Official F1/Motorsport thread

[Team Andromeda]

YOU are not but most people will take it over what we had 10 years ago. It's easy to forget the number of processional races we had.

I think F1 knows it had issues and its lossing some of it's appeal , that why over the past couple of years we've had drastic changes to the Rear Wing and this dreadful DRS systems introduced.

The BBC, for all it's faults and all the crap it churns out, at least produces programming that actively sets out to enage peoples imagination and teach us something about ourselves and the world we live in.

And so it should !. That''s part of the deal with it's funding and why it can count on it's 3 Billion a year guaranteed. So it can make original programming and not always chase the ratings and to it's credit the BBC is leader on issues like Politics(which are hardly tv ratings winners)

[vanpeebles]

BTCC starting soon on ITV4

[Harry]

I think F1 knows it had issues and its lossing some of it's appeal , that why over the past couple of years we've had drastic changes to the Rear Wing and this dreadful DRS systems introduced.




And so it should !. That''s part of the deal with it's funding and why it can count on it's 3 Billion a year guaranteed. So it can make original programming and not always chase the ratings and to it's credit the BBC is leader on issues like Politics(which are hardly tv ratings winners)

I don't have as much of a problem with DRS as I do KERS. DRS makes sense in a way, it's only applied on the straights where the drivers don't need to make sharp turns and it increases speed significantly. KERS on the other hand reminds me of a cheap and tacky version of Nitro you used to see in The Fast & The Furious & Need for Speed Underground games. So, screw KERS, but I'm all for DRS; I just wish they didn't make such a big deal out of it, i.e. "Button is coming onto the straight will he use his DRS? OH! Yes, the wing is open!!!" **** that ****. Just let them do it and not make such a big deal of it.

As for the BBC and politics, I find it awful. Programmes like Panorama should be named Propoganda instead. Dispatches on channel 4 is much better/honest.

[Bort]

MotoGP
Brno, Czech Republic

Saturday 13 August
MotoGP qualifying: 1150-1500, BBC Red Button/online
Sunday 14 August
125cc & Moto2 races: 0950-1205, BBC Red Button/online
MotoGP live: 1235-1400, BBC Two/online
MotoGP Extra: 1400-1430, BBC Red Button/online

[Harry]

Button to race on the streets of Manchester

McLaren’s Jenson Button will journey to Manchester later this month to demonstrate a Formula One car as part of a three-day event organised by the British team’s title sponsor Vodafone. Button’s run will take place in the heart of the city on Monday, August 29, which is a public holiday in the UK.

"Driving an F1 car through Manchester is going to be a unique experience for me," said the Briton. "There's a chance for the public to win some great prizes so I hope Manchester is going to be out in force and are looking forward to the bank holiday as much as I am."

The 2009 world champion is expected to drive down the bustle of Deansgate, before turning down John Dalton Street and into Albert Square. As well as Button’s demonstration, there will be an F1 fan zone, a go-kart track, an F1 simulator and a working pit garage for visitors to enjoy.

Who's off? I know I am.

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/8/12411.html

[Kieran76]

No DRS allowed at Eau Rouge and Bruno Senna will be in for Heidfeld. I love Spa and cannot wait for this race.

[Bort]

[Team Andromeda]

FORMULA One mogul Bernie Ecclestone has hit back at critics of the sport’s shock deal with Sky – but insists that his hands were tied over the move.

The deal sparked *thousands of complaints from fans.

But the 80-year-old *billionaire boss told Mirror Sport the new shared agreement between the BBC and Sky was negotiated privately by bosses at the Beeb – and not by the sport’s *management.
Advertisement >>

Last week, the Mirror revealed that bosses at Channel 4 had also made a big-money approach to F1 bosses – in a desperate bid to keep the sport on terrestrial *television.

But Ecclestone revealed: “They [The BBC] had a contract in force already, from 2012 all the way through to 2014.

“They got to grips with Sky themselves. I spoke with ITV too, and came up with the same problem as Channel 4 had. We had a contract with the BBC which didn’t run out until 2014.

“We couldn’t very well do a deal with other people for them to start doing *something next year, because we had that contract.

“Other broadcasters wouldn’t want to wait until 2014 to decide what they wanted to pay.”

The F1 supremo believes the BBC – led by Director of Sport Barbara Slater – were looking to make savings in the region of ?25million a year.

They wanted to renegotiate their broadcasting rights into a shared deal with another network, but simply didn’t want to share the sport with a terrestrial rival.

Asked whether the BBC “held all the cards” over the new deal, he added: “Yes, absolutely. If they [Channel 4] had said they wanted to sign a contract today to start broadcasting for ?45m a year, then we would have probably done it.

“But that’s the problem. We couldn’t deal with them, even if they had wanted to.”

The decision of BBC bosses to work with Sky ahead of Channel 4 and ITV raises questions over whether the taxpayer-funded broadcaster should be engaging in ratings battles with commercial rivals.

But despite concerns raised by fans and industry insiders, including veteran commentator Murray Walker who said he feared it could “affect the popularity of the sport”, Ecclestone believes the split-broadcasting deal will be good for the sport.

He said: “I think the two of them will eventually do a good job. Sky aren’t going to get the live viewing figures that we had with the BBC, but I think with the combination of the two across all the Formula One that is *broadcast there will be a lot more viewers.

“In the short-term, I think that collectively taking in the amount of *broadcasting that’s going to be scheduled between the two of them next year, there will be more eyeballs watching than we have now.

“That’s good for us, good for the teams and good for the fans.”

The BBC was last night unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, Ecclestone’s campaign to spread Formula One around the world yesterday took him to India which will host its first Grand Prix on October 30.

He admitted it would be a challenge to broaden its appeal in the cricket-mad country and said: “F1 is new in India and it will take a lot of effort to generate interest.

“We will never catch up with cricket – but we can perhaps get close.”

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.../#ixzz1VVibzGNE
Go Camping for 95p! Vouchers collectable in the Daily and Sunday Mirror until 11th August . Click here for more information

Thank you BBC

[Flabio]

And of course Bernie is well know for being truthful in all things.

They're all to blame really.

[Shez]

Bernie can say what he wants, but the fact is he didn't have to accept the deal - He was dismissing any kind of SKY deal only in May this year, leaking some sarcastic quote about why would he want F1 on a channel where only 1 million would watch.

The BBC have shafted their viewers on this by jumping into bed with SKY - The whole affair stinks, and raises a lot of questions that someone from the BBC should be accountable to answering.

The BBC and Eccelstone are that arrogant they think that the bbc viewing figures are not going to be affected next year - I suspect they will, and hope they are.

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Speaking of the BBC, although in a much more positive light, there is a documentary on Iplayer at the moment entitled Grand Prix: The Killer Years, telling the story of the perils of Grand Prix racing in the 50s/60s/70s and the driver movement to improve safety standards in the sport. Definitely worth a watch for any remotely interested in the history of F1:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00z8v18/Grand_Prix_The_Killer_Years/

[Kieran76]

Watched that the other night, it was incredible.

[gospvg]

Guess Heidfeld is a bit pissed at being repalced by Senna?

[Flabio]

He should've sucked less then. That car should be consistently top ten at the very least.

[Shez]

Senna wont be putting it in the top 10 on a regular basis - He's there because he's bringing money.