Alex Lynn confirmed with DS Virgin for FE season four - MotorSportsTalk

Alex Lynn will make his full-time bow in the FIA Formula E Championship next season with the DS Virgin Racing team, having starred in his debut outing in a fill-in role for Jose Maria Lopez at the New York City ePrix.

Although the Englishman didn’t get the results desired, he scored a pole during the debut weekend and generally impressed the Alex Tai-led team.

He’ll saddle up alongside Sam Bird, back for a fourth straight season with the outfit in a now all-English driver lineup.

Lynn’s appointment comes following a whirlwind 2017 campaign where in his post-European open-wheel career, he took pole in LMP2 for G-Drive Racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and also won on debut in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, co-driving with Jordan and Ricky Taylor at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Lynn was unavailable for Motul Petit Le Mans, with Ryan Hunter-Reay to fill in in the No. 10 Konica Minolta Cadillac DPi-V.R, owing to an upcoming FE commitment.

Lynn’s name has also been murmured in the IndyCar silly season chatter but like others, his FE commitments will preclude him taking up residence there on a full-time basis anytime soon.

“I am over the moon at being promoted to a full-time drive with the DS Virgin Racing Formula E Team,” said Lynn.

“Having worked very closely with them since January this year, it has been a genuine pleasure to learn from such a fantastic group of high quality engineers and to integrate myself into their set-up. Indeed, I have been made to feel very welcome throughout their organization and I would specifically like to thank Alex Tai for not only giving me the chance to make my series debut in New York, but for subsequently promoting me to this full-time race seat. I am currently enjoying helping the team to further develop the car and intend to fully repay everyone’s faith in me on track next season.”

Bird’s retention follows the possibility of being courted by at least one other team in the paddock.

“It’s great to be remaining with the DS Virgin Racing family which I’ve been a part of since we completed the first ever test lap at Donington Park in 2014. Last season saw us take some big steps forward in terms of pace and energy management – as our double victory in New York showed – and I know the team has been working hard on maintaining this competitive edge. I’m looking forward to further success in season four and to be partnering with Alex who will no doubt prove to be a real asset to the team,” he said.

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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.

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