ORLEN TROPHY – Polish Cup OFF-ROAD PL 2006 - Rules

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. ORLEN TROPHY – Polish Cup OFF-ROAD PL 2006 is a series of sport and cross-country driving events. Its goal is to provide the arena for the direct challenge for the best ‘off-road’ competitors on Poland and thus to select the best teams and cars of 2006 season.
ORLEN TROPHY – Polish Cup OFF-ROAD PL 2006 is organized by OFF-ROAD PL s.j, the publisher of monthly journal "OFF-ROAD PL - Magazyn 4x4". The organizer is select to select three different events as the rounds of the trophy challenge.

2. All rounds shall be governed by the rules of ORLEN TROPHY – Polish Cup OFF-ROAD PL 2006. The additional rules defined by the round organiser are also allowed provided that they are not contrary to the trophy rules or do not refer to competitors not classified in the trophy and do not affect the competition and classification of the trophy.

3. ORLEN TROPHY – Polish Cup OFF-ROAD PL 2006 consists of the following rounds:
I Bojanów (26th-28th of May 2006)
II Morąg (10th-12th of August 2006)
III Kraków (21nd-23th of September 2006)

ROUND ORGANISATION

4. Any round consists of at least one stage. The Stage consists of a route, a test drive and a so-called zone.

5. The route drive and driving in test drive are executed according to navigation notes or special limiters (bands). The round organiser may introduce additional navigation forms (e.g. GPS co-ordinates), however, these cannot replace navigation notes.

6. The distances in navigation notes are given with the accuracy of 10m. Every team shall receive the proper navigation notes before the start of the round.

7. Two types of limiters are defined, which are described in navigation notes as “driving by bands” and “driving between bands,” i.e. a test drive.

8. In every stage there are drive checkpoints (PKP) and test drive checkpoints (PKPP), which are marked in navigation notes. The teams are obliged to pass PKPs and PKPPs. PKP or PKPP passing shall mean stamping the route card or any other confirmation provided by the rounds organiser. Tearing off or any other destruction of the stamp is not allowed under pain of disqualification.

9. Test drives are performed under the supervision of the judge. The teams may abandon the test drive, provided that the relevant judge has been notified of the fact, they are, however, expected to continue the drive since the test drive final point or the point chosen by the judge, they are also obliged to observe any recommendations of the judge regarding the circumvention of the test drive route.

10. In case of the test drive route blockage a judge is entitled to demand of the incoming participants to clear the route. Subsequently, the test drive shall be continued in the order of appearance of the participants.

11. Time measuring shall be switched off at the time of entering the zone and switched on at the time of leaving the zone. Regulations which refer to the route are not in force in the zone. Only one entry into the zone is allowed. The zone may be left at any time, limited only with the time of closing the zone. Leaving the stage start is equivalent to commencing the stage; entering the stage finish is equivalent with completing the stage.

12. From start to finish (with exclusion of the zone), any external help is not allowed. Mutual help among competitors is allowed. Car service operations in the route by service staff is forbidden (with exclusion of the zone).

POINTS AND TROPHY CLASSIFICATION

13. The classification in the 2006 shall be divided into two groups - Extreme and Adventure. The route for Adventure group shall have lower difficulty level.

14. The general classification combines the best results of the driver from three rounds. The results are represented by points corresponding to the location in classification in the given rounds. The total number of points from three rounds is taken into account in the general (final) classification. If a driver competes in both groups, he/she is qualified separately in each group. In one round a driver may compete only within one group.

15. The following point classification is used in each of the rounds:

PLACE POINTS
1 100
2 88
3 77
4 67
5 58
6 50
7 43
8 37
9 32
10 28
11 25
12 23
13 22
14 21
15 20
16 19
17 18
18 17
19 16
20 15
21 14
22 13
23 12
24 11
25 10
26 9
27 8
28 7
29 6
30 and lower 5

16. Only these teams will be classified, which submit the sealed, legible route card in the finish before the time set for closing the finish. If a team cannot fulfill the requirement, it must:
- inform the organiser of the fact, submitting the location (according to the navigation notes),
- give the reason for the failure to comply with the regulation,
- submit relevant explanation of the situation at the demand of the organiser before the closing time. On the basis of the above information the organiser selects the individual closing time and the way of submitting the card.

17. Teams are classified according to the sum of drive times between start and finish in all the stages plus any possible penalties” the lower sum, the higher location in the classification. Time is counted with the accuracy of 1 minute, according to the official time in the round clock.

18. Penalties constitute the time item equivalent defined by the round organiser for every missing PKP or PKPP confirmation in the route card.

19. The tariff means the time, penalties included, of the worst drive classified before closing the drive finish, plus 30%.

20. The tariff is calculated in case when the team does not reach the stage finish before the finish is closed. In some cases the organiser is entitled to change the closing time and the location of the finish line.

21. The number of confirmed PKPs and PKPPs shall decide about the order of team locations with tariff: the more confirmations, the higher location in the classification of the team with the tariff.

22. If different teams achieve the same position in the classification, the arithmetical average of points for consecutive positions in the classification is granted, and the position is awarded ex-equo.

23. Only the driver is included in the trophy classification. The trophy organiser manages a separate ranking for pilots and cars.

24. During one round, the organiser does not allow for changing cars or pilots. Changing cars or pilots during successive rounds is allowed..

TECHNICAL CONDITIONS

25. Vehicles of all makes and types are allowed, with the total weight up to 3500kg according to the registration card. All vehicles have to be registered, equipped with valid technical inspection results and valid civil liability policy from the country of origin of the team.

26. The vehicles in the Adventure group must fulfill the following requirements: wheels of a nominal diameter up to 33” (+0.5”) (standard sizes 33x 305/70 16, 285/75 16, 255/85 16, in case of customized tires the measurement conducted by the organiser shall be conclusive, no hub reductions (unless they are factory installed), a permanent hydraulic or electric winch with the towing power corresponding to the weight of the car (mechanical winch, supplied with power by the vehicle driveline is not allowed), towing hooks in the front and in the rear, the safety bow as the minimum (for open body cars), safety belts for the driver and the pilot, the first aid kit, a CB radio set or mobile phone, a towing line or belt corresponding to the weight of the car, a fire extinguisher, protective helmets (for cars or motor-cycles) for the driver and the pilot.

27. The vehicles in the Extreme group must fulfill the following requirements: a permanent hydraulic or electric winch with the towing power corresponding to the weight of the car (mechanical winch, supplied with power by the vehicle driveline is not allowed), towing hooks in the front and in the rear, the safety bow as the minimum (for open body cars), safety belts for the driver and the pilot, the first aid kit, a CB radio set or mobile phone, a towing line or belt corresponding to the weight of the car, a fire extinguisher, protective helmets (for cars or motor-cycles) for the driver and the pilot.

28. Only drivers or pilots may be present in the cars from start to finish (with exclusion of the zone ). The car team is obliged to use protective helmets (with exclusion of the zone ).

29. If the driver or the pilot are not in possession or ownership of the vehicle, the appropriate consent of the vehicle owner shall be submitted to the round organiser alongside with the appropriate insurance documents, etc.

30. Teams are obliged to be present for briefing and technical inspection before the start of the round within the deadline set by the round organiser.

31. The route card is sealed in the vehicle. Sealing off the route cards is not allowed.

32. Teams are obliged to submit the sealed route card from the appropriate stage to the judge in the finish immediately after reaching the finish of the given stage. Any manipulations with the route card which are not allowed in the rules shall be punished with disqualification.

33. Start numbers are allocated to competitors according to their locations in the previous Trophy or according to the organiser. Start numbers allocated to drivers remain in force in all the rounds of the Trophy.

34. Every participant is obliged to leave space in the sides of the vehicle for labels provided by the organiser. The organiser is entitled to select the location of the labels on the vehicle, in particular:
- start numbers at the sides of the vehicle,
- a sponsor label (30x38cm) on the bonnet or the front part of the body,
- a sponsor label (around 10cm of height) in the upper part of the windscreen (covering the whole width of the windscreen).
Every vehicle shall receive two stickers with start numbers. The signs must be placed in the two front doors, and if there are no doors or doors are made of soft materials (foil, tarpaulin, etc.), they must be placed in other places of the sides of the vehicle agreed with the organiser.

35. The vehicle may be equipped with any advertisements and inscriptions compliant with the Polish law with the exception of advertisements described in the article 36.

36. During the rounds of the ORLEN TROPHY – Polish Cup OFF-ROAD PL 2006. it is not allowed to place the following labels and information on the competing vehicles:
- advertisements, labels or logos of organisations considered as competitive towards the sponsors. Organisations considered as competitive: companies producing oil products, in particular fluid fuels, oils, plastics, companies marketing and selling the above-mentioned products, companies running the filling stations other than PKN ORLEN S.A.
- advertisements. labels or logos of press titles which are competitive towards the “OFF-ROAD PL - Magazyn 4x4.”
The right to interpretation of the term “competitive company" rests with the organiser.

37. During the rounds the competitors are obliged to tank their vehicles at the PKN Orlen S.A. filling stations.

FINAL REGULATIONS

38. If the organiser does not expect parallel starts, prologue shall decide about the starting order. Drawing lots shall decide about the starting order in the prologue. Prologue is not mandatory. Teams which do not finish the prologue will start in the first stage from the last places according to the entry order or other rules described by the organiser.

39. In public roads, competitors are obliged to observe public traffic regulations.

40. During the prologue and the subsequent rounds, participants must not be under the influence of alcohol or any other similar substances. The organiser is entitled to test the participants for the intake of alcohol by means of electronic breathalyser; the drivers or pilots tested positively immediately before the start or during the round (the level of 0,1 mg/dm3 exceeded) shall be disqualified.

41. The organiser is entitled to disqualify a team from a round or the subsequent rounds or the whole 2006 trophy challenge for the unfair behaviour during the round.

42. Participants shall be punished by disqualification or penalty in the amount of up to PLN500 for tying the winch line directly around a tree (without protective bands).

43. In case when any participant decides to resign of participating in the round, he/she is obliged to notify the organisers of the event as soon as possible by all means available.

44. Throughout the round, participants must observe the rules of the event, commands of the organisers and judges or section managers, respectively. Any violations of the issued commands may result in consequences from imposing a penalty to disqualification and exclusion from the round.

45. The participant are obliged to:
- prevent and avoid the situation which may prove dangerous to themselves, other participants, organisers and other people and/or their property,
- provide mutual help to each other in case of accidents or other dangerous situations and inform the rescue forces of those situations,
- take care of the environment.

46. Protests of any type must be submitted to the organisers of the event 1 hour after completion of the stage at the latest. The protest must be submitted in writing along with the fee of PLN 200. The protest shall be decided upon by the organisers after hearing of both parties. If the protest proves to be justified, the above fee shall be returned.

47. Participants in need of special drugs who use them on the regular basis must arrange them by themselves. We recommend that others have their own “portable aid kit” apart from the first aid kit. The organisers shall not be responsible for any problems resulting from bad health condition of the participants.

48. Every participant participates in the event on his/her own risk. Every participant shall be solely liable for civil and penal reasons for all and any losses, which he/she causes by himself/herself or with the vehicle used by him/her. By placing their signatures, the participants resign of all and any rights to initiate court steps or to file recourse cases against the organisers, their agents, sponsors, participants and helpers, authorities, area owners, as well as all and any other persons related to the organisation of the event in reference to all and any accidents or losses resulting from the event, unless the accident or loss were intentional or resulted from severe negligence. This agreement becomes effective for all the interested parties on returning the registration form and placing the signature on the statement of releasing the organisers of responsibility.

49. The organisers reserve the right to make all and any necessary changes in the event, resulting from acts of force majeure, causes related to ensuring safety or ordered by the authorities, as well as to the complete recall of the event, if it is necessary due to unusual circumstances, without assuming any liability for losses.

50. The cost of participation in the round is defined by the round organiser and announced to the participants not later than within 30 days before commencing the round.