FRL Season 5 Rules and Registration

 Welcome to another season of FRL racing! Sunday, September 11th, we will kick off the fifth season of racing in the Forzday Racing League.

 Once more, Forza Motorsport 6 will be the platform used. All are invited to begin testing and tuning during the current off-season in order to pick the car that best suits you. To help with this, here are the elligible cars picked for this season and some setup guidlines to follow.

Setup guidelines: 

• All cars must use be setup with mid-level restrictor plate. Under engine upgrades > restriction > this will be the center option on your screen. 
• All cars must have the full brake upgrade installed.
• S-800 is the maximum P.I. rating for this class.

All other upgrades and tuning options available to the car are up to the team/privateer to perform. 

 The series will be run in 2 heats on each race night. These heats will be 12-16 laps in length depending on track size. The only exception to this wil be the Race of Germany, which will be a single race, 5 laps in length around the full Nurburgring Nordschliefe & GP circuits.

 Points will be scored based on your position averaged between the 2 heats. Bonus points will also be scored to the top 3 posted lap times. Times from both heats will be used to determine top 3. Bonus points as follows: 3 points to 1st, 2 points to 2nd & 1 point to 3rd.

Position points:

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No points will be scored to cars finishing outside of the top 10. In the event of a tie for position, fastest lap scored will be used as the tie-breaker.

 Registration will need to be completed by Thursday September 1st, 2016. Please register your entry using the following template (with example) as a guide:

Driver: Felix Unger

Car Number: 84

Team/Privateer Name: Felix Faux Racing

Make/Model: Subaru Brat

Submit your registration information by the deadline via email. 

FEC Finale and Results

 In the annals of FRL racing, there are not a whole lot of collectively memorable races. There are moments - vignettes of action that individuals or some groups of two or three may remember well. That last second pass for position in a close battle. Perhaps a spin caused by someone else that cost you a position. Maybe a moment during a race when you learned something profound about how to make the car go faster and gain ground on other drivers. These are singular, small moments that we cling to in order cheer ourselves at other times, or use to motivate ourselves to do better in the future.  This is a part of what racing means to us. Beyond the roar of the engines, protesting tires and speed, there are these moments that stand out in our minds and keep us returning to challenge ourselves. Then too, there are races like the 30 Laps of Hockenheimring…

 It wasn’t as if there was some great conflagration that ended in loss of life, or some dramatic drama that ended in a photo finish at the line. But there was much on the line for this event. A champion was to be made. Points needed to be scored. A winner would have to be declared. It would end in drama and will stick indelibly in the minds of all those that participated.

 Drew Dilbeck called the start and benefited from a great jump off the line quickly moving from the back to the front. Entering Turn 2, Paul Maestri would late-break into the corner and ran out of room, bumping the C7.R of Andrew Steppat which in turn bumped Travis Billingsley in the #18 Z4, spinning him out of contention for the moment.  Other battles now began to coalesce as the grid moved like a long, disjointed snake through the rest of the first lap.  

 Soon Andrew Steppat had caught the #9 Porsche of Drew Dilbeck and passed him for the lead. Bryan Dean was giving chase in his Aston Martin DBR9 and passed the young rookie as well. Travis Billingsley recovered well from his spin and quickly began moving up the order, passing Tony Tyree and Matthew Smith by the end of lap one. He then briefly encountered the MBR Porsche’s of Ethan and Paul Maestri without having to fight them for position. This allowed him to set off after the leaders.

 The fight for second place began to heat up around lap 8 as Travis caught and the dueled with Bryan Dean for several laps. Several swaps for position took place in this 5 lap battle that tested these two drivers, and their cars, to their limits. In the end, Travis would pass and hold the position. As the tires on Bryan’s Aston Martin were now spent in the epic battle, he soon began to fade into P3…into the grasp of the MBR Porsche’s.

 As the decision was being determined between Travis and Bryan, The #2, #86 & #9 911’s all began to bunch up. A close battle now unfolded between these three drivers for several laps. Eventually team driving between the Maestri brothers would result in Ethan taking P4, with Paul assuming P5 and Drew Dilbeck fading to P6. As the largest battles for position settled into runs for good lap times, pit cycles began to shape the remainder of the race.

 Tony Tyree in the #47 Bentley had settled into another race from the back of the pack. But he knew his car, and had a good sense of how the race would unfold. He took that knowledge and used it to his advantage as well.  He would tail Matthew’s Audi R8 for several laps, waiting for that moment to capitalize on a rookie error. When it happened, he moved up to P7 and set sights on Drew Dilbeck in P6. Drew pitted and Tony moved up again, Paul and Bryan would pit and Tony cracked the top 5 once more this season. After pit cycles, Tony would be sitting comfortably in P6.

 As the laps wound down, it looked as though ASR was going to handily wrap up with its 6^th race win of the season and a solid FEC points championship title seemed beyond a shadow of doubt. However, with one lap to go, trouble developed for Andrew and he was out of the race. Travis Billingsley assumed the P1 position and easily drove to the checkered flag, claiming his first win in an FRL sanctioned event. Ethan Maestri looked to have perhaps inherited the points win and drove his car across the line in P2, the only car to finish all 8 FEC events in the top 3. Paul Maestri would close out a troubled season in P3 at the line, but would lose more points to Travis Billingsley. Bryan Dean would have the car to beat many times throughout the FEC championship, but in the end, just couldn’t quite keep the car there to capitalize. He would cross the line in P4 but still maintain his 3^rd place position in the points. Tony Tyree caps the learning curve that has been his FEC season with another top 5 finish in the Bentley. Drew Dilbeck showed a lot of spark in this race and finished  P6. Matthew Smith, a late entry in the FEC, still gave it his all and did not finish at the back of the pack…at least on the board.

 Andrew Steppat has been the dominate driver in the FRL from its inception. That was no different in this FEC season. Though twice scored in last place, and a third place finish at Sebring, his results in every other event was a victory.  He also scored the top lap time in 7 out of 8 events. Though Ethan Maestri was able to tie him in points at 222 in the finale, by virtue of sheer dominance at every track, Andrew is credited with an outright Forzday Endurance Championship win.

 In manufacturer points, Porsche dominates the board with 325 points among three cars. Aston Martin finishes second with 250 points from 3 cars as well. Corvette, with only two cars…and one of those only active for two races, finishes a close third at 245 points.

 We congratulate ASR for a 5^th straight FRL title, and we thank all who participated to make this series the most supported one in FRL history. We look forward to the off-season and welcome one and all back this Fall for FRL Season 5. 

Results

Position:	Driver:	Points:	Lap Time:	Lap Points:	Total:
1	Travis Billigsley	25	1:40.309	9	34
2	Ethan Maestri	18	1:41.337	8	26
3	Paul Maestri	15	1:41.785	7	22
4	Bryan Dean	12	1:43.248	6	18
5	Tony Tyree	10	1:43.248	6	16
6	Drew Dilbeck	8	1:42.339*	5	13
7	Matthew Smith	6	1:44.295	4	10
8	Andrew Steppat	4	1:40.030	10	14

Position:	Driver:	Points:
1	Andrew Steppat	222
2	Ethan Maestri	222
3	Bryan Dean	167
4	Travis Billingsley	152
5	Paul Maestri	150
6	Tony Tyree	77
7	Allen Ruff	49
8	Chris Rader	34
9	Daniel Fleischman	30
10	Andy Capshaw	23
11	Mikey Collins	23
12	Drew Dilbeck	23
13	Chris Dilbeck	17
14	Matthew Smith	13
15	Carter Merkling	11

Manufacturer Points:	Points:
Porsche	325
Aston Martin	250
Chevrolet	245
BMW	139
Dodge	88
Bentley	77
McLaren	34
Ferrari	30
Nissan	11
Audi	13

Forzday This Week Episode 1.4

A new episode of Forzday This Week is available over on Soundcloud. This edition reviews Road Atlanta, the Indy 200, previews the schedule for the remainder of 2016 and looks ahead to Hockenheim.

https://soundcloud.com/ethan-maestri/forzday-this-week-episode-14

Season 5 Track List

 The FRL is pleased to present the FRL Season 5 track list for the Fall 2016 series. Dates and race lengths are still being negotiated, but these will be the tracks visited. You may now begin testing for your respective teams.

Track List (not in order of schedule)

Alps Festival
Bathurst
Bugatti Circuit (night)
Monza Circuit
Nurburgring Nordschleife (Day - GP circuit included)
Rio de Janiero (full)
Road America
Yas Marina (night)

Second Half 2016 Preview

 As the first half of the year approaches a close with the FEC finale at Hockenheim, I wanted to thank everyone that has participated in making this series an unmitigated success and a thoroughly enjoyable race series to be a part of.

 The summer months are a busy time for all, and so it has been the tradition for the FRL to not schedule events over the summer months. But, with increased interest and participation in recent months, it seems appropriate to schedule at least a couple of One-Off Challenges in the offseason to foster further interest and hone those racing skills just a little more.

 Here is the event schedule for the remainder of the 2016 calendar year. We look forward to as many participating as possible.

Toyobaru Challenge - July 21st
This Thursday night race will take place at Virginia International Speedway - South Course. The VIR tracks come with the Porsche Pack, so you will have to purchase the add-on in order to participate.

We will roll-out the upcoming Season 5 format for this race. The race will take place in two, 15 lap heats. Your place on the night will be the average place from both heats. Bonus points will be awarded to the top three lap times from either heats. 3 points for the top lap, 2 for the second fastest, 1 for the 3rd fastest.

 This is an experimental race to see how this format will work for the next FRL series.

The GT86 or BRZ are the only two cars eligible for this event. They can be upgraded in any way you wish, up to a maximum P.I. of B-600. NO COMMUNITY TUNES ALLOWED.

Scorpion's At Monza - August 25th
This Thursday night event is intended purely for fun, with a bit of Italian flair!

 The car selected is the 2010 Abarth 500 tuned to a maximum P.I. of A-700. Community developed tunes will be allowed for this event. We will run three heats of 6 laps each on the Monza Full Circuit.

The Daytona 125 - Sept. 11th
NASCAR has come to Forza 6, and as we celebrate 1 year with Forza 6 as the FRL's official race engine, we'll take to the high-banks of Daytona International Speedway for a 125 mile, 50 lap celebration of speed and sound in these racing machines.

Any of the three available 2016 NASCAR models are eligible. They will be run with stock ("as is") P.I. with Drag Compound tires installed. No Community tunes allowed. Race tuning will have to be done "in-house".

Based on participation, this event may be used as the starting point for a further NASCAR series.

FRL Season 5 World Touring Car Championship  Sept.-Dec. 2016 
Season 5 of the FRL is set to begin this fall and we are pleased to announce the cars that will be eligible for this fifth series.

These saloons might look like grocery-getter's in your neighborhood, but are anything but that when tuned and placed on the track! With a wide variety of cars available, but closely matched, we hope to see some great racing from this series from September on into this winter. Max P.I. will be S-800, Mandatory upgrades are as follows:
-Upgraded Brakes must be applied
-Mid-level Restriction applied

All other upgrades by team/garage discretion
No community tuning allowed.

Track selection and event dates are still being determined, but you can begin testing for your team or garage now in order to prepare for the coming series.

Sunday will be the new night for racing in this FRL season. Also, the new format will be applied to the series points battle here as well. We'll have further details as the summer progresses.

It's shaping up to be an exciting conclusion for the FEC, but the excitement doesn't stop there as much more is to come for the FRL in the year ahead!