In the round-up: IndyCar has confirmed details of its official iRacing series which will begin next week.
The series will include at least six races featuring current IndyCar drivers plus special guests. Races will be run every Saturday from April 28th to May 2nd, after which the regular series is due to resume. Teams will have their own liveries and the car models will be updated to include the new-for-2020 Aeroscreen.
The first track will be chosen from a list of eight by a poll of fans. After that the series will race at Barber Motorsports Park (April 4th), a track chosen by drivers (April 11th), a track chosen at random (April 18th), Circuit of the Americas (April 25th) and finally a non-IndyCar circuit (May 2nd).
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Social media
Notable posts from Twitter, Instagram and more:
✍️A letter from our Managing Director, Stuart Pringle.
For all the latest information visit: https://t.co/TTAm2q9gTU pic.twitter.com/D0nwiqucFt
— Silverstone (@SilverstoneUK) March 20, 2020
⚠ [TICKETING INFO]
Dear Customers,
Our teams are currently working on the repayment procedure of bookings been made for the Grands Prix de Monaco 2020. We will keep you inform as soon as possible about the process and conditions.
Best Regards— Automobile Club MC (@ACM_Media) March 20, 2020
A letter from Toto… ✍️ #DrivenByEachOther pic.twitter.com/4PfoXbbcDS
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) March 20, 2020
Update from Le Mans Esports Series pic.twitter.com/96EI6tCmTn
— Le Mans Esports Series (@LeMansEsports) March 20, 2020
People still think going karting in the UK is a good idea. No joke, I am literally having to tell people why this is a bad idea. It's like I am in some weird parallel universe.
— Alan Dove (@Karting1News) March 20, 2020
Not really digging the F1 eSports Series. It’s going to sound like a hot take saying this, but it’s really not. Having eSports and YouTube streamers in it, likely destroying the real drivers really kills the “replacement” look, especially with small field. @NASCAR did it right.
— Zach Darrow (@realZachDarrow) March 20, 2020
Not quite the same as being in Bahrain, but watching new Fangio movie on @NetflixUK as @F1 heads for its 70th birthday makes for a pretty good substitute. Different times, different cars, but true racers remain the same. Great movie.
— Fritz-Dieter Rencken (@RacingLines) March 20, 2020
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Links
More motor racing links of interest:
"Neither Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, nor Lawrence Stroll, the owner of Racing Point, took part in arguably the most crucial summit in Formula One history."
We're streaming the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix (Formula 1)
"The 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix will be streamed live on F1's Facebook and YouTube channels, and on F1.com at 1500 UTC on Saturday, March 21 – for free."
Non-citizens/non-residents to be banned from entering Australia (Speedcafe)
"Supercars Championship competition had, however, already been suspended until June, reducing the prospects of visits from the likes of foreign team owners Michael Andretti, Zak Brown, and Roger Penske."
Self isolating in Canada... (Nicholas Latifi)
"I have a sim station at home in Canada that my younger brother’s been kindly keeping warm for me while I’m in Europe. I’ve been working to get that properly set up so I can hopefully take part in some of the upcoming eSports races. I’ll probably get my butt kicked, but it should be a lot of fun."
SRO to Stage Monza Esports Race on March 29th (Sportscar365)
"SRO E-Sports GT Series will organise a two-hour ESports race at Monza on March 29, uniting real-world and sim drivers to raise money for charity."
Formula Regional Americas launches Esports series for drivers (Formula Scout)
"F3R Americas iRacing Invitational Championship will start at Road Atlanta on March 24, and broadcast on the championship’s Twitch and YouTube channels with commentary."
Supercars postpones three events, launches Eseries (Supercars)
"Using the iRacing platform featured in last year’s Supercars Eseries, teams will race their own virtual Supercars in their team colours, online from home, on a weekly basis."
"As the FIA WEC is no longer racing this weekend at Sebring, below is a special letter from us to them..."
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it in via the contact form.
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Comment of the day
IndyCar is using iRacing, should F1 do the same?
F1 deserves the best simracer out there and that’s iRacing. Taking an arcade game developer like Codemasters just because they somehow got the F1 rights in the past is simply shooting yourself in the foot.
Top drivers like Verstappen, Norris and others are practicing iRacing, almost daily. F1 should make a deal with iRacing, and do it now. F1 is about excellence first. Having a second-rate game represent the sport is a bad idea.
@Balue
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Don
21st March 2020, 0:06
Some iRacing is better than nothing at the moment. I’d love to see some F1 drivers go against some IndyCar drivers for fun. A sim Indy 500, with half the field from each series?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
21st March 2020, 0:16
iRacing’s stakes are going to rocket up. Which I’m so happy about. Oh how I wish I had my rig!
Scottie (@scottie)
21st March 2020, 0:18
It’s all well and good asking for iRacing to take over, but contracts and the painstaking process of putting an F1 car into service will knock that on the head.
iRacing managed to build a relationship with Mclaren to bring us the ’15 or ’16 Mclaren, but it took extremely close collaboration with their design department to get the car systems integrated with the iRacing service. Not all teams are so generous with their data. Laser scanning the car and modelling it also takes months.
Now imagine this process over at least 8 other teams, and all this virus mayhem will be well behind us.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
21st March 2020, 0:20
About COTD, I replied in that article but iRacing and F1 wouldn’t work out… not sure iRacing would want the deal anyway.
Sonics (@sonicslv)
21st March 2020, 8:51
@fer-no65 Exactly, people who want it are missing the point of F1-Codemasters deal. They don’t want ultra realistic sim that only a handful of people will enjoy, especially since the investment cost for a proper rig, steering wheel, and the mounts also not cheap. F1 goal with the games is to capture wide range of casual people who might turned into a fan, not hardcore sim racers that most likely a fan of or at least watching F1 already.
Balue (@balue)
22nd March 2020, 19:42
iRacing is just like any other game really, you don’t need a rig. Just a regular steering wheel and pedals will do just fine.
Balue (@balue)
22nd March 2020, 19:42
@sonicslv
Sonics (@sonicslv)
23rd March 2020, 0:05
@balue And just like any other games, to be competitive you need at the very least a decent rig. The standard now for racing is 3 monitor setup so you need a rig that can drive at least 3x 1080p 120hz, preferably 1440 120 / 144hz, with constant 100+ fps. Sure you can just play in regular 1080 60hz 60 fps with cheaper wheel but it will be like racing Mercedes with last year Williams.
RevvinUK
23rd March 2020, 10:36
The guy that came third in the NASCAR race was using a Logitech G27 clamped to his office desk with a single monitor
stefano (@alfa145)
21st March 2020, 0:46
I’m sorry if this is offensive to somebody, but that is one ugly car
jet
22nd March 2020, 8:54
Not offended. You are correct. It looks like an appendage.
J_Oliver
21st March 2020, 1:29
As if Hamilton’s word had any value. The real and interesting new is the possible move of Toto to Aston Martin, Hamilton will sign wherever is more convenient for him regardless of what he said.
grat
21st March 2020, 16:09
Awww, Hamilton in the headlines got you down?
At least you don’t have to deal with him winning races right now.
J_Oliver
21st March 2020, 21:56
And why him winning would be a problem? Or why him would get me down? The points are: 1) The news is not Hamilton, trying to shift the focus to him is bad journalism. 2) His word has not value, he will stay in Mercedes if that is convenient for him, what he said in the past means nothing. Clearly is the fanatical people who can’t understand objective talking and gets down when they read something that doestn’t match their juvenile admiration towards others.
Keir
21st March 2020, 1:44
I assume you mean from MARCH 28th to May 2nd…
kpcart
21st March 2020, 3:08
I’ll watch this over the crappy F1 2019 engine race F1 is doing.
Joe Peak
21st March 2020, 6:05
So I’m on my 7th year running a sim-racing broadcasting business. My company has aired iRacing leagues and official races and to be honest It’s felt as though we’ve toiled a bit in obscurity. Typically I have to explain to people what sim racing is, let alone what my job entails. It’s an admittedly very nerdy and niche profession. To suddenly see our sport blow up in the way it has the last few weeks it’s incredible surreal. We’ve gone from being brushed off by many as the “lesser” form of racing to becoming the focus of global motorsport and even sought out by many real world racing organizers. My business partner and I are both a bit wide eyed at what’s been happening, though excited and eager to show the world that sim-racing can be just as exciting and entertaining as the real thing.
Jere (@jerejj)
21st March 2020, 6:44
I agree with the COTD. Proper sim-racing platforms over arcades.
”I’ll probably get my butt kicked” – Nicholas Latifi 2020
I wouldn’t put much emphasis on the DailyMail-article at this point.
Euro Brun (@eurobrun)
21st March 2020, 7:26
It’s funny how only a week after the Aussie GP was cancelled (and its felt like a very l o n g week), we’re almost already at saturation point with eSports!
I get it, but it’s almost turning into a bandwagon that everyone feels they need to join to stay relevant. I’ll probably still check out maybe one race of each flavour, but for me, eSports fall into the category of things I like to “play”, but would never watch, like Snooker, Chess, Golf, Tennis, Cycling.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
21st March 2020, 7:40
@eurobrun – seconded, couldn’t have put it better.
Time to subject you to one of my “dad jokes”:
So… you’re not into pawn stars, are you?
kuvemar
21st March 2020, 11:06
That tweet about the eSeries: Yes, absolutely.
As an F1 fan AND an avid gamer, including YouTubers in races makes me loose interest instantly. I really liked the idea from last weekend with those replacement races but I only watched the first tier with actual drivers and turned off after this.