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 on Thursdays and is an F1 based series. The Superleague 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 feeder series, which usually involves lower formula cars with equal performance, such as GP2 and Formula Nippon. Driver signup rules are more relaxed than Superleague, so Supercup is the ideal place to get your first taste of GPVWC action. Supercup races are shorter than their Superleague equivalent and run on Wednesdays.
• Other - There are several other competitions that run in the league's off season, including the touring car based Masters Series. From time to time there are also one-off events such as the Endurance Event – see the forums for more details.

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. Signup 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 registation 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 our 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 download, simply install it 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 per-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 signup vary a little from series to series, but generally you will need to ask permission from a team manager to join their team. As the feeder series, the Supercup is usually the best place to establish yourself and catch the attention of Superleague team managers.

Further details of each Series

Supercup

The Supercup is the league's feeder series and for 2011 is using a GP2 mod. The contract system is fairly flexible in Supercup and you can join or leave teams more freely than in Superleague. Also note that a license is not required to race in Supercup events.

Key features of the Supercup:

• 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: 20 races – March to October.
  • Points system: First 10 places - 15pts, 12pts, 10pts, 8pts, 6pts, 5pts, 4pts, 3pts, 2pts, 1pt.
• 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 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 and this will usually include 1 or 2 test/reserve drivers. Note that all Superleague drivers must have a race licence that can be obtained by making a small donation to the league.

Key features of the Superleague:

• 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: 20 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 £5 (which drops to £2.50 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.

Other competitions

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