Albon tops second day of Abu Dhabi GP2 test, Lorandi leads in GP3 - MotorSportsTalk

Alexander Albon continued to impress during his first GP2 test by topping the timesheets on the second day of running in Abu Dhabi.

Albon, 20, finished runner-up to Charles Leclerc in this year’s GP3 Series, losing out at the final round of the year in Abu Dhabi last weekend.

The Thai-British racer enjoyed his first taste of a GP2 car on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, linking up with ART Grand Prix for the test.

Albon shot to the top of the timesheets in the evening session at the Yas Marina Circuit on Thursday, posting a fastest time of 1:49.062 to edge out GP2 veteran Raffaele Marciello and rival Leclerc at the top of the timesheets.

Marciello still holds the fastest time of the collective test so far, recording a lap of 1:48.937 on Wednesday ahead of the final five hours of running on Friday.

In GP3, 18-year-old Alessio Lorandi set the pace on the second day of running in Abu Dhabi, posting a fastest lap of 1:55.734 for Jenzer Motorsport.

American youngster Santino Ferrucci finished an impressive second for Trident, beating the time he set with DAMS on Wednesday by four-tenths of a second, while Steijn Schothorst finished third-fastest.

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With three multiple winners now vying for the championship, the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series heads to Round 11 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington.

Chase Sexton earned his second victory of the season in Detroit when Aaron Plessinger fell on the final lap. Though he was penalized seven points for disobeying a flag, Sexton is third in the championship race. The Honda rider trails leader Cooper Webb (two victories) by 17 points, and defending series champion Eli Tomac (five wins) is three points behind Webb in second with seven races remaining.

Tomac won last year in Seattle on the way to his second season title.

Honda riders have a Supercross-leading 20 victories in the Seattle event but none at Lumen Field since Justin Barcia in 2013. Tomac and Barcia are the only past 450 Seattke winners entered in Saturday’s event.

Here are the pertinent details for watching Round 11 of the 2023 Supercross season in Seattle:

(All times are ET)

BROADCAST/STREAMING SCHEDULE: TV coverage of Round 11 will begin Saturday at 10 p.m. ET streaming on Peacock with a re-air Monday at 1 a.m. ET on CNBC. The Race Day Live show (including qualifying) will begin on Peacock at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

NBC Sports will have exclusive live coverage of races, qualifiers and heats for the record 31 events in SuperMotocross. The main events will be presented on Peacock, NBC, USA Network, CNBC, and NBC Sports digital platforms.

Peacock will become the home of the SuperMotocross World Championship series in 2023 with live coverage of all races, qualifying, and heats from January to October. There will be 23 races livestreamed exclusively on Peacock, including a SuperMotocross World Championship Playoff event. The platform also will provide on-demand replays of every race. Click here for the full schedule.

POINTS STANDINGS: 450 division l 250 division

ENTRY LISTS: 450 division l 250 division

EVENT SCHEDULE (all times ET):

Here are the start times for Saturday’s Supercross Round 11 in Seattle, according to the Monster Energy Supercross schedule from the AMA:

4:50 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 1
5:05 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:20 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 1
5:35 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 1
6:25 p.m.: 250SX Group B Qualifying 2
6:40 p.m.: 250SX Group A Qualifying 2
7:55 p.m.: 450SX Group A Qualifying 2
8:10 p.m.: 450SX Group B Qualifying 2
10:06 p.m.: 250SX Heat 1
10:20 p.m.: 250SX Heat 2
10:34 p.m.: 450SX Heat 1
10:48 p.m.: 450SX Heat 2
11:22 p.m.: 250SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:34 p.m.: 450SX Last Chance Qualifier
11:54 p.m.: 250SX Main Event
12:28 a.m.: 450SX Main Event