Malaysian GP going ahead in face of MH370 plane crisis - MotorSportsTalk

The CEO of Sepang International Circuit has foreshadowed a more subdued Malaysian Grand Prix at the end of the month, as the nation continues to deal with the crisis surrounding missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

The Beijing-bound flight disappeared on March 8 with 239 passengers and crew aboard, and an international search for the plane’s whereabouts is ongoing.

As for the Grand Prix, Sepang CEO Razlan Razali has told Agence France-Presse that the country’s citizens “are not in the mood for an event like this.”

“Everywhere – be it on radio, newspaper, TV or social media – it is all about finding MH370,” Razali said about the situation.

However, Razali did confirm that the race, which is the second round of this year’s Formula One World Championship, will indeed go on.

Understandably, plans are to keep the MH370 saga in mind as the track goes about hosting the Grand Prix.

“Whatever it is, Formula One will go on and the concert after [the race] will proceed, but we will be sensitive and not go overboard,” he added to AFP.

The March 30 race will be the 16th time that F1 has visited Malaysia.

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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.”