Senior Sportsmanship League

Senior Sportsmanship League

Friendly, Good Natured, and Sociable

A league for mature and particularly friendly drivers who share and appreciate a “culture” where: 1) Drivers share and value a form of intense competition where passing is seen as “skillful overtaking with superior speed” i.e. a demonstration of skill rather than a battle “attacking to gain a position” on the track; 2) Where collisions are seen as unnecessary and mostly avoidable. Where reasonable risk avoidance is valued more than apologies for causing collisions; 3) Where earned positions from qualifying are respected and dive bombing is seen as a form of attempted theft; and 4) Where all participants have fun and remain friends with their competitors.

Always remember our goal: BE COMPETITIVE, DO YOUR BEST,  HAVE FUN, EARN YOUR POSITION WITHOUT HURTING THE COMPETITOR,  DON'T BE ANNOYING-EARN YOUR COMPETITORS' RESPECT WITH SKILL,  BE FRIENDLY,  IT IS A RACE- NOT A FIGHT.

We run the FIA F4 on Monday with a strict FIXED setup designed by our Chief Engineer. (no cockpit adjustment of brake bias) We run the Ray FF1600 with a FIXED setup but brake bias adjustment is allowed. 

The League is open to all drivers 55 years old and older with iRating less than 3000 and a safety rating above 3.0 or a Class B License.  We have a Division for drivers who are 70PLUS and 80PLUS drivers are given extra championship points. (Drivers who apply for membership to race in the SENIOR 55PLUS Division with an iRating above 3000 must  be reviewed by the league’s Membership Committee) 

Select races will be broadcast on YouTube depending on voluntary contributions by members.

Donald Wayne Strout, Organizer

In 2016, I formed the 60PLUS Racing Adventures League. We started out with 20-25 "senior" gentlemen over the age of 60 who looked forward to fun and fair racing in winged formula cars in iRacing. We had very strict "racing rules" that were enforced by me as Chief Steward after viewing the replays of every race. Racing was to be a contest but not a fight.

The league grew and newcomers wanted to see more aggressive driving. "We want to attack in the corners and race hard, fighting side by side" they said. As this was against the whole original philosophy and “culture” of the league, I turned the 60PLUS league management over to others and left it alone for years to pursue my aviation interests. (In my enthusiasm for "building the league" I had accepted members who did not share the original values.) I also created two other leagues promoting fair competition and worked on developing setups for the Formula Renault 2.0.

In 2022, I suffered a serious crash in my experimental ultralight aircraft, crushing both femurs and my shin bone as well as a couple broken vertebrae. After installation of about 3 pounds of titanium in both legs, recovering a bit with tons of PT, but still walking with a cane, I decided to try iRacing again.

The 60PLUS league has grown substantially so when I returned, the level of competition and skill was very high—and the culture was still very much “attack in the corners and race hard, fighting side by side”.  Many loss of control spins and unnecessary collisions. In my first race after returning, I was blocked and dive bombed. I also noticed that most race podiums were dominated by drivers with very high iRatings. For me and several others I questioned, it was not fun. 

All comments regarding suggested improvements to management and participants were met with “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” replies.

I also tried out the excellent IGPFun League organized by my old friend Luca Varani. They actually work hard to avoid chaos and are one of the oldest leagues in iRacing. I found the field to be huge and a bit intimidating with really serious and highly accomplished younger drivers. 

So after a bit of “focus group” research, I figured there was a demand for a different approach in a new league.

There is a reasonably sized group of experienced iRacing enthusiasts over the age of 70. However, to maintain a robust and active league with a sufficient roster, we are extending membership to younger senior drivers that share our culture and values, 

The above graph was the inspiration for forming the 60PLUS Racing Adventures League. To address the dramatic difference in reaction time between those over 60 and those under 60. It also shows that the difference between 60 and 70 is just as large as that between 60 and 30!

Clearly, there is a justification for allowing 70 year olds to race against their "equals" and not feel intimidated and dominated by younger drivers with more youthful abilities and drivers with near pro level performance. One of the attractions of iRacing is realism, and as in real life “club” racing, most participants would like to finish their race without significant collision damage—one of the goals of the Senior Sportmanship League.

The new league will run with the same "Racing Rules" we originally used in the 60PLUS League. "Do no harm to others-treat others as you expect them to treat you” kind of means that racing here will be display of skill, not a fight. Finish in the least amount of time, in front of as many cars as possible, with little or no interfering in the driving enjoyment of others. (This means passing and side by side racing is encouraged—just leave adequate racing room, don’t play head games, no surprise or ridiculous moves, and don’t collide or lose control. Be prepared that the car ahead may brake earlier than you expect. Remember that drivers have much less ability to see cars beside them in sim racing compared to IRL. Out-braking to gain position in corner entry is allowed and can be fun as long as the driver being overtaken knows you are along side before he reaches the turn in point.) These rules are described in our official Sporting Code.

In addition, instead of following the iRacing schedule, each season we will run on four different world class tracks, alternating three times.  The idea will be to spend more time improving our skills and less time learning new tracks. 

Another "difference" is our attempt to make racing more fair with more opportunity for each member to achieve a high championship points standing.  First, we will actively engage in driver development with coaching and telemetry analysis.  (Participation in Garage 61 is mandatory.) Second, we will exclude the overall winner in the first race from running in the second race of the day or if he chooses to do so, we average his points from both races. 

An additional innovation is the league will use one highly engineered and tested setup suitable for all ranges of driver skill with the F4 annd FF1600 and other methods to give all drivers a fair chance to win. The setup has increased grip, and in combination with the fixed weather conditions we choose, the car is easier to drive fast and safely.

We assign each driver to one of six classes: Senior, Admiral, Master; Expert; Advanced; and Rookie. (A special class designated as the Admiral class for drivers with iRatings above 3000 or who have won 7 races in the Master class. These drivers do not compete in the 70PLUS Division.)  Although we will compete against the AI drivers--finishing positions and championship points are for humans only. 

Generally, the delta between Master and Expert is 0.9%; between Master and Advanced is 1.5%

We will be one of the first leagues to introduce AI into the competition. Generally we will introduce between 2-8 AI drivers. We often run without any AI drivers.

League racing in our opinion is not like Pro Racing any more than Country Club Tournament Golf is like the PGA Tour. We are not Vintage Car racing either. We expect each participant to drive to the best of their ability. No Country Club would be able to run an amateur golf tournament without a handicap system or some system of dividing the competitors for points assignment. What is the point of a contest if everyone knows who will win? So, we are trying to implement a similar concept in iRacing. We don’t support the idea of everybody deserves a trophy for participating but we also believe that everyone deserves at least a reasonable chance of recognition for exemplary performance.  Not everyone will enjoy the taste of victory, but everyone deserves a “fair” chance. And, winning is not necessarily the best way to enhance self esteem—using healthy competition to motivate you to improve and reach your full potential is the best way.

Requirements for Membership: iRating between 500 and 3000. (In the Senior 55PLUS Division, drivers with iRating in the 3000-5000 will be considered by our Membership Committee.) Safety Rating above 3.0 or a B License. For participation in the 70PLUS F4 Championship: Born before 1957.  For other events:  Satisfactory interview with Chief Stewart regarding racing philosophy and adherence to League’s Sporting Code. (We are more interested in drivers who share our values than in a particular age, however drivers older than 55 and retired will most likely feel comfortable in our “Senior” community.) New membership is also subject to approval of all existing league members.

FF1600

IRacing FIA F4

Indy Car IR18

McLaren GT4

Porsche Cayman GT4

Corvette Z06 GT3

Why do we exclude drivers with iRating above 3000 in the 70PLUS Division? The chart below shows that 90% of drivers have an iRating between 500 and 3000. The 5% with iRating above 3000 should be driving against drivers that are competitive with themselves on their level—not coming into a league to dominate the podium. Equating iRating with ability and performance can be misleading—many drivers perform at a level higher than expected—but careful observation confirms that drivers with iRating above 3000 tend to dominate the podium when competing against the vast majority (75%) of drivers with iRating in the 800-2500 range. 

Coaching Partner:   Full Speed Sim Coaching

https://fullspeedsimcoaching.com/

Chief Engineer’s Library:  WS Speed Analytics

https://wsspeedanalytics.blogspot.com/

League Sporting Code

 

Senior Sportsmanship League

Official Sporting Code v041025

The General Principle:

Complete your race in the least amount of time, ahead of as many drivers as possible, according to the best of your ability-without doing harm to others. Collision avoidance takes priority over gaining position without exception. 

It is a RACE and not a FIGHT!

Drive and generally conduct yourself in a manner that allows you to grow and maintain friendships with the league community. Fun and a sense of accomplishment is the goal, NOT domination, manipulation and conflict.

Do not alter assigned setups. This is considered cheating and will result in a ban from future races. The assigned setups is the foundation of the league’s “fair chance” competition philosophy. In "open setup" races, the Chief Engineer will publish "Suggested" setup/s but drivers are allowed to run whatever they want, on the condition that the setup is reviewed for safety and fairness by the Chief Engineer and "approved" prior to use. Attempts to mislead the Chief Engineer in this review and approval process will result in a ban from the League.

Specifics:

Maintain control. Humans make mistakes, but mistakes are minimized when you drive at a performance level with a small but adequate margin of safety. Failure to maintain control and a margin of safety that results in a collision is considered reckless. Example1: Overdriving on cold tires. Example2; Failure to recognize the need to change braking points with higher speed following in a draft. 

Driving that is deemed to be "reckless" by the Chief Steward is a serious offence. Repeated instances despite warnings will result in a ban from the League. (see additional explanation at the end of this code description.) One egregious example is abuse of the draft on long straights, where an overtake is attempted well beyond the normal braking zone that results or risks the possibility of loss of control and collision. 

Always allow racing room to other drivers. This prohibits any movement in response to a passing attempt that would be considered blocking. It also prohibits following too close where unexpected moves by driver ahead are likely to result in a collision.

When a mistake leads to a spin and loss of control, use accepted inputs to increase the likelihood that you will slide off the racing surface. If you end up stopped on the racing surface you are required to hold your brakes on and remain stationary until all traffic has passed. Do not become a moving obstacle. (It is recommended that all drivers use a track map overlay to allow for accurate info regarding the position of other cars.)

Apologies for mistakes is not mandatory. Action (adjustment to risk management judgment) to reduce the likelihood of future mistakes is mandatory. 

Do not engage in what could be considered as intimidation. Example1: Moving to the inside lane approaching a corner for no other reason than to distract the driver ahead with the threat of a dive bomb. Example2: When racing side by side, moving to threaten a unfair reduction in racing room.

Use three mirrors and chatty spotter.  Use of the virtual and both side mirrors is mandatory. If a single monitor FOV does not give full view of side mirrors, adjustment of Look Right and Look Left to allow view of side mirrors is mandatory. The use of mirrors and chatty spotter is absolutely key to safe driving and situational awareness. Drivers are required to anticipate the position of drivers who are overtaking and react to spotter warnings to insure racing room is maintained. This does not prohibit driving a defensive line with one move to the inside on corner approach far in advance of the braking point.

Overtaking is encouraged and an important part of racing enjoyment. Threshold braking contests are also encouraged as long as the driver being overtaken is aware of the overtaking driver’s position in side mirror and chatty spotter warning. Any attempt to overtake where the driver being overtaken has not been warned by the spotter before the normal braking point for the corner is considered an illegal dive bomb. In corners where braking is not required, the “normal racing line” belongs to the driver ahead at the turn in point.

Most overtaking conflicts occur with the faster car attempting the overtake on the “inside” of the turn. But there are important scenarios where the overtake occurs with the faster car on the outside.  The MOST IMPORTANT principle is the concept of “NEVER DENY RACING ROOM” except in the special case where you are absolutely committed to a normal racing line at the entry of a corner. 

Two cases: 1) Two cars legitimately contest a corner side by side at corner entry. The inside car must not track out normally- he is required to grant the outside car racing room on exit. 2) On some straights, the racing line crosses the track diagonally so that the lead car leaves a wide gap for an overtaking car in the late part of the straight but continues to move toward the outside of the track for corner entry. If a faster car is clearly showing in his mirror as beginning an overtake, the the lead car must allow racing room-he cannot assume or demand that the overtaking driver lift and or brake and back off. If the lead car wants to claim the outside of the track, he must move there soon enough to clearly take “ownership” of that line.

The first turn after the green is out is critical. Standing starts almost always result in chaos. With a rolling start, a “proper” start led by the pole sitter with a “tight grid” should result in a “clean and safe” passage thru the first turn. Generally, a skilled and experienced pole sitter will begin a smooth acceleration as soon as the pace car exits, reaching race pace coincident with the green. If this is not the case, often cars will hold back and create a gap in the grid, timing their acceleration so that they have a speed advantage when the green comes out and the drag race begins.  This is considered poor sportsmanship and is akin to stealing. It leads to unsafe three and four wide racing into the first turn with resulting chaos and car contact/s. (It is akin to a driver in the last row holding back and timing his arrival at the green with enough speed to pass most of the grid before the first turn—which is a violation of iRacing Sporting Code.)

To avoid this, the Senior Sportsmanship League races always use a rolling start, a tight grid and PROHIBIT passing other humans for the first corner of the first lap. This “No pass until AFTER the first corner” rule applies to the car ahead in your “lane”.  It does not apply to cars in the adjacent “lane” that may be slower due to cars ahead in that “lane”. Violators will be black flagged. (This can be problematic when AI Drivers are in the mix as they do not comprehend the Sporting Code—this makes the the actions of the human drivers in the first row especially important in avoiding “drag race” starts. You are allowed to pass AI cars that are not keeping pace with cars ahead but take special precautions to avoid entering their programmed space and avoid entering the adjacent “lane”.  See clarification statement below for more on this subject.

Finally, in regards to dive bombing. Keep in mind that qualifying is a very good indicator of relative pace. Aggressive passing can in some cases result in a slower car advancing ahead without having the pace to sustain the position. This often results in incidents, spins or car contact as the faster car behind is able to pressure the slower car ahead. Clean and fun racing requires overtaking that is the result of a sustained higher pace and generally takes place on straights where the faster car is able to pull fully aside before the upcoming corner’s braking point. The pass should never be a surprise to the driver being overtaken. Earn your position-don’t steal it.

A note about racing with AI cars. AI in iRacing is still in development so there may be room for improvements over time. But, AI does add interest and desired complexity to our racing. Be aware that these AI are designed to drive like humans and in that sense they are unpredictable and not robotic. Do not abuse them by engaging in intimidation or aggressive defensive “crowding or pinching moves” driving other than the normal racing line.  They are programmed to avoid contact but will not react kindly to what they are programmed to sense as an invasion of their “racing room”.  They will not yield in a side by side contest and will react very negatively to late braking go for the gap dive bombs where their “space” is violated. Despite being set for low aggression, they tend to drive very much like hyper competitive humans-particularly those that are set for high skill levels.

More clarification about “No passing until after the first turn” rule:  

An unexpected collision occurred in a race resulting in the P2 car being taken out by the P3 car in T1.  The rule was initiated to allow passing of slow starting AI cars in the adjacent lane which caused both lanes to be slowed by these slow starting AI. It never contemplated allowing a car in P3 to attempt a pass from behind to overtake the P2 car in the front row. 

That said, the clarification desired by the majority is that there will be two distinct lanes from the green flag thru the first corner. 

This places a great burden on those placed in the outside lane.  In many cases it may result in the loss of two starting positions as the inside lane may be able to gain significantly. It places special responsibility of the P2 car avoiding a slow start. To help with this issue, the P1 pole sitter will be required to use voice chat and call out “three two one go” while going to full throttle only simultaneously with the word “go”.

It is very important for the inside  lane drivers to understand they cannot track out normally on exit. The lane width the “outside” drivers must allow for the “inside” drivers at the apex must also be granted to the “outside” drivers on exit. The “inside” drivers are warned that a skilled “outside” driver will be moving with a significant speed advantage at the turn exit which may allow them to overtake before T2. This is a very likely possibility regarding the P2 and P3 cars.

Please keep in mind this rule is intended to eliminate car contact.  You are expected to put collision avoidance above the goal of overtaking.

This illustrates the “Stay in your Lane thru T1”  Note that “O” must leave racing room at apex for “I” and “I” must leave racing room for “O” at entry and exit.  Racing Room is generally considered 1.5 car width. Incidents caused by “I” tracking out into “O” space on exit will be considered careless driving and will result in loss of two positions. Note being ahead does not change the requirement to leave the racing room. The “lane” ends on exit three car lengths after the steering wheel of “I” is straight.

As stated; Driving that is deemed to be "reckless" by the Chief Steward is a serious offence. Repeated instances despite warnings will result in a ban from the League.

Each incident where a car is knocked off the track by another car will be carefully reviewed by the Chief Steward. The review always results in constructive suggestions and discussion as to how a similar incident can be avoided in the future. This review will be particularly critical if the driver who knocked the other off the track has been the offender in a recent event. A driver who becomes argumentative and denies any responsibility indicating no intention to drive more safely in the future will be designated as “reckless” and may be banned from the league at the Chief Steward’s sole discretion.

What is BOP?

Click on link

FIA Creates Balance Of Performance

The FIA needed a way to make a competition between diverse production vehicles fair and reasonable. They developed the concept of Balance of Performance or BOP to “create a level playing field among cars of different design and architecture.”

In our GT4 races we adjust the setups of each car to make the cars as close to equal as possible.

When it comes to competition between drivers above a certain age, there is a need to create a level playing field among drivers with significant different physical age related abilities and experience. 

Just as the FIA uses weight and power adjustments, in the Senior Sportsmanship League we are using a system that separates drivers in one of two divisions and in one of six classes. We have six classes: Senior, Admiral, Master, Expert, Advanced and Rookie. The Senior class is drivers 55PLUS, less than 70 years old. The Admiral class is drivers of all ages 55 and older that have demonstrated superior skills by consistent winning and/or an iRating above 3000. The other four classes are all 70PLUS with varying abilities starting at Rookie and ascending to Master. Master class drivers are moved to Admiral if/when they demonstrate a consistent and persistant winning record. 

The Seniors and Admirals comprise the Senior/Admiral Division. The other classes make up the 70PLUS Division. We run separate championship points for each division. We run two races for each daily event--M, Th, and Fr. Both Divisions run together. The overall winner of the first race can choose to race or not in the second but instead of his highest finishing position, his average points are figured if he chooses to race in the second race. All other drivers are assigned points based on their best finish of the two races.  Finally, we grant an extra 2 championship points for 80PLUS drivers for any position outside the Podium. This system has proven to give most of the drivers a fair chance at a Podium finish and a respectable season points standing. 

All this to create a “level playing field” among drivers of different ages and inherent abilities and skills. Racing where the Winner and the Podium can be predicted with high probability before the start is not really competitive racing.

We run with AI in order to improve competition, interest and fun.

About the League’s Steward/Engineer

My Favorite Race Car
My 1985 Swift DB1 FF1600

Mechanical Engineer, General Motors Institute, BSME, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 1972

NIASE Master Auto Technician Certification 1983

Christian Chaplain, Christian Motorsports International 2011-2020  Team RFC

Regional Chaplain, SCCA Washington DC Region, 2011

IRL Learning:

Bondurant Racing School, Sears Point, CA 1985, Instructor: Bob Earl, Formula Atlantic Champion.

Coaching, Road Atlanta SCCA National Runoffs 1985, Jim Fitzgerald and Elliot-Forbes Robinson.

Buck Baker NASCAR Racing School, 1987

Coaching, Rockingham Speedway 1987, Benny Parsons.

Skip Barber Racing School, Road Atlanta 2010

IRL Driving:

Trans Am SCCA Pro Series 1985

SCCA Regional Champion GT1 1985

SCCA National Runoffs  GT1 1985; FF1600 1986 

IMSA Firestone Firehawk Series (Sebring and Road Atlanta) 1986

Canadian Pro F2000 Series Sanair 1986

Nat'l Championship Runoffs
Road Atlanta (T6 in Rain)

Texas Grand Prix Champion FF 1600 1986

NASCAR Winston Cup 1987-1988

Charlotte with car and sponsor

Dover

SCCA Regional FV at Summit Point, WV. Two Wins in 2011

Central PA Legends on dirt ovals. 2013

Pics illustrate general series but not actual specific event with my participation.

iRacing Learning:

Wyatt Gooden Coaching 2016-2018

Full Speed Sim Coaching (Blake Townend) 2024

Star Mazda

GT3

Formula Renault 2.0

IndyCar 

Super Formula Light

FIA F4