Here are your Mexican Grand Prix times on NBC, NBCSN

By Oct 26, 2016, 5:13 PM EDT
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The Mexican Grand Prix runs this weekend from the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

As with most races, FP1 and FP3 will be run on NBCSports.com via live stream, with FP2, qualifying and the race televised live in their entireties.

Mexico shifts its clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday for Daylight Savings Time, so although the time in Mexico City is still the same time zone as U.S. Central Time, it is not actually the same time.

The race rolls off at 1 p.m. local time in Mexico City, which is 2 p.m. CT and 3 p.m. ET in the U.S.

A full breakdown of times and details are below:

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F1 MEXICAN GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBC

Hamilton continued his dominance at Circuit of the Americas in the United States Grand Prix this past Sunday, taking the checkered flag for the fourth time in five races at the venue since 2012. Hamilton gained seven points on Rosberg, who finished in second place and now holds a 26-point lead with three races remaining. This Sunday’s race will have significant implications on the outcome of the 2016 championship, and Rosberg has an outside chance to clinch the title if he wins the race and Hamilton finishes worse than 10th. Rosberg won last year’s Mexican Grand Prix, while Hamilton finished in second place.

Live coverage begins exclusively on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app on Friday at Noon ET with Practice 1, followed by NBCSN’s live coverage of Practice 2 at 3 p.m. ET. Streaming coverage on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app continues with Practice 3 on Saturday at Noon ET, followed by qualifying on NBCSN at 2 p.m. ET.

Live Mexican Grand Prix race coverage begins Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC with F1 Countdown, and F1 Extra will recap the Mexican Grand Prix on NBC at 5 p.m. ET. NBCSN will air an encore presentation of the race on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Lead play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey will call this weekend’s action, and will be joined by veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs, and analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett. Townsend Bell will sub for F1 insider Will Buxton on-site from Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.

In addition to this week’s live motorsports coverage, NBCSN continues its weekly Thursday Night Motorsports Block tomorrow, with a two-hour block of Grudge Race beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Tomorrow’s motorsports coverage also features a Mecum Top 10 marathon which begins at Noon ET.

Following is this week’s NBC Sports Group motorsports coverage schedule:

DATE COVERAGE NETWORK TIME (ET)
Fri., October 28 F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Practice 1 Streaming Noon
Off The Grid NBCSN 2:30 p.m.
F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Practice 2 NBCSN 3 p.m.
Sat., October 29 F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Practice 3 Streaming 11:00 a.m.
F1 Mexican Grand Prix – Qualifying NBCSN 2 p.m.
Sun., October 30 F1 Countdown NBC 2:30 p.m.
F1 Mexican Grand Prix NBC 3 p.m.
F1 Extra NBC 5 p.m.
F1 Mexican Grand Prix (Encore) NBCSN 7:30 p.m.

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”