The NTT IndyCar Series has announced the return of the popular IndyCar iRacing Challenge for a second season, starting Thursday 18 March.
The series made its debut last spring at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, consisting of six races from March to May with a grid full of IndyCar drivers and other racing legends. This year the series will be three races long and will lead up to the beginning of the 2021 IndyCar Series season on 18 April at Barber Motorsports Park.
The first race will take place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, followed by the Homestead-Miami Speedway on 25 March. The final race will take place on 1 April, and the circuit will be decided by a fan vote. Fans will be able to vote on that track via IndyCar’s social media channels from 12-15 March.
Each race will be streamed live on IndyCar.com, IndyCar’s Youtube channel and Facebook page, and iRacing’s Youtube channel. Drivers will also be streaming their viewpoints on their own personal accounts.
“The first season of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge definitely filled a competitive void that our drivers were missing last spring,” IndyCar Vice President of Marketing SJ Luedtke said.
“It captured many entertaining moments and helped set the stage for the return to competition on the track in real life. Season 2 will undoubtedly double down on those fun, colorful moments highlighting the personalities of our athletes and get our fans ready for the green flag on our 2021 season in Birmingham, Alabama.”
Season 2 already has a star-studded list of competitors, including series stalwarts Josef Newgarden, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power. Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Takuma Sato also plans on competing, as well as Felix Rosenqvist, Graham Rahal, and Ed Carpenter. Some of IndyCar’s brightest young stars will also be on the grid, like Pato O’Ward, Alex Palou and Conor Daly. Former Australian V8 Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin and Formula One veteran Romain Grosjean will be competing, both on the IndyCar grid this season.
Each week, one driver from the Road to Indy development ladder will be featured in the series. Full entry lists will be provided each week leading up to the event.
Coverage of the each event will start at 18:30 EST / 23:30 GMT.
