IFCA Series News

I thought it would be good to map out how the Triple Crown format is to progress even though it is posted on the TC home thread. Several people have asked about it and new drivers probably would like more info on this too.

Basically, it is a true endurance relay of 3 drivers each doing a 1hr stint with 2 pit stops.  Everybody gets this, but what might not be clear is what drivers do when they are not racing their stint.  

All 3 drivers must start the race.  The lead driver begins stint 1 while the other 2 drivers hang back and go slowly around the track and enter the pits where they will park in ghosted form at pit exit, just as is done on Saturday's Trans-Am Relay Challenge. 

Once the lead driver finishes his 36lap stint +2 pit stops, he comes in to tag the stint #2 driver for him to do his 36laps, 2 pit stops, 1 hr stint.  At that point, the lead driver can stay to watch and cheer his team on or can leave the lobby and come back later if he likes because his race is over.  Same for the stint #2 driver after hist stint is over.  The 3rd stint driver who runs the final anchor leg of the race is the only driver that must remain in the race for the whole 3hrs.  That is, he doesn't have to sit there, but his car has to.  He can get up go to the store, bathroom, get something to eat or drink or whatever until it is his time to race which is 2hrs into the race.

Each 36lap stint at Daytona, is roughly 1hr long which is a shorter race than our Saturday races.  Typically Saturday's race averages about 73min.  This is because these cars are faster, a lot faster.  Allowing for more laps in a shorter time frame.

I would say that if you or your teammates fear a lag out is a threat, that you allow that most vulnerable driver to take the first stint and not the last.  Again, only the anchor leg driver's car has to be in the lobby the whole 3hrs

Good luck!

I've been watching the FOX and NBC broadcast of the iRacing series and the latest race at Indy once again highlighted the type of racers/drivers these guys really are.  These are some serious cut-throat primadonna hacks who have no sense of fairness or personal integrity and honor whatsoever.  They would just as soon crash you out then let anyone win. Think of the worst drivers in a Forza public lobby x2.  

There is a huge gulf between the real racers and their sim-racer counterparts and it isn't in terms of talent.  It can be argued that the professional sim-racer is just as talented if not more so than the real pro racer, but where they are vastly different and are held to a much higher standard is in sportsmanship.  Pro sim-drivers know that everyone is watching and even sign an agreement to behave properly on and off the track and that it will not benefit them to wantonly crash into their opponents at all.  They know this isn't really "just a game" and that it is a simulation.

Pro drivers also sign a similar contract, but since crashing into people comes with a bigger price tag and potentially even death such actions are naturally prohibitive.  Place the same pro drivers in the sim-racing environment however and suddenly it's all "just a game" and they can do whatever they like.  They can do things that they only wished they could do in real life, like, ram a competitor just before he crosses the finish line for the win.  But it's all good because it's just a game and they would later say they were "sorry," not because they truly are, but because saying so gives them the out they need for the premeditative poor sportsmanship they intended all along.

I'm thinking that famous pro drivers are actually hurting themselves more than helping by competing in iRacing events.  Why?  Because it shows the public what their true character is really like as sportsmen. Rather than the well varnished and controlled spin they and their publicists would have you believe on TV interviews, the pros couldn't care less about the sport, the rules, or the fans.  All they care about is themselves and winning, rules, and personal integrity be damned.

This is not a good look for their sport at a time when attendance numbers have been falling in recent years.  In fact, simulation racing has been on the rise during this same period and may prove to be the sport of choice amongst fans as sim-drivers are arguably at a higher skill level within a more controlled format and real drivers reveal they lack any and all sense of integrity for their sport.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/05/drama-in-iracing-as-indycar-champ-wrecks-f1-star-on-purpose/



GTDon

McLaren's Lando Norris, Zak Brown Condemn Simon Pagenaud for Poor iRacing Sportsmanship
https://www.autoweek.com/racing/indycar/a32355645/mclarens-lando-norris-and-zak-brown-condemn-simon-pagenaud-for-poor-iracing-sportsmanship/








It seems that not everyone thinks simulation racing between professional drivers is "just a game." Santino Ferrucci and Simon Pagenaud are losers. But this isn't just because of their iRacing antics check out this Formula 2 race coverage report on Ferrucci:
https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/22028/how-f2-driver-santino-ferrucci-dismantled-his-racing-career-in-one-weekend





As for Pagenaud, cheating seems to be in the blood:
https://www.espn.com/racing/indycar/story/_/id/15225095/indycar-simon-pagenaud-long-beach-win-marred-controversy

Someone was asking me the other day about the fastest Forza drivers being mostly absent from league races and why they are so fickle and averse to competing unless everything goes their way?  Having raced with nearly every one of the fastest Forza drivers at one time or another since FM1, I felt like I might have an answer. 

It's an interesting question because it is true, most of your uber-fast guys don't last very long in a league series.  They usually start a season but rarely finish one.  Their first excuse is that there is no competition for them to bother continuing.  This sounds fair until you realize that they knew what the level of competition was going to be before the start of the season. Their second excuse is usually format related and/or whether they get off to a good start for the season.  This too is odd because the format was known to them prior to the start of the season too.  

With these two positions in place, a super-fast guy tends to paint themselves into a lose-lose corner.  If they dominate the first race, they say they are bored and they will usually quit.  If they don't dominate and come in anything less than first place, they complain things aren't fair and still quit.  But why is this?  Why do they have such a narrow window of competitive space to work with?

It all comes down to being number 1.  Not as a driver, but more as a person.  Your typical alien driver is first and foremost not a team player and doesn't play well with others.  He's generally a video game narcissist and has fed his gaming ego with an immense number of Forza wins to the point that he feels he is above everyone.  He's above the leagues, the series, the format, the rules, and especially the other drivers.  

Seeing himself as being superior he feels he should be able to dictate his terms by demanding changes to fit the way he likes things to be, or, he simply won't compete.  If you try to accommodate an alien,  you'll be making a big mistake because he will not likely continue to race with you anyway.  His satisfaction is derived only from winning, at everything.  Including how a series or league is to be conducted.  Once he gets the tracks, cars, and rules he wants, it's a win, and ironically he won't even bother to show up for the season he demanded.

This is why you never see a super fast guy on the race organizational side of league racing.  They rarely if ever bother to organize their own races, series, or leagues, but will tell you all about how to do it the right way.  They don't, because they know being a race organizer is not as easy or satisfying as just racing and then criticizing the series.  They know that as a race organizer there are many more losses than wins to be had which is contrary to their nature of wanting to win at everything all the time. They don't see it as a winning proposition is the point which is intolerable and stupid to them.  Why would you do such a thing that has almost no chance of succeeding is their view. Why put yourself out there to be second-guessed and criticized constantly is their question.

In a way they are right, but what they don't see is that it is only in the most difficult things that we discover are the ones that are the most worth doing.  Capturing success from something that is known to be fraught with failure is the sweetest win of all.

In this regard, we can extrapolate a speculative conclusion that uber-fast alien drivers have a deep-seated inferiority complex that drives their self-centered ways.  Their self worth and personal value is welded to their performance in front of their peers. They have an unquenchable thirst to be praised and adored, and can not afford anything that might slow the flow of this view of them.

I feel this is why NASCAR and the Indy car drivers can't drive like civilized racers in iRacing. Just wreck them if you don't get your way seems to be all their attitudes. This is why I am happy to race here, most of us are civilized, evolved racers and that keeps me coming back every season even though there is an ice cubes chance in hell I'll ever win one.

Again, thanks for all you do organizing and running the show. I personally know what kind of work is involved having created and hosted my share of races @ GLR in the day.

Midnite Rider wrote:

I feel this is why NASCAR and the Indy car drivers can't drive like civilized racers in iRacing. Just wreck them if you don't get your way seems to be all their attitudes. This is why I am happy to race here, most of us are civilized, evolved racers and that keeps me coming back every season even though there is an ice cubes chance in hell I'll ever win one.

Again, thanks for all you do organizing and running the show. I personally know what kind of work is involved having created and hosted my share of races @ GLR in the day.

You make a good point Rider.  It's obvious that the current crop of superstar drivers are behind the times and mostly unaware of simulation racing and the size of the audience.  They also don't understand that it is not "just a video game" and that to say so is insulting to millions of simulation racing fans.  They dishonor the effort that simulation racing has made for the past 15 years.  It is an effort to accurately portray what it is like to race a car and as such is attempting to honor those who do it for real be they the drivers, mechanics, or race organizers.

To them, this is all new territory and they are having to go through what the rest of us did a decade ago.  Understanding that there is a difference between a simulator and a video game for example.  Realizing that the line between real and virtual is not as wide as you thought, and knowing that your character as an individual is what still comes through loud and clear no matter what form you compete in.

Hello everyone!  We are doing a little showcase work with Season 10 cars which doesn't begin until July 11th after the IFCA Triple Crown in June.  

The attempt here is to help everyone but especially the lower-rated drivers with identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each car as they are compared. To sort of give you an idea for the flavor of each car so that you can make a more informed selection.  Our aim is to give you a better understanding of what to expect from each car and how one car or another might suit your driving style and level of skill better.

Helping me with this is ZHP 2004 (John) who is a very experienced hot lapper who's IFCA rating hovers between 1990-2015, about the same as my own.  We did a runoff between the 2018 Ford Mustang RTR Spec  5 vs 2016 Cadillac ATS-V FE at Watkins Glen, Silverstone, and Daytona night which are the first three tracks of the 4 week season.

At 599hp the Caddy has more power with a 3.6L twin turbo charged V6.  The Mustang RTR with its normally aspirated flat-plane Coyote 5.0L V8 pumps out 571hp. But the Mustang RTR is lighter at 3,024lbs vs 3,053lbs.

At Watkins Glen the Mustang RTR with its lighter weight and slightly better handling was the easier and better car to drive.  It was very close however with the Mustang edging out the ATS-V by 0.2 tenths or more most of the time.  This kind of margin is so small that drivers at the lower end of the IFCA ratings scale will not be able to take advantage of it in any meaningful way.  However, we both felt the Mustang was the more comfortable car to drive and the easier car to tune. 1 point goes to the Mustang.

We moved on to the Daytona 24hr night course where we knew the Caddy would be superior with its greater power and lower down force numbers producing a higher top speed.  Doing 187mph at the line the Caddy absolutely rules Daytona!  The Mustang even with the down force turned all the way down could only do 178mph.  But, as bad as it looked on paper and on the track the Mustang wasn't that far off in lap times.  At most it was only off by 0.7 tenths which isn't a lot on a big track.  In fact the Mustang was faster on the infield than the Caddy, but once up on the banking the twin turbo ATS-V with its bigger power effortlessly pulled away. 1 point goes to Cadillac.

Looking for a tie breaker we went over to Silverstone GP thinking the Mustang might be the favorite but to our surprise, the ATS-V actually went faster by 0.1sec!  This is so close that honestly, it might as well be a tie.  The RTR was quicker in tighter sections and the ATS-V gained back time in the longer sections.  The Caddy was very sensitive to down force changes and tuning which made a big difference at this track.  The Mustang not so much.

So, in the end, who did we declare the winner?  It was super close. We both felt like the Caddy was overall slightly faster in terms of lap times but harder to drive and tune than the Ford.  The Mustang was more of a user friendly ride compared to the Cadillac and more consistent.  For this reason we gave the win to the Mustang, especially for your lower-rated drivers.  The ATS-V can be faster, but it will take some extra work and more driver ratings points to get you there.

Next up Porsche vs McLaren...

 2015 Mercedes-AMG GT S vs 2015 Corvette ZO6


ZHP 2004 and I were both looking forward to this matchup.  The ZO6 with a supercharged 6.2L V8 has 686hp/686tq and weighs in at a hefty 3566lbs.  The Merc AMG GTS has 549hp/523tq but weighs a feather-lite 3007lbs with a 3.9L 32 valve twin turbo V8 . 


The ZO6 was seamless and smooth at Watkins Glen and could do no wrong despite its heavy weight.  It matched the best times ran at the track by any of the other cars in the Super GT class.  But compared to the silky smooth and refined AMG GT S the Vette felt almost clunky!  The Merc is so smooth and in control its almost boring.  The refinement of the AMG makes the Vette feel like some kind of cheap one night stand.  Even so, we declared the match a tie at Watkins as they ran within 0.1sec of each other.


1/2 point for both


At Daytona night the AMG was slightly faster on top and consistently ran 0.3sec faster than the Vette.  The Vette was equal on the infield section, but the AMG pulled harder on the banking.


1 point for the Mercedes


Silverstone and its complex layout proved too much for the Vette.  The AMG posted one of the fastest times in the low 2:09s a good 0.7sec faster than the Vette.  It's possible that with some tuning the Vette could be more equal but the AMG was just easier to drive fast.


We declared the Mercedes AMG GT S the overall winner.  It's not the funnest car to drive but it is one of the easiest and most forgiving.  It's a bit like a luxury car that decided it could go racing too. lol

Dodge Hellcat Challenger vs BMW M4

This was one I was looking forward to.  Both cars are not known for exemplary handling but have been built to a maximum handing state with the widest available tires so they can compete within the class against more sporty machinery.  For this test we invited Latte Speed to have a go in them and give his opinion.

The Hellcat is not the all motor no handling car it usually is.  In fact, at 3480lbs it is lighter than the ZO6 by 86lbs and with 688hp/632tq, it has 2hp more than the Vette, with its 6.2L supercharged V8 Hemi.

The BMW M4 is considerably lighter than the Hellcat at 2794lbs and boasts a twin turbo 3.0L DOHC straight 6cyl with 630hp/593tq.

I don't mind saying that ZHP (a Beemer man) and Latte Speed didn't think the Hellcat had much of a chance given the numbers.  At Watkins Glen the Hellcat was clearly a little faster having a little more thrust out of the corners.  Neither car was super composed by any means and was not threatening the lap record.  Even though this is the best handling Hellcat you are ever going to drive, don't be fooled, she is still an unruly muscle car.  The M4 has an almost electric motor it's so smooth.  With some tuning it can be a weapon.

1 point for Dodge

At Daytona night the BMW M4 had the legs clicking off 188mph at the line as one of the fastest cars clocked from the class.  Latte Speed and ZHP felt like the BMW M4 was probably too much car for the Hellcat to handle, until we switched cars.  Although the Hellcat is down on top speed, its mid-range power is insane.  It nearly broke the track lap record and was some 0.8sec faster than the BMW.  It was a real head-scratcher because the BMW was 3mph faster on top.  Latte and ZHP really couldn't believe it.  But you know what they say, sometimes it takes a MOPAR man to drive a MOPAR right. lol

1 point for Dodge, again.

Over at Silverstone we weren't sure what to expect, but again the Hellcat showed its tail to the M4 posting a low 2:09.  The BMW ran high 2:09s.

1 point for Dodge and the first clean sweep of all of our matchups.  Here's one for the "Brotherhood of muscle"


Our last test match will pit the Viper vs the Ferrari 430, so be good...

I've been meaning to change the IFCA driver skill ratings for some time now.  You may have noticed that we have copied the FIA designation labels of Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Tin.  (The FIA doesn't use "Tin" for the lowest drivers)

What's the difference between them?  Platinum ( 2400+) is cream of the crop top pro Forza drivers.  Gold (2000-2399) is your semi-pro Forza driver, someone on the verge of going to the Platinum level. Silver (1950-1999) is your typical above average Forza driver who could reach the semi-pro Gold level. Bronze (1900-1949 is your average Forza driver, and Tin (1899 or lower) is your below average Forza driver.

Nobody's numeric ratings has changed only the skill class they belong to has changed in order to bring context and mirror what the FIA has done. This should help to better describe the meaning and value of the numeric ratings.  So, a Factory driver is always someone with a Bronze rating or less for example.

Here's a related story:
https://www.autoweek.com/racing/more-racing/a1709521/fia-driver-ratings-explained/

IFCA World Rankings here:
https://ifca.forumotion.com/t6516-ifca-forza-7-ratings-and-world-rankings

I've often heard that navigating the IFCA site is a bit like going into a house of mirrors for some people.  It's confusing and seems disorganized to a lot of people.  And while I can see that this can be the case, I also know that a lot of people could do better with a little instruction.

The easiest way to navigate the IFCA site is to go to what we consider to be the "front page" or "Portal" https://ifca.forumotion.com/

Once there, what you will see primarily is the IFCA Newsletter.  Above the newsletter is your forum tabs bar.  More importantly, however, is the "Latest Topics" box to the right of the page which continually scrolls the latest posts in every topic.  It is here that you can see at a glance anything that was recently posted and can click on it and it will take you there. And that's all you need.




If you instead go directly to the forums by clicking on the first tab called "Home" at the top left of any page or your browser URL save simply takes you there, you are greeted with just 4 forum categories.  The IFCA World Rankings, the IFCA Rated Events From Around The World! the Special Announcements, and the Newsletters and features category.

To make things easy to find we have "globalized" the Trans-Am build sheets for all the classifications or groups of cars we use.  This means that no matter what category you click on the build sheets for all the cars will always be at the top of every page you visit.

The "IFCA World Rankings" category has only 2 sections.  it has all the "announcements" for Lap Records, Seasonal Points, Format, Penalties, and Drivers looking for teams. And below these topics at the bottom of the page is where you can find the all-important IFCA Forza 7 Ratings and World Rankings.

The "IFCA Rated Events From Around The World!" category is where you can go to see the ratings results of all the series we rate whether they are from within the IFCA or some other league.  There is one special topic we keep here called "IFCA Relay Challenge Series News" which is where we post relevant topics to that of our series, simulation racing, and real racing.  Sort of a large news hub as it relates to our hobby.  In fact it is the most read topic on the site with over 10,000 views. Everything else that you see as you scroll down are old past rated events and are locked.  You can look at them, you just can't reply to them.

The "Special Announcements" category is a kind of continuation of the "IFCA Relay Challenge Series News" as it covers mostly Forza related topics.

The "Newsletters and features" category is where you will find the latest IFCA Newsletter which also appears on the Portal page.  You'll also see all the previous IFCA Newsletters from times past.  The Newsletter is the tip of the IFCA spear and acts as a kind of calendar of events before each new season.

Perhaps the easiest thing to do is make sure to turn on your "Notify me when a reply is posted" option.  That way if anything is posted to a topic you have read you can get an email notification of it.

Hope this helps.

"Stay Tuned!"

If you were wondering what the details are for the Triple Crown on Saturday June 13th, 7pm EST, please read the IFCA Newsletter about it here:

https://ifca.forumotion.com/t6658-ifca-triple-crown-june-13th

If you haven't voted yet on whether we should or shouldn't allow TCS for our older Trans-Am cars go here:

https://ifca.forumotion.com/t6667-tcs

Montoya still has ambitions of Le Mans return and triple crown success

https://www.autosport.com/wec/news/149908/montoya-still-has-ambitions-of-triple-crown-success

Today is the big day, the opening round of our special Triple Crown endurance race is finally here!  All the same assortments of bonus points are in effect for matching liveries, top 7 practice lap, track lap record during race, fastest clean lap, Wed participation, and cleanest drivers for the race and now the season too.  So there is a lot to race for and collect points with.

Please keep in mind two things. 1.) This is a long race, grid position is not critically important, and having a killer first lap doesn't do anything.  Take it easy, give each other room to race, you will have an entire hour to make clean passes, no need to treat this like a 4lap sprint.  2.) Be sure not to go idle and wiggle your controls a bit as you are waiting for your stint to begin.  If controller inactivity is detected you might get logged out.

If we have 16 drivers available after the race we will run an IFCA Showdown elimination match race, so please stick around for that.

Good luck!

Today is your last chance to get your team qualified and on the grid for Saturday's Season 10 opening round @ Watkins Glen! I will be on later today.

A little off the path here but, as many of you know I've been waiting patiently for my Fanatec Clubsport wheel and pedal set for nearly 3 months and it finally came.  

The difference in feel over my practically broken Logitech G920 is night and day.  The resolution and fidelity are orders of magnitude higher.  The Clubsport wheel is vastly smoother and offers far greater liner control with the V1.1 base attached to it.  The CSL pedals are much the same. In fact, the brake pedal is the only real problem for me due to its more proper sensitivity versus the G920 brake pedal which had no sensitivity whatsoever.  Even so I'm already able to match my previous lap times with the G920.  Not bad considering the radically different feel and zero practice with the Fanatec.  

The biggest and most welcome difference is greater car control.  The Clubsport wheel allows you to do things I wouldn't think of doing with G920.  The incremental inputs are so much more fine-grain that you can catch the car in a slide easier, you can more carefully apply the accelerator for smoother corner exits too.  I haven't tried sim-steering with it yet but I can see how this wheel might be even better with it whereas with the G920 it was just impossible.

I think the days of hand controller superiority in Forza are quickly coming to an end.  Like so many other sim-racing games, the wheel is becoming the go-to peripheral for greater enjoyment and speed these days. I highly recommend you get a Fanatec wheel if you can.  Assembly was easy and it worked right out of the box for me.

New Wheel and The Comfy Chair!!

Very nice, now I expect you to kick everyone's rear-end, no excuses!