Raikkonen to miss final two races of season for back surgery - MotorSportsTalk

Kimi Raikkonen will miss the final two rounds of the 2013 Formula One season in order to undergo back surgery ahead of his move to Ferrari in 2014. This means that the Finn will no longer be racing at the Circuit of the Americas in the United States Grand Prix, set to take place next weekend.

Raikkonen has suffered from a recurring back injury throughout his career, but it has become increasingly problematic of late and it was thought that he may take the decision to pull out of the final few races of the year in order to correct the problem.

Speaking to Autosport, Raikkonen’s manager, Steve Robertson, confirmed that the Finn would not be racing in the final two rounds of the season.

“In an ideal world it would have been nice to finish the season with Lotus in the final two grands prix,” he explained. “However, due to the severe pain that Kimi is having, sadly it is not possible.”

Therefore, Raikkonen has raced for Lotus for the final time, bringing to an end a two-year stint at Enstone that has turned sour due to financial problems. He made clear in Abu Dhabi that he would consider walking away from the team early if they could not come to some sort of agreement, but team principal Eric Boullier insisted earlier this week that relations were good with Raikkonen despite him having a seat fitting with Ferrari. Nevertheless, Raikkonen’s decision to have back surgery should allow him to begin life with the Italian marque in 2014 fully fit.

Lotus released a statement on Sunday afternoon confirming the news.

“Lotus F1 Team can confirm that Kimi Raikkonen will miss the final two races of the 2013 Formula 1 season to undergo, and recover from, back surgery. The team will make an announcement about the replacement driver for the United States and Brazilian Grands Prix in due course.”

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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