FZ5 Cup rules:

Qualifying:
Only 1 hotlap. Here the same rules are in place as for the oval qualifying. Only difference is the shorter interval between the cars. The drivers will be released from the pitbox with an interval of around 15 seconds. After you did your flying lap you have to shift+s or shift+p immediatly to not hinder other drivers. If there are too many drivers participating in qualy (so the field will be more than 1 lap long) the field will be split up in two or more parts. The first group does his laps, and when the last driver starts his flying lap the second half will be released.

Race length:
The races will run within a timeframe. These frames are:
20-25 minutes for the sprint race
50-60 minutes for the feature race

Please note that the races will not be timed races (like we have in the Le Mans seasons), but they will have a certain amount of set laps. We will try to set this in a way that the total race time will be within these frames. For example, the expected laptime for a track will be around 3 minutes. 50 minutes will be equal to 17 laps, 60 minutes is 20 laps. Race will be 18 or 19 laps.

The racelengths will be announced togheter with the release of the seasons calender.

Sprint race:
In the sprint race there will not be a mandatory pitstop. It is called a sprint race for a reason: a sprint from start to finish. Points for the sprint race are like the usual AB scoring system (points for first 20 finishers).

Feature race:
In the feature race there will be 1 or 2 mandatory pitstops. The number of stops will be announced together with the series calender. There will not be a pitstopwindow, apart from pitting in the first or final lap. If you pit in the first or final lap this stop will not count as a mandatory stop and you will still have to make your mandatory stop(s). Double points can be scored in the feature race.

Air-intake restrictions:
At the start of the FZ5 Cup season every driver has to start with 10% intake restriction. This way we will try to make this car a bit easier to drive. Depending on what position you finish in you will either have to add restriction or remove restriction:

P1: +3% air-intake restriction
P2: +2% air-intake restriction
P3: +2% air-intake restriction
P4: +1% air-intake restriction
P5: +1% air-intake restriction
P6: +1% air-intake restriction

The maximum possible restriction will be 20%.

The last finishers of the race may remove some of the restriction:

90-100% (last 10%) of the final finish list may remove 3%
80-90% (2nd last 10%) of the final finish list may remove 2%
70-80% (3rd last 10%) of the final finish list may remove 1%

Here is an example:

Let’s say we have 20 finishers. The drivers that finished 19th and 20th (90-100% of finishers) may remove 3%. The drivers that finished 17th and 18th (80-90% of finishers) may remove 2%. The drivers that finished 15th and 16th (70-80% of finishers) may remove 1%.

When you suspect some driver misuses this system (for example simulating a spin which puts him in a lower position and thus less intake restriction for the next race) you may file a complaint to the Board of Trusties. See 'General information' below.

The minimum possible intake restriction is 10%.

Intake restrictions will be updated after each race, so also after the sprint race there will be an update. For this reason (and to give everyone a short rest) there will be a 10 minutes break between the sprint and feature race. Updates regarding the restrictions will be placed on the site. It is in your own interest to check out the new restrictions data. If you drive with a too low restriction you will be penalized.

Drivers can only loose restrictions when they finish 50% of the race. So, let’s say you disconnected and rejoined. You only completed 1 lap and finished last. You may not remove the 3% air-intake restriction because you didn’t complete 50%. Also if you don’t cross the line at all you can not remove the restriction.

General information:
Unlike the other Absolute-Beginners races there won’t be points for the fastest laptime because of the differences in performances of the cars that will arise due to the air-intake restrictions.

The FZ5 cup will be open to every AB member.

The season will count 6 events, where each event will have a sprint and a feature race. The races will be instead of the Le Mans races, after finishing current season.

Also in this cup it will be possible to file complaints regarding incidents in the races. Penalty's will be performed for the next race event. So if you file a complaint about an incident in the sprint race the Board of Trusties will look at it after the feature race. For further information on this please read the rules section.

For all things that are not discussed here (like flag behaviour, help after crash) the general AB rules are in place.