IMSA: Drissi, Asch in Muehlner’s No. 18 for Detroit

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Tomy Drissi and Sebastian Asch will share the No. 18 Muehlner Motorsports America Porsche 911 GT America at this weekend’s TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race in Detroit in the GT Daytona class.

Drissi Motorsports is pleased to partner with MMA by bringing sponsorship backing from Sony Pictures Entertainment and “22 Jump Street,” which will adorn the car.

“22 Jump Street” is set to release on June 13, 2014. The cast includes many notable actors, including Dave Franco, Channing Tatum, and Jonah Hill. It is about officers Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum), who go undercover at a local college after making their way through high school, twice. They encounter many different experiences throughout their time in college, which will cause them to take a look at the partnership they have with one another.

Drissi was on target for a top-seven result in Rolex Series GT last year before contact from a DP took them out of contention.

“It is great being back with this team,” said Drissi. “MMA has big hearts and great goals. Detroit is an awesome track and it is going to be a street fight that I am ready for. The drivers have to work with each other and communicate well, so it’s a give and take. However, at the same time you have to be aggressive. It is so cool to have Sony Pictures Entertainment and ‘22 Jump Street’ supporting us. I can’t thank them enough.”

The team’s second car, the No. 19, is listed with two drivers TBA. It’s unsure whether that car will actually race this weekend.

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

IndyCar video game 2024
IndyCar
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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.”