Palmer to take part in Chinese Grand Prix practice - MotorSportsTalk

2014 GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer will take part in practice for the Chinese Grand Prix in two weeks’ time as part of his reserve driver duties for Lotus F1 Team.

Palmer joined Lotus at the beginning of the year, getting his first taste of on-track action in the E23 Hybrid during pre-season testing in Barcelona.

However, the Briton will now take part in a F1 grand prix weekend session for the first time in China, with Lotus confirming today that he would be replacing either Pastor Maldonado or Romain Grosjean for FP1.

“I am really pleased that I will be back in the car for practice in China,” Palmer said. “It will be my first Formula 1 session on a grand prix weekend and I’m really looking forward to it.

“I’ve never raced on the Shanghai circuit before so there is plenty of homework to do but I will make sure that I’m fully prepared for it. The focus is now on Malaysia and helping the team achieve a good result in the grand prix on Sunday.”

Lotus CEO Matthew Carter was pleased to confirm Palmer’s participation in practice, believing that the technical insight and feedback that he can offer will be valuable to the team.

“We are looking forward to having Jolyon in the E23 Hybrid for the first practice session in China,” Carter said. “He did a great job at the pre-season test in Barcelona, offering good technical feedback and showing strong pace throughout the day.

“Driving in FP1 in Shanghai will help both his progress as a driver and the team’s development programme with the car and we are sure he will put in an impressive performance.”

Follow @LukeSmithF1

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