This Weekend: IndyCar Oval Racing Finally Goes Virtual, F1 Champ Gives Online Racing a Shot

Timothy

  • Who: Some of motorsports’ biggest names including F1 world champions Jenson Button, Jacques Villeneuve, and Emerson Fittipaldi, among others like Juan Pablo Montoya
  • What: A race featuring seasoned professionals from top series
  • When: Saturday, April 11 at 11:00 a.m. ET
  • Where: The racing venue has yet to be announced, but the race will be shown on The Race’s YouTube channel as well as ESPN on cable TV

Past Legends races have proven to be entertaining in the sense that you have multiple legit racers with various degrees of simulator experience. This makes for great spectating as you have three-time Indy 500 winners like Dario Franchitti struggling to stay on track, while older folks like former F1 racer Johny Herbert somehow manage to get into the top five. It may not be the most hardcore race you’ll watch this weekend, but it’ll certainly be the most fun.

Subaru iRX All-Star Invitational

  • Who: Rallycross stars Tanner Foust, Travis Pastrana, and more against races from other series like IndyCar’s Alexander Rossi and Formula Drift’s Vaughn Gittin Jr.
  • What: Initial round of the 2020 Subaru iRX All-Star Invitational
  • When: Friday, April 10 at 6 p.m. ET
  • Where: The series will first visit a digital Hell Lankebanen, located in Norway, and be streamed across iRacing’s social media channels

While not everyone normally has the opportunity to drive a fire-spitting, all-wheel-drive rallycross car, iRacing makes it possible for casual sim drivers and seasoned pros. What’s more, Subaru is putting on the iRX All-Star Invitational series that’ll feature racers from all disciplines—IndyCar, NASCAR, Formula Drift, and NHRA included. This means the likes of James Hinchcliffe will take on rallycross champion Scott Speed at Norway’s Lankebanen, a challenging track with varying elevation and a mix of asphalt and gravel.

MotoGP Virtual Race 2

  • Who: Real-life MotoGP racers including Honda’s Alex and Marc Marquez, Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci, and Yamaha legend Valentino Rossi
  • What: The second “Stay at Home GP” hosted by MotoGP
  • When: Sunday, April 12 at 9 a.m. ET
  • Where: A scanned version of Spielberg, Austria’s Red Bull Ring that’ll be streamed on NBC as well as MotoGP’s official website

The inaugural Stay at Home GP was won by Honda’s Alex Marquez at Mugello, though there was one famous name missing from the field: Valentino Rossi. The most decorated MotoGP rider in history was slated to compete last weekend, though he withdrew shortly before the race. Now, he’ll contend against nine of the series’ professionals during Sunday’s 10-lap race, racing virtually on the MotoGP20 console game.

The Others

Several sim racing series are taking this weekend off given the Easter holiday, including NASCAR and its iRacing Pro Invitational as well as Formula 1’s Virtual Grand Prix league. Both are slated to return next weekend, with NASCAR taking on short-oval action at Richmond Raceway while F1 makes its digital stop at an undisclosed track since the Vietnam Grand Prix circuit is not available on the F1 2019 game made by Codemasters.

Got a tip? Send us a note: [email protected]

Source Article

Next Post

F1 Champ Jacques Villeneuve Uses Xbox Controller to Finish Sixth in Pro Sim Racing Debut

When it comes to sim racing, which combination of driver and setup do you expect to be more successful? An $8,000 sim setup with the owner of the front-wheel drive Pikes Peak record at the helm, or a retired Canadian singer-songwriter with an Xbox controller? If you guessed the former, […]

You May Like