Rules

RCDF Competition Rules

*Rules are subject to change Please contact your local competition venue or organizer for any adjustment to series rules*

Revision 09/29/2024

Section 2D

Series Competition Rules

1. CHASSIS

1. Chassis must be a 1/10th scale rear wheel drive chassis

2. One chassis may not be used by two competitors and two competitors may not use one car in the same competition round

3. Only 540-sized brushed and brushless motors are permitted. There is no limit on motor turn or KV count

4. Chassis with body and battery must weigh at least 1300 grams total, no more than 2000 grams with no more than 1100 grams of rear weight

5. Only 1-2 cell batteries may be used. LiHV batteries are permitted

6. Batteries must be mounted between the front and rear axles and properly secured to the chassis. Chassis whose batteries are mounted in front of the front axles or behind the rear axles are prohibited. Battery mounting location must be stationary and secure.

7. Devices that emit smoke or flames are prohibited

8. Devices or modifications such as sound boxes, long pinion screws, zip ties, etc. that produce excessive noise are prohibited

9. Competition spec tires will be given to competitors after the competition fee is paid. Spec tires are to be used during competition and are not to be altered or modified in any way (grinded, sanded, scuffed, use of tire warmers or had any foreign substances added or applied to). Tires are to be turned into the organizing venue at the end of the day for multi-day events if required. If competitors are found to have modified the competition use tires, a new set of tires must be purchased at the expense of the competitor and their car must be re-inspected. Tire or competition fee WILL NOT be refunded to the driver if the driver refuses to pay for a replacement set of spec tires.

2. BODY

1. Body must be painted and fully trimmed out

2. Body must be appropriately secured to the chassis (Body posts with pins if applicable, magnetic, velcro or other stealth mounts)

3. Body length must be a minimum of 410mm and a maximum of 490mm measured bumper to bumper. Maximum height of the body or spoiler permitted is 150mm. Maximum width of the body is 215mm

4. Front or rear bumpers must be 30mm or less from the ground measured from the highest part of the bumper. Crash bars or core supports may not stick inside more than 5mm from the furthest bodywork

5. A maximum of 5mm of poke from the edge of the fender to the edge of the rim, tire, axle or wheel nuts will be allowed. Open wheel and fender-less bodies are prohibited 

6. Any exhausts, crash bars, etc. that stick out more than 5mm past the nearest bodywork are prohibited 

7. Lighting kits are optional but may be asked to be turned off or removed by judges if it is deemed a nuisance or a distraction to judging

8. Metal bumpers or crash bars outside of the body and metal wheels are prohibited

9. Dark colored wheels will be allowed but there must be at least one bright contrasting color visible strip applied to the outside face of the wheel. Strip must be approved during tech 

3. TECH INSPECTION

1. Competitor car must pass all chassis and body requirements before being allowed to qualify and compete in tandem battles

2. After passing tech, a sticker sheet with window banner and  number will be assigned to the car. The window banner will be placed at the top of the front windshield. Numbers will be placed on the front windshield and one on each side of the car near the front fenders and door. Only one number is allowed on each car during competition.

3. Car may not be altered or modified (parts change, electronics change, etc.) after passing tech inspection and before qualifying runs or car will need to be re-inspected and approved

4. Body or chassis may not be changed after passing tech inspection. If the inspected body or chassis becomes damaged beyond use before qualifying, a new body or chassis within regulation may be submitted for re-inspection and approval 

5. Tires may not be changed after passing tech inspection

6. Battery changes between runs are allowed. Battery must be inspected and weight must relatively match (+/- 5 grams) your pre-qualifying tech inspection battery

7. Competitor’s chassis may be subject to further tech inspection if it is suspected that changes have been made after qualifying, before or during tandem battles 

4. JUDGING CRITERIA

1. Each qualifying run will be judged on three (3) criteria (line, angle, style) while factoring in any deductions or zero scores 

LINE

2. Driver is staying on the preferred line through the course inside all clipping zones, touch and go’s, etc. Driver is not shallowing the line in order to decrease proximity from the chase car. Line is judged based off the front and rear bumpers, NOT the tires 

ANGLE

3. Driver is holding the preferred angle through the course at designated angle indicators and is not under or over angled at any point, making it difficult for the chase car to keep close proximity

STYLE

4. Driver is showing good aggression and confidence in their car, keeping close proximity to walls and clipping points, mimicking the lead car when chasing and providing an overall fluid, flashy and exciting run to watch

5. ZERO SCORES

1. Any contact to the lead car from the chase car that causes a noticeable deviation to either car’s line during initiation, after initiation or during a transition will result in a zero score for that car

2. Any wall hit by lead or chase car that results in an abrupt and noticeable line deviation, spin or crash will result in a zero score for said car. Cars stuck on barriers, curbs, etc. or cars whose bodies have fallen off will be considered crashed and receive a zero score

3. Any cone that is knocked over by lead or chase car will result in a zero score for said car

4. Any car who fails to leave on the green light due to mechanical issue or failure will be given a zero score for the run

5. Any straightening during the run will be considered a crash and result in a zero score. Straighten situations will be reviewed based on the lead and chase car line to determine whos at fault

6. Double initiations where the car initiates at one angle and then makes a second initiation to increase angle will result in a zero score

7. Over-rotation or excessive scrubbing of speed by lead car that causes a deviation of line, contact or straightening of chase car

8. Two tires over the white boundary line by lead or chase car is out of bounds and will result in a zero

9. Regardless of if their body passes tech, any driver whose body travels over a barrier wall during their run (due to rear droop, body deformation, etc.) will be given a zero score for the run

10. Zero score will be given to the car who zeroes first in the run and advantage will go to the opposing car regardless of the rest of the run. Ex. If the chase car hits a wall and later in the run the lead car spins, advantage will be given to the lead car as the chase car zeroed first

6. DEDUCTIONS

*Deduction amounts can be made on a case by case basis based on severity*

1. Contact of lead car by chase car that does not make the lead car deviate from line

2. Contact of the wall by lead or chase car that does not cause a deviation of line of said car

3. One tire over the white boundary line by lead or chase car will be a deduction

4. Late entry/early exit of judged zones

5. Missed contact of touch-and-go points

COMPETITION FORMAT

7. QUALIFYING

1. Following their final group practice session each competitor will stage their cars to run two (2) consecutive qualifying runs

2. Each run will be scored on Line, Angle, and Style and will be weighed as a total of 50 points possible (Line=20 points, Angle=20 points, Style=10 points). Line and angle sectors will be judged based off the worst angle and line executed in that zone

3. Line, angle and style scores will be calculated based on the meeting of each criteria listed above

4. Each judge will be assigned a judging criteria (line, angle, style) and be responsible for scoring their criteria during the run. Each judge’s score will be added together after each run to give a qualifying score for that run

5. The highest scoring run will be used as the qualifying score for each driver

6. In the case of only two (2) available judges, each judge will score either line and angle and each judge can award up to 5 points each for style for a total of 50 points qualifying score

7. In the case of a tie score for the top qualifying position judges may call for one (1) additional sudden death qualifying run from each top scoring competitor. The competitor with the highest scoring 3rd run will become the top qualifier

8. Outside video footage may not be brought up for any contests of qualifying scores. Only official streamed or replay footage will be used for review

8. BRACKETING

1. Competitors will be bracketed together after all qualifyings for each competitor are completed. Bracketing positions will be based on the competitors qualifying scores

2. The top qualifier will be bracketed against the 32nd place qualifier, the 2nd place qualifier will be bracketed against the 31st place qualifier and so on 

(In the event that there are more than 32 competitors entered in the competition, all competitors qualifying 32nd place and lower will be bracketed into a lower bracket competition; 32nd place against the lowest qualifier, 33rd place against the second lowest qualifier and so on to battle for the 32nd bracket spot. Competitors tied with zero scores will be placed in order based on their competitor numbers. The winner of the lower bracket competition will gain the 32nd spot in the upper bracket competition against the top qualifier) 

COMPETITION RULES

9. TANDEM BATTLES

(Single Bracket Elimination)

1. Competitors will be bracketed according to their qualifying scores

2. Each battle will consist of two (2) runs. Each driver will alternate a lead and a chase run. The first driver in the bracketed battle will lead first

3. Runs will be judged based off line, angle and style guidelines listed above and an advantage will be given to one driver based on their performance

4. One driver will be determined a winner after each round, the losing driver will be eliminated from the competition

5. If at the end of the round the judges determine a neutral advantage between the two drives, a One More Time (OMT) may be called to run a second battle to determine a winner

6. Runs will be limited to x2 OMT (One More Time). On the second OMT, replays will be reviewed to analyze mistakes of drivers in order to determine a winner for respect of competition and judges time

7. Tuning electronics during or between runs is prohibited

8. If a mechanical failure occurs (dead battery, damaged parts, other electronics failure, etc.) during a run, a zero score will be given for that run. One (1) competition 5-minute timeout will be given to drivers to fix a mechanical failure during or after a run. If the failure is not fixed within the 5 minutes, the driver will forfeit the run or next battle

9. The losing drivers of the Top 4 battles will battle each other for 3rd place. The winners of the Top 4 battles will battle each other for 1st and 2nd place

10. Final judged tandem results may be contested at the end of the run only. If the run advances and no contest is made, a contest will not be permitted. Please state your contest at the end of the judged run and replay footage will be reviewed and shown to the driver on request. Only the contesting driver may contest the judges call for that current run. No other persons may contest on behalf of the driver. 

11. Please do not harass the judges or fellow competitors about any previously made calls. Harassment may result in disqualification of the round and a ban from future rounds or the entire series. 

12. Outside video footage may not be brought up for any contests. Only official streamed or replay footage will be used for review

13. Judges may not participate in the competition bracket

10. LEAD CAR OBJECTIVES

1. Lead car must leave on the green light and not at any time before

2. Lead car must go around any start lines or cones at the start of the run. If a start cone is knocked over by the lead or chase car, a restart will be required via judge’s call. Start cone may be knocked down three times by a driver on a start before a zero score is given for the run for the offending driver

3. If the lead or chase car crashes, spins out or contacts a wall or barrier before the starting line judges may call a restart if they feel it will affect the run. If a crash or contact occurs after the starting line, the score will be a zero for the offending driver

4. Lead car should adhere to the qualifying line and angle, passing through all judged zones, clipping points and touch-and-go points at an acceptable lead run angle

5. Lead a clean and fluid run without driving erratically or without any major bobbles that gives the chase car an unfollowable lead line

6. If the lead car produces an unreasonable gap between them and the chase car, judges will review the lead car’s line to determine if lead car was under-angling or shallowing the qualifying line to gain proximity over chase car

7. Lead car may not hit any clipping cones or zero

11. CHASE CAR OBJECTIVES

1. Chase car can leave any time before green light but must not pass the lead car or impede their line and entry into the first turn

2. If a start cone is knocked over by the lead or chase car, a restart will be required via judge’s call. Start cone may be knocked down three times by a driver on a start before a zero score is given for the run for the offending driver

3. If the lead or chase car crashes, spins out or contacts a wall or barrier before the starting line judges may call a restart if they feel it will affect the run. If a crash or contact occurs after the starting line, the score will be a zero for the offending driver

4. Chase car may not contact lead car during initiation or transition that leads to a deviation in the lead car’s line or chase car will be found at fault for the collision

5. Chase must not impede the lead car’s transitions or line 

6. Chase car must follow the lead with good proximity [within a one (1) car gap] while matching lead car angle and line without excessive line shallowing to maintain proximity 

7. Maintain a smooth chase run without driving erratically or without any major bobbles