Sauber to test two young drivers in Spain next week - MotorSportsTalk

Sauber has confirmed that it will be conducting a test with two young drivers in Valencia, Spain next week using the two-year-old C31 car.

China’s Adderly Fong and Israel’s Roy Nissany will both get their first taste of a Formula 1 car at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on October 22 and 23.

Although neither are in the running for a seat with Sauber in 2015, the team will still be able to assess their skills over the two day test.

Fong, pictured, currently races sportscars in Asia and also completed the first half of the GP3 season.

“I am very pleased I am going to test a Sauber C31 in Valencia,” the 24-year-old said. “It will be my first time driving a Formula 1 car with this high power to weight ratio, and I am looking forward to it.”

19-year-old Nissany has been racing in the FIA F3 European Championship this year alongside Max Verstappen, and is also relishing the chance to test for Sauber.

“I am delighted to have the chance to test the Sauber C31, and I will put lots of effort into it to do a good job,” he said.

Roy is the son of Chanoch Nissany, who infamously took part in practice for Minardi at the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix. After struggling to find pace throughout the session, he spun off into the gravel and was unable to remove the steering wheel from his car.

As a result, it had to be craned away with Nissany still inside, with the Israeli finishing some 13 seconds down on the quickest time across a 80-second lap.

Follow @LukeSmithF1

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.

Read more about SuperMotocross