It is the 18th of March, 1976.Ricardo Mejía Constants wrote:...it was a bold move, ambitious and desperate in almost equal measure. We didn't expect much to come out of it -or even anything at all-, but the truth is that we were quite sick of sitting idly by while the entire motorsports scene was withering away. We had the means, the ability, and with a bit of political goodwill the venues to revitalize the scene and make it worth our while. It had remained a chip on my shoulder ever since political opposition killed the Colombian Grand Prix in its infancy and forced the closure of my track. Here was an opportunity to at the very least put it to good use, and in time maybe to give it all another go...
The letters sent have had an astounding effect.
The President himself, ALFONSO LÓPEZ MICHELSEN seems to have intervened to make the requests outlined in them a reality. The Ministry of Industry has spoken to and brought several members of the guild onboard and agreed to provide some funding to get a new championship off the ground. The ministry of Communications has agreed to broadcast the races on Channel 2 through Inravisión. And most intriguing of all, it seems people are losing faith on the long term prospects of the current National Touring car Championship, the CNA, for we have also received commitments from Uniroyal-Icollantas to provide tyres, and Phillip Morris Colombia has also comitted to provide funding for the new series under a title sponsorhip. The new series shall be known as the Copa Marlboro.
Most surprisingly of all, the Defense Ministry has also promised its support, and will create a temporary circuit on the grounds of the Military School for Cadets (ESMIC), which will be available for shakedown purposes on the second week of June.
Given the sudden nature of this announcement the championship will only be able to start by the second half of the year, and most national venues and most drivers are already comitted to the CNA. Depending on the success of our own championship, this situation is bound to change. The dearth of venues could compromise the viability of this endeavour, but surprisingly the politicians have also come to our aid, and the pressure has finally brought the Automovil Club de Colombia - ACC to come to the table and begrudgingly reopen the Ricardo Mejía. We will have races in the capital at long last.
SIGNUPS
Users may join by getting in touch with the series admin via forum post or Discord. Players may control of one team and one driver. It is possible for a driver to be team manager - but not entirely advisable. It is also possible for a driver to enter as independent, with all the benefits and hindrances that entails.
FORMAT
Given the relative haste in which the championship has been put together, races will only take place in the second half of the year.
Qualifying will be run on Saturday. Two races will be held on Sunday: First heat runs in normal qualifying order, second heat runs with inverted grid for the first 10 positions. Both races are run to 60km distances. Points are given for both heats. Teams score points for only the first two vehicles classified in each race.
Entrants to a race weekend are not limited, but the number of starters is capped at 30.
TEAMS
Users may create a team (or ask for a historical team from the series admin) to control. When creating a new team, the name of the team manager and the location where that team will operate must also be given, as well as the number of cars same team intends to run. Depending on the location of the team, the initial funds will be RNG'd. Then the team may approach any number of drivers to sign for its squad. Each driver must be given a car. cars cannot be shared between drivers (unless in cases of force majeure such as death or injury). In case a driver already has a car, the team is not required to purchase a car for said driver, but must be responsible of all running costs for the same for the duration of the season.
Number of teams is capped at 8. Teams can field anything from 1 to 4 cars. Independent entrants can only run 1 car, and are not restricted by the maximum team number cap.
Teams are also free to determine which if any of its cars enter any given race.
Should funding ever become an issue, it is always possible to ask a SPONSOR for money. Users are encouraged to make their own inquiries, however should you be stumped feel free to contact your admin for help on this point.
DRIVERS
Available drivers list is available in the spreadsheet. In the list are their current availability, desire to take part in the series, any particular constraints said driver may have, and whether they already own a car to take part with. Teams can make use of this car or buy their own when employing a driver. Drivers may only be hired for one season. AI controlled drivers will have their allocations RNG'd. User controlled driver's actions will be controlled by the user, but should the user overrule the conditions of the driver stated in the sheet, they will take a financial penalty befitting the deviation.
Users may also add drivers to the table, real, canon or otherwise, and their budget will be RNG'd. Given the nature of the series, said drivers are likely to cop a financial penalty to take part in the series.
Drivers have a location associated with it, which modifies RNG values regarding things such as sponsorships and steward sympathy on given venues.
DEALERSHIPS
With the exception of imported vehicles, all cars entered for the series must be purchased through one of the dealerships that has in interest in the series. The acquisition of spare parts is also ran through them, wherever necessary.
Dealerships may create a team and enter and leave the series at any moment. These teams are always controlled by the AI, and their entries are always accepted automatically. Mechanically however, Dealership teams are indistinct from user controlled teams, with the exception of upgrades, which they will make available to themselves before releasing it to customers.
CARS
Vehicles are restricted to Petrol engines, maximum of 4 cylinders, maximum displacement 1600cc, 4 wheels, no AWD.
Cars available in the market for the current year are listed in the spreadsheet. It is possible to request a particular model of the mentioned brands through a dealership.
It is possible to import a car of a brand not on the list, given it complies with the above requirements.
Every purchase has a timeline involved with it which will determine time of delivery. This will be RNG'd on a Delivery/Dealership basis.
MISCELLANEOUS
Current president is ALFONSO LÓPEZ MICHELSEN
Government is moderate reformist.
Current public order rating is 3/10. (Lower is better)
Happy racing! Signups are OPEN.
Link in case embed does not work
Arthur Winchester
Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia
Massy Group
