F1 Notes: Lotus lands new sponsor; Williams reveals driver plan for Jerez - MotorSportsTalk

We’ve been writing a lot about Lotus over the off-season and not always for particularly positive reasons. But a bit of good news for the cash-strapped Enstone squad has arrived: A new sponsor.

Danish investment company Saxo Bank has become an “official business partner” for Lotus in this coming Formula One season, just a few days after Lotus owner Gerard Lopez admitted that the potential buy-in deal with Quantum Motorsport had officially been scratched.

Saxo Bank is expanding into motorsports to go along with its presence in cycling as a backer of the Tinkoff-Saxo team, which competes in the top-tier UCI World Tour series.

“We are delighted to begin a relationship with Saxo Bank, a fast-growing online trading and investment specialist who have demonstrated strong support in sport through sponsorships in the world of cycling at the highest level with Team Tinkoff-Saxo,” team principal Eric Boullier said in a statement.

“Saxo Bank are taking an exciting and proactive approach to this new partnership with Lotus F1 Team and we are looking forward to enjoying a long and fruitful relationship.”

Meanwhile, Boullier and Co. continue to work hard on the E22 chassis that’s expected to make its debut sometime before next month’s preseason testing in Bahrain (the team has already announced its absence from next week’s testing at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain).

Late last week, the team confirmed on Twitter that its 2014 challenger had passed all of its homologation tests.

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Speaking of Jerez, Williams has confirmed its driver plan for the four-day session that runs from Jan. 28-31.

According to a tweet from their account, F1 sophomore Valtteri Bottas will have the honor of putting the first laps on its all-new machine, the Mercedes-powered FW36; in fact, he’ll drive the car for the first two days of the test.

At that point, he’ll hand it over to veteran Felipe Massa for his on-track debut as a Williams driver. The Brazilian will handle testing duties for the final two days in Spain.

We can announce we will be on track in Jerez. @ValtteriBottas will do days 1 & 2 @Felipe1Massa days 3 & 4 running our heritage blue livery

— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) January 20, 2014

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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.

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