KV pair looks for results in Barber - MotorSportsTalk

Through two races, KVSH Racing’s “bespectacled badass” Sebastien Bourdais has shown great pace but endured miserable luck, while KV/AFS’ Sebastian Saavedra has rebounded from midfield grid positions to get better results.

The goal for the pair of both them this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park is to get the results off of two good qualifying efforts.

Bourdais, two years ago, turned in one of the Verizon IndyCar Series’ best underdog drives in recent memory – he dragged a down-on-power Lotus engine for Dragon Racing from 17th on the grid to ninth place in the race. That proved the engine manufacturer’s lone top-10 finish in 2012, and both figures are Bourdais’ best results at this circuit in three prior starts.

The Frenchman hasn’t won a North American open-wheel race on a road course since his last Champ Car win at Mexico City in 2007, but he’s still optimistic of finally getting the luck to turn around this week in the black and green No. 11 Hydroxycut Chevrolet.

“This race is very important for KVSH Racing,” Bourdais said. “We had a fast car the first two races of the season, but for various reasons have not been able to get the results we were hoping for. The guys have done a great job setting up and preparing the car. We just need to put everything together and finish off a race weekend with the kind of performance we know we are capable of having.”

Saavedra, meanwhile, has been a quiet and stealthy surprise through two races. Currently 10th in points after finishes of 11th and ninth, Saavedra is a past Barber Motorsports Park winner in Indy Lights (2012) and qualified ninth for this race last year driving for Dragon.

“It’s been an aggressive start of the season and we’ve been able to survive it with good points in the bank,” said the young Colombian. “We need to keep with the top-10 drivers in the championship. Barber is a place I had a good qualifying last year and a bad strategy killed a good finish.”

You can see how well the KV pair does starting at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra.

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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