2023 Zone 1 Zone Group Championship (ZGC)
ZGC Run-Off Practice
When: Monday, January 23 8:00PM
Where: Sebring International, meet in discord zone 1 channel 1
Session Name: PCA Zone 1 ZGC Run-off
Who’s Invited: All Zone 1 drivers
Meet in discord at 8PM session will go live at 8:30
Zone 1 Zone Group Challenge Qualifier
The Zone Group Qualifier race for Zone 1 will be on Wednesday, January 25 at 8 PM EST at Sebring.
Driver Qualification Process
Please read 2023 Zone Group Championship – PCA Sim Racing for details on the upcoming Zone Group Championship series starting Feb 8, 2023.
Zone 1 can send up to 32 drivers to participate in the ZGC. Zone 1 drivers can qualify to participate in one of the following ways:
- If a driver is one of the top 6 zone 1 finishers in the PCA Series 9 championship in any of the four classes: Pro, Club, Sport, Challenge. This will account for 24 of the total 32 qualifiers which will include 6 drivers from each of the four classes.
- If a driver did not qualify either because they did not compete in series 9 or did not finish high enough in series 9 they are still eligible by competing and placing within the top four of their designated qualification class during the Zone 1 ZGC Runoff. There will be two designations:
- Pro-Club
- Sport-Challenge
- Pro and Club drivers will race in one class and Sport and Challenge will race in the other. The top four from each of these designations will qualify for the ZGC for a total of 8.
- We expect many of the qualifiers to not be able to attend all of the races. Thus we will need additional drivers that can stand in as needed. The list of substitute drivers will be determined by the results of the Zone 1 ZGC Runoff. We will have a backup list for Pro-Club and one for Sport-Challenge. For example if a pro or club driver is unable to make a race we would substitute them with the driver from the top of the Pro-Club list. If a challenge or sport driver is unable to race we would substitute them with a driver from the Sport-Challenge list.
- There is a possibility that even if you aren’t qualified via the series 9 results and are not able to race in the Zone 1 ZGC runoff that you will still have an opportunity to race in the ZGC. We don’t expect all of the qualifiers to be able to race every race and expect there to be some seat time to open up.
Important dates:
- Jan 19: The last Series 9 race
- Jan 25: Zone 1 ZGC Qualifiying race
- Week of Jan 23: Zone 1 ZGC Runoff race time and format to be determined
- Jan 30: Zone 1 ZGC practice
- Feb 8: First ZGC race. Sebring
Zone 1 ZGC Runoff Details
Who can participate in the runoff? Any Zone 1 driver that has not been pre-qualified via Series 9. Entry level drivers are not eligible. Entry level drivers need to be classed by Jan 20th in order to participate.
When is the race? Jan 25, 8PM Eastern Time.
What is the format? We will use the same format as the challenge series 9 races. There will be a single race and total points accumulated for that race (Quali + First Heat + Main Heat) will be used to determine qualification order for ZGC. Points are based on your class, Pro-Club and Sport-Challenge.
What Car and Track? Cayman GT4 at Sebring International – We will use the same environment and setup prescribed by the ZGC (2023 Zone Group Championship – PCA Sim Racing)
Will there be any post race review to apply penalties? TBD
Teams
Zone 1 will field 8 total teams of 4 drivers each. Please read details on how points are scored and how teams are classed here: 2023 Zone Group Championship – PCA Sim Racing
We would like to field at least 4 balanced group B teams (i.e. one driver from each class). In addition we would like to field at least 2 group A teams. The process that we will use to determine who is on what team is TBD. Teams will be determined the week of January 23rd after the runoff is completed.
What if one of my teammates can’t make a race? Backup drivers will be available upon request. We will maintain a list of Pro-Club drivers and a list of Sport-Challenge drivers. Each list will be ranked in the order they qualified during the runoff. Those that didn’t participate in the runoff can reach out to Chris Braun via Discord to be added to the backup list on a first come first serve basis.
Per ZGC rules:
If a driver on the team is unavailable for a race date, they can be replaced by a driver from their Zone Group not already on one of the 8-car teams and provided that the change does not mathematically change the car’s designation as Group A or Group B based on the new driver’s class
Joining the PCA Sim Racing Zone 1 Group
To join the PCA Sim Racing Zone 1 Group, you need to be a PCA member in one of the regions in Zone 1 and be a member of the PCA Sim Racing League.
For instructions on how to join the PCA Sim Racing League, click here. Once you join, you will automatically become a Zone 1 Sim Racing Team member if you are in Zone 1. New members will be placed in the Entry League and not participate in official races until they have reached a basic level of competence plus cleared and classified by an instructor.
Coordinators
Bob Moore, Chair & Competition
Anker Berg-Sonne, Communications, Marketing, & Membership
Chris Braun, eDE Driver Education, Coaching
Nikki Chan, eDE Driver Education, Coaching
James Huth, eDE Driver Education
Chad Dick
Please feel free to contact any of us on the Zone 1 Discord Server.
Instructors
Liam Rudzitis – Upper Canada Region
James Huth eDE Management – Hudson Champlain Region
Michael Polasek – Northern New Jersey Region
Chris Braun eCDI – Northeast Region
Mark O. Harris – Connecticut Valley Region
Michael Coopersmith – Hudson Valley Region
Nikki Chan – Upper Canada Region
Paul Solk – Jersey Shore Region
Contributors
Dean Chapman, Logo and Web Graphics
Results from races in the Zone 1 Wildcats Zone Group Challenge Qualifier races will be posted on Discord in the Zone Group 1 announcements thread.
For any questions about the Zone Group Challenge Qualifier races, contact Anker Berg-Sonne on Discord.