Beginners guide to GPVWC
Contents
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, develop their cars and engines over the course of the season.
- Supercup - The Supercup is GPVWC's second level series and usually involves intermediate formula cars with equal performance, equivalent to GP2 and Formula Nippon. The Supercup includes a basic team management and driver contract system designed to provide a stepping stone to the Superleague. Supercup races are shorter than their Superleague equivalent and run on the day before before Superleague races (Wednesday).
- Formula Challenge - Formula Challenge is GPVWC's entry level series and is the ideal place to get your first taste of GPVWC action. The series is open to anyone and uses lower formula cars with equal performance equivalent to GP3 and F2. Formula Challenge races are the shortest of all and run on the day before before Supercup races (Tuesday).
- Other - There are several other competitions that run at various times of the year, including the touring car based events such as the Masters Series and GT based series such as the Winter GT 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 from there and select the series you want (Note you may have to run the program as administrator, especially if your game is in C:\Program Files - simply right click the icon and choose 'Run as administrator'). When running simsync please ensure that you have '2013 Basic Files' and 'RFE & rFScan' selected along with the desired series files. The simsync password for all 2013 mods is GPVWC2013.
Please note that for 2013, our main series will be running with the RFE Weather plugin which adds several new and exciting elements to the rFactor engine as well as rFScan anti-cheat software. These plugin files can be downloaded through Simsync. Please note that the RFE plugin is designed to work with an original CD/DVD version or original Trymedia version of rFactor.exe and also requires Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Runtime redistributable package and Microsoft .NET framework 4 or higher installed on your computer. More details about preparing your system for our 2013 mods can be found in this forum post.
Step 3 - Joining a team
After you've registered and have rFactor set up, 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 check out the Job Centre section. 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.
In order to sign up with an existing team, you'll need to use the driver contract system on the main site. To do this you need to do the following steps:
- First of all login to your user area on the main site.
- Next look at the menus on the right side of the page and under 'General' click where it says 'Enter Driver Market'.
- Select the competition you are looking to join and confirm - this will register your interest in the series and your name will be added to the list of available drivers.
- Now you must wait for a team manager to offer you a contract and then accept it to formally join a team. Please note that depending on the competition, you may need to obtain a license before entering any official test or race sessions for your new team.
Further details of each Series
Formula Challenge
Formula Challenge is the league's entry level 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 all regular Formula Challenge drivers must have a race license that can be obtained by making a very small donation to the league.
Key features of the Formula Challenge:
- Lower Formula cars (Eg Formula BMW, F2, GP3)
- Race times (Tuesdays):
- Free Practice: 15 minutes, 19:00 GMT/BST
- Qualification: 20 minutes, 19:15 GMT/BST
- Warm-Up / Break: 10 minutes, 19:35 GMT/BST
- Race 1: 19:45 GMT/BST
- Race 2: 20:25 GMT/BST
- Race format:
- Qualifying format: unlimited laps, parc ferme (all except fuel & brake settings locked)
- Race format: 2 short races which both include a formation lap. Reverse grid (down to 15th place) used in the Sprint Race
- Driver aids allowed: TBC
- Season format:
- Season: 18 races – February to November.
- Points system: First 15 places - 25pts, 20pts, 16pts, 13pts, 11pts, 10pts, 9pts, 8pts, 7pts, 6pts, 5pts, 4pts, 3pts, 2pts, 1pt.
- Eligibility: Only drivers who are not competing in a Primary driver role in any higher GPVWC competitions are allowed to take part in the Formula Challenge.
- Licensing: All drivers are required to hold a valid race license which costs £1 for 2013.
- Each team uses custom liveries and helmet designs.
- Races usually feature live race stewards plus a live broadcast via Simrace TV.
- Server and race information can be found by clicking the appropriate event name on the Official Calendar page: here.
- Full rules 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 (Wednesdays):
- 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, parc ferme (all except fuel & brake settings locked)
- Race format: Usually about 50 minutes and includes a formation lap.
- Driver aids allowed: TBC
- Season format:
- Season: 18 races – February to October.
- Points system: First 15 places - 25pts, 20pts, 16pts, 13pts, 11pts, 10pts, 9pts, 8pts, 7pts, 6pts, 5pts, 4pts, 3pts, 2pts, 1pt.
- Eligibility: Only drivers who are not competing in a Primary driver role in the Superleague are allowed to take part in the Supercup.
- Licensing: All Primary/Reserve drivers are required to hold a valid race license which costs £5 for 2013.
- Each team uses custom liveries and helmet designs.
- Races usually feature live race stewards plus a live broadcast via Simrace TV.
- Server and race information can be found by clicking the appropriate event name on the Official Calendar page: here.
- Full rules 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 3 drivers signed to their team at any time, plus an emergency driver on a one month contract. 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 series
- Race times (Thursdays):
- Free Practice: 35 minutes, 19:00 GMT/BST
- Qualification: 15 minutes, 19:40 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 (all except fuel, boost & brake settings locked).
- Race format: Full Grand Prix distance and includes a formation lap.
- Driver aids allowed: Autoclutch.
- Season format:
- Season: 18 races – February to November.
- Points system: First 15 places - 25pts, 20pts, 16pts, 13pts, 11pts, 10pts, 9pts, 8pts, 7pts, 6pts, 5pts, 4pts, 3pts, 2pts, 1pt.
- Testing: There are several test sessions across the season, where teams can field up to 4 drivers in order to get points to improve their cars.
- Eligibility: Only drivers who are not competing in a race driver role in any of the other GPVWC competitions are allowed to take part in the Supercup.
- Licensing: All Primary/Reserve drivers are required to hold a valid race license which costs £10 for 2013.
- Each team uses custom liveries and helmet designs.
- Races usually feature live race stewards plus a live broadcast via Simrace TV.
- Server and race information can be found by clicking the appropriate event name on the Official Calendar page: here.
- Full rules 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 (Thursdays):
- 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.
World Sport Series/GT Series
The World Sport Series and GT Series feature GT-style race events typically involving GT3 style cars.
Key features of the World Sport Series/GT Series:
- GT/Endurance style cars.
- Race format varies from series to series, so check out the forum for details of each individual series.
- Server and race information can be found by clicking the appropriate event name on the Official Calendar page: here.
- Full rules 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.