Pirelli reveals its 2017 tire test schedule for rest of this year - MotorSportsTalk

Pirelli has outlined its new 2017 tire test calendar for the remainder of the year, which will start with next week’s two-day in-season test at Silverstone (July 12 and 13).

Modified 2015 chassis from Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes will conduct the testing over 10 sessions that comprise 24 days of Pirelli’s new-for-2017 wider, bigger tires.

There’s four days in August, owing primarily to F1’s summer shutdown, with seven in September, five in October and eight in November. The final three-day test in Abu Dhabi in November will follow the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and be a group test comprising all three chassis.

The full breakdown via Pirelli is linked below:

CALENDAR BY DATE
TEST ON MULE CARS – 2017 SIZES
Session   Date Test Days   Circuit Car (s) Tyres kind
1 Aug 1-2 2 Fiorano FER Wets
2 Aug 3-4 2 Mugello RBR Slicks
3 Sep 6-7 2 Barcelona FER Slicks
4 Sep 6-7-8 3 Paul Ricard   MGP Slicks
5 Sep 21-22 2 Paul Ricard   MGP Wets
6 Oct 12-13 2 Barcelona MGP Slicks
7 Oct 14-15-16 3 Abu Dhabi RBR Slicks
8 Nov 2-3 2 Abu Dhabi RBR Wets
9 Nov 14-15-16 3 Abu Dhabi FER Slicks
10 Nov-29 3 Abu Dhabi ALL Final valid

And here’s the breakdown for testing the rest of this month:

12-13 July* Silverstone Mercedes slicks
16 July Fiorano Ferrari intermediates and full wets
18-19 July Vallelunga Red Bull slicks
*during the official in-season test that is happening at the same time with all the teams.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.”