RaceDepartment Rally Championship - Season 3 Draft Rules

[Rick Bamford]

These rules are a DRAFT ONLY for all drivers to view and comment on for the next 3 weeks. At the start of Round 6 of this season they will become final so the organising team encourages ANYONE (RDRC driver or other) to make suggestions for modification or clarification.

All rules have been writen with 3 main things in mind.

1/ To ensure fair and enjoyable competition for drivers of all skill levels.
2/ To provide a clear ladder of progression and awards for all drivers to climb and improve as they do.
3/ To encourage drivers to continue to compete and learn for the entire championship and the RallyClub events.

RaceDepartment Rally Championship Season 3

Format

The RaceDepartment Forum Rally Championship (here after refered to as RDRC) will be run over an 8 round calendar. By comparison to the RaceDepartment RallyClub these events will be endurance events running between 12-15 stages per rally. Stages will mostly be used twice each rally and BTB stages will also be included. All rules from the RallyClub and RSRBR will stand unless they are super-seeded in these rules. The RDRC will run as an RSRBR championship event (accessed via the "Public Sessions" botton in the RSRBR start-up 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.

Schedule

The RDRC will run once every three (3) weeks in place of that weeks RallyClub event and will comence on the weekend of July 16th-19th

Round 1 - 16th-19th July (Rally of Norway)
Round 2 - 6th-9th August (Coff Harbour Rally)
Round 3 - 27th-30th August (Rallye Terre De IÁuxerrois)
Round 4 - 17th-20th September (Kouvola Auto-Ralli)
Round 5 - 8th-11th October (Rally Costa Brava)
Round 6 - 29th October/1st November (Rally Mont Blanc)
Round 7 - 19th-22nd November (Hokkaido Rally)
Round 8 - 10th-13th December (Rally of Wales)

Sessions

As with the RallyClub, 3 time zones (EU/US/OC) will be made available on each day, starting from Saturday to Tuesday with the times from each session being combined to find an overall winner. Sessions will be numbered 1-4 in regard to the day they are driven on. Each driver MUST nominate which session the wish to drive in when they sign-up in the Round sign-up thread.

ONLY the sessions that drivers nominate for will be created. There will be NO extra sessions will be created once the round commences. The ONLY exception to the creation of extra sessions will be in the case that the organisers make an error with session creations or should a server issue force competitors not to be able to drive.

A driver does NOT have to compete in the session they first nominate for, however, once the drivers FIRST SPLIT time is registered their results from THAT session will stand. This means that if a driver experiences a server problem between logging in and starting the first stage they can join another session without penalty.

A driver may compete in other sessions for practice, however the results from the first session they record a time in will be taken as official.

Championship

During both the first and second season of the RDRC, the organising team has noted the number of drivers that are either joining the championship for a short time and leaving or competing at a level that is below their skill level. It is felt that there are many reasons for the numbers dropping during the season and these include:-

a/ Drivers of very high skill level coming into the championship and having no CLEAR and FAIR way of moving to the higher sections to remain almost unchallenged in their class, making others feel as if they have no chance of success.

b/ Drivers of high skill level coming into the championship but having too great a step in skill level to move up.

c/ Drivers under-estimating the speed, commitment and consistency of the drivers in the championship and becoming unsatisfied with their results.

d/ Drivers under-estimating the speed, commitment and consistency of the drivers in the championship and selecting a car class that puts them in direct competition with the top rung of our championship.

These occurrences are things that we wish to address and with the indroduction of the following changes it is felt we have.

It is very important to the team here that we provide a championship that gives enjoyment to all drivers, a challenge for all skill levels and a clear ladder of progression that all drivers can climb and be moved through as they improve their skills, moving up to the next level. Due to the increase in participation during Season 2 a new format is requiered. Season 3 of the RDRC will offer a new driver grading system as well as new car classes. It is felt that these changes will rectify most of the current objections and issues. Even though it may restrict drivers initially, for those that continue to compete in the championship it will mean they will be competing on a level field with drivers of equal skill level........................untill they get to the top. WILL SOMEONE PLEASE BEAT SEBASTIEN LEVRET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Change 1 - Car classes

Rookie :- N3 car packs

Lights Trophy:- A6/A6K/R3 car packs

Production Cup:- N4/N4_S2000 car packs (excluding Skoda Octavia, Audi A3, Renault 5)

Outright 1:- A8/A8W99 to 02 car packs (excluding Audi A3, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7, 8 and 9)

Outright 2 :-A8W07 & 08 car packs

Drivers can change car class twice during the season however if they change car classes any points obtained will NOT be tranfered.

Change 2 - Driver Grading System

The restrictions on classes are for RDRC events only. During RallyClub events drivers must obey the car classes stipulated during that given event.

Grade 4:-
* These drivers are limited to Rookie and Lights Trophy classes
* Drivers joining the RDRC for the first time start as Grade 4

Grade 3:-
* Grade 3 drivers are limited to Rookie, Lights trophy and Production car classes.
* To become a grade 3 driver you must compete in 3 rallies at RaceDepartment (RDRC or RallyClub). This move is automatic.

Grade 2:-
* Grade 2 drivers are limited to Lights trophy, Production Cup and Outright 1 car classes.
* To become a Grade 2 driver you must have driven in 6 RDRC rounds in a row from the start of season 3 (5 {all} rounds during season 1 or any 7 rounds season 2), Finished 10th or higher among the Grade 2 clasification in one event (5th or higher in Championship league RDRC season 2) or win Grade 3 for a season.
(This rule can seam very complicated, however due to the differences in system from season 1&2 to season 3 we have had to modify to qualification details for each season. It will be clearer in season 4)

Grade 1:-
* Grade 1 drivers are limited to Production Cup, Outright 1 and 2 car classes.
* To become a grade 1 driver you must score an outright championship point in the previous season or have won 3 RallyClub events.
* Grade 1 is the top Driver Grade. If a Grade 1 driver fails to score a point during the season then they will drop to Grade 2 the following season.

It will only be manditory for a driver to change grade during a season if they move from grade 4 to 3, or if they qualify to move 2 grades from their original grade as at the start of the season. You MAY move if you qualify and WANT to however.

Teams Championship

In addition to the Driver Grade and Car classes, a "Teams" Championship will be conducted. Each team MUST consist of 2 drivers, both driving the same car but do not have to be in the same driver grade. A 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 Driver Grade the members are in and combined to provide a teams score.

Drivers must Sign-up in the Championship sign-up thread before they will be able to score points for the championship. Here you must state your Name, car, team (if any), RSRBR name and driver grade. A driver can also request a number, as long as it is below their ranked number from the previous season. A championship entry list will be posted on 25th of June stating all drivers in ranked order entered by that date. Any driver entering after that time will be given the next availible number regardless of previous participation. This is to allow enough time for those creating skins for drivers to place the correct number of the car.

Points System

Points tables will be run for Rookie, Lights Trophy, Pruduction Cup and Outright car classes as well as Grade 1, 2, 3 and 4 driver grades and Teams Championship.

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

Parc Ferme

As RSRBR2011 does not offer the option of NOT saving a replay, the top 5 drivers in each CAR CLASS will have to submit the stage replays to the organisers within 5 days of results being posted. 2 RDRC directors will view the replays and must come to a unanimous decision regarding legality.

Should a driver been seen to be taking an illegal line or cut they will:-

1/ 3 illegal cuts/lines or less during one rally - Warning

2/ 4 illegal cuts/lines during one rally - disqualified from the event.

Should a driver be disqualified twice during the season they will forfit all points from the championship and not be able to score again untill the following season.

Note: An RDRC director may NOT review their own replays.

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 event 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 been given for all drivers to make sure these stages work for them and their 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 giving 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)
Mlynky Tarmac (Slovakia stage pack)
Peklo (Slovakia stage pack)
Peklo Reversed (Slovakia stage pack)
ACCT Ivato Reversed (Madagascar stage pack)
Canyon (World stage pack)
Laitse Rally Park (World stage pack)
RSI 3 (Ireland stage pack)
Pribram (Czech stage pack)
Alps (France stage pack)
Noirdant (France stage pack)
Noirdant Reverse (France stage pack)
Sweet Lamb (England stage pack)
Las Majadas (Spain stage pack)
Piornal (Spain stage pack)
Subida a la Mazana (Spain stage pack)
Portugal SS18 (Superspecial stage pack)
Lyon Gerland (Superspecial stage pack)

RSRBR Updates

During the season RSRBR and rallyesim.fr will release updates to the RSRBR2011 mod. Should an update be released during the weekend of a championship round it is strongly suggested that a driver DOES NOT update their system untill after the round has taken place. In the past these updates can fix problems while creating others. If a drivers up dates their system and experiences problems with running the championship round due to this, they will not be given any lieniency. The team reminds all drivers that it is THEIR responsibilty to make sure their system and copy of RSRBR is working without issue.
​

 

[Terri Buenaflor]

This draft looks good, the Driver Grading System is a good idea imo.

I'll give more feedback some other time when I've read the whole draft so busy atm .

 

[Rick Bamford]

As another point. I have already prepaired a driver grade table for all 137 drivers that have competed in RBR at RaceDepartment. I will keep it updated and release it after the final round.

If you are interested in where you would be graded RIGHT now, send me a PM and request it.

 

[Ludovic Cogotti]

Some nice idea are developped in this draft rules for the next season.

The Parc Ferme point seems a little bit uncomplete. Despite the fact that this is a big staff work to see all the replay of top 5 in both class (5 x 4 x 14....), sometimes replay didn't work for me and the car stay in the starting line (often in Non original stage).
Maybe lastest update have corrected this or I'm the only one to have this sort of problem.

Laugh of the day for the special mention for my teammate, just wait to see your table for beeing sure to understand all the rules about the Driver Grading System.

 

[Damien Jones]

sometimes replay didn't work for me and the car stay in the starting line (often in Non original stage).
Maybe lastest update have corrected this or I'm the only one to have this sort of problem.

The reversed stages have to be loaded from the launcher before you watch the replay for them to work

 

[Rick Bamford]

And a replay from a BTB stage can only be watched after you finish it. It is an issue and you don't have to save those stages but it doesn't give you the option. I don't think you can cut them anyway (a rule from rallyesim before they use them). But we don't have the option NOT to save them.

The directors won't have to watch ALL replays, they will be random. That way no-one knows what stages will be reviewed so you just have to drive all of them legally. It is also a way to make sure we get the top drivers from EACH class in the replays and not just a the few guys that always send them in. I am trying to increase the imvolvment across the board AS WELL as making sure no-one is using an illegal line.

There were a couple of times in the past that stage times have been "suprising" but asking for them sounds like we are accusing someone of cheating. This way, it is just a standard process and no-one will feel singled out or targeted.

 

[Ben Buitendijk]

I think these rules are good, especially like the part with the Grades.

I kinda dropped out (I still want to drive but....), I am new to the game and need to learn every stage to be able to compete with the top guys and I just dont have enough time to learn 8 stages (let alone the changed surfaces and reversed stages, where you cant trust the pacenotes)...

If I spent half that time on a circuit, then I am almost guarenteed I am fighting for the win and I just like to win

 

[Rick Bamford]

Ben,

Driving in the RallyClub is one of the best ways to learn the stages. You also get to try a lot of different cars and it can be a fast track to Grade one for anyone fast enough.

Something I have only just found is the Dll program where you can edit that pace notes and make them right. I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out this event.

 

[Aaron DeMarre]

So basically there will be 8 classes, and we will be competing for points in 2 of them at a time, both car class and driver grade on each rally? I like this idea, since I am considering running A6K next season, but if so would not be very competitive in Grade 2 or 3 against N4 and A8 cars.

The post-race reviews are a great idea as well. I don't think anyone here is cheating/cutting or what not, but it keeps people honest. Couple things on that note:

1) You can skip saving a replay by selecting "back" or whatever it is from that menu. It will dump you back to desktop without saving a replay. I do this while practicing and during the club rallies, so you probably want a rule to cover non-submission of replays.

2) The cars, especially lower classes, are restricted in setups. The setups however can be modified beyond the restrictions externally. There is a tool the Rallyesim guys use to validate setups, you just drag a replay on it and it will tell you if the setup is valid. You may want to consider using this as part of your review and adding a rule for invalid setups. The tool is here: http://forum.rallyesim.fr/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=7414

The tool requires your localization settings be set so a comma (,) is the decimal separator, at least I had to change it to get it to work. Also competetors, beware of greeks bearing gifts, if you receive a setup file, it is a good idea to run it thru the setup checker just to be sure!

 

[Dariusz Swiderski]

Let me get this straight Ben, you like to win but don't have time to practice, you don't practice so you don't win, you don't win so you don't compete......:wink::wink::wink::wink:

If i adapted you philosophy i would have gave up rallying a looong time ago lol.......no one will think of you any lesser if you don't win or finish near the top m8:tongue:, and the more you compete the better you will be

 

[Dariusz Swiderski]

Whats consider cutting in RBR? Are there any secret passage ways i,m not aware of? I mean, cutting a corner is a part of rallying right? You can't ( ? ) just miss a few corners altogether and save 10 or 20 sec right? Or m,i missing some tricks with this sim?

 

[Aaron DeMarre]

Whats consider cutting in RBR? Are there any secret passage ways i,m not aware of? I mean, cutting a corner is a part of rallying right? You can't ( ? ) just miss a few corners altogether and save 10 or 20 sec right? Or m,i missing some tricks with this sim?

The Rallyesim rallies require one tire on the road at all times, unless you go off course. Just an example, I don't know if the RDRC will be adopting the same rules:

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

I haven't read the cutting rules in detail, however from my experience in many other leagues (track not rally) with endless discussions and harsh accusations, we have allowed all cutting whatsoever in the Simracing Team Challenge (STC), unless the game steps in, which is does in RBR by way of putting stones and treetrunks and stuff in places where people shouldn't go.
I only say this to protect the admins from endless hours of work that is dirty and never ever fully appreciated by the community while at the same time killing all the joy for the game for the admins. Just my 5 cents.
Personally I have never cut intentionally and will never cut because it simply isn't fun at all, just as one wouldn't cheat when playing cards with one's friends (or would we?).

 

[Łukasz Demolin]

If I had the deciding vote regarding cutting I'd say almost everything is valid as long as you're not going more than a car width out or abusing the track (i.e. cutting through the corn fields on Pribram for example). We can have a gentleman agreement about not cutting too deep, but that is the way of rallying. Especially when co-driver shouts "cut" and your car just carries itself ouf of the road.

 

[Gregory Degreef]

haha... dont read all post but im laughing when i see talking about cutting in rally...
im the first one to say something when i saw someone with 4wheels on the curbs(on track!!!) but in rally.. com on guys... oO

 

[Senad Subasic]

haha... dont read all post but im laughing when i see talking about cutting in rally...
im the first one to say something when i saw someone with 4wheels on the curbs(on track!!!) but in rally.. com on guys... oO

I hope you'll be laughing if someone shaves 10 seconds off on one of the Finnish stages in this rally :tongue:

Cutting the corner is one thing, completely ignoring the road, and cutting and saving 50-100m is another.

 

[Gregory Degreef]

Cutting the corner is one thing, completely ignoring the road, and cutting and saving 50-100m is another.

indeed... thts a completlty another thing.... but do you think is possible?
thats no more "cutting", but well "cheating"... oO

 

[Senad Subasic]

indeed... thts a completlty another thing.... but do you think is possible?
thats no more "cutting", but well "cheating"... oO

I know of one spot, I'm sure there are a few more.
Anyway, was just exaggerating to make a point. Where would you draw the line between the two? Some rules should exist.

 

[Nigel Atkins]

Let me get this straight Ben, you like to win but don't have time to practice, you don't practice so you don't win, you don't win so you don't compete......:wink::wink::wink::wink:

team mates can be so crule

 

[Troy Ament]

I completely agree that cutting is taboo, but what if it's completely accidental?

Example: For today's rally at Finland on one stage there is a section that is something like "Easy Right Tightens -> Fast Left -> Fast Right" in quick succession, and for me in the wet sometimes I lock up and go straight past the left hander, basically leaving the track and coming back on 50m later but being no more than 2 car widths inside of the left hander I've missed.

Now there's a bit of a jump in the middle so it's not like I can just flat foot through there, but if it's completely accidental and does not gain any advantage due to being sideways in the air, is it considered an offence worth being DQ'd over?

Also a bit confused on the whole Grade system, does that mean that the points will be divided up by Grade or by Vehicle Class?