Here's the full list of rules, changes are highlighted in italics:
- The series will now run as the direct feeder series of ARWS (formerly F1RWRS) which means that the top 5 drivers of the series will contribute towards their ARWS team's budget (if they sign for one) as outlined in the ARWS rules.
- A team can be run by any registered user of the GPRejects.com forum, and each team can consist of one or two cars. Apart from short-term agreements where a user controls someone else's team for the duration of his/her abscence from the forum, each user can only control one team at any given time.
- Single engine model (3.5L V8) to make driver talent more important. Engine rebadging is gone, so you either run with a Cosworth or don't run at all.
- The weekend consists of two semifinal heats with 21 cars each (42 entries per race weekend in total), with the top 14 of each heat continuing into the feature final (28 total). Cars with uneven numbers are in Heat 1, and cars with even numbers are in Heat 2. If less than 14 cars finish in a heat race, then more cars from the other heat are accepted into the final. If the combined total is still less than 28, then the cars that completed the farthest distance without actually finishing qualify as well.
- Points system: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for the seminfinal heats, with one extra point each for the pole position and fastest lap. 20-14-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 for the feature final, with two extra points each for pole position and fastest lap.
- Driver changes limited to five per team per season, with one additional change only given in case of injuries and exclusions. So be careful to not overrun your limit with voluntary driver changes. One-car teams have more freedom in this to encourage users to run them and thus hopefully open more team spots. Exceeding the limit will lead to a team penalty ranging from reduced performance to exclusions, with each case reviewed separatedly.
- Full-time AR 3.5 drivers are not permitted to run in another series, apart from very temporary replacements. In other words, double-dutying is banned. This is in line with what many other series adopted in 2017.
- Driver age limit of 16 to 30 years, i.e. drivers born earlier than 1988 and later than 2002 cannot take part in the 2018 season. For this purpose the DOB of every driver must be entered during the entry process.
- Driver experience rules are tightened. Drivers are now ineligible for AutoReject 3.5 if they've entered more than 24 or started more than 16 F1RWRS/ARWS races, or started more than 20 F1 races. Any combination of these three that exceeds 24 also makes a driver ineligible.
- A champion of the series may not return for another season. This also concerns champions from the previous two incarnations of the series (RoLFS and IFRC). This is to prevent one driver dominating too much.
- To help reduce the length of the waiting list, team activity checks will be conducted once every three weekends with a warning given to all inactive team owners, and if the team owner has shown no interest towards the series within five weekends from the start of the season the team will be immediatedly booted out unless the team owner has specified a very good reason for his/her absence elsewhere on the forum or on IRC.
The entry process will be in two parts. First, I'm taking in entries for the Africa Cup and preliminary entries for the regular season. By default every 2017 team will continue, but after the deadline of 16th August 00:00 UTC any inactive teams are permanently removed from the entry list and the affected users can only rejoin through the waiting list. Then, once the 2018 season is actually about to start, I'll start a second round of entry confirmations to ensure no-one has gone AWOL in the meantime. Once that is done and possible replacements are drafted from the entry list, the season can start.
Entry list for the 2018 AutoReject 3.5 season
Aeroracing Engineering has been removed from the list following reports that Phoenix has left the forums with immediate effect. MinardiFan and RealRacingRoots have agreed to swap their entries in F2 and AR 3.5 due to the canon restructure. The drivers listed here are mainly based on what is listed on the wiki, so the information might not be entirely accurate. When entering, tell me if you are going to run one or two cars. Race numbers will be confirmed after the first deadline when I know how many cars are still hanging about.
Teams coloured in red are unconfirmed.
Falik Arrows (NGR, SuperAguri)
#1: Kenan Ardaoglu (GER)
#2: Hwok Kwol-Cho (KOR) / Michael Robertson (AUS)
National Jones Ford Juniors (GBR, AndreaModa)
#3: Luke Gilson-Clarke (FLK)
#4: James Jones (GBR)
RonDen Racing Engineering (BEL, This)
#5: Chuck Barrett (USA) / Justin Case (CAN)
#6: Tommi Hämäläinen (FIN)
Voeckler Grand Prix Engineering (FRA, Biscione)
#7: Mineiro (BRA) / Aimée Gauthier (FRA)
#8: Aimée Gauthier (FRA) / Mineiro (BRA)
Écurie Prenois (FRA, pi314159)
#9: Gary Pacer (CAN)
#10: Roger Ibe (PHI)
Ansett Australia Racing (AUS, The Masked Lapwing)
#11: Manon Blanchett (FRA)
#12: Iakopo Fuamatu (SAM)
Airwaves Nebula Grand Prix (FRA, Ataxia)
#13: Nathanael Cameron (GBR)
#14: Nino Barlini (ITA)
Schröder (GER, Backmarker)
#15: Thomas Butler (GBR)
#16: James Wilmington (CAN)
Chris Short Racing (GBR, RonDenisDeletraz)
#17: Pablo Galaz (MEX) / Alessandro Marchesi (ITA)
#18: Volker Scrattenheim (GER)
Minarae (ITA, Aerond)
#19: Andrea Massini (ITA) / Mitchell Macklin (AUS)
#20: Thomas Yorke (GBR)
De Friis Motorsport (NED, Vepe)
#21: Björn Ekdal (SWE)
#22: Urmas Pärn (EST)
Simpson Motorsports (AUS, MinardiFan95)
#23: Michael Robertson (AUS) / Rick Simpson (AUS)
#24: Daniela Anger (SUI)
Euromotor International (EUR, FantometteBR)
#27: Darko Kuzmanovic (MNE)
#28: Fredson Santos (CPV)
RUF Blokkmonsta Motorsport (GER, CaptainGetz12)
#29: Jordan Davies (GBR)
#30: Anu Võsu (EST)
Clockwork Racing (USA, Cynon)
#31: Silvia Renaldi (ITA)
#32: Verna Klien (AUT) / TBA (TBA)
Takagi Racing Enterprises (JPN, FMecha)
#33: Jerry de Boer (USA)
#34: Simon Garfünkel (LIE)
Equipe Gauthier (FRA, Salamander)
#35: Rick Simpson (AUS)
#36: Laurent Seron (BEL)
ICE-3 Racing (GER, Rated)
#37: Jari Lappalainen (FIN)
#38: Mathilde Thybes (FRA)
Peak Aeroracing Engineering (GBR, V8fan12)
#39: Jorge Álvarez Torrente (ESP)
#40: Pierre St. Laurent (CAN) / Jack Christopherson Jr. (GBR)
Rob Lomas Racing (GBR, roblomas52)
#41: Benoît Voeckler (FRA)
#42: Eduardo Armando (PAN)
Calendar can be found here.
Livery and helmet templates.
Waiting list (last updated 2nd June 2016)
1. Hermann95 (applied on 26th April 2014)
2. Normal32 (applied on 13 July 2014)
3. East Londoner (applied on 29th December 2014)
4. Simtek (applied on 14th July 2015)
5. AdrianBelmonte_ (applied on 15th July 2015)
6. Miguel98 (applied on 11th May 2016)
7. Pinkd56 (applied on 18th May 2016)
8. alg2159 (applied on 18th May 2016)
9. Klon (applied on 2nd June 2016)
10. peteroli34 (applied on 31st August 2016)
(unless Cynon wants to renew her contract)
