DRS failure ruins Fernando Alonso's race - MotorSportsTalk

Fernando Alonso has suffered a DRS failure which has ruined all hopes of the Spaniard winning for a fourth time in Bahrain.

Alonso made a good start, and after battling with pole-sitter Nico Rosberg, the Ferrari was in second place behind Sebastian Vettel who had also passed the Mercedes. However, as he set about catching Vettel, Alonso went to use his DRS system, which subsequently became jammed open.

DRS works with a flap in the rear wing. When a driver is within one second of the car ahead, it becomes available, and makes the car faster in a straight line. However, it does make the car highly unstable through the corners, which forced Ferrari to pit Alonso in order to fix the issue.

The mechanics managed to return the rear wing to its usual position, and fitted Alonso’s car with new tires as they looked to work the mistake into their strategy. However, one lap later, the problem occurred for a second time, forcing Alonso to pit again, and thus ruining his race.

Although Alonso does not look to be able to catch the leaders, the two-time world champion will be hoping to score some points and put the weekend behind him.

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In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

DRS failure ruins Fernando Alonso’s race

SuperMotocross set to introduce Leader Lights beginning with the World Championship finals

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