- 505
- United States
Why doesn't somebody just purchase a channel? It would be expensive obviously but why don't we have a channel for racing coverage only?
will motorsports as a whole ever be recognized by the mainstream?
- Thread starter A2K78
- 51 comments
- 4,053 views
- 51,241
- Australia
- SpacedustDaddy
they start off that way. next thing your watching Get Smart at 5pm. I think deals need to be made with Duke video and various networks to rebroadcast racing.
we need that channel to play races 24/7. Start with the very first broadcasted 24hour LeMans every weekend. with all the repeats we see on the sports channels, how about replaying vintage car races more than once.
during the week, here in OZ, a show called Motor Mate replay all the vintage racers & race cars. 80's rallying and also some Supercar shows.
- 23,800
- Philippines
If they come, they will build it.
Racing, as it is, is too big, too expensive and too inaccessible to the common man to ever become as popular as more mainstream sports.
When you're at a race, the atmosphere is fantastic, but it's hard to follow a race live unless it's on an oval. And even then, it's hard to see who's who. That's opposed to soccer or basketball, where you can follow all the action from one seat. Or even better, tennis... where there's only one or two players, and the action is pretty easy to follow.
*Don't ask me about golf... while I find it technically interesting, it's mind boggling how so many people can be obsessed over guys walking around taking random swings at tiny balls. Then there's sports fishing... which is even less interesting to watch live, though thrashing fishies make better television than golf.
The X-Games formula might be the best way to do it. Or Race of Champions. Something that can be held in a format that's easy to follow live and on TV. With more face time for each driver. The problem with traditional forms of racing is that it's far divorced from the gladiatorial contest format that most people can relate to. And for even those of us who know racing, inside and out... can we really say that it's all about the driver? Obviously, the best drivers will thrive, but in a sport where the machinery matters as much as or more than the man, it's difficult to get non-car people engaged.
Granted, sports equipment keeps getting better and better, but Serena Williams isn't going to lose a match because her opponent's racket has more horsepower (of course, rackets matter, but regulations keep things even), and it's easy for most top-flight swimmers to afford sexy new sharkskin underwear.
But in the larger view of things, sports as a whole covers so many different interests and disciplines, it's way too easy for news networks and sports networks to lump "motor sports" under a single subheading and into a single time slot, no matter how varied and rich the scene is.
Which is okay. Racing still gets more coverage than Futsal, Grass Hockey, Women's Basketball or Rhythmic Gymnastics.
And that last one has always puzzled me. Who doesn't like watching Rhythmic Gymnastics?
Racing, as it is, is too big, too expensive and too inaccessible to the common man to ever become as popular as more mainstream sports.
When you're at a race, the atmosphere is fantastic, but it's hard to follow a race live unless it's on an oval. And even then, it's hard to see who's who. That's opposed to soccer or basketball, where you can follow all the action from one seat. Or even better, tennis... where there's only one or two players, and the action is pretty easy to follow.
*Don't ask me about golf... while I find it technically interesting, it's mind boggling how so many people can be obsessed over guys walking around taking random swings at tiny balls. Then there's sports fishing... which is even less interesting to watch live, though thrashing fishies make better television than golf.
The X-Games formula might be the best way to do it. Or Race of Champions. Something that can be held in a format that's easy to follow live and on TV. With more face time for each driver. The problem with traditional forms of racing is that it's far divorced from the gladiatorial contest format that most people can relate to. And for even those of us who know racing, inside and out... can we really say that it's all about the driver? Obviously, the best drivers will thrive, but in a sport where the machinery matters as much as or more than the man, it's difficult to get non-car people engaged.
Granted, sports equipment keeps getting better and better, but Serena Williams isn't going to lose a match because her opponent's racket has more horsepower (of course, rackets matter, but regulations keep things even), and it's easy for most top-flight swimmers to afford sexy new sharkskin underwear.
But in the larger view of things, sports as a whole covers so many different interests and disciplines, it's way too easy for news networks and sports networks to lump "motor sports" under a single subheading and into a single time slot, no matter how varied and rich the scene is.
Which is okay. Racing still gets more coverage than Futsal, Grass Hockey, Women's Basketball or Rhythmic Gymnastics.
And that last one has always puzzled me. Who doesn't like watching Rhythmic Gymnastics?
- 904
- orlando,FL,USA
an awesome article:
http://inthegravelagain.blogspot.com/2011/11/they-risk-everything-for-sport-but.html
Now even though they he's talking about motorcycle racers in particular, the article pretty much reflect how I feel about racers overall regardless of discipline.
Its quite sad when you think about, but being a fan of many mainstream sports myself,I find racers and motorsports to be far more exciting to watch and simply because the type of drama that exist in motorsports you can't find in any other sports.
http://inthegravelagain.blogspot.com/2011/11/they-risk-everything-for-sport-but.html
Now even though they he's talking about motorcycle racers in particular, the article pretty much reflect how I feel about racers overall regardless of discipline.
Its quite sad when you think about, but being a fan of many mainstream sports myself,I find racers and motorsports to be far more exciting to watch and simply because the type of drama that exist in motorsports you can't find in any other sports.
braunracing88
(Banned)
- 908
- Troy, MI, USA
- braunracing88
I have that DVD. Where in the DVD does it say that?
On subject, NASCAR and my home Indycar race, the Belle Isle Grand Prix of Detroit, tend to get the most news coverage in my area. Unless there's a major accident and a well-known driver is injured or killed, that is. When Greg Moore, a former Belle Isle winner, was killed in a crash during the 1999 CART finale at Fontana, it made the local news the following morning. When Paul Dana was killed during the morning warmup for the 2006 Indycar season opener at Homestead, it made the national nightly news. Same with Dan Wheldon's fatal crash in October 2011 during the Indycar World Championships at Las Vegas. It's such a f:censored:ing travesty that stick-and-ball sports - which if you ask me are clearly inferior to motor sports - hog the spotlight while motor sports get next to no attention what-so-f:censored:ing ever. It's sickening.
- 12,122
- Liverpool
- CARBOYXJR
This is the thing I hate most in the world! In the UK all we get is football, football, cricket, football and golf. Then probably some more football. I think the reason for this is people A) think that if you are a 'racing driver', you are either an F1 world champion, or as I get at my school a lot, 'the rally or the bikes', and B) people think of it not as a sport, but a nice drive with a few corners. Again, at school (there are only about 2 people including me who grasp motorsport), I overheard some people talking about Mark Webber, and they then say (In a scouse accent with much swearing) "It's dead easy, just sit down in a comfy seat and drive". Since I don't have a good time talking to them about it, I have a wonderful idea - one day, if I become a racing driver, I shall invite some of these people to a testday or trackday, and either scare them to death on a hot lap or let them try and start the car and drive it off sitting in the nice and comfy bucket seats with six point harnesses
Just to top it off, many of my classmates have heard of the sport stars who have passed through our school, but none know a thing about Declan Jones, the British GT driver, who left our school 2 years ago.
Just to add, I do actively encourage people to watch BTCC, NASCAR etc just to show them what other series are out there and how they stack up to the likes of F1.
Just to top it off, many of my classmates have heard of the sport stars who have passed through our school, but none know a thing about Declan Jones, the British GT driver, who left our school 2 years ago. Just to add, I do actively encourage people to watch BTCC, NASCAR etc just to show them what other series are out there and how they stack up to the likes of F1.
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- 904
- orlando,FL,USA
I borrowed said dvd, but if I can recall its the part where he where he was comparing nascar drivers and other athletes in the more maintream sports.
Its quite funny you bring up wheldon, because a week after he died Marco Simoncelli(MotoGP) also died in a horrible crash at the Sepang GP and that basically went unnoticed.
Overall it really infuriates me when the mainstream media does nothing but use the deaths of racers to bash motorsports a whole like in the case of Simoncelli and Peter Lenz.
http://www.salon.com/2010/08/31/indy_peter_lenz/
- 12,122
- Liverpool
- CARBOYXJR
That is a horrible article. Instead of offering their condolences they simply bash the parents and put the blame on them. Is it me or are they portraying motorsport as some kind of taboo? It's as if it is completely morally wrong to let your child get involved with a sport which has health and safety written all over it, which in actual fact many different sports do. And why do they feel the need to place inverted commas around 'expert'? He was incredibly talented, just because he is not 20 odd years old doesn't mean he hasn't got the skills to ride a bike. I think that media needs to embrace motorsport as something that, like many other sports, can be dangerous. However there is no reason that a footballer who sustains an injury is glanced over and it's put down to the nature of the sport, when say a Moto GP rider breaks a bone and people launch an outcry at this sport for causing injuries.
Rant over.
EDIT - just read the bit where he talks about peter's 'childish desires'. I hate this reporter so much!
- 4,487
- YorkshireLand
- SVTlover
Over here in the UK, as many people have said all we get is football, cricket, golf and rugby. Very little news and reports are on motorsport and even when it is, it's mainly F1. The mainstream media have practically no idea about motorsport, but when it comes to any other sport they turn on their motor mouths and debate.
Every morning I watch Sky Sports News to keep up to date with everything. Around 7.40am they get a journalist in the studio to review the papers and I can only remember three times this year that motorsport has been covered, yet again it was F1. The first time being the Multi-21 fiasco, Webber's retirement and Hamilton's win in Hungary. When it was covered the guy reviewing the papers seemed to know what he was talking about during Multi-21, when they covered Webber's retirement they mainly spoke to Ted Kravitz and Johnny Herbert. But when they did Hamilton's win, the guy said 'Lewis had a fantastic drive to win the GP yesterday....so I've heard'
That just says it all for me.
When it comes to other forms of racing, WTCC, GT3, WRC, NASCAR, Moto GP. Forget it. There is some news but you have to search for it and it's usually a small article about either a newly crowned champion or a heavy crash.
I think the only way motorsport could reach out further is if motorsport stars tried their hands at other mainstream sports. Say if 3 or 4 F1 drivers took part in Soccer Aid and other major friendly matches. Also if a few major football stars (Messi, Ronaldo etc) took part in a charity race. But to do it on a regular basis, they get paid enough money to do it full time let alone once or twice.
There's also another way that F1 could reach out and I think it's through football. Last year Sauber signed a deal with Chelsea FC and now Sauber show the crest on the car and Chelsea show Sauber banners at every home game. This just isn't enough, what if they had a friendly match with Chelsea's reserve team vs the Sauber mechanics? Some of Chelsea's major players trying their hand at single seaters? Chelsea players vs Sauber mechanics in a pit stop challenge. The same thing could be done at Caterham, Tony Fernandes owns QPR. Monaco FC doing something alongside the Monaco GP. F1 drivers vs the reserve team? 💡
There are a lot of F1 drivers/team bosses/mechanics that like football. I remember when Man City won the 11/12 Premier League, Stefano Domenicalli watched the final match of the season and mentioned that the Ferrari team needed to take a leaf out of the City team's book for not giving up. City were managed by Roberto Mancini at the time who is Italian and pretty well known in Italy. Mancini was spotted in the Ferrari garage at the 2011 Abu Dhabi GP.
Recently it was announced that one of the guys from One Direction has signed a contract with Doncaster Rovers FC. He admitted that he'll probably play in one or two reserve games whilst he's in the band. Within 24 hours of this announcement the football club had over 500,000 orders from as far away as Asia for their home shirts with his name and number on the back. That would be something Bernie would be proud of.
I do feel there are a lot of opportunities for F1 to explore with football and even other sports, I'm sure there would be fans of both sports that would welcome it. I would.
Every morning I watch Sky Sports News to keep up to date with everything. Around 7.40am they get a journalist in the studio to review the papers and I can only remember three times this year that motorsport has been covered, yet again it was F1. The first time being the Multi-21 fiasco, Webber's retirement and Hamilton's win in Hungary. When it was covered the guy reviewing the papers seemed to know what he was talking about during Multi-21, when they covered Webber's retirement they mainly spoke to Ted Kravitz and Johnny Herbert. But when they did Hamilton's win, the guy said 'Lewis had a fantastic drive to win the GP yesterday....so I've heard'
That just says it all for me.
When it comes to other forms of racing, WTCC, GT3, WRC, NASCAR, Moto GP. Forget it. There is some news but you have to search for it and it's usually a small article about either a newly crowned champion or a heavy crash.
I think the only way motorsport could reach out further is if motorsport stars tried their hands at other mainstream sports. Say if 3 or 4 F1 drivers took part in Soccer Aid and other major friendly matches. Also if a few major football stars (Messi, Ronaldo etc) took part in a charity race. But to do it on a regular basis, they get paid enough money to do it full time let alone once or twice.
There's also another way that F1 could reach out and I think it's through football. Last year Sauber signed a deal with Chelsea FC and now Sauber show the crest on the car and Chelsea show Sauber banners at every home game. This just isn't enough, what if they had a friendly match with Chelsea's reserve team vs the Sauber mechanics? Some of Chelsea's major players trying their hand at single seaters? Chelsea players vs Sauber mechanics in a pit stop challenge. The same thing could be done at Caterham, Tony Fernandes owns QPR. Monaco FC doing something alongside the Monaco GP. F1 drivers vs the reserve team? 💡
There are a lot of F1 drivers/team bosses/mechanics that like football. I remember when Man City won the 11/12 Premier League, Stefano Domenicalli watched the final match of the season and mentioned that the Ferrari team needed to take a leaf out of the City team's book for not giving up. City were managed by Roberto Mancini at the time who is Italian and pretty well known in Italy. Mancini was spotted in the Ferrari garage at the 2011 Abu Dhabi GP.
Recently it was announced that one of the guys from One Direction has signed a contract with Doncaster Rovers FC. He admitted that he'll probably play in one or two reserve games whilst he's in the band. Within 24 hours of this announcement the football club had over 500,000 orders from as far away as Asia for their home shirts with his name and number on the back. That would be something Bernie would be proud of.
I do feel there are a lot of opportunities for F1 to explore with football and even other sports, I'm sure there would be fans of both sports that would welcome it. I would.
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- 4,480
- Vancouver, BC
- GTP_Grand_Prix
Motorsports won't be embraced by the media and general populace for quite some time, I think. There are a few reasons for this.
For one, it is not as easily accessible as other sports. It is not like baseball where you can play catch with your dad, or soccer where you can kick around a ball, or basketball where you can shoot balls into a hoop a hundred times. After people have tried a sport they can then begin to appreciate how awesome the pros are at doing it. It is hard for the average person to relate to a top tier racing driver when the only experience they have of driving is driving in traffic. This leads some to believe that all you have to do to overtake someone is press the gas pedal down further. Since this is what they do to pass someone every day, why would racing be any different?
Secondly, and somewhat related to the first point, racing takes money, or at least parents with money, to get into. At least if you want to make it to the top tiers. This is not to say that other sports aren't costly, ice hockey and American football can be pretty costly with the required equipment for instance, but motorsports suffer the "rich man's sport" stigma more. More than golf, perhaps. Also, some people can actually be turned off by motorsport because of their envy for the rich, from what I've seen anyway.
Additionally, probably not many parents want their kids to enter a sport perceived as highly dangerous. Other sports have the element of danger as well, but again this is a pretty unshakeable stigma for motorsports, for obvious reasons.
As a result, not many people know what is so special about top flight drivers, because they just don't have the frame of reference to appreciate them. There are driving and racing simulators out there that can expose more people to it, but these are still no where near the same as the real thing.
The fact that some people have preconceived notions of how exciting a race should be, also doesn't help matters, especially if the first race they watch is something pretty boring even to hardcore fans.
For one, it is not as easily accessible as other sports. It is not like baseball where you can play catch with your dad, or soccer where you can kick around a ball, or basketball where you can shoot balls into a hoop a hundred times. After people have tried a sport they can then begin to appreciate how awesome the pros are at doing it. It is hard for the average person to relate to a top tier racing driver when the only experience they have of driving is driving in traffic. This leads some to believe that all you have to do to overtake someone is press the gas pedal down further. Since this is what they do to pass someone every day, why would racing be any different?
Secondly, and somewhat related to the first point, racing takes money, or at least parents with money, to get into. At least if you want to make it to the top tiers. This is not to say that other sports aren't costly, ice hockey and American football can be pretty costly with the required equipment for instance, but motorsports suffer the "rich man's sport" stigma more. More than golf, perhaps. Also, some people can actually be turned off by motorsport because of their envy for the rich, from what I've seen anyway.
Additionally, probably not many parents want their kids to enter a sport perceived as highly dangerous. Other sports have the element of danger as well, but again this is a pretty unshakeable stigma for motorsports, for obvious reasons.
As a result, not many people know what is so special about top flight drivers, because they just don't have the frame of reference to appreciate them. There are driving and racing simulators out there that can expose more people to it, but these are still no where near the same as the real thing.
The fact that some people have preconceived notions of how exciting a race should be, also doesn't help matters, especially if the first race they watch is something pretty boring even to hardcore fans.
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- 17,220
- United Kingdom
Yeah that really doesn't help.. stuff like the British GP gets hyped up so much, non motorsports fans watch it, and expect something it was never going to be.
But that's another thing, motorsports is a term much like ball sports.. Some people like Rugby, but not football (err.... Football, but not Soccer), and lots of motor racing fans don't necessarily find all forms of racing exciting.
- 904
- orlando,FL,USA
Earth
My response to that individual would be this....racing isn't a skill you can acquire overnight, but rather a skill acquired over many years. I say this because whether you're talking about someone like Sebastian Vettel,Valentino Rossi, Jimmie Johnson or whomever, all of these guys have one thing in common, they've been racing in some in form ever since they were extremely young kids. This compared to the average ball/stick athlete who only acquired their skills possibiliy in their early teens.[/QUOTE]
I realized that the most popular sports were mostly easy to watch and understand, when watching them tv. For instance, in soccer you can see the entire field, and it doesn't even take a days understand it.
As for motorsport, i will have to say that it is very difficult to follow, since the camera sometime switch from driver to driver which can confuse the first time viewer.
Motorsport may be the most expensive sport to get into, but there are alternative ways to get into the sport such as racing simulator games.
Most people will understand motorsport better and know how much skill
it takes to race by just playing racing sim.
I think racing sim is a good tool to create more fans and increase motorsport popularity. Motorsport is the best sport if you truly understand it.
As for motorsport, i will have to say that it is very difficult to follow, since the camera sometime switch from driver to driver which can confuse the first time viewer.
Motorsport may be the most expensive sport to get into, but there are alternative ways to get into the sport such as racing simulator games.
Most people will understand motorsport better and know how much skill
it takes to race by just playing racing sim.
I think racing sim is a good tool to create more fans and increase motorsport popularity. Motorsport is the best sport if you truly understand it.
- 11,639
- Intercourse, PA
- Carbonox
- 17,220
- United Kingdom
- 505
- United States
Just like the people that think they can beat Sebastian Vettel in a race just because they found the money for a nice car and can take it around a bend faster than they could before.....and then have a massive bill on their hands because they wrapped it around a light pole trying to be like a race car driver when they aren't.
And like you said, road driving and racing are two completely different animals one requires you to look out a windshield and try not to fall asleep at the wheel. The other requires your undivided attention for hours on end while pushing your car to the limits and not wrecking your fellow racers.
- 904
- orlando,FL,USA
Its quite interesting that you bring this all up, but I don't want all the channels to be showing motorsports but what I would like to see are those individuals in motorsports receiving the same level of recognition in the general mainstream media in the manner of people like Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, etc. Not because I want them to become paparazzi-fodder but because it raises the profile of the various championships and finally give theses guys the respect they deserve as legitimate athletes.
- 23,800
- Philippines
Quick... without Googling it... How many current golf tournament winners for 2013 can you name besides Tiger Woods?
Who is the second fastest man on the planet behind Usain Bolt?
Who won the last Tour de France ?
Who is the best female powerlifter in the world?
There are hundreds of thousands of athletes out there who deserve recognition. No single media outlet can cover them all. The same thing. It's all chicken-and-egg. If the people who already know who they are aren't interested, popular media outlets won't cover them, they won't get endorsement contracts, and they won't become household names.
Who is the second fastest man on the planet behind Usain Bolt?
Who won the last Tour de France ?
Who is the best female powerlifter in the world?
There are hundreds of thousands of athletes out there who deserve recognition. No single media outlet can cover them all. The same thing. It's all chicken-and-egg. If the people who already know who they are aren't interested, popular media outlets won't cover them, they won't get endorsement contracts, and they won't become household names.
- 13,049
- United Kingdom
In the UK, the only motorsport that gets mentioned is F1, unless you are watching ITV4 or a sports channel. Sky Sports F1 shows the F1 supports but that's it. The BBC has MotoGP. The only time I have heard about another motorsport is when tragedies have happened, like Dan Wheldon's Death. I recently heard an interview with Elfyn Evans on Radio 1, where they managed to completely gloss over the fact that Kris Meeke was a British Rally Driver competing at the time in the WRC.
- 567
- S. Shields
I think the lions share of the TV ratings though will be people who have seen it before or are vaguely familiar with it. I think the presenter can forgo any guide. Anyone with little or no knowledge can learn by going on the series website. All I know about Formula E has come from the series website which goes into greater depth.
