Hong Kong chasing date change for 2017 Formula E race - MotorSportsTalk

The organizers of the Hong Kong Formula E race want a later date slot for the 2017 event after a successful inaugural running last month.

Hong Kong’s Central district hosted the opening round of Formula E’s third season on October 9, welcoming a bumper crowd that was treated to an enthralling race.

Despite the success of the race, officials from Hong Kong are looking to hold the race later in the year in 2017 while still being the season opener.

“We were greatly concerned about the weather conditions this year when we staged the event in October because of the approach of a typhoon,” Formula Electric Hong Kong Racing CEO Alan Fang told the South China Morning Post.

“Fortunately it did not affect the race but it had given us a lot of worries.

“We are now planning to start the 2017 event in late November when we discuss it with the government as we will use probably the same venue in the Central Harbourfront next year.

“The teams need probably three months to reset the car and test the new technology for the new season and therefore we may still be leading out the fourth season even if we start the event at a later date next year.

“Formula E racing is extremely happy with the Hong Kong race, which has achieved the best viewing figures of the event so far. We are confident they would give us some priorities to start the fourth season.”

Formula E’s third season will end in Montreal on July 30 2017, with the off-season break and pre-season testing period meaning that the new campaign would be unlikely to start until late October at the earliest.

Additional Asian rounds are expected to join the Formula E calendar for season four, which may feature during the traditional winter break for other championships.

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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