Report: Knockout qualifying coming to Red Bull GRC - MotorSportsTalk

Knockout qualifying – which has taken hold in Formula 1, IndyCar and NASCAR – is now coming to Red Bull Global Rallycross.

Specifics are still to be officially revealed, but per the series’ website, it’s set to be introduced for 2015.

Joey Mancari, Red Bull GRC’s vice president of competition, explained the game plan.

“What we’ll do is put two to three groups, depending on car count, out for three to five minute sessions for the first round of qualifying. Then we’ll take the fastest six cars out of the first round of qualifying and put them into the second round for the top six starting position selections,” Mancari told the Red Bull GRC website.

It is expected for the May 31 Fort Lauderdale season opener that with GRC Supercars fields of 16 cars or less, the field will be split into two groups at 5 minutes each for the first race. If the Supercars field increases to 17 or more, it could become a three group first round.

The season opens in a couple weeks at Fort Lauderdale.

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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.”