Polyphony Digital has revealed the specifics for the final FIA Championship season. These events make up the qualification process for the various regional tournaments later in the year.
The season takes place over a month, including 10 races, from August 8 through Septamber 8. Each race has the traditional five hourly slots, with the Nations Cup held from 1700-2100, and the Manufacturer Series from 1710-2110. As usual, players only have one permitted attempt at each race.
Players don’t need to drive in all of the races though. Only the best five rounds count towards your final score, regardless of how many races you attempt.
There are some interesting details in the schedules. There’s an unknown car in one round of the Nations Cup, in an event at Suzuka. This seems likely to be a vehicle in the July update car pack, potentially the Mercedes-AMG F1 W08, given the location.
Also of interest is a mystery track in both championships. This seems to be in two configurations, with an eight-lap race in Gr.2 cars suggesting a long circuit and a ten-lap race in Gr.3 cars hinting a shorter variation. If this is the track in the July update, there may be more than one layout…
The schedule for the Nations Cup is as follows:
- Round 1: August 8 – Gr.3 / Brands Hatch GP Circuit 18 Laps
- Round 2: August 11 – Gr.4 / Kyoto Driving Park Yamagiwa II 13 Laps
- Round 3: August 15 – Gran Turismo Racing Kart 125 Shifter / Tsukuba Circuit 25 Laps
- Round 4: August 18 – Gr.1 / Interlagos Circuit 17 Laps
- Round 5: August 22 – Gr.4 / Lake Maggiore Circuit West Layout 17 Laps
- Round 6: August 25 – Gr.3 / Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit 15 min *
- Round 7: August 29 – Car TBD / Suzuka Circuit 15 Laps
- Round 8: September 1 – Gr.2 / Track TBD 8Laps*
- Round 9: September 5 – Gr.3 / Nürburgring GP 12 Laps
- Round 10: September 8 – Gr.1 / Sarthe Circuit 15 min*
Rounds six, eight and 10 will also feature a dedicated “top 24 superstars” race. These come with bonus points for S-ranked drivers, although Polyphony has adjusted the benefits somewhat.
The Mount Panorama race will be slightly longer for the superstars, at 25 minutes. There’s no base point amount on offer, but players can look forward to a 20% bonus in their points score. This remains for the second race, at the unknown track, with a 10 lap race rather than eight.
For the final round, at Circuit de la Sarthe, there’s 1,000 points on offer as a baseline. Each player also receives a 2.5x points multiplier for this 24-minute endurance.
The three superstars races take place at 1900 on their respective days. Bear in mind that you will need to hold a Driver Rating of S from the second season in order to be eligible to join.
For the Manufacturer Series, the schedule is as follows:
- Round 1: August 8 – Gr.4 / Dragon Trail Gardens 13 Laps
- Round 2: August 11 – Gr.3 / Track TBD10 Laps
- Round 3: August 15 – Gr.4 / Dragon Trail Seaside 13 Laps
- Round 4: August 18 – Gr.3 / Blue Moon Bay Speedway Infield A 21 Laps
- Round 5: August 22 – Gr.3 / Tokyo Expressway East Route Outer Ring 11 Laps
- Round 6: August 25 – Gr.4 / Lake Maggiore Circuit GP 11 Laps*
- Round 7: August 29 – Gr.4 / Willow Springs Raceway Big Willow 18 Laps
- Round 8: September 1 – Gr.3 / Monza Circuit 15 min*
- Round 9: September 5 – Gr.4 / Kyoto Driving Park Yamagiwa 13 Laps
- Round 10: September 8 – Gr.3 / Interlagos Circuit 15 Laps*
Again, rounds six, eight and 10 include the dedicated superstars race. Just as with the Nations Cup, the first two rounds have a 1.2x points multiplier and no base points, while the final round has the 1,000pt base line and a 2.5x multiplier. Each event runs at 2010 on their respective days.
The points scored in this final season will determine if players advance towards the two competitions’ finals.
For the Nations Cup, the top 30 players within each region (up to a maximum of three from each European/Middle East nation and ten from each country in the Asia and Americas regions) qualify for the regional finals. These will run in October 2018, with the winners qualifying for November’s World Final.
Manufacturer Series is more complex. One top driver from each region for each of the 16 globally best manufacturers will head to the World Final in November.
See more articles on FIA Online Championship.
