The TOCA News Thread

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Tom

Tom

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This thread will feature everything to do with TOCA. Including Race Reports, Driver and Team Interviews, Phone Hacking and Speculation. I will be writing the majority of the articles so any tips on improvement will be appreciated.

Kamui.

Season 4.2 News Articles:

News Round-Up - WB: 08/04/2012
Rookie Interviews
Round One - Cape Ring South, News Round-up
The VenoMMotorsports Interview
Round Two - Autumn Ring, News Round-up
Round Three - Monza, News Round-up

Season 5 News Articles:
Pre-Season Week 1 News Round-up
Pre-Season Car Interviews
 
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Feel free to interview the head of TOCA (me), pre-weekend if you wish tom 👍
 
In the news this week...

Mini Countryman's Power Upgrade
The Mini Countryman which is competing in TOCA for the first time this season has been given a power upgrade, the original spec car was nearly 15hp down on it's rivals which is a severe disadvantage at tracks with long straights. The upgrade; a new race exhaust is designed to improve performance as well as improving the raw, throaty sound of the Mini. Will it pay off? We'll see at Round One.

Honda trumps the testing time-sheets
Japanese car and motorcycle manufacturer Honda have topped the time-sheets during the official Pre-Season Test at the Cape Ring on Tuesday with Super Aguri Driver, Luke Connelly posting an eye-watering time of a 1.20.4 with the Scirocco of JPS Number Two coming close behind with a 1.20.9, which was matched by gokartman in the rear-wheel drive G35. The Honda's are expected to perform well at tight, twisty tracks but struggle at the faster tracks.

Volvo's Finding Pace
The Volvo C30's which struggled initially are now showing good pace in the hands of Fox and Matty. Fox's fastest time set was a 1.22.0 with Matty unable to complete a lap-time due to set-up problems. Although not as dominant as last season, the C30's are expected to be mid-grid possibly even up front in the hands of the Polestar drivers.

Cape Ring Draws Ever Closer
As Round One burdens upon us, this is set to be the closest in TOCA's history. With 8 manufacturers and 16 drivers for this season, the drama isn't expected to end. There have already been arguments and a few tiffs before the season has begun! These drivers all have one thing in common, a passion for racing and TOCA is one of the best places to fuel that passion, the limit on rear aero parts has thrown spanner into the works with the cars being more unstable on corner entry and the banning of the customisable LSD which compromises corner exit, also the banning of electronic aids such as ABS means that drivers will spend more time fine-tuning their braking points and car set-up. TOCA is GO!

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Interviews with Rookie Drivers will be up soon.​
 
Looking very professional so far, I like it and will be keeping an eye out for this over the season. 👍
 
I'm a little worried about that "phone hacking" bit. :nervous:
 
Furinkazen
"JPS Number Two :lol:"

Looks brilliant, keep it up 👍
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:lol: I thought you'd like that bit Furi. Due to your unwillingness to share your first name, I will refer to you as Mr. Kazen.
 
Tom
He has a name! At last. :lol:
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Let's overuse his false identity now :)

I kinda guessed it the last night, but I shrugged it off cause Nel had the same name and I thought it to be to coincidental.
 
Rookie Interviews

It's your first season in TOCA, what are your expectations?

Matty: Well, technically my second. Must be the first person to ever still be a rookie in his second season. I expect some decent races and going on pre season tests it will be a very fun season of racing.

Rotax: Well first of all I would like to thank TC Engineering for giving me this opportunity.
This is the first competitive race series I've entered, I'm reserve driver for the team but I'm hoping for some consistent results and will be happy if I'm in the top 10.

Ed: Not very high to be honest. There are a lot of seasoned drivers in TOCA and at 43 the reflex's are a bit slower than the rest.

carracer: I hope for a win and or a top 3. Based on the practice races I think with some luck that could happen.

I will miss the first 3 races so I'm not counting points.

Strawman: I'm expecting to finish best of the rookie, and in the top 5 in the championship.

How's the car performing?

Matty: I think it's under performing. But then so is every car if you compare it to the Sirocco.

Rotax: The car is pretty good. The G35 hasn't been mentioned much. I think it has race winning potential. It's the underdog for sure.

Ed: Not well I'm afraid. I'm struggling with understeer and raw pace from the Volvo. It recieved much pre-season hype but thus far has failed to deliver.

carracer: Great now that I have fixed most of it's handling problems. Now I just need to find some speed.

Strawman: Car is doing very well - I'm more worried about the other cars.

Who do you see as your main rival?

Matty: Everyone except for Ed (FlyingFox) because he's my teammate, and I don't want this to be like the Alonso Hamilton relationship.

Rotax: My team-mates. As always :-)

Ed: Matty of course. Your teammate is always your main rival.

carracer: Looks like akmuq right now. I'm worried Sumo will be out of the fords speed range.

Strawman: Akmuq is main rival because he's my team mate.

What's your team-mate like?

Matty: Very good, he puts in a lot of time and effort. Keeps me on my toes as well. Great teammate. Looking forward too see what he says about me.

Rotax: Very fast. I feel how Andy Neate Must feel with Plato as his team-mate. (no offence to the Neate fans)

Ed: Matty is not a bad lad at all, although I think he is much younger than me I'm hoping he can bring another perspective to the team.

carracer: Well he is looking good, not that I have seen him yet.
He was so fast in Tuesdays practice his times didn't show (He was complaining about time dilation or something).

Strawman: He's very good - we've shared setups and ideas and got on well.

Who do you think looks strong to take the championship this season?

Matty: Anybody, Strawman in particular though, him and Akmuq are doing very well in preseason testing.

Rotax: Ive only been in one test session but both the Honda's and vw's are looking fast. The ford was particularly fast too. We can't rule out the mini now either. Hopefully we will be in the middle somewhere :-)

Ed: Anyone driving a Scirocco or Civic

carracer: With the VW as fast as it is, Sumo.

Strawman: Akmuq, Dax and maybe Nel.

How are you coping with the lack of ABS and LSD Tuning?

Matty: ABS is fine, LSD, really want it back. Luckily though, Tyre Wear is not a problem this season.

Rotax: I'm pretty used to no ABS so that's not a big issue for me and who need LSD tuning?? :-)

Ed: Never delved that much into setup's to worry about LSD. ABS is a bit of a concern but lack of Traction Control IS a problem for the Volvo as it wheelspins out of every corner.

carracer: Fine, I do really wish I could fix the LSD, it is forcing me to use a less than optimal transmission to make up for it.

Strawman: Lack of ABS hurt at first but its no problem now. LSD is fine on Honda so again no real problems.​
 
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Matty
Let's overuse his false identity now :)
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TBH, I call Carbonox "Mika Carbonen" when I'm commentating...to myself. *foreveralone.jpg*
 
FlyingFox
Looking forward to the post meeting reports and interviews.

You got your work cut out Tom.
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Me keeping you as not a rival and you saying I'm your main rival... :lol:
 
After the debut round on Saturday, here's the latest news...

Jake and Alex Lead The Way
Jake Ringwood showed that he and the whole of the VenoMMotorsports crew are a force to be reckoned with this season, with Jake taking 3 out of 3 victories at the Cape Ring South circuit on Saturday. Team-mate Alex Coates also showed his potential by leading the team to a superb 1-2 finish in the second and third races. An interview with both drivers is expected to be up later this week.

ABS Ban Proves Controversial
The ban on ABS has proved controversial during TOCA's first meeting on Saturday. Many drivers were seen to be locking their brakes whilst trying to slow the car down on corner entry which proved to be problematic whilst trying to overtake. Drivers have had mixed feelings toward the banishment of ABS and this season, implying that it imposes a safety risk. Whilst others have been in favour of the ban, saying that it creates more of a challenge. Is it good for TOCA? We'll find out in due course.

Mini and Volkswagen Struggle Whilst Mazda Fly
The Mini Countryman which is competing in TOCA for the first time this season has been struggling with pace despite being given a power upgrade which brings it in line with other cars. Chris Johnson, who is the only person piloting a Mini for this season has been towards the rear-end of the grid during the majority of testing and the races. Which is quite the opposite for the Mazda's of VenoMMotorsports, which claimed victories and podiums during all three rounds. Independent driver PaulMac, who has been struggling to adapt to the new regulations this season, was amongst the mid-field.

Sumo and Volkswagen Lack Pace
What a difference a season makes! During Season 3, the independent Sumo dominated the time-sheets during qualifying and turned those results into some stunning drives to claim victories and eventually become World Champion of TOCA Season 3. However, with the new regulations implemented for Season 4.2, drivers who are usually at the sharp-end of the field have been lacking pace during the opening rounds of the season. This has affected Sumo in particular, who drove a rear-wheel drive car last season but has since changed to the Volkswagen Scirocco as he put in a lacklustre performance in the new car. However, the works Scirocco's of Team JPS also struggled by only being mid-grid, with their number 2 driver Tom Brooks out-pacing Alex Kazen in all 3 races.

Fireworks at Cape Ring
Cape Ring kicked things off with a bang this season, with much controversy surrounding drivers PaulMac and Strawman Andy. Both had differing views on each others driving, which was perceived as aggressive and forceful. Leading to complaints made to the stewards. Strawman has since threatened to leave the TOCA Series, however whether this materialises or not is yet to be seen.

TOCA's New Highlights Package - "TOCATube"
Missed TOCA? Good News! All 3 rounds will feature highlights with commentary from driver Tom Brooks. Tom was said to be "extremely excited" about this new package, which will air for free over the Internet. When the video's will be up is yet to be seen, but "soon" is the answer we received from Tom.​
 
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I would just like to point out that TOCATube is a DaxCobra trademark and any copyright breaches made will be taken up with my lawyer, Porsche the cat.
 
DaxCobra
I would just like to point out that TOCATube is a DaxCobra trademark and any copyright breaches made will be taken up with my lawyer, Porsche the cat.
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Haha get on it Dax, should be plenty of great fights down the field 👍
 

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