VTCC Friday Night Spec - The Resurrection

Hello Ladies & Gentlemen,

Are we sitting comfortably? Then i shall begin. Once Upon A Time in a land Far Far Away, there was a racing site just like the joys of TORA called the VTCC. It was put together in late 2009 and initially was a site where the former team VxR used to play together in perfect harmony. It saw racing on a Sunday Evening UK time ina variety of Touring Car type based series as well as a Friday Evening, also in the UK time, with a more Spec based series.

With the release of Forza Motorsports 4, the site grew and grew into quite a popular site, regulary running two to three lobbies on a Sunday and Friday Night. The Friday Night spot in particular discovered many hidden talents and special people, even myself the artist formerly known as Wheelwash made my online debut, way back in Season One of the Friday Night Spec, exactly one week after ATP Ginge and during the Forza Motorsports 4 days, as well as enjoying the sunny delights of TORA and Virtual Motorsports during their midweek events, times, they were fun.



Then the big Nasty Xbox One came along and like a good marriage, arguments started, toys got launched out of a wide variety of prams and to add to the misery, Forza Motorsports 5 was as popular as baby sick and a huge amount of drivers weighed up the computer plus iRacing Vs Xbox One and Forza 5, and most went the way of the computer as it delivered free porn, whereas the Xbox One just caught you having self service sex via the wonderful Kinect device.

To add further misery, the messiah of the Xbox One in the shape of Project CARS, the game made by the players, for the players, didnt actually work with other players, well unless you worked for Slightly Mad Studios who kept telling us that the messiah is faultless and hopefully it will, its certainly heading in the right direction.

The VTCC suffered as well, CQR Rusty became a proper racing driver like on the telly, and gradually one by one the backroom team from the Spec side of things fell into a variety of disrepair and the VTCC turned into another area of gaming, changed its name a couple of times and that was that.



Until now, yes the joys of a chat over social media between the old Friday Night Club of a few years back and the potential to bring something to the table once a week and before you know it, the rebirth of the VTCC is back. CQR Rusty has dusted over the old forum, given it a lick of paint and a four man squad behind the scenes have made a return to the fold, well, four men thats busy doing real life but as a collective can make anything look professional and the Friday Night Spec is back.

It will be on the Xbox One, using Forza Motorsports 6 and at the start, and to be honest, apart from the odd one off event, likely to be staying that way as we do like our racing on the road. Now if your looking for ultra competitive 'i must win at all costs' type of racing, then this may not be for you. If your looking for a laid back start to the weekend with a few mates talking cobblers and enjoying a bit of racing. The first car is up, a nice easy C Class Spec Cup Miata just around four of the new venues in the game, kicking off at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit on Friday 2nd October at 20:00 UK Time. A car in which most of us have raced in Forza 5.

Full details can be found at VTCC Forum or check out the Facebook Page

Looking forward to a race on Forza 6, bored that the local discotheque doesnt allow white suits until after the 11pm pub throw out, well it just so happens that the VTCC Friday Night Spec is back and its the original team behind the scenes before is tried the art of ski jumping in an Eddie The Eagle style. Opening series, a C Class Mazda MX5 Cup, four rounds exploring four of the new venues on Forza 6, starting this Friday 2nd October at 20:00 UK Time at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. Theres even a rumour that a certain squirrel is donning his vinyl onesie for the occasion, so even the traffic on the track isnt keeping you busy, the squeaks coming from the one doing Ninja certainly will!!





Full details on the VTCC Forum which is techincally the old forum, but with a spring clean and a lick of paint.

From the opening round at Brands Hatch and having gone from a confident mood coming into the evening, it soon became apparent that the head and body wernt completely in sync with each other, still the sand castle me and DangerDave built in the sandtrap on the outside of Paddock Hill Bend was magnificent. I think i managed to collect a sample of sand from every sandtrap at some point during the evening.

Photos, i took a few, as always, if you click on them, you should be magically transported to my Flickr account, where you can download them and use for your own pleasures, not just online stuff either, a rather large motorsport collection from the real world as well.





























If you fancy a bit, Lime Rock Park this Friday, full details on the VTCC Forum, all skills welcome, 20:00 UK Time, its just a once a week bit of fun really, from the same team that was there back in the Forza 4 days.

The second round saw the nine drivers in Conneticut for a pair of races in the green and pleasant lands of Lime Rock Park, a track thats not as straight forward as you may think, plenty of adjustments throughout the week, i know personally, still playing around just an hour before the green flag dropped, and i was still crap!!

It was another double for CQR Tactical, but certainly not a walk in the park with Jonnyy NI never far from his back bumper, as always, a few photos from the round.





















This week its the magnificence of Autodromo Nazionale Monza, full dtails of which you will find on the VTCC Forum

Just the six cars for round three at Monza , but for what it lacked in quantity, it sure made up for in quality. It also saw a welcome return to the VTCC Raceways of AgileAdam, the man famed for the wall of broken xbox controllers and he started the evening well giving ATP GInge plenty of grief in the rear view mirror.

There was a rumour that ATP Fenboy was running a camouflage paint scheme this week, unfortunately it was that good that nobody saw him all night.

ATP Ginge took the Race One Sprint race, with that rather good looking and modest chap Daytona Dreams taking the main Race Two Feature proving theres some life left in the old bovine yet, even if all the talent has drained away.

Next up, the final round at COTA over the West Circuit, lots of happy people next Friday then.

The final round of the MX-5 Cup and tight and twisty turns of the Circuit Of The Americas West Circuit was the venue this week, to make matters worse, the evil sod that picked the track couldnt even be bothered to turn up, deciding to play ill again!!

The worse news is that person was me, so i also havent a bloody clue what happened during the evening as i wasnt there. I do know that just the six cars made the trip and that ATP Ginge took a double in the win column to secure the Championship in mighty fine style, with Schuey75 taking second and WhiteShark NL pipping ATP Fenboy to the final step on the podium by a solitary point.

I did however get left a replay from ENS Cerebrus so grabbed a full photos from the finale.













Next up Season Two, a B Class Ford Focus in a six week jaunt around a wide variety of racetracks, which if your reading this on the VTCC Forum you will find in the next topic down, if not, clicky the linky and come and say hello.

Friday 30th October will Spooktacular Media Night, as ATP Ginge prepares himself as Herman McMunster, all six venues, in a fun light hearted evening ahead of the business end starting at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Friday 6th November at 20:00 GMT

2003 Ford Focus RS

PI - B555
Power - 212HP
Torque - 228LB-FT
Weight - 2459LBS
Front - 56%

Engine & Power
No Upgrades

Platform and Handling
Race Brakes
Race Springs and Dampers
Race Front Anti-roll Bars
Race Rear Anti-roll Bars
Race Roll Cage
Race Weight Reduction

Drivetrain
Race Clutch
Race Transmission
Race Driveline
Race Differential

Tires and Rims
Race Tire Compound
Front Tire Width 255/35R18
Rear Tire Width 255/35R18
Lightest Rims -33lbs (or -37lbs with Forza Front Aero Fitted)
(Once rim choice fitted, recheck tyre widths, it adjusts back to stock)

Aero and Appearance
Forza Front Bumper

Conversion
No Upgrade

and the schedule

Media Night - Friday 30th October
All Six Venues
Random Grid
8 Lap Races

Round One - Friday 6th November
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Qualifying - 5 Laps
Race 1 - 9 Laps
Race 2 - 21 Laps

Round Two - Friday 13th November
Road America - East Circuit
Qualifying - 5 Laps
Race 1 - 12 Laps
Race 2 - 26 Laps

Round Three - Friday 20th November
Watkins Glen - Full Circuit
Qualifying - 5 Laps
Race 1 - 7 Laps
Race 2 - 16 Laps

Round Four - Friday 27th November
Hockenheim - National Circuit
Qualifying - 5 Laps
Race 1 - 8 Laps
Race 2 - 20 Laps

Round Five - Friday 4th December
Bernese Alps - Stadplatz
Qualifying - 5 Laps
Race 1 - 10 Laps
Race 2 - 23 Laps

Round Six - Friday 11th December
Monza - Alternative Circuit
Qualifying - 5 Laps
Race 1 - 8 Laps
Race 2 - 18 Laps

Start Time 20:00 GMT / 15:00 EST / 06:00 AEST

All welcome whatever the standard you are, although the battle for the woden spoon is usually an intense affair.

The first round of the Ford Focus Cup got underway last Friday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and it quickly turned into the duel in the desert as AgileAdam and ATP Ginge laid down the battle for the upcoming season between the two. The rest of the field wont be missing out though as the tightness in the table shows, its a pretty even spread across the field.

Now the Forza Motorsport 6 replay system, isnt exactly reliable currently, well truth be told it reminds me of a Triumph Dolomite i once did up and while the majority of the field had Replay Download Fail, AgileAdam managed to be the only one that success on the saving front, so a big thank you to him as it meant i could take a few shots.





















Interestingly, if the Ford Focus is a car you love and you would fancy running in a series on Project CARS involving the 2009 Ford Focus RS, on a Sunday evening UK Time, you may well be interested in this wee nugget from the folks down in TORA Towers as they are running a Ford Focus Spec Cup starting this Sunday 15th November at Donington Park.

Thank you sir, although i have yet to be convinced by the ENS Tron-esque paint from this evening.

Ah, Road America, the greatest roadcourse in the world in my completely biased opinion and although just the East Circuit was going to be in use, a challenge that i was looking forward to enjoying. Practice hadnt gone ideal in the time department, but it was getting there and with ninety minutes to the start of qualifying, confidence was high.

Then it was 23:10 UK Time and i was in a very happy place called Zartog, with The Clash playing through my headphones and a concerned wife proving why she is the greatest person in my life. Yep, the body stopped working and i missed everything, so thank you to ENS Cerebrus for the replays, i havent a clue what happened as i havent had the time to watch the races, but it does appear that ATP Ginge, aka Barry Plant racked in the double in the win column.















Next up, Watkins Glen next Friday 20th November, if you would like more details, check out the VTCC Forum Section which has everything you need to know.

Watkins Glen, perhaps one of the best motor circuits in the world in my completely biased opinion, unfortunately when lacking in overall talent especially in FWD machinery, it can be slightly unforgiving as the barrier is never too far away and the big stacks of tyre barriers around the full course ready to eat the Ford Focus's on track for this third round in the VTCC Spec Season 2.

The bad news on a personal level, i think i hit every one, including giving up a reasonably safe 4th place in the opening sprint race of the evening as i turned left and the BP Delacour Focus just went straight on!! It did mean an eighth place finish, unfortunately there was only eight on the grid this week.

Out front in race one, AgileAdam and ATP Ginge were running nose to tail again, with the latter taking Barry Plant to victory lane again this season.



Race two was a tactical affair, the fine balance between the full 17 lap run on one tank of fuel and the pitstop on a track which takes an absolute age to negotiate it provided to be a bit of a cracker. Myself on pole position, as i was that bad in race one, took an early lead, but it only lasted a few laps as ATP Ginge came flying through the pack and was picking up the lead by lap five.

While ATP Ginge was building a massive gap, the rest of the field were having a real ding-dong battle, which in all honesty was making ATP Ginge's gap grow really quick at the front but it was darn good fun in the pack.



Heading towards the last few laps and the story of fuel became the talking point as the majority of the field came in, but having run a fairly consistent race in the 2:10 lap area, the gambler in me thought nothing to lose after missing last week and hoped the fuel would just make it ...................

......................... it didnt!!!! Coming off the Full GP Layout for the final time, the splutter started and by the final corner, their was nothing but Flintstone power, as ATP Fenboy passed me just before the flag, but a fourth place finish was better than i would have got having pitted so im not going to complain, a good night of racing again as the North American leg finished off the opening half of the six round series.















Next up, Germany and the magnificent Hockenheimring for two races over the National Course next Friday 27th November, if you would like more details, check out the VTCC Forum Section which has everything you need to know.

Coming Soon to the VTCC, the 2nd annual White Van Man Night



A night so special you'll think your on the M74 heading home for Christmas!!

The Hockenheimring, a welcome return in Forza Motorsports 6 having took an extended holiday during Forza Motorsports 5, unfortunately my body also took an extended holiday, yes folks, to celebrate Black Friday (Which still confuses me as to why its now an event in the UK as well as the United States) i decided to have Blackout Friday, in which one minute i was watching the racing from Doncaster and the next i was waking up listening to some local radio station, obviously my wife's revenge for something i have done over the past couple of days, feeding me endless Beyonce and boyband crap that thankfully i dont know their names.

So due to a busy weekend, has resulted in me being slightly less in depth in the report for this round. Truth be told, i havent got a clue what happened, although ENS Cerebrus did record his first ever podium, so well done sir!!













Next up, the Bernese Alps and the Stadplatz Circuit, so the winter woolies will be needed, well unless your Scottish, then it still t;shirt weather, next Friday 4th December, if you would like more details, check out the VTCC Forum Section which has everything you need to know.

The Bernese Alps, its never been at the top of the list when it comes to venues to visit, but in the lower classes, something that the VTCC specialize in, it always brings out the surprises and the racing is never dull as the cars push there limits. This week's installment then was looking like a good night from the off, i turned up for once, and feeling quite human which was a bit scary. We also had a member returning to the VTCC for the first time in a good few years in IZ Dragonborn, who was straight up to speed in the Alps.



Qualifying also saw a slight surprise, as Schuey75 popped in the fastest time, which i think im right in saying was his debut full pole position, although with just four tenths covering the top six drivers, it was all very close at the front.

Race One was just a dog-fight from start to finish in the eleven lapper, Schuey75 defending from the Championship leader in ATP Ginge, but never pulling a gap on the rest of the field, AgileAdam pulled the save of the series out the bag in race one as his RS Focus went 90° to the rest of the field, somehow gathering it back up, dodge the field heading towards him and all without removing his foot from the gas pedal.



A late mistake from Schuey75 opened the door of victory to ATP Ginge again, Schuey a fine second, with THEwackysack X3 rounding out the podium.

Race two, a complete reverse grid, with White Shark NL leading the drivers early in the race, myself helping his situation by miscalculating the angle of trajectory into the left hander at the bottom of the hill, otherwise known as making a complete **** up as i spun around after clobbering the tyre wall. Thankfully due to the unique way in which the Forza replay system works currently, i.e it doesnt, the evidence is just incased in a couple of Twitch accounts that were streaming the racing.



The end of 24 laps saw a Championship clincher from ATP Ginge as he took the win and the title due to the dropped round system in place, with his main challenger Agile Adam in second, while ENS Cerebrus celebrated with only his second podium ever, a repeat of last week's third. How close was it, just the half second gap and Schuey75 taking the fastest lap honours in the race with a 1:39:275 which was the quickest of the weekend.



Next week sees the finale to the Ford Focus's which around the old Monza Circuit, will see racing very much like the Bernese Alps. If you would like more details, check out the VTCC Forum Section which has everything you need to know.

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Rules & Regulations

An Introduction

The white van man, a strange creature that is willing to work 24 hours a day for as little as 70p a mile, i know this as i used to have a fleet of them, its also the reason why i no longer own a mobile phone and will never work in the transport business again, well whats left of it in the UK now. Very hard work, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year with customers demanding pallets and parcels delivered in less than an hour at a location four hours away.

Thankfully i ended up in the boss situation, but when the firm with the main contract i had went bang, it took down a whole chain of workers, but a blessing in disguise i guess you could say.



When the van came along to Forza Motorsports, it provided to be a hit amongst the online crowd, the special we at the VTCC held was over populated and a fantastic night of action, yes the visibility is dreadful, the handling can make you sea sick and the 0-60 make take around thirty minutes, but with the right crowd and the element on the fun than the racing, it proved to be a successful night, even if i was one of the three vans that fell over on the Nordschleife at The Carousel.

So with the return of the VTCC and the Holiday Season just around the corner, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to finish 2015 back in the van.

The Races

No qualifying, every race will be a random grid. The races will be short and sweet, and will take place wherever the feeling takes us, it will involve some rain, some darkness, but the final two races will be the Nordschleife in the rain and a Demolition Derby at Hockenheim.

The top five will score points in each race 5pts for the win, 1pt for 5th.

We do ask on this occasion to come into the event with an open mind. We are extremely lucky to have a set of racers that race hard, but always in a fair way. In this event, again the NO RESTARTS rule will be in place, but with the nature of the vehicle and the lack of power it produces, plus the visibility is terrible in these things, there will be contact, nothing deliberate, we dont stand for that here and although this is aimed as a fun night of racing, coming into the night with a more liberal mind in the contact department may be wise move.

The emphasis here is a light hearted way to finish the year, we hope you understand that and get into the spirit of the evening. Unfortunately CQR Rusty wont be here to defend his title and this will be a one lobby only event, we hope you enjoy the night and see out 2015 the VTCC way. Full Details are on the VTCC Forum

The final round of the Ford Focus had already crowned its Champion coming into Monza, and in all honest, AgileAdam had pretty much nailled second spot on the podium. The final spot though was well and truly up for grabs, with a possibility of five drivers still in contention.

Schuey75 was in prime position and needed just two solid runs, unfortunately Virgin Media, decided that today was going to be meltdown day in the North West of England, but at least starting the first race meant he gained the attendance bonus which was enough to clinch the third spot overall.



Another happy Virgin Media customer, this one in the East Midlands Of Scotland, Daytona Dreams also faced an early bath in Race Two as he lagged out as well on Lap 3 or 4.

The racing that did manage to survival online was cracking, the two Ninja Squirrel were practicing bump drafting like the NASCAR guys on the telly while IZ Dragonborn was flying in race two, like a star spangled Creepy Coupe from the Wacky Races.

Its was the night of battles, ATP Ginge taking a straight forward win in race one, before having a humdinger of a battle with AgileAdam in race two, the latter just coming out on top at the end of the 18 lap race.



.................... and so the Ford Focus Season comes to a close, well done ATP Ginge on the Championship victory, next up, our christmas traditional, no turkey, just Transits!! Yes the Night Of The Tranny is back, one lobby, a very basic build, storefront paints allowed, a night to enjoy a trip or two around a few venues not usually found on the calendars and ending on the VTCC Van Demolition Derby.  If you would like more details, check out the VTCC Forum Section which has everything you need to know.

The next series will be announced soon, certainly pre christmas and being on the VTCC, we dont do fast, we do class and this motor is certainly a classic, although around some of the venues, it bloody goes some as well!!

When the team got together discussing ideas for the first series of 2016, we were looking for something a wee bit different, as thats the way the VTCC works, You will find 101 Renault Clio Series out there without looking too hard. We also like something that's lower class in the speed and build department, afterall, theres a good few sites out there that give you GT / V8 Supercars / Indycars series and do them better than we ever could, you may notice that the staff team here run in a few of these events.

Thankfully we have a staffing team of old gits and one of the questions posed about which car to run first in 2016, resulted in four completely different cars from different eras, countries and time scales. But the man from The Fens not only came along with an idea, he had a build and a suitcase full of money.

The car which posed the most interest was the Alpine A110, a car that had its heart in the world of rally in the early 70's, it even won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1971 with Ove Andersson.



In 1973 Renault bought out Alpine, they already had a very close relationship, the A110 ran many parts that arrived from Renault direct and with 1973 being the first year of the brand spanking new World Rally Championship, at the time it was only the constructors that won and with the dated Renault 8 Gordini's put forward the Alpine A110, which went on to take the 1973 title, including two 1-2-3 finishes in the Monte Carlo Rally and the San Remo, the San Remo victory being the third in four years.

It didnt last long, a certain Lancia Stratos, a purpose built , Ferrari engined, rally car hit the scene in 1974 and well, the rest changed the history of world rally.

The build is the top end of B Class, so this looker has a bite, as always six venues, to enjoy, some that dont get a look in too often, the ride around Prague is worth the entrance fee only, it may only be a B Class and that its rallying success in the years that Moo was born, 1973, but to kick off the 2016 campaign on VTCC, the site that doesnt do fast, we do class!!



............. and so to the challenge to open up the 2016 campaign on the VTCC. A top of B Class RWD rear engined piece of French automotive history, a car that certainly a looker. The Alpine name continued at various points since, although the factory in Dieppe has continued to produce the sportier version of Renault and the Alpine name may be back on the streets soon, the A110-50 at the Shanghai Auto Show with new connections with Nissan, Signatech and Oreca, the name is back on the racetrack already, the protoype wouldnt look too bad on the streets either.



Full details are on the VTCC forum. It will be a six week series running from 8th January. Friday Nights at 20:00 GMT, which is 15:00 EST. The forum is where you will find the build and the schedule as well.  

After the long wait during the Christmas and New Year festivities, the VTCC Spec Series 3 finally got underway at Silverstone. Preparations as always with the VTCC runners had been ultra professional, the lobby host somehow losing as many drivers as were being invited and demonstrating his mathematical skills as counting from nine to one proved impossible for his head to cope. Agile Adam another suffering as the twelve or so laps preparations showed up as a character building session with the quirky Alpine A110.



For some though, the hours of practice had shown up in bucketloads, Schuey75 taking a well deserved and i belief a first ever pole position on the VTCC, just pipping Daytona Dreams by 0.06 seconds, just a shame that Daytona Dreams couldnt find the right gear when the green flag dropped, his first act at that vital point to over rev the engine giving himself 5% damage and the rest of the field a head start.

The wackysack and Schuey started to pull a small gap from ATP Fenboy who had a cunning ploy to get passed Moo, by writing French down the sides of the car, meaning Moo was concentrating more on that than the braking point he had just past. A mistake from Schuey eventually set up a duel to the death between Fenboy and The Wackysack with the latter taking victory by just a couple of tenths of a second and XB6 Broomske taking the final spot on the podium, a rich reward for the Aussie racing at 4am local time and like VTCC aussie regulars in the past Pro Man and ATP Redline, commitment for a race cant be faulted.



Race two, the reverse grid was very eventful for some, Daytona Dreams pirouetting out of control and landing in the pit lane on Lap Four. XB6 Broomske being the unlucky victim in a lagbomb, which thankfully saw a recovery possible. A few bumps and scrapes along the 24 laps , which ended with the same two drivers in positions 1 & 2 and a podium for ENS Cerberus who has certainly grabbed the handle on the Alpine.  

If you would like more details on the series, you can find them on the VTCC Forum and if you like your racing slow, why not give us a go, we dont go above A Class because we all wear tweed.

Round Two for the Alpine's A110 and into the glorious sunshine of Barcelona and the magnificent Circuit de Catalunya for two races around the National Circuit. It soon became apparent that the tuning for Catalunya had to be very good, otherwise the rear engined beast would have you facing the wrong direction very quickly, in fact for Agile Adam he must have felt like being on a waltzer at times, the Lucky Strike Alpine not enjoying itself at all.

The other dilemma was the brakes, which at the end of the long home straight saw pretty much the entire field visiting at least once, at one stage had four cars in there and i personally was fast approaching the double digit count towards the end.



The rather grand news this week was the return of an old friend who was on the VTCC when it very first started as nbred5 was welcome backed with open arms, as was EXE Sesser who also has previous VTCC experience. ATP Ginge was also back this week, having been hob nobbing with the stars for week one, came back to winning ways with two dominant performances which saw him claim another maximum number night in the points haul



 Strong performances this week from EXE Sesser and ENS Cornholio sees the mid pack closing right up on the league table and a big big test next week as Prague Short is the venue, a very unforgiving place which may well be keeping the pit crews busy.

If you would like more details on the series, you can find them on the VTCC Forum and if you like your racing to be varied in stuff that doesnt usually get seen in the mainstream race sites, well the VTCC may just be or ticket to start the weekend.

Not the biggest report in the world this week for the VTCC round at Prague as real life is getting in the way, but Prague, surprisingly good racing but there was a few extra pit stop's. Next up is Le Mans Bugatti. Heres the picks from Prague.