Nico Hulkenberg to compete in his first Race Of Champions - MotorSportsTalk

Nico Hulkenberg will join fellow F1 drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel in the annual Race Of Champions this November.

Hulkenberg’s name is the latest to be added to a stellar field including fellow (and nine-time) Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen, 2014 World Rallycross champ Peter Solberg, reigning ROC Champion of Champions David Coulthard, five-time 500cc MotoGP champ Mick Doohan and double MotoGP champ Jorge Lorenzo.

Other drivers are expected to be added to the field between now and the actual event, which will be held Nov. 20-21 at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park stadium.

Hulkenberg, who races for Sahara Force India in F1, was selected for the ROC field because he won this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours event. He’s the first current F1 driver to win Le Mans in more than 20 years, having driven a Porsche to the win this past June.

This will be Hulkenberg’s first ROC, and illustrates the wide breath of vehicles he’s driven and succeeded in this seaso.

Hulkenberg will partner with Vettel for Team Germany, organizers said in a media release. Vettel is a six-time ROC winner, having previously partnered with F1 great Michael Schumacher.

“I’ve always wanted to take part (in the ROC) but it never worked out, so now I’m really happy to be a part of it and looking forward to it,” Hulkenberg said in a media release. “I’m obviously stepping into big shoes to replace Michael Schumacher, which is a huge honor as well. I feel very happy and positive about that and it will be fun to team up with Seb and race and fight for Team Germany.

“The ROC track is very narrow and tight, a bit like racing on a street circuit. But it’s still quick and dynamic and entertaining to watch. There’s going to be quite a bit of car-hopping, adapting and adjusting from one machine to another. They’re all quite different so I don’t really know what to expect. But I guess I’ll get dumped into the cold water and then I’ll have to figure out how to swim.”

Vettel is looking forward to working with his new teammate.

“It’s obviously very sad that Michael can’t join us again, but in his absence it’s great to have Nico as a partner on Team Germany this year,” Vettel said. “I have massive respect for what he did in the Le Mans 24 Hours – to win it on his first attempt is very impressive.

“That’s a great race to watch because the race is long yet they race flat out from the first lap for the whole of the race. The Race Of Champions is at the other end of the scale in terms of distance but I can assure Nico we push just as hard!”

The ROC is split into two days of racing. Friday evening, Nov. 20, features the team-oriented Nations Cup, where drivers pair up based upon nationality and vie for “World’s Fastest Nation” honors.

The following day is essentially every driver for himself in the battle to earn the ROC championship.

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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.”