IFCA Newsletter

It may interest you to know that recently we were part of a select group to do a survey on Forza.  From what we gather not very many people received the invitation.  And due to legal concerns although we can not divulge the specific questions asked, I can say that Microsoft/T10 were very interested in the type of activity we were engaged in and why.  Needless to say most of our answers fell on the side of organized racing and greater control over lobbies.

It’s hard to say how much influence our participation will have on FM7, but they do seem to be searching for new approaches in areas they don’t have any data on.  T10 has taken many ideas from the IFCA in the past and put to good effect. This bodes well for the future of the franchise I believe.  Their biggest problem is fixing things that aren’t broke, or abandoning things that work really well.

In more local news as many of you may have read, the IFCA is also re-directing its steps to accommodate the recent trends within the organized racing community.  Namely, easier access racing.  Drivers appear to be less interested in traditional series racing, and are leaning toward one-off events rather than lengthy series.

Our own surveys have shown drivers dis-liking many of the mandatory rules and regulations associated with traditional series racing.  In fact, we have discovered a large group of new drivers who feel they can’t easily get involved because the rules and regulations are too daunting for their level of interest.  They want to race clean, and are sick of the crash and bash public lobbies, but they tend to get lost in all the website navigation, build requirements, livery rules, and format rules.

One of the biggest issues we have seen is the perception that the cars being offered are seldom equal in performance due to not knowing the optimum build or best tune for a given track.  Add to this the perception that the fastest drivers always seem to be in the fastest cars, and there is a sense of insurmountable unfairness.  This perceived unfairness does not promote greater participation among new drivers especially.

In response, the IFCA is going to continue to offer more spec-based single race events with very few regulations aside from driving clean.  Our first such weekly event is our Super Stock Invitational on late Monday nights.  This will be a very open event that you can race with our regulars or, conduct your own race at your own time, and post your results to be computer rated and added to the IFCA World Rankings list.

There are just 3 stock based cars currently offered, but we will change the class of cars from time to time.  Typically after 1 driver has managed to win with all 3 cars at 3 different tracks.  Currently we are using the often ignore E-Class.  The car requirement is that they must maintain their stock P.I. to be legal.

1.1984 VW Rabbit GTi E239
2.1981 Ford Fiesta XR2 E245
3.1986 Honda Civic Si E235

no sign-up required
no livery required
no # plate required
no build required
cars must be at the stock P.I. listed
any assists are allowed
3lap qualy prior to race
standing starts
no restarts
1 mandatory pit
20laps
IFCA Rules of the Road apply

We will be at Sebring Short for the first race on Monday May 16^th 9:00pm CST.  There is no minimum grid number for the race to be rated.  All races will be rated.

What’s great about this form of spec-racing is that the cars are inherently equal.  They are very slow with top speeds just under 100mph.  What this does unlike the faster cars is keep everyone fairly close on the track.  You also don’t have to stay in the same car, and any tuning you can do is very minimal. 

Because the cars must remain at a stock P.I., there are just a few ways you can add some parts, but doing so isn’t going to make your car head and shoulders better than the next.  It really only customizes the car more to your driving style.

For example if a really fast driver drives a bone stock Rabbit, an average driver with some parts on his Rabbit is not going to beat the faster driver still.  This is not to say that whatever few parts you can add aren’t helping, just that it won’t be enough to overcome the difference in driver skill.  This is because with identical P.I. numbers the cars are going to be very equal.

What we think this will encourage is the ability to include anyone at any time who wants to race close clean races without a big commitment.  It happens all the time when a driver pops into the lobby looking to race and finds out that everyone there is league racing.  He usually backs out and isn’t able to participate.  With this new direction, anyone showing up can easily join the event quickly.  He doesn’t have to waste time figuring out the build or paint, or worry he’s going to be a spoiler in a series he isn’t going to race.  He can just come in, grab the right car, and race.  Results will be recorded and he will establish his rating and climb the IFCA ladder.

We believe this is the wave of the future.  That is until FM7 comes out and perhaps T10 has a more consolidated program for organized racing on a grand scale.
 
See you at the track!

IFCA Staff