VRC Members,
This week we were at Zandvoort. During the practice session I became aware that several of our drivers were starting their sessions from the pits instead of loading into a garage. This meant that they needed to find their way from the paddock area to the race track. As it turns out this meant that they had to make a left from their starting position and then another left to enter the racing area. If the driver did not do this properly, because the race marshal was indicating them to go right, they were disqualified. I do not know why the drivers were starting from this area as the track has a significantly larger number of garage stalls than were necessary for our grid size.
One member advised us very late in the practice session and I was able to un-DQ the driver before the end of the session, however it did not fix the overriding problem with their starting position in the paddock. Come the Qualification time the two members who were starting from the paddock were continuing to have issues getting to the racing surface. I un-DQ'd one driver again, and he was able to put up a time for the qaul. But the second was not so lucky and was unable to start the race with the rest of the field.
This incident raised some questions and concerns which I feel are important to address.
1. Voice Comms - The official program VRC is using for voice communication is Discord. All Admins are on the Discord voice channel and available if technical issues arise. If you and your teammates are using any other channel or program (teamspeak) we will not hear you or be able to respond unless the communications are in the chat window. Nobody like using the chat window when talking is simply easier. If everyone is on the voice comms they can be on top of any technical issue during the race weekend that may effect their session.
2. Preparation - It is the responsibility of each driver to make sure they are prepared for the race weekend. This includes having practiced on the server to be sure they can connect and run without difficulties. If a driver can not connect to the server we want to be sure this is identified and addressed prior to Sunday's official practice period. This ensures that the membership enjoy a relatively problem free race experience. That all being said, we understand that this is rF2 and it comes with some weird, quirky, oddball behaviors that are not always predictable or foreseeable. If you are having problems make sure to get on early and then get on comms so you can let the admin team know. That way we can try to resolve the problem as soon as possible. Bringing problems up late in the practice session makes it almost impossible for us to fix the issue before the qualification period starts.
3. Communication during Qual and Race - This has been a long standing rule in the league. There is NO communication during the Qualification period and none in the Race. This is the reason that the first two points above are so important. Technical issues and problems need to be resolved before the Qual and certainly before the race start because we want to make sure that all drivers can get a distraction free qualification and race experience. Having someone chatting in the text box or talking over the voice comms can be a distraction that is hard to ignore. The only time there should be any communication at these times is from an admin.
4. Race Restarts - Simply put, there should never be a race (or qualifying) restart unless it is due to a problem with the server. Individual technical issues are to be addressed before the race weekend starts as listed above. Massive crashes and pileups are the responsibility of the drivers to avoid. I understand that this seems like a harsh rule to have, but it really comes down to individual drivers making sure they are ready for the race weekend. Having restarts as part of any official race only promotes poor race etiquette and unsafe driving. Drivers who expect that there may be a restart are more likely to engage in questionable driving because they can call for a restart if there is a massive pileup. I am absolutely not interested in having that option.
As always, If you have any questions or comments please contact an admin via PM in the forums.
Chad Brown
VRC Admin Team