Red Bull GRC: CORE autosport planning Thompson, Detroit double - MotorSportsTalk

CORE autosport competes in both Red Bull Global Rallycross in the GRC Lites division and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the GT Daytona class.

In theory, with GRC at Thompson, Ct. this weekend and with IMSA on the streets of Detroit, it’d be difficult to foresee CORE running in both simultaneously.

But that will be the plan for this weekend.

CORE’s pair of Jon Bennett and Colin Braun will finish their IMSA commitments in the No. 54 CORE autosport Porsche 911 GT3 R on Saturday afternoon, then hightail it from a plane out of Detroit to Connecticut where they plan to compete in GRC Lites competition.

Porsche at Circuit of The Americas. Photo: CORE autosport

Braun is third and Bennett fifth in GRC Lites points heading into the weekend, while it’s been a tough start in IMSA since they switched the GT Daytona class. They sit only 21st in the class standings with a best finish of 14th place in four races.

Bennett explained the game plan: “CORE autosport is committed to competing for championships in both IMSA WeatherTech GTD and Red Bull GRC Lites. We noticed the possibility of competing in both events. The idea was like an ember, that spread to a flame, which became a mission. Our IMSA WeatherTech race on Belle Island ends at 2:40pm. With the miracle of air travel, Colin, myself, and some crew will fly to a regional airport near Thompson arriving at the circuit with 30 minutes to spare before the Saturday LCQ!”

Braun added, “Jon and I were talking about how disappointing it was going to be to miss Thompson with the GRC cars. We kind of looked at each other and said ‘hey, there’s a possibility, since the Detroit race is on Saturday, that we could do both.’ We looked at the schedules and it looks like we could make the LCQ on Saturday and then all day Sunday. We’re doing pretty well in the GRC points, so we’d hate to give up being a contender over there.”

Red Bull Global Rallycross coverage from Thompson for Supercars airs at 5 p.m. ET on both Saturday, June 3 and Sunday, June 4 on NBC. GRC Lites coverage airs on Wednesday, June 7, at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

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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