Welcome to the Crux Cup 2953. Whether you are here to race, stream, officiate or spectate, it is your support that keeps the Star Citizen community racing events healthy and active. Have fun, be kind to each other and thank you for your interest in the Crux Cup.

—EchoBit
ARC Member

This racing guide is intended to provide racers and race officials a standard set of technical regulations which will be adhered to. The term race official refers to race officers, checkpoint observers, race timers, service crew, rescue crew, security and camera operators.

1. Quick Start

The Crux Cup 2953 race is located at Orison city, Crusader.

It is two 1 hour endurance races made up of 3 racing classes each.

There are six Classes you can enter:

Race 1, Group A

  • ACRUX (Herald only)
  • AX2 (350r, P-72 and M50 only)
  • AX3 (Mustang Gamma/Omega and Razor Base/EX/LX only)

Race 2, Group B

  • OPEN (Any other ship not in a dedicated racing class)
  • AURORA (Aurora only)
  • HEAVY (See allowed ship list)

You can fly solo or in a team of 2 racers.

The Crux Cup has a detailed set of Official Rules that must be followed by all participants.

Incidents are observed and recorded by Race Officials and may give you Penalties.

To help you plan, these are the sequence of events for a Crux Cup race.

1.1 T-1 hour, Set Your Spawn and Attend Event Briefing

Arrive 1 hour early to the race and have your regeneration point set to a nearby location in the game such as Orison Hospital, CRU-L1 Clinic or Grim Hex Clinic.

The race director will brief the racers and officials on what is expected during the event and will take last minute questions you have on Discord.

At this point you will be given your starting grid position over Discord. If you arrive later than this point in the event you will not be granted entry to the race.

1.2 T-45 minutes, Building the Star Citizen Party

Be ready to receive your party invite from the race director in the main menu of Star Citizen.

1.3 T-30 minutes, Party Launch

30 minutes before the race begins, or earlier if all participants are in the Star Citizen party, the race director will launch everyone into the game. All racers must make their way as quickly as possible to the starting grid at Milford Industrial Platform.

1.4 T-10 minutes, Formation Lap

10 minutes before the race begins, the race director and safety ship will coordinate the start of the formation lap to give racers a flying start. When the race director says "Green Flag", your speed can be unrestricted and the race begins.

1.5 T-0, Race Start

The endurance race will go for 1 hour.

1.6 T+1 hour, Race End

Once exactly 1 hour has passed on the race timer, the overall race leader will set the final lap for the race. This is known as the "White Flag" lap.

If you have finished your race, and there is a camera at the residential apartments on the left (west) side of Caplan’s finish line, feel free to buzz the tower.

2. Orison City

2.1 Green Circle Habitation

Located at Cloudview Center via the shuttle line, Green Circle Habitation offers accommodation to all participating in the Crux Cup 2953 at discounted rates. It is recommended all staff and racers make Green Circle Habitation their staying place of choice for the event.

2.2 Orison Hospital

Located at Cloudview Center via the shuttle line, Orison Hospital is at the ready to service all participants of the Crux Cup 2953 with extra resources and rescue ships being brought in to support the event.

2.3 Cousin Crows

Located at Providence Industrial Platform via the shuttle line, Cousin Crows is a proud sponsor of the Crux Cup 2953. With a proven track record in providing the empire’s best ship services, Cousin Crows is the number one choice for ship modification and customisation.

2.4 Traveler Rentals

Located at August Dunlow Spaceport via the shuttle line, Traveler Rentals are providing an excellent selection of racing spaceships for the Crux Cup 2953. It is highly encouraged to rent a ship if you do not own one, or even to have a spare for a class you would like to participate in. While rental ships cannot be customized due to the rental agreement you sign with Traveler Rentals, they are still just as good as a similar ship in the hands of a skilled pilot.

  • Aurora ES - 2482 UEC/1 day
  • Mustang Alpha - 5028 UEC/1 day
  • Avenger - 15712 UEC/1 day
  • Mustang Gamma - 18825 UEC/1 day
  • Arrow - 19446 UEC/1 day
  • 300i - 23016 UEC/1 day

3. Official Rules

All racers are expected to have read and understand the technical regulations of the event. Questions regarding the regulations should be presented to the race officials before the event.

3.1 Classes

You must decide on a race class to participate in. All ships can be modified without restriction.

3.1.1 ACRUX

The ACRUX class is limited to the Drake Herald only, signing up to this class means you’re serious about competing for the fastest lap times in this ship and must meet a 3 minute 30 second lap time minimum during a practice or qualifying session. ACRUX racers are considered the fastest in the empire and are expected to have highly optimized setups and ship modifications.

3.1.2 AX2

The AX2 class is a dedicated racer ship class with a limited selection of ships, signing up to this class means you're serious about competing for the fastest lap times in these ships and must meet a 4 minute 30 second lap time minimum during a practice or qualifying session. AX2 racers are considered the fastest in the empire and are expected to have highly optimized setups and ship modifications.

AX2 Class Whitelist

  • Kruger Intergalactic P-72 Archimedes
  • Origin 350r
  • Origin M50

3.1.3 AX3

The AX3 class is a dedicated racer ship class with a limited selection of ships, signing up to this class means you’re serious about competing for the fastest lap times in these ships and must meet a 5 minute 30 second lap time minimum during a practice or qualifying session. AX3 racers are considered the fastest in the empire and are expected to have highly optimized setups and ship modifications.

AX3 Class Whitelist

  • Consolidated Outland Mustang Gamma
  • Consolidated Outland Mustang Omega
  • MISC Razor
  • MISC Razor EX
  • MISC Razor LX

3.1.4 OPEN

The OPEN class accepts all other ships that are not in dedicated racing classes, the only requirement is that the ship must be able to complete at least one lap of the track under its own power. OPEN class racers are not expected to be the fastest, it is a great opportunity for anyone that just wants to fly something fun around the track and set some unique track records.

3.1.5 HEAVY

The HEAVY class is debuting this 2953, the brand new class invites all industry, large and capital ship pilots to compete to become the first champion of their class.

HEAVY Class Whitelist

  • Aegis Hammerhead
  • Aegis Idris-M
  • Aegis Reclaimer
  • Anvil Carrack
  • Anvil Valkyrie
  • Anvil Valkyrie Liberator Edition
  • ARGO Mole
  • ARGO Mole Talus Edition
  • ARGO Mole Carbon Edition
  • ARGO MPUV Cargo
  • ARGO MPUV Personnel
  • ARGO Raft
  • Crusader Hercules A2
  • Crusader Hercules C2
  • Crusader Hercules M2
  • Drake Caterpillar
  • Drake Caterpillar Pirate
  • Drake Corsair
  • Drake Cutter
  • Drake Vulture
  • MISC Freelancer DUR
  • MISC Freelancer MIS
  • MISC Hull A
  • MISC Prospector
  • MISC Starfarer
  • MISC Starfarer Gemini
  • Origin 600i Exploration
  • Origin 600i Touring
  • Origin 890 Jump

3.1.6 AURORA

The AURORA class is restricted to RSI Aurora ES/CL/MR/LX/LN model ships only. The AURORA class is competitive in its own right making it a good choice for anyone that enjoys the challenge of flying the same speed as other racers. Most citizens took their first spaceflight in the RSI Aurora, it is recommended for those new to ship racing.

3.2 Location

The Crux Cup 2953 is held at the Ahumahi Ring, a fan made race track set around the floating gas giant city of Orison, Crusader, Stanton system. It will be held on the latest LIVE patch of Star Citizen. The race will be launched in the AUS (Australia) region. All participants are advised to land at Orison, Crusader on an Australian server to minimize issues with spawning into a bad location.

3.3 Ahumahi Ring

The Ahumahi Ring is made up of 4 mandatory tunnels under Caplan, Providence, Shimura and Milford Industrial Platforms. Racers must fly through all tunnel archways underneath the industrial platforms in the above order and will be observed by race officers. If you crash inside the tunnel and survive, look for racing traffic, safely rejoin the track when all traffic has passed and continue on until the race officer observing the mandatory tunnel issues you a penalty that you must complete on your next lap.

3.3.1 Track Map

3.4 Type

Races in the persistent universe have opened new possibilities for everyone. The race type for Crux Cup 2953 will be an endurance race. Endurance races will make use of a nearby spaceport to refuel your ship mid-race and introduce pit strategy to your laps.

Endurance races will be multi-class where 3 classes race together on the track at the same time. Classes will be positioned on the starting grid from fastest at the front to slowest at the back.

3.5 Duration

The endurance race duration will be 1 hour. Due to the nature of traversing Star Citizen, arrive 1 hour early to your race to ensure you do not miss the start. The overall leader of the race will set the final lap for the race once 1 hour on the official race timer has passed and the race director calls "White Flag".

3.6 Capacity

Due to the 110 player per server limit, races in the persistent universe will consist of the following party composition.

  • 30x racer slots.
  • The rest will be filled with race officers, service crew, rescue crew, camera operators and security.

Should there be more than 30 racers signed up to a single race or sudden technical issues, the race director may announce two or more separate overflow race events as needed.

3.7 Teams

Race teams are allowed and encouraged to give racers a better chance at surviving through a game crash or in-game crash. 2 racers maximum make a team. All team members must be present on the track for the race in a racing ship of their own and must race in the same racing class. All racers, even if solo, must have decided on a racing team name.

3.8 Starting Grid Position

Multiple practice sessions will be held and one qualifying session will be held before the official race. Placing a time in the qualifying session will give you top priority in your class for grid starting placement. Placing a time in a practice session will give you secondary priority in your class for grid starting placement. Placing no time will give you the lowest priority.

3.8.1 Class Group A - Starting Grid Class Order & Priority

  1. ACRUX (Herald Ships)
    1. Set a Qualifying Time
    2. Set a Practice Time
    3. No Time Set
  2. AX2 (350r/P-72/M50 Ships)
    1. Set a Qualifying Time
    2. Set a Practice Time
    3. No Time Set
  3. AX3 (Mustang Gamma/Omega and Razor/EX/LX Ships)
    1. Set a Qualifying Time
    2. Set a Practice Time
    3. No Time Set

3.8.1 Class Group B - Starting Grid Class Order & Priority

  1. OPEN (Varying Ships)
    1. Set a Qualifying Time
    2. Set a Practice Time
    3. No Time Set
  2. HEAVY (Industrial, Large/Capital Ships)
    1. Set a Qualifying Time
    2. Set a Practice Time
    3. No Time Set
  3. AURORA (RSI Aurora model craft only)
    1. Set a Qualifying Time
    2. Set a Practice Time
    3. No Time Set

3.9 Flying

Racers must make every reasonable effort to act safely on the track at all times, cause no intentional collisions and may not leave the track without a justifiable reason. Smaller ships must allow larger ships to maintain their racing line and may pass when it is safe to do so.

In the event of a major crash of the racers, the safety ship may be called out onto the track by the race director. The race director will call "Yellow Flag" which means all ships must reduce their speed to 150m/s and overtaking is prohibited due to danger on the track. All racers must fly in single file formation to maintain positions.

Race officers, checkpoint observers, race timers, service crew, rescue crew, security and camera operators must stay clear of the path of the racers.

All participants are required to avoid causing incidents. Incidents will be observed and recorded by the race officers, see section Incidents for more details.

In the event of your character’s death during the race, you may respawn and return to the Orison spaceport to rejoin the race. You must retrieve the same model of ship you started the race with and then inform the race director when you are flight ready as outlined in incident: Ship Destroyed.

3.10 Starting Formation Lap

The race will begin by using a formation lap to give racers a flying start. Racers will be delivered to the start line by a leading safety ship piloted by a race officer. When racers are in their designated grid position and race officials are ready to start, the safety ship will begin a partial lap starting at Milford tunnel and guide all racers at a fixed speed of 150m/s.

Racers will be 2 ships flying abreast on the left and right wing of the safety ship unless they are large to capital sized ships. The distance you must maintain from the ship in front of you is 200 meters.

The safety ship will break off just before the beginning of Caplan tunnel and the race director will ask all ships to maintain course through Caplan’s tunnel. When the race director says "Green Flag", your speed can be unrestricted and the race begins.

3.11 Pits

You must call your own hangar every time you want to pit. You may wish to have a key bound for ATC to make it easier to call a hangar.

You must land inside your hangar when you are ready to leave and then leave the hangar immediately as the doors begin to close to reset the hangar for the next racer. Flying away from a hangar without landing can result in a Stop Go penalty because it is important to reset the hangar for the next racer to use.

3.12 Classifications

The ship placed first will be the one having covered the scheduled distance in the shortest time, or, where appropriate, passed the Caplan finish line in the lead at the end of 1 hour while on their white flag lap.

All ships will be classified taking into account the number of complete laps they have covered, and for those which have completed the same number of laps, the order in which they crossed the Caplan finish line.

Classifications will appear on the live standings after the race director has approved it, or they will be published at the end of the race.

Live classifications include: (DNS) Did Not Start, (DNF) Did Not Finish and (DSQ) Disqualified.

3.13 Communications

Simply being part of the Crux Cup Discord is enough to participate, the only requirement is to be able to listen to race officer instructions during the race and respond to mentions in Discord chat before and after the race.

Race officers will ensure all participating racers are on their in-game friend list before the event begins. 30 minutes before the event begins the race director will add you to their party and launch everyone participating in a new server.

The race voice channel will enforce Push-To-Talk. When the race has begun, voice priority must be given to the race officers. Racers may briefly respond to the race officers, but should otherwise remain polite and respectful among the combined official and racer voice channel.

Should racers want their own team voice channel, we recommend layering in an additional VoIP application such as your mobile phone, Discord alt accounts, Guilded, TeamSpeak or Mumble to be running at the same time with separate bindings.

Unlimited use Crux Cup Discord invite link: https://discord.gg/h2feszV

3.14 Flag System

The following flag callouts are utilized by the race director:

  • "Green Flag"
    Normal racing conditions apply. A green flag is also called at the start of a race.
  • "Yellow Flag"
    The safety ship is deployed, overtaking is prohibited due to danger on the track. All ships must reduce speed to 150m/s.
  • "Red Flag"
    Race suspended or stopped due to imminent danger to competitors or spectators, or due to severe technical difficulties.
  • "White Flag"
    The overall race leader has set the final lap, remaining racers must cross the finish line and end the race.
  • "Checkered Flag"
    The overall race leader has finished their final lap, remaining racers crossing the finish line complete their race too.
  • "Black Flag"
    A racer and their team is disqualified and must return to pits immediately.

3.15 Qualifying

The qualifying race will match the format of the official race with the following additions:

  1. Your fastest lap in the qualifying race will set your qualifying time.
  2. You can join the session midrace, advise the race director to be guided in.
  3. Setting a qualifying time will lock you into your chosen class and ship for the official race.
  4. You can request to change your ship and class, but you will be put at the back of all other qualified ships in that class.
  5. If you attend the qualifying session, but are unable to place a time you will still gain a qualified priority starting grid position in the back of all other qualified ships in that class.
  6. If a racer incurs a penalty during this session, an additional penalty of grid placement reduction can be applied at the discretion of the race director.
  7. You may give the race organizer an SCR.gg submission, it will count as a practice race time.

4. Incidents

Incidents will be reviewed through the combined race official video footage, streamed footage and other material evidence and will be judged by the race director and race officers.

We encourage racers to record their own footage as it will be helpful in determining how desync and other issues affected the incident, but it’s not mandatory.

In the event of any incident that prompts you to press criminal charges, do not press charges against anyone in the event.

4.1 Types of Incidents

4.1.1 Incorrect Starting Location

Any of the penalties will be imposed on any racer who is judged to have broken the formation lap before the "Green Flag" signal from the race director is given.

4.1.2 Off Track

The track limit is defined on the track map as the "white line". The track also includes the pit lane defined as the "red line". A racer is defined to have left the track limits if:

  1. The race director deems that the racer has strayed too far from the course.
  2. The race director or race officiers are unable to locate the racer on the course.
  3. The racer flies into the infield section of the track.
  4. The racer does not maintain the specified line into the pit lane.

In the event of the above, the race director or an officer will issue a warning to the racer and direct the racer to rejoin the track limits. Continued violations may result in further penalties at the discretion of the race director and the officers. Details of penalties available to the race director to issue are noted in the penalties section.

4.1.3 Skipping Track

Racers are expected to navigate the course described by the track map. Each mandatory tunnel must be navigated through end to end in the order specified below:

  1. Caplan (start line/finish line)
  2. Providence
  3. Shimura
  4. Milford

To pass each of these tunnels, racers must fly through all the archways located underneath the industrial platforms. Failure to do so can result in the following penalties being issued by the race directors and their officers:

  1. A warning to the racer.
  2. The racer will be directed to repeat the checkpoint again and only after safely rejoining the track when other racing traffic has passed.
  3. The racer will be issued with a "pit lane pass through" which means they must serve extra time using the pit lane on their next pass of Caplan.
  4. Continued violations may result in further penalties at the discretion of the race director and the officers. Details of penalties available to the race director to issue are noted in the penalties section.

4.1.4 Ship Collision

Racers are expected to fly with care and consideration for other racers. All classes are expected to give enough room to other ships on the racing line.

Please avoid the following:

  1. Not allowing other racers sufficient space to maintain their racing line.
  2. Racing in a manner which forces others into the physical barriers on the track, referred to as squeezing.
  3. Intentionally colliding with other racers.
  4. Maneuvering your ship in such a manner to block the racing line to intentionally force a collision.
  5. Pressing criminal charges against anyone in the race (use right bracket only).

Penalties for such actions will be at the discretion of the race director and will depend on the severity of the incident in question. Details of penalties available to the race director to issue are noted in the penalties section.

4.1.5 Ship Destroyed

During the race, an accident may result in your ship being destroyed. In such an event, you will be able to rejoin the race as long as you can respawn your ship. The ship you respawn must be the same as the ship you were previously racing.

When rejoining the race, the racer must do the following:

  • Notify the race director that they have respawned and are ready to rejoin. The race director will provide clearance.
  • The racer is to rejoin the race by flying through Caplan tunnel when safe to do so. Other racers should not be around when doing so.

This will count as a completed lap of the previous lap the racer was on.

If you are unable to spawn your ship and are unable to continue (or do not wish to continue) please inform the race director and you will be marked as (DNF) Did Not Finish. If the ship was destroyed as part of an illegal ship collision, penalties will be given to the offending ship at the discretion of the race director and race officers.

4.2 Reporting of Incidents

Racers and officials are able to report race incidents to the race director which may have breached the rules of the event or created an incident. Reporting during the event should follow this format:

  1. The pilot should communicate the incident in either the in-game party chat or in the incident reporting channel in the Crux Cup discord.
  2. The report should start with the report ship / team / pilot who is reporting the incident then followed by the offending ship / team / pilot and nature of the incident and if possible the location of the incident and any of your own recorded footage (e.g. Team A, reports Team B for causing an intentional accident at the Caplan tunnel).

Incidents are assessed by the race director and officers. Incidents will be assessed during the race and an appropriate action will be taken (details noted in the penalties section). Incidents can also be reviewed after the event. If penalties are applied for these incidents, a time penalty will be imposed on the racer’s final race time.

If it is determined by the officials that no incident occurred or if there is a lack of evidence regarding the incident, no action will be taken.

A log of reported incidents and the actions taken will be made available after the race.

Decisions made by the race director during the race are final and must be followed by the affected participants. If not followed, additional penalties including disqualification can be applied.

Incidents that are the result of servers (desync) are unfortunately not able to be easily addressed and will be seen as a racing incident.

4.3 Penalties

The following penalties are available to the race director and officers. These penalties can be applied at their discretion.

4.3.1 Warning

A racer can be warned regarding their actions and reminded of the rules. If the racer receives multiple warnings, additional penalties can be applied. They are usually caused by small errors or unintentional breaches of the rules.

4.3.2 Repeat Checkpoint

Issued when a racer has skipped a mandatory checkpoint such as a tunnel archway. If issued significantly after the mandatory checkpoint has been passed the racer will be asked to pass through the entire checkpoint twice (in a circle on the inside of the circuit). If unable to be completed before the end of the race an appropriate time penalty per class will be applied to the racer’s finishing time.

4.3.3 Pit Lane Pass Through

The racer will be asked to to pass through the pit line and not make a pit stop. If unable to be completed before the end of the race an appropriate time penalty per class will be applied to the racer’s finishing time.

4.3.4 Stop Go Penalty

The racer will be directed to hold position above the spaceport pits and will only be allowed to continue the race on the direction of the race director or a race officer. Time for this penalty will be determined by the nature of the incident and at the discretion of the officials.

4.3.5 Disqualification

Only used as a last resort. If a racer has shown a complete disregard for the rules they will be issued with a disqualification (DSQ).

4.4 Server Incidents

In the event of a server crash (30000 Error or "30K") during the race, the race director will call "Red Flag" and the race will be restarted from scratch based on qualifying/practice times. Race restarts due to 30Ks are limited to 3. If the race 30Ks for a third time, the current race will be rescheduled for another time.

5. Race Officials

The race official team will be made of the following composition:

  • 1x Race Director
    Above Track Position/Time Observer
  • 5x Race Officers
    Caplan Position/Time & Mandatory Tunnel Observer
    Providence Mandatory Tunnel Observer
    Shimura Mandatory Tunnel Observer
    Milford Mandatory Tunnel Observer
    Spaceport Pit Observer & Pit Hangar Management
  • 4x Race Camera Operators
    Dedicated Streamers, Shoutcasters
  • 6x Service Crew
    Starfarer Pit Crew Teams
  • 4x Rescue Crew
    SRV Ship Tractor Operators
  • 10x Security
    Fighter and Multi-Crew Race Defense Crew

In addition to this, a couple VoIP only race official helpers will assist with individual technical issues, lengthy guidance and moderation of the main event channels.

5.1 Record of Positions and Times

A minimum of two race officials must video record the event to help track racer positions.

  1. A view of the entire track and pits from above to observe/record party markers.
  2. On the west side of Caplan’s start/finish line to record the line and tunnel itself.

5.2 Record of Incidents

Four race officers are required to video record the remaining industrial platforms Providence, Shimura, Milford and the Spaceport Pits.

5.3 Pit Hangar Management

The Spaceport Pit Observer will be on the lookout for racers that do not land before leaving the spaceport hangars to reset them.

5.4 Service Crew

Logistical and service minded players may volunteer for the service crew role and must provide unbiased refuelling service to racers only in the fastest time possible.

Refueling Pit Crew must sign up together as a team of two with one of them owning a MISC Starfarer. Three Starfarers maximum are allowed in the field at one time and must park hovering on the North West corner of Caplan Tunnel away from the racing line and underneath the overhanging sign beam.

5.5 Rescue Crew

Rescue and service minded players may volunteer for the rescue crew role and must provide unbiased ship tractor rescue service in the fastest response time possible and return ships to safety.

Ship Tractor Crew sign up as solo ship operators that must own an ARGO SRV. Four SRV maximum are allowed in the event at once time and must only fly around the track limits out of the way of the racing line.

5.6 Security

Combat and defense minded players may volunteer for the security role and must provide radar intelligence to each other and communications with unauthorized players entering the event space. They must also bring top tier PvP skill and combat meta optimized spacecraft.

5.7 Role Go/No Go Check

While it is our intention to include new roles for the event such as Starfarers to refuel racers and SRVs to rescue out of fuel racers, there will be a go/no go check before the race begins to determine if their gameplay mechanics are fit for service in the race. If volunteer teams are given the no go signal, they will still be invited into their designated role positions as a presence in the race itself for the experience and show of readiness.