Neel Jani joins Formula E with Faraday Future Dragon Racing - MotorSportsTalk

With Porsche having announced its pullout of LMP1 at the end of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship season, one of the questions that follows is what will happen to its six full-season drivers.

At least one of them has a new season set later this year, with confirmation Thursday Neel Jani will switch to the FIA Formula E Championship with Faraday Future Dragon Racing.

Jani replaces Loic Duval in the lineup, the Jay Penske-led team still continuing on with Belgian Jerome d’Ambrosio in the other car.

The Swiss driver has had quite a run in sports cars of late, having won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and last year’s FIA WEC LMP1 title with Porsche, after some success with Rebellion Racing prior to that.

Of course Jani has also had a wealth of single-seater, open-wheel experience too. He also competed for A1 Team Switzerland in A1 Grand Prix, helping the team capture the 2007-2008 title and finishing runner-up in 2005-2006 and 2008-2009. In 2007, he raced for PKV Racing in the North American Champ Car series and is also a GP2 Series race winner and former Formula One test driver.

“We are thrilled to welcome Neel who will pilot our number 6 entry in Season 4” said Penske, Team Owner and Principal of Dragon Racing. “As a team, we have set our target of winning races and competing for the championship in the coming season, and Neel was an essential component of that equation. When you look at the best drivers in the world, from both a racing and car development perspective, Neel is at the top of the list. He’s an excellent fit within our program.”

“I am thrilled to join the Faraday Future Dragon Racing team in the next season of the FIA Formula E Championship,” Jani said. “I’ve recently tested the PENSKE EV-2 powered by Faraday Future and look forward to building my knowledge and experience with the team and competing in the acclaimed electric racing series.”

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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.”