Re: IFCA Series News

by EZT TomCat7 Wed Jan 15, 2020 10:50 pm

Yeah, I got some help from several fast guys. Especially SP33D RAC3R 28 in Forza 1 and 2.
I've gotten a lot of help from GTDon2 on practically all the Forzas except Forza 5.

Thanks for your help Don, I think I'm getting a little over average now. not worthy

by **IFCA GTDon** Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:21 am

EZT TomCat7 wrote:Yeah, I got some help from several fast guys. Eecially SP33D RAC3R 28 in Forza 1 and 2.
I've gotten a lot of help from GTDon2 on practically all the Forzas except Forza 5.

Thanks for your help Don, I think I'm getting a little over average now.

Thanks Tom, I told SP33D what you said (I was talking to him as you posted this).

It's great to see people improve and a lot of fast guys enjoy helping people get better even if at the expense of a few less wins for them. Ultimately this is what the IFCA is about. It's not about winning as much as it is about having closer clean racing. In order to do this, the cars, format, and driving attitude has to be geared for it from the start.

We need fast drivers who are willing to lend their talents and experience to our slower drivers. Whether it is in tuning or racecraft these guys can help make everyone a little better and a lot closer to the leaders. I'm seeing it in you, Rider, Creech, and even Nova. All of you guys are (at times) running as fast as anyone for much of the tracks we are on. Keep it up!

by **IFCA GTDon** Fri Jan 17, 2020 4:10 am

FYI All, Thanks to Sox and a few others we've been able to correct some errors that were discovered on the build sheets. Please double check your builds for the following cars:

1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS

1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am

1964 Aston Martin DB5

1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato

1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe

1968 Lancia Fulvia

1971 AMC Javelin AMX

1966 Ford Lotus Cortina

1973 Ford XB Falcon GT

1971 Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III

If you find any other mistakes just let me know.

by **IFCA GTDon** Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:52 am

Please go to the Xbox Club site (IFCA TransAm Relay Challenge) on Xbox Live and state whether you are in or out for our Season 8, Feb 15th. We are attempting to figure out who are our active members and who are not for next season. We don't want to bother you or waste time on those who are not going to race with us in 2020. You have until Jan 31st to respond.

The only people we want or need in our Xbox Live Club are racers, not spectators. The Club is for competing participants only and is not a lounge.

Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

by **IFCA GTDon** Fri Jan 24, 2020 5:14 am

IFCA Series News - Page 17 2014-rolex-24-hours

Of course, everyone wants to know and asks me if I know what Forza 8 is going to be like. They do this because in the past I have worked for Microsoft and their third party publisher Prima Games on Forza 3.

I can't say much about what will be, only that from what I hear it is in some ways going to be very different. You'll still have all the things you like about Forza, but make no mistake it is going to get a major makeover. My sense is that T10 knows that Forza has lost its way and been overshadowed by its little brother Forza Horizon to a large degree. They know they need to 'step up their game.' Pun intended.

Reading between the tea leaves they are moving Forza 8 towards greater realism both in looks and in play. Now before you get all excited that Forza 8 is going to become a true hardcore simulator like iRacing, step on the brakes a little. There is a vast gap between Forza 7 and iRacing in terms of dedication to sim-style racing. Forza 8 does appear to be closing this gap a little while at the same time retaining its well-worn familiarity for the user.

The end result is going to be like every Forza game in the past, a game that looks familiar but one that doesn't really relate that much to the previous version. In the speculative case of Forza 8 this is going to be even more likely. It is going to look and feel the least like any previous Forza you have ever used. At the same time, you will recognize certain familiar elements and won't be completely lost by its new feel and new look.

As with every version of Forza the physics will be different, and this is where many of you will part ways with the new game. People will say as they always have with every new Forza, "the new physics suck." They say this because the physics are simply not the same as they have grown used to. So no matter what the change is, about half of the people will like it and half won't.

With each new version of the game we see a change in who are the fastest Forza drivers. The same super-fast guys are still fast don't get me wrong, but the top 10 and especially the #1 and #2 drivers change with each new version. The reason for this is that the physics changes just enough to favor a slightly different method of driving because it has a different feel. For some very fast guys, the change isn't a big deal, for others they hate it because they are no longer performing quite as well as they had before. For some the new game plays into the way they drive, but for others it will not and they will have to practice to gain back their speed.

It is this change in feel that makes the most difference to the user and why we see a mass exodus of former fast guys with the introduction of each new game. Most of your uber-fast guys either have a huge ego or acquire one based on their mastery of Forza. If you change things that affect their mastery, you are stripping their reason for playing away from them, and their ego just can't handle it so they quit.

My advice, be open-minded about the new changes and don't be a uber-fast guy, one who's ego depends on the adulation and praise of others to gain enjoyment.

Your friendly and benevolent IFCA dictator,
GTDon

by **papa creech172** Fri Jan 24, 2020 8:48 am

Thank you Hammer!

by **IFCA GTDon** Fri Jan 24, 2020 9:46 pm

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that there will be 3 things we change for Season 8. I won't be specific about them yet but here's the summary.

1. Factory drivers will get a season points boost

2. We will be extending bonus points to more than the top 5

3. The last race of the season (Laguna Seca) will be more than just a double bonus round.

by **IFCA GTDon** Sat Jan 25, 2020 9:58 am

IFCA Series News - Page 17 Clark_ta_daytona_race-1-2

Pretty cool that the real IMSA GTD class runs identical times to our own Modern T/A cars, in the low 1:45s. Pole was 1:45.237 in a Porsche 911 RSR. Our own track lap record in a Dodge Challenger Demon is a 1:45.292.

Were our cars true Trans Am based TA cars from the real series we would be faster. The real TA car is more like a GTLM class car. Pole in a full blown TA car was 1:42.551 in 2019. Pole and track lap record in a GTLM Porsche 911 RSR is a 1:42.207 this year. Not much difference. The GTLM cars do it with handling and downforce, the TA cars do it with big horsepower.

IFCA Series News - Page 17 M20_0167-800x534

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Jan 27, 2020 9:19 am

GTDon2 wrote:Just wanted to give everyone a heads up that there will be 3 things we change for Season 8. I won't be specific about them yet but here's the summary.

1. Factory drivers will get a season points boost

2. We will be extending bonus points to more than the top 5

3. The last race of the season (Laguna Seca) will be more than just a double bonus round.

Okay, here are the new additional rule changes for Season 8.

1.All Factory drivers will be issued a boost in season points at the start of the season of 5 points. Our goal is to make the slower teams more competitive, and Factory drivers more attractive to partner up with.

2.We are extending the 1/2 point bonus for fastest practice laps from the top 5 to the top 7. And we are eliminating the 1pt bonus for track lap record unless it is performed during the race.

3.During the last race of the season (Laguna Seca) which is a no-driver exchange double points round, you will be allowed to use any car from the class to race in. You and your teammate can use any car independently of each other and do not have to be in the same car for the last race. There will also be another 1/2 point bonus for matching liveries.

by Midnite Rider Mon Jan 27, 2020 5:23 pm

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Jan 27, 2020 6:03 pm

Midnite Rider wrote:

Not sure what this means. Others might not either. You might want to elaborate.

by Midnite Rider Mon Jan 27, 2020 6:21 pm

GTDon2 wrote:
Midnite Rider wrote:

Not sure what this means. Others might not either. You might want to elaborate.

Nothing bad, just shaking my head yes to your new rules. Sorry, didn't mean to be vague. I hope this clears it up for everyone. IFCA Series News - Page 17 894567

Love your racing here Don!!

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Jan 27, 2020 6:23 pm

Midnite Rider wrote:
GTDon2 wrote:
Midnite Rider wrote:

Not sure what this means. Others might not either. You might want to elaborate.

Nothing bad, just shaking my head yes to your new rules. Sorry, didn't mean to be vague. I hope this clears it up for everyone.

lol I'm not up on my emoji speak.

by Midnite Rider Mon Jan 27, 2020 6:24 pm

GTDon2 wrote:
Midnite Rider wrote:
GTDon2 wrote:
Midnite Rider wrote:

Not sure what this means. Others might not either. You might want to elaborate.

Nothing bad, just shaking my head yes to your new rules. Sorry, didn't mean to be vague. I hope this clears it up for everyone.

lol I'm not up on my emoji speak.

Me either, but I like the devil saying yes. lol!

by **IFCA GTDon** Tue Jan 28, 2020 9:35 am

Qualy officially opens this Friday, Jan 31st!!!

by **IFCA GTDon** Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:03 am

Don't forget to vote for next season! Season 9 April 11th!

Go here:
https://ifca.forumotion.com/t6643-season-9-april-11th

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Feb 03, 2020 10:31 am

IFCA Series News - Page 17 Portada-senna

One of the things we have here at the IFCA is a reputation for laying our cards on the table in terms of sharing tunes and track advice to everyone. It's a friendlier mentality than you might see in other leagues for the purpose of bringing everyone up and not down. At the same time such openness is still met with some skepticism because of its rarity and because people are conspiratorial by nature. They think it's too good to be true and there must be an angle. So, the more open we are the more suspicious some people can become. But rest assured even though that "F'n cheater, hack, modder, and a-hole leader of the IFCA" GTDon said it, doesn't mean its an attempt to slow you down and rob you of your potential. Haters will hate. lol

For all of you smart IFCA drivers out there who drop by and occasionally read what is said here, here is another good tip to help you out in Season 8.

With the rule change for track lap record and the expansion of half point bonus from the top 5 to top 7 fastest practice laps, a new dynamic has appeared. This new dynamic is the type of thing that creates a little more intrigue strategically. The type of thing that everyone likes because it plays a kind of hidden role. Here's what I mean.

Everyone wants to be in the top 7 to gain their half point bonus, but, setting the track lap record in practice is not what you really want to do because you will get no bonus point for it. You want to save your best for last in essence by waiting to do your best in qualifying or the race on race day instead. If not, if you smash the track lap record in practice, you just made it harder for yourself and everyone else to gain the bonus point later on race day.

This tactic could be on purpose in order to disallow anyone from gaining the bonus at all on race day. On the other hand, some might not want to reveal just how fast they are until race day to set the track lap record and gain the bonus point, by running just fast enough to make the top 7 in practice times and leaving enough room to go a little faster in the race. This means that drivers will be inching their way into the top 7 all the way up to the last minute on Friday being careful not to go so fast that it becomes difficult to set the track lap record in the race. lol

As you can see this rule change alters how drivers will approach trying to gain bonus points and I thought everyone should know. It should make for some interesting results and added pressure right up to the end of the week and on race day. Drivers will be guessing, "is that fastest practice lap the fastest, or is there more in it?" "Should I sit on my lap now that I'm in the top 7 and wait, or do I risk being bumped off at the last minute?" "Do I try to nullify anyone from gaining the track lap record by hot lapping the crap out of it before race day, or keep my time secret?"

Lots of ways to ponder, so good luck out there!

by **IFCA GTDon** Sat Feb 08, 2020 9:15 am

If you haven't qualified for Season 8 which starts a week from today on Feb 15th @ Bathurst please join our party/lobby today.

by **IFCA GTDon** Thu Feb 13, 2020 6:00 pm

GTDon2 wrote:If you haven't qualified for Season 8 which starts a week from today on Feb 15th @ Bathurst please join our party/lobby today.

Bump

by **IFCA GTDon** Sat Feb 15, 2020 7:24 am

I know it's been a long wait, but we have a good field of new drivers for today's race at 7pm EST. Best is to come a little early and warm up with us.

We have potentially 11 teams competing for the title of "IFCA Trans-Am Relay Champions." It's become a rather prestigious title in our modern era of Forza 7. Although the format predates FM7 with many past champions we feel that the current format is more refined and competitive as it emphasizes giving the average driver and team a hand up with slightly superior cars and pre-race bonus points.

We hope to see you all there at Bathurst today and at Maple Valley R next week. Don't forget our open support race next Wed as well at 9pm EST @ Maple Valley R too.

Just a word on contact and IFCA driver etiquette for the new drivers. This is not public lobby racing in any way shape or form. Here you are to allow for racing room and contact of any kind is not welcome. It will be up to the sole discretion of the Race Organizer (our benevolent dictator and benefactor) to determine what warnings and/or penalties will be issued. Every race is replay reviewed. Not all contact is penalized. Clean passing is more important to us than winning.

The format allows enough time and distance for drivers to make clean passes without increasing the risk of contact. There is no need to treat this like a 3 lap public lobby sprint race. You don't need to crash your way to the front in turn 1. This is a long race with plenty of opportunities to make up time and pass your opponents cleanly either on the track or in the pits.

Bear in mind that not every car you may be close to is a car that you are directly racing. If a faster driver is gaining on you, i.e., drivers who are leading the race, let them make an easy pass by easing off the gas.

The best way to think of this kind of racing is to imagine that it is a real car that costs real money, your money, and your sponsor's money. The last thing you want to do is take someone out or yourself out and wreck your car. If you do this and respect your fellow competitors, the racing will be very close and very fun, which is why we do this after all.

Good luck!

by **IFCA GTDon** Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:54 am

It has been suggested a few times that the IFCA with its unique relay format should up the ante as it were and do an actual endurance race. Perhaps a 12 or 24 hour race. And while this sounds interesting on paper, executing it is not so easy. Not many have that kind of time to commit is the first problem.

Better would be to use a shorter length to gain the same effect. Something on the order of 3-6hrs at most. Currently, we average about 1hr and 10min per race divided by 2 drivers split into 5lap stints. Makes it very manageable and easy on the hands of the non-wheel users.

IFCA Series News - Page 17 Cb708245e46b333ba4716844f314fcce

With a 3hr race we could have 3 man teams with each driver effectively running approximately 1hr of the entire race. Then the question becomes how to break up that hour with driver exchanges. Lets say each lap is 2min long and your car can run for a maximum of 10laps, that would be 20min stints. That means each driver would run 3 stints each in a 3hr race.

Because of the longer time frame and additional driver, it would be better to alter the format so that it is a true relay. Rather than having all the drivers finish together, only 1 driver would finish the race as the team anchor.

To avoid dream team dominance and having 3 uber-fast drivers all on one team, I would mandate that each team has to have 1 Factory level sub-1950 rated driver to be fair and interesting for all. This will allow for teams to play catch-up and create additional passing as the slower driver of each team is hunted down by the faster drivers of other teams.

As far as number of races go, I would limit it to the triple crown of Daytona, Sebring, and LeMans. Make it a minny series at known endurance tracks using endurance cars of the late 1960s like the GT40 and Ferrari 330. I would plan way ahead for it too so that everyone would have enough time to prepare.

If you have any other suggestions, post it here or send me a PM.

Thanks

IFCA Series News - Page 17 Edbbc1793b7ee3037b1caf7c5c253b66

IFCA Series News - Page 17 Edbbc1793b7ee3037b1caf7c5c253b66

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:05 pm

IFCA Series News - Page 17 3-corvette-racing-corvette-c8-

If the IFCA allowed this sort of unfair BoP to happen in any of its series you'd string me up by my thumbs! For the debut of the C8 Corvette the WEC decided they needed to nerf the C8 right out of its class! It was over 1.5sec slower than the leaders at COTA. Even with one less pit they barely managed 6th place.

For some comparison to our own series, our cars are not more than 0.220sec different from each other on most tracks. Be glad we aren't the WEC!

read it here:
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/magnussen-corvette-c8-r-was-so-far-pegged-back-at-cota/

by **IFCA GTDon** Thu Feb 27, 2020 11:31 am

GTDon2 wrote:It has been suggested a few times that the IFCA with its unique relay format should up the ante as it were and do an actual endurance race. Perhaps a 12 or 24 hour race. And while this sounds interesting on paper, executing it is not so easy. Not many have that kind of time to commit is the first problem.

Better would be to use a shorter length to gain the same effect. Something on the order of 3-6hrs at most. Currently, we average about 1hr and 10min per race divided by 2 drivers split into 5lap stints. Makes it very manageable and easy on the hands of the non-wheel users.

With a 3hr race we could have 3 man teams with each driver effectively running approximately 1hr of the entire race. Then the question becomes how to break up that hour with driver exchanges. Lets say each lap is 2min long and your car can run for a maximum of 10laps, that would be 20min stints. That means each driver would run 3 stints each in a 3hr race.

Because of the longer time frame and additional driver, it would be better to alter the format so that it is a true relay. Rather than having all the drivers finish together, only 1 driver would finish the race as the team anchor.

To avoid dream team dominance and having 3 uber-fast drivers all on one team, I would mandate that each team has to have 1 Factory level sub-1950 rated driver to be fair and interesting for all. This will allow for teams to play catch-up and create additional passing as the slower driver of each team is hunted down by the faster drivers of other teams.

As far as number of races go, I would limit it to the triple crown of Daytona, Sebring, and LeMans. Make it a minny series at known endurance tracks using endurance cars of the late 1960s like the GT40 and Ferrari 330. I would plan way ahead for it too so that everyone would have enough time to prepare.

If you have any other suggestions, post it here or send me a PM.

Thanks

Okay, looks like there is some interest in this. A couple of people messaged me with their input, and testing cars has officially begun.

Thematically we are looking at a group of cars that were seen in the movies "Ford vs Ferrari" and "Le Mans". In "Ford vs Ferrari" there was of course more than just Ford and Ferrari, there was Porsche and others. There were legends mentioned too like Dan Gurney of AAR fame, Bob Bondurant, and Bruce McLaren.

In tribute to the era, we will be using a mix of endurance racing cars from the 1960's-70's. This was a transitional time in endurance racing when rule changes had a hard time keeping pace with technology. As a result, a wide variety of chassis and engine combinations were in use both current and non-current for the time period.

With the limited car selection Forza offers for this genre, we are forced into a limited selection. This means we will have a mix of cars from FIA LeMans class endurance cars and the SCCA Can-Am cars governed by the FIA Group 7 rules. Can-Am was an unlimited formula "anything goes" class that for a short time was more advanced and faster than F1.

We are looking at a maximum of just 9 cars to be used to run the 'Triple Crown' leg of endurance racing, Daytona, Sebring, and LeMans. There will be a maximum of 8 three-man teams or 24 drivers. Each race will be approximately 3hrs long. Each team will be required to have at least 1 Factory driver. There will be no grid qualifying. Grids will be set according to your IFCA team average rating the week of the first round and thereafter. To get into the event all 3 drivers must qualify and the times are added together and averaged. No date has been set yet.

This is going to be a one-time special event more than likely. It is in keeping with our regular Trans-Am theme in that the cars are the pinnacle of the same era. Because Forza 8 is looming in the Fall there isn't much time left to repeat this event, so, you may want to make an extra effort to try to put together a team and take a shot at getting into this very special 3-week event. I would start talking to prospective drivers now.

If you have any questions or suggestions please PM me.

This is going to be good boys!

IFCA Series News - Page 17 665d09c873f9c4e3a1b940e8b03d3ab6

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Mar 02, 2020 1:28 pm

Be sure to read the latest IFCA Newsletter here:
https://ifca.forumotion.com/t6649-season-9-april-11th-and-beyond

A quick note about the diverse group of cars being tested for the 3hr "IFCA Triple Crown" event scheduled for June 13th. We are looking at the Can-Am cars and the FIA sportscars like the GT40 and Ferrari 330.

The challenge with equalizing these cars in our format is that they are notoriously difficult to balance no matter what level of build you are using. We are getting close in testing, but we can see there will be no room left to create Factory builds for our slower drivers. And we don't believe it would matter very much because of the high performance of these cars. Having a little more power or grip isn't going to be enough to make a difference in other words. So, everyone will have to be in the same builds.

IFCA Series News - Page 17 17deccfd2829cb19f3b92d48dffdfe3f

IFCA Series News - Page 17 17deccfd2829cb19f3b92d48dffdfe3f

by **IFCA GTDon** Sun Mar 08, 2020 1:22 pm

Per the IFCA Newsletter found over on the Portal page regarding Season 9 TCM on April 11th,

"The grid will be set according to the highest rated driver of each team. If both teammates are unrated, then they will need to race in our Support race on Wed nights at 9pm EST to gain a rating. The cut off for a change of rating will be on Wed nights each week. Need more rating points? Then you will want to show up for our Support race on Wed nights."

Things are slightly different for the, "IFCA Triple Crown" June 13th.

"Grid will be determined by the combined average team rating of each team."

The difference is because Season 9 TCM has Factory builds and the IFCA Triple Crown does not. We felt that with a 3 driver team it was more of a team effort and that all 3 should be included in the calculation since there is a mandatory Factory driver rule even though there is no Factory build.

In either case we feel this is the right direction for endurance races and that the pros outweigh the cons by quite a bit. With long races grid position hardly matters is the general point.

The pro's are:

1. Starting on time more often
2. Allows for longer races through saved time
3. Increases the value and importance of your IFCA rating
4. Is added deterrent to sandbagging
5. Increases participation in the Wed Support race
6. Still allows randomness in that driver ratings do change every week
7. Some people don't like to qualify
8. All things being equal the faster guys will still be towards the front of the grid as before, but we didn't have to use up 10min to run a qualy and another 5min to set the grid just to find out everyone is in about the same spot as they would have been if we just used their rating.
9. Offers greater strategic considerations and team consequence i.e. who should finish first depending on rating and whether to risk grid position for season points.

The con's are:

1. Some people like to qualify
2. No bonus for pole position

As you can see there are a great many more positives that out weigh the few negatives.

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