So, I watched both the semi-final of McLaren Shadow and this 2-day final and have some comments about it.
First. I just got back to racing and racing games after a break that I spent with Wargaming’s titles, so I missed out on many things but in a gaming podcast-related Telegram channel someone linked to one of the GT Sport events (I think it was the semi-finals). I was immediately impressed with the whole package: GT Sport (don’t have a PS4, only played a tiny bit of GT5 and GT6), the production quality and the commentators, Jimmy Broadbent and Chris McCarthy. After watching the finals I went back and watched all the Superstar streams and the live events (apart from the Asian finals, I couldn’t bear with the Japanese voice under Jimmy’s and Chris’s – fortunately the manufacturer’s showcase event was better). The quality of the production was even at the beginning very nice and Tom Brooks was also great next to Jimmy during some of those events.
So, this was my preparation so to say when the McLaren Shadow semi-final started. Man, that was a mess and most of it was still true in the finals…
First, the whole thing without the proper starting grid like in GT Sport is just stupid, although it a tiny bit better signaled in the final, who’s who, the semis were a total garbage. Especially when the commentators were talking and then suddenly, “oh, it just started…”
In terms of hosts, commentators etc. First, Blackpanthaa. I have never heard of him earlier and his stints as keeping his finger on the social media pulse were rather lackluster, he hasn’t said basically a single complete sentence that made any sense. I learned in the meantime that Nikki is the Formula E pit lane commentator. I haven’t seen any of that but the finals were a tad better than the semis. Still, most of the talk was about how lifechanging this event was for the winner (which I don’t doubt but was still annoying as hell to hear it for the 500th time). Then the commentators… Sure, Goldenboy is Goldenboy and I most certainly didn’t hear about Allie Tacq but they were not exactly at the top of their game. It certainly didn’t help that Goldenboy has basically no idea about cars, racing and racing games. The other guy was somewhat competent but seriously: Jimmy Broadbent. He and Chris McCarthy were actually there in the venue!!! Why were they not the ones doing the commentating? Maybe even invite Tom Brooks with his silky voice? These 2-3 guys would have elevated the event’s quality significantly.
They also made a big deal about adjudication being transparent but the commentators not knowing whether pit stops are needed or not… In the semis the race in Forza was on Spa and had a mandatory pit stop. The 3 guys who qualified from Real Racing 3 didn’t pit, you could even see that Henrik had the message on screen that he got a penalty, yet no action was taken. He should have been simply disqualified from that race… This time it was a bit better but still, GT Sport’s stewards made a way better job.
Games featured:
- rFactor 2, iRacing, PCars 2: haven’t played with any of them but from what I gathered, they’re pretty highly seen by the sim racing community
- Forza Motorsport 7: I like Forza personally but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s used in the competitive scene like Le Mans Esports and of course, ForzaRC, I don’t have anything against it.
- Real Racing 3: again, a game I play myself (from day one, with large breaks) but I’m not exactly convinced in its placement here
I do miss other games from the roster, GT Sport is definitely one of them as it’s significantly more geared to broadcasting than Forza. Assetto Corsa would have been a great choice, too.
As far as the non-racing disciplines go: they had that track day with the 570 GT4s. The broadcast was effing long and yet they didn’t manage to show what the participants did with the car, no lap times, no nothing. Seriously???
All in all, I’m glad Igor win, he clearly showed who’s boss there but the event quality was simple atrocious, expected way more from McLaren. At this point I hope that the FIA GT Sport events come back soon with Jimmy, Chis and Tom in the commentators’ booth.
It seemed hard to follow who you were looking at during the races as sometimes the colouring of the cars was very subtle, and the actual races didn't look that exciting. 
but I doubt I'll watch this again if it is done in a similar way in the future. 
when being sarcastic, it is hard to know on the internet as everyone is different, and I am not always serious.
