American GT Championship Sign-ups Open

Miss the tough, nose-to-tail action of the American Touring Car Championship? Well, not to worry, as the ATCC administration has been hard at work bringing you their new creation in the American Grand Touring Championship.

The series is to take place over the spring and early summer, starting April 29th at the beautiful Spa Francorchamps. The races feature a unique set of rules that include some rounds being driven with 2x tire and fuel ware, challenging drivers not only to get their pace correct for each leg, but there strategies as well. The championship is slated for five rounds using a custom mod made by the SRP modding team made specifically for AGTC use. Races will be broadcasted live through Multi BC.

Sign-ups have just opened, so if you're an interested driver, head over to the Touring Pro forums and sign-up here. Only 32 drivers will be selected to drive this season, so put your name into the hat!

 
This Friday's AGTC pre-season event will have a prize courtesy of the leagues organisers. After the race is complete I will use a random number generator from the drivers who have raced for a copy of GT Power Expansion Pack for Simbin's RACE series.
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If you already have the expansion we will simply draw another name so that someone can take advantage of the free addon.

HURRY AND SIGN-UP FAST RIGHT HERE!

The AGTC, which is part of the Touring Pro Series, gets under way on the 13th May and you can catch all the action live here at RaceDepartment.

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There is 32 slots on the grid and 13 slots left open. There is a chance I may open it up to 35 total as this is a stress test for the AGTC server.

Here is the info for the race.

Server name: AGTC Preseason
Class: SRP AGTC BMW Z4 Turbo Updated: Version 3.6 as of April 18th, 2011
Track: Spa Francorchamps 04 (Extract to C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\***Username***\race 07\Gamedata\Locations
Weather: Dry

Practice start time: 9:00 pm EDT / 01:00 GMT ( Saturday )
Qualification start time: 9:30 pm EDT / 01:30 GMT
Warm-up start time: 9:45 pm EDT / 01:45 GMT
Race start time: 9:55 pm EDT / 01:55 GMT

Race Format: 90 mins (2x tire wear 2x Fuel wear)
 
Do you hear the roar in the distance? No, it’s not your wife or girlfriend screaming at you to get off the computer (well, at least she isn’t getting at you just yet.) Listen carefully. What about now? Can you hear it? Hurry, it’s getting closer, it’s just about on top of you. Can you hear it? What… still not hearing anything? Good grief, get yours ears checked. It’s the virtual sound of Grand Touring cars firing down the long straights of Spa Francorchamps.
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Exactly what cars are we talking about here? Well, none other then the beautiful BMW Z4 Turbo made specifically for American Grand Touring Championship by SRP. Tonight sees the debut of this landmark series at wonderful Spa Francochamps. So with the championship just about to begin, we at RaceDepartment preview the season, and give you fans an inside peak of the action.

For those of you that didn’t know, AGTC is the sister league to the highly popular ATCC, which saw audiences swell to over 2000 live viewers during the season. AGTC was built to quell the demands of fans to see more action, and to also stimulate the ATCC drivers as they patiently await season 4.

And AGTC doesn’t skimp on the drivers, no sir. Taulborg, Villar, and Barrick all return to action for AGTC, not to mention the likes of Neto, Nelson, Scurlock and Swiderski will be on tonight’s grid ready to roll. One is left to wonder just who will hoist the trophy when every lap is driven and all the petrol is burned. Can anyone defeat reigning ATCC champion Jesper Taulborg?

Well, speed is always important in the equation to crown a champion, but AGTC throws in a very thick layer of strategy into the mix. With certain rounds that feature 2x tire and fuel ware (like tonight’s race at Spa) drivers will have to coordinate their attacks perfectly in order to get up the grid. One miscalculation in strategy and pit-timing could send drivers spiraling down the order. It promises to be unlike any simrace you’ve seen before.

So make sure to tune in and watch round one tonight brought to you live by Multi BC at 2:15GMT with Ryan Callan and Toby Davis providing commentary.

Can you hear the roar now? You better; it’s race day.
 
AGTC brought the glory, the excitement, and the tears that come with simracing at Spa Francochamps. But that was two weeks ago, now round 2 at Sebring is finally here. With the second leg of this epic championship ready to get going tonight live on MultiBC, we at RaceDepartment take a look back at the race at Spa and look ahead to tonight’s event.

Heading into Spa, there had already been plenty of action in the BMW Z4, thanks to the many pre-season events organized by the AGTC staff. Thing is, pre-season just isn’t like the real thing, and everyone had one question on their minds going into the race: who really is THE man in the BMW Z4?

Well, early on in the event it seemed like Francisco Villar was on a mission to cement himself as the king of all things Z4, as the Portuguese driver ran away with pole position. However, as the lights went green and the field roared to legendary eau rouge, Francisco had a bit of a problem: he had driver named Keith Barrick eating up his taillights, not allowing him to escape. Soon, Keith took hold of the lead, where it looked like he would stay for the remainder of the race.

But things change in simracing: concentration slips and tires fade, both seemed to plague Barrick. Villar was catching up, and so was ATCC champion Jesper Taulborg. Soon, Barrick filled each lap with mistake after mistake, until it became too much to deal with and he had to pit.

Then the race was turned on its head. Francisco stalled his car in the pits, losing precious seconds and falling back to 15th. And then Taulborg found another gear, and was able to capture the lead from Barrick.

Meanwhile Dariurz Swiderski had moved inside the top 3, and was quietly having a great round of his own. Not far behind him was Tyler Scurlock, who was once again on form and running inside the top 5.

As the race neared its end, Barrick had taken the lead, but once again lost it to Taulborg. Which then set up the most stunning moment during the whole race. Going into eau rouge Barrick was all over Taulborg, trying to retake the led. However, Barrick got out of shape badly and ran over the curb. This resulted in the Canadian losing all control over his car and wilding spinning every which way imaginable into the tire barrier. It was an instant DNF for Barrick.

In the end, Taulborg was able to walk away with the win and the glory. Swiderski finished an impressive 2nd, with Scurlock managing to secure 3rd. Andre’ Caiado and his pit-crew seemed to have everything figured out in turns of when to pit, and Caiado was able to shoot up the grid and finish 5th, right behind Miguel Neto in 4th.

Looking onward to tonight’s round, there are quite a few drivers that will need to bag big points in order to keep themselves in the title run. With rain in the forcast for Sebring, absolutely anything can happen, and anyone can take the win.

Make sure to tune in for the live broadcast brought to you by MultiBC. Ryan Callan, Toby Davis, and Danny Asbury will once again be on commentary duties for what looks to be an epic second act to the AGTC championship!

Broadcast here

 

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