McLaughlin wins IndyCar iRacing Challenge between clashes

Simracing and more particularly Esport events are booming with confinement. Many professional drivers engage in it in order to perfect their condition and to gnaw at their brakes while waiting to return to real circuits. Also, we have the right to expect competitive races tinged with fair play, like the four previous rounds of theIndyCar iRacing Challenge demonstrated this nicely in April.

The final of the competition on the iRacing PC simulation therefore promised a hell of a show on the legendary Indianapolis oval. Over the 70 laps, the 33 connected competitors were “clean” most of the time, until the last nine laps.  

Tempers began to heat up when a three-abreast passage attempted by Lando Norris inside turn 2 led to an avoidance by Graham Rahal, who hit simon pagenaud. So in the lead, the Frenchman saw his hopes go up in smoke. 

The (very real) winner of the 500 Indianapolis 2019 set off again to reach the finish as best he could, as a latecomer. “Let’s get Lando out, let’s do it,” he said as he left the pits. Joke or real threat? A few moments later, Lando Norris collided with Poitevin in spectacular fashion!

“I was going to return to the pits, explained Simon Pagenaud. VSThat's not what I wanted to do, I didn't want to crash, but rather slow it down a little.", just to make him understand that a three-abreast turn is fiction in Indianapolis. 

Once the race was over, the 2016 IndyCar champion explained his maneuver to Lando Norris. “I’ll be very honest. I saw (Oliver) Askew was behind you, so I just wanted to stop in the pits, get in your way and let Askew win. It was a plan that didn't work. 

I had no intention of hitting you. I apologize for that, it was great having you with us on the race. You are too fast ! » Lando Norris had difficulty accepting these apologies, while his large community of fans burned Simon Pagenaud on Twitter (including certain media).

“He said he wanted to come into the pits. He wanted to slow me down… by braking right in front of me in the middle of a turn. So yeah... This guy (Pagenaud), who has a bit of a feeling that a non-IndyCar driver is about to win, ruined all my efforts. »

We would almost forget the rest of the ordeal! Arriving at the last corner of the last lap in fifth place, Scott McLaughlin passed between the drops, or rather between the suicide of Santino Ferrucci, who, seeing that Oliver Askew was going to beat him on the line, charged straight at him.

The last half lap. And a race's worth of action packed into it. #INDYCAR // #INDYCARChallenge // @IMS pic.twitter.com/unKYCOiYL0

- NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 2, 2020

Would such a scenario be possible in the real world, where the danger of the Indianapolis 500 makes it one of the most terrifying but also exciting events to follow? Of course not. There are reportedly several injured!

In the end, this outcome of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge leaves a taste of unfinished business for simracing fans, but certainly amused Internet users who wanted to see clashes and crashes. It remains to be seen whether Esport wants to take the path of realism or fun. Because after all, we are only talking about a video game.

IndyCar iRacing Challenge – Indianapolis standings: