The Road to the Roar.

Into the Apex Sportscar Challenge

Sporting Regulations and Race Procedures

1. League overview

The Into the Apex Sportscar Challenge is an iRacing multi-class endurance road-racing league featuring:

• LMP3

• GT4

Each race will run for two hours and will use league-hosted iRacing sessions.

These regulations govern race procedures, driver conduct, pit stops, cautions, restarts, and league administration.

2. Event schedule

Each event will use the following schedule:

Session Duration Details

Practice

90 minutes

Begins at 1:15 Eastern Time

Qualifying

10 minutes

Solo qualifying; two timed laps

Warm-up

5 minutes

Final preparation session

Race

2 hours

Rolling-start endurance race

All event times are listed in Eastern Time unless otherwise announced.

The league will use realistic weather settings.

3. Classes and car eligibility

The championship consists of two classes:

• LMP3

• GT4

Drivers may not change their registered car during the season unless league administration grants an exception.

All teams are responsible for ensuring that their selected car is eligible for the applicable class.

Setups are open. Drivers and teams may create, modify, and use their own setups.

4. Team and driver registration

• A team may consist of one or two drivers.

• Solo teams are permitted.

• Teams must declare their participating driver or drivers when registering for each race.

• No reserve drivers are permitted.

• A driver who qualifies the car is not required to start the race.

• If two drivers are registered for a race, both drivers must satisfy iRacing’s applicable Fair Share requirements.

• Failure to satisfy the required Fair Share participation may result in disqualification.

• If a registered driver cannot meet the league’s required minimum driving time, the team will be disqualified.

5. Qualifying

Qualifying will consist of:

• One 10-minute qualifying session

• Solo qualifying conditions

• Two timed laps

The driver who qualifies the car does not have to start the race.

The starting grid will be organized by class, with the LMP3 field starting ahead of the GT4 field.

Drivers must follow all iRacing qualifying rules, including pit-lane speed limits, track limits, and session conduct requirements.

6. Race start and formation

All races will use a rolling start.

• The LMP3 class leader controls the overall pace and start.

• LMP3 cars will form the front class.

• GT4 cars will follow behind the LMP3 field.

• The GT4 class leader must maintain a gap of approximately five seconds to the last-place LMP3 car during formation.

• Drivers must maintain formation until they have passed the start/finish line.

• No driver may advance position, change lanes aggressively, or pass before the race has officially started.

The five-second class gap applies during the formation procedure only. Once the race begins, normal multi-class racing may proceed.

7. Pit-lane conduct

All drivers must comply with iRacing pit-lane rules.

Drivers must:

• Observe the pit-lane speed limit.

• Enter and exit the pit lane safely.

• Follow the prescribed pit-entry and pit-exit lines.

• Call out pit entry and pit exit over race voice chat.

• Avoid obstructing other cars in the pit lane.

• Approach their pit stall under control.

A driver may not drive through more than five pit stalls while approaching their assigned pit stall.

Unsafe pit entry, unsafe pit exit, speeding, or other standard pit-lane violations will be handled by iRacing where applicable.

8. Local yellow flags

Local yellows are generated by iRacing when an incident occurs in a specific sector or portion of the track.

During a local yellow:

• Drivers must reduce speed as required by iRacing.

• Drivers must not pass cars in the affected area when prohibited by iRacing.

• Drivers must exercise caution around stopped, damaged, or recovering cars.

• Racing may continue in unaffected portions of the circuit unless otherwise instructed.

Local yellows do not automatically close the pits or create a field-wide caution.

9. Full-course yellows

A full-course yellow may be declared by Race Control when:

• The track is blocked or substantially obstructed; or

• A predetermined incident-count threshold has been reached.

Only Race Control may declare a full-course yellow.

A full-course yellow will be communicated through:

• iRacing flag and caution commands

• In-game text chat

• Race-control voice communication

Once a full-course yellow is active, drivers must follow iRacing caution procedures and must not race other cars.

9.1 Beginning of caution laps

The first caution lap begins when the race leader catches the pace car.

The caution-lap count is not based solely on the moment Race Control announces the caution.

10. Pit-road closure during full-course yellows

When a full-course yellow is activated, Race Control will key pit-road closure through the league’s administrative procedure.

If a full-course yellow is declared:

• Within the first 15 minutes of the race, or

• Within the final 15 minutes of the race,

pit road will remain closed for the entire caution period.

An emergency stop is permitted when necessary for safety or to prevent a car from becoming disabled. A driver who makes an emergency pit stop while pit road is closed must restart at the tail of the field.

If a caution begins with 16 minutes remaining but the race enters the final 15-minute period while the caution is already active, the normal pit-road procedure remains in effect. The timing of the caution declaration determines which rule applies.

11. Class-based pit procedure under caution

When pit road is open during a full-course yellow, the following sequence applies:

First open caution lap

• LMP3 cars may pit.

• GT4 cars must remain on track unless making an emergency stop.

Following open caution lap

• GT4 cars may pit.

• LMP3 cars may pit only for an emergency or if otherwise instructed by Race Control.

The class pit sequence is:

1. LMP3 pits on the first lap on which pit road is open.

2. GT4 pits on the following lap.

Caution periods will normally include a minimum of three laps with open pits.

Cautions declared within the first 15 minutes or final 15 minutes of the race will last only two full caution laps, with pit road closed for the entire caution.

A car that misses its designated class pit window may not create an additional caution or delay the restart. The team remains responsible for managing fuel, tires, damage, and pit strategy.

12. Wave-arounds

Wave-arounds will occur after:

1. LMP3 pit stops are completed;

2. GT4 pit stops are completed; and

3. All cars have caught and formed behind the pace-car line.

A car is eligible for a wave-around only when it is positioned:

• Between the safety car and its class leader.

Wave-arounds are not necessarily separated by class. As a result, a GT4 car may be ahead of an LMP3 car during the caution procedure.

Cars receiving a wave-around must follow all iRacing instructions and may not pass other cars improperly.

After wave-arounds are completed, the field will be reorganized for the restart.

13. Restarts

All restarts will be:

• Single-file

• Controlled by the overall leader

• Conducted with LMP3 cars ahead of GT4 cars

There will be no class separation gap at the restart.

Drivers must maintain their position and formation until the restart is officially initiated and the start/finish line has been crossed.

The overall leader may control the pace but may not:

• Brake-check the field

• Stop or excessively slow the field

• Make unpredictable movements

• Accelerate and decelerate excessively

• Create an unsafe accordion effect

All drivers remain responsible for avoiding contact during the restart.

14. Multi-class racing conduct

Drivers must race respectfully and predictably across both classes.

Drivers should:

• Make passes only when reasonably safe.

• Respect the speed difference between classes.

• Avoid forcing slower-class cars off the racing surface.

• Avoid unpredictable line changes.

• Leave adequate racing room when alongside another car.

• Rejoin the track only when it is safe to do so.

• Avoid continuing to race aggressively when the car is heavily damaged.

Faster-class cars are responsible for making safe passes. Slower-class cars should maintain a predictable line and must not make sudden defensive movements when being overtaken.

15. Penalties and in-session enforcement

The following violations will generally be handled by iRacing:

• Unsafe pit entry

• Unsafe pit exit

• Pit-lane speeding

• Passing under yellow

• Other automated iRacing sporting violations

• Every 10x team acquire, will serve a drive through penalty.

Failure to serve an iRacing penalty during the race will result in disqualification.

Chat abuse and intentional wrecking will be handled on a case-by-case basis by league administration.

Possible administrative penalties include:

• Race disqualification

• Removal of race results

• Suspension from future events

• Removal from the league

16. Driver conduct

All drivers must:

• Have access to the league Discord server.

• Have a working microphone.

• Monitor race-control communications.

• Use iRacing voice chat for race commands.

• Follow instructions issued by Race Control.

• Communicate clearly when entering and exiting pit road.

• Avoid abusive, threatening, discriminatory, or disruptive behavior.

The following conduct is prohibited:

• Intentional wrecking

• Retaliation

• Brake-checking

• Driving backward on the racing surface

• Deliberately blocking or obstructing the track

• Exploiting game or session mechanics

• Deliberately ignoring Race Control instructions

• Abusive voice or text communication

17. Incident reviews and protests

There will be:

• No live stewards

• No routine post-race incident reviews

• No standard driver protests

• No routine review of normal racing incidents

Drivers and teams are expected to resolve ordinary racing incidents through safe and respectful conduct during the event.

League administrators may conduct an internal review only in extreme or egregious circumstances, such as:

• Intentional wrecking

• A driver deliberately traveling backward into traffic

• A driver causing a major field-wide incident

• Conduct that removes a substantial portion of the field

• Deliberate exploitation of league or iRacing procedures

• Conduct that presents a serious safety or sportsmanship concern

Teams and drivers may not submit ordinary incident complaints. An exceptional report may be considered only when the circumstances are extreme, such as a driver taking out approximately three-quarters of the field.

League administration decisions in these circumstances are final.

18. Race classification and results

The league should add the following items before publishing the final rulebook:

• If a car disconnects mid-session, it will only receive points if it’s met the fair-share requirement.

• Championship points system

• Class-specific points

• Tie-break procedure

• If fair share is not met, team will be disqualified from the results.

• Whether fastest lap, pole position, or leading laps receive bonus points

• If iRacing server fails or the session is interrupted, all reasonable effort will be made to re-start session or reschedule if agreed upon by majority of entered teams.

19. Additional Information

1. Maximum field size is 55.

2. Whether the race may continue after a server failure.

3. Championship scoring system.

4. Exact penalty for ignoring the class-based caution pit sequence.

5. Race time determines whether a caution was declared inside the first or final 15 minutes.

6. Race Control may extend a caution beyond the stated minimum if field cannot form up in a safe & fast manner.

20. Points System

     1.    Points are awarded separately per class.

1st : 350          6th : 250          11th: 200         16th :150         21st :100         26th : 50

2nd: 320          7th : 240          12th : 190        17th :140         22nd : 90         27th : 40

3rd: 300           8th: 230           13th: 180         18th :130           23rd : 80          28th : 30                     

4th: 280           9th : 220          14th : 170        19th:120          24th: 70           29th : 20

5th : 260         10th :210         15th :160         20th :110         25th :60           30th :10

·         Bonus point for P1 in qualifying in each class.

·         Bonus point for 0x race.