Championship Formule De Rules

Introduction

The following rules are by the designers, Eric Randall and Laurent Lavaur, and are used in championships in which they participate.

The rules are from the Championship Kit, which also includes ten additional black & white tracks plus a variety of record sheets, from ASPIFD:

Association Des Pilotes de Formule De
175, rue du temple
75003 PARIS
Tel: 48 87 19 47 / 47 91 44 61

Championship Rules

Season Length

The championship is determined over a maximum of 16 races. The driver and the team which have won the most points by the end of the season are the champions. A team consists of two cars.

Rules

A championship is run using all the optional rules in the Formule De rule book (drafting, tires, time trials, 3 lap race, pit assignment, car design, Suspension, weather, etc).

Points Distribution

After a race, only the first six finishers gain points. First through sixth places collect 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point respectively.

Pit Assignment

This is decided on the basis of the number of points won to date by each team. The leading team uses the pit farthest from the pit exit, through to the team with the least points which uses the pit closest to the exit. For the first race of the season, decide on the basis of the previous year's results, or decide by die roll if this is the first season.

Driver Points

For each 30 points won during the preceding two years and this year's races to date, a driver receives one Driver Point. These points may be used for an additional space of movement, and may be expended (permanently used up) as the player/driver wishes during a race. Only one point may be used in a single move, and only two points may be used in the same race.

Team Points

For every three victories won by a team over the previous two years' championships and the current one to date, a Team Point is obtained. A Team Point may be used to increase the number of construction points for one car for one race. Only one point may be expended on a single car in each race.

Fatal Driver Accidents

A driver may be temporarily incapacitated or permanently removed from the championship because of an accident during a race. If eliminated because of Bodywork damage or overshooting a corner and lacking more than three Tire Points, the player rolls a die (d20). If the result is a 1, the driver may not participate in the next race (a bit like Berger in '89, or Mansell in '87) and a second roll is made. If the second result is 1 or 2, the accident is too severe and the driver does not survive (Peterson in '78) or decides to retire (Lafitte in '86). The player may take another driver, with a new name, in the championship.

If the accident is serious (the first roll above was a 1) and took place after the end of the first lap, the race is finished and the position of the cars on the track at the moment of the accident determines the finishing positions. If a serious accident takes place during the first lap, a new start is made for a two-lap race, and the starting grid is determined by the positions of the cars at that time. No tire changes are permitted before the restart.

Driver Injury in Qualifying

If a car exceeds the end of a corner by six or more spaces during qualifying, or spends two or more fewer turns in the corner than required, it has suffered a serious accident. The player rolls the die, and if the result is a 1 the driver may not start this race. In this case a second die roll is made, and if this results in a 1 or 2 the driver has perished in the flaming wreckage of his car (Villeneuve in '82, Depailler in '80) or is no longer able to race because of his injuries (Pironi in '82). In both of these cases the player may not start a new driver (with a new name) until the following race, to the delight of the other players.

Optional Rules

These rules may also be used in a championship if a majority of the drivers agree.

Vehicle Inertia

A broken Engine may occur in 5th or 6th gear. The inertia of the car causes it to move, in the following turn, a number of spaces equal to the gear it was in (5 spaces in 5th, and 6 spaces in 6th). If the driver is able to coast before the engine locks up completely (50% chance), the car continues to move, one fewer space each turn, until it stops (at the side of the track, or in the path of the other cars if desired ...). This rule may also be applied to a car which has lost its Bodywork or Suspension. In this case, the car moves the next turn a number of spaces equal to the gear it was in, with no possibility of coasting further. This simulates the fact that the car will remain on the track a certain length of time before being removed by the course marshals. At the end of the turn after its elimination (or at the end of the turn in which the broken car makes its last move) the car is removed from the track. Until this moment, the driver may move as he wishes on the track: he may certainly annoy the other drivers. When using this rule, a car which breaks near the finish line may still finish, perhaps in the points ... However, even if a broken car is able to coast into the pits, it is not permitted to be repaired. When a F1 driver (Schumacher for example in France in '92) can return to his pit to fix the bodywork, this means only that the car was not totally out of commission and the Bodywork points have been used to get the car back into shape.

High Wing Setting

The cars are equipped with a wing to improve the aerodynamics. The wing may be positioned at a "high" setting, which slows the straight-line speed but improves the cornering speed of the car. Choosing a High Wing has the following effects:

movement in the corners may be reduced by 1 space if desired
maximum speed in 4th gear is 11
maximum speed in 5th gear is 18
maximum speed in 6th gear is 26

Experimental Engine RSJ407C

The latest thing in engines may be used in qualifying or in a race. It is certainly faster, but also a bit more prone to failure ...

movement in 4th: +1 space on a roll of 17 or more
movement in 5th: +3 spaces on a roll of 16 or more
movement in 6th: +5 spaces on a roll of 14 or more
Engine damage check for every move made in 5th or 6th
check for Engine damage twice if in 5th or 6th and anyone else in 5th or 6th rolls a 19 or 20 for movement

Note: if used in qualifying, check for Engine damage every turn that 5th or 6th gear is used, which is the risk you take to try to make up a little time. Consider the car to have only a single Engine Point during qualifying (to go faster, one takes risks ...)

Soft and Rain Tires

When driving on Soft tires, all the Tire Point penalties are doubled (for overshooting corners). If you run a second lap without stopping at the pits for new tires, the penalties are tripled and the +1 bonus no longer applies. If you run a third lap without stopping, the penalties are tripled and the car loses one space of movement on each move. If you drive on Rain tires during dry weather, all the Tire Point penalties are doubled.

Editor's note: Thanks to Tim for translating these from the French. Tim says that he thinks that some of the rules offered above are a bit weak. He also implies that he has his own set of championship rules. I'm hoping for a more detailed commentary on the rules above and a possible writeup of Tim's homegrown rules, as well.

Watch this space!

Translated by Tim Trant, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

[email protected]

August 5, 1994

The Game Cabinet - [email protected] - Ken Tidwell