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Race Room

Controls and tools available in the race room — both as a host and as a player.

Host Controls

Once a room is created the host sees additional controls:

Button / Option What it does
Start Race Begins the countdown and starts the race for all players
Start Qualifying Starts a hot-lap qualifying session (see Qualifying Session)
End Qualifying Ends qualifying early and shows the results grid (shown during qualifying only)
Leave the room Destroys the room and removes all players
Race Settings Opens the Race Settings for advanced settings
Race Director Opens Race Director controls — only shown during an active race
Invite (player icon) Opens the online player list to send race invitations

The host also sees each player's status and an Action column to kick individual players.

Player Controls

Button What it does
Choose Vehicle Opens the vehicle picker to select your race vehicle
Leave the room Leaves the race room and returns to freemode

After choosing a vehicle it shows in your player row. Your row shows Ready once a vehicle is selected.

AFK Kick

The host can enable AFK Kick in the Race Settings to auto-remove idle players:

  1. Open the Race Settings (Race Settings button).
  2. Toggle AFK Kick on.
  3. Set the Timeout (1–10 minutes).
  4. Click Apply.

Players who stop moving for the configured duration receive a warning. After the warning period they are either DNF'd or kicked from the server depending on server config.

Race Director Tools

Available to the host during an active race, via: - The Race Director button in the race room NUI - F10 → Racing Lobby → 🏁 Race Director - F3 → 🏴 Race Director

Flags

Control Effect
🟡 Yellow Flag Signals caution; all players in the room are notified
🟢 Green Flag Resumes normal racing; notifies all players
🔴 Red Flag Stops the race; all players are notified

Player Actions

Control Effect
⏱ Sin Bin Ghosts a player for 10 / 30 / 60 / 120 seconds. The penalised player is frozen/ghosted for the duration.
🚫 Disqualify Permanently DQs the selected player from the current race.
👢 Kick from Room Removes the selected player from the race room entirely.

Extended Tools (4A–4F)

These additional tools give the host fine-grained control during a race. All are per-player — select a target from the player list after choosing the action.

Tool Effect
4A — Drive-Through Penalty Caps the target's maximum vehicle speed for a configurable duration (5–60 s, default 15 s). Speed is restored automatically when the timer expires.
4B — Reset to Checkpoint Teleports the target back to their last validated checkpoint. Useful after a shortcut or off-track incident.
4C — Ghost Toggle Toggles no-collision for the selected player. First press = ghost ON (semi-transparent, others pass through). Second press = ghost OFF. State is tracked per player — pressing again always reverses the current state.
4D — Speed Limiter Sets a persistent maximum speed (kph) on the target's vehicle. Set to 0 kph to lift the limiter. Unlike 4A this does not expire — the host must lift it manually.
4E — Weather / Time Change Changes weather type or time of day for all players instantly, without ending the race. Weather changes affect pitstop freeze durations.
4F — Mandatory Pit Sends a "MANDATORY PIT — Enter pit lane now!" notification to the target player and marks a mandatory pit for them. Useful for penalising a driver without a time penalty or DQ.

Spectator Mode

During an active race, players who have not started or who have finished can join spectator mode:

  1. Open the in-race pause menu (pause key or F3).
  2. Click Join Spectator.
  3. Use the spectator player list to select a driver to follow.
  4. The camera tracks the selected driver's vehicle.

Hosts can also switch spectated players from the native menu.

Director Spectator Camera

When spectating, click the Director button in the spectator NUI overlay to switch to Director Mode — a smooth scripted camera with orbit and zoom.

Input Action
← / → Arrow Previous / next driver
Mouse drag Orbit around target
Scroll wheel Zoom in / out
R Reset to default follow angle
Ctrl+D Exit Director Mode

Qualifying Session

Qualifying is an optional timed hot-lap session run before the main race. The fastest lap time each player sets determines their grid position — fastest qualifier starts P1. Only the host can start or end qualifying.

Step-by-step: how to run qualifying

In the lobby (host)

  1. Set up the room as normal — track, vehicle mode, laps, weather.
  2. Find the "Qualifying: X min" dropdown next to the Start Qualifying button (visible to host only). Select your session length. Default is Qualifying: 3 min.
Dropdown option Use case
Qualifying: 1 min Very short tracks, or just a quick seeding lap
Qualifying: 2 min Street circuits and shorter layouts
Qualifying: 3 min (default) Standard qualifying for most races
Qualifying: 5 min Long tracks, or when drivers need more practice
Qualifying: 10 min Endurance tracks or full practice sessions
  1. Click Start Qualifying (not Start Race).

Track loading and start

  1. The track loads exactly like a normal race — all players go through the standard countdown.
  2. At GO the session is live. Ghost is ON for every player — there is no vehicle contact during qualifying.
  3. The standard race HUD (lap counter, position table) is hidden and replaced by the Qualifying HUD in the top-left corner:
Element What it shows
QUALIFYING Label confirming you are in a qualifying session
Timer Countdown to session end in M:SS format (e.g. 2:47)
YOUR BEST LAP Your fastest completed lap, updated live (e.g. 1:32.847). Shows --:--.--- until you finish your first lap.

During the session

  1. Drive as many laps as you like. Each time you cross the finish line the server records your lap time. If it is faster than your previous best, YOUR BEST LAP updates immediately.
  2. If you reach the last configured lap without the timer ending, the lap counter silently wraps back to lap 1 — you keep hot-lapping without any finish screen appearing.

Session end

  1. The session ends in one of two ways:
  2. Timer reaches 0:00 — session ends automatically.

  3. Host ends early — see Ending qualifying early below.

  4. A centred 🏁 Qualifying Results overlay appears showing the final grid order:

    P Driver Best Lap
    P1 Fastest driver 1:32.847
    P2 Second fastest 1:34.120
    … … …

    Drivers who never completed a full lap show --:--.--- and are placed at the back of the grid.

  5. A countdown at the bottom of the overlay reads "Returning to lobby in Xs…" — after 10 seconds all players are automatically returned to the lobby. You do not need to press anything.

Starting the race

  1. Back in the lobby the host sees the Start Race button. The grid order is now locked from qualifying — fastest qualifier will spawn at grid position 1.
  2. Click Start Race to launch the main race on the qualifying grid.

Ending qualifying early (host only)

Two ways to end the session before the timer runs out:

Option A — from the lobby NUI (if the room panel is still visible): 1. Click the End Qualifying button in the room panel.

Option B — from inside the race (if the lobby NUI has closed): 1. Open the in-race pause menu (default: Escape / your quit key). 2. Click End Qualifying.

Both options immediately broadcast results to all players and start the 10-second return countdown. Non-host players cannot end qualifying — the button is not shown to them.

Results and grid order

When qualifying ends the server collects each player's best recorded lap and sorts:

  • Fastest lap → P1, second fastest → P2, and so on.
  • Players who completed no timed lap (never crossed the finish line) are placed at the back in join order.
  • The grid is locked immediately — it cannot be changed before the race.

Notes

  • Ghost is on for the entire qualifying session — no vehicle contact at any point.
  • Qualifying best laps are not saved as track Personal Bests (PBs).
  • Race Points are not awarded for qualifying — only the main race awards RP.
  • If a player disconnects mid-session their best lap up to that point is still counted.
  • The duration dropdown is only visible to the host. Other players see the chosen duration displayed in the room info panel.

Tips

  • Use Specific vehicle mode so all drivers are in the same car — lap times are only a fair comparison when everyone has identical machinery. Random vehicles make qualifying meaningless.
  • Set your MOTD before starting — tell players the car, lap count, and that qualifying is happening. Surprises at the start line waste everyone's time.
  • Ghost means no track-limit enforcement by collision — remind drivers to stay within the track boundaries themselves. There is nothing stopping them cutting corners.
  • For a new track, use 5 minutes — 3 minutes gives 2 flying laps on most tracks. If nobody has driven it before, 5 minutes allows 3–4 proper attempts and more representative times.
  • Do not combine qualifying with Random vehicle mode — if everyone ends up in a different car the lap times cannot be compared fairly. Either use Specific mode for qualifying or skip qualifying entirely for random vehicle races.

In-Race Pause Menu

Press the pause key during a race (or use F3 via native menu) to open:

  • Race info summary (weather, time, traffic, DNF, game mode)
  • Join Spectator — enter spectator mode
  • Race Director — host-only controls
  • Skip Checkpoint — admin/host only
  • Quit Race — leave the race and return to freemode

Lobby Room List — Circuit / P2P Badge

Each room card in the public lobby browser displays a small coloured badge indicating the track format of that room's selected track:

Badge Colour Meaning
Circuit Gold Closed-loop track — finish = start
P2P Blue Point-to-point — different start and end
(no badge) — Track type not yet classified

The badge appears next to the room name and is purely informational — it does not affect joining.

Race Points (RP) & Leaderboard

Race Points are awarded at the end of each race based on finishing position. They accumulate across all races on the server.

Checking your RP

  • Click RP BOARD in the Race Menu (right-side tab) to open the top-10 leaderboard.
  • F10 → Player Hub → My Race Points — fetches your personal total.
  • F10 → Player Hub → Top 10 Leaderboard — global ranking.

Stats Site

A web-based stats site shows all-time best times per track, track details, and the global leaderboard. Ask your server admin for the URL.

The stats site includes: - Track List — browse all published tracks - Track Detail — checkpoint map, best times table (Position / Name / Vehicle / Date / Lap Time), and job URL if set - Best Times Sort — click the Date column header to sort by most recent, oldest, or fastest - RP Leaderboard — global race points ranking

Race Settings — Vehicle Panel (VP)

Click Race Settings in the room to open the Vehicle Panel. It has four tabs:

Tab What it controls
🚗 Vehicles Vehicle Classes, Sync Mode, No Repeats, Ghost on Contact
⚙️ Race Fair Start, Staggered Start, Reversed Track, Hot Lap, Drag, Drift, and more
🎲 Extras Ranked ELO, Catch-Up System, Nitro, Forced Pitstop, Elimination, Team Race, etc.
⛽ Systems Fuel Drain, Tire Wear, Slipstream Boost, Overtake Bonus, Explode on Impact (damage), Mid-Race Weather, Auto Parachute, Scuba Suit, AFK Kick, etc.

Vehicle Classes

Found in the 🚗 Vehicles tab. This is a filter for the random vehicle pool — it restricts which GTA vehicle classes can appear when vehicle mode is set to Random.

When to use it: Only when vehicle mode is Random or a variant. If mode is set to Specific or Personal, Vehicle Classes has no effect — leave all buttons deselected.

How to use it: 1. Open Race Settings → 🚗 Vehicles tab 2. Click one or more class buttons to select them (they highlight when selected) 3. Multiple classes can be active at once — vehicles from all selected classes are pooled together 4. Click ✕ Clear all to deselect everything (no class filter — full pool)

Available classes (GTA's built-in 22 categories):

Class Class Class
Compact Sedan SUV
Coupe Muscle Sport Classic
Sport Super Motorcycle
Off-road Industrial Utility
Van Cycle Boat
Helicopter Plane Service
Emergency Military Commercial
Open Wheel

These are GTA's native classes, not custom vehicle categories from the vehicle admin. If you want all drivers in a specific car, use Vehicles → Specific instead — that lets you pick one exact model for everyone.

Race Settings — Gear (⛽ Systems tab)

Found in Race Settings → ⛽ Systems tab, in the 🪂 Gear section.

🪂 Auto Parachute

Every player receives a parachute at race start. When a parachute is used it is automatically re-stocked within half a second — players have an unlimited supply for the whole race.

How to deploy the parachute:

  1. Drive or jump off a ramp, cliff, or any elevated surface.
  2. GTA V automatically arms the parachute while you are in free-fall — you do not need to open the weapon wheel or manually select it.
  3. Press F (PC) to open/deploy the chute.
  4. Steer to your landing point, then land normally.
Control Action
F Deploy parachute
W Pitch down — fall faster, cover less horizontal distance
S Pitch up — slow descent, glide further
A / D Turn left / right
Space Cut the chute (drop into free-fall again)

Note: GTA V only auto-arms the parachute if the fall is tall enough (~10–15 m minimum). Very small jumps will not trigger it — this is native GTA behaviour and cannot be changed.

Tip: Enable Auto Parachute on any track with big jumps, ramps, or routes that pass over water at height. Players can re-use the parachute as many times as they like during the race.

🤿 Scuba Suit

Players can breathe underwater indefinitely — health is maintained while submerged so there is no drowning. Useful for tracks that deliberately route through water sections.

No controls are needed — the protection is automatic from race start to finish.

Discord Race-Room Alerts

When configured, the server posts Discord embeds when key race events occur.

Event Embed colour Content
Race Room Opened 🔵 Blue Track name, host, mode, laps
Race Started 🟢 Green Track name, lap count, all driver names
Player Finished 🔵 Blue Position medal, total time, best lap, vehicle, RP earned
Fastest Lap 🟡 Gold Player name, lap time, bonus amount
Race Ended ⚪ Silver Track name, top-3 podium

Setup: Admin configures Config.RaceLog in config/config_server.lua with a Discord webhook URL. Individual event types can be toggled on/off.