Alexander Rossi returns to Manor F1 duties in Sochi - MotorSportsTalk

Alexander Rossi made his first appearance of the year in the Formula 1 paddock on Thursday as he returned to work with Manor Racing in Sochi.

Rossi raced for Manor in five grands prix towards the end of 2015, but was dropped to make way for an all-new line-up of Rio Haryanto and Pascal Wehrlein.

Rossi sought refuge in IndyCar, taking the no. 98 Andretti Autosport/Bryan Herta Autosport joint entry ahead of the first race of the season in St. Petersburg.

However, it was announced shortly after that Rossi would also be joining Manor for a third time in the role of reserve driver, offering support on free weekends to the race team.

Despite racing at Barber last weekend and with the hectic month of May schedule at Indianapolis Motor Speedway about to begin, Rossi has managed to make his way over to Sochi for the Russian Grand Prix weekend.

About today… It's good to be back. pic.twitter.com/EoJdtCBadR

— Alexander Rossi (@AlexanderRossi) April 29, 2016

Excited to have our all-American hero @AlexanderRossi with us for his first race as Official Reserve Driver #Merica pic.twitter.com/1MrgmRMKXn

— Manor Racing (@ManorRacing) April 28, 2016

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