Rules

1. Drivers are expected to race clean to the best of their ability. Races are 50% distance, so there's plenty of time to overtake. Unnecessary or risky moves will be penalised.
2. Retaliation of any kind (deliberately hitting, blocking or pushing off another driver after an incident) is penalised with 12 penalty points. Very serious cases can get more.

Defending

1. When defending, you may change your line once on a straight. In a corner, don't move at all.
2. Changing line more than once to block another driver is blocking, and the defending driver will get a penalty.

Divebombing

1. Don't divebomb from one car length or more behind.
2. A divebomb is only legal if it's clean: there's no contact, and the defending driver didn't have to steer away to avoid a collision.
3. The defending driver may close the door at any point during a divebomb. If there's contact, it's the attacking driver's fault, because the divebomb was dangerous.

The pictures below show what these rules mean.

Side by side through a corner or on a straight

The picture below shows side-by-side racing.

Pushing someone wide

This league does not use the "ahead at the apex" rule. Being ahead at the apex never gives you the right to push another driver off the track.

1. Pushing another driver wide is penalised whether you're ahead or behind at the apex, and even if you end up behind them.
2. If the defending driver pushes the attacking driver wide, and the attacking driver gets past while off the track because of that push, they don't have to give the position back.

Giving positions back

1. If you think you've gained a position by breaking any of these rules, give the position back straight away.

Right of way

1. During qualifying, a driver on a valid hot lap always has right of way. Any driver who isn't on a timed lap must get out of their way, whatever their track position, time, the weather or the flags.
2. If you're not on a hot lap, stay off the racing line.
3. If your lap has already been invalidated, you may use the racing line, but you must still move aside for anyone coming up behind on a valid hot lap.
4. Drivers on a valid hot lap never have to give way, even if they're slower than the car behind. When two drivers on hot laps meet, both may stay on the racing line or fight to get back onto it, but they must not make contact or cost each other a lot of time.

Contact

1. Any contact in qualifying will be penalised. That includes contact that could have cost a driver time or damaged their car.
2. Racing other drivers in qualifying and causing an incident will also be penalised.

Penalties

1. First offence, if the driver made a real attempt to get out of the way: a warning.
2. First offence with no real attempt to move, or any repeat offence: penalty points or a qualifying ban, depending on how serious it is.

Moving out of the way late is better than not moving at all. Stewards will always be stricter on drivers who make no attempt to move.

Yellow flags

1. Overtaking under yellow flags is not allowed. Stewards will review each case individually.
2. Each illegal overtake under yellow flags gets a 5 to 10 second penalty.

Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car

1. Overtaking during a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car, or during the restart after either, gets a 10 second penalty for each overtake.

Overtaking off track

1. You must be within track limits when you complete an overtake, unless the driver you're overtaking forced you off.
2. An overtake completed off track counts as an illegal overtake and is penalised under that rule.

Causing a collision

1. If an illegal overtake causes a collision, the penalty is 10 seconds plus 2 to 7 penalty points, depending on how serious the crash is.

How to contest a penalty

1. Some penalties given during a race can be challenged, and the stewards may remove them.
2. To contest a penalty, you must add clear video evidence to your report ticket. It can come from your own car, another driver's car or the live stream.
3. A penalty will only be removed if the stewards decide you were not at fault.
4. Penalties the game gives you for an incident you caused will not be removed.

Track limits

1. To have a track limits penalty or warning removed, you must also show proof that you had no extra warnings. This usually comes from the race director.
2. Track limits penalties and warnings are only removed if you were forced off by something outside your control, such as a collision or a brake check.
3. Running wide or overshooting a corner on your own won't get a warning or penalty removed.

Unfair time penalties from the game

1. If the game unfairly gives you a time penalty, how much is taken off depends on whether you served it in the pit lane:

Time served in the pits can't be given back in full, because you lose less time in the pit lane than the penalty itself.

During a qualifying ban

1. A driver with a qualifying ban may still go out on track for an out-lap, to check their setup and get some practice, as long as they don't set a lap time.
2. After the out-lap, the driver must return to the pit lane.
3. If a driver with a qualifying ban starts a timed lap by mistake, they must invalidate it and go straight back to the pits.

Breaking a qualifying ban

1. First time: the driver also gets a qualifying ban for the next race.
2. Every time after that: the driver gets a qualifying ban for the next race, 3 penalty points and a 5 second penalty in the race where it happened.

Types of penalty

1. When the stewards review an incident, they can give five types of penalty:
   1. Warnings
   2. Time penalties
   3. Penalty points
   4. Qualifying bans
   5. Race bans

What builds up to what

1. A qualifying ban given directly by the stewards does not add 4 penalty points.
2. A driver who gets several 10 second penalties from the stewards may also be given a penalty point.

Time penalties and not finishing

1. If the stewards give you a time penalty and you don't finish the race, the penalty carries over to the next race.

Entering the pit lane

1. Keep a reasonable speed on the pit entry. Don't deliberately drive well below the pit limiter speed.
2. Brake for the pit limiter line at a sensible distance from it, not far too early.
3. You may slow down to leave a bigger gap and avoid double stacking with your teammate, but only if no cars are coming into the pit lane behind you.
4. Don't cross the white line that separates the pit entry from the track.

Exiting the pit lane

1. Don't cross the white line when leaving the pit lane, in any session.
2. Even if you've only just left the pits, you must leave space for cars already on track.
3. In qualifying, if crossing the pit exit line makes you get in someone's way, you'll get the same penalty as any other impeding offence.

Penalties

1. Breaking the pit entry rules: a warning for the first offence, then 1 penalty point for the next, with more penalty points for each one after that.
2. Breaking the pit exit rules will be penalised.

Who is responsible

1. While the AI is driving your car, it counts as you. Anything it does is treated as if you did it.
2. The only exception is after you've finished qualifying: if the game puts the AI in your car for the rest of the session and you can't take control, you're not responsible for what it does.
3. If your AI causes an incident, you get the same penalty you'd get if you had caused it yourself.

Disconnects

1. A driver who spends a long time in AI mode during a race, whether from a disconnect or any other reason, will be disqualified, unless they can prove they weren't racing as the AI.

Safety Car and Virtual Safety Car

1. Letting the AI drive your car under a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car is not allowed, as it counts as dangerous driving. Penalties:
   1. First time: a warning
   2. Second time: a time penalty
   3. Third time and after: 1 penalty point plus a 5 second penalty

Retiring

1. Never retire your car on track during a competitive session. A stopped car can cause incidents.
2. If you need to retire, drive the car into the pits and retire there.
3. Retiring on track gets 1 penalty point.

Resetting to track

1. Don't use reset to track after going off. It can gain you time and cause incidents.
2. Resetting to track gets a 5 to 10 second penalty.

Overtaking

1. No overtaking under a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car. Each overtake gets a 5 to 10 second penalty.

Safety Car restarts

1. If the game slows down the leader, or a car near the front, for going too fast at a restart, the driver who restarted too early gets the penalty. Usually that's the leader.

Virtual Safety Car

1. When the VSC comes out, don't slam on the brakes straight away, even if you're under the delta time. If there's a car behind you, slow down gradually: by the next corner, or over 5 to 10 seconds.
2. Braking suddenly with a car close behind will be penalised.

VSC turning into a Safety Car

1. If the VSC turns into a full Safety Car straight away and the game gives you a drive-through because you didn't have time to slow down, you can appeal.
2. If the stewards agree there clearly wasn't enough time, the full 20 seconds can be removed, instead of the usual 10 (see Contesting penalties).