Last season V8 Racing League introduced the "turbo era" and brought a new car for the drivers - the FoRGE VERL 2022 was a step upwards regarding power and challenging handling. However with reduced aerodynamical downforce,the car was pretty much on similar pace with the good old Formula V8,which was used in first 7 seasons. This year the car has been developed further - it received an updated suspension geometry,slightly increased aerodynamical downforce and got some minor fixes to ensure quality,but also lost a bit of it's power,which was cut by reducing boost of the turbocharger. This is the organizing body's attempt to make the car more user friendly,while it is still challenging to master.
League race format is quite simple and hasn't been changed - every round features 20 minutes free track qualifying and race,where lapcount is set to minimum to exceed 200 kilometers. As always no "hardcore simulation" will be enforced to keep things simple - everyone can telepit in qualifying (also in race,but that of course erases the driver's race progress),also Safety/Pace car will not be used. However the race day has been changed - VERL will return it's action to sunday evening (european time) to increase it's availability for the racers from west side of Atlantic. Season starts on 10th september with rounds set 2 weeks apart from each other,except round 3 is 3 weeks after round 2.
Schedule of this season features 2 fast tracks at both ends of the series,while 3 middle rounds will be run on slower courses. Season kicks off in Aston,where VERL will be using the longest configuration Grand Prix for the 1st time in league's history. Round 2 will be also "a first ever" - the brand new round "FoRGE 200" will be run on a custom layout set up in Layout Square,the 3.2km street circuits inspired track has 2 long straights and handfull of slow challenging turns. A real street course will be used in round 3 - the South City 200 will be run in Chicane Route configuration,which has been used 3 times in VERL history,however this year it will be run in default direction for the first time. The 2 last rounds will be run on returning courses - 4th round will be run on what has been become VERL classic. The bumpy and dusty Container Sprint configuration is set up in Blackwood's container storage field and as always will challenge drivers' mental and physical endurance. Season finale will be held in pretty much the most classic high power car circuit of LFS - the Westhill International configuration has always been a great place for high speed cars showdown racing.
Series schedule:
10.09. Round 1 - Aston Classic Challenge (AS Grand Prix, 23 laps)
24.09. Round 2 - FoRGE 200 (LA FoRGE Viaduct 8*, 63 laps)
15.10. Round 3 - South City 200 (SO Chicane Route, 69 laps)
29.10. Round 4 - Containa Grand Prix of Blackwood (BL Container Sprint*, 80 laps)
12.11. Round 5 - Westhill 200 (WE International, 35 laps)
* Custom configuration layout attached
Timetable:
17:00 UTC / 19:00 CET / 20:00 EET - 20 minutes of qualifying
17:30 UTC / 19:30 CET / 20:30 EET - race start
* due daylight saving time change in Europe,the UTC time of round 5 will be accordingly 18:00 (Qual) and 18:30 (Start)!
* times of posted CET and EET timezones are the current times at the date - summer time in rounds 1-4,winter time in round 5.
* IMPORTANT NOTE: if you are not familiar with either CET or EET timezones,always refer to UTC to convert the correct event time to your timezone! Calendar of lfs.net website's leagues section always shows right time for your timezone!
Special notes on qualifying:
- If there is no full 40 car grid,drivers championship's top 10 drivers will be allowed to start from end of the grid if joined late and missed qualification. For 1st round last year's top 10 driver's can use this option.
- To qualify for the race drivers have to set a laptime during qualifying session within 112% of best laptime of the qualifying session. This does not affect championship's top 10 drivers as they may start the race without qualifying or with laptime outside 112% of best laptime.
Championships:
VERL Drivers Champion - awarded to a driver with the most points scored through all 5 rounds,including attendance bonus points
VERL Teams Champion - awarded to a team with the most points scored through all 5 rounds (team will score all points from it's 2 highest finished drivers and all round bonus points)
VERL Nations Cup Winner - awarded to a nation with the most points scored through all 5 rounds (nation will score all points from it's 2 highest finished drivers and all round bonus points)
VERL Rookie of the Year - awarded to a driver,who hasn't started a single VERL race before this season,with the most points scored through all 5 rounds,including attendance bonus points. Rookie status will be marked in championship standings sheet in series spreadsheets (link in "Miscellaneous info" section of this post)
In all championships - in case of a tie,higher rated will be driver/team/nation with highest finishing position,if equal - it's amount,if equal - second highest position etc. If all finishing positions happen to be equal,higher rated will be selected using same system from qualifying results. If they also happen to be equal then as a tie-breaker will be used last round finishing position. In case a tied driver had a disqualification in one or more rounds,it counts as a primary rating lowering factor,when deciding tiebreak.
Points System:
Finishing points:
1st - 20 points
2nd - 17 points
3rd - 14 points
4th - 12 points
5th - 10 points
6th - 9 points
7th - 8 points
8th - 7 points
9th - 6 points
10th - 5 points
11th - 4 points
12th - 3 points
13th - 2 points
14th-40th - 1 point
In order to receive finishing points,driver must complete full 2/3 (66.67%) of race distance with single run!
Points reducement system:
*in case there 8 or less participants in qualifying,race distance and available points will be halved.
1st - 10 points
2nd - 8 points
3rd - 6 points
4th - 5 points
5th - 4 points
6th - 3 point
7th - 2 point
8th-17th - 1 point
(points for more positions available just in case of late joins)
* also here completion of 2/3 (66.67%) from reduced race distance with single run is required to score finishing points!
Round bonus points:
Qualification win - 1 point (if qualifying time is equal,both/all will receive this bonus point)
Fastest lap in race - 1 point (if laptime is equal,both/all will receive this bonus point)
Championship bonus points:
Attendance in all 5 rounds - 2 points
Attendance in 4 rounds - 1 point
* Attendance counts if a driver has started the race
Rules:
We will not make a mile long rule book that noone will read completely anyway,so we will rely on common sence of competitors to behave and follow the basic Rules of Clean Racing. There will not be an admin in server who will specifically observe drivers' behaviour during the race,so any action will be made only after protest while all retirements will be investigated automatically. If any incidents reported/protested,we will take individual approach to each of them to decide best fair resolution or punishment if needed.
Basic guidelines as a reminder:
> Blue flag - you may not deny/block a passing manouvre of laping car and try a repass right after it. In qualification it means - stay off racing line and don't disturb drivers on hotlap.
> Shortcuts - 2 wheels on track at all times. Track is mostly marked by white lines,while also curbs count towards track. Overtaking outside track limits counts as illegal and will be penalized in case of a protest.
> Contacts - have to be avoided at all costs as always when racing open wheel cars,that includes also bumpdrafting.
> Pit exit - allthough there will be no mandatory pitstop in this league,due smaller fuel tank pitting will be needed,so pit exit lines will have to be respected - drivers may not cross the pit exit line with more than 2 wheels and have to make way for cars racing at full speed. Failing to comply with this rule will award them with 10s penalty,while causing incidents will result in bigger penalty. Pit entry lines will not be monitored,they serve just as guidelines.
> Pitlane speed - 2 rounds are run on tracks where is no LFS-side enforced pitlane speed limit. Here the speed will not be monitored,however if an incident happens due high speeds,driver will be penalized for avoidable incident.
> Chatting - it's not completely outruled,but still drivers are expected to concentrate on racing. In case of too much chatting while ignoring messages asking to cease chatting,a penalty may be given. In case of any abusive/offensive language a penalty will be given! Any in server present observers/spectators are not allowed to chat at all during race session!
> Lags - if there are any connection issues,driver will be asked to improve (close internet using programs). If driver will be considered as dangerous due to unstable connection and high ping,he will not be allowed to participate at the current round.
> Hacks/cheats - if used,you will not race with us. Ever. As simple as that.
Possible penalties:
> WARNING - any minor infraction that needs to be noted without penalty. Warned driver might receive bigger penalty for other infractions.
> 10s added to finish time - minor infractions,like illegal passing,pit exit line violation,too much chatting.
> 30s added to finish time - medium infractions,like causing avoidable incident[s] without serious consequences,illegal passing.
> 60s added to finish time (1 lap penalty in rounds 2 and 3) - medium infractions,like causing avoidable incident[s] with consequences to other drivers (like damage,multiple position loss) or unsportsmanlike behaviour.
> Disqualification for 1 or more rounds - heavy infractions,multiple incidents,unsportsmanlike behaviour. After serving disqualification,driver will automatically carry a "warning" for the rest of season.
> Series exclusion (including ban for any other events run under Race Green Events control) - serious infractions like intentional/revenge wrecking,event sabotage and any other malicious act.
Signing up:
In order to compete in VERL 2023,you have to visit VERL 2023 Signups thread and fill the registration form.
Miscellaneous info:
> We will not use any numbers,skin requirements or official names in our league. But still feel free to use the attached VERL logo on skins if you wish,prepared skin template in .psd format can be downloaded here!
> Signup tracking and all the standings will be found in VERL 2023 spreadsheets.
> Signed up drivers will receive server information and password at least 24h before round start (usually saturday european time) via PM on this forum! Make sure you have enabled PM receiving! Server will be online without password until then.
> Series will be run using the latest stable version of LFS (currently 0.7D).
> All information above can be changed,if so,a notification will be posted about it!
League server: V8 Racing League
(Online)Join us,good luck in series and have fun!
