Servia overcomes two weekend penalties for 6th in Long Beach - MotorSportsTalk

Oriol Servia had one of the odder IZOD IndyCar Series weekends in recent memory, with two penalties issued and later rescinded, ending his Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with a sixth place finish.

The madness started on Saturday when Panther DRR’s Servia – attempting to avoid a spun Scott Dixon in Turn 1 – was docked his two fastest laps for causing an accident.

“There’s no common sense to the rule. We’ll have to talk to them after this,” Panther DRR co-team owner Robbie Buhl said to IMS radio after the incident. “What caused the red? Not Oriol Servia. Dixon spun and blocked the track. They have to deliver common sense. It’s insult on top of injury.”

Indeed, the penalty was rescinded, and although the Catalan had been set to start last in the 27-car field, he rolled off 18th.

A methodical charge through the field Sunday ended sixth, although not before contact with Tony Kanaan in the final stages of the race. With Kanaan in the Turn 1 tire barrier, Servia was again issued a penalty, this time 30 seconds added post-race for avoidable contact.

After further review, that penalty was dropped as well.

“With two laps to go, I had a run on Tony,” he said. “I was on the push to pass, I don’t think he saw me coming. I got on his inside and he closed the door. I was there – I cannot disappear! It was one of those deals where you both want the same space in the corner so you crash. I’m angry with him, he’s angry with me. That’s what happens in racing.”

An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”