[VRR][B-SPEC] 2018 Vodafone IndyCar Series season

  • Thread starter Eva
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iName
Considering a comeback to B-Spec racing of sorts. Is this a fully-fledged B-Spec series, or an A-Spec series with a B-Spec option?
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Full fledged B-Spec.
 
iName
Considering a comeback to B-Spec racing of sorts. Is this a fully-fledged B-Spec series, or an A-Spec series with a B-Spec option?
Click to expand...
Good to see you're still around. As Eva said, it's a full B-spec series. Help is always nearby if you'd like some.
 
@iName if you want, you can go ahead and fill out two of the forms in the OP to get your driver started.
 
iName
Gonna start now. So is it the driver I manage/rp, or a team along with it?
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The driver mostly. Some people do run teams as well, but if you are wanting to run the last four races of 2017 as well, I'd advise against the team option until this thread's season starts.
 
Chevrolet could very well be on the way out of the Vodafone IndyCar Series, depending on how 2018 goes. With Chevrolet being out of contention for the Engine Cup two years straight, as well as having no say in the VRR IndyCar World Championship for two years in a row, 2018 is a crunch time year to determine if the marque leaves the series after 2019 or stays on board. With Mercedes trying to join the grid in 2019, the Bowtie could depart the series regardless if it feels like it isn't making the money needed to support the operation. To make matters worse, Striker Motorsports owner Stephanie Porter-Kelley could move her four car operation to make an attempt at becoming a factory team for Peugeot-Citroen if Chevrolet fail to improve their performance.
 
All three drivers for the Argentine team Escuderia Aguila have cleared their mandatory oval tests, those tests taking place at Auto Club Speedway. The team is one of three returning teams from the IRG days of the series, and its lineup is very frightening. Between Cristine and Miguel Espinoza, the two have nine out of the past 106 Indianapolis 500 wins, with Cristine having the most wins in IRG history at 29 wins. Cristine won the 2007 and 2010 IRG IndyCar championship, while Miguel won the 1996 NARA IndyCar World Series championship, his only championship in the United States. Miguel, who will be 46 when the checkered flag flies in Surfer's Paradise in February, has not been in an open wheel car since 2006, while Cristine hasn't raced on an oval since 2012. Newcomer, and Miguel's daughter, Isabel Espinoza, is expected to enter races at Indianapolis, Monaco, New Hampshire, Watkins Glen, and Fontana, as well as the 2018 Monster Shootout in Homestead-Miami before becoming a full time driver in 2019.
A points event in the state of Texas may end up being on the cards in the near future if recent visits by VRR officlals mean anything. Officials for the sanctioning body have visited both the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Austin is slated to host a test in the pre-season, although both Alpine and Ferrari will be skipping that test in favor of private tests in Europe a week later. Both venues were initially meant to host events in 2016, but fell through due to finances for Austin, and hostile relations between Eddie Gossage and VRR CEO Eva Porter, the latter vowing to never host a points event at the mile and a half oval while Gossage was track president. Reports say that while Porter may be against racing at Texas, the senior drivers of the series could pressure her into giving the oval a race. The only 1.5 mile tracks hosting points races in 2018 are Motegi and Kentucky.
 
Andrew Draco and Black Rose Racing have produced a very successful 2017 season so far. With two wins for Draco, as well as several pole positions, the partnership could be a championship-winning one. Despite this, Black Rose Racing will be unable to retain their star driver, with the San Francisco native moving to Phantom Motorsports in 2018. BRR team owner and VRR CEO Eva Porter spoke about Draco's pending departure; "It's difficult, but it's business." Porter said while overlooking a wind tunnel test in Maranello. "It's hard having to cut drivers like Andrew and Alan from future plans because they have been good additions to the team, and at the same time try to at least pretend that the decision hasn't affected us. For the championship's sake, we have to be strong on each race day, but off of the track, it's just difficult." When asked why Draco decided to leave, Porter just shrugged her shoulders. "We threw most of our resources around him and it's paid dividends in the points. I don't know, and I guess it isn't my position to know. My concern now lies with how bad his relationship with Ferrari will become."
 
Ecurie Ecosse has been working frantically behind the scenes prepping for it's 2018 season as well as beginning restructuring of the team ahead of it's 2019 factory campaign. Driver Gary Slater was at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park testing the Ford engine the team will be using in what the Scot is calling a "transitional year".

"Everybody on the team is all hands on deck right now. We're working on getting the Ford engine sorted for next year and we've got management busy with restructuring and expanding the team before our factory assault with Mercedes-AMG in 2019." Slater told media, "We're still going back and forth with Starion on the reliability side of things as we want to ensure we maintain the competitive resurgence we've been having in 2017. We're mainly looking at 2018 as a transitional year for us as we're putting a lot of our resources into our 2019 factory effort."
 
Discord invite for VRR server added at the bottom of the OP.
 
Striker Motorsports has signed Pakistani driver Mohammad Ahmed to drive the #5 Chevrolet for the entire 2018 VRR Vodafone IndyCar Series season. Ahmed is set to join Stephanie Porter-Kelley, Diego Jaramillo, and Jacob Descoteau within the Chevrolet factory team, and will be Ahmed's first experience with a factory team. Ahmed, who will enter 2018 with 29 starts, and a best finish of second in Surfer's Paradise in 2016, is expected to join the team for preliminary tests of the 2018 Chevrolet IndyCar kit shortly after the 2017 finale in mid-November. Team owner Porter-Kelley displayed optimism for Ahmed coming into the team: "It's no secret that Swift Autosport has been in the bottom rung of the team ladder since the series went to VRR management. With the proper tools behind him, I do expect to see Ahmed put forward a lot of progress as far as results go, and podiums are certainly a goal we've set for him next year."
 
LITTLEBLACKO
Is anyone available to create some liveries?
And can i buy a driver?
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I can do basic ones, RACECAR is the main for more elaborate works, but there are a number of people who can. I'm open at the moment, but as I said the cars I make are very basic.
 
LITTLEBLACKO
Is anyone available to create some liveries?
And can i buy a driver?
Click to expand...
You can't buy drivers, but you can control a multi-car team with other GTP members that are free agents.
 
Since the track's opening in 1996, Texas Motor Speedway has been managed by Eddie Gossage. As of August 24th, 2017, Gossage has been relieved of his duties and replaced by Christina Nguyen. The change was made by the board of directors of the speedway, who made a vote of no confidence in Gossage. It's been documented that Gossage and VRR CEO Eva Porter had bitter feelings about each other, with the latter vowing to never bring the Vodafone IndyCar Series to the venue while Gossage was in power of the venue. With the 1.5 mile oval losing its stock car event, it's entering 2018 with no premier events. Nguyen, who was recommended by Porter to assume power at nearby Circuit of the Americas, is expected to lineup a race between TMS and VRR rather quickly, with a date already outlined by both parties.
 
Isabel Espinoza will have quite a busy 2018. Along with her five scheduled VRR IndyCar starts, she'll also be competing full time in the FICA Formula Two World Championship for her second season in that series. Despite the hectic schedule, in which she'll be competing 27 weekends of the year, Isabel is looking forward to her campaigns, stating, "IndyCar obviously is a discipline completely different from Formula One or Formula Two. The level of intensity is higher there, and I think it's more entertaining from watching it. They have two legs of the Triple Crown, and most drivers want to accomplish that. It makes sense to try getting into the series full time and learn it and try to win championships there while it's prosperous."
 
So, I need everyone's attention for this, given the task now at hand.
#2 Vodafone @tbwhhs
#2 Panasonic
#2 Castrol Edge
#3 Vodafone @Sakura
#3 Samsung
#3 Dairy Queen
#4 Project Mu @Suzumiya
#4 Project Mu Brakes
#4 Repsol
#5 Serene Air @Smurfybug
#5 Lux Soap
#5 Walls Ice Cream
#6 Vodafone @Zooparker
#6 Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals
#6 TAG Heuer
#7 GoDaddy @Formidable
#7 Jack Daniel's
#7 Coca-Cola
#8 G'zox @Rebellion765
#8 Lexar
#8 Coca-Cola
#9 Bambi @Whitetail
#9 Duracell
#9 Coca-Cola
#10 Johnnie Walker @AudiMan2011
#10 Turn 10 Studios
#10 twitch.tv
#11 Target @DcrRaikkonen
#11 T-Mobile
#11 K&N
#12 Vodafone @Pezzarinho17
#12 Shell
#12 Deutsch Post
#13 Adidas @Kingofweasles
#13 Valvoline
#13 In-N-Out Burger
#16 Okuma Corporation @GranTurismo916
#16 Arby's
#16 Wrigley's Gum (Juicy Fruit)
#17 GoPro @quietgirl
#17 Mountain Dew
#17 Oakley
#18 Sony @KuniKino****a
#18 Okuma
#18 Nikon
#19 GameStop @RACECAR
#19 Sony
#19 Pepsi
#21 SMP Bank
#21 Tissot
#21 Epson
#22 Chick-Fil-A @GTRacer22
#22 Raybrig
#22 San Pellegrino
#23 British Airways @ECGadget
#24 Brembo
#24 Nike
#24 General Electric
#25 Miller Lite
#30 Superchips @Michelin
#31 Domino's Pizza
#31 Pilot Travel Centers-Flying J
#31 Western Union
#33 Petronas @NearCptNitro
#33 Moxie
#33 NOS Energy
#35 Hershey's
#35 Budweiser
#35 Arrow
#43 Lego @Eh Team
#43 National Geographic
#43 Folger's
#48 The Aroma Cafe
#48 Nationwide
#48 Miller Lite
#55 Amazon @catamount39
#55 Sabaton
#55 Novitec
#56 Pinty's
#56 Molson Canadian
#56 McDonald's
#64 Mobil 1 @RESHIRAM5
#67 Boost Mobile @PinkKitty13
#67 Pirtek
#67 Fujitsu
#76 Burger King @Niku Driver HC
#76 Namco Bandai Games
#76 Royal Purple
#78 Nuclear Clean Air-Entergy
#78 Energizer
#78 Oreo
#79 The Y Camp Grady Spruce @BKGlover
#79 Dublin Bottling Works
#79 Lenovo
#80 Bass Pro Shops @nascarfan1400
#80 Red Bull
#80 Old Spice
#81 TE Connectivity @Eva
#81 Stanley Dewalt
#81 Coca-Cola
#84 Alienware @amaterasu
#84 Subway
#84 Bethesda Softworks
#90 Bud Light @ukfan758
#96 NOS Energy @Clayton Hardy
#96 Allianz
#96 Gulf Oil
#97 Elf @LITTLEBLACKO
#97 Total
#97 Rip Curl
List does not include @YayoiGT2 due to no confirmed sponsors as of yet.
Deadline for entries on paper is September 30th. Deadline for schemes is December 1st. I highly recommend everyone, including myself, begin getting to work on getting liveries lined up quickly. Guidelines for what is required on liveries is in the OP. Please make sure that all of your sponsors are on the cars sent in. Otherwise you will not get the money from the sponsors.
 
*Looks at list*

.......F. I know two are done, and three are being worked on, but that still leaves at least 106 liveries.
 
I know right off Audiman2011 wants his Main livery basically the same so that should be done fairly quickly (will have to ask @RESHIRAM5 if he wants the same look). Other then that, definitely a lot to do but thankfully far more time to do so.


I'll be posted all the cars I completed as they get done. Thankfully, I only have two classes this semester (as opposed to three the last two times ) so it won't be nearly as difficult.
 
RACECAR
I know right off Audiman2011 wants his Main livery basically the same so that should be done fairly quickly (will have to ask @RESHIRAM5 if he wants the same look). Other then that, definitely a lot to do but thankfully far more time to do so.


I'll be posted all the cars I completed as they get done. Thankfully, I only have two classes this semester (as opposed to three the last two times ) so it won't be nearly as difficult.
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I pretty much want the same if that's ok :)
 
Eva
So, I need everyone's attention for this, given the task now at hand.
#2 Vodafone @tbwhhs
#2 Panasonic
#2 Castrol Edge
#3 Vodafone @Sakura
#3 Samsung
#3 Dairy Queen
#4 Project Mu @Suzumiya
#4 Project Mu Brakes
#4 Repsol
#5 Serene Air @Smurfybug
#5 Lux Soap
#5 Walls Ice Cream
#6 Vodafone @Zooparker
#6 Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals
#6 TAG Heuer
#7 GoDaddy @Formidable
#7 Jack Daniel's
#7 Coca-Cola
#8 G'zox @Rebellion765
#8 Lexar
#8 Coca-Cola
#9 Bambi @Whitetail
#9 Duracell
#9 Coca-Cola
#10 Johnnie Walker @AudiMan2011
#10 Turn 10 Studios
#10 twitch.tv
#11 Target @DcrRaikkonen
#11 T-Mobile
#11 K&N
#12 Vodafone @Pezzarinho17
#12 Shell
#12 Deutsch Post
#13 Adidas @Kingofweasles
#13 Valvoline
#13 In-N-Out Burger
#16 Okuma Corporation @GranTurismo916
#16 Arby's
#16 Wrigley's Gum (Juicy Fruit)
#17 GoPro @quietgirl
#17 Mountain Dew
#17 Oakley
#18 Sony @KuniKino****a
#18 Okuma
#18 Nikon
#19 GameStop @RACECAR
#19 Sony
#19 Pepsi
#21 SMP Bank
#21 Tissot
#21 Epson
#22 Chick-Fil-A @GTRacer22
#22 Raybrig
#22 San Pellegrino
#23 British Airways @ECGadget
#24 Brembo
#24 Nike
#24 General Electric
#25 Miller Lite
#30 Superchips @Michelin
#31 Domino's Pizza
#31 Pilot Travel Centers-Flying J
#31 Western Union
#33 Petronas @NearCptNitro
#33 Moxie
#33 NOS Energy
#35 Hershey's
#35 Budweiser
#35 Arrow
#43 Lego @Eh Team
#43 National Geographic
#43 Folger's
#48 The Aroma Cafe
#48 Nationwide
#48 Miller Lite
#55 Amazon @catamount39
#55 Sabaton
#55 Novitec
#56 Pinty's
#56 Molson Canadian
#56 McDonald's
#64 Mobil 1 @RESHIRAM5
#67 Boost Mobile @PinkKitty13
#67 Pirtek
#67 Fujitsu
#76 Burger King @Niku Driver HC
#76 Namco Bandai Games
#76 Royal Purple
#78 Nuclear Clean Air-Entergy
#78 Energizer
#78 Oreo
#79 The Y Camp Grady Spruce @BKGlover
#79 Dublin Bottling Works
#79 Lenovo
#80 Bass Pro Shops @nascarfan1400
#80 Red Bull
#80 Old Spice
#81 TE Connectivity @Eva
#81 Stanley Dewalt
#81 Coca-Cola
#84 Alienware @amaterasu
#84 Subway
#84 Bethesda Softworks
#90 Bud Light @ukfan758
#96 NOS Energy @Clayton Hardy
#96 Allianz
#96 Gulf Oil
#97 Elf @LITTLEBLACKO
#97 Total
#97 Rip Curl
List does not include @YayoiGT2 due to no confirmed sponsors as of yet.
Deadline for entries on paper is September 30th. Deadline for schemes is December 1st. I highly recommend everyone, including myself, begin getting to work on getting liveries lined up quickly. Guidelines for what is required on liveries is in the OP. Please make sure that all of your sponsors are on the cars sent in. Otherwise you will not get the money from the sponsors.
Click to expand...

Well, I've almost got two of the #13's liveries done, but I'm going to have to get someone to finish up the #31's because I will be without regular internet service/electricity for at least a full month starting tomorrow...
 
Kingofweasles
Well, I've almost got two of the #13's liveries done, but I'm going to have to get someone to finish up the #31's because I will be without regular internet service/electricity for at least a full month starting tomorrow...
Click to expand...

Since it appears I will be 1 class short this semester (and thankfully, its the easy class I'll be taking), I can take that off your hands.
 
RACECAR
Since it appears I will be 1 class short this semester (and thankfully, its the easy class I'll be taking), I can take that off your hands.
Click to expand...

Great! I'll send a PM tomorrow as well as some PSD & PNG files for sponsorship logos.
 
2018 is set to be the beginning of a massive shift in competition, if the confidence in the Alpine camp is anything to go by. Vodafone Racing Team Impulse team principal Asumi Matsuo confirmed on behalf of Alpine that it has began shipping out its 2018 powertrains and aero kits to other Alpine teams, Cherokee GP and Eiffel Tower Racing. The factory team, which received USD$15 Million from its title sponsorship with Vodafone alone, also gave both teams $1 Million as a grace, hoping to keep those teams in its program in 2019 as well.

Alpine on the other hand, confirmed that it was being selective with the teams it allowed to be its customer teams, with the intent on having a consistent circle of allies. Alpine representatives confirmed that the choice of Cherokee GP as a customer team was for their experience with being a factory team, as well as their continued success in the series and in Formula One, where the team has emerged as a leading mid-field team. Eiffel Tower Racing was chosen specifically because of the team being based in France, which is also home to Alpine and parent manufacturer Renault. Several sources have confirmed that they have no intentions of supplying any other teams unless one of those two leave its group.
 
Havoline will not be returning with driver Stefan Montana after 2017.

The speculations that the driver-sponsor relationship has come to an end after months of tensions regarding Montana's waning performances after his maiden win this season. With Havoline out, it may suggest that Montana will join a new team but Montana has denied those rumors.

"At this moment in time, the team I'll be joining next season are still delayed. I haven't heard back from my current team regarding sponsorships. I want to stay with the team because I've never given up on them," Montana said. "But if I were to join, I want to bring my sponsors because I know there are companies that are interested with a fierce driver that wants to take a chance on a guy who can deliver. While this season has been a farce, it's nice to see support from others."

Among the rumored sponsors are Domino's Pizza, Tama Drums and Blue Moon.

Montana has said he's is on the verge of announcing associate sponsors once his 2018 contract has finally been decided.
 

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