Alonso enjoys "great day" in simulator as comeback bid continues - MotorSportsTalk

Fernando Alonso’s bid to return to racing at next weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix appears to be gathering steam after the Spaniard enjoyed a “great day” in the McLaren simulator on Wednesday.

Alonso was forced to miss the opening Formula 1 grand prix of the season in Australia on March 15 after suffering a concussion during a testing accident in February.

Although he was not seriously hurt and appeared to be okay when talking in a video released on his YouTube channel in the week after the accident, McLaren followed the advice given by his doctors and rested the Spaniard for the first round of the year.

Over the race weekend, Alonso was in Dubai beginning some fitness training, and on Wednesday got in the team’s simulator for the first time since his accident.

On his official Twitter account, Alonso said: “Great day today at MTC! Lots of meetings and simulator work!”

Gran día en la fabrica de McLaren! Muchas reuniones y trabajo en el simulador! Great day today at MTC! Lots of meetings and simulator work!

— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) March 18, 2015

The team is yet to confirm whether Alonso will be racing in next weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, but the signs coming out of Woking this week are positive.

Should the two-time world champion return, he will take part in his first race for McLaren since the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, where he narrowly missed out on a third world championship.

Undoutbedly, both he and teammate Jenson Button will be hoping for some kind of improvement from the team after a miserable start to the season in Australia. Kevin Magnussen, Alonso’s stand-in, didn’t even start the race following an engine failure, whilst Button finished two laps down on race winner Lewis Hamilton as the only driver outside of the top ten.

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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