Teams reveal their Pirelli picks for Italian Grand Prix - MotorSportsTalk

It’s Tuesday a week and a half before a Grand Prix, so you know what that means: it’s Pirelli reveal day for what selections of tires everyone has made.

Although F1 is back in action this week with the Belgian Grand Prix, the Italian Grand Prix follows on from it on Sept. 4.

A supersoft preference occurs throughout the field, with all teams having selected anywhere from six to nine (Haas F1 Team) sets of supersofts for the weekend.

There are other minor differentiations but not enough to where it looks too drastic. Monza has long been a one-stop race and it remains to be seen whether this year’s selections will make a two-stopper more amenable.

The selections, via Pirelli and the official F1 Twitter account, are linked below:

Tyre choices for Monza revealed by @pirellisport – will the differences prove crucial? >> https://t.co/V3q5I9UyFh 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/ZLtkrygdmQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 23, 2016

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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.

Read more about SuperMotocross