GRC Lites kick off this weekend alongside Red Bull GRC counterparts - MotorSportsTalk

The emerging Red Bull Global Rallycross series, like any top-level championship, is always looking for its next batch of stars. With the all-spec GRC Lites development division making its first start of the year this weekend at the X Games in Austin, it will provide a first look at 10 potential (well, nine) new drivers who have the potential to move up at year’s end.

Nelson Piquet Jr. will run both in Red Bull GRC and GRC Lites, while the rest of the field looks to advance.

We outlined the Red Bull GRC field ahead of its opener in Barbados three weeks ago. Now here’s a quick primer on the GRC Lites field:

DTV Solutions: 6-Geoff Sykes, was P6 in championship last season
Piquet Sports: 07-Nelson Piquet Jr., will run both Red Bull GRC and GRC Lites
Olsbergs MSE: 24-Mitchell DeJong, just 16, finished P3 in championship last season; 51-Atila Abreu, will run 7/9 rounds; 96-Kevin Eriksson, was P4 in championship last year
Cohesive Front Racing: 27-Mark McKenzie, 88-Harry Cheung; pair of Ferrari Challenge veterans
Rhys Millen Racing: 60-Tyler Benson, running under tutelage of off-road veteran
C4 Motorsports: 77-Austin Cindric, 15, Tim’s son, USF2000 racer; 79-Blake Fuller, Braille Battery founder, racing veteran
AD Racing: 98-Colton Herta, 14, Bryan’s son, USF2000 racer, will become youngest driver in series history
Olsbergs MSE/AF Racing 126: 126-Alejandro Fernandez, karting veteran, Buddy Rice protege

And here is an Instagram photo posted of all 10 cars on hand in Austin this weekend:

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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.”