Masters Historic Racing to return to USGP in 2015 - MotorSportsTalk

Those fans with a longing for the past – or at least the cars of the past – will be treated to a spectacle of the past alongside the present at the 2015 United States Grand Prix at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.

Masters Historic Racing has been added to the slate at this year’s USGP, as a support event alongside the fourth USGP to be held at Austin.

The U.S.-based series last competed at Austin in 2012. There will be a 38-car grid limit, which hypothetically could be either slightly more or less than double the F1 grid itself that weekend, depending on whether Manor will be present (20 cars vs. 18).

“It will be awesome to see some of the most famous cars in Formula 1 history on track at Circuit of The Americas during the U.S. Grand Prix weekend in October,” racing legend and COTA Ambassador, Mario Andretti, said in a release.

“The sights and sounds of these iconic machines will bring back great memories for me of my own days racing in F1 and I’m sure the fans who come to the U.S. Grand Prix will leave with some incredible memories of some of the cars that so many legendary drivers used to race.”

Added Masters Historic Racing Founder, Ron Maydon: “We are delighted to be providing a support race for the GP this October. I can’t think of a more fitting end to our 2015 season than some Texan sunshine and U.S. hospitality! It is another fantastic opportunity for our drivers to showcase these wonderful cars for this support race and we are sure that a number of our European drivers will join their U.S. counterparts in Austin in October. I for one have my Stetson at the ready!”

More information is available at the COTA website. Three-day passes for the race start at $169.

Follow @TonyDiZinno

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.”