Version 1.0 (08/02/2026)
* In orange color: Changed items from 2025 regulations
1.- Initial Considerations
2.- Introductions and Registrations
3.- Calendar and Schedule
4.- Important Information about GPs
5.- Allowed Aids
6.- Race Conditions
7.- GP Attendance
8.- Points system
9.- Qualifying session
10.- Warmup and Warm-up lap
11.- Race
12.- Complaints and penalties
13.- About The Server
14.- Game Optimization
15.- Pre-qualification
16.- Driving License
17.- Final Considerations
1.- Initial Considerations
1.1 – NRD League Members
We consider a member of this league all drivers registered in our forum. Members constitute NRD Community. Everybody has the right to belong to this Community unless the Organization revokes acceptance. NRD Members are divided into the following groups:
– Members
– Drivers: all members registered into a Championship
– Press: They work actively in the press department
– Collaborators: they help Organizers in specific areas
– Marshals: They review complaints and decide penalties
– Organizers: They administer NRD League at multiple levels: website, simulator, championship, community...
1.2 – Simulator: Formula NRD uses rFactor2 and Formula NRD car, created specifically for this championship.
To participate in this league you need a legal copy of rFactor2.
1.3 – Calendar: Formula NRD 2026 consists of 20 Grand Prix. More information in section 3 (Calendar and Schedule)
1.4 – About regulations and official communications: All drivers must read the regulations in their entirety and obey the rules contained in them to participate in this league. They must also read any modification to it made during the season. Any official communication made in the forum is also a must-read for all drivers. If there's any contradiction between forum communications and the regulations, forum will take priority.
2.- Introductions and Registrations
2.1 – Introducing Formula NRD
It's the most important category in NRD League, in which we race Formula 1-like cars. The grid is composed of a maximum of 22 official drivers divided in 11 teams and a maximum total of 24 drivers. Organization reserves the rights to ban drivers out of the league because of their behaviour both in track and the forum.
2.2 – Registrations and other details
Before season starts, a pre-registration period will be open and will remain open during the whole season. All drivers wanting to participate in Formula NRD must pre-register using the form available in the website.
Once the registration period is finished, a list containing all drivers and their reserved numbers will be published. Teams can register 2 of these drivers. The rest if the drivers will be considered drivers without team. These drivers will take the seats created by official drivers absences. There are 2 grid spots always reserved for drivers without teams, even if they're not replacing an official driver.
Teams must have a manager, who doesn't need to be an official driver and will represent the team when talking to organizers. Managers are responsible for recruiting drivers for the team (subject to organization's approval), no-attendance of drivers, finding a replacement for absent official drivers and following the regulations.
Once teams have been created, managers will register the team in the adequate time period, announcing all drivers. During this period, more detailed information will be given by the Organization.
For image reasons, it's not allowed that 2 or more teams have similar names. For example, there can't be 2 Peugeot teams (like "Peugeot 1" and "Peugeot 2"). There can be 2 associated teams but names must be different (like "Red Bull" and "Toro Rosso")
It's mandatory for a team to have a distinctive livery and for image reasons, livery must include the NRD logo in a visible place. Driver number must be clearly visible and placed in the car nose. It could also be repeated in some other places, at the team discretion. More information about liveries can be found in the forum.
As soon as possible after car release, organizers will give templates to paint the car. Liveries must be sent as soon as possible within the alotted time.
If a lead driver wants to switch team at any time during the season, team managers must notify Organization. Organizers could remove any team from the championship. if they repeatedly fail to follow the regulations.
Un manager puede cambiar sus pilotos oficiales en cualquier momento de la temporada avisando previamente a la organización. Si un manager sabe que su piloto oficial no va a poder asistir a un GP debe buscar entre los pilotos preclasificados a un piloto sin equipo y que pasará a ocupar ese asiento oficial para ese GP. Sobre las ausencias, sustituciones y pilotos sin equipo, más información en el punto 7.
3.- Calendar and Schedule
Formula NRD 2020 race calendar will be, like previous years, identical to Formula 1, though there could be any changes in exceptional cases. Schedules are published in the forum preview thread so all drivers can plan their practice time accordingly as well as checking the weather forecast for the race..
Schedule: Sundays at 21:30 (Central European Time)
Formula NRD full schedule can be verified in the "calendar" section of the website.
Some races can take place in a date other than real-life F1 for any reason the organization decides it's relevant. That's why it's important to verify race dates in the forum and the website.
4.- Important Information about GPs
4.1 – Detailed Schedule for Formula NRD
21:20 – Briefing starts: Participants must be a few minutes ahead of time in the General channel in the Discord NRD League server ready for listening last-minute instructions from organizers and asking aky questions they could have
21:30 - Server opens in practice session 12 minutes long.
21:45 - Q1 starts (12 minutes)
22:00 - Q2 starts (10 minutes)
22:13 – Comienzo del Warmup de 9 minutos de duración.
22:24 - Race starts
23:32 – 23:52 - Usual race finish time, depending on events happening.
All times are Central European Time (CET/CEST). The times are approximate, as there is some variable delay in the start and end of sessions and they depend on the server startup..
4.2 – Important Considerations
4.2.1 – Schedule will be followed as strictly as possible. Race server sill be password-protected, which will be sent via e-mail a few hours before the Grand Prix, along with weather forecast and some other important informations. If any driver doesn't receive the email containing the password, he should get in touch with the organization, preferably through Discord or Whatsapp. Other ways of asking for the password are not recommended, although they could be used in case of emergency.
4.2.2 – If any participant can't attend the GP at the scheduled time, he should notify organizers, so they will tell him when to enter.
4.2.3 – Race passwords are for exclusive use of NRD League Drivers. If any driver gives passwords to other people without organizers permission, he could be banned from the league immediately.
4.2.4 – Attendance at the briefing is mandatory. Any driver who disregards the instructions given at the briefing or the pre-race post published by the organizers may be penalized at the discretion of the stewards, depending on the severity of the infraction.
5- Allowed Aids
The Following Driving Aids Are Allowed:
– Automatic Clutch
Any other driving aid is disabled
6.- Race Conditions
6.1 – Simulation conditions in Formula NRD
Total length: 70% real-life F1 total race distance
Real-Life F1 races hace a minimum distance of 305 Km. 70% of that distance is 213.5 Km. (with the only exception of the Monaco GP).
Organizers will adjust technical features of the car, like tyres or fuel consumption to race length. Race length is specified in the "Calendar" section of the website.
So, these are the simulator settings for our races:
– Tyre consumption: normal
– Fuel Consumption: normal
– Fallos mecánicos: normal
– Damage multiplier: 100%
– RealRoad multiplier : 2x
As an example, if Spanish GP distance is 66 laps, (307,2 km.), Formula NRD race distance will be 46 laps (215,0 km.) . About weather, a forecast is downloaded 30 minutes before the real-life session and applied into the simulator. As we get a rain chance % from our weather provider, it could happen that there's rain in real life but not in our race (or the other way around).
6.2 – Grand Prix Weather Conditions
All Grand Prix sessions will take place under realistic weather conditions at real-life race time (usually 14:10 or 15:10 CET). We use percentages of rain chance, so unless the percentage is 0 or 100, there's no guarantee if it's going to rain or not. Weather conditions are automatically captured on the server from «www.accuweather.com» website. Weather forecast will be sent along the race password by email a few hours before the race.
6.2.1 – Weather forecast will be taken 4 hours before each session and will be published automatically in the website as it's being downloaded from the weather provider. This is the correspondence between real-life sessions and simulator sessions:
– Practice: Saturday, 3 hours before real-life Q1. (For example, at 11:00)
– Q1: Saturday, same time as real-life Q1(For example at 14:00)
– Q2: Saturday, 1 hour after real-time Q1 starts (For example at 15:00).
– Warmup: Sunday, 3 hours before real-life race (For example at 12:00)
– Race (1st half). Sunday, real-life race start time (For example at 15:00)
– Race (2nd half). Sunday, 1 hour after real-life race start time
In the case of the pratice and warmup sessions, forecast from the previous hour will also be taken, and depending on predictions and server calculations, these sessions could start with wet track even if it's not raining at the start.
From a weather point of view, sessions are divided into sections whose durations are partially random. Weather can change in the transition beween sections. Server will do it automatically. Practice sessions is divided into 8-minute sections, Qualifying section is divided into 2 sections, Warmup section has only 1 section and race has 8 sections each one with a random duration beween 6 and 14 minutes.
The variables that will be taken into account when establishing the weather conditions are: Probability of rain during the session (0-100%), Minimum and maximum intensity of rain expected (0-100%), Cloudiness (0-100%) and ambient temperature (ºC). Track temperature is automatically calculated by the simulator based on these variables.
6.3 – In-track rubber and wetness (Realroad)
The organisation will configure the server so that the rubber on track will evolve throughout the GP, with a x2 multiplier. The practice session will start with little rubber on the track, and the rubber will be accumulated depending on the pace of the cars, humidity in case of rain or dry lane in its absence. The track condition will always be the same from one session to the next, with one exception: at the start of the warmup, as it will depend on the weather forecast for the hour before the warmup.
6.4 – About using the chat during races
Using the chat is strictly forbidden during qualifying and race sessions. Any driver doing it will receive a penalty, as it can distract drivers on track.
This rule applies also to voice chat. It's strictly forbidden that a driver enters another team channel to discuss anything happening on track. Organizers could do it to inform about special situations.
Previous paragraph applies also to voice chat. It's strictly forbidden that a driver enters other team's channel to discuss any incident during qualifying or race. Organizers could do it under exceptional circumstances.
As chat is the main in-race method to receive organization messages, all drivers should pay attention into it.
7.- Absences, replacements and teamless drivers
The organization asks the official drivers and all pre-classified drivers to notify their absences in the "pre-race" forum post, and specify if they will be one-time, repeated or permanent.
If the missing is an official driver for a team, the manager of that team must select a teamless driver who is pre-qualified to cover the absence of an official driver. This driver will use the third car, with the number "S", will share the box and will score points for that team in that GP. It may be the case that a team participates with two "S" cars if both official drivers are replaced.
This is entirely manager's responsibility, and the organization will not assign teamless drivers to empty spots on teams. The deadline to make the substitution is the end of the GP practice session. By the time Q1 starts, you can no longer make driver changes from one car to another.
No team can participate with more than two drivers, so there cannot be more than two cars from the same team on the server on GP day.
If all the official driver places are occupied, or the drivers without a team have not been invited to any team, these drivers may have 2 places to participate using the generic car.
8.- Points system
8.1 – Points for race classification in Formula NRD
1st position: 25 points
2nd position: 18 points
3rd position: 15 points
4th position: 12 points
4th position: 10 points
6th position: 8 points
7th position: 6 points
8th position: 4 points
9th position: 2 points
10th position: 1 point
8.2 – Classification conditions
– Drivers who complete 90% of the laps of the race winner will be considered qualified in the race and will have completed the GP, therefore they will get the points, may receive time penalties and recover license points if applicable.
– Drivers participating with generic car won't score any points in the teams championship.
– If two drivers have the same number of points at the end of the championship, the one with the highest number of victories will be ahead. If they have the same number of victories, the one with the highest number of second places will be ahead. If they have the same number of second places, the one with the greatest number of third places will be ahead, and so on.
9.- Qualifying session
9.1 – Qualifying consists of 2 sessions:
– Q1: Has a 12 minutes duration.
– Q2: Has a 10 minutes duration.
10 best drivers in Q1 advance to Q2. There's no limit in the number of laps.
9.2 – Parc fermé: The car configuration will be locked once the first timed lap is completed, and only the following parameters can be modified: Initial fuel, tyres, front wing and brake distribution.
9.3 – DRS can be used anytime in the allowed zones. This is valid for free practice, qualifying and warmup.
9.4 – Breaking Parc Fermé: Parc Fermé will be maintained for all drivers who have completed a timed lap, locking their setup until the race. If a driver wishes to break it to release the setup for any reason, they may do so during the warmup by logging out of the server, changing the car upgrade to "Break Parc Fermé," and re-entering. Any change to any car upgrade, as well as a car change, is also considered a break from Parc Fermé, as it releases the setup. This break is reversible by reselecting the initial car and upgrade configuration, re-locking the setup and therefore returning to Parc Fermé. Drivers who have broken Parc Fermé must notify the race organizers in advance and must start the race from the pits without completing a formation lap. The server will notify you via chat message of any car that is not in Parc Fermé, either due to a break or due to not qualifying.
9.5 – During qualifying it is not permitted to press ESC to return to the pits and then go to the track again in the same session, unless the driver is in his pit stop box, in his garage or in the space between the exit of his garage and the pitlane finish line. If the driver presses ESC or disconnects from the session anywhere on the track outside the pitlane and then goes to the track again, he will be automatically disqualified from the session and his times will be deleted. If he presses ESC inside the pitlane but without returning to his pit box and then exits the track again, a penalty of 2 points + 10 seconds will be applied after the Grand Prix.
9.6 – The driver who is on his out or in lap must give the greatest possible facilities to the driver who is on his timed lap so as not to hinder him and so that by overtaking the driver who is not on his timed lap he loses time. It is recommended to activate the purple light during the out laps, charging laps or on the way back to the pits to indicate to other drivers that we are not on a lap, always being careful not to give the wrong message. In the event that a driver impedes other drivers intentionally, creating a time loss for them, could receive a penalty.
9.7 – It is strictly forbidden to stop or visibly slow down the pace within the line in the last sector of the circuit to make room for the driver in front. Slowing down the pace is only permitted, and never stopping, when outside the line. It is also not permitted to stop voluntarily to press ESC from the finish line until after the apex of the first corner to avoid yellow flags in the last sector.
9.8 – If a driver has an accident or mechanical problem and the car can be repaired, it's allowed to get back to the pits driving outside the racing line. If the car has no rear wing or has lost some wheel, driver must retire immediately pressing ESC. It's not allowed to get back on track again in that session, as instructed by point 9.5. Non-compliance of this rule will mean the driver will be disqualified.
9.9 – Drivers with a "start from pitlane" penalty
Drivers with a "start from pitlane" penalty can't participate in the qualifying session. If they do, they will be disqualified.
10.- Warmup and Warm-up lap
10.1 – Warmup and start tests
Warmup session is meant for drivers to prepare their cars for race start. Participation is optional.
Durante esta sesión es altamente recomendable During this session, start tests are allowed. To avoid incidents, tests must be done keeping the race line clear. That is, you can use main straight for it, but don't use grid positions in the race line. As in any other session, it's forbidden to stop the car in any other place into the track.
10.2 – Warm-Up Lap
10.2.1 – Warm-Up lap is a mandatory lap for drivers starting from the grid. Driver in pole position must be the first one to start moving. All others must follow him without overtaking any other driver.
If any driver does overtakes or strange maneuvers during the race may be penalized by a steward after the race.
At the end of warm-up lap, all drivers must return to right position in the grid. If you're slightly out of position, you can use reverse, given it's no risk for other drivers. It's strictly forbidden to drive slower than usual to make drivers already in the grid have engine overheating. In case 2 or more drivers blow up engine before lights-out, organizers can decide to restart the race. Drivers blowing up can rereive a penalty after race.
10.2.2 – If some driver loses control of the car and does out of track, other drivers should overtake him if the out-of-track driver can't get into the track again in approximately 5 seconds. If a driver can't recover his position, he'll have to let all other drivers pass and then reach his position in the grid.
10.2.3 – Touching or colliding with another participant is strictly prohibited. In the event of a collision, any car suffers damage or has a technical problem preventing the driver from continuing, they must press ESC and leave from the pits following the procedure outlined in section 10.3. If there is no damage, the normal formation lap will continue.
10.2.4 – It's totally forbidden to stop the car in the racing line to slow down other drivers or to heat tyres. If there's any incident because of this, the driver can receive a penalty after race.
10.2.5 – If a driver sees any error in grid order during formation lap, he can send a message to organization asking for revision. Typically, organization will red-flag the race to get back to the warmup, review and correct grid order if needed, and then restarting the race. If grid order was initially correct and red flag was requested unnecessarily or for a reason different than checking the grid order, the requesting driver can receive a penalty.
10.2.6 – In case a driver wants to pit for any reasonduring formation lap, he can do it entering the pitlane and pressing ESC, and then starting the race from pit lane according to procedure described in 10.3. Rfactor2 doesn't allow a pit stop until race has started, so stopping at pit position and not pressing ESC is considered a rule infringement and driver can receive a penalty for that.
10.3 – Starting from pit lane
To start from pit lane, driver must stay in the garage until pre-race countdown is over. When formation lap has started, he can exit the garage at any time. During formation lap, pit exit light will stay red and pit exit line can't be crossed until light goes green. That happens after race start and after all drivers have surpassed pit exit.
11.- Race
11.1 – Race Start
The start is one of the most critical moments of the race, so all drivers are required to exercise maximum caution and control of the vehicle.
During the start and the first few corners, drivers must be aware of the presence and position of surrounding vehicles at all times, using their mirrors before making any turns or changes of direction. They must leave sufficient space for other drivers who are parallel to them and must bear in mind that, especially in the last positions, braking must be done earlier than usual due to the concentration of vehicles.
Any maneuver that involves unnecessary risk, causes multiple collisions, or results in the withdrawal of one or more pilots may be severely penalized by the stewards.
The organizers recommend caution, prior practice, and preparation to avoid spinouts, lack of skill at starts, or leaving the car stationary when the traffic light turns red. If such incidents occur, those responsible will be severely penalized due to their dangerous nature.
It's also strictly forbidden to use pit limiter at race starts. That kind of pit limiter usage can lead to driver disqualification and even a grid penalty for next GP.
11.2 – Direction Changes at Start
There can be only 2 changes of diretion at race start. If a driver moves more than 2 times, can receive a penalty and if it creates a multi-car incident it could be disqualified.
11.3 – Overtaking
Overtaking is another critical point in a race, where two or more drivers are fighting for position. Although all overtaking and position defence manoeuvres may be different, the following rules are established to regulate behaviour on the track and to enable the stewards to judge each action on the track in the most uniform way possible. Drivers who do not respect the following rules by causing accidents or gaining an unfair advantage may be penalised.
11.3.1 – In a fight for position there are two very different situations:
A) When the drivers are NOT in PARALLEL
– In this situation, the defending driver may only make a single lateral change of direction to move off the racing line and protect his position in the next corner.
– The overtaking driver may move laterally freely to get out of the other driver's slipstream and attempt to overtake.
– These changes of direction must be made in the acceleration phase. Changing direction to move laterally is not permitted under braking.
B) When drivers ARE IN PARALLEL
– In this situation, changes of direction to close the door on the other driver, invade his line, hit him from the side or push him off the track leaving him no space are not allowed.
– Drivers cannot reduce the lateral space available to the rival driver when the parallel situation began and must drive in a double lane parallel to the racing line, taking into account the lateral space belonging to the rival driver when entering the corner.
Two or more drivers are considered to be parallel when one of them has his front wheel level with the other driver's rear wheel. This situation remains parallel until one of the two cars completely overtakes the other, including the front wing.
The above rules also apply in the event that more than two drivers are fighting for position, and in that case the last driver to position himself side by side is the one who must be more careful during the fight.
Zigzag manoeuvres to avoid slipstreams are not permitted on straights.
11.4 – Mechanical problems, damage and retirement
If a driver has some kind of damage, mechanical problem or steering wheel failure forcing him to drive at an abnormally reduced speed such as a front wing failure or severely bent suspension, the driver has a maximum of two passes through the finish line to enter the pits for repairs. If the driver passes the finish line more than twice without making a repair, the driver will be disqualified. A driver in this situation will only be allowed to continue and complete the race without repairs if the problem is a minor steering failure, minor suspension failure, brake failure due to wear, incipient engine problems, or if the damage occurs within three laps of the race. In all these cases, the driver must always drive as far from the racing line as possible and give way to not impede the other drivers and not creating dangerous situations.
In case the damage cannot be repaired or can't fix the problem and the driver has to stop the car, it must be done stopping outside of the track and pressing ESC.
Driving on the track without rear wing or with a missing wheel is strictly prohibited, as these damages cannot be repaired in the pits. Further information can be found in section 11.12.
If a damaged car can't moved and it's stopped inside the white lines defining track limits, driver should press ESC to abandon the race before 30 seconds. If the car going to abandon the race can move outside of the white lines, the car should be stopped out of the track and driver should wait a maximum of 90 seconds (we recommend a minimum of 60). Drivers breaking this time limit can receive a penalty.
11.5 – Defining track, racing line and track cuts
The track is defined as the asphalt area delimited by two continuous lines, white or yellow depending on the circuit, one on each side, including the lines themselves. The racing line is the section of the track where the drivers typically race to achieve the best lap time.
Track cutting will be considered as those actions in which the driver completely leaves the track, delimited by the white or yellow lines, in order to obtain an advantage from it. Cuts are a reason to apply penalties both by the simulator in real time and by the stewards after the race.
11.5.1 – The rules for determining what is a cut or not are as follows:
– There must be at least 2 wheels inside the track at all times.
– Kerbs, grass areas, tarmac outside the white lines, or astroturf are not part of the track.
– It's not allowed to put 4 wheels out of the track in a corner to gain time, no matter it's on the inside (apex) or the outside of the track.
– If a driver realizes he is cutting corners and believes he may be penalized, he should reduce his speed to lose back the time gained by cutting corners and thus avoid the penalty.
– If by cutting corners the driver gains a position or an advantage in a fight with another driver, he must let him pass, and he cannot attack him until after the next corner.
– If the driver's intention to leave the track to gain an advantage is observed, such as deliberately skipping a chicane, or driving on the grass to cut corners, it will be considered a serious intentional cut with the corresponding increase in the penalty.
Cuts will be monitored by the simulator using the cut detection system, which will automatically invalidate the current lap time in the event of a cut in qualifying, and apply cut points during the race based on the severity of the cut and the calculated time gain. If 5 cut points are accumulated during the race (by default), the simulator will automatically impose a Drive Thru on the driver.
The organisers may add control obstacles ("sausages") at certain points to prevent drivers from exceeding the track limits, either inside or outside the track.
11.6 – Yellow flags, loss of car control, running off track and rejoining
11.6.1 – Yellow Flags: When a driver is running at an abnormally reduced speed, has had an accident, has gone off the track or is in any other dangerous situation such as an engine failure, the simulator will automatically activate the yellow flag in that area.
Yellow flags are indicated by marshal posts and/or digital flag displays, depending on the circuit. The first point from which a marshal or display is visible marks the beginning of the yellow flag zone, and the point beyond the first marshal or display (or no flag at all) marks the end of the zone. Overtaking is strictly prohibited in the yellow flag zone, in accordance with the regulations and exceptions outlined in section 11.8.
In areas with reduced visibility marked with a yellow flag due to an accident or spin-out, it is mandatory to proceed more slowly than normal and with much greater caution. If a driver collides with or causes an accident in an area with reduced visibility where another accident has already occurred and which is marked with a yellow flag, the driver may be penalized for failing to exercise caution in that area.
11.6.2 – Loss of control of the car: When a driver is unable to control the trajectory of the car, he will have lost control of it and is obliged to press the brake until he stops completely, whether on or off the track, in order to maintain a predictable trajectory, facilitate the avoidance of the other drivers and reduce the risk of accidents.
11.6.3 – Leaving the track: When a car, viewed from above, is entirely outside the track boundaries, the driver is considered to have left the track. When, viewed from above, any part of the car re-enters the track, it is considered to have begun rejoining the race unless it is completely stopped.
11.6.4 – Race rejoins: If a driver runs off-track must rejoin the race As close as possible to the point in which he ran off. Both a driver rejoining the race after going off track and one starting to move after a stop due to losing control of the car are considered to be rejoining the race. To rejoin, it is mandatory to check the positions of the other drivers and begin rejoining only when there is sufficient space to do so without impeding others, always yielding the right of way.The rejoining driver cannot fight for his position or rejoin the racing line until he has regained the appropriate speed. Failure to follow these regulations correctly will result in the driver performing a dangerous re-entry and may result in a penalty.
11.7 – Safety Car and Full Course Yellow procedure
Safety Car is a vehicle activated and controlled by the simulator that can enter the track in case there's a serious accident in the race session. In case of SC activation, this is the protocol to follow:
11.9.1 – Full Course Yellow raised and Safety Car enters the track
Everytime there's a collision, simulator will measure the seriousness of the incident and will decide if SC is needed. That calculation is automated and the result is not decided by organizers. If accident is serious enough, procedure will start by showing Full Course Yellow.
During the entire Full Course Yellow, overtaking is totally prohibited throughout the circuit except the pitlane and the use of blue flags is suspended. If at the start of the procedure two or more drivers are parallel as defined in section 11.3 and there is no speed differential between them that clearly places one car in front of another, the driver who is on the inside of the next corner should be in front.
Therefore, once the procedure has started and after a reasonable reaction time, all drivers must follow the one in front without overtaking, overtaking being prohibited and point 11.8 being strictly applied.
Drivers can follow onscreen instructions, which will inform them which driver to follow until the end of SC procedure. However, this information is orientative and it's driver's responsibility to know who's in front in race standing.
Safety Car will get to track in front of race leader, and this must be the first car behind Safety Car. If there are other cars between the leader and the Safety Car, all of those drivers must overtake the Safety Car even if on-screen messages don't say that.
Drivers must group behind Safety Car as soon as possible, and they can do pitstops at any time.
11.7.2 – Grouping behind Safety Car and unlapping
Once grouped together, drivers must maintain a distance of no more than 10 cars from the vehicle in front of them throughout the SC procedure, and may make zigzag movements to warm up tyres as in the formation lap, unless a car behind them is in the process of unlapping. Drivers must drive at a pace that is as constant as possible.
Once the entire field is grouped together, the server will indicate via chat message that unlapping has begun. Drivers who are not lapped must stay on the racing line, following the Safety Car without zigzagging to facilitate the overtaking from lapped drivers. Lapped drivers may overtake all vehicles in front of them with extreme caution, except for the vehicle ahead of them in the classification, in order to overtake and catch up with the field again on the next lap. Once the "SC in this lap" message has been issued during the final safety car lap, overtaking by overtaking drivers is prohibited again until the end of the procedure.
Server Messages indicating the car to be followed or overtaken are indicative and may be wrong. It is the pilot who, with the HUD indication of which pilot is ahead and who is ahead, must know if the pilot in front of him can be overtaken or not to unlap. The safety car is non-collideable (it is not possible to hit it and it can be crossed) to facilitate unlapping maneuvers.
11.7.3 – Penalties during Safety Car period
From the beginning of the procedure and until the green flag, penalties such as "Drive Thru" or "Stop and Go" cannot be fulfilled, whatever the moment in which they are received.It is not allowed to perform the voluntary DT either. The remaining laps to perform them will not be discounted until the green flag, from which moment the pending penalties or the voluntary Drive Thru can be fulfilled.
11.7.4 – Green Flag
During the final Safety Car lap, the end of Full Course Yellow will be announced on-screen and in the server chat. The Safety Car vehicle will turn off its lights and enter the pits, with the "Green Flag" warning being displayed. At this point, the green flag will be waved and the race restarted. No overtaking or lapping is permitted until after the finish line once the leader has also crossed it, except for lapping, provided that the lapped driver has been shown the blue flag. The SC procedure ends as soon as the finish line is crossed under the green flag.
11.8 – Overtaking prohibited in yellow flag zones or under Safety Car
Overtaking, showing any intention to challenge another driver for position, or riding alongside another driver in an area marked with a yellow flag is prohibited during any session of a Grand Prix, or under a Safety Car. Any driver who does so may be penalized by the stewards.
11.8.1 – As exceptions to this prohibition, overtaking is permitted only in these cases:
– Overtaken driver is out of the track as defined in section 11.6.
– Overtaken driver is inside the track as defined in section 11.6, but he is stopped or rejoining the race at an speed reduced Which makes braking more dangerous than overtaking for drivers behind. If in doubt, it is recommended not to overtake.
– Desde la línea de entrada al pitlane y hasta el final de la línea blanca de salida de boxes.
– El piloto adelantado está dando muestras evidentes de estar dejando pasar para devolver la posición tras haberse dado cuenta de que ha adelantado previamente de forma ilegal, saliéndose de la trazada y pisando el freno o activando la luz azul para indicar que está dejando pasar.
In any situation other than the four exceptions above, overtaking is prohibited in yellow flag zones or under a Safety Car. For example:
– No voluntary change of position between drivers is allowed, even if they are teammates.
– It is not permitted to overtake drivers who are without a front wing, whose car is broken down, or who are driving slower than normal if it is for a reason other than that described in the exceptions.
– It is not permitted to overtake drivers who we believe are in our position but are not clearly letting us pass.
11.9 – Pit stops
Pit stops are free, they can be made as many as the driver wants and without a mandatory minimum, but the regulations for the use of tire compounds detailed below must be complied with.
In each GP, drivers will have 3 dry compounds (Soft, Medium and Hard) and 2 wet compounds (Intermediate and Full Wet). It's mandatory to use at least 2 dry compounds during the race, except in the case any wet compound is used. Obeying this rule is a must, no matter what the track wetness is, and "using a compound" means completing at least 1 lap with it.
You can't refuel in pitstops.
11.9.1 – Pitstop rules
In all official sessions of a Grand Prix, exceeding the maximum permitted speed in the pit lane is prohibited and penalized. This speed is generally 80 km/h in all sessions, although this limit may be lower or higher on some specific circuits. If a driver exceeds the maximum permitted speed in the pits during a race, they may be penalized by the simulator with a DT (Drive Through) or Stop&Go penalty. If they exceed it in any other session of a Grand Prix, they may be penalized by the stewards with points on their license, a time penalty, or even exclusion from the race. The line marking the pit lane exit acceleration lane may not be crossed during Qualifying and the Race sessions of a Grand Prix under penalty of a time penalization.
Within the pit lane, drivers must use the fast lane, marked by two solid lines, and they always have priority in this lane. Any driver leaving their pit work area or garage must yield to cars in the fast lane, only merging in when it is safe to do so without forcing another driver to change their trajectory or speed.
During pit lane exit, drivers may battle for position to enter the fast lane, provided they are both on the same lap. Lapped drivers must yield at all times and may not fight for position.
If two drivers fighting for position try to merge side-by-side after a pit stop and there is not enough space for both at the pit lane exit, the vehicle ahead in the direction of travel will have priority, and the other driver must lift off or delay their entry to avoid contact.
Any breach of these rules that results in an accident will be considered an unsafe entry and may be penalized at the discretion of the stewards.
Within the area called "pitwork" there are some marks that delimit the stopping areas of the different cars or teams. Drivers are prohibited from driving on these marks, being an illegal action to step on more than 3 pitwork marks (not including their own).
11.10 – Blue Flags. Lapped Drivers
Lapped drivers must be overtaken by lapping driversrivers. They have to do it in the cleanest possible way and without causing loss of time or disruption for the lapping driver. The lapped driver has a maximum of four corners to allow passing.
The driver who overtakes him must exercise caution, since even if he is a lapped driver, he will have to wait for the driver to show signs of facilitating the maneuver. The overtaking driver will always be able to find the position to overtake the lapped one, but without compromising other driver's race. In the case a driver causes a collision, he may be penalized (Regardless it's lapped or unlapping).
If a lapped driver wants to unlap from the driver in front, he's allowed to do it given he doesn't put the driver in front into risk and pace difference is enough to quickly get out of the blue flag distance once he's unlapped. In case there's any trouble created to any of the drivers involved, action will be taken by stewards as an accident during a normal overtake.
11.11 – Red Flag. Session stopped.
In any session of the Grand Prix, the organizer can raise the red flag using server chat. If the message "BANDERA ROJA / RED FLAG" appears in the server chat, the session will be considered suspended and it will be up to the Grand Prix organizer to restart or permanently suspend the session for any organizational reason of force majeure. The drivers must be listening to the instructions received by the server chat. The reasons for which a red flag can be thrown will also be indicated in the server chat, and can be due, for example, to organizational problems of any kind, such as server configuration problems, connection problems, risk situations during formationlap in which more than half of the drivers are at risk of blowing up engines, or problems of any other nature that affect the general interest of all drivers.
11.12 – Illegal actions
During the course of a Grand Prix it is completely forbidden to perform "donuts" off the track or inside itit intentionally, voluntarily colliding with the walls, going in the opposite direction or colliding with another participant and intentionally stopping the car on the track. Any of these actions are taken as very serious (especially if they are carried out during the race) and can result in the expulsion of the driver.
The first time he will be penalized with a GP without participating and if there is a second time, he will be immediately expelled from the competition.
It is also strictly forbidden to drive the car trying to get to the pits with less than 4 wheels or without the rear wing. If any participant has these damages in the car, he must abandon the session immediately. Failure to comply with this rule will be penalized with disqualification, and in the event of a repeat offense, license points will be added.
It is forbidden to stop the car before the first corner after finishing the race. The reason is that this generates a yellow flag in the last corner for the drivers who are still competing.
11.13 – Maximum duration
The maximum duration of a Grand Prix will be 84 minutes, starting when the race begins. If this time limit is reached before the specified number of laps are completed, the race will end due to time limit.
11.14 – Finishing the race
If a driver is not able to complete 90% of leader laps, his race is not considered finished, which means he can't receive points not time penalties, converting these into grid places penalties.
12.- Complaints and penalties
The Grand Prix are recorded in replays so we can later watch them to examine driver complaints, or in some cases, in search of any illegal action from any driver.
12.1– Stewards group
It is made up of a group of people who will be in charge of reviewing any action claimed by a driver and may act ex officio in any specific action that has occurred in a GP and they deem it appropriate to penalize.
Each action can be reviewed by any steward or organizer, who has no obligation to reveal his identity. If the action claimed directly involves a steward or organizer, he will not be able to review it or participate in the penalty. In case of conflict, the decision of the organizers will prevail over that of the stewards.
12.2 – Factors taken into account to decide a penalty
There's no specific pattern to examine all actions, but factors like these are taken into account:
– Time lost in the action
– Damage created
– Aggressiveness in the action
– Driver's incident history
Each action is unique and comparisons with other previous penalties are not allowed. The stewards will take into account recidivism when penalizing the guilty driver with a penalty that the committee deems appropriate and whose highest penalty is to propose to the organization the loss of the NRD Driver License or the definitive expulsion of the driver.
As a general rule, only the actions that have been claimed will be reviewed. On specific occasions or when you want to insist on compliance with a rule, the stewards may act ex officio.
These regulations try to cover all the situations that can occur during a Grand Prix, but real life has shown us that it is almost impossible. From section 17 it can be inferred that the team of stewards has full powers to apply sanctions in cases that are not described here if they believe it is just for the good of the competition.
12.3 – Complaint and appeal procedure
Once the Grand Prix has finished, the drivers will have 24 hours to submit complaints to the organizers. All drivers can report any illegal action they witness from another driver, even if they were not directly involved.
The stewards committee has up to 72 hours (3 days) before the next GP to publish its verdict on the claim along with the rest of the Grand Prix penalties (if any) and the penalized drivers will have a period of 24 hours in which they can provide new evidence or arguments that have not already been taken into account to appeal the penalty.
In the event that any driver appeals the penalty, the stewards committee will have until 21:30 on the day of the following Grand Prix to respond to the appeal with the final decision.
The claim or appeal can be made using the form available on the website or by sending an email to “organizacion@nrdleague.es” with all the necessary information: the incident must be explained, the moment of the replay to be reviewed, the drivers involved and the articles of the regulations that have been infringed or on which the defense of the appeal is based.
Repeated use of the complaints system through claims that are manifestly unfounded, irrelevant, or related to actions clearly permitted by the regulations may be considered unsportsmanlike conduct when it creates an unnecessary workload for the stewards committee or the organization, whether deliberate or not, and may be penalized.
Offensive, rude, or overbearing language directed at the stewards or other participants will not be tolerated. If the committee of stewards considers that the complaint is not properly formulated or lacks information, it may refuse to process it.
No appeals will be accepted from drivers who have claimed to request an increase or change in the penalty.
12.4 – Sample schedule for publishing penalties
Grand Prix finishes Sunday at 23:40
– Deadline to claim any action: Monday at 23:59
– Penalties published no later than: Thursday before next GP at 21:30
– Appeals must be filed no later than Friday before next GP at 21:30
– Deadline for publishing the final penalties: Sunday of the next GP, at 21:30
12.5 – On the status of the organization in the penalties
The organization of the NRD League may take part in the decision of any type of penalty, and its decision will prevail over that of the stewards. They can review the penalties coming from the stewards at any time, either to increase or reduce a penalty and they retain the right to directly penalize a driver if his action has been serious enough. Any decision of the organization in this area will be immediate and irrevocable.
12.6 – Replays
The NRD League organization may ask any NRD League driver race replay at any time in order to examine illegal actions, irregularities or incidents. The drivers of the NRD League must save the replay and provide it to the organization when it is required. In the event that the pilot does not have the replay required by the organization or refuses to facilitate it, he could receive any type of penalty from the organization.
12.7 – Automatic penalties imposed by the simulator
Rfactor 2 may automatically penalize the driver when he cuts excessively, exceeds the maximum speed in the pitlane, exits the pitlane under red light or performs a jumpstart. This penalty can be a Drive-Thru, which consists of going through the pit lane without stopping and leaving again (obviously respecting the speed limits). It can also be a STOP & GO, which consists of making a 10-second pit stop without changing tyres. Finally there is the disqualification, in cases such as going in the opposite direction. The penalties are cumulative (several can be received at the same time, and they must all be met), and must be met within a maximum period of 5 laps. In the event that a driver does not serve the corresponding penalty, he will be automatically irrevocably disqualified.
12.7.1 – If a driver finishes the race with a pending penalty, the simulator will automatically apply a time penalty to the driver, usually consisting of 25 seconds. If the penalty occurs within the last 5 laps and the driver believes that it is an unfair penalty, due for example to a "bug" on the circuit, he has the option to complete the race and have it reviewed later by the stewards to decide whether to keep it. or remove it.
12.8 – Voluntary Drive-Thru after doing something penalizable
If, during the course of the race, a driver realizes that he has committed a clearly punishable action, and knows that he has unintentionally harmed another driver in an incident, he can perform a voluntary Drive-Thru that will reduce the penalty applied by the stewards as follows:
– Possible time penalty will be reduced by 30 seconds.
– Possible license points penalty will be reduced by 4 points, recovering license points if the penalty amount is less than 4.
The DT must be served on the lap following the one in which the incident occurred. If the driver has to change tyres or repair the car on the same lap in which he is going to serve the DT, he may stop in the pits on that lap and serve the DT on the following lap. During the SC period, penalties cannot be served either, so the voluntary DT must be served after the SC period has ended and the green flag has been shown.
It is totally forbidden to wait for another driver anywhere on the track to return the position, due to the danger and problems associated with these maneuvers. If a driver waits for another, he may be penalized for it and it will not serve in any case to reduce the applicable penalty.
12.9 – Reprimands
For actions that are not correct but of low severity, the stewards may impose a reprimand on the driver. Reprimands are considered a penalty for the purpose of recovering points, they are cumulative within the same season, and if a driver accumulates 4 reprimands throughout the season, he will be given a penalty of 10 grid places for the following Grand Prix.
12.10 – Types of applicable penalties
The stewards will classify each action reviewed and will have the following references of penalties to be applied, depending on the seriousness of the action, with the freedom to tighten or soften the penalty at their discretion. The applicable penalties may be time to be added in the race, grid positions in the next GP, license points or disqualification, according to the following references:
12.10.1 - Light collisions, which do not make the hit driver lose his position or damage his car.
Will be considered as race incidents, except in these cases:
– Same action is constantly repeated
- Fight for position by changing trajectory more than once (example: if we leave a corner on the left side of the tract, and go to the right on the straight, we will have to stay in that position until braking. If the driver behind is very close at braking time, we will have to stay in that position)
– Not driving a "double lane" when there's another driver in parallel, both in the inner or outer side of the corner.
If the action is not considered a race incident, will be considered a caused accident (12.10.3).
12.10.2 – Light collisions gaining a position, without creating any damage.
The driver who has overtaken must let pass before the end of the lap, or in the case of being the last sector, do it as soon as possible, as long as the hit pilot has remained just behind. If the driver does not return the position, it may be treated as a caused accident (12.11.3).
12.10.3 – Serious hits, creating spins and going out of track. Caused Incidents.
The hitting driver is totally prohibited from waiting, and may do a voluntary DT, as indicated in point 12.9.
– No damage: 3 points + 0-30 seconds
– With broken front wing: 4 points + 10-40 seconds
– With broken rear wing, suspension, or retirement: 5 points + 20-50 seconds
– Waiting for another driver: 3 points
12.10.4 – Other penalties
- Not obeying blue flags: 3 points
– Formation lap, Safety Car procedure or under yellow flags
Not leaving a safe distance and causing danger: 1 point
Overtaking: 2 points + a time penalty that the stewards consider fair based on the advantage the driver has gained by overtaking, never less than the advantage gained. 1 additional point for each driver overtaken and up to DQ if the intention of not respecting the SC procedure is seen. If the position is returned, the penalty is reduced to a reprimand. If the intention to return the position is clearly shown even if the other driver decides not to pass in front, the penalty is reduced to a reprimand unless the other driver is a teammate.
Driving erratically or slowing down excessively at any time during the SC procedure: 5-30 seconds. Points may be added if it is deemed intentional. The stewards will consider the potential harm to other drivers and the penalty may be reduced to a reprimand if it is deemed that no other driver is affected.
– Track Cuts
Gaining advantage or gaining position: 1 point + 5-30 seconds
Serious intentional cut: 3 points + 10-60 seconds
The time penalty will be determined based on the advantage gained. In the event of a repeat offence, the penalty may be increased.
- Using the chat
In qualifying: 2 points
In race: 3 points
Entering another team's Discord channel to speak during qualifying or race: 4 points
– Pitlane (qualifying and race)
Crossing the pit exit line (at least 1 wheel): 5 seconds
Completely crossing the pit exit line (whole car): 10 seconds
Driving over the pitwork: 10 seconds
Unsafe rejoining: 5 seconds
Unsafe rejoining with incident: 1 point will be added to corresponding penalty
– Pitlane (except in race)
Exceeding speed limit: 2 points
– Poor on-track behavior during qualifying or the race:
Driving a seriously damaged car, failing to pit for repair and causing an accident: Disqualification
Trying to get to the pits with less than 4 wheels or without rear wing: Disqualification
– Waiting for another driver after an accident: 3 points
– Failure to double-lane with another driver alongside, without collision, but forcing the rival to avoid contact and harming him: 2 points + 5-30 seconds
– Not starting from pitlane when it's mandatory to do so: Disqualification
–Dangerous rejoining:
Without Incident: 1 point + 5 seconds
With Incident: 2 points will be added to corresponding penalty.
– Impeding another driver during qualifying, disobeying point 9.6 of regulations: 2 points + 3 grid positions penalty for the next race.
– Stop the car before 1st corner after finishing the race: Reprimand
– Not answering 3 interviews from NRD Press: Reprimand
12.11 – IMPORTANT ELEMENTS AND ADDITIONAL DETAILS
– Time penalties imposed on not qualified drivers according to point 8.2 will be converted to grid position penalties in next race the penalized driver participates.
Calculation of grid positions penalty: It will be done by dividing the penalty seconds by 3, obtaining a whole number (discarding the decimal) that will be the number of positions on the penalty grid.
Example: 20 seconds penalty is converted into 6 grid positions for next race (20/3=6,67).
– If a driver gets a 20 position or more grid penalty, driver will start the race from pitlane in next GP.
- If serious collisions occur during the first laps (up to 5 laps included), the penalties may be hardened.
13.- About The Server
In the event that problems with the server appear during the Grand Prix, all participants will have to return to the "General" channel of the Discord server, to await instructions from the corresponding organizer. In the event that the server cannot be repaired, the organizer will notify the postponement of the Grand Prix. In normal situations and when the server can be reset for a few minutes, it will act as follows:
13.1 – Problems before qualifying
If issues appear before qualifying, the session may be delayed long enough to start qualifying smoothly.
13.2 – Problems during qualifying
If problems appear during one of the qualifying sessions, the current session will be fully restarted and the times recorded before the crash will not be taken into account. The setup and fueling will also restart.
13.3 – Problems during warmup or formation lap
If problems arise during the warmup session or the formation lap, the warmup session will be restarted so that the organization has time to reposition the starting grid according to the order obtained in qualifying.
13.4 – Problems during the race
If a massive driver disconnection occurs during the race or a server crash occurs, the organization will raise a red flag. After the server is restored, a new warmup session of maximum 7 minutes duration will be started, and the race will be restarted by starting a new formation lap and making a standing start. The race order of the drivers and the laps completed by each driver will be automatically restored. In this case, the parc fermé will be reset and the setups will be free. If it is not possible to restart the race, the points will be assigned according to the following rules:
If the leader has completed more than two laps but less than 25% of the scheduled race distance, the top five finishers will receive points as follows:
1st – 6 points
2nd – 4 points
3rd – 3 points
4th – 2 points
5th – 1 point
If the leader has completed more than 25% but less than 50% of the race's scheduled distance, points will be awarded as follows:
1st – 13 points
2nd – 10 points
3rd – 8 points
4th – 6 points
5th – 5 points
6th – 4 points
7th – 3 points
8th – 2 points
9th – 1 point
If the leader has completed at least 50% but less than 75% of the race's scheduled distance, points will be awarded as follows:
1st – 19 points
2nd – 14 points
3rd – 12 points
4th – 9 points
5th – 8 points
6th – 6 points
7th – 5 points
8th – 3 points
9th – 2 points
10th – 1 point
If the leader has completed more than 75% of the race scheduled distance, full points will be awarded.
13.5 – Massive disconnections
A massive driver disconnection occurs when at least 30% of participating drivers lose connection to the server within 30 seconds (6 drivers out of 20). If the case occurs in the Qualifying or Race session, it will be acted as if it were a total connection problem (Points 13.2, 13.3, 13.4).
13.6 – Individual disconnections
In the case of individual disconnections, the driver must immediately return to the server. The organization will wait a maximum of 3 minutes in the event that it is necessary to proceed to the qualifying session or race once the time for the current session has expired. Server has race rejoin activated, so if a driver gets disconnected, will be able to rejoin the race starting from the pit lane.
14.- Simulator optimization, connection and performance
Drivers are responsible for the proper functioning of their simulator, for the graphic performance and for having a configuration that allows them to have fluid FPS, a simulation without screen freezes, as well as having a sufficiently reliable connection, without cuts and without lags that allow them to compete without endangering the race of other participants. If a driver has any of these problems and the rest of the drivers see his car lagging, "warping" or performing unpredictable movements due to these causes, he must leave the session and correct these problems so as not to endanger the rest of the grid.
Full game optimization is not required, but highly recommended. We will have to configure the game so that our computer can move it amply, even without setting it to the highest quality, since in races with many vehicles on the track or in the rain, performance can drop considerably.
15.- Pre-qualification
All drivers who want to participate in a Grand Prix will first have to go through a pre-qualification system. In order to qualify, drivers must complete a minimum number of timed laps on the practice server, as well as set a lap time lower than the cut-off time. The organization will publish in the forum a post prior to the race indicating the cut-off time, as well as the minimum number of laps to complete.
15.1 – Pre-qualifying deadline
Deadline for pre-qualifying is 21:10 (CET) on the day of the Grand Prix. From that moment on, any driver who has not fulfilled the two requirements will be considered not pre-classified.
15.2 – Non-prequalifed drivers
If a driver has not completed the minimum number of laps within the deadline, but has fulfilled the cut-off laptime, he may participate in the GP but must start the race from the pitlaneand without participating in the qualifying session.
If a driver has not completed the minimum number of laps within the deadline, nor he has fulfilled the cut-off laptime, he can't participate in the GP except he is considered a "trust driver". In that case he'll be allowed to race, but starting the race from the pit lane and without participating in the qualifying session. A "trust driver" can't race this way if grid is already full with drivers meeting the pre-qualifying prerequisites.
15.3 – Maximum number of drivers in the grid
If more than 24 drivers pre-qualify for a Grand Prix, the places will be allocated in this order:
Official drivers.
Teamless drivers replacing an official one.
Remaining drivers ordered by pre-qualifying time until grid is full.
