UK Dirt - The number one place to race F2, F1, Saloons and Hot Rods online!!

Overview / Highlights

Meetings are Thursday evenings at 8.30pm (meeting in Discord) and the season runs from March to November.
The typical meeting format is three heats, followed by final(s) and grand national(s).
Members are requested to arrange skins for the season (novice cars are available, but are not for extended periods of use).
No talking during races!
Disciplinary issues will be reviewed by the F1 Admin Team - if you do something wrong, you might get in trouble! (Save your replays!!!)

Mod & Downloads

The UKDirt F1 league uses the UKSOM rFactor F1 Stockcar mod, to race you will need:

rFactor game updated to v1255.
UKSOM F1 Stockcar mod v1.6.
Current skinpacks (installed in order).

New Members

Any member with previous experience (other formulae OR leagues) should identify themselves to the F1 Admin Team before their first meeting for grading purposes.
Any member failing to do so will be dealt with by disciplinary process.

Skins (Custom Painted Cars)

Novice cars are available for any member without their own custom skin (but these are not for extended periods of use).
Novice skins will not be permitted in championship races.
You must submit a skin for the next skinpack if you have previously raced/are racing in a Novice car to be eligible to race further meetings.
Chassis use is surface dependent:

Tarmac cars: EliteT, FaldingT, flcsT, flt, fwjT, LundT, MurrayT, smithT, smithX, WainmanT, WainmanX, YarrowT.
Shale cars: EliteS, FaldingS, flcs, LundS, MurrayS, SmithS, StuS, WainmanS, YarrowS.

Members are asked to submit their own custom skins to race for the season (paint your own, or use the Skin Painting section on the UKDirt Forum to make a request).
Members should submit skins (tarmac and shale) of all (white, yellow, blue, red) roof grades, these should all use the same base car design (tarmac and shale may differ).
There is a skin painting and saving/converting guide on the UKDirt website, additional further recommendations are available on the UKSOM website.
Rules relating to signs and appearance:

The roof grade on each skin should be clear, and not in doubt.
No swearing, obscene images or any other paint/signs intended to cause dispute/offence.
Correct upgrades (to match painted skin) should be used (e.g. roof type, bonnet upgrades, etc).
Superstar lights should only be used by superstars.

Members are permitted to change chassis twice on each surface during the course of the season.
Members without correctly graded skins will be required to start at the back, a grade gap behind the superstars.
Skins will only be released in official UKDirt F1 skinpack installation files.
It should go without saying, but it is not acceptable to 'rip-off' skins or signs that others have painted - issues of this nature will be dealt with by disciplinary process.

Bookings

Bookings are open for the week preceding a meeting on the UKDirt website, in the members area or via the UKDirt Discord.
Members wishing to race should book in before 6pm on the day of a meeting.
Any bookings after 6pm on the day of the meeting are considered late bookings, accepted only at the discretion of the RM (Race Manager). Late bookings are regularly accepted up to 7pm, but this is no indication of future arrangements.
Warning! For championship meetings, members wishing to race are advised to avoid late booking or they may forfeit their place on the grid.
Any member booking for a meeting and not racing (without reasonable explanation) will incur a messer strike, as part of the wider UKDirt scheme.
Warning! There is no such thing as a 'provisional' booking, please don't use it to play the messer strike system, if you think you will struggle to make a meeting that you are booked in to race let the RM know.

Meeting Format

The UKDirt F1 standard meeting format for the 2024 season is as follows:

3 heats each, randomly drawn, 16 laps.
A-final (and B-final if required), from heat points up to track car limit, 20 laps.
A-final gridded on heat points (highest at the back of each grade).
1 grand national each, randomly drawn, 16 laps.
This format will be used for all normal meetings, and some championship meetings where the title race is an additional race.
If there is a tie on points for A-final qualification or grid position, it will be decided by best heat position(s) and then randomly.
You must have raced in at least 50% of your heats to be eligible for the A Final.
If there are less than 10 participants for a B-final, it will not be a point scoring race.
The A-final winner has the option of scoring double points in the grand national by starting from the handicap position (for whites and yellows this is behind the superstars, or for blues, reds and superstars this is a lap down in front of the whites).
Points scheme:

Heats: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
A-final: 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5.
B-final: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (minimum 10 participants).
GNs: 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2.

Drivers must complete 75% race distance to be eligible to score points.

Race Starting Procedure

Where possible a non-racing steward will be used to start races.
Racing will not start straight away.
Drivers should drive slowly to their grid position.
Drivers should not hit any cars while lining up.
Drivers should try to avoid overtaking/racing other cars whilst lining up.
Drivers should try to 'mix up' the positions within grades for each race.
Race winners should start at the back of their grades for any further races (not including gridded A-finals).
Grade positions (approximate):

Whites on start/finish line.
Yellows on exit of turn 4.
Blues on middle of turns 3 and 4.
Reds on entry to turn 3.
Superstars half way down back straight.
Novice drivers may opt to start behind the superstars in their first few meetings.
Other drivers may be permitted to start behind the superstars at the discretion of the RM.
Any driver starting behind the superstars (not including an A-final winner taking the handicap) should leave at minimum a 3 car length gap and take care to not immediately cause problems for those drivers in the superstar grade.

Grade positions may be adjusted by an in race steward (or someone nominated)
When the steward is satisfied with the race line up:

'Anyone NOT ready?' will be called, an opportunity to delay the race if necessary.
'Roll at 20mph' will be called, for a full rolling lap.
'GO!' will be called, sometime as the lead cars pass through turns 3 and 4.

Some comments on rolling laps. Try to roll at 20mph and keep the grade gaps. Try to roll at 20mph and keep your grade nicely together. Try not to accelerate and brake sharply during the rolling lap. Do not try to anticipate the start of the race.
We aim for a maximum of 2 restarts per race (bad starts, disconnection, warp, etc), in the case that a race is restarted due to a driver disconnecting (before go is called) there will be approximately a 2 minute period to return to the server.
Jump starts will not be tolerated. Penalties may include position dockings and disciplinary points.

Track Limits

Shale Tracks

Belle Vue: 22
Bradford (Shale): 22
Coventry: 22
Kings Lynn: 22
Mildenhall: 22
Northampton (Shale): 22
Scunthorpe: 22
Sexbierum: 24
Sheffield: 22
Stoke: 22

Tarmac Tracks

Arena Essex: 22
Birmingham: 22
Bradford (Tarmac): 22
Baarlo: 24
Barford: 18
Bristol: 18
Buxton: 22
Cowdenbeath: 22
Hednesford: 24
Ipswich: 24
Knockhill: 24
Northampton: 22
Nutts Corner: 22
Posterholt: 18
Ringwood: 22
Skegness: 22
Wimbledon: 22
Yarmouth: 18

Grades

Grading periods in 2024 will run monthly. Each regrading will take place between the last meeting of one month, and the first meeting of the next.
White top drivers scoring 50 points or more in a meeting will undergo a grade review with the likely outcome being an upgrade to the yellow.
Each grading period members may be upgraded a maximum of 3 grades, but downgraded only 1 grade at a time.
To be eligible for downgrading a member must compete in at least half of the meetings in a grading period.
Graders discretion will be used in certain cases.
British and European Champions are held at a minimum of Red/Star grade for the period that they hold the title.
World and National Points Champions are held at Superstar grade for the period that they hold the title, and then a minimum of Red/Star grade for a further 12 months following the loss of the title.

Disciplinary

This section relates only to the UKDirt F1 league.
Disciplinary matters are incredibly simple - If you do something wrong, then you might get in trouble!
If you have a complaint, get in touch with the UKDirt F1 Admin Team, preferably Kane. Please send a Private Message on the UKDirt Forum including details of the incident (which race, which lap, which cars, etc) and if possible include your replay. This complaint should be submitted before midnight on the Sunday following the meeting.
The UKDirt F1 Admin Team will aim to deal with complaints within 1 week.
Disciplinary action will be posted to the relevant thread on the UKDirt F1 section of the Forum, and any member with disciplinary action against them should also be informed by PM on the UKDirt Forum.

Review may take place whether there is a complaint lodged or not.
Offences will incur disciplinary points, determined on a case by case basis.
Any driver receiving 5 or more disciplinary points in one meeting will incur an additional 2 disciplinary points.
Disciplinary points incurred will stay on a members record for 12 months.
A total of 5 points means a 1 meeting ban and every further 2 points adds another week (7 points = 2 meetings, 9 points = 3 meetings, 11 points = 4 meetings, etc).
All championship finals carry double disciplinary points
The Shootout Finale carries double disciplinary points when the incident relates to any current Shootout driver.
Disciplinary points information is kept in a thread on the UKDirt F1 section of the UKDirt Forum.

Appealing against disciplinary points/actions:

If a member feels that a disciplinary outcome is unsatisfactory they should appeal the decision (and may be permitted to race under appeal if appropriate).
The member should contact a member of the F1 Admin Team (by PM to Kane) stating their case in full.
The UKDirt F1 Admin Team, and potentially other UKDirt Admin members, will review each appeal case.
If an appeal has no substance, or appears to serve no purpose other than to waste the time of admin members, beware that there is potential to take further disciplinary action.
The outcome of an appeal is FINAL.

Championship Formats

World Championship

There will be 15 qualifying rounds (including 2 from 2023), with points scored as in a normal meeting.
Semi Finals:

Top 44 drivers qualify
Semi Final 1 is drivers in positions 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, etc.
Semi Final 2 is drivers in positions 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, etc.
Where a driver cannot race, a gap will be left on the grid and a reserve added at the back.
The member with the most points will pick the track for Semi Final 1.
Semi Finals are 22 car races, 20 laps, run before the meeting, with the top 10 qualifying for the World Final.
Semi Final points: 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5.

Consolation Semi Final:

First priority open to all members who did not qualify through the Semi Final.
Second priority to the remaining members in qualifying points order.
Not open to defending World Champion.
Consolation Semi Final is 22 car race, 16 laps, run before the meeting, with the top 4 qualifying for the World Final.
Consolation Semi Final is not point scoring.

World Final

Grid order is Semi Finalists, followed by Consolation Semi Finalists and then defending champion (if seeded onto rear).
Semi Final inside/outside is decided by a coin toss between the Semi Final winners (and then the grid alternatives inside/outside behind them).
World Final is 24 (or 25) car race, 25 laps, run before the meeting.
World Final points: 200, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5.
The winner has the option to retire from the meeting, or take only 50 points and continue racing the meeting.
The 2024 World Champion is entitled to the gold roof until the 2025 World Final.

A driver must book in before 6pm on the website to be eligible to take their grid slot or reserve status in the Semi Final, Consi Semi or World Final

National Points Championship

All 37 meetings of the UKDirt F1 2024 season count towards the National Points Championship.
The 2022 National Points Champion is entitled to the silver roof in 2025.

Shootout Series

8 meetings in the latter part of the season count towards the Shootout Series.
The top 12 drivers in the National Points Championship before the first round will contest the Shootout Series.
All drivers start with zero points and scoring is as per normal meeting points.
The 12 drivers will be split into 3 seeded groups of 4.
Only 1 group will contest a Shootout meeting to avoid overload of Superstars.
Each group will contest 2 meetings with the top 2 from each group progressing to the final stage.
The final 6 drivers start with zero points.
At Shootout Series meetings the Shootout drivers will all race from Superstar, and any superstar not in the series will race from Red.
At Shootout Series meetings the Shootout drivers will be gridded for A-finals in reverse Shootout points order.
The last two rounds of the Shootout Series (The Shootout Final Stage) will be double-point scoring.
The 2024 Shootout Series Champion is entitled to silver stripes until the 2025 Shootout Series.

European Championship

Drivers race in 5 heats each, normal scoring.
The A-final is the European Championship race and will be gridded in points order.
The European Championship is a 22 car race, 25 laps.
There will be no grand national(s) at this meeting.
The 2024 European Champion is entitled to the red and yellow chequered roof until the 2025 European Championship.

British Championship

Drivers race in 5 heats each, normal scoring.
The A-final is the British Championship race and will be gridded in points order.
The British Championship is a 22 car race, 25 laps.
There will be no grand national(s) at this meeting.
The 2024 British Champion is entitled to the black and white chequered roof until the 2025 British Championship.

UK Open

Drivers race in 5 heats each, normal scoring.
The A-final is the UK Open race and will be gridded graded and in points order within grades.
The UK Open is a 22 car race, 20 laps.
There will be no grand national(s) at this meeting.

Scottish Championship

Drivers race in 5 heats each, normal scoring.
The A-final is the Scottish Championship race and will be gridded graded and in points order within grades.
The Scottish Championship is a 22 car race, 20 laps.
There will be no grand national(s) at this meeting.

World Cup

Drivers race in 5 heats each, normal scoring.
The A-final is the World Cup race and will be gridded in points order.
The World Cup is a 24 car race, 25 laps.
There will be no grand national(s) at this meeting.
The 2024 World Cup Champion is entitled to Gold Stripes until the 2025 World Cup.

Irish Championship

Drivers race in 5 heats each, normal scoring.
The A-final is the Irish Championship race and will be gridded graded and in points order within grades.
The Irish Championship is a 22 car race, 20 laps.
There will be no grand national(s) at this meeting.

World of Shale Championship

Drivers will be eligible to score World of Shale points at any shale meeting during the 2024 season (before the event).
Points scored by each driver will be subject to a multiplication factor:

Whites x2.5
Yellows x2
Blues x1.5
Reds & Superstar x1

The race will be gridded in points order.
The World of Shale Championship is a 22 car race, 20 laps, run before the meeting.

Tarmac Masters Championship

Drivers will be eligible to score Tarmac Masters points at any tarmac meeting during the 2024 season (before the event).
Points scored by each driver will be subject to a multiplication factor:

Whites x2.5
Yellows x2
Blues x1.5
Reds & Superstar x1

The race will be gridded in points order.
The Tarmac Masters Championship is a 22 car race, 20 laps, run before the meeting.

World Masters

Drivers race in 3 heats each, normal scoring.
The A-final is the World Masters race and will be gridded graded and in points order within grades.
The World Masters is a 20 lap race.

Champion of Champions

The Champion of Champions will be run as the last race of the 2024 season.
Qualification is by A-final (or other major) wins during 2024.
The race will be gridded graded and in national points order within grades (highest at back).
The Champion of Champions is a 22 (max.) car race, 20 laps, run after the meeting.

Grand National Championship

Drivers will be eligible to score Grand National Championship points in any grand national race during the 2023 season.
Points scored by each driver will be subject to a multiplication factor:

Whites x2.5
Yellows x2
Blues x1.5
Reds & Superstar x1

The Grand National Champion will be the driver with the most points at the end of the season.

Whites and Yellows Championship

20 selected meetings over the UKDirt F1 2024 season count towards the Whites and Yellows series
All White or Yellow grade drivers are eligible to score points.
All points scored at the designated meetings count towards the Whites and Yellows points chart.
The Whites and Yellows Champion will be the driver with the most points at the end of the season.

Finally...

If you have read and understood these rules and intend to race UKDirt F1 during the 2024 season please PM Kane on the UKDirtForum with a message containing your name, number and the statement 'I have read the UKDirt F1 2024 rules'.