Duke
I disagree. A single lap at the 'Ring (less so, Le Sarth) requires the same length and intensity of concentration as 3 laps at any other circuit. More, even, since there is no repetition.
Which is why the same rules apply for a
short race on the Ring, as on a long
normal race. But, if you will, a hot lap on the Ring equals to a short race on a normal track.
This is also how it is currently defined in the rules. I don't think many people even considered that the single lap on the Ring was allowed to have 2 offs, to be honest.
If there are allowed offs in the multi-hot-lap scenarios then to me it is logical that there are allowed offs in the single-long-lap scenarios. The technical definition of "hot lap" is not significant compared to the required length/intensity of concentrated effort, which is similar between a single lap of the 'Ring and, say, 5 laps of Midfield.
But there is no A.I. It is a hotlap. And with 20km, it matches some 5 lap races, and some short tracks would require up to 10 laps and maybe a little bit more to equal it, but the Long Race scenario was defined as 10 laps and upwards. And the more laps, the more trouble the AI would give.
Considering multiple lap racing rules for a non-AI hotlap is very, very unprecedented in OLR. I don't think you'll find many people here who have been racing the Ring in other competitions that have allowed something like that ever before. And there are really, really many competitions for hotlaps on this track.
That was the intent of the rule and that's why Long Tracks were listed with Long Races - and, elsewhere in the rules (the scenario descriptions) the long tracks were specifically prohibited from the multi-lap races, which is why I took care to make sure they were indicated in the allowed offs section.
EDIT: I looked it up precisely. That was to make sure that Short Races on Long Tracks were to be treated equal to Long Races. Otherwise, you clearly made a distinction between 2-5 lap races, 10+ races, and hotlaps. And even dealt with the possibility of 6-9 lap races.
Also, this rule:
3.9.1: Hot Laps and FTODs: Given the nature of Hot Lap scenarios, these laps shall be 100% clean. Any Offs or Wall Touches shall result in disqualification of the submitted time. Driver may submit an alternate lap as Hot Lap or FTOD provided it is 100% clean. Alternate times must be submitted prior to the original deadline for consideration. Multiple Hot Lap scenarios shall fall under the same rules as a Race of similar length as described below.
If you now no longer consider the Ring a hotlap, a backup time will also not be allowed to be submitted for it.
Please don't take the 'intent' part of the rules too far. We have to be able to rely at least a little bit on the actual wording.
You're the boss here, but I'm not happy with it. I'm sure that like we did, almost every driver took great care here to make sure their laps at the Ring were 100% clean.