will only be awarded once the driver has registered. Car choice must be made prior to the first round that the driver contests and may not be changed for the duration of the season unless the drivers' class changes. Drivers wishing to score points in the league must be registered members of RaceDepartment Forum.

Class 1 (Premier League)

"Premier" League drivers are competing for the outright or overall rally and championship win.

Drivers in "Premier" league must drive cars from Car Packs AW8-07 & AW8-08.

Class 2 (Champions' League)

"Champions'" League drives will compete for their own championship within the series as well as being able to score points for the overall championship. Any driver can choose to move themselves to A league at any time. However, only the director may move a driver from A league to Premier league.

Drivers in " Champions'" League will drive cars from car packs N4-1, N4-2, N4-S2000-1 and N4-S2000-2.(Note: Lancia Delta, Ford Escort, Renault 5, and Skoda Octavia will not be eligible) Champion Legue Drivers have the option of changing car ONCE during the season. All changes must be posted in the sign-up thread. If the driver is part of a team BOTH team members must change to the same car.

Note:- If a driver disagrees with their placement in "Premier" league they can publicly request (in the league thread) for a re-classification to "Champions'" league. This will allow any other league driver to object or support them. However the rally directors 'decision will be final.

A Champions' league driver will be promoted to Premier league if:

1/ The driver finishes in the top 5 of a Racedepartment Forum Rally Championship event outright
This will take effect from the start of the following event


2/ The driver has won the Champions' league in the previous RDRC season


Teams Championship

In addition to the 2 drivers championships, a "Teams" Championship will be conducted. Each team MUST consist of 2 drivers, both being from the same league and driving the same car. To score points in the Teams championship both drivers must compete in 6 out of the 8 rallies in the season. If either driver misses 3 rounds or more the team will forfeit all points. Team name may be changed at anytime. Once the Championship has started however, it must be posted in the sign-up thread as the following (old team name - New team name) Teams points will be taken from the league the driver in classified in.

Points system

Premier/Champions':

1st - 25
2nd - 18
3rd - 15
4th - 12
5th - 10
6th - 8
7th - 6
8th - 4
9th - 2
10th - 1


Teams

Class Points from each team member will be combined to provide a team score.

Parc Fermé

In the case of a protest or complaint from competitors a drivers stage replays must be emailed to the rally director upon request. All protests must be received within 5 days of the results being posted on RaceDepartment and the protesting driver must ALSO supply their stage replays. The ruling will be by the rally directors and will be final.

Note : should the protest concern one of the rally directors themselves, another separate un-involved member will be brought in to judicate

Premier League drivers (as of 9/8/2010)

1. Sebastien Levret (Mayland)
2. Tor Anders Berven (Totte)
3. Jakub Sulej (RIVIVIED)
4. Simone Demi (simonedemi)
5. Rick Bamford (Lucifer)
6. Eddie Mann (EddieX)
7. Warren Dawes (WAD53)
8. Tony Hutchins (FOG_tintops)
9. Ludovic Cogotti (Solcius)
10. Damien Jones (DJones)
11. Łukasz Demolin (Maggot666PL)
12. Gaëtan Legastelois (Fry)
13. Gabor Tim - (Bika)
14. Ben Buitendijk - (Ben797)
15. Attila Kiss - (Paffy)
16. Mark Johnston - (Madmonkey)
17. Ole Marius Myrvold - Myrvold

These drivers MUST drive in the Premier league section. Any other driver not on this list can nominate to compete in Premier league if they want. Rally Directors may nominate the designated class for any other driver in the interest of fair competition.

Non-Original Stages

During the course of the championship, a selection of non-original stages will be used. In an effort to make sure these stages run smoothly in the event themselves, these stages are listed below to allow any RDRC driver to test them completely. Should a driver experience difficulty running these stages because of random failures or high graphics level requirements they should report this to the event organisers no later than 6 weeks prior to the start of the rally using that stage. In the event that an RSRBR update is released in the period 2 weeks prior to the event, and refer to a stage being used, that stage will be replaced or cancelled by the organisers. Should a stage be released during the year that the director believes should be included in a rally, 6 weeks' notice must be given prior to it being used to give ample time for testing.

As adequate time will have be given for all drivers to make sure these stages work for them and their computer system, NO leniency will be given for drivers failing to finish a stage or rally due to technical difficulties, power, system or hardware failures or just given up. No, re-runs will be permitted under ANY circumstances. It is the drivers responsibility to ensure their system is updated and running smoothly, not the directors.

Mlynky Snow (Slovakia stage pack)
Alps (BTB France Stages)
ACCT Ivato Reverse (BTB Madagascar Stages)
Alahala - (Madagascar Stage Pack)
Vontovorona - (Madagascar Stage Pack)
Canyon (World stages pack)
RSI 3 (Ireland stages pack)
Tervaniemi 15km (BTB World Stages)
Portugal SS18 (Super special stage pack)
Lyon Gerland (Super special stage pack)
Las Majadas (BTB Spain stage pack)
Subida a la Mazana (BTB Spain stage pack)
Sweet Lamb (England stage pack)
Noirdant (BTB France stage pack)
Pribram (Czech stages pack)
Peklo (Slovakia Stage Pack)
Peklo Snow (Slovakia Stage Pack)
Kipping - (Sweeden Stage pack)
Limbo - (Sweeden Stage Pack)
Dead Head - (Sweeden Stage Pack)
Savo - (Finland stage pack????)
Slomczyn rally cross - (Poland stage pack)
Rally Poland shakedown - (Poland Stage Pack)

 

[Rick Bamford]

RDRC entry list

[ Full size picture ]
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[Ondrej Kapal]

Can I ask for a numbers ? We'd like to reserve them with Lee for our liveries.

 

[Rick Bamford]

Can I ask for a numbers ? We'd like to reserve them with Lee for our liveries.

Numbered entry list will be released by December 31st. If you don't have your entry in by then you CAN still enter, but you will be given the next avalable number.

If you want a special number please put it with your signup.

So far we have 23 driver entered.

 

[Dariusz Swiderski]

When the list of stages for each rally will be published? I need to start practicing

BTW: i like the rules change, especially the availability of weekends

 

[Rick Bamford]

RDRC Season 2 Preview

With the start of the seacond RaceDepartment Rally Championship coming fast, it is time to let everyone know what you will be facing.

Round 1: Rally of Norway (Mods used - Normal/Snow/Mixed)

The opening round of the championship will see the crews tackle the snow and ice covered roads in the forests of Norway. If the weather holds as it is now all of the roads will have a healthy cover of snow, but if it breaks early we may see more gravel than snow.

Round 2: Alpine Rally (Mods used - Monte/Normal)

Still in the cold, we move from the forests of Scandinavia to the mountain passes of southern France. Tarmac roads with a cover of patchy ice. This is an event that will test the bravery of a driver. Tyre sellection will be very difficult with the surface changing all the time. You will have to choose if you are going to be brave or play it safe.

Round 3: Rally of Coffs harbour (mods used - Normal)

Clear Gravel all the way. The Forests of NSW Australia will see the drivers fighting for seconds between the trees. A selection of ultra fast stages and tight and technical roads will make this a real challenge. At least for this one the weather SHOULD be good.

Round 4: Ulster Rally (Mods used - Tarmac)

Northern Ireland. Bumpy, narrow tarmac stages. This one is again not for the faint of heart. This time of year means the weather should again be good, but stay of the grass. Slicks and grass don't mix.

Round 5: TBA

Round 6: Rally of Mont Blanc (mods used - Normal)

Back on the Tarmac and back on mainland Europe. The tight twisty mountain roads of France will keep you busy and here the weather isn't even certain to stay good.

Round 7: Hokkaido rally (mods used - Normal)

Round 7 sees the crews travel to the land of the rising sun, Japan. The stages will keep drivers honest with fast, narrow and bumpy roads. If the weather turns here the roads will become diabolical.

Round 8: Rally of Wales (Normal)

The last round of the season and we are back in the English Forests. Bring your gumboots. it is almost certainly going to be wet and muddy, foggy and dark. (Be thankful RSRBR doesn't let me use Bad weather, fog and night all at once

 

[Rick Bamford]

When the list of stages for each rally will be published? I need to start practicing

BTW: i like the rules change, especially the availability of weekends

As with season one, we will release the stages for the coming round 3 weeks before the start. I the mean time..................try them all

 

[Dariusz Swiderski]

LOL Rick, what country we will be using for Norway? ( can't see Norway in RSRBR2011 ). Will it be Finland?

 

[Rick Bamford]

We don't have Ireland either apart from RSI tracks, lol.

 

[Ondrej Kapal]

According last rule change it is weirdly written, we are allowed to change or we HAVE TO change the car once?
and it means that the N4 drivers have to?

 

[Rick Bamford]

According last rule change it is weirdly written, we are allowed to change or we HAVE TO change the car once?
and it means that the N4 drivers have to?

Oops, typo. Chnaged the " have to option " to "have the option".

It means that if you want you can change car ONCE during the season. You do not HAVE to but the option is there if you want it. If you want to change cars you don't even have to change to S2000, it can be just another N4 car.

 

[Ashok Revanna]

Can you please specify the time zone options in comparision to GMT, since we in India the time zone lies in GMT+5.30. I would like to know the best available option!

Thanks!

 

[Senad Subasic]

Can you please specify the time zone options in comparision to GMT, since we in India the time zone lies in GMT+5.30. I would like to know the best available option!

Thanks!

Europe Start: 20:00 GMT
US Start: 04:00 GMT
Oceania Start: 9:30 GMT

 

[Rick Bamford]

After performing a test run for the round 1 stages online there are a few things i will point out to everyone.

1/ Tyre choice is very important. At EVERY service point MAKE SURE you have the right tyres for the next stages until the following service. Sometimes RSRBR will choose the wrong tyres for you. If you don't change them you will be STUCK with them untill the next service. My advice is the select them YOUSELF each service even if it already says the right tyres. This way you should never be caught on the wrong rubber.

2/ Car Damage and repairs - At each service point your car is AUTOMATICALY repaired to new and at that point you can sellect your tyres for the following group of stages. During a stage, if you damage your car but finish the stage, the damage will carry on to the next stage (not including and damage to the body or windows, they are fixed each stage). If after the stage, you select "REPAIR NOW" you will be retired from the NEXT stage and be given a nominal time for that stage, so i advise only to do this if your car is VERY BADLY DAMAGED.
If you have retired from a stage your car will be automatically fixed for the next stage regardless of service.

If you have any questions regarding the format of rules please ask. Others might not have thought of them.

P.S. - As of this season, Senad has decided to take a supporting role in the championship and remove himself from the decission making proccess. In this regard, please forward any questions, requests or complaints to Rick Bamford.

 

[Ondrej Kapal]

and I will just secretly tell that PROMO S2 is approaching but pssht .)

 

[Rick Bamford]

Entry List with registered numbers will be posted in 24 hours.

 

[Aaron DeMarre]

2/ Car Damage and repairs - At each service point your car is AUTOMATICALY repaired to new and at that point you can sellect your tyres for the following group of stages. During a stage, if you damage your car but finish the stage, the damage will carry on to the next stage (not including and damage to the body or windows, they are fixed each stage). If after the stage, you select "REPAIR NOW" you will be retired from the NEXT stage and be given a nominal time for that stage, so i advise only to do this if your car is VERY BADLY DAMAGED.
If you have retired from a stage your car will be automatically fixed for the next stage regardless of service.

First, let me say I think the addition of cumulative damage is great! I am a bit of a purist tho, so having to do all repairs and tire selection at service adds another layer of depth.

But I just want to clarify, if you have to retire from a stage in championship mode, your status is listed as "retired" for all stages after this. With these rules we should just ignore that and keep running stages? If you retire from a stage, can you pick tires at the next stage even if you are not at a service? Just wondering if crashing your car could be used as a loophole to take a car repair and switch tires all at once, out of service.

 

[Ondrej Kapal]

I dont think that this works the same... I have no experience with this damage yet, but if you retire from the stage you should be available to drive upcoming stage with repaired car, but the one retirement will stay but you are able to continue dont you?

regarding the loophole, I think thats not possible - you can damage your car but when you use REPAIR now, you CANT drive the next stage but you will be given time, with no retirement. Also, if you DNF in some stage, you will be automatically given retirement and car repaired for the next stage (I would guess no way to change tyres out of service), but still you loose a lot of time because of this retirement where, i think, is better to finish....

but officially, what means "normal time" in compare of time you are given when retire?

edit: I made some edits to clear my post, I hope now it is understandable

 

[Adam Jonas]

Guys, I have read every rules and every topic, but I haven't found only one thing (or at least I haven't notieced).

How long will be the servers opened? I mean for example, I apply for RDRC Rd1 EU1 timezone, and can I do the rally at Sunday? Or I have to do it on Saturday?

 

[Aaron DeMarre]

I dont think that this works the same... I have no experience with this damage yet, but if you retire from the stage you should be available to drive upcoming stage with repaired car, but the one retirement will stay but you are able to continue dont you?

Yes, you are able to drive, but all stages after the one you retire on are listed as "retired" in the status in the public session mode that allows cumulative damage. It might confuse people if they are not aware that they can continue to run stages and the time will be counted even if the status is "retired" in RSCenter.