Beginners guide to GPVWC

This guide is designed to provide a basic guide to joining the GPVWC, as well as outlining our main competitions.

Overview of the GPVWC

The GPVWC is an online sim racing league that has running since 2000 and offers great racing along with a friendly and welcoming community. We currently use rFactor and provide a range of competitions open to drivers of all levels and experience:

• Superleague - GPVWC's top series is the Superleague, which takes place every two weeks on Thursdays. The Superleague is an F1 based series and incorporates a unique team management system that allows teams to sign contracts with drivers, compete for sponsors and engine suppliers, develop their cars over the season.
• Supercup - The Supercup is GPVWC's second level series and usually involves intermediate formula cars with equal performance, such as GP2 and Formula Nippon. For 2012, the Supercup will include a basic team management and driver contract system that is designed to provide a stepping stone up to Superleague. Supercup races are shorter than their Superleague equivalent and run on a day before before Superleague races (Wednesday).
• Formula Challenge - Formula Challenge is GPVWC's brand new feeder series and is the ideal place to get your first taste of GPVWC action. The series will be open to anyone and will use lower formula cars with equal performance (such as Formula BMW) and generally shorter tracks. Formula Challenge will run on the 'off' week between Superleague/Supercup, with races taking place on Wednesdays.
• Masters Series - The league's main winter series, the Masters Series is our touring car series and provides equal cars, large grids and very close racing action.
• Other - There are several other competitions that run at various times of the year, including the touring car based Masters Series. From time to time there are also one-off events such as Le Mans style Endurance Events and the Race of Champions – see the forums for more details of each.

Getting Started

If you're new to GPVWC there are 3 easy steps to follow to get you ready to compete:

Step 1 - Registering

The first thing you need to do is to register with us, which is a quick and easy process and is completely free of charge. Signup is split into two parts – forum signup and driver registration. Sign up up for our forum can be done here and gives you access to our friendly community, as well as lots of helpful information. After you've signed up for the forum you then need register as a driver on our main site, which is done by simply completing the form at the bottom of our registration page here.

Step 2 - Getting our rFactor mods

Once you've signed up the next thing you'll need to do is get your rFactor setup with all the files it needs to run in our league. In order to avoid unnecessary problems, we recommend that you use a clean installation of rFactor without any other mods (rFactor Lite is ideal for this and can be found here).

For downloading files, the league uses a program called Simsync Pro that will download all GPVWC related game files and keep them updated at the touch of a button. Our custom Simsync program can be downloaded from our downloads section here. Once downloaded, simply install Simsync in your rFactor main folder, run the program and select the series you want. Password information can be found here.

Step 3 - Joining a team

After you've registered and have rFactor setup, the last thing to do to get started is to join a team. Unless you have a pre-arranged drive, then the best way to go about this is to introduce yourself in our forum and let everyone know you're looking for a drive. Rules for sign up vary a little from series to series, but generally you will need to ask permission from a team manager to join their team. If you are new to racing then our the feeder series, Formula Challenge, is usually the best place to establish yourself and catch the attention of Superleague and Supercup team managers.

Further details of each Series

Formula Challenge

Formula Challenge is the league's new feeder series. The contract system is fairly flexible in Formula Challenge and you can join or leave teams more freely than in Superleague or Supercup. Also note that a license fee is not required to race in Formula Challenge events.

Key features of the Formula Challenge:

• Lower Formula cars (Eg Formula BMW)
• Race times:
  • To be confirmed
• Race format:
  • To be confirmed
• Season format:
  • Season: 15 races – March to October.
  • Points system: To be confirmed
• Each team uses custom liveries and helmet designs.
• Server information can be found here.

Supercup

The Supercup is the league's intermediate series. It has a basic team management system including driver contracts, so therefore in Supercup so you will need to sign with a competing team in order to take part. Also note that all Supercup drivers must have a race license that can be obtained by making a very small donation to the league.

Key features of the Supercup:

• Intermediate formula cars (eg GP2, Formula Nippon)
• Race times:
  • Free Practice: 25 minutes, 19:00 GMT/BST
  • Qualification: 25 minutes, 19:25 GMT/BST
  • Warm-Up / Break: 10 minutes, 19:50 GMT/BST
  • Race: 20:00 GMT/BST
• Race format:
  • Qualifying format: Maximum 12 laps, free setups.
  • Race format: Usually about 50 minutes and includes a formation lap.
  • Driver aids allowed: Traction Control HIGH, Anti-lock Brakes LOW, Autogears, Autoclutch.
• Season format:
  • Season: 18 races – March to October.
  • Points system: First 10 places - 15pts, 12pts, 10pts, 8pts, 6pts, 5pts, 4pts, 3pts, 2pts, 1pt.
• Licensing: All drivers are required to hold a valid race license which costs £2 for 2012 (which drops to £1 from July to the end of the season).
• Each team uses custom liveries and helmet designs.
• Races usually feature live race stewards plus a live broadcast via Simrace TV.
• Server information can be found here.

Superleague

The Superleague is the league's top level series and includes a more complex system of team management. Teams have an simulated operating budget from which to develop their cars, hire drivers and pay suppliers. Team managers are allowed to have only 4 drivers signed to their team at any time, including 1 or 2 test/reserve drivers. Note that all Superleague drivers must have a race license that can be obtained by making a small donation to the league.

Key features of the Superleague:

• Formula One based cars
• Race times:
  • Free Practice: 15 minutes, 19:00 GMT/BST
  • Qualification 1+2: 20+15 minutes, 19:15 GMT/BST
  • Warm-Up / Break: 5 minutes, 19:55 GMT/BST
  • Race: 20:00 GMT/BST
• Race format:
  • Qualifying format: unlimited laps, parc ferme conditions (setups locked after 1st lap). Only the fastest 12 drivers can proceed to the Q2 session.
  • Race format: Full Grand Prix distance and includes a formation lap.
  • Driver aids allowed: Traction Control HIGH, Anti-lock Brakes LOW, Autogears, Autoclutch.
• Season format:
  • Season: 18 races – March to October.
  • Points system: First 10 places - 15pts, 12pts, 10pts, 8pts, 6pts, 5pts, 4pts, 3pts, 2pts, 1pt.
  • Testing: There are 10 test sessions across the season, where teams can field up to 4 drivers in order to get points to improve their cars.
• Licensing: All drivers are required to hold a valid race license which costs £7.50 for 2012 (which drops to £3.75 from July to the end of the season).
• Each team uses custom liveries and helmet designs.
• Races usually feature live race stewards plus a live broadcast via Simrace TV.
• Server information can be found here.

Masters Series

The Masters Series is the league's main winter series and features BMW Touring Cars. Events are usually split into two short, action-packed races which allow for close battles throughout the field. The Masters Series is open to anyone and a license is not required to take part.

Key features of the Masters Series:

• BMW E90 Touring cars
• Race times:
  • Free Practice: 20 minutes, 19:00 GMT/BST
  • Qualification: 10 minutes, 19:20 GMT/BST
  • Warm-Up / Break: 5 minutes, 19:25 GMT/BST
  • Feature Race: 19:30 GMT/BST
  • Sprint Race: 20:00 GMT/BST
• Race format:
  • Qualifying format: unlimited laps, no use of escape button on track
  • Feature Race format: 25 minute race and includes a formation lap.
  • Sprint Race format: 15 minute race and includes a formation lap and reversed grid
  • Driver aids allowed: Anti-lock Brakes LOW, Autogears, Autoclutch.
• Season format:
  • Season: 7 Rounds/14 Races – October to December
  • Points system: First 15 places - 25pts, 22pts, 20pts, 18pts 16pts, 14pts, 12pts, 10pts, 8pts, 6pts, 5pts, 4pts, 3pts, 2pts, 1pt. Bonus points for Pole and Fastest Lap
• Each team can use custom liveries and helmet designs. A guest car is provided for those without a team or livery.
• Races usually a live broadcast via Simrace TV.
• Server information can be found here.

Other competitions

There are various other competitions that crop up from time to time, especially in the off season. Generally they are fairly relaxed and open to anyone. Check out the forum for details of each series.