Rowland: ‘Difficult’ fighting Kubica for 2018 Renault F1 seat

By Aug 4, 2017, 1:45 PM EDT
FIA Formula 2
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Formula 2 racer Oliver Rowland feels it is “difficult” to fight against Robert Kubica for a Renault Formula 1 seat in 2018 given the momentum behind the Pole to make a racing return.

Kubica’s remarkable comeback from severe injuries to his right arm sustained while rallying in 2011 took another step forward on Wednesday when he completed a test in a 2017 F1 car with Renault in Hungary, putting in a competitive display.

Kubica appears to be in contention for a full-time seat with Renault for 2018 – if not earlier – giving Rowland, its current development driver, some serious competition in the race to replace the struggling Jolyon Palmer.

Besides Rowland, Renault also has Canadian youngster Nicholas Latifi and Russia’s Sergey Sirotkin on its books, but the Briton feels he is better placed than them to step up to F1 with Renault.

“Robert was an incredible driver back in his day. He’s been injured, he’s come back, he’s got some restrictions with his arm – we just have to see how that affects him and what performance he brings with that,” Rowland told Channel 4 F1.

“Robert comes with a lot of support and everybody would like to see him back in Formula 1, which is why it’s a little bit difficult for me pushing that seat as well when he’s in the frame.

“As for the other two, Nicholas is my teammate in F2 so there is a direct comparison there. If he was to beat me then he should get a seat in F1 and if it’s the other way round you’d like to think that I would.

“Sirotkin did GP2 last year and finished third but I’d like to think that I’m doing a slightly better job. We were also teammates in 2014 in World Series by Renault and I beat him then.

“I see myself as not coming with the most backing in the world but second favorite behind Robert from that side of things.

“I respect him from what he did before, and it would be nice to see him there if I wasn’t fighting for the seat!”

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
IndyCar
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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.”