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

[RACECAR]

Have fun with your manufacturer-mates Harsk

You were saying?

 

[Jahgee]

You were saying?

Makes the gif I posted with it even more relevant

 

[Smurfybug]

 

[Eva]

Got a question for @goofytyler: Did you submit an AI form as Tyler Parker?
EDIT: Guessing not from the date difference in activity.

 

[Zooparker]

Got a question for @goofytyler: Did you submit an AI form as Tyler Parker?
EDIT: Guessing not from the date difference in activity.

No that was me, just been lurking for awhile, but interested in a potential part/full time ride if available with an established team if they need a driver. If not then I would definitely be interested in the feeder series now that they have been announced.

 

[Eva]

No that was me, just been lurking for awhile, but interested in a potential part/full time ride if available with an established team if they need a driver. If not then I would definitely be interested in the feeder series now that they have been announced.

Ah okay. I was curious because there wasn't a GTP account attached. Welcome! I'll add you to the list of available GTP members.

 

[Jahgee]

Something that I just thought of, can a driver drive part time for more than one team? Say for instance, Harsk drives part time for Nas' team, but for example your team offer's him a 5 race deal as well, would he be allowed to run both?

 

[Eva]

Something that I just thought of, can a driver drive part time for more than one team? Say for instance, Harsk drives part time for Nas' team, but for example your team offer's him a 5 race deal as well, would he be allowed to run both?

Nope. Only way a part time driver could exceed that is if they were a replacement for an injured driver or a banned GTP member.

 

[Sakura]

No that was me, just been lurking for awhile, but interested in a potential part/full time ride if available with an established team if they need a driver. If not then I would definitely be interested in the feeder series now that they have been announced.

Might want to check your private convos then.

 

[Jahgee]

Nope. Only way a part time driver could exceed that is if they were a replacement for an injured driver or a banned GTP member.

Yeah, I'm guessing you thought of the same loophole idea I had where a part time driver could do a full season on a bunch of different teams

 

[Eva]

Yeah, I'm guessing you thought of the same loophole idea I had where a part time driver could do a full season on a bunch of different teams

Yeah.

 

[Eva]

Sorry for the double post, but official VRR statement on the situation:

Spoiler: VRR Removes HRSC Racing From 2017 Entries

Virtual Reality Racing is formally announcing that it has removed HRSC Racing from the 2017 Straight Talk IndyCar Series season. Since early May, VRR has been closely monitoring the team's financial status as the 2016 season has progressed. With sound financial advice and concern, VRR cannot permit the team to proceed beyond 2016. While the organization feels compassion for 1 time race winner Pedro Harsk and his loss of the team, we must ensure that every entry in the series is economically feasible and supportable. The vacated full time entry, as stated unofficially earlier in the week, now belongs to Polaris Motorsports. They have until Monday, September 11th, to inform VRR of their plans for the entry or else it will be passed on to another team who has also been bidding for a full time entry.

 

[AudiMan2011]

Spoiler: Slater On HRSC Situation and What His Own Future Holds

Speaking to VRR Network earlier, Ecurie Ecosse's Gary Slater spoke about the recent news regarding HSRC Racing and talked about what his own future holds.

VRR Network: "News has just came in that HRSC Racing has been removed from the 2017 VRR STICS roster due to severe financial difficulties. What are your thoughts, Gary?"

Gary Slater: "Hearing about what happened to Pedro's team is very disappointing. His financial troubles show just how cut-throat this series can be and if you don't have the financial stability, then you're in big trouble. I feel that Ecurie Ecosse is lucky to be in the position it's in despite our wretched luck."

VRR: "What does this mean for you and Ecurie Ecosse?"

GS: "I believe this puts even more pressure on all the small teams with a single car entry, not just ours, to perform next season to avoid going under ourselves. We might not be the worst off financially, but we're under huge scrutiny from the top brass back in the UK for our rotten 2016 season."

VRR: "What exactly do you mean?"

GS: "Top management back in the UK are breathing down our necks for us to deliver results in 2017 otherwise they risk looking into pulling our 2018 entry. I feel like it's my last chance to perform and it needs to come good, otherwise I risk being out of a seat myself for 2018."

VRR: "Would there be any teams you would look to if worst came to worst?"

GS: "I don't know if any teams would even give me a glance for 2018 due to the controversy I caused in 2016. I blew the chance for Ecurie Ecosse to expand and I'm already paying the price for it. I really hope we don't go that way."

VRR: "Audi have stepped forward to give your team a refund on the engines for 2017. Do you feel that the reliability issues in 2016 hampered your relationship?"

GS: "I don't think so. We don't have the funds of the works teams so the 40% refund is a welcome gesture. We'll be using that to heavily invest in improving the engines for 2017. I'm quite glad that even Cherokee Motorsports is showing some sympathy for us too.

VRR: "Thank you for your time, Gary."

GS: "You're welcome."

 

[Valkyr1313]

"1 time race winner Pedro Harsk" got me. Gg on the wording 👍

 

[amaterasu]

Spoiler: Polaris To Announce Third Seat On September 8th

VRR had laid out in it's statement that for Polaris to maintain the third full time entry, it had to make its intentions known before September 11th. Since that date is more of a revered date in history, Polaris Motorsports have scheduled their announcement for the seat on Friday, September 8th. The team has gone ahead and forwarded its plans to VRR, which have been approved. Stephanie Porter-Kelley, who had been busy fulfilling promotional obligations for Bethesda's Nuka-World expansion for Fallout 4, shared a brief statement with the media. "We're one step closer to making our team a bulldozing powerhouse. It's not easy picking between two of the most level headed drivers in the field who have already shown so much potential, but we've got plans in place and we'll move forward on them."

 

[Eva]

Spoiler: Ways To Watch VRR IndyCar Events In 2017

Next season, there will be a couple different methods to watch the races in the 2017 VRR Straight Talk IndyCar Series season. Primarily will be the race broadcasts featuring trobes29 nascarfan1400 Crimson Fox and potentially others. Secondarily will be something new to 2017, and something that will be tested during the 2016 season finale, an onboard cam of the entire race from start to finish for certain cars. Team Porter and Black Rose Racing will be the first to see this used, but it may be expanded to others if interest is there. These onboard cams will not feature any commentary, but will have text alerts at the bottom of the screen for convenience.

Spoiler: Venues Refuse 2017 Sanctioning Fee

The sanctioning fees for hosting a 2017 VRR open wheel weekend has drawn the protest of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Sonoma Raceway, who have been removed from the calendar because of which. Barcelona, which is set to host their 2016 event in two weeks, have had trouble selling out the venue for the event, which is used to large crowds from MotoGP and Formula One. Sonoma, who had been removed from the 2016 calendar for the same reason, felt that the venue deserved to be the host of either the season finale or the road course finale, while VRR felt differently, valuing having Fontana as the finale and the brand new Sarajevo circuit host the road course finale. VRR, however, remains dedicated to finding replacements as per Evangeline Porter; "We now have the ability to add another race in Europe for that cluster. We can easily bring Lausitz back. The fans loved the action we gave them this year. If we want to stay in the Iberian Peninsula, we have Jerez, Jarama, and Albacete as well as Estoril. But we could also go to Magny-Cours or possibly Imola. We have to work out details, but I'm not upset by any of this. Their loss." The schedule has also been updated to include the official mid-season tests.

 

[Jahgee]

Spoiler: Ways To Watch VRR IndyCar Events In 2017

Next season, there will be a couple different methods to watch the races in the 2017 VRR Straight Talk IndyCar Series season. Primarily will be the race broadcasts featuring trobes29 nascarfan1400 Crimson Fox and potentially others. Secondarily will be something new to 2017, and something that will be tested during the 2016 season finale, an onboard cam of the entire race from start to finish for certain cars. Team Porter and Black Rose Racing will be the first to see this used, but it may be expanded to others if interest is there. These onboard cams will not feature any commentary, but will have text alerts at the bottom of the screen for convenience.

Spoiler: Venues Refuse 2017 Sanctioning Fee

The sanctioning fees for hosting a 2017 VRR open wheel weekend has drawn the protest of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Sonoma Raceway, who have been removed from the calendar because of which. Barcelona, which is set to host their 2016 event in two weeks, have had trouble selling out the venue for the event, which is used to large crowds from MotoGP and Formula One. Sonoma, who had been removed from the 2016 calendar for the same reason, felt that the venue deserved to be the host of either the season finale or the road course finale, while VRR felt differently, valuing having Fontana as the finale and the brand new Sarajevo circuit host the road course finale. VRR, however, remains dedicated to finding replacements as per Evangeline Porter; "We now have the ability to add another race in Europe for that cluster. We can easily bring Lausitz back. The fans loved the action we gave them this year. If we want to stay in the Iberian Peninsula, we have Jerez, Jarama, and Albacete as well as Estoril. But we could also go to Magny-Cours or possibly Imola. We have to work out details, but I'm not upset by any of this. Their loss." The schedule has also been updated to include the official mid-season tests.

Copying my series I see /s

 

[Eva]

Copying my series I see /s

Meh. Not really copying if I'm doing it for every event.

 

[Jahgee]

Meh. Not really copying if I'm doing it for every event.

That's what the /s was for , I considered doing something like that before the season, that video was for me to determine whether or not it would be a good experience for the viewers.

 

[Eva]

That's what the /s was for , I considered doing something like that before the season, that video was for me to determine whether or not it would be a good experience for the viewers.

Only I'll be releasing these videos I'm making far before the scheduled broadcast date.

 

[Eva]

Spoiler: Cars Available For Indy Lights

Car: Sponsor (Team Reserving Number)
#2: Verizon
#3: Shell V-Power (Impulse Racing)
#4: Pennzoil
#5: Dollar General
#6: Robert Graham (Impulse Racing)
#7: SMP Racing (Polaris Motorsports)
#8: NTT Data (Polaris Motorsports)
#9: Target (ETRT)
#10: Target
#11: Mistic Machine
#12: Verizon
#14: ABC Supply Co.
#15: National Guard (Cat Devil Racing)
#16: Mi-Jack (Cat Devil Racing)
#17: AFS
#18: Ipiranga (Impulse Racing)
#19: Boy Scouts of America (ETRT)
#20: Fuzzy's Vodka
#21: Preferred Freezer
#22: Comfort Revolution
#24: Target
#25: Snapple (Cat Devil Racing)
#26: Suretone
#27: UFD
#28: DHL
#33: Always Evolving Racing
#34: Andretti TV
#35: Red Bull
#40: Neste Oil
#41: Alfe Heating Systems
#49: Volkswagon
#53: Char Broil (Cherokee Motorsports)
#61: Ferrari (Black Rose Racing)
#67: Hartman Oil
#68: R&W
#71: K1 Lotus
#77: Environmental Rail Solutions
#79: Charter America
#83: Novo Nordisk (Swift Autosport)
#88: United States Marine Corps
#91: Stephen A. Wynn (Cat Devil Racing)
#93: Target
#96: Lotus (Cherokee Motorsports)
#98: Charter
#99: Coca-Cola (Black Rose Racing)

Spoiler: Cars Available For American Formula Renault 2.0

#2: IZOD
#3: Shell V-Power (ETRT)
#4: National Guard
#5: Citgo (Cat Devil Racing)
#6: TrueCar
#7: McAfee (Black Rose Racing)
#8: BMC/Hyundai (Polaris Motorsports)
#9: Target (ETRT)
#10: Target
#11: Geico
#12: Verizon
#14: ABC Supply Co.
#15: Mi-Jack (Cat Devil Racing)
#18: Sonny's
#19: Boy Scouts of America (ETRT)
#20: Fuzzy's
#21: Exide Batteries (Polaris Motorsports)
#22: Lotus Cars
#25: Dinky's Die Cast Toys
#26: Royal Crown Cola (Cherokee Motorsports)
#27: GoDaddy (Cat Devil Racing)
#28: Sun Drop
#30: DRN Engineering
#38: NTB
#41: Android (Polaris Motorsports)
#47: Advanced Auto Parts (Cherokee Motorsports)
#67: Direct Energy
#68: Char Broil (Cherokee Motorsports)
#77: HP
#78: Nuclear (Black Rose Racing)
#81: Excedrin (Black Rose Racing)
#83: NovoLog FlexPen (Swift Autosport)
#98: William Rast

Spoiler: List of Potential AI Drivers

Male Drivers
Xavier Fidalgo/Portugal
Elijah Harris/Great Britain
Jonathan Mason/United States
Phillip Mitchell/New Zealand
Chris Morgan/Australia
Logan Turner/Canada
Ignacio Amaya/Argentina
Santino Valdez/Chile
Manuel Ramos/Columbia
Bruno Alvarez/Venezuela
Ignacio Rivera/Spain
Enrique Ruiz/Honduras
Florian Dumas/France
Cedric Morin/Andorra
Damien Bernard/Canada
Luigi Rinaldi/San Marino
Antonio Marchetti/Italy
Cristian Moretti/Switzerland
Milek Alexandrov/Russia
Nikolai Vasiliev/Serbia
Ryo Nakamura/Japan
Michael Braun/Germany
Miguel Espinoza/Argentina
Raphael Martin/Canada
Tomas Serra/Brazil
Ryan Morgan/Australia
Christian Blignaut/South Africa
Valentin Amsler/Switzerland
Adrian Hansen/Denmark
Aldert De Jong/Netherlands

Female Drivers
Silvana Ardizzone/Italy
Yurina Hisataka/Japan
Ivanka Malisic/Kosovo
Bethany Simpson/Great Britain
Scarlett Ellis/Canada
Megan Palmer/Australia
Rose Stevens/New Zealand
Alicia Gray/Ireland
Camila Salazar/Chile
Sabrina Hernandez/Mexico
Marina Flores/Spain
Gabriela Estrada/Andorra
Marianne Durand/France
Sophie Marchal/Belgium
Cassandra Gouthier/Switzerland
Isabelle Lemaire/Monaco
Mai Shen/China
Valentina Costa/Italy
Noemi Romano/Italy
Valeriya Eltsina/Russia
Emilia Pavlova/Belarus
Alexis Egorova/Kazakhstan
Inga Sorokina/Ukraine
Jessika Schneider/Netherlands
Maria Bauer/Germany
Gabrielle Werner/Germany
Angelika Kruger/Liechtenstein
Marina Schubert/Austria
Haruka Migazaki/Japan
Jasmin Al-Jurr/Jordan
Stefania Areleous/Macedonia
Chrysa Raptis/Greece
Carina Wallin/Norway
Christina Engstrom/Sweden
Alexandra Marion/Andorra
Felicia Neves/Portugal
Lochana Mishra/India

Spoiler: Reminder On Rules For Feeder Series

Details for the Toshiba Indy Lights Series are as follows:
-Teams can support up to 4 drivers. GTPlanet members can claim up to two a piece, one male and one female driver.
-GTPlanet members can create their own drivers for the series, either as a part of their own teams or as free agents for others to potentially use (see below the Formula Renault 2.0 details)
-For the first season (2017), all cars will be provided for by VRR via the DW12 Smiffsden oval aero kits. Beyond next year, teams will have to submit their own schemes.
-As stated above, the series will use the old IR-11 chassis with road course aero. Engines will be turbocharged inline 4 engines provided by Honda. Tires will be Firestone Firehawks.
-Car numbers will be limited to what is available in the original mod for 2017. As with the schemes, numbers open up as well for beyond that.
-Oval races will be 150-200 miles in length, or enough to make one pit stop.
-Road course races will be 100-125 miles in length.
-If races are broadcasted, they will be likely without any commentary. Races happen on Saturdays.
-Field size can be up to 33 cars.

Details for the American Formula Renault 2.0 Series:
-Teams can support up to 3 drivers each. A GTPlanet member can be in charge of all three drivers on that team.
-The series will use the IR-11 chassis with oval aero, with engines being naturally aspirated inline 4 engines provided by Renault. Tires will be Firestone Firehawks.
-Teams in the Indy Lights Series can reserve the same numbers and cars for the Formula Renault Series to maintain consistency.
-Oval events will feature a single race that is 20% the IndyCar Series event.
-Road course events will feature a pair of races, with the sprint race being 10% the IndyCar Series event and the feature being 15% the IndyCar Series event. Top 6 in the sprint race will be inverted for the feature race grid.
-Races may or may not be broadcasted. Entire events will take place on Fridays.
-Field size can be up to 27 cars.

Details as to what is required to submit AI drivers:
-All AI drivers must have a realistic fictional name. If you have trouble with this, there are websites and apps that can help you out.
-AI must have a date of birth.
-AI must have a location. City, state/province, country.
-Recommended would be a resume of their career before joining a series, but it's understandable if they don't because let's be honest, they're going through feeder series for this reason anyways.

NOTE: Anyone can field teams in these series! Finance rules do not carry over to the feeder series, so don't be afraid to jump in and test the waters.

 

[swiftsmith]

@Angel should I PM you with my Indy Lights and American Formula Renault entries?

 

[Eva]

@Angel should I PM you with my Indy Lights and American Formula Renault entries?

You can.

 

[Eva]

Going to make a change for Indy Lights, switching them to the oval package DW12 kit. I'll have to update the numbers available because of that, but teams that have reserved numbers that are still used in the DW12 mod will just keep those numbers.

 

[RACECAR]

Kicking off the conferences, new team Big Blue Motorsports is the first to officially confirm their entry into the 2017 VRR Straight Talk Indycar Series. The team will run a single car with Mark Santos behind the wheel of the Bud Light car.

 

[Eva]

I guess everyone is using Firestone again in 2017 lol

 

[BKGlover]

I guess everyone is using Firestone again in 2017 lol

Looksit. I assume it's a detail almost everyone overlooks...almost.

 

[Eva]

Looksit. I assume it's a detail almost everyone overlooks...almost.

Yeah. Looks like the tire thing will have to wait until 2018.

 

[BKGlover]

Yeah. Looks like the tire thing will have to wait until 2018.

There's two ways to fix it. 1) Just take the decals off entirely or 2) I have Goodyear layers done already for the front of the pods, I can fix up Pirelli and Michelin ones in short order and make some for the rear pods as well.

 

[RACECAR]

I'll take the blame for that. Somehow I remembered having new engine manufacterers, but not new tire manufacterers.

Also, something I just remembered: Does Harsk get to keep his entry for the Monster Energy race at Bristol?