Third-place run caps double-podium weekend for Bourdais (VIDEO) - MotorSportsTalk

Scott Dixon may have swept both races of the Honda Indy Toronto doubleheader, but it’s safe to say that Sebastien Bourdais also had a heck of a weekend in Canada.

The four-time Champ Car World Series champion followed up his runner-up result on Saturday with a third-place finish in today’s Race 2 behind Dixon and Helio Castroneves.

His second podium in two days is even more impressive considering that the “push-to-pass” overtake system on his No. 7 Dragon Racing Chevrolet was unavailable to him during the race.

“It was really hard and it was from seventh place, so we had to be on the move,” Bourdais told NBC Sports Network. “All these [late] restarts, I thought they were going to be against us because I was just a sitting duck on the back straight.

“It just so happened that things turned out our way. We made the moves and made them stick, and I had a really good car on the [final] restart. It was hooked up.”

As a result, Bourdais has his first consecutive podium finishes since winning at Australia and Mexico City to finish the 2007 Champ Car World Series season.

Now, to an equally pressing matter: Did he have more issues with trophies on the podium today?

As you may recall from Saturday, Bourdais received his second-place prize only to have the crystal cup then fall off the base, bounce twice, and then break on the third hit.

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Today, though, it appeared that Bourdais had no problems handling his second piece of hardware from Toronto.

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.”