Re: Racing Discussions

by **IFCA GTDon** Fri Jun 30, 2023 4:51 am

ZAR Eries wrote:I need to do a shout out to the faithful, the lesser heard but always seen.

Whiskey
Atoms
EarnedCarrot
Nova
Sox
Oneshot
Creech
Kane
Tom

These guys are there, season after season. No excuses, some do become vocal here and there, but they never falter in pitching up for almost if not all races, week after week, season after season.

I would like to tip my hat to you guys. You are what it is about. The guys that we have come to know as throughout the season, there would be no backing down.

Whoop whoop,

Looking forward to Saturday and then the final FM7 season starting July. Thanks yall

I'm so glad you mentioned this Eries. It's a great reminder that the IFCA has always been about support for the average racer and that without their continued participation there really would be no IFCA. The more that drivers like this take ownership of the IFCA and support it by attending every season and every race, the easier it is to sustain and justify IFCA racing. That is, a lot of fun work goes into bringing a season together, be it testing, or format creation, or regulation, or recruiting, or promoting. But it is only worthwhile, if everyone shows up on race day.

So yes, thanks to you guys who perpetually come here and race week in, and week out, month after month, season after season, whether you are fighting for a podium or not, that the rest of us get to have something fun to look forward to do. It is the realization that the entertainment in this hobby often rests more with simply competing than in winning. Winning is a great and rare thing as it should be, but the interaction and social competition you are exposed to is much more memorable and long lasting.

As with real racing, it is the unforgettable characters (A.J. Foyt vs Mario Andretti, Richard Petty vs David Pearson, Don Prudhomme vs Tom McEwen ["The Snake" vs "The Mongoose"] Senna vs Prost) and the action that makes it interesting and draws you in. It is the epic rivalries that emerge from the mix that calls you to the grid. Not because you are assured of winning each season, but because you are assured of competing.

Oh, and Whiskey, just 7 words for you pal, stay the hell out of my way! lol

by FlavoredAtoms Fri Jul 07, 2023 4:10 pm

Bronze drivers topping silverstone

by **IFCA GTDon** Fri Jul 14, 2023 7:43 am

Racing Discussions - Page 5 IjHI82auzWAdGw0-80TJbM21X7qMqgoitd808O_Empc

As with every new season we have new guys, and with them mutual unfamiliarity from both sides, vets vs newbs. Neither side is totally sure how the other will drive at first is the point. New guys don't know us, and we don't know the new guys.

Because of this I want to caution our regulars to be extra clean and gentle out there. We all come from the chaos of public lobbies, and I like to make it a point before the start of every season to remind everyone, this is not public lobby racing in the least.

Here at the IFCA there is no blocking until after the last turn of the final lap for position. Our drivers will give you racing room. They will not use you for a guardrail. If after hard contact occurs, and you are knocked off the track, our drivers will exercise the "IFCA Golden Rule" and wait for you to recover your position.

We do have a penalty system. Each race is replay reviewed for the first 2 laps. If something happens beyond that point you will need to post a protest here:
https://ifca.forumotion.com/t6813-log-a-request-for-investigation

We have a 5 strikes and you're out policy. Out, as in DQ'd for the season. It's rare, but it has happened. A strike is earned for any warning that is issued to you for any violation such as hard contact. Light contact that does not result in a position advantage for you or a positional disadvantage for your competitor will not be penalized. Repeated contact however, even if light, might earn a warning and therefore a strike.

Our drivers attitude is to pretend their car is actually worth something, in the same way a real race car is. No real driver wants to bang up his car because it cost time, effort, and money to repair it. Have this kind of attitude and you will enjoy racing in a way that is unique to the IFCA.

Good luck!

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Jul 17, 2023 8:37 pm

Racing Discussions - Page 5 Porsche-911-ST-2.3-138031

After watching the latest Forza Monthly, there is finally reason for optimism beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now hear me out everyone.

There was good reason to be skeptical on every front with Forza, mainly due to our past experiences with T10, and their direction ostensibly away from their namesake "Motorsports."

For a very long time T10 had it in their heads that Forza needed to be something more than simply about racing. That Forza could be about anything to do with automotive pursuits. The thinking was to try to touch on every aspect of motorsports and its enthusiasts everywhere, and then call it "car culture."

Noble as this thought was, it inherently degenerated the game into something far afield of its original intent and attraction, i.e., racing. Lost was the idea that it [motorsport] was primarily at the top where higher degrees of admiration and adulation are sourced. It is from this extremely high peak that everything else about motorsports descends from. Make this your focus, and everything that everyone enjoys about the sport is naturally enhanced. From watching the pros, to local racing, to merchandise, to products, to increasing the number of fans and competitors alike. It all comes from a love of competition first and foremost.

It is a part of our genetics to want to compete ever since the first men took to the first foot race.. It is at the core of our breeding and being. And in the big picture losers are just as essential as winners. Water it down, dilute the ferver, give everyone a trophy or no trophy at all, and you have killed the very essence of what makes the endeavor so great in the first place.

I'm happy to see that T10 is on a new path in this regard. It appears they finally realize that the fundamental point of Forza is to race. I feel like saying welcome to the club T10, we've been here for awhile. It's now clear that T10 is shifting gears toward a more meaningful and competitive racing environment perhaps for the first time in franchise history.

Back in FM1 it was extremely competitive, much more so than today, but it was not on purpose. T10 hardly knew exactly what they were doing at the time and just let communities develop on their own and do their own thing. The result was (unforeseen by T10) a massive shift toward ever insane levels of extreme competition first with hot lapping and then public lobby racing, from which league racing like here at the IFCA would eventually emerge.

I'm not saying they will bring that level of competitive spirit back, but it is good that they have made a U-turn to try to get some of it back. Based on the examples given we can safely say the cars handle better and are actually faster than in FM7. Tires are playing a huge role too this time with hard, medium, soft compounds in addition to stock, street, sport, and slicks. Also the addition of an authentic specialty tire for olders cars. Then there is the improved engine and tire sounds with tracks that actually have atmosphere that effects the performance and look too.

Bottom line, even if Forza Motorsports only had 1 or 2 improvements over FM7, it would be worthy of purchase for the devoted. Imagine a slightly better looking, slightly better feeling, slightly better sounding FM7. Would you buy it? Of course you would! Because FM7 isn't all that bad to begin with. Give FM7 an across the board upgrade as they have done with "FM8", and there is no reason not to want it.

So while we all were maybe expecting something more revolutionary, what we are getting is something more evolutionary instead. But that's okay. Nobody hates Porsche for continually upgrading one of the winningest cars ever made, the legendary 911, for the past 60 years. But, just don't say it's, "new from the ground up."

by **papa creech172** Thu Jul 27, 2023 4:51 pm

Tom please read your xbox messages your trump car is under spec! Zar has reached out as Don may have also I have also sent you a message on your xbox

by **IFCA Eries** Fri Jul 28, 2023 1:05 am

papa creech172 wrote:Tom please read your xbox messages your trump car is under spec! Zar has reached out as Don may have also I have also sent you a message on your xbox

Yes!

You need to have the RACE Camshaft and not the sport one. Your car is now a PI 720 but it needs to be a PI 730 Mustang

by Staffy Sat Jul 29, 2023 7:35 am

ZAR Eries wrote:
papa creech172 wrote:Tom please read your xbox messages your trump car is under spec! Zar has reached out as Don may have also I have also sent you a message on your xbox
Yes!

You need to have the RACE Camshaft and not the sport one. Your car is now a PI 720 but it needs to be a PI 730 Mustang

Eries, what series are you running? There is no Camshaft and those PI numbers are not correct.

by **IFCA Eries** Sat Jul 29, 2023 8:30 am

Staffy wrote:
ZAR Eries wrote:
papa creech172 wrote:Tom please read your xbox messages your trump car is under spec! Zar has reached out as Don may have also I have also sent you a message on your xbox
Yes!

You need to have the RACE Camshaft and not the sport one. Your car is now a PI 720 but it needs to be a PI 730 Mustang

Eries, what series are you running? There is no Camshaft and those PI numbers are not correct.

Tom is copper, there is no lesser build, so he can add a Race Cam to his current car as a trump build.

by **IFCA GTDon** Tue Aug 08, 2023 12:26 pm

1971 Dodge Dart 440 Six Pack

Weiand cross ram Super Stock intake manifold

Dana 60 3.54gears

TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic Hurst shifter

Fiberglass lift off hood

Race weight 3,270lbs

502hp

Estimated 1/4 mile times low 11s.

15 years and tens of 1000s of dollars later this car went from just a shell to what you see here. A period correct mass produced hand built concept car essentially. That is, if the lineage of the Dodge Dart was allowed to develop from its inception with the 1962 413cid Max Wedge cross ram Darts, all the way to and through 1971-72, Dodge would have arrived at what you see here in all likelihood. The pinnacle of the Dodge Dart Ram Charger concept.

A streetable big block A-body for the masses. Everything on this car is from the high performance off the shelf parts bins of the 1960s and 70s. It has no new car parts.

Back in those days there was no such thing as a 500hp production muscle car for the street. Such a thing was pure myth. Yes, there were cars with as much or more than 500hp, but these were race cars and not intended for street use. Cars like the 1968 Hemi Dart for example could not be licensed for the street.

So we set off to create a kind of retro-concept car. We used only period correct parts and hot rodding techniques from back in the day to build what we think would have been the natural progression of the high performance Dart line. Even the paint is a stock Chrysler gold available in 1971. The Dart line actually began in 1962 some ten years earlier with the 413cid cross ram (Ram Charger) Max Wedge cars.

Notice I said '1962,' some 2 years BEFORE what many consider to be the birth of the American muscle car with the 1964 Pontiac GTO. That's right, Chrysler was way ahead of GM and Ford by placing a large displacement V8 engine in a smaller car body in 1962.

At 430hp from the factory the Max Wedge 413cid was a beast in 1962, and ruled the drag strip in production Stock and Super Stock classes. By comparison the newer 1964 GTO with its smaller 389cid engine, was only rated at 325hp with a single four barrel carburetor. Even with the upgraded Tri-Power (3 deuces) GM's smaller version of a Chrysler Six Pack, the 389cid engine still only rated at 348hp. At almost 3500lbs the full framed GTO was easily over 100lbs heavier than the lighter weight uni-body designed Dart too. In Super Stock race trim the 1962 Max Wedge Darts could be as light as 2700lbs.

What the GTO did have that the Dart didn't was good looks, and a massive marketing and ad campaign selling the buying public the story that the GTO was the go-fast car to buy. It was a John DeLorean con-job, a GM myth, but one that worked for sales. But the drag strip was another story. Production GTO's were mid 14sec cars at best. Prepped for stock class racing and they could reach down into the respectable 13s. But the Dodge Darts, from 2 years earlier, were already into the 12s by that time.

In 1963-64 Dodge upped the ante by bumping the displacement to 426cid and decimated all comers. The newer larger displacement 426cid Wedge Motors allowed the Dodge Polara's and Plymouth Fury's to totally dominate the Super Stock class wars. The Chrysler cars were lighter and had more horsepower and especially more torque than anything GM or Ford could come up with at the time. In fact, the Wedge cars would be class of the field until Chrysler itself introduced the 426 Hemi in 1966.

But the question for us was, what would it be like to build a later model Dart to its logical conclusion given the available engine technology of the early 1970's? The answer begins with the biggest of the big block Chrysler motors, the 440cid Wedge. For 1 year (1969) Chrysler explored this possibility with a limited run of 440cid Dart's and Barracuda's known as the M-code cars. These cars lacked many of the go-fast parts they should have had like the Dana 60 rear and more radical cam. Though they were a very toned down and modest factory attempt, they were still among the fastest street legal cars Chrysler produced at the time.

It was the right way to go with the Dart, but not enough dedicated effort and marketing on the part of Dodge and Plymouth to allow it to continue into the 1970 model year. 52 years later enter a father and son project Dart that would explore its continuation the right way and realize its ultimate performance level. Not by slapping on a turbo, or nitrous kit. Not by swapping out the motor for a Gen 2 motor. Nor by making it a slick pro-touring car with modern running gear and suspension, no! Instead by limiting it to the available high performance parts that could be ordered from the Chrysler catalogue from that time period.

We did everything we could to maximize the performance of this 440cid Dart using only OEM parts and hot rodding techniques of its era. The goal was to keep it to within a level that it could be street approved while at the same time shooting for a legitimate 500hp. The result is what you see here. A very streetable but very radical 500hp production concept car.

Our main emphasis was on high performance reliability which means that we pursued low RPM torque more than high rpm horsepower. We didn't want a high strung motor. We wanted a torque rich monster! A car that remains true to its original pedigree and intent, to be the baddest car off the showroom floor.

The down side? 9mpg Hwy or City. lol

We will be taking it up to the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd MN next week, not to race, but just as our daily driver. lol

by **papa creech172** Tue Aug 08, 2023 12:41 pm

I could not see the pics, but I have seen the car before and utube video
Really nice Don and Son

by **papa creech172** Tue Aug 08, 2023 4:02 pm

[quote="GTDon2"]Should see them now[/quote]

by Staffy Tue Aug 08, 2023 10:02 pm

GTDon, I'm going to need you to take a step to the side, because I'm going to be moving past you in points this week. One handed!

by **IFCA Eries** Sun Aug 13, 2023 3:16 am

Please note:

I will simply not answer any more questions relating to anything that has been posted and explained on the forum, if it is clear that the question stems from not even carrying any knowledge of the information that has been posted.

Don will have to sport those questions from now on.

Replying in any sort of directional or personal tone on the forum from now on, will have such a posters post deleted and will also be served with a ban on following scale:

1. First offense 2 weeks
2. Second offense 1 month
3. Third offense permanent

We simply can not and will not tolerate ANY more pre race outbursts that we experienced Saturday, it is unfair to all and unsettles emotions, making for unenjoyable racing for some.

I will for the very last time mention that. The grid order is determined through LB, Qualy, Rating, Avg rating, Ratio multiplyer, Group, group adjuster (time adjuster). I do also feel that it might need tweaking as it was developed back in Season 16 and have been used ever since. With the recent changes in the ratings it might now have a too big adjustment made. It is a multi tiered formula, not simple math.

The past race if you ONLY look at LB and Qualy times, Eries was to be on pole, but Silver against gold does get adjusted, same as any other groups, and that margin might be a little too big now. Carrot was actually 2nd on grid but due to a single place grid penalty from the previous race. The gap now makes it difficult to gold to match quick silver times.

So approach the conversation correctly and I will entertain the discussion, same as we did with the team competition points structure. Just sad that the person that actually had a very calm and collective approach to that was now the one totally out of line.

My last word in the matter both from a team and individual perspective is such, in line with equalling out racers. From a ratings perspective to have racers compete as equally as possible having different builds that assist lower groups keep up to some extend with faster groups, but recently we have really seen a push like never before from lower rated drivers, they are becoming very fast within their rating, which is actually a great thing. Here the other slight assisted boosts will have to be tweaked as it now swings a little too much away from the faster ratings. I accept that, only been from race 2 this season 20, seeing Whiskey in Silver for an extended time. We also seen some great efforts from Carrot, Johnathan to name a few, Atoms as well, putting effort in, good stuff!

The points structures are multi tiered as mentioned earlier, and uses the ratings to some extent as a base and builds from here. However there are both safe measures (sandbagging), and lower ended driver assists (countered by points for top 12s, bonus performance points etc).

Please note that everything that has been done has been discussed, posted and generally accepted. Apart from the slight tweaking required, it was actually awesome (even though it took me 5 laps just to settle down a bit), to see Johnathan and Whiskey having a battle up front. I'm sure as Whiskey also mentioned before that they seem to have great battles between them, this to me is what it is all about. In the end the best will still be victorious but even I recently have had battles with people I never used to, Carrot etc, it makes waking up and racing something to look forward to.

So for the remainder of the season, we will ride it out as is, then tweak and amend what needs to. I'm all for that off course, I always am.

If you look at the race results, 90% was actually as expected, with the here and there other driver mixed in. This is also good for them, it makes their time worth while, scrapping with the elite, the super quick guys. I assume all feel the same?

So when nerves settle down and you look at everything, it's really not as bad as you think on the day. Remember we aren't following standard rules here. No Qualy first guaranteed 1st on the grid scenario. If you want that, go hopper racing, then the IFCA is and will never be for you. Having pockets of racers in battles makes for tight hard racing. Not leading of the grid never to be seen again, followed by second runner, all by himself etc. That was the direction Don set us off many moons ago already, so unless he drastically envisions something else, that won't change.

Thank you.

by **IFCA GTDon** Sun Aug 13, 2023 7:03 am

ZAR Eries wrote:Please note:

I will simply not answer any more questions relating to anything that has been posted and explained on the forum, if it is clear that the question stems from not even carrying any knowledge of the information that has been posted.

Don will have to sport those questions from now on.

Replying in any sort of directional or personal tone on the forum from now on, will have such a posters post deleted and will also be served with a ban on following scale:

1. First offense 2 weeks
2. Second offense 1 month
3. Third offense permanent

We simply can not and will not tolerate ANY more pre race outbursts that we experienced Saturday, it is unfair to all and unsettles emotions, making for unenjoyable racing for some.

I will for the very last time mention that. The grid order is determined through LB, Qualy, Rating, Avg rating, Ratio multiplyer, Group, group adjuster (time adjuster). I do also feel that it might need tweaking as it was developed back in Season 16 and have been used ever since. With the recent changes in the ratings it might now have a too big adjustment made. It is a multi tiered formula, not simple math.

The past race if you ONLY look at LB and Qualy times, Eries was to be on pole, but Silver against gold does get adjusted, same as any other groups, and that margin might be a little too big now. Carrot was actually 2nd on grid but due to a single place grid penalty from the previous race. The gap now makes it difficult to gold to match quick silver times.

So approach the conversation correctly and I will entertain the discussion, same as we did with the team competition points structure. Just sad that the person that actually had a very calm and collective approach to that was now the one totally out of line.

My last word in the matter both from a team and individual perspective is such, in line with equalling out racers. From a ratings perspective to have racers compete as equally as possible having different builds that assist lower groups keep up to some extend with faster groups, but recently we have really seen a push like never before from lower rated drivers, they are becoming very fast within their rating, which is actually a great thing. Here the other slight assisted boosts will have to be tweaked as it now swings a little too much away from the faster ratings. I accept that, only been from race 2 this season 20, seeing Whiskey in Silver for an extended time. We also seen some great efforts from Carrot, Johnathan to name a few, Atoms as well, putting effort in, good stuff!

The points structures are multi tiered as mentioned earlier, and uses the ratings to some extent as a base and builds from here. However there are both safe measures (sandbagging), and lower ended driver assists (countered by points for top 12s, bonus performance points etc).

Please note that everything that has been done has been discussed, posted and generally accepted. Apart from the slight tweaking required, it was actually awesome (even though it took me 5 laps just to settle down a bit), to see Johnathan and Whiskey having a battle up front. I'm sure as Whiskey also mentioned before that they seem to have great battles between them, this to me is what it is all about. In the end the best will still be victorious but even I recently have had battles with people I never used to, Carrot etc, it makes waking up and racing something to look forward to.

So for the remainder of the season, we will ride it out as is, then tweak and amend what needs to. I'm all for that off course, I always am.

If you look at the race results, 90% was actually as expected, with the here and there other driver mixed in. This is also good for them, it makes their time worth while, scrapping with the elite, the super quick guys. I assume all feel the same?

So when nerves settle down and you look at everything, it's really not as bad as you think on the day. Remember we aren't following standard rules here. No Qualy first guaranteed 1st on the grid scenario. If you want that, go hopper racing, then the IFCA is and will never be for you. Having pockets of racers in battles makes for tight hard racing. Not leading of the grid never to be seen again, followed by second runner, all by himself etc. That was the direction Don set us off many moons ago already, so unless he drastically envisions something else, that won't change.

Thank you.

I totally support this. I will address this in the race review to a degree as well, but Eries has it down pretty good.

Sort of ironic that just when we have reached a point of excellent race craft our problems switch to race politics. Is there a connection? It used to be the other way around. We used to have problems on the track more than off, and now that things offer closer competition, the battle has somehow switched to off track issues as some kind of evidence of unfairness.

If anyone is wondering, Eries and I are on the same sheet of music here. We want a greater mix and opportunity for lower rated drivers to compete. This is the underlying goal here at the IFCA.

It IS ever so slightly unfair to the faster drivers here at the IFCA, is our point. We designed it that way! This is not a secret! Everyone knows this! It's just when it comes time for a faster guy to take a little IFCA medicine, suddenly it's not ok. In other words, it's okay as long as it doesn't happen to you, right? It's okay if it happens to Eries, or GTDon, but it better not happen to you, right?

Look, the grid formula carefully and closely adjusts the grid for this purpose/goal of competitive equality, and without nerfing the faster drivers so much so that they can't possibly win. And this is exactly what we want to see.

Case in point, Long Beach. Whiskey was favored to win, period. By all of our metrics and measures, and was even publicly stated even before the race, Whiskey was supposed to win. He wasn't guaranteed to to win, he was just the odds on favorite to win. And he did! In spite of being properly placed on the grid in 4th according to our grid formula, which hasn't changed the whole season! This is exactly what we want to see guys! At the same time, several other lower rated guys had their time in the limelight too, by being placed higher up on the grid than they would otherwise have been. And this is also what we want.

So, please, stop with the stupid 'conspiracy think', nothing is hidden from any of you. Everything is working as intended and with consistency and transparency. And the results speak for themselves. The faster guys are still winning or leading in the points, and the slower guys are getting their crack at racing at the front. It doesn't get any more fair than this.

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Aug 21, 2023 10:59 am

As most here know, it was time for my annual pilgrimage north to Brainerd International Raceway and the NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals. It was exceedingly hot much of the time, but on race day (Sunday) the temps fell and we saw some super fast times including the 3rd fastest mph ever recorded in NHRA history. 338.26mph! (That's 544.377kph for our non-American friends out there.)

I've been going to this event since about 1999 and have seen it evolve over the years going from down, to up, to back down again thanks to the China virus. Attendance is strong, always is, but the tempo of attendance has changed in that people are strictly focused on the pro classes these days to the exclusion of all the sportsman classes. This means that you don't see full grand stands until Pro Stock, Top Fuel, and Funny car appear. And this is different than in the past. It suggests that the fan base has changed and is more watered down, luke warm, and less educated about the sport.

Ever since the China virus recovery, the NHRA has had a hard time organizing and revamping their events in a way that made them as memorable as in the past. There are still less cars, less sponsors, smaller sponsors, fewer attractions, fewer staff, and so on, than ever before. So while the attendance numbers remain relatively good, the NHRA has yet to find the right format formula to marry this new generation of fans and properly cultivate them.

They (the NHRA) haven't quite figured out that the old ways have become stale and passe to a degree. You can only repeat the tried and true format for so long before it starts to run out of gas as new people come into the scene. You have to adjust to the changing fan base which will require an entirely new approach and a certain amount of thinking outside of the box you have placed yourself in.

The answer probably lies with the fans themselves and what they want. The NHRA should start to research this new generation of fan and do some serious polling. In this way they would be able to better modify their program to suit the current fan base. As it stands they are not satisfying the old fan base, and they are not connecting with the new.

But it isn't just the new vs old attitudes, it's also "Biden-omics" at play, as inflation has ballooned energy prices which effects every sector of the economy, including racing. High octane race gas goes for $12.00 per gallon now. And premium gas is around $4.00 per gallon here. With an administration and entire political party dead set on dismantling the energy industry at any cost, there will be less money for everyone outside of the government elite.

Perhaps as the Biden administration's time comes to an end, racing organizations like the NHRA will see an improvement in their overhead expenses, sponsors will see an increase in revenue, and the economy will shake off inflation. Maybe then we will see a return to the good old days.

In the meantime I thought I would share a couple of pictures.

Racing Discussions - Page 5 BIR

by **IFCA GTDon** Wed Aug 30, 2023 9:49 am

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Dec 04, 2023 11:33 pm

Racing Discussions - Page 5 122235-mb-takes-f1-technology-from-winner-s-circle-to-road.6-lg

It has come to my attention a certain criticism of the IFCA and/or me in recent weeks. After talking to dozens and dozens of new drivers there have been a few, maybe just a handful, who alluded to or in one case I overheard say, that the reason they are having a hard time with the IFCA cars is that as drivers, they only race in the upper classes. And that they feel as though the IFCA veterans especially, have a big advantage, because, they always race cars below R-Class.

It was strongly suggested by a few people that the type of builds we use are uncommon and not like the public lobby car builds they usually excel at. This is true. Our cars are not at all like a lobby car build. They are more realistic. We don’t allow “donks.” We don’t allow skinny tires or street tires. We don’t allow stock transmissions, no clutches no flywheels no drive train, no brakes, no aero, and whatever else public lobby cars sacrifice to gain speed.

Several times I was told that the higher classes carry with them a greater degree of skill to drive, and that the IFCA cars with their maximum grip full tire full everything builds, are too hard to learn, poor performing, slow, and therefore not fun to drive.

As a result, I have had a few people quit the series before it has even begun. Telling me that they would gladly come back if we started to race R and P-Class cars i.e. GT and LMP type cars. Which is pretty much what every other league already does at the moment.

In talking with some of you about this odd perception, it was brought up that maybe part of the problem is with GTDon (me)? They pointed out that I’m not well known on the Rivals leaderboard, and that I rarely if ever race the public lobby multiplayer stuff. Some were saying that there is this idea floating around that I live in this little bubble called the IFCA, and that if I were to broaden my view and show people that I can consider other classes of cars, show them I can run the fastest cars, then the critics might not be so prejudice against me and the IFCA.

This is almost reasonable at first glance. But if you look closer the argument seems a bit backwards.

How is it that drivers who admit they only drive R, P, and X, can accuse me of being narrowminded? Here at the IFCA we drive E, D, C, B, A, S, and yes, even R sometimes. Something about this accusation just doesn’t add up here.

Well, then there is the issue with the car builds. But this too doesn’t hold much water either because, if you are telling me P-Class or R-Class is so much better and requires greater skill to race, then shouldn’t you be dominant in the lower class cars that don’t require as much skill to race? Hmm?

Here’s what I think is going on for a select few. These are drivers who have greater success and therefore more fun running in their favorite class. It’s just that simple.
But isn’t this true of everyone? Don’t we all have more fun when we win? Sure! I would love it if all we ever ran were D-Class cars! Why? Because that’s my favorite class! Why? Because I win more in D-Class than any other. So, how is this different than a guy who loves P-Class? It’s not.

Problem is, running just one or two classes all the time whether its fast cars or slow, isn’t fair to those drivers who are somewhere in the middle. When do they get to run their favorite class? See what I mean?

This is why the IFCA runs all but 2 classes. We don’t run P and we don’t run X. They are not good racing classes is why. Way too fast, and cars spaced way too far apart on the track, and also a limited selection of cars. If we were all a bunch of Pro drivers, it would be reasonable to use them, but when you have a wide range of skills, you are just asking for trouble. We’ve known this for a long time. Even S and R classes can be unforgiving for league racing.

As for the accusation of unfair advantages our veteran drivers have over new drivers, I’m not convinced. I mean, this is true in any league. And, you can’t really say I have an advantage with these cars, but then at the same time say they are sub-standard in the skill department compared to the upper-class cars.

You can’t really tell me (something I have heard a few times), “Oh yeah, well, come up to R-Class GT or P-Class LMP and I’ll smoke you!” People who try to say this are over valuing their skill while under valuing mine. They tend to think this for the before mentioned reasons, that I’m, “not well represented on the leaderboards or in multiplayer.” This is a mistake.

The mistake is thinking that the cars I run here at the IFCA are the only cars that I do well at, cars that lack “true skill” to drive or require special skill to drive. Neither assertion is true.
Still, I was being pressed by a couple guys to put up or shut up. To show the naysayers that in reality GTDon isn’t the one trick pony here, but that THEY are.

So, I decided to have a quick go at a driver who specialized at R+ class cars and who was in the series but felt like he had to quit. I suspect it was because he was only running in the middle of the grid, a place he wasn’t use to perhaps. He’s a good driver who shared the belief that anything below R-Class just wasn’t fun for him. It begs the question why he bothered registering in the first place. My speculation is that coming from the high-class race car side of Forza he expected to clean house. And when that didn’t happen, he had a change of heart. He’s not alone. I’ve seen this happen more than once.

The person I decided to make an example out of says he mostly only races GT and LMP cars. He will remain nameless because I like him, but let’s call him Professor X.
I proceeded to go to all of his R,P and X class Rivals and run no more than 5laps in the same cars he used. I was expecting him to be pretty fast and not easy to beat. It turns out he was about as fast in relative terms as he was in our IFCA Silver cars. Sort of middle of the road Silver level driver. I smashed each and every one of his available times within 5 laps by over 2sec in the identical cars!
So, whether he runs a lowly unfun B-Class IFCA car, or his favorite R-Class GT car, he’s still about the same speed either way. Lol

There is one big difference in all of this that hasn’t been mentioned and was not at all taken into account by Professor X or his supporters. The IFCA cars are not equal! They are handicapped to favor the slower drivers!

An IFCA Copper build is approximately 2.5sec faster than a Pro build. The average lap time differences between our skill classes is 0.5sec per lap. The easy question is, if your skill is the same for P-Class as it is for B-Class, but with a 0.5sec advantage in B-Class, which car should you drive to improve your chances to win? A real no brainer.

I put this post out there so that hopefully some of these erroneous and even false ideas are laid to rest and don’t continue to infect new drivers. The cars we race and the format we run comes from years of running the IFCA and every class under the Forza sun. It’s not a case of being too narrowminded or lacking the skill with higher classes. It’s a case of greater experience running league races and knowing what to do and what not to do.

And even though I’m not on the leaderboard(s) or run the amazingly well behaved R-Class cars, or the crazy fast P-Class, or the stupid fast X-Class, I’m up to the task. In fact back in FM3 I took 4^th in a national Forza event at LeMans running a P-Class Audi LMP car.

My advice to all you uber fast P-Class guys, don’t waste your time registering at a league that doesn’t run P-Class. Just stay in your own lane, that way you won’t ever be embarrassed or disappointed.

Full Throttle,
GTDon

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Apr 01, 2024 2:46 pm

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In case you haven’t noticed we here at the IFCA are making a few changes in order to enhance your racing experiences. We are going to issue everyone a race license not unlike in real racing like F1 or the NHRA.
Details have already been posted here:
https://ifca.forumotion.com/t6910-ifca-licenses

Our hope is that this will add value to your hobby known as sim-racing. WE feel that some added structure to what we do will be more fun and create more value to motivate you to compete at your very best.
This is the kind of change many have asked for in the past and may well bring some of those people back to the IFCA who left, because they wanted more organization.

Perhaps the biggest reason for doing this is to combat apathy, burnout, frustration, and unmotivated under-performance. Way too many people are expecting lap time improvements without any effort.

Our sense is, (based on the data) too many people do not run the requisite number of laps to be able to improve week to week or month to month. The majority of drivers don’t even run as many practice laps as the races are long. We know this because so many drivers are exceeding their best practice laps not by tenths during the actual race, but by seconds! The drivers that this is not happening to happen to be all the top drivers. Their race lap times are always very close to their best practice lap times every race. So we know they are trying their best.

This lack of effort really hurts the driver and in turn everyone else. Without real effort, apathy, frustration, and burnout sets in.

The reality is, if you are not achieving some sort of success with what you are doing, you will not have fun doing it. And this is what we aim to address.

We want to destroy apathy. We want drivers to be motivated enough to at least run as many practice laps as the races are long. You owe at least that much to yourselves. That is the bare minimum and starting point to begin to at all become competitive. Do at least this and watch how all your excuses start to fade away. Phrases like, “I can’t get any faster”, “The fast guys have too much of an advantage over me”, “My tunes are just not as good as the faster guys”, “ The testers have a huge advantage over us because they get to drive the cars first”, and the list goes on.

If all you do is 4laps of practice during the entire week, for a race that is 22laps long, you are doing everything wrong. It should be no surprise that your race lap time will always be vastly faster than your practice lap at this rate.

Our solution? Try to instill more structure and value into what we do with this hobby.

The formula is simple. Rather than having 1 big carrot far away to chase like a IFCA championship, chop it up into little carrots closer together and closer to you, to reach. In this way everyone can have little successes that they can reach that will lead them to bigger ones.

Remember, it is in the regularity of success that we all experience fun in. More success = more fun.

So, if we can offer you more frequent opportunities to succeed with easier goals to obtain, at every skill level, you will always have something within your reach to shoot for and get. Thus producing more fun and less apathy for you, and your competitors.

Best of luck to everyone in the coming seasons.

IFCA Staff

P.S. if any of you have been up close and personal at a motorsports event, you know that the personnel on professional teams are all doing their very best, from the guy who sweeps the floor to the driver. It's a great example of giving it your best shot from top to bottom. We should try to do the same thing at our own level.

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon Apr 15, 2024 4:38 pm

You asked for it, you get it! The IFCA Discord is now active! All you need to do is go sign-in.

https://discord.gg/ZsFA6Ns6

by **IFCA GTDon** Mon May 27, 2024 9:08 am

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On occasion we like to offer some sage advice to all of our patrons here at the IFCA, as a way to help enhance your competitive sim-racing experience. There are different commitment levels to the sport even within the IFCA. For many of you it may just be a way to socialize and have a bit of fun. We'd call this a level 1 type driver. Sort of the very first level that allows a driver to get involved and get a feel for what it is like to league race. Most of us begin here.

Everyone who comes to the IFCA for the first time is either overwhelmed or underwhelmed. How so? Drivers who are unfamiliar with organized league racing and all the requirements specific to league racing, find it difficult to jump right in and race their best, at first. They are used to unorganized racing with their friends or in public lobbies, with their pet cars, and find themselves in a world that is entirely unknown to them. It seems complicated at first and at every phase of the racing, from the car builds, tunes, race format, and driving style. None of it is what they expected or are used to doing. And so It is somewhat overwhelming. Especially when they see that there are some fast drivers too. All of which can be too much for a new driver to overcome, and so he quits.

Then there are the guys on the opposite side who may have some familiarity with league racing, but are mainly fairly fast public lobby drivers who have been chasing the fastest leaderboard cars in each class forever. These drivers often come to the IFCA with the attitude that, "Yeah, sure, I can race, why not, I'm sure I can beat these guys easily. After all, I win most of my public lobby races, should be no problem." Unfortunately for them, this is not public lobby racing. They discover rather quickly that it really isn't going to be like taking candy from a baby. The cars are different, the driving expectation is different, the races are longer than 3laps, and the league veterans are way faster than expected. So, the sense of being unimpressed and underwhelmed quickly turns into shock and searching for excuses for why they are only mid-pack drivers. As a result they usually quit after 1 race.

In both cases there is a solution to avoid these traps and it starts with a little dose of humility, and attitude adjustment. What both scenarios have in common is a lack of experience and a subsequent lack of success. Without success there isn't much fun to be had is the point here.

For the new driver who feels a little overwhelmed by it all, it's best for them to realize they have entered an arena where concentrated effort is the order of the day, and that you are going to have to step up to be able to compete. Understanding that to have more fun requires more success, which in turn demands from you a minimum commitment level, and daily number of laps. New drivers who commit to as few laps as 10 per day see remarkable improvements with higher finishing orders right away.

For the more jaded public lobby hot shoe driver, he has to bring it down a notch or two, and realize he's the "away team" here, and is racing at someone else's home field. Chances are not good that you will come to an established league and clean house right away. The competition level here at the IFCA is stern and the commitment deep. You will not overcome this by thinking you are fast and just showing up for a race unprepared. Organized racing requires more than this.

So, what does it take to, take it to the IFCA veterans? Creating opportunities for success by lowering your expectations and ramping up your commitment. Commit to a minimum number of laps each time you are on, and don't expect to smash the field for the win right away. Give yourself time to acclimate to league life, and you won't get disappointed.

It takes time, but with the right mentality anyone can begin to have the kind of fun success needed to carry on with a whole season.

Full throttle,
IFCA Staff

by **IFCA GTDon** Tue Jun 04, 2024 8:34 am

My home track that should be in Forza! BIR (Brainerd International Raceway)

by **IFCA GTDon** Fri Jun 14, 2024 10:19 am

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