ToCA14: DETAILS!
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So guys, ToCA14 will happen. In an effort to get a bit more life out the old touring car warhorse however there will be some changes. The headline change is in cars...
Car wise it is pure FWD. Cars will be from Ford, Mazda, Renaultsport, and Volvo.
In reference to the Super Touring years, here is a look at my 1998-colour themed Ford Focus ST '06 (complete with Will Hoy #32).
Mechanically there is a major change as well. Cars will be heavier now through usage of ballast placed in the rear of the car, with a general base weight of 1350kg. Power has also been slightly reduced as well, with the aim at creating a car that has a smoother drive, and more well balanced, leading to better racing. Visually the Mazda will receive a new, smaller skinnier wing.
This obviously means the position-based success ballast system will be axed, however the pts system introduced in ToCA13 will remain. A bigger change within however is the abolition of the "team-indy" entries (teams entering car registered as an independent) and the legalisation of full 2 and 3 car teams. However to negate the impact of a driver DNQ or DNF, or some teams only having 2 drivers, only the teams top 2 drivers in the race will score points.
A major change however is in the timetabling, and this is arguably the most significant change as of course it impacts everyone involved. I do feel that the current timetable is a bit unbalanced and wasteful, and with doses of PD logic rooms have been stretching to being open for 2hrs 40minutes. Revisions should cut this down to just a small fraction over 2 hours. These will be detailed below (times in BST). Notes are in brackets and
bold.
6.55pm - Room opens
(No change)
7.15pm - Qualifying 1 / 10 minutes
(Q1 is brought forward 5 minutes and shortened by 5 minutes. People on laps when the Chequered Flag falls will be permitted to finish their lap).
7.35pm - Qualifying 2 (SuperPole) / 10 Minutes
(Q2 starts around 10 minutes after Q1 finishes. Most people I notice are usally already online in a FRL club practise lobby as it is.)
7.45pm - Race #1 + 5 minute break
8.10pm - Race #2 + 5 minute break
8.35pm - Race #3 + 5 minute break
9.00pm - Finished!
Ah yes... "SuperPole"... For Q2 it is something different. The timer is still set to 10 minutes. The sting in the tail is during that 10 minute session you are only permitted
1 warm-up and 1 attempt at a flying lap. You have 10 minutes to set your time. If you DC, or leave track, you automatically have your time disallowed by the game and start at the rear of the field.
There are several reasons behind this change. First it is a change from a system used in nearly every ToCA meeting ever, and it also puts more pressure on drivers. The 10 minute window however also means that not everyone has to rush on at once, and people who have issues seeing other cars with them loading on track can in theory wait a few minutes at the shorter tracks.
Speaking of tracks, we return to Nurburgrings' GP/D layout, Spa makes a welcome return as does Silverstone International. Willow and Suzuka leave the championship.
ToCA14 is scheduled to launch end of May / early June. Hope to see you there!
Furi.