[VRR][B-SPEC] 2017 Straight Talk IndyCar Series Season

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catamount39
Yes because Aston Martin. Ya'll have seen nothing yet. There are ways a car can expire that you didn't think were possible, and we'll be demonstrating them. :P
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I have a bad feeling there will be a lot of races where our teams take eachother out by accident or have engine failures. To try and stop that I'll have my engineers call yours.
 
swiftsmith
I have a bad feeling there will be a lot of races where our teams take eachother out by accident or have engine failures. To try and stop that I'll have my engineers call yours.
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And remember to have the lug nuts on extremely tight and to make sure we don't bust a half shaft...and hire somebody to stare at the oil pressure numbers in the garage during the race. :scared:
 
Impulse Racing owner and driver Sakura Ishibashi has spent the holiday season not so cheerful, but in fact in hyper drive. Wednesday night, she sent a letter of intent to VRR headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio as well as to Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany regarding terminating the supply contract before 2017 gets too far underway. The letter, published publicly by Ishibashi the day after, stated the following:
"Impulse Racing, it's employees, and its financial backers, finds the partnership with Audi GmbH to be counterproductive and dangerous to the health of the team. Blindsided by the announcement that the engine supplier would be leaving the VRR Straight Talk IndyCar Series at the end of the 2017 season, and having witnessed the engine maker's lack of effort into maintaining the company's own engine programme for the season, we feel as a combined and united effort that we need to desperately move elsewhere to not only be competitive but keep the team healthy and out of danger. We are asking VRR directly as well as Audi to come to a deal to end the partnership and let us go our separate ways. Impulse Racing at the same time will be looking for a new engine supplier that will replace Audi with immediate effect once a deal is finalized."
Sakura herself stated to the media that the lack of enthusiasm and commitment to their existing racing projects stood as a serious and intolerable problem for the team. While nothing was mentioned of the team's GT Endurance Championship effort in the statement, it stands to be a reasonable assumption that the team will aim to distance itself from Audi in that series as well.
 
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"Following comments from Impulse Racing yesterday, Ecurie Ecosse is also raising questions about the state of Audi's relationship with its STICS teams and VRR. Whilst we share Miss Ishibashi's concerns about Audi's commitment to STICS in 2017, we will not be going as far as looking to terminate our engine partnership ahead of the season. We will instead be holding discussions with both Audi and VRR to ensure stability for us in the upcoming season as well as maintaining our competitiveness." - Steven McTavish, Ecurie Ecosse Team Principal.
 
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Friday afternoon, a notice came to the media from VRR's headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio stating that the planned Straight Talk IndyCar Series event at Mike Pero Motorsports Park in New Zealand had been scrapped following a removal of government support for the event. The removal of government support also makes a race at Pukekohe Park unlikely as well given the date for the planned event is just a little over a month away. VRR CEO Evangeline Porter has reportedly been looking for replacement events in Australia as well as in Asia in the Philippines. An announcement formalizing plans for the date s expected by the Sebring test.
Former Super Formula star and one of the many 2017 VRR IndyCar debutantes has been working at being at peak health for the 2017 Monster Shootout next weekend. "Swiss Miss" Nicole Liechti spent her holiday season split between spending time with family in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the base for Team Porter in Cincinnati, Ohio doing simulator runs and working out at the gym. Team owner and VRR CEO Evangeline Porter joined her for several days of workout and training while she was in the Queen City, and Liechti says she is now primed and ready to go: "There's a lot of motivation for me this year. Coming off my third season place season in Japan, I want to come to the U.S. and be on the ball rolling from the very first lap." Liechti said at CVG Airport on her way back to Switzerland for a few days. "This field is absolutely stacked, which makes doing well even more satisfying I think. There's a lot of sponsors putting faith in me, a lot of new sponsors. I aim to prove they made a wise investment in me."
 
"I don't know, it's great to hear that we're at least getting consideration, given how little motorsport presence there is in the Philippines, but to be honest, I'm not getting my hopes up too much. There's really just one track that comes to mind when it comes to four wheel racing, and that's BRC, which is still pretty small for racing events with grids like we have in VRR, but hey, if it somehow materializes once the Sebring test comes around then it would be a great chance to race at home and really promote motorsports out there in the Philippines.
 
Hidden Valley Raceway
Queensland Raceway
Phillip Island Circuit
Barbagallo Raceway
Batangas Racing Circuit
Clark International Speedway
Bahrain International Circuit
 
Jamie Ngaire-Jardine was left absolutely fuming after it was announced that Mike Pero Motorsports park was not going to be hosting a round of the VRR Straight Talk Indycar series. "It's beyond irritating," said an irate Ngaire-Jardine, "we go to all this trouble to get ready for STICS to travel here to Ruapuna and at the last second the government removes their support of it. I'm tempted to be really rude here, however, I'd rather not end up in hot water with STICS and the team."


Noticeably calmer after her outburst, she continued onto a path that many fans and probably many drivers were expecting her to go "I would, however, like to take this moment to add my support to the petition to remove the Firestone 600 from the Charlotte Motor Speedway due to the ongoing debate of the law commonly known as HB2. I've seen many fans on social media saying that I should be vocal in my desire to not race there because of my position as one of the few out and queer racing drivers in the series."
 
VRR CEO Evangeline Porter addressed the press Friday night from her home in Norwood, Ohio over the efforts to find a replacement for the axed New Zealand race as well as additional issues. "I was first made aware of the New Zealand government's intent to remove their funding from the event over New Year's dinner. I kept in talks with the event promoter with how much money they were losing and how much they would need to host the race, and this morning the decision was made that the financial gap was too big to close with just a month before the event and agreed to nullify the contract. I've been in contact with Bahrain International Circuit and Clark International Circuit personally, as they have the funds and the necessary tools already available to them for a race. My issue with Bahrain is the relative distance between them and Abu Dhabi. I don't want a last moment substitution hurt an already long standing event. That leaves me with thinking that either Phillip Island or Clark will get the open event. That won't be decided until between Vegas and Sebring at the earliest."

Another topic of discussion was the petition to remove Charlotte Motor Speedway from the calendar over issues between fans of the series, some drivers, and a law over transgenders being forced to use the restroom based on the gender they were born with. "Charlotte isn't going anywhere in 2017. That contract is sealed, Charlotte has already paid its event sanctioning fee to us, as well as lined up a string of sponsors to make the 600 kilometer race happen. What happens beyond 2017 is yet to be decided, but Charlotte is remaining on the calendar. Barring any emergency events, the calendar won't be changing this year."

Porter then brought up the next instinctive topic. "I'm expecting drivers to boycott the event. When the event was scheduled, the law had not been a thing. Those boycotting will need to answer to their team principals and owners, not to me. That's money and championship potential the teams will be losing, and the teams will have to work around that on their own and inform me of their intentions."
 
I know that there has been rumors that I'll be boycotting the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina. I will in fact be racing that weekend. During this weekend, the entire crew will be doing our part to support the queer community of N.C. We will be spending time volunteering, we'll be visiting with the state and local government, we will be donating, and meeting with the local LGBT+ community.

We are hopefully going to be working with VRR, and North Carolina LGBT rights groups to make sure that this race is as queer friendly as possible and we are hoping to allow trans people to use their correct bathrooms. We know that this is banned by the un-constitutional HB2, however, I will personally pay any fines out of pocket, and serve any jail or public service time myself.
 
2016 showed a side of Kunimitsu Kino****a that hadn't been seen before, and not in a good way. The two time F1 World Champion, along with fellow teammate and one time F1 Champion Camyron Jackson saw themselves outside of the top 20 in points at the end of the season, with Kino****a and Jackson both netting just one podium a piece. The 2015 VRR Indianapolis 500 winner opened on her frustrations after the season closed in Fontana, and has doubled down on her sentiments. "I'll be turning 26 next month," Kino****a said to press in Spokane, Washington. "That's too young to be hanging up a racing helmet in my eyes. But if this season is no better than last, I would be right to contemplate putting someone else in my car." Kino****a however also added a very interesting tidbit on her future. "At some point, kids have to be on the cards. I want to have a family. And that means taking a sabbatical for however long to make that happen. Things could come together where my season is dismal and I just take the opportunity to work on having that dream realized in my mid twenties instead of my mid thirties."
 
Monster Showdown FP1.PNG

Session Details​
Session Start: 13 January 2017, 10:00 a.m. local time
Session End: 13 January 2017, 11:30 a.m. local time
Weather Report: Clear, 56 degrees Fahrenheit, winds S-SE 6 mph
Monster Shootout FP1.PNG

Session Details​
Session Start: 13 January 2017, 12:00 p.m. local time
Session End: 13 January 2017, 1:30 p.m. local time
Weather Report: Cloudy, 53 degrees Fahrenheit, winds S-SW 4-9 mph
Monster Showdown FP2.PNG

Session Details​
Session Start: 13 January 2017, 2:00 p.m. local time
Session End: 13 January 2017, 3:00 p.m. local time
Weather Report: Clear, 49 degrees Fahrenheit, winds W 12-19 mph
Monster Shootout FP2.PNG

Session Details​
Session Start: 13 January 2017, 3:30 p.m. local time
Session End: 13 January 2017, 4:30 p.m. local time
Weather Report: Clear, 44 degrees Fahrenheit, winds E 8-16 mph
@optiongamers @Pezzarinho17 @DurWinning @Michelin @Niku Driver HC @nascarfan1400 @Harsk100 @amaterasu @RedDragon @GTRacer22 @Suzumiya @Kingofweasles @DCybertron @AJHG1000 @ECGadget @Formidable @RESHIRAM5 @ukfan758 @AudiMan2011 @catamount39 @YayoiGT2 @Clayton Hardy @Whitetail @NearCptNitro @Sakura @Antares26 @Zooparker @KuniKino****a @RACECAR @vetteman24 @GranTurismo916 @quietgirl @swiftsmith @tbwhhs @Smurfybug @BKGlover @GTracerEHTeam @DcrRaikkonen @Luis Torres
In 2018, the series is set to receive a facelift in the terms of a new title sponsor. With Straight Talk stepping to the wayside, VRR CEO Evangeline Porter has been in negotiations with at least 7 companies regarding a three year deal for the series. Logos have been made by RACECAR, and give an interesting glimpse of what VRR is looking at from 2018 to 2020. A poll has been added to the OP for everyone to give their opinion based on what they like.
 
I'll probably be alone on this one, but Intel strikes the most chords with me for some reason.
 
True, but this plus 2 13ths in a previous sension and then rest being nowhere I have a feeling during qualifying it'll be mid-pack or no racing at all :P
 
RESHIRAM5
True, but this plus 2 13ths in a previous sension and then rest being nowhere I have a feeling during qualifying it'll mid-pack or no racing at all :P
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I sorta live my life that way. Subdued with no expectations so I won't be disappointed.
 
As the 2017 STICS season officially got underway with it's traditional Monster Shootout curtain raiser, Ecurie Ecosse driver, Gary Slater was weary of the weekend ahead following the first two Free Practice sessions, where the Scot was hanging around just outside the top 10. Slater remarked, "The car felt solid enough today, but we're being really cautious up until race day. It's the start of a new season with a totally redesigned car, so I'm going to be a lot more hesitant on my performance potential. We'll be happy just to survive what I feel will be a hectic, and possibly scary race ahead."
 
VRR LogoDump IndyCar Series, more like... :lol:

I apologize, that was probably not my best work. But really, @RACECAR, just how much free time (and skillz) do you have!? Most people would be happy promoting one logo, you promoted enough logos to create about 7 or 8 championships...

One thing is certain; I am allowed to have a bit of confidence for my Monster Shootout. My FP2 time is nothing to scoff at, and Chevrolet has brought their A-game to boot... For once, I like my odds. :sly:
 
I would have to say that the Under Armour, Microsoft & Intel logos look the best (In no particular order).

Also, Expect a full in-character write-up on practice for The Monster Shoot-Out soon (Lots and lots of personal stuff has come up lately and has eaten into my free time).
 

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