International Touring Car Championship Season 1 official race recaps

[ITCC_Andrew]

May 22nd, 2012, Madrid, Spain, pre-season testing, ITCC


It was a very exciting day, when all the drivers decided to, (though it wasn't official, since most drivers and vehicles weren't in Madrid yet,) do some very light hearted pre-season testing. Even though the official season will not start for around a month, or longer, the drivers were talking like good friends (because, plainly, most of them are good friends, from the Rolex Sports Car Series.) So, as the days wind down in the Rolex Sports Car Series, and the Championship sadly begins to close in favour of Audi, the new championship begins.


The International Touring Car Championship, (the creation of Markus Weiss, a German from Rheinland-Pfalz, who grew up around the Nürburgring, but drew inspiration as a driver from the greats of motorsports, including Sabine Schmitz, Ayrton Senna, Allan McNish, Mika Häkkinen, and Sebastian Vettel) is a series, ten rounds in length, using more than 50 cars. It is a series being run by the competitors, with a percentage of the drivers (the Team of Stewards) being asked to be fair in judgment calls, even when calling judgment upon themselves. Each round will consist of three parts: Race 1, Race 2, and Race 3. Race 1 and 2 are one pit stop races. Race 3 is a full-on sprint. The drivers are really finding the cars easy to adjust to, the competition is friendly but hard and unforgiving, and the tracks are technical, demanding, and plenty of fun. It all lends to the perfect short races.


Today, this series kicked off pre-season with some unofficial races. Many of the drivers were not in attendance, simply due to their other commitments, in the ALMS and Rolex series. However, some of the drivers, who were able to come, have already become well-acquainted, or have become friends. But, this doesn't mean that the competition is soft-hearted. In fact, following today's announcement by Seth, the Audi team of the Rolex Sports Car Series has announced that the driver's list will change for the next season, instantly creating a rivalry between the teammates Markus and Seth. The points championship is drawing to a very closely contested close, and Storm, Markus and Seth all stand on very good, firm ground to win the Driver's Championship in Rolex competition. The announcement that Team Audi will be changing the driver roster, implying that Markus and Seth will not be teammates for the next season, has created a strong will for both Markus and Seth to win the Driver's Championship.


There had never been team orders at Team Audi, but, now, more than ever, the two teammates will race each other hard. And, this is saying a lot, since the two have already traded paint at least 3 times during the Rolex season. In qualifying, a pattern is emerging: If Seth isn't on pole, Markus is. If Seth doesn't win, Markus does. The competition is truly getting fierce in the Rolex series.


Now, most of the drivers from the Rolex series have joined the International Touring Car Championship, and, even after only one day of pre-season testing, the competition is incredibly close. For example, at the end of testing today, at the "Cape Ring Inside" circuit in the suburbs of Madrid, Seth and Markus were separated by less than a tenth. However, they were both defeated by the Hawaiian and Polar, who managed a huge lead, only to see it dwindle away, once Seth and Markus had made it through traffic. The end margin was less than a second, from first all the way back to fourth.

But, this was clearly expected, since Seth, Markus, the Hawaiian, and Polar have been racing together since April, at least. They've noticed how extremely close the competition is between themselves.


In short, it's going to be a tough season, seeing everyone running within hundredths of seconds after one pre-season testing lobby. The drivers are very anxious to start. Of course, with more than 50 cars to choose from, we're sure we haven't heard of the last of the drivers. It is guaranteed, that there will be more drivers to join later.


Current Drivers list:

Seth
Polar
Markus
the Hawaiian
Harrison
Damu
Storm
The Elite Sniper
James

Unofficial race winners:

Madrid (unofficial)-Seth
Cape Ring (unofficial)-the Hawaiian

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

May 26th, 2012, Spain, Official Preseason round 1! (Round 0.1)


In the second week of preseason testing, the ITCC hosted its first official event. The pre-season round at Cape Ring's challenging Inside layout really set the stage for a fun season. The competition was fierce, yet friendly, as FlyinHawaiian and unrealAnthony had a battle, bumped each other, had a few words, and later apologized and accepted the inevitability of bumping in such a fiercely competitive series. The Team of Stewards representative, MrMelancholy15, has decided that no further action will be necessary, following the outstanding conduct of these two mature, gentlemanly drivers.

A special shoutout to a rookie driver, EvertV12 (a.k.a. EvertV12) shall be given. For what may be his first time officially racing in a series of such a competitive caliber, he did a superb job, and even beat Markus, and a few series notables. The orange Ford Focus ST is really coming on strong, and, with some practice, we are surely speaking of a future winner!


Also on the topic of winners, norm804 (a.k.a. Norm) did an amazing job to win race 2 by a hefty margin.

Congratulations must be given to all the competitors, as almost everyone got a podium, at some point in the racing. Freshseth83, MrMelancholy15, Polarbear345, FlyinHawaiian77, and unrealanthony really showed a very strong will to win, battling in not just one race, but, in all three of the races of this round.

Polarbear345 and MrMelancholy15 seem to have decided to run a Honda team, or, at least, to run Honda Civic Type Rs. It is not yet sure, if they will be on a team, as preseason testing still allows drivers to test for new teams. It is believed that Polarbear345 is looking to see which team will give him the biggest incentive to join. And, following his incredible triple-podium showing at the preseason round today, it's likely that most teams will at least consider him.

Just after the preseason round, the drivers freshseth83 (a.k.a. Seth) and MrMelancholy15 (a.k.a. Markus) had another epic battle at Fuji, in the Rolex sports car series. Their team, Team Audi, has unofficially clinched the Rolex series Manufacturer's Championship. The team, however, didn't let up, when they realized that they had won the Manufacturer's championship. Instead, Seth and Markus battled to the very bitter end. A photo finish was necessary to establish who had ACTUALLY won. In the end, Markus, the current points leader (by a small 20 points margin) decided to be honest, and admit that Seth had won the race. Fellow Rolex Series racers Stormpacer17 (a.k.a. Storm) and Polarbear345 (a.k.a. Polar) were unfortunate, as their cars stopped running.


But, with former teammates, from another series, battling that hard, as teammates, one can only wonder how fierce the competition will get during the ITCC season. It is extremely unlikely, that the two teammates will remain teammates, in both series, as Seth and Markus are considering switching to DP in the new Rolex series, and Seth and Markus are rumoured to be settling down upon the car of their choice; Seth with a TVR Tamora, and Markus with a Honda Civic Type R '08.

In other news, FlyinHawaiian77 (a.k.a. The Hawaiian) has stated that he is interested in running an S2000 on a team with norml804 (a.k.a. norm.) Once the preseason dust begins to settle, whether or not these two stay on the S2000 team, will be decided.

Finally, the biggest news of all, is the group of crashes, which took Storm, Droopy and Damu out of preseason testing competition this week. They were sorrowfully missed, and we hope they're (and that their cars are) OK for next week's city circuit race. The track is, as yet, undecided, as a result of the interest in the series from city planners from Rome, Tokyo, Madrid and Monaco. It will take place on Saturday, June 2nd, at 21:30 GMT.

Subscribe to this thread for further up-to-the-minute updates, beginning shortly.

Current Drivers list:

1. Seth
2. Polar
3. Markus
4. the Hawaiian
5. Harrison
6. Damu
7. Storm
8. The Elite Sniper
9. James
10. norm
11. Evert (EvertV12)
12. Anthony

Official preseason round 1 winners list:

Polar-Round 0.1, Race 1
Norm-Round 0.1, Race 2
Seth-Round 0.1, Race 3

Finally, Sunday May 27th 2012 is an official photo blitz day. We will be reviewing the replays, that were televised. The photos will be posted on this thread.

Here's just a sample, taken from race 3.

Here's a continuation of the quick samples.

 

[polarbear345]

UH OH! WATCH OUT!!!

...They didn't... +2 for me!!!

WOW!

+4 for me! Thank you very much!

3 WIDE!

Race 1 finish! P1-Polar P2-Seth P3-Anthony!

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Pre-season Teams Reports!​

Markus & Polar have just signed a deal, and will be the drivers for the official Honda factory team, Championship Honda, (so named for the white colour available on the Civic and Integra.) This might prove to be a strong team, as polar is a proven race winner, and Markus is a very consistent driver, known for rarely placing outside of the top 5, in any series he's in.

In other news, a new proposition for cautions has been created, and will be discussed. It is an idea, for now, but, it states that anyone who brings out a caution will be allowed to get their car repaired and rejoin on the lead lap, at the end of the string of cars.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Preseason Team Reports, May 28th!​

The International Touring Car Championship was greeted bright and early today, by the latest arrival, this time from France. That's right, a French contingency is being put together, by the Peugeot manufacturer. Our sources say, that a driver known as Hiyanu was spotted today, with a Peugeot 307 XSi.


We're anxious to see, if the Peugeot can be a truly strong competitor, as it's very possible.


Also, it appears that Anthony is testing an independent Honda Civic Type R team, after it was spotted running laps with one of the cars from the Championship Honda stable, at Monaco. The drivers anticipate the trip to a city course as a chance to see some really challenging passes being made, to see how easy the cars are to pass, and to run in a tight area, and it seems that Honda teams are really taking this to heart.

Big news in Rolex Series!!​

Markus, driver of the first of the two Honda teams, has made it official today, that he will not be joining his former Audi teammate in DP in the Rolex series, after being invited to-and accepting a drive with-Ferrari. However, details are unclear about the status of Harrison's pending contract with Ferrari. It seems that Ferrari are being more conservative in their search, and are looking for the more well-seasoned Rolex series veterans, than they are for newcomers.


Also, Team Audi has announced today, that the drivers in season 2, of the Audi R8 4.2, will be James, and, former Williams driver "The Winner." After The Winner's dominating performance in DP at Daytona, it's expected that the Audi contingency will come on as a real challenger, and fight 'til the end to maintain the Manufacturer's Title status it got in season 1!


But, there's speculation around whether or not Storm and the Hawaiian will make a team for Dodge. If so, it's expected that these two will be the strongest drivers in the series. After last weekend's DP win by the Hawaiian, in his first race in the DP class, a switch to GT should give the Hawaiian a nice advantage, from his years of GT experience in the ALMS series.


But, the battle still rages between Audi teammates Seth and Markus, as they battle for the Driver's championship. And, we can't count Storm out yet, as he's becoming a serious contender as well, in the latest races. There're only 20 points separating Seth and Markus, and only 40 separating Storm and Markus. Markus would never admit it, but, his driving seems more timid than it did at Indy, and it's surely a sign of the great stress, induced by leading a driver's championship with only two races left. However, if Markus can win one more race, and come in second for another, the championship's his!

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

June 2nd!

It was announced today, that the venue for the second pre-season race would be the famous Monaco!

The tight streets didn't cause too much havoc, in preseason testing. We're expecting a race, that's less chaotic here, than it was at Cape Ring Inside.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

June 2nd-Pre-season Round 2 Recap:

Today, the Second Pre-season round of the ITCC thundered through the picturesque principality of Monaco, less than a week after the Formula 1 drivers ran there.


The racing was just as intense in the ITCC, as it was in Formula 1. The ITCC Team of Stewards, Organizers, and other staff members would like to congratulate our winners: Norm, Storm and the Hawaiian.


Race 1 was an amazing show from ITCC driver Norm, who managed to hold off an incredible charge by Markus, who managed to run a lap time of 1:42.707, in the heat of competition, by seemingly putting together the fastest lap possible. In the end, though, Norm took the pressure incredibly well, and held Markus back, despite Markus's incredible charge that saw him go from last all the way up to second place. Markus's tires, it seems, just weren't up for his strategy of two five-lap stints, because of the tire wear caused by running the 1:42.7 lap time. Most drivers were only able to run 1:44s in qualifying, truly showing the incredibility of that lap time, and explaining why Markus's tires were not on par with those of Norm.


Race 2 was a great showing from Storm, who picked up his first series win, despite an extremely underpowered motor. Team Lotus are still working on an electronic bug, that's limiting their horsepower much more than they'd like. Storm managed to get in front of Markus and Norm (who, again, were battling, just as they had in Race 1,) and built up a huge lead, by avoiding the battle with Markus and Norm, continually causing Norm and Markus to lose time, and saving Storm a drastic amount of time.


Race 3 was a simple race, for Honda S2000 driver, the Hawaiian. He got the lead soon after turn one, and held it for the entire race, holding off yet another charge by Markus. This time, in the shortened sprint race, Markus had just barely managed to run a 1:43. Unfortunately, though, the race was significantly shortened, as a result of scheduling concerns. The races were beginning to run late, and the Rolex series start time was fast approaching. This surely cost Markus his first ITCC series win.


Again, though, congratulations to Norm, Storm, and the Hawaiian, for winning under incredible pressure, and in dramatic fashion! It's certainly acknowledged, that this is a highly competitive series, and that anyone can still win. With five new winners in only two rounds, it seems that the winners of these races is more often picked from a hat, and not chosen by any lack of performance balancing.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

June 4th, official announcements!


A new Volvo team has just arrived, from an illustrious karting career. As of the time, when this news was released, the new drivers have yet to run, but, we can expect these new drivers to be extremely fast.

The competitors have welcomed the new drivers in, and they will be taking part in the third of the five pre-season rounds, this week at Grand Valley East reverse!

This brings the field to a full 16 drivers, filling a full lobby, but, based on poor attendance of one driver, we still have room open.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

June 5th official announcements!!​

Earlier today, two more drivers arrived to pre-season testing. This week, testing is taking place in the south German region, Bavaria (Bayern,) on the circuit Grand Valley Speedway and its "East Reverse" layout.

These two new drivers are Sakery (pronounced similar to Zachary) and Nizmo.

Sakery will be the head of the Nismo Factory team; Nismo-Racing.

Nizmo will be a member of an independent Nissan team. Details are being kept hushed, and even the name is yet to be decided.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

A finalized points system for the Manufacturer's Points championship has been released:


All the points normally achieved by all of the drivers in a specific manufacturer will be divided by the number of drivers from that manufacturer. This means, in effect, that it's an average taken directly from results (not otherwise modified) which every Manufacturer Driver will contribute to.


Honda currently has 5 registered drivers, Nissan/Nismo have two, and Mazda has one.


Let's say that Honda gets 387 points in a weekend, Nissan/Nismo get 164 points, and Mazda gets 87 points.

Honda would get 387 points, divided by five drivers, and would therefore have an average points total (Manufacturer's Points Total) of 77.4 points.

Nissan and Nismo would get 164 points, divided by two drivers: 82 points.

Mazda would get 87 points.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

June 9th, Official Preseason Round 3, Grand Valley East Reverse


After the races in Spain and France, the drivers headed to the South German Bundesland of Bayern, (or, Bavaria, in English.) The tranquil Alps were transformed into a true battleground, as the ITCC preseason preparation heats up.

Qualifying

This week's full test included all three races at full length, and featured a well packed roster of thirteen drivers. The fastest of these thirteen drivers in qualifying was cnd01, who narrowly beat out Johnny Penso and Zack (racingzack) for the pole. In fact, the competition between these two drivers was so close, that their lap times were momentarily tied!


The specifications of the cars seemed very well matched, as cnd01 drove a Focus ST, Zack, in a Honda Civic Type R '08 and Johnny Penso, in a Mazda RX-8 Type S.

Race 1

However, the start of race 1 was a little chaotic, as the thirteen drivers were not staged well at the start, and many drivers got a less-than-perfect start, and some drivers started the race three wide, despite the official ruling asking for two wide. New procedures are now in place to ensure a better start at preseason Round 4.


cnd01 managed to keep his pole position, through barely holding off Johnny Penso. However, the third and fourth place drivers of team JZR, Zack and Birel, respectively, were on a different strategy, that saw them beginning the race on mediums, allowing the first two drivers to build a slight advantage at Lakeside Bend. Seth quickly closed the gap between Birel and himself, running on softs in his stylish BMW 135i tii Concept. (he later switched to the BMW Z4, stating that the 135i concept should not be allowed in the series.) Championship Honda was close behind, with Markus also starting on mediums, but using the hold-up Seth was facing to keep the pace up, despite the difference in tire compounds.

Coming out of the Stadium Hairpin, it became very clear that Zack had figured out a strong strategy. He had managed to catch up to Johnny Penso, somehow running very quickly on the medium compound tires. However, his teammate at Team JZR, Birel was keeping a consistent pace with Zack, and managed to stay within drafting range, leading onto the main straight, but Seth, Markus and Polar were well close to each other, and in great position for a pass through drafting.


In fact, it was the draft that did create a pass just before turn one. It wasn't Seth, Markus, or Polar that made the pass, contrary to expectations. After following smartly in the draft of Johnny's RX-8, Zack put a simple inside move on Johnny, using nothing more than the extra speed from the draft. He had made the move stick before the braking zone into turn one, and held it through turn 2. The pass was a textbook example of the "Aerodynamic 'Slingshot' pass."


Also noteworthy, is the team play between Championship Honda teammates Polar and Markus, as Markus let his teammate pass on the main straight, considering the difference of tire compounds. This allowed Polar to gain time on Seth, and, by creating a slipstream, bring Markus with.


In the Stadium Hairpin, while attempting to pass Johnny, (who held firm to his line, giving just barely enough room) Birel had a slight error in his downshifting, as he slowed down, which allowed Seth, Polar and Markus to pass Birel.


On the front straightaway, the battle for fourth place raged on, between Polar, Seth and Markus, following the pass on Birel. (After Birel's mistake let the drivers past, Birel fell out of the battle, and lost about two seconds to the other drivers.) Upon trying to pass Seth, using the slipstream, Polar exposed himself broadly to the air pressure, and the pass attempt backfired, as Markus now had two cars in front to draft off of, further reducing the air pressure in front of his car, and allowing the slipstream's effectiveness to increase, and it forced the Championship Honda drivers to switch positions again.


This was an error, as Markus didn't want to hold his teammate up. Going through the tunnel, Markus braked much later than normal, again allowing Polar to pass on the inside, and held his line to the inside through Lakeside.


After a quick slip-up by Seth, putting him extremely close to the wall at Lakeside (in fact, sparks were seen as his car did scrape the wall, but, it seems that it was only his wing mirror,) Polar intelligently closed up the gap, and put himself back into the overtake mode. A very good job under braking in the Stadium Hairpin left Polar as little as three tenths behind Seth, making Seth minced meat on the coming straightaway. However, the Turn One/Two complex slightly favoured the more nimble rear-wheel-drive BMW, and allowed Seth to get along side the Honda of Polar, again, causing Polar to run the outside line, and late apex. After a drag race into Cliffside Bend, both drivers were side-by-side, with Polar on the preferred line, and Seth in the more nimble BMW. However, Seth misjudged the speed he was carrying, and again brushed the wall, very lightly, and lost momentum on the kerbing on the outside of the racetrack. At that point, the battle for fourth cooled down, with Polar emerging victorious against Seth.


Then, the battle for the lead reached a surprising climax, as Zack (who had passed cnd01) was left in open air, on the mediums. cnd01 was on softs, and now also had the draft. This allowed for an extremely large advantage in favour of the Focus, driven by cnd01. Coming out of the Stadium Hairpin, cnd01 got a good run and did great in the draft, catching Zack off-guard. At this point, Zack attempted to tuck back under for Turn 2, and made slight contact with cnd01, who had adjusted his line mid-way through the corner, and tightened his line up. cnd01 was put in the grass, on the exit of turn 2, but kept it going, until the grass on his tires caused him to lose grip, and he hit the wall at Cliffside Bend very heavily.


This put cnd01 back in the battle for fourth, which had re-erupted following the drafting on the straightaway, for the new lap. Seth had passed Polar, and now both drivers were passing cnd01, who had lost momentum, and received a slight amount of damage to the right front tire.


The four drivers battling for fourth position then had an incredibly close battle, including two rows of double file racing through the kink. But, it didn't stop there-the battle only grew more fierce, as Markus, Polar, Seth and cnd01 all battled for fourth, including a four-wide "disaster-in-waiting" on the main straight. Miraculously (and through commendably clean driving) all four drivers came out with nothing more than a scratch on their doors. The drivers know each other well, from the Rolex Series, and certainly understand clean racing. The main beneficiary of the battle was Markus, who was using the tire life of the medium compounds to keep up with the wounded soft compounds that the other three drivers were on.


However, the 6 laps of heavy battling had taken its toll on Polar's tires, and he was forced to pit for his mediums. Seth, having reached his pit stop window, also took the opportunity to pit, citing the clear pits, and open air as worthy cause to pit. This allowed cnd01 into third, and Markus into 4th.


Markus, however, had done a great job of taking care of his medium compound tires, and knew that he could make it at least two more laps, before switching to softs, to ensure that his charge on softs wouldn't be slightly hindered by poor tire life. Therefore, Markus and fellow Honda driver (from JZR) Birel pitted on lap 10, inevitably leading to a confrontation with Seth, who had only built a 6 second lead with the early pit stop.


After only one lap, though, Seth's 6 second lead had dwindled down to a 5 second lead.


However, that's how it stayed, and after a grueling, high-paced, high-stakes 15 lap race, which felt like a full stint, Zack crossed the line first, followed by Seth and Johnny, with a margin of victory of 0.108 between Zack and Seth, and 0.359 between Zack and Johnny.


However, after reviewing the telemetry compiled off of Seth's BMW team's computers, the Team of Stewards found that he did not abide by the two compound rule, and that he had used two sets of softs, immediately resulting in disqualification, and putting Markus on the podium.


In the end, Honda displayed great pace through outright speed, and consistency, with three Honda drivers in the top 5. Mazda also did well, with two RX-8s in the top 6.


Official race 1 results:

Legend:
Drivers
Position
Manufacturer
Team Name

Killer1midget-1st-Honda-JZR

Johnnypenso-2nd-Mazda-factory Mazda (RX-8 Team)

MrMelancholy15-3rd-Honda-Honda (Factory Honda team)

diddy49-4th-Honda-JZR

cnd01-5th-Ford-MAFIA Motorsports

norml804-6th-Mazda-factory Mazda

StormPacer17-7th-Peugeot-factory Peugeot

Polarbear345-8th-Honda-Championship Honda

GODfreyGT5-9th-BMW-BMW Factory Team

NizmoDR3-10th-BMW-BMW Factory Team

the_Boyce-11th-Volvo-Air Racing

damuemogirl-12th-Mazda-Mazda Factory (RX-7 team)


Race 2



This time, following car trouble in race 1, costing him some precious horsepower, Damu started first, as a result of the reversed grid order. However, this rolling start was sloppy in execution by the other drivers, and the drivers in second and worse at the start began to accelerate quickly, after realizing that there was a huge gap between themselves and the leader; Damu.

So, into turn one, the cars were three wide for the lead; as Birel made a charge to pass everyone. Birel later apologized for the start, citing his background in karting (where they use a different start procedure) as the reason.


By turn 3, the Focus ST driven by cnd01 had easily passed Damu, because of the difference in tire compounds. Damu, Godfrey, and Birel had begun on the hard compound mediums, and cnd01 was the only driver on softs.


However, the main drama in turn 3, was the crash between Zack, Markus and Nizmo, that put Markus and Nizmo in the wall. Markus, who was attempting an outside pass on Nizmo, ended up stuck on the outside of Nizmo, while Nizmo understeered straight off and into the wall. This left Markus in stone last place.


However, by Turn 4, a series of slight bumps, originating from deep in the field, had pushed Polar into Storm, forcing Storm well off of the racetrack, and putting Storm in tenth place. These two crashes forced charges (and incredible pace) from Markus and Storm, to keep in contention.


A percentage of the race went somewhat smoothly, seeing few changes for positions, or notable errors or crashes. The most mention-worthy parts of the first five laps, were Johnny Penso's early pit stop strategy, and a pass by Seth, against Birel, in the Kink.


Johnny's pit stop (on lap 3/4) came as a complete surprise to most, but, he started the race on mediums, and quickly switched to softs.


Seth's pass on Birel was a clean pass, after drafting up the hill coming out of Lakeside, he dove out of the draft, using the slight speed advantage to pull along side Birel, and used the RWD platform to make the pass stick in Stadium. In fact, Birel didn't have a great run, and had to defend, not only from Seth, but also from Damu. The defensive block attempt, however, may have caused a crash. The Team of Stewards is investigating, and no assumptions may be made, until the matter is resolved. However, the result was, that both drivers ended up in the gravel trap.


Then, in turn 2, Birel and Storm had an incident, causing Birel to spin. While Birel recovered from his spin, a further crash occurred between Birel and Damu (yes, you're reading correctly, again) as Birel took the line Damu was on, while trying to get back up to pace.


The crashes forced the retirement of Birel. His race was over.


During all of these crashes, cnd01 built a rather large lead; it was, in fact, huge, in comparison to most other races in the ITCC.


However, after pitting was completed, and everyone had cycled through, it was Johnny Penso who took the lead, and, later, the win. His very early pit strategy paid off.


Official Race Results not yet available.

 

[freshseth83]

I ran overweight for the first two rounds. And couldn't change my tires on the 2nd race because the computer didn't let me. I didn't brake in time for the pit line, and the computer took over. I made a little mistake. But running at 'spec' for the 3rd race it wasn't very much of a challenge with the guys falling out behind me. I didn't realize that I not only ran overweight, I didn't oil change my car so I was running lower torque than I could have. I rectified that. Instead of deleting someone's results because they didn't change tires, you should give them a time penalty. Take the fact that softs run about a second faster per lap, you could give that person a 10 second penalty for not running mediums. Little mistakes like that can happen. But if repeated then the results should be nullified. I think that's fair. Not saying I'm going to do it again, but in the heat of the battle I didn't think to even pit again for mediums. It was preseason anyway.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

The Team of Stewards is just using the preseason to show a "what if" worst case scenario. It simply means "this is what could happen, if you don't follow the clearly stated rules." Certainly you won't lose real points for preseason. You're right.

 

[anirishnirvana]

Never got to see how my race would have panned out. I was in 4th until that stadium incident and on mediums

 

[cnd01]

I made a mistake and ran race 3 on mediums. This cost me about 2 seconds per lap.

 

[polarbear345]

I made a mistake and ran race 3 on mediums. This cost me about 2 seconds per lap.

Me too! I think there were 3 or 4 of us. Lol

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Not that I remember; I think it was only the two of you.

 

[cnd01]

Me too! I think there were 3 or 4 of us. Lol

Crash and Burn. I didn't realize it until I reviewed the replay.

 

[polarbear345]

Crash and Burn. I didn't realize it until I reviewed the replay.

Me too.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

I'll remind people for Race 3 at Tsukuba.

 

[cnd01]

I'll remind people for Race 3 at Tsukuba.

SSSSSHHHHHHHHH

 

[anirishnirvana]

Nice job lads! Everyone used racing softs in race 3 o.-

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

I made sure I didn't start the race with a single person on mediums.


The problem is, though, that if you start a race on softs, and end it on mediums, then mediums are re-installed by the crew members, between races, unless you tell them "I WANT SOFTS."

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

June 20th, 2012
Preseason round 4 recap and preseason round 5 preview

Preseason round 5 preview:​

Surely, the news of our approaching visit to Suzuka, a day after tropical depression Tiram passes through Japan's southern half, has put everyone on their nerves. Weather imaging predicts heavy rain for most of Friday, which, it is expected, will leave the ground at Suzuka Circuit somewhat wet; just before our races. Clearly, then, we expect that the track will be wet for the first two races, but, weather forecasts predict that the storm will be well clear for Saturday, which could lead to some very weird weather; it's expected to be sunny, on race day, but, the track and the grass around the track is likely to be wet and slippery. This could certainly lead to some absolute chaos, during the ITCC races, already known for being somewhat chaotic, as the sprint race format leaves little time for planned passes, and does tend to create somewhat abrupt passes. Most times, the drivers are okay, and can stay on track and stay out of trouble, but, the moisture on track could lead to some very serious mistakes.


But, before we get into that, let's recap the races from Tsukuba, last Saturday.

Preseason Round 4 recap:​

The sun was shining bright over central Japan, just a few kilometers north of the Metropolitan Tokyo Center (Tokyo Metro,) almost to say that good racing was assured, even by Mother Nature. The track conditions were almost perfect; the temperature was around 18 degrees (Celsius) leaving the tires at an understandably cool temperature, and allowing the FF cars to get a nice breather, allowing for better tire wear, and allowing more laps.


In qualifying, a tight battle was interrupted by Timing and Scoring issues, which were a result of the high volume of cars, the passing, and the pit stops to change the setups, as it seemed that the race at Tsukuba, more than any other race before, would be won by the pit crews, managing the tuning setups, as drivers went more and more aggressive with their tuning setups, trying to use the cool weather to make the car fast, while still staying out on track. In the end, though, the drivers that are normally the fastest, managed to get a good reading on their tuning setups, allowing them the fastest times.

The pole, surprisingly, went to Johnny Penso, in his Mini Cooper S, as he was just testing out another potential option. His team, because it's heavily funded, has access to plenty of cars, but, doesn't yet have any official choices. Second place for the pole went to MAFIA Motorsports, as cnd took another step in the right direction. MAFIA Motorsports is now a full-time deal, sporting two Focus STs. Third place went to Jamie-Racing, the driver of the other MAFIA Motorsports Focus ST, though he was running a Toyota GT86 privately funded, before he was invited to MAFIA Motorsports, on Sunday.

The first corner of Race 1 saw Jamie pass his teammate-to-be in a somewhat risky pass, which was overlooked by cnd, but which the Team of Stewards will use as an example. The Team of Stewards had put a rule in place stating that no passing was to be done in turn one, until after the turn 1 apex. The pass on cnd also allowed Birel to pass cnd, and cnd went from second to fourth in the first turn, through no fault of his own.


However, by the MotoGP chicane, Johnny Penso had a small off, and cnd had already moved back up into third, and by turn 5, Jamie's short stint in the lead was over, as he fell back to third; behind cnd. Cnd used the mistakes by the other drivers to work his way back up into 2nd place. By turn 2 of the second lap, it became clear that Tez and Markus were on a charge, as Tez and Markus made it into 4th and 5th, respectively.


In turn 5, on lap 3, cnd finally made his move on Birel, in order to take the lead. He did it by braking late, on the outside of the Civic, and tucking in, as the Civic accelerated, and using a straighter, more direct exit, to carry more speed onto the straight.


Things were relatively quiet for two laps, until Markus took a tight line in the last corner and got the inside line, in an attempt to pass Tez. Going into Turn 1, it was clear that the pass had stuck, but the pass had also left little room between Jamie and Tez, as now the Toyota began to see potential passes against the Honda Integra. After unsuccessfully trying to pass Markus, Tez had run wide in the chicane, and left the door open for Jamie, who quickly seized the opportunity and grabbed fifth place.


After passing the Integra, Markus and Jamie furiously began to try to catch Birel, who had fallen back about two seconds from the pace of the leaders. Heads up driving from both Markus and Jamie ensured that neither of them made contact, or was significantly slowed down, allowing for them to close the gap even further, and take the fight to Birel. Even Tez had caught up, as Jamie, and Johnny went into the pits on lap 6.

The next lap was an extremely heated battle, where bumpers rubbed in every corner, which saw Markus finally find a way past Birel, coming out of turn 5, and saw Tez squarely in the draft of the two Civics. Halfway down the straightaway, Tez got out of the slipstream of the green Civic of Birel, and into the slipstream of the Championship White Civic of Markus, who had only gotten halfway ahead of Birel, forcing Birel to hold his line, and quickly, Tez had gained the position as well. The smart thinking on the part of Tez certainly helped, as Tez was directly behind Markus going into the last corner.


That lap, Birel and Cnd went into the pits, allowing Markus to momentarily take the lead, though his tires were in poor condition, and he still had to defend his position from Tez, so he couldn't take advantage of the clear track.


Once Tez and Markus had pitted, some new names showed up in the top five; valiant performances from Damu and Smog had helped them into the top five. Markus came out of his pit stop directly behind Jamie, who had, by that point, switched to softs, and was beginning to run good lap times. So, Jamie passed Smog, and Smog then decided to put his softs on. This helped Markus get into 5th again, behind Johnny, (who had been the class of the field all race) cnd, (who was not letting up on Johnny,) Damu (who had charged from the back, while everyone else pitted, using an excellent strategy to gain track position,) and Jamie, who had pitted for softs early, and had perfected some flying laps to get into the top 5 again.

Congratulations to the top 5:​

1st: Johnny Penso
2nd: Damu
3rd: cnd
4th: Markus Weiss
5th: Tez

 

[Johnnypenso]

And couldn't change my tires on the 2nd race because the computer didn't let me. Instead of deleting someone's results because they didn't change tires, you should give them a time penalty. Take the fact that softs run about a second faster per lap, you could give that person a 10 second penalty for not running mediums. Little mistakes like that can happen. But if repeated then the results should be nullified. I think that's fair. Not saying I'm going to do it again, but in the heat of the battle I didn't think to even pit again for mediums. It was preseason anyway.

Haha, I just discovered this thread. Pretty cool

The only way the computer would make that mistake is if you didn't buy mediums for the car to begin with in which case they won't be available to choose, or if you hit "ok" before you changed your selection to medium, and softs were the default selection in the pop-up.

While I would agree that an outright DQ is a bit harsh for not using two compounds, I would also say that 10 seconds isn't nearly enough. When you run two soft stints it puts you into two different parts of the race. With that 1 second per lap advantage, you might be able to catch one or a group of cars you are competing with and affect their race negatively, something that wouldn't happen if you ran the appropriate tires. And I don't believe a 10 second penalty is enough of a deterrent, in reality it's pretty much no penalty at all, and it'll just encourage guys to accidentally forget on purpose.

I'd say maybe a 30 second penalty would be fair, which may knock you into last or may not, but won't be a DQ and you'll still score points.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Haha, I just discovered this thread. Pretty cool

The only way the computer would make that mistake is if you didn't buy mediums for the car to begin with in which case they won't be available to choose, or if you hit "ok" before you changed your selection to medium, and softs were the default selection in the pop-up.

While I would agree that an outright DQ is a bit harsh for not using two compounds, I would also say that 10 seconds isn't nearly enough. When you run two soft stints it puts you into two different parts of the race. With that 1 second per lap advantage, you might be able to catch one or a group of cars you are competing with and affect their race negatively, something that wouldn't happen if you ran the appropriate tires. And I don't believe a 10 second penalty is enough of a deterrent, in reality it's pretty much no penalty at all, and it'll just encourage guys to accidentally forget on purpose.

I'd say maybe a 30 second penalty would be fair, which may knock you into last or may not, but won't be a DQ and you'll still score points.

I did state that I was using Seth as a worst case example, since he didn't actually get points for that race, so, taking away the points he didn't get 💡 was quite simple. However, it acts as a strict deterrent, to anyone who might use it to gain time. We do check, and we do give penalties. Most will be 30 seconds, plus or minus, depending on certain factors, and some could be disqualified, if they, for example, fit two sets of softs, so that they can catch up to -and spin- someone.

 

[cnd01]

Great job with this thread. I love reading these. It brings a smile to my face no homo.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Great job with this thread. I love reading these. It brings a smile to my face no homo.

There's nothing wrong with smiling, man. (But, don't doubt my sexuality. I like Russian girls )


And, thanks. I plan on adding from race 2 and 3, and all of the preseason switches and coming announcements. Speculation! HHHOWWWWAH!

 

[cnd01]

There's nothing wrong with smiling, man. (But, don't doubt my sexuality. I like Russian girls )


And, thanks. I plan on adding from race 2 and 3, and all of the preseason switches and coming announcements. Speculation! HHHOWWWWAH!

I like all-American girls man. No doubt the Russians look good though.

This is a very good idea this thread. I can help you by putting photos on this thread of racing action and give a report in addition to your report if you want me to.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

I like all-American girls man. No doubt the Russians look good though.

This is a very good idea this thread. I can help you by putting photos on this thread of racing action and give a report in addition to your report if you want me to.

Yes please!