Rosenqvist ends fastest at Indy Lights test at Homestead

Photo: IMSA
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He doesn’t have a ride, yet, in the Mazda Road to Indy and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires.

But if Felix Rosenqvist does, the field should look out.

The 24-year-old Swede paced both of Wednesday’s sessions at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, in the No. 14 Belardi Auto Racing Dallara IL-15 Mazda.

His time in the morning session, 1:14.437, ended the fastest of the two days and for good measure he also led the afternoon session at 1:14.519.

He’ll head straight from Miami to Daytona Beach, Fla., where he’ll partake in this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona with Starworks Motorsport in one of its Prototype Challenge cars.

Ed Jones, Tuesday’s leader for Carlin, and Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires champion Santiago Urrutia were second and third in both sessions, albeit with the order split. Jones was ahead of Urrutia in the morning, session three, with Urrutia surging ahead in the fourth and final session.

Urrutia is as-yet-unconfirmed but expected to be announced in due course as one of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ drivers for the 2016 season.

Here are the times from the two sessions:

The next official series test is at Phoenix International Raceway on February 25.

Motocross: Chase Sexton to miss Hangtown after midweek practice crash

Sexton Hangtown practice crash
Align Media
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Chase Sexton announced on Instagram he will sit out this weekend’s Pro Motocross race at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California after a practice crash on Tuesday left him with a concussion.

Sexton’s crash on Tuesday happened during a test session at Fox Raceway.

“Bummed to make this post but I’ll be sitting out this weekend,” Sexton said. “As you guys saw I had a big one during qualifying at Pala, then another one on Tuesday this week that banged me up pretty good. Nothing broken just need a few days to get back to 100%.”

Despite his crash in the first qualification session in Pala, California, Sexton mounted up for both motos and finished second in each race behind his teammate Jett Lawrence, who was making his Motocross debut and won with a pair of first-place finishes. Sexton padded his SuperMotocross points’ lead over the injured Eli Tomac, who is still second in the combined Supercross and Motocross standings despite missing the SX finale at Salt Lake City and the outdoor opener with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Sexton has an advantage of 78 points over Cooper Webb and cannot give up his SMX lead by missing this round.

At stake, however, is the risk of losing ground to Lawrence in the Pro Motocross championship. Sexton currently trails his teammate by six points and is liable to lose significant ground this weekend.

In addition to his concussion, Sexton has also been diagnosed with mononucleosis and the combination of the two conditions caused the team to make the difficult decision to keep him out of the lineup at Hangtown.

“I’m super-bummed to miss this weekend’s race,” Sexton said in a press release. “I feel like I rode well at Pala, and I was really looking forward to Hangtown because it’s a good track for me. Unfortunately, I was already pretty banged up from my qualifying crash on Saturday, and now with mono and Tuesday’s concussion on top of it, I want to do the right thing and hopefully be back on the track soon.”

A return date for Sexton has not yet been announced.

Other 2023 Injury News

450 riders
Eli Tomac, Achilles tendon | It was just a freak deal
Justin Barcia,
collarbone and shoulder
Jason Anderson, vertebrae
Christian Craig, elbow
Marvin Musquin, wrist
Malcolm Stewart, knee | Signs two-year extension
Aaron Plessinger, hip | returned at Salt Lake City
Dylan Ferrandis, concussion | Will not return until Motocross
Cooper Webb,
concussion | returned at Pala

250 riders
Nate Thrasher, hip
Stilez Robertson, leg
Cameron McAdoo, shoulder
Seth Hammaker, arm and wrist
Austin Forkner, knee | Injury isn’t the hardest part
Jo Shimoda, collarbone | returned at Atlanta
Jalek Swoll, arm | returned at Pala