5. Rule Enforcement
We can't possibly control all the actions of our drivers, but we have ways to penalise drivers who break the rules.
5.1 Saving Replays
As a means of helping the stewards with their enquiries, all drivers are required to save their race replays and keep it stored for at least one week after the race has taken place.
5.2 Stewards Panel
The
Stewards Panel forum can be used to report incidents and other rule violations that occur in a race. A proper explanation and/or evidence of the incident must be provided in order for it to be investigated. This will then be looked into by various members of the Project CARS Team and appropriate action will be taken.
What you can make a stewards enquiry for:
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Racing incidents: If you feel another driver has caused an incident - eg. hitting your car, forcing you off the track, or generally driving too aggressively - you should report this to the stewards for investigation.
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Race start issues: If you feel another driver failed to stick to the rules of the manual rolling start, you should report this to the stewards.
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Track limits: If you witness another driver persistently gaining time by abusing the track limits by either running wide or cutting corners, you should report this to the stewards for investigation.
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Dangerous driving: If a driver rejoins the track in an unsafe or dangerous manner, or drives in a way that is a danger to other cars, you should report it to the stewards.
Time limit for enquiries:Note that there is a time limit of
2 days (48 hours) after the race has run to make a stewards enquiry for an incident you have been involved in or witnessed during the race. If any new rule violations come to light through videos released after this time, it is still possible to report this, but only if this violation is something that was not visible to the other driver(s) in the race at the time it happened.
5.3 Penalties
The stewards have a variety of penalties that may be applied to punish drivers who break our racing rules, depending on the severity of the violation. The available penalties are sorted below, in order of severity. Breaking a rule also leads to penalty points being added to your name - see further down for more details.
(Note that penalties may be added together in the event of multiple violations in a race, which could result in total time penalties of a higher number than what is suggested below)
● 5-second time penalty
● 10-second time penalty
● 20-second time penalty
● 30-second time penalty
● Qualifying ban for the next race (may also be applied in place of a time penalty if the driver did not finish the race)
● Disqualification from the race
● One-race ban
● Multiple-race ban
● Permanent removal from the league
Any penalties will be aimed at the person who has done wrong - we cannot compensate anyone else as a result of someone's actions. All penalties are discussed by the Stewards Panel (consisting of the members of the Project CARS Team - Admins, Moderators and Coordinators - from all platforms) before being issued and the driver will always be informed of the outcome. The Stewards Panel is completely neutral and will not include anyone who may be affected by the incident in question.
5.4 Penalty Points System
The penalty points system is a way of keeping track of a driver's record of breaking the rules of clean racing, and to more severely punish repeat offenders. Penalty points will be applied
alongside normal race penalties, as per the list below.
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5 points - Driving dangerously or unsportingly
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5 points - Causing a minor avoidable collision
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10 points - Causing a moderate avoidable collision
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15 points - Causing a major avoidable collision
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5 points - Failing to wait for the affected driver after causing a collision (in addition to one of the above)
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5-15 points - Excessively abusing the track limits (depending upon severity)
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50 points - Deliberately crashing into another driver
If you accumulate
25 points, you will be awarded a qualifying ban.
If you accumulate
40 points, you will be awarded a one-race ban.
If you accumulate
50 points, your league position will be put under review, with the likely outcome of being removed from the league.
Penalty points will usually be reset ahead of a new season.
5.5 Reprimand system
While the race penalties and penalty points system are aimed at dealing with on-track issues, the reprimand system deals with issues that may occur off the track.
It's simple - if you receive 3 reprimands, you're out. Receiving 3 reprimands would also see you placed on the blacklist, meaning you would not be allowed to return to the leagues in the future.
You can receive a reprimand for the following
● No-showing a race without giving prior notice to the League Coordinator
● Rage-quitting or deliberately crashing out of the session for no good reason (as specified in rule 3.4)
● Showing abusive behaviour towards another driver, either in the race lobby or on the forum
Note that if we encounter situations where someone's behaviour gets completely out of hand and is extremely serious, a ban may be applied directly regardless of reprimands accumulated.
5.6 Blacklist
The blacklist contains the names of drivers who have been removed from the leagues - either through accumulating 50 penalty points or 3 reprimands - and drivers who have left the leagues during an ongoing season with no good reason.
Having your name applied to the blacklist generally means you will not be allowed to rejoin the leagues in the future.