Fewer stars, but Reynolds' first V8 Supercars win highlights Gold Coast 600 - MotorSportsTalk

The third or fourth weekend in October usually brings a bout of nostalgia for open-wheel fans who miss IndyCars racing at Surfers’ Paradise in Queensland, Australia.

The event has continued in the five years since IndyCar last raced a non-championship event there in 2008, with the Australian V8 Supercars as the headliner. In these few years, a number of star guest drivers from IndyCar and sports cars have shared the seats with V8’s best, but there were a reduced number on hand for this year’s Gold Coast 600, which occurred this weekend.

Red Bull’s weekend dominance wasn’t limited to India because Red Bull Racing Australia won the Saturday race with Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff in the No. 888 Holden Commodore. It wasn’t a perfect weekend sweep though as David Reynolds and Dean Canto scored the Sunday race win in their No. 55 The Bottle-O FPR Ford Falcon. The win was Reynolds’ first in V8 Supercars; he nearly won the Bathurst 1000 in 2012.

Lowndes leads teammate Jamie Whincup by just six points (2549-2543) with just two more weekends, Phillip Island Nov. 22-24, and Sydney Dec. 6-8, to go in the 2013 season. Bathurst winner Mark Winterbottom is 88 points back in third.

Ryan Briscoe’s season-long world tour of different championships (IndyCar, sports cars, V8 Supercars, and IndyCar TV) continued with fifth and third place finishes co-driving the No. 66 Supercheap Auto Racing Holden with Russell Ingall.

Jeroen Bleekemolen scored an emotional second place finish on Saturday in the No. 97 TEKNO Team VIP PetFoods Holden with Shane van Gisbergen; Bleekemolen took a day while in Queensland to visit the site of Sean Edwards’ fatal accident. The Dutchman was Edwards’ best friend and tremendous rival both in the U.S. and in Europe.

Other possibly familiar names to U.S. fans who competed at the Gold Coast this weekend: American Le Mans Series legend David Brabham, IndyCar driver James Davison’s cousins Will and Alex Davison, one-time CART and former Indy Lights racer Jason Bright, Porsche factory shoe Marc Lieb, ex-Formula Atlantic driver Daniel Gaunt and ex-Trans-Am racer Craig Baird.

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With three multiple winners now vying for the championship, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series heads to Round 11 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

Chase Sexton earned his second victory of the season in Detroit when Aaron Plessinger fell on the final lap. Though he was penalized seven points for disobeying a flag, Sexton is third in the championship race. The Honda rider trails leader Cooper Webb (two victories) by 17 points, and defending series champion Eli Tomac (five wins) is three points behind Webb in second with seven races remaining.

Tomac won last year in Seattle on the way to his second season title.

Honda riders have a Supercross-leading 20 victories in the Seattle event but none at Lumen Field since Justin Barcia in 2013. Tomac and Barcia are the only past 450 Seattke winners entered in Saturday’s event.

Here are the pertinent details for watching Round 11 of the 2023 Supercross season in Seattle:

(All times are ET)

BROADCAST/STREAMING SCHEDULE: TV coverage of Round 11 will begin Saturday at 10 p.m. ET streaming on Peacock with a re-air Monday at 1 a.m. ET on CNBC. The Race Day Live show (including qualifying) will begin on Peacock at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

NBC Sports will have exclusive live coverage of races, qualifiers and heats for the record 31 events in SuperMotocross. The main events will be presented on Peacock, NBC, USA Network, CNBC, and NBC Sports digital platforms.

Peacock will become the home of the SuperMotocross World Championship series in 2023 with live coverage of all races, qualifying, and heats from January to October. There will be 23 races livestreamed exclusively on Peacock, including a SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff event. The platform also will provide on-demand replays of every race. Click here for the full schedule.

POINTS STANDINGS: 450 division l 250 division

ENTRY LISTS: 450 division l 250 division

EVENT SCHEDULE (all times ET):

Here are the start times for Saturday’s Supercross Round 11 in Seattle, according to the Monster Energy Supercross schedule from the AMA:

4:50 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 1
5:05 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:20 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:35 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 1
6:25 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 2
6:40 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 2
7:55 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 2
8:10 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 2
10:06 p.m.: 250SX Heat 1
10:20 p.m.: 250SX Heat 2
10:34 p.m.: 450SX Heat 1
10:48 p.m.: 450SX Heat 2
11:22 p.m.: 250SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:34 p.m.: 450SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:54 p.m.: 250SX Main Event
12:28 a.m.: 450SX Main Event