Doc Posted November 15, 2018 Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 With 2019 almost upon us, I would love to get some feedback about what you all want. With attendance declining we need to make some changes. EVERYTHING is on the table. Day of the week: I think it has to be Monday through Thursday so as not to conflict with teams travelling to the actual races. Time: Is there a better time than 6PM? Trophies: Here's what I am thinking: We do the usual Class winning trophies (the crystal ones) for 1-2-3 places. Maybe a "regular" ChampCar trophy for the Champion, or is a free race enough? A free race drawn for East and Pacific from all the participants of at least a certain # of races. Maybe 20 or so. This should help our participation #s. Too "gimmicky"? What ideas do you all have to increase participation? Is the format working? Mike and the BoD really want this to succeed as do I. I think @Rapido has done a great job and really any success we have had is largely due to his efforts. I can't thank him enough. I know I will really try hard not to have schedule changes to avoid confusion, but sometimes it is inevitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapido Posted November 15, 2018 Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 Thanks @Doc, despite the slight downturn in participation in the second half of the season, I fully believe in this project and think it can grow. For reference, when I first started running the Reddit iRacing League (4 years ago now) we had grids of around 6 drivers. Now we have 25-30 every week. It takes time to build a community but this will be a long-term and valuable addition to the ChampCar world. Below are the changes and suggestions I'm planning for 2019 - I would welcome everyone's feedback on these and will incorporate all comments into my final decision making and discussions with Doc and Mike. This is an iterative process to enable me to provide the best service to the ChampCar community, and I look forward to continuing to work on this project next year. Proposed Changes to CC Sim Series for 2019 Single Class Racing - the dual class format of the 2018 races proved to be too convoluted/confusing for the field, diluting competition. Whilst dealing with traffic and multiclass racing is inherently part of the real life ChampCar experience, implementing that experience virtually within the confines of limited BOP leveling would prove too challenging. Therefore the best thing to do is move to a single car class. I am proposing to use the "old" (2015) Mazda MX-5 as it is free content, a little easier to drive and slower than the 2016 car, and has a direct link to cars that you will see racing ChampCar in real events. Series will remain fixed set-up, with forced pit stops. Drop Weeks for Scoring - Despite best efforts for scheduling, real life can inevitably impact participation on any given week. Most championships work in drop weeks for scoring purposes to ensure only that drivers aren't penalized for missing a couple of rounds. Generally around 70% of the total number of rounds will go towards a driver's final score, the exact number will be confirmed before the start of the next season. Prizes - I like the idea of graduated prizes for the top 3 (or so) in the final championship standings. A free race for the champions of the east and west divisions is a great prize and should remain the gold standard. I also like the idea of a random prize drawn from the combined pool of participants who have competed in x% of the total races - whether or not this is also a free race would be a decision by the BOD but I think any incentive would work to encourage participation. Scheduling and Scoring - I think Thursday nights work well for the majority of the community, with a local 9pm race start time for east and west coast divisions. We will aim for two practice races before each championship round and try and mirror the real life CC schedule as closely as possible. In addition to the drop weeks, the points awarded by position would be amended to tighten up the differences between places and ensure closer battling throughout the field. Points would only be able to be scored by drivers who complete over x% of the race (to encourage finishing races even if drivers encounter early setbacks). Broadcasting - I think the inclusion of the YouTube broadcasts of the championship rounds has been really entertaining and will help to attract drivers and fans to the series. I hope to work with my colleagues in the Hugh Jass Broadcasting Corporation to come to a similar agreement for 2019. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Infiniti Posted November 15, 2018 Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 No sim here but 6 would be too early if I wanted to partake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 Thanks @Rapido. I posted this over on the Facebook site and on the IRacing message board for feedback as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Peters Posted November 15, 2018 Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 I enjoyed last season when I could make it. Time was a factor in my participation, but I think the biggest areas for improvement were the split fields. It was a bit too game-y deciding which class you would show up in (even though I liked the mix between the two as it reminded of real champcar). I like the idea of a more stepped prize structure and drop weeks because once it became clear I was out of contention, it was hard to justify the practice and effort, though I've had less time than usual with working on a local car. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABR-Glen Posted November 18, 2018 Report Share Posted November 18, 2018 My suggestion would be to race two nights per week, one day at an Eastern friendly time and one day at a Western friendly time. Each participant can keep their best finish from either of the two races, and of course they can also benefit from being a spoiler in the second race even if they don't improve their finish. This should help keep participation up because the East and West fields will overlap more and if people have a conflict on one night they can possibly join the other even though it might be a more inconvenient time. If two nights in the same week is harder to manage then make two championship rounds on consecutive weeks with the alternating start time. It does seem like Thursday night the week of the real live race is too close, either earlier in the week, or do the leading round the week prior. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABR-Glen Posted November 18, 2018 Report Share Posted November 18, 2018 I did really like the tortoise and hare aspect of having the street stock out there and I would be sad to see it go. Is there some way we can keep at least two separate strategies in play? I don't know the nuts and bolts of how to achieve this or how to make the strategies equally competetive, but if it turns into a conga line of miatas on track (i.e. a sprint race) I'll probably loose interest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintodave Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 What about the occasional weekend race during off weekends of real racing? I am probably one of the few outsiders on the scheduling, but weeknights are generally hard. I've competed in exactly zero Champcar sim races so I would hope my input is valued at the literal .02 cents that it is worth. What I will say is there is probably another decent sized group of us out there that are really really wanting to jump in, with time constraints being the ultimate killer for me (I know I know, boo hoo). I sound like a broken record, but I really would love to get back into the sim game in 2019. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcewena Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 23 hours ago, ABR-Glen said: I did really like the tortoise and hare aspect of having the street stock out there and I would be sad to see it go. Is there some way we can keep at least two separate strategies in play? I don't know the nuts and bolts of how to achieve this or how to make the strategies equally competetive, but if it turns into a conga line of miatas on track (i.e. a sprint race) I'll probably loose interest. We ran an chump inspired iracing league a while ago and what we did was establish an "AIV" for each of the stock-ish cars (Mustang, Jetta, MX5s, Solstices etc) based on the world records for each car/track combo in iracing's database. The Mustang was say 675 points, MX5 was 510 etc. so they had work to make laps on the Solstices to win. More Chump like traffic that way. Just a thought. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technical Advisory Committee Ray Franck Posted November 19, 2018 Technical Advisory Committee Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 Champ. Champ. Champ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcewena Posted November 19, 2018 Report Share Posted November 19, 2018 4 hours ago, Ray Franck said: Champ. Champ. Champ Not back then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technical Advisory Committee NigelStu Posted January 2, 2019 Technical Advisory Committee Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Have you guys figured out a plan for the '19 season? schedule, rules, prizes, ways to keep participation higher (cough cough, increased communication for upcoming races and race results/season standings would go LONG way), etc. etc. Asking for a friend... lol. nah, really just want to have fun racing with other Champers. Last couple of races, while great for my points total, were really just like a private rented open track day with a couple other people you've seen around... Also, if choice is the '15 MX5, please at minimum change the rear bar to firm before you lock the setup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapido Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Schedule and details will be up soon, probably this weekend once I've finalized some things with Doc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Can we race at Seca this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapido Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 It's on the calendar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted January 7, 2019 Report Share Posted January 7, 2019 On 1/2/2019 at 9:54 PM, Rapido said: It's on the calendar. Is the calendar posted somewhere? I'm eagerly anticipating joining this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapido Posted January 7, 2019 Report Share Posted January 7, 2019 Not posted yet, finalising a few details, should be up by the end of the week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboys647 Posted January 10, 2019 Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 Just got my setup working and looking forward to trying it out for the Road Atlanta races! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2019 Date Circuit Event Comment 16-Jan-19 Road Atlanta Practice Round 1 23-Jan-19 Road Atlanta Practice Round 2 30-Jan-19 Road Atlanta Championship Round Moved forward one week 6-Feb-19 Sonoma Practice Round 1 13-Feb-19 Sonoma Championship Round 20-Feb-19 VIR South Practice Round 1 27-Feb-19 VIR South Championship Round 6-Mar-19 13-Mar-19 Daytona Practice Round 1 20-Mar-19 Daytona Practice Round 2 27-Mar-19 Daytona Championship Round Moved forward two weeks 3-Apr-19 Road America Practice Round 1 10-Apr-19 Road America Championship Round 17-Apr-19 Charlotte Practice Round 1 24-Apr-19 Charlotte Championship Round 1-May-19 8-May-19 Watkins Glen Practice Round 1 15-May-19 Watkins Glen Practice Round 2 22-May-19 Watkins Glen Championship Round 29-May-19 5-Jun-19 Mosport Park Practice Round 1 Canadian Round 12-Jun-19 Mosport Park Championship Round Canadian Round 19-Jun-19 26-Jun-19 Indianapolis Practice Round 1 3-Jul-19 Indianapolis Practice Round 2 10-Jul-19 Indianapolis Championship Round 17-Jul-19 24-Jul-19 VIR Practice Round 1 31-Jul-19 VIR Practice Round 2 7-Aug-19 VIR Championship Round 2hr Endurance Round 14-Aug-19 21-Aug-19 Summer Break 28-Aug-19 Summer Break 4-Sep-19 Summer Break 11-Sep-19 18-Sep-19 Sebring Practice Round 1 25-Sep-19 Sebring Practice Round 2 2-Oct-19 Sebring Championship Round 9-Oct-19 16-Oct-19 Auto Club Practice Round 1 23-Oct-19 Auto Club Practice Round 2 30-Oct-19 Auto Club Championship Round 6-Nov-19 Barber Practice Round 1 13-Nov-19 Barber Championship Round Moved forward one week 20-Nov-19 VIR North Practice Round 1 27-Nov-19 VIR North Practice Round 2 4-Dec-19 VIR North Championship Round 11-Dec-19 Laguna Seca Practice Round 1 18-Dec-19 Laguna Seca Championship Round Moved back one week 25-Dec-19 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayton2318 Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 Wasn't sure where to post this, but was wondering if you guys use discord? And if not ... then my feedback would be to think about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFawcett Posted February 1, 2019 Report Share Posted February 1, 2019 19 minutes ago, clayton2318 said: Wasn't sure where to post this, but was wondering if you guys use discord? And if not ... then my feedback would be to think about it We do! Invite link here: https://discord.gg/dYZ7Rk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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