Formula E points system, schedule amendments confirmed - MotorSportsTalk

Today at a World Motor Sport Council meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, the FIA approved a series of updates for the all-electric Formula E Championship.

The two major updates involve the inaugural 2014-2015 schedule and the championship point system. The scheduled round at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, initially set for November 15 as the third round of the season, has now been postponed.

The event will be replaced with a new one slated for February 14, 2015 in a city to be determined. Los Angeles was to host the Valentine’s Day race, but will now have its “e-Prix” on April 4, 2015.

As for the points system, it will follow the regular FIA standard:

First place – 25 points
Second place – 18 points
Third place – 15 points
Fourth place – 12 points
Fifth place – 10 points
Sixth place – 8 points
Seventh place – 6 points
Eighth place – 4 points
Ninth place – 2 points
Tenth place – 1 points

Additionally, three points will be awarded for winning the pole position, and the fastest lap of the race will be worth two points.

Finally, the FIA gave full competition approval for all 10 teams on the grid: American-based squads Andretti Autosport and Dragon Racing, plus Drayson Racing (United Kingdom), Virgin Racing (United Kingdom), China Racing, e.dams (France), Super Aguri (Japan), Audi Sport Abt (Germany), Mahindra Racing (India), and Venturi Grand Prix (Monaco).

Follow @estradawriting

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.”