The Reconnaisance Lap Procedure

Starting from the fourth race of the 1972 BRSCC Formula 5000 Championship (and if applicable, so no recon laps on the Nordschleife), we will use the RECONNAISANCE LAPS starting procedure instead of the normal warm-up session.

The warm-up session on race day will only be used for the drivers' briefing, during which the admins will give the drivers the last recommandations and remind them of the eventual particularities in the rules of the race.

It is strictly forbidden to join the track at any time during this warm-up session.

Once the briefing is finished, the server will switch to the race session where the reconnaissance laps procedure will begin.

At the start of the race session you will get the usual 30 seconds countdown which usually is the time you have to click on the “race” button and directly join the starting grid.

Here this countdown shows the time left before the pit lane is opened. Once it reaches 00:00, the lights at the exit of the pitlane turn from red to green (or the green flag will be shown).

From then on, a second 10 minutes countdown begins, which tells you how much time there is left before the pit lane is closed again.

So you now have 10 minutes to go from your pits to your starting grid position, by doing a complete lap of the track.

At the end of this reconnaissance lap, you can either a) take your place on the starting grid (as usual materialized by a red rectangle) or b) do another reconnaissance lap.

However, to do a second (and eventually third) reconnaissance lap, you must go through the pitlane at reduced speed to do so and must not drive through the starting grid where some cars will already be placed for the start.

Drivers who would still be in the pitlane at the end of the 10-minutes countdown will not be allowed to join the grid and will start
the race from the pit lane after the others drivers have started.

At any time during this procedure you can press “esc” and you will find yourself back in the pits.

Any damage your car could have sustained in an accident will be repaired, and you have will all latitude to modify your car’s setup as in a classic warm-up session.

Once this second countdown has reached 00:00 and the pitlane is closed, a third and final 2-minutes countdown starts.

A driver having left the pits just before they closed therefore has 2 minutes to join the grid, as when the countdown reaches 00:00 the start procedure will begin, with or without a formation lap depending on the championship.

It is of course highly recommended that once you have reached your starting grid position you switch your engine off, and only switch it back on some 10 to 20 seconds before the end of the last countdown (and thus of the start of the race).

As the F5000 cars do have an on-board starter, you don't have to worry about stalling your engine and not being able to re-fire it at the beginning of the race. If a series features cars which don't have an on-board starter, we will either adjust or not run this procedure at all.

(The count-down times may vary depending on the track and cars being run, namely the final countdown. Those details will be written in the race breakdown thread)
Source: historicsimracing.123.st/t2352-race-start-procedure-reconnaissance-laps