Highlights from Pirelli World Challenge at Mid-Ohio, Toronto (VIDEO) - MotorSportsTalk

NBCSN recently aired the last two events of the Pirelli World Challenge on the streets of Toronto and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. But just in case you missed the broadcast, we’ve got a few clips to share with you.

Above is the final lap from Sunday’s GT/GTS class race at M-O, which saw American driver Alex Figge complete a weekend sweep in GT and Lawson Aschenbach take the win in GTS.

Figge’s twin triumphs at M-O marked the first time he had seen the podium since winning during the season-opening weekend at St. Petersburg, Florida.

“It’s been a tough season and those guys kept their heads up and gave me a car I could drive hard the whole race,” Figge said in a statement from his K-PAX Racing team.

“[Teammate] Randy [Pobst] was a big help too, keeping some of the heat off. Just a great weekend for the crew and the Volvos.”

But before heading for the Buckeye State, the PWC contingent made a stop in Toronto last month that featured its fair share of action as well.

Above are highlights from Round 8 of the Touring Car class as they battled through Exhibition Place. In the end, Michael Cooper won in TC to cap off his own weekend sweep in the class, while Ernie Francis, Jr. won in TCB. Joel Lipperini also earned himself a TCB win at Toronto (Round 7).

The Pirelli World Challenge will return to competition this Friday at Sonoma Raceway, with NBCSN set to air the races from the Northern California circuit on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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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.”