Force India’s 2013 performance thanks to car working with tires

By Jun 18, 2013, 1:30 PM EDT
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Force India’s pair of drivers has made the most of the Pirelli tires this year, as evident by their performances in Canada.

The validation for the prime medium compound tires came via Paul Di Resta, who ran a 56-lap opening stint in Montreal before switching to the supersofts for the finish. He ultimately finished seventh from 17th on the grid.

“I think we knew that on the medium tire, the car was working well,” he told the Force India team website. “The easy decision was to start with that. But we had no long run data – there was no high fuel running – so we were going into the race completely blind. To do 56 laps on a set was encouraging, and I was really happy to score points.”

Adrian Sutil took Di Resta’s performance as proof Pirelli can make a good tire and that the team has done a good job of suiting the car to it.

“Paul’s pace was good and it just shows we don’t have a tire problem,” Sutil told Autosport. “Everybody talks about Pirelli tire problems, but it is a good tire, we saw that in Canada.

“I don’t want a compound change. This is not allowed,” he added. “We have rules and you have to respect the rules. So you do not change the rules during the season. It’s just some teams get on a little bit better with the tires and some others want to change it.”

IndyCar disappointed by delay of video game but aiming to launch at start of 2024

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
IndyCar video game 2024
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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.”