Marussia tells fans to “buckle up and enjoy the ride” as comeback bid begins

By Feb 7, 2015, 3:00 PM EST
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The last few days have been something of a rollercoaster for Marussia F1 Team. After confirming earlier this week that it would be exiting administration thanks to fresh investment, the team was then denied permission to use its 2014 car by the F1 Strategy Group, appearing to end its hopes of racing in 2015.

However, the team – set to be known as Manor Grand Prix – responded by issuing a statement that refuted Force India’s claims and outlined its plans to reach the grid in 2015.

The Anglo-Russian outfit had been blighted by financial problems in 2014, culminating in its collapse following the Russian Grand Prix in October. It missed the final three races of the year after entering administration.

Plenty of hard work over the winter has helped the team to secure a fresh injection of investment that could yet result in it returning to F1 at some point in the next few months, thus boosting the grid to ten teams once again following the collapse of Caterham earlier this week.

Having not tweeted since October 17th, the official Marussia F1 Team Twitter account burst back into life last night, responding to the outpouring of support from F1 fans.

Team boss Graeme Lowdon also sent out a tweet thanking the entire Marussia team and the fans supporting its comeback, having called the bid to survive “a fantastic good news story for the whole sport”.

SuperMotocross set to introduce Leader Lights beginning with the World Championship finals

By Mar 24, 2023, 7:11 PM EDT
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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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