Marussia’s one car effort ends in retirement in Russia

By Oct 12, 2014, 1:30 PM EDT
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A difficult weekend for Marussia F1 Team came to an early end in Russia today as Max Chilton was forced to retire after just nine laps at the Sochi Autodrom.

The Formula 1 paddock has been sending all of its support to the team following Jules Bianchi’s horrific accident at last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. The Frenchman remains in a critical condition in hospital with severe head injuries.

In a mark of respect for its driver, Marussia confirmed on Friday that it would be running with just a single car in Russia, leaving Bianchi’s racer fully fixed and ready to run on the other side of the garage.

Chilton had been hoping to see the checkered flag on a difficult weekend for the team, but was forced to retire after just nine laps due to a problem with the front left wheel on his car.

“After an incredibly tough week for everyone in the team, we all deserved so much more from today’s race,” Chilton said in a statement entitled ‘Teamwork’. “It hasn’t been an easy day, far from it, and all the guys have had to dig deep to get us to the grid. When we got there of course, it was very emotional with all the support for Jules. I think the team, the sport and all the fans have really done him proud.

“In the race, we got a good start then switched from the medium tire to the soft quite early on, as we always knew we wouldn’t be that strong on the prime. On lap 9 I started to feel a problem with the front left and it wasn’t going away, so I pitted for the team to investigate. In the end it was not something we would be able to address quickly, so it was best to bring a generally difficult weekend to an early conclusion.”

The team will now return to the UK for a much-needed break after an emotional back-to-back run of races.

“What the team needs now is to head home for support from their families and colleagues back at the factory,” the Briton said. “Somehow we need to find the strength to regroup and move forward, which is hard to contemplate right now.”

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

By Mar 27, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
IndyCar video game 2024
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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.”