WMBRC
Handicapping in Racing - Notes for drivers and Teams
General
- Racing is on an individual handicap basis managed by computer.
- Drivers should read and understand these rules and "Handicapping – Notes for Drivers and Teams". Copies are posted and obtainable from the Timing Pier.
- From time to time these rules may be changed to improve safety or the ‘fairness’ of racing.
- If a change has taken place in the way the rules are applied, the OOD will explain the change during the next race briefing.
- A change will only be applied at the start of a new race day and will not be retrospective.
- The Countdown
a. The OOD may decide to pause the countdown to allow a struggling entry to join the race and speed up the countdown when all boats are in the milling area.
b. The OOD may stop and restart the countdown in cases of danger or obstruction
3. Race time and handicap time
- ‘Race time’ is the time required for a driver to complete the required number of laps.
- ‘Handicap time’ is the ‘race time’ expressed as an average by the number of laps raced and is used to calculate ‘Start Time’.
- ‘Bust’ is when an entry completes the race faster than the permitted margin
- Handicap Time adjustment is by request of a driver or representative, or automatically by the timing staff when (1) an entry busts their time or (2) when an entry finishes more than half a lap behind the previous competitor (unless timing have a good reason to do otherwise e.g. engine failure)
- Handicap times may be adjusted in either direction
- The Start
(a) Penalty for early start – placed last in the results after drivers breaking their times, before drivers not completing the full distance and in order of the amount early started.
(b) The amount of time late started by is deducted from ‘Race Time’ when calculating whether or not a driver has bust his time.
- Finishing
- First over the line wins unless penalised
- Entries breaking their time by more than the permitted allowance are dropped in the results below those not breaking their times but above those early starting
- The permitted ‘race time’ allowances (see table below) are calculated on a sliding scale based upon 5 second per lap differences on allocated Handicap lap time. Starting at 0.25% of total race time for the slowest boats going up to 2% for the fastest.