Showing posts with label Weekend Preview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weekend Preview. Show all posts

Friday, November 20, 2009

Weekend Preview: 21-22 November 2009

This is the final Weekend Preview of the season, thanks for reading and I hope these posts have been useful!

Windsor Arch 56th Macau Grand Prix

- Guia Circuit, Macau, PRC
- www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/app/home/gp56/en
- Live Timing from MST (note this link is for all non-WTCC races at the circuit this week)
- with WTCC (see below), FBMW Pacific and a host of regional championships

The classic Formula 3 event attracts competitors from the Euroseries and the Japanese and British series, I am not sure if the Australians also attend? I am always surprised at how fast the F3 cars look at this course, the long straight sections mean the cars are in high gearing, low downforce trim which while fast on the open road, the drivers have to struggle with through the narrow twisty part of the track.

The Macau Grand Prix format for F3 is for a 10-lap Qualification Race on Saturday at 1.45pm Macau time, followed by the 15-lap Grand Prix on Sunday at 3.30pm their time. That's about 4.30am here... I think.

I can't find any live UK TV coverage!
I can't find any recorded coverage either.


FIA World Touring Car Championship

- Marriott Race of Macau
- Guia Circuit, Macau, PRC
- www.macau.grandprix.gov.mo/app/home/gp56/en
- and www.fiawtcc.com
- Live Timing from MST (WTCC only, for F3 use the link in the Macau GP section above)
- Final round

The usual format of two equal-length races on Sunday of just 9 laps each around this long circuit, that's good for the normal race time of about 25 minutes. It might be short but there's action all the way at Macau!



This is Tom Coronel in the 2007 race.

UK TV: There is continuous coverage encompassing both races from 4am UK time, with only a short break between races (which is utterly crazy with the damage this place can cause). It is repeated at 11.35am on Eurosport 2.

NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Ford 400
- Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida, USA
- www.nascar.com
- UK TV: SKY SPORTS XTRA at 8pm Sunday
- US TV: LIVE on ABC at 2.30pm ET Sunday

Jimmie Johnson holds a large points lead going into the final round of the long, long NASCAR year. He's pretty much guaranteed unless there's one of those famous crashes all the "fans" apparently want to see, although since they pay points just for turning up perhaps they should give him the Cup now...

NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Ford 300
- Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on ESPN2 at 4pm ET Saturday (not covered in UK)

Speaking of just turning up, Kyle Busch only needs to start this race to secure the 2nd tier title.


NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

- Ford 200
- Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on SPEED at 7.30pm ET Friday (not covered in UK)

I know nothing of this series and I'm not sure I know anyone who does..

Intercontinental Rally Challenge

- Rally of Scotland
- Perth to Stirling, Scotland
- www.ircseries.com

This is the IRC's maiden visit to the UK. There will be updates throughout the weekend on Eurosport including live stages! Tune at 8.45am and 4pm Friday, 9am and 1.45pm Saturday, and 6am and 7.15pm Sunday.


Australian V8 Supercars

- Barbagallo, Australia
- www.v8supercar.com.au
- Penultimate round


Weekend Preview 5-6 December 2009

Just for completeness, the final round of V8s is in two weeks' time:

Australian V8 Supercars

- Oran Park, Australia
- www.v8supercar.com.au



That's it! After these races the 2009 season is over. The first event of 2010 is the Dakar which is in South America again in early January, then the IRC opens the 'regular' season with the Monte Carlo Rally on the weekend of the 23rd. The first circuit race of note is the Daytona 24 Hours at the end of January, a mere two months away.

Thanks to the following sources this season:
FORIX;
Autosport magazine;
RadioTimes.com;
LiveSportOnTV.com;

Friday, November 13, 2009

Weekend Preview: 14-15 November 2009

There is only one major race meeting this weekend, with each of NASCAR's three main divisions holding their penultimate races of the season at Phoenix this weekend. The season will end at Homestead next week.

NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil
- Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
- 1-mile oval
- www.nascar.com
- UK TV: SKY SPORTS XTRA at 8pm Sunday
- US TV: LIVE on ABC at 2.30pm ET Sunday

NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Able Body Labor 200
- Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on ESPN2 at 4pm ET Saturday (not covered in UK)


NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

- Lucas Oil 150
- Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on SPEED at 7.30pm ET Friday (not covered in UK)


That's it! Nothing else. There is more happening next week when I will post the final Weekend Preview of 2009.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Weekend Preview: 7-8 Nov 2009

Pretty much all of the major events of the 2009 season are now in the history books so this series is winding down. I'll keep going in a reduced format as long as there is something notable going on.

Feature Events

MotoGP

- GP Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana
- Circuit Ricardo Tormo
- Valencia, Spain
- (17/17)
- www.motogp.com
- 250cc (last ever), 125cc, etc

Valencia is the traditional finale to the MotoGP season and this year is no exception. Reasonable circuit, seems to me MotoGP is the only series to actually produce decent racing at this track. The title having been won, the only thing of note that I can think of is the demise of the 250cc support class, to be replaced by the new Moto2 category in 2010.

UK: LIVE on BBC Two at 12.30pm
US: DELAYED on SPEED at 6pm ET

Other Events

Single Seater:

Superleague Formula

- Jarama
- Jarama, Spain
- (6/6)
- www.superleagueformula.com
- Eurosport: Race 1 live on E2 at 9am Sunday // Race 2 live on E2 at 11.30am Sunday // Shootout live on E2 at 12.30pm

The only open-wheel action this week outside of SudamF3 is the SF finale at Jarama, which could be fun. I've never seen a race at Jarama and apparently these cars make the frankly ridiculous concept of the series worth checking out.

Stock Car:

NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Dickies 500
- Texas Motor Speedway, Forth Worth, Texas, USA
- www.nascar.com
- UK TV: SKY SPORTS XTRA at 8.30pm Sunday
- US TV: LIVE on ABC at 12.30pm ET Sunday

I can't make sense of this. I've double-checked and Sky says 8.30pm is live. ABC says 12.30pm is live. There is not an 8hr time difference between ET and UK and I can't believe there is a 3hr pre-race show.


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- O'Reilly Challenge
- Texas Motor Speedway, Forth Worth, Texas, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on ESPN2 at 12pm ET Saturday (not covered in UK)


NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

- Winstar World Casino 350
- Texas Motor Speedway, Forth Worth, Texas, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on SPEED at 8.30pm ET Friday (not covered in UK)

Sports Car / Touring Car:

V8 Supercars

- Phillip Island
- Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia
- www.v8supercar.com.au


Super GT

- Twin-Ring Motegi
- Motegi, Japan
- www.supergt.net/en


Also for those in the UK I believe the new series of Top Gear begins on Sunday.


* * * *
Sources
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
Series websites as mentioned
Autosport magazine

Friday, October 30, 2009

Weekend Preview: 31 Oct - 1 Nov 2009

The last F1 race of the year and also the final rounds of F2, but the first weekend of the new GP2 Asia season.

Feature Events


FIA Formula One World Championship

- 2009 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
- Yas Marina Circuit
- Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- (17/17)
- www.f1.com
- with GP2 Asia Series, Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, Chevrolet Supercar Middle East

The last F1 race of the year, and hasn't it flown by? Both the Championships have been won so the paddock can let its collective hair down. The only pressure to perform will lie upon those still working on contract negotiations for 2010 - right now only a handful of deals have been announced. There is also the matter of McLaren vs Ferrari for 3rd position in the Constructors' race, remember the higher you finish the better garage spot you get next season, not to mention the extra squillions from the TV money sharing agreement.

This is the first ever event held by the all-new Yas Marina circuit, another Tilke effort, and it should be a fun one. The first half of the track is fast and interesting, the second half after the chicane is a bit stop/start Mickey Mouse but at least we can look at the LED-lit hotel.. The other thing to note is this is a dusk race starting at 5pm local time, meaning we start in daylight and end at night, a first for F1 though perhaps not so impressive to those in the US who are used to this sort of thing.

UK TV: LIVE on BBC ONE at 12.10pm Sunday

US TV: LIVE on SPEED at 4.30pm ET Sunday.


Other Events

Single Seater:

GP2 Asia Series

- Abu Dhabi
- Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- www.gp2series.com/en/website/2009gp2asia
- Eurosport: Race 1 highlights on E1 at 12pm Saturday // Race 2 live on E1 at 9.30am Sunday

The first round of what is a cut-down GP2 Asia Series this season, rather than travel around Asia they will be restricting themselves to two visits each to Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, which is a shame.
I am not sure what genius at Eurosport thought it would be a good idea to restrict TV coverage of the Feature race to a 30 minute highlights show directly up against live F1 qualifying (albeit the BBC's pre-qual show).

FIA Formula Two

- Barcelona
- Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
- www.formula2.com
- Eurosport: Race 1 live on E1 at 1pm Saturday // Race 2 live on E1 at 11am Sunday

Season finale of the relaunched F2.

Stock Car:

NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Amp Energy 500
- Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama, USA
- www.nascar.com
- UK TV: SKY SPORTS XTRA at 6pm Sunday
- US TV: LIVE on ABC at 12pm Sunday


NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

- Mountain Dew 250 Fueled By Fred's
- Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on SPEED at 3.30pm ET Saturday (not covered in UK)

Sports Car / Touring Car:

FIA WTCC

- Okayama
- Okayama, Japan
- www.fiawtcc.com
- with Asian LMS and FBMW Pacific
- Eurosport: Race 1 live on E1 at 4.30am Sunday // Race 2 live on E1 at 6.45am Sunday
Repeated during the day at more civilised times..

The penultimate rounds of the touring car series is held in Japan, last year Tom Coronel went very well here despite being an 'independent' runner against the factory teams - can he repeat that this year?


Asian Le Mans Series

- Okayama
- Okayama, Japan
- www.asian-lemans-series.com
- with WTCC and FBMW Pacific
- Eurosport 1 at 10.15am Saturday and 5.30am Sunday

This test event for Le Mans racing in the Asian market consists of two races over the weekend, I believe the winner of the event as a whole will be whoever wins the second race. It is effectively a 6hr race split in half. It isn't a big field by LMS standards with only 22 cars, but still as big as the American LMS this year with the added appeal of each class winner gaining an entry to the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours.
If the event is successful it could be the precursor to a new series being developed to run alongside the LMS and ALMS in this part of the world - though you have to say the cancellation of the 2nd leg, due to be held at Shanghai next week, does not bode well. Still, I wish it success.


* * * *
Sources
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
Series websites as mentioned
Autosport magazine

Friday, October 23, 2009

Weekend Preview: 24-25 October 2009

Another 'Finals' weekend as a clutch of series will be ending their seasons or deciding their championships on Sunday. This is a quick edition as I am in a hurry.

Feature Events


FIM MotoGP

- Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix
- Sepang International Circuit
- Sepang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- (16/17)
- www.motogp.com
- with 250cc, 125cc

The penultimate round of the series, can Rossi win the top prize again?

UK TV: LIVE on BBC ONE at 6.45am Sunday (repeated 12.45pm)

US TV: DELAYED on SPEED at 6pm ET Sunday.


Other Events

Single Seater:

World Series by Renault

- Spain
- Hockenheimring, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
- www.worldseriesbyrenault.com
- Eurosport at 2pm and 10pm.
- Season finale

Stock Car:

NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Tums Fast Relief 500
- Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia, USA
- www.nascar.com
- UK TV: SKY SPORTS 3 at 5.30pm Sunday
- US TV: LIVE on ABC at 1pm ET Sunday


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Kroger On Track For The Cure 250
- Memphis Motorsports Park, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on ESPN 2 at 3pm ET Saturday (not covered in UK)


NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

- Kroger 200
- Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on ESPN 2 at 12.30pm ET Saturday (not covered in UK)

Sports Car / Touring Car:

DTM

- Hockenheim
- Hockenheimring, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
- www.dtm.com
- I can't find UK TV c0verage, it should be on the website though.


V8 Supercar

- Surfers Paradise
- Surfers Paradise, Australia
- www.v8supercar.com.au
This is the event A1GP should have been attending :-(

FIA GT

- Zolder
- Zolder, Belgium
- www.fiagt.com
- Live on MotorsTV at 12pm
- Season finale


FIA Euro Touring Cup

- Braga, Portugal
- www.fiaetcc.com
- Live on Eurosport at 12.45pm

This is the annual standalone event inviting S2000 touring car teams and drivers from various European national series to come and race against the entrants from the WTCC's 'Independent' class (manufacturer teams are barred). Could be entertaining.



Rally:

WRC

- Wales Rally GB

The final round of the WRC is a straight fight between Loeb and Hirvonen for the title. Coverage and Eurosport with highlights on Dave.

Motorbikes:

World Superbike

- Portimao, Portugal


* * * *

That's it from me this week, as I say, I'm in a rush so if you spot any errors or other races to add please drop a note in the comments!

* * * *
Sources
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
Series websites as mentioned
Autosport magazine

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Weekend Preview: 17-18 October 2009

Various series the world over are coming to the end of their 2009 season and the weekends are becoming ever more sparse of racing, there are only a few short weeks until it stops completely, with seemingly only NASCAR continuing on into November, and of course Macau. In the meantime let's enjoy the championships being decided!

Feature Events


FIA Formula 1 World Championship

- Formula 1 Grande Premio Petrobras do Brasil 2009
- Autodromo Carlos Pace
- Interlagos, São Paulo, Brazil
- (16/17)
- www.f1.com
-

And so to Interlagos! This should be the season finale, such a great venue, much like Silverstone the atmosphere bleeds through the TV screen and into your living room and there aren't many venues you can say that about. Yes the facilities are dire, the place is falling to bits and the resurfaced track sort of emphasises it but we don't care. Interlagos is a modern classic and what's more, ANYTHING can happen there!

This is the penultimate round of the season and could be the championship decider and for those in Europe and the Americas it is at a really favourable time so you really have no excuses, you must watch this race.

Button leads Barrichello by 14 points and Vettel by 16 points, with 20 still on the table.

For Button to win the title, he must:
- Simply finish 3rd or better at this race regardless of what Barrichello and Vettel do. If JB finishes 3rd it puts him on 91pts which is the maximum score RB can achieve this season, and Jenson would win the tiebreak (most wins).

For Barrichello to win the title, he must:
- Score 1 x 1st and 1 x 4th or better from the last two races, and that's assuming Button does not score in either race. Long shot.

For Vettel to win the title, he must:
- Win both races and hope the Brawns have terrible weekends! He can still do it - just as Kimi did in 2007 when he came from 17 down with two races to go to win the title.


UK TV: LIVE on BBC ONE from 4pm Sunday.

US TV: LIVE on SPEED from 11.30am ET Saturday.



FIM MotoGP

- Iveco Australian Grand Prix
- Phillip Island
- Victoria, Australia
- (15/17)
- www.motogp.com
- with 250cc, 125cc

UK TV: LIVE on BBC ONE at 5.45am Sunday (highlights 12pm, full-length repeats may be on Red Button before the F1?)

US TV: DELAYED on SPEED at 6pm ET Sunday.

Since the TV coverage utterly sucks because it is not live, listen in live to www.radiolemans.com at 10.45pm UK / 5.45pm ET US.


Other Events

Stock Car:

NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Bank of America 500
- Lowe's Motor Speedway, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
- www.nascar.com
- UK TV: SKY SPORTS 2, Saturday night (Sunday morning) 12.30am
- US TV: LIVE on ABC, Saturday 7pm ET


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Dollar General 300
- Lowe's Motor Speedway, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on ESPN 2, Saturday 7.30pm ET (not covered in UK)


Sports Car / Touring Car:

Super GT

- Autopolis, Japan



Other:

BRSCC Formula Ford Festival

- Formula Ford Festival
- Brands Hatch, Kent, England, UK

The long-running Festival remains the event all F.Fordsters want to win, and long may it be so. A host of 'name' drivers have won the Festival over the years on their way to stardom and it looks as though this year's crop will be no exception with the likes of Newgarden and Cole certain to rise up the junior series ladder over the next few years with an eye on F1, or perhaps sportcars or IndyCars.

The main event is for the Duratec-engined cars but as always there is a support event for the Kent cars, and a return this year of a separate race for the Zetecs.
A final note - if you are reading this from the US, or are just interested in American talent outside of ovals, and want to keep up with the latest on Newgarden in the Duratecs and the Team USA Scholarship drivers in the Kent race, you'd do well to keep up with Junior Open Wheel Talent.


Euroseries 3000

- Monza, Italy


* * * *
Sources
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
Series websites as mentioned
Autosport magazine

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Weekend Preview: 10-11 October 2009

Feature Events

(quick version as it is very late!)


IRL IndyCar Series

- Firestone Indy 300
- Homestead-Miami Speedway
- Homestead, Florida, USA
- (17/17)
- www.indycar.com
- with Indy Lights and GrandAm

Season finale! Who will take it? Dixon, Briscoe or Franchitti?


UK TV: LIVE on SKY SPORTS 2 from 10pm Saturday, repeated at 7am and 4pm Sunday on SSX.

US TV: LIVE on VERSUS from 4pm ET Saturday.


American Le Mans Series

- Monterey Sports Car Championships
- Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
- California, USA
- (10/10)
- www.americanlemans.com
- with Atlantics

Another season finale!

UK TV: I have NO idea.

US TV: DELAYED on SPEED at 2.30pm Sunday.

Since the TV coverage utterly sucks because it is not live, listen in live to www.radiolemans.com at 10.45pm UK / 5.45pm ET US.

Other Events

Stock Car:


V8 Supercar

- Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000
- Mount Panorama, Bathurst, Australia
- www.v8supercar.com.au
- UK TV: LIVE on MOTORSTV at 9PM SATURDAY


NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Pepsi 500
- Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California, USA
- www.nascar.com
- UK TV: SKY SPORTS XTRA, Sunday 10pm
- US TV: LIVE on ABC, Sunday 2.30pm ET


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Copart 300
- Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on ESPN 2, Saturday 4pm ET (not covered in UK)


Sports Car / Touring Car:


DTM

- Dijon
- Dijon, France
- www.dtm.com
- UK TV: ESPN at 12.45 Sunday
- suppported by F3 Euroseries

Grand-am

- Homestead-Miami Speedway


* * * *
Sources
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
Series websites as mentioned
Autosport magazine

Friday, October 2, 2009

Weekend Preview: 3-4 October 2009

Feature Events


FIA Formula 1

- 2009 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
- Suzuka International Racing Course
- Suzuka-shi, Mie-ken, Japan
- (15/17)
- www.formula1.com
- Map and Guide by Pitlane Fanatic
- with Porsche Carrera Cup Japan

We're back at Suzuka! F1 fans have missed this place after a couple of visits to the sanitised Fuji circuit, both of which suffered with heavy rain. Suzuka is thankfully untouched other than a bit of resurfacing, a new pit complex and a lick of paint!

In any given season whenever they are on the calendar the top two circuits drivers list as their favourites are Spa and Suzuka. Designed in the 1960s as a test track, this circuit has everything. A tricky first section, a fast last section and the only track crossover in major motorsports as well as the potential for rain, as we saw in Friday practice which heavily limited the running.

Remember Jenson Button only needs to outscore Rubens Barrichello by five points to be crowned the 2009 F1 Champion.


UK TV: LIVE on BBC ONE from 5.00am Sunday, repeated at 2.00pm.

US TV: LIVE on SPEED from 12.30am ET Sunday (Saturday night), repeated at 10.00pm.


MotoGP

- bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal
- Estoril
- Portugal
- (14/17)
- www.motogp.com
- with 250cc, 125cc

UK TV: LIVE on BBC TWO at 12.30pm.

US TV: DELAYED on SPEED at 6pm Sunday.

Other Events

Open-Wheel:


Superleague Formula

- Autodromo di Monza
- Monza, Milan, Italy
- (5/6)
- www.superleagueformula.com
- UK TV: Highlights on Eurosport 2 at 11pm.
- Supported by GT Open and F3 Open


Stock Car:


NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods
- Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas, USA
- www.nascar.com
- UK TV: LIVE on SKY SPORTS 3, Sunday 8.30pm
- US TV: LIVE on ABC, Sunday 1pm ET
(I am aware the difference between 1 ET and 8.30 UK makes no sense whatsoever, unless the US have a 2.5hr pre-race or their clocks changed)


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Kansas Lottery 300
- Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on ESPN 2, Saturday 3pm ET (not covered in UK)


Sports Car / Touring Car:


FIA GT

- Petit Le Mans (see above)
- Paul Ricard, France
- www.fiagt.com
- UK TV: MotorsTV 4pm
- suppported by FIA GT3

International GT Open

- Monza
- Supporting Superleague, with F3 Open


BTCC

- Brands Hatch GP
- Brands Hatch, Kent, England
- www.btcc.net
- UK TV: ITV4 from 11.30am
- suppported by Porsche UK, Ginetta, FRenault, Clio Cup
- final round!


Brazilian V8

- Campo Grande


Argentinian TC2000

- Punta del Este

Britcar

- Britcar 500
- Silverstone, England



Rally:

World Rally Championship

- Rallye de Espana
- www.wrc.com



Other:

World Superbikes

- Magny-Cours, France
- UK: Eurosport at 9.30am (race 1 live) and 5.15pm (race 2 delay)
- US: SPEED at 3pm (race 1 delay) and 4pm (race 2 delay)



* * * *
Sources
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
Series websites as mentioned
Autosport magazine

Friday, September 25, 2009

Weekend Preview: 26-27 September 2009

Feature Events


FIA Formula 1

- 2009 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix
- Singapore
- (14/17)
- www.formula1.com
- with FBMW Pacific and Porsche Carrera Cup Asia

A week after the FIA hearing into the Renault team and Nelson Piquet Jr, we return to the scene of the crime for the second F1 night race. Already we've had some fallout from this, with ING and Mutua Madrilena ending their sponsorship of the team with immediate effect (I think they may still be a personal sponsor of Alonso). It happened so quickly the stickers had to be removed on Thursday and the team clothing hasn't been updated.

Some forecasts show rain during the weekend - how will that affect the lighting, will there be too much glare from the reflections on the track? Finally, with it being a street race you can expect at least one appearance from the Safety Car.

UK TV: LIVE on BBC ONE from 12.10pm Sunday.

US TV: LIVE on SPEED from 7.30am ET Sunday, repeated at 2.30pm.


American Le Mans Series

- Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda6
- Road Atlanta
- Brasleton, Georgia, United States
- (9/10)
- www.americanlemans.com
- with Atlantic, Star Mazda, IMSA GT3 Cup

Peugeot and Audi rejoin the ALMS regulars for 12th running of the 1000 mile / 10 hour event which has quickly established itself as a sportscar classic. It looks like the Peugeots are faster over a lap, much like last year yet in 2008 Audi's superior racecraft won the day. Can they repeat in 2009?
If these four cars suffer any kind of difficulty you can expect the Acura of De Ferran Motorsports to be in contention, too. Normally you would also bracket the Highcroft Acura with De Ferran, however Scott Sharp's accident in practice destroyed the car and they are working overnight to build up a new car from the tub which was airfreighted in last night.
The GT2 fight will be as tight as ever too, this year with a much greater variety in the field than the previous Porsche vs Ferrari fights. You can add to those names BMW, Corvette and Ford, and don't forget Panoz.
Remember, this race takes place on Saturday.

UK TV: LIVE on MOTORS TV from 4pm Saturday.

US TV: LIVE on SPEED from 11am Saturday. This year, for the first time, Speed will cover the entire race.

Also: www.radiolemans.com and Speed On-Board Pass

Other Events

Open-Wheel:


Formula Nippon

- Sugo
- Japan
- (8/8)
- www.f-nippon.co.jp
- with Japanese F3

Season finale of the Japanese series.


Atlantic Championship

- Road Atlanta
- Brasleton, Georgia, USA
- (9/10)
- supporting Petit Le Mans along with Star Mazda


Stock Car:


NASCAR Sprint Cup

- AAA 400
- Dover International Speedway, Delaware, USA
- www.nascar.com
- UK TV: DELAYED on SKY SPORTS XTRA, Sunday 10pm
- US TV: LIVE on ABC, Sunday 1pm ET


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Dover 200
- Dover International Speedway, Delaware, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on ESPN 2, Saturday 3pm ET (not covered in UK)


NASCAR Camping World Trucks

- Las Vegas 350
- Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: LIVE on SPEED, Saturday 9pm ET (not covered in UK)


Sports Car / Touring Car:

ALMS

- Petit Le Mans (see above)



Rally:

Intercontinental Rally Challenge

- Rally Sanremo
- www.ircseries.com



Other:

World Superbikes

- Imola, Italy
- Eurosport


British Superbikes

- Silverstone
- Eurosport



* * * *
Sources
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
Series websites as mentioned
Autosport magazine

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Weekend Preview: 19-20 September 2009

Feature Events


Sidepodradio

- Sidepodcast.com
- Live Commenting with embedded player
- Schedule

Christine and Mr.C of Sidepodcast are putting on an extended radio show! How long, you say? 12 hours? Lots of shows from the commenting community, some of which are loosely connected to F1? Live commenting throughout? Sign me up!

Starts at 12pm UK time on Sunday.


IRL IndyCar Series

- Indy Japan 300
- Twin Ring Motegi
- Motegi, Japan
- (16/17)
- www.indycar.com

The annual visit to Japan for the IRL, to satisfy Honda who provide the engines (and possibly also sole tyre supplier Bridgestone-Firestone). Curiously this year it seems to have lost Honda title sponsorship, I'm sure it used to be the Honda Indy 300.

Of course this event is perhaps best remembered for being the first major international motorsport race won by a female, in 2007. The usual commentary was interesting enough but I really do love the enthusiasm of the Japanese commentary! With the echo it sounds like they are also live to the crowd as well as Japanese TV (interestingly, so is Jack Arute..)

(Thanks to Allen Wedge for tweeting this yesterday.)

This is the penultimate round of the series, the finale is at Homestead in Florida in 3 weeks time.

This event was last night, sorry!


Other Events

Open-Wheel:


GP2 Series

- Portimao
- Portimao, Algarve, Portugal
- (10/10)
- www.gp2series.com

The season finale of the GP2 Series. The title has already been won by Nico Hulkenberg so this is the last chance for the others to make an impression, however unlike the rest of the season the F1 team bosses will not be there.

TV Guide (UK)
Race 1: LIVE on Eurosport 2 at 1pm Saturday
Race 2: DELAYED on Eurosport 2 at 3pm Sunday


World Series by Renault

- Nurburgring
- Nurburgring, Germany
- (8/9)

TV Guide (UK)
Race 1: LIVE on Eurosport 1 at 1pm Saturday
Race 2: seemingly not carried live or same-day delayed


World Series by Renault

- Nurburgring
- Nurburgring, Germany
- (8/9)

TV Guide (UK)
Race 1: LIVE on Eurosport 1 at 1pm Saturday
Race 2: seemingly not carried live or same-day delayed


FIA Formula Two

- Imola
- Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy
- (7/8)
- www.formulatwo.com
- with WTCC & F.Master

TV Guide (UK)
Race 1: LIVE on Eurosport 1 at 10.55am Saturday
Race 2: LIVE on Eurosport 1 at 12.30pm Sunday

Stock Car:


NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Sylvania 400
- New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: ABC, Sunday 1pm ET
- UK TV: Go to Sky Sports 3 Red Button, Sunday 7pm


NASCAR Camping World Trucks

- Heluva Good! 250
- New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire, USA
- www.nascar.com


Sports Car / Touring Car:


FIA GT

- Algarve
- Portimao, Algarve, Portugal
- www.fiagt.com
- Live on MotorsTV at 2pm

Grand-Am

- Utah 250
- Miller Motorsports Park, Toole, Utah, USA
- www.grand-am.com

DTM

- Barcelona
- Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
- www.dtm.com
- with F3 Euroseries


WTCC

- Imola
- Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy
- www.fiawtcc.com
- Live on Eurosport on Sunday at 11.30am (Race 1) and 13.30 (Race 2)

BTCC

- Rockingham
- Rockingham Motor Speedway, Northants, England
- www.btcc.net
- Live on ITV4 from 11am, including supports


Smaller Stuff:

Euroseries 3000

- Vallelunga, Italy
- with F3 Italy


British F3

- Brands Hatch


F3 Germany

- Sachsenring


International GT Open

- Magny-Cours




* * * *
Sources
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
Series websites as mentioned
Autosport magazine

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Weekend Preview: 12-13 September 2009

Feature Events


Formula 1

- Formula 1 Gran Premio Santander d'Italia 2009
- Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
- Parco Monza, Monza, Milan, Italy
- (13/17)
- www.formula1.com
- with GP2, FBMW Europe, Porsche Supercup

After Spa comes Monza. It just does. That is how it is. Next year they want to put Valencia between them and I scoff at their plans!

There is something special about F1 at Monza. Maybe it is the autumnal light and the hint of a change in the leaves of the many trees in the park in which the track resides. Needless to say this place has history bleeding out of it. It was constructed in 1922 and was only the 3rd permanent race course in history, after Brooklands and Indianapolis, according to F1.com (hmm, wonder if fans of the Milwaukee Mile might disagree?).

Monza, like Silverstone and several of the other old classic tracks, is a bit rough around the edges. A bit tatty, bits of it falling down. That's why we love it - it has character, it has a 'lived-in' feel despite the modern paint and added safety features, yet it still has a bite - F1 cars exceed 200mph on the main straight.

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on BBC ONE at 12.10pm BST Sunday

USA – LIVE on SPEED at 7.30am ET Sunday (repeated 4.30pm)


Other Events


LMS

- Autosport 1000 Km of Silverstone
- Silverstone Circuit, Northants, England, UK
- (5/5)
- www.lemans-series.com
- with Formula Le Mans, Radical European Masters, Classic Endurance

The final round of the season for the endurance racers of Europe - apart from the few taking in Petit Le Mans with the ALMS and the new Asian round in Japan!
The LMP1 title fight is between Aston Martin and the chasing Pescarolo (gonna be honest, I'm not sure how the other classes sit). Of note is Nigel Mansell's return to top line international motorsport in a Ginetta-Zytek in LMP1.

TV Guide
UK -The start is at 11.30am on British Eurosport with 1 hour of coverage, along with 45mins at 4.45pm.


NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Chevy Rock & Roll 400
- Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: ABC, Sunday 7pm ET
- UK TV: Sky Sports Xtra, Sunday night 12.30am (repeated 7pm Sunday SS2)


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Virginia 259 College Savings 250
- Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia, USA
- www.nascar.com


NASCAR Camping World Trucks

- Copart 200
- Gateway International Raceway, Madison, Illinois, USA
- www.nascar.com


V8 Supercars

- Philip Island 500
- Philip Island, Victoria, Australia
- www.v8supercars.com.au


GP2 Series

- Monza
- Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy
- www.gp2series.com
- UK TV - Race 1 delayed? at 5pm Saturday, Race 2 LIVE at 9.30am Sunday


Euroseries 3000

- Valencia, Spain


FIA GT3 + GT4 + British F3

- Portimao, Algarve


F3 Sudamericana

- Buenos Aires


Super GT

- Fuji, Japan


IRC

- Rally Principe de Asturias
- Asturias, Spain
- Coverage on Eurosport


BSB

- Croft
(Eurosport 2 for much of the day!)


* * * *
Sources
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
Series websites as mentioned
Autosport magazine

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Weekend Preview: 5-6 September 2009

September already! I hope you like the tweaks I've made to the blog layout, they should make things a little easier for you to read and for me to format. Added side-bonus: Unintended Racing Stripes! I also updated the links. On with the preview...

Feature Events


MotoGP

- GP Cinzano di San Marino e Della Riviera di Rimini
- Misano
- Misano Adriatico, Rimini, Italy
- (13/17)
- www.motogp.com

The MotoGP paddock has had to make a mad dash across the Atlantic from Indianapolis in just a few days to be ready for this race. Who puts these schedules together? Expect Vale's fans to be out in force.

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on BBC TWO at 12.30pm BST Sunday

USA – DELAYED on SPEED at 2pm ET Sunday
with 250cc, 125cc, etc


Other Events


DTM

- Brands Hatch
- Brands Hatch, Kent, England, UK
- (7/10)
- www.dtm.tv and www.dtm.com

The DTM pays it's now annual visit to the little 1.2 mile Indy layout at Brands Hatch for some panel-bashing. For these fast tintops it is as close to an oval race as they have and they treat it as such.

TV Guide
UK -Apparently this is live on the new ESPN, who bought the defunct Setanta Sports. You can hopefully see it live at 12.30pm if you are a subscriber to the channel.
You can also follow along at www.dtm.tv which has a live video stream. There may be delayed highlights on Sky Sports but I don't know when.

Joined by the F3 Euroseries and UK FFord.


NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Pep Boys Auto 500
- Atlanta Motor Speedway, S.Hampton, Georgia, USA
- www.nascar.com
- US TV: ESPN, Sunday 7pm ET
- UK TV: Sky Sports 2, Sunday night 12.30am


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Degree V12 300
- Atlanta Motor Speedway, S.Hampton, Georgia, USA
- www.nascar.com


NASCAR Camping World Trucks

- Lucas Oil 200
- Iowa Speedway
- Newton, Iowa, USA
- www.nascar.com


FIA WTCC

- Race of Germany
- Oschersleben, Germany
- www.fiawtcc.com
UK TV - British Eurosport - Race 1 live at 11.45am and Race 2 live at 1.30pm


FIA Formula 2

- Oschersleben
- Oschersleben, Germany
- www.formulatwo.com
UK TV - British Eurosport - Race 1 delayed at 3.30pm Saturday and Race 2 live at 12.30pm Sunday
- with F.Master


Superleague Formula

- Estoril
- Estoril, Portugal
- www.superleagueformula.com
UK TV - highlights on Eurosport at 6:30pm Sunday


FIA WRC

- Rally Australia
UK TV - Daily updates on Eurosport and a roundup at 6pm on Dave


FIM World Superbike

- Nurburgring
- Nurburgring, Germany
- www.worldsbk.com
UK TV - British Eurosport - both races live



* * * *
Sources
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
Series websites as mentioned
Autosport magazine

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Weekend Preview: 29-30 August 2009

Apologies for the delay..again!!

Feature Events

FIA Formula 1

- Formula 1 ING Belgian Grand Prix
- Spa-Francorchamps
- between Spa and Francorchamps, Belgium
- (12/17)
- www.formula1.com

Spa! It's only Spa!! We all love Spa, and I think this weekend's grid proves why, not to mention the stunning scenery around the circuit as they cars thread their way through the trees. This a proper race track, not like the car park in Valencia or the Mickey Mouse run around in Hungary.

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on BBC One at 12.10pm BST Sunday

USA – LIVE on SPEED at 7.30am ET Sunday

with GP2 Series, Formula Master, FBMW Europe, Porsche Supercup.


IRL IndyCar Series

- Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300
- Chicagoland Speedway
- Joliet, Illinois, United States
- (15/17)
- www.indycar.com

With the aero updates introduced before Kentucky, mixed with the 'overtake assist', will we see a return to 2 and 3 wide at Chicagoland? I hope so! Unfortunately this race is on at 2am our time so I won't be watching live.

TV Guide:
UK – DELAYED on Sky Sports 2 at 9am BST Sunday

USA – LIVE on VERSUS at 9pm ET Saturday

with Indy Lights


MotoGP

- Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Speedway, Indiana, United States
- (12/17)
- www.motogp.com

Last year this event was affected by severe weather conditions as Hurricane Ike ran amok over Indy, the race had to be stopped because of it and the 250cc got cancelled, so in effect you could say this is the first 'real' running of MotoGP at Indy. I really hope the local populace will come out to support it, unfortunately there is an IndyCar race up in Chicago which isn't million miles away and will pull some of the potential audience away. I'm not sure there is a lot of crossover of fans but there must be some, right?

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on BBC THREE at 7.45pm BST Sunday

USA – LIVE on FOX at ???pm ET Sunday

with 250cc, 125cc, etc

Other Events


American Le Mans Series

- Grand Prix of Mosport
- Mosport
- Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
- (8/10)
- www.americanlemans.com

TV Guide:
USA - LIVE on SPEED at 3pm Sunday
You can also follow along at the official website and at Radio Le Mans.

Atlantics, Star Mazda, FBMW Americas and the IMSA GT3 Cup join them.


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- NAPA Auto Parts 200
- Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada
- www.nascar.com


NASCAR Camping World Trucks

- Chicagoland 225
- Chicagoland Speedway
- Joliet, Illinois, United States
- www.nascar.com


Grand Am

- Montreal
- Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada


FIA GT

- Hungaroring
- Budapest, Hungary
- www.fiagt.com


BTCC

- Silverstone (National circuit)
- Silverstone, Northants, England, UK


* *
Apologies for the lateness of the post!!


* * * *
Sources:
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
series websites

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Weekend Preview: 15-16 August

Apologies for the delay..

Feature Events

MotoGP

- Cardion AB Grand Prix Ceske Republiky
- Cardion AB Czech Republic Grand Prix
- Automotodrom Brno
- Brno, Czech Republic
- (11/17)
- www.motogp.com

I like Brno, it is a long fast and flowing circuit with a LOT of elevation change which is a challenge for rider and motorcycle alike.

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on BBC Two at 12.30pm BST Sunday

USA – LIVE on SPEED at 6pm ET Sunday

Joined by 250cc, 125cc and the Red Bull Rookies.

Other Events


American Le Mans Series

- Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase
- Road America
- Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, USA
- (7/10)
- www.americanlemans.com

Sportscars at Road America! Great track and these cars look fantastic on it. I sincerely hope that title is the name of the race weekend and not the actual ALMS race..

TV Guide:
UK - TAPE DELAY and I can't be bothered to go hunting into next weekend to find it
USA - LIVE on SPEED at 3pm Sunday
You can also follow along at the official website and at Radio Le Mans.

FBMW Americas and the IMSA GT3 Cup join them.


NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Carfax 400
- Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, USA
- www.nascar.com

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on Sky Sports Xtra at 7pm Sunday
US - LIVE on ESPN at 1pm Sunday


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Carfax 250
- Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, USA
- www.nascar.com

UK - none
US - LIVE on ESPN2 at 3pm Saturday


FIA Formula 2

- Donington Park
- Donington Park, Leics., England
- www.fiaformulatwo.com


DTM

- Nurburgring
- Nurburgring, Germany
(with Euroseries F3)


BTCC

- Knockhill
- Knockhill, Fife, Scotland


Atlantic Championship

- Trois-Rivieres
- Quebec, Canada
(with Star Mazda)


AMA Superbikes

- Virginia, USA


British F3 & GT

- Silverstone, England
(with F.Ford)


* *
That's about the size of it this week. I have rushed it a little because I'm late and need to do some other things, sorry if the formatting is wonky or if I've missed anything!


* * * *
Sources:
FORIX (sub req.)
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com

Friday, August 7, 2009

Weekend Preview: 8-9 August 2009

Feature Events


IRL IndyCar Series

- Honda Indy 200
- Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
- Lexington, Ohio, USA
- (13/17)
- www.indycar.com

Mid-Ohio is a nice place and I'm sure it is a fantastic place to drive a racing car - it certainly looks it - unfortunately I find the 'racing' to be processional, this is a strategy event. The place is too narrow and too bumpy. There is one passing opportunity, the do-or-die at the end of the long straight, if it works you look a hero but if it fails... into the kitty litter and an almost-certain safety car. There have been some very good moves at that corner but it really is a "send it up the inside and hope it works" type of place, rather than somewhere to set up a move.

I remember it said in my short CART-watching stint 8 or so years ago that it needed widening and nothing has changed. They should widen only some of it though! The back section is a good test of driving skill and is the best feature of the course, keep that as it is. For all it's faults it is really good to see IndyCars away from street racing and on natural terrain courses - it needs more open road courses and fewer streets, IMO.

TV Guide:
UK – TAPE DELAY on Sky Sports Xtra at 10.30pm BST Sunday

USA – LIVE on VERSUS at 1pm ET Sunday

The tape delay is due to live NASCAR at the same time and Sky Sports are showing golf, tennis and cricket on the other three channels (perhaps ironically, the golf is also from Ohio).

Other Events


American Le Mans Series

- Acura Sports Car Challenge
- Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
- Lexington, Ohio, USA
- (6/10)
- www.americanlemans.com

Thankfully the racing in the ALMS at Mid-Ohio can be better than the IRL, and that is because of the traffic of the different classes. Unfortunately I am not able to make this a 'Feature Event' until live coverage returns - and that applies both here in the UK where several races have been aired a week late, but also in the USA where this event is delayed one day. I'm not saying I'd be able to see it but as far as I'm concerned, not offering even a same-day tape is unforgivable.

TV Guide:
The race starts at 3pm EDT Saturday and you can follow it at their website and Radio Le Mans.
UK - TAPE DELAY on MotorsTV at 5pm Sunday 16th
USA - TAPE DELAY on NBC at 2.30pm Sunday 9th


Also at Mid-Ohio:
Indy Lights
Atlantic Championship


NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen
- Watkins Glen International, New York, USA
- www.nascar.com

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on Sky Sports Xtra at 7pm Sunday
US - LIVE on ESPN at 1pm Sunday

NASCAR on the road course will be frenetic. They are on a version of the course which is a bit shorter than the one used by IndyCar a few weeks ago. I think that's all there is to say there, other than the name of this race is genuine, this isn't a parody!


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Zippo 200
- Watkins Glen International, New York, USA
- www.nascar.com

I didn't realise Nationwide was a support to the main series on the roads..


Grand-Am Rolex Series

- Crown Royal 200 at the Glen
- Watkins Glen International, New York, USA
- www.grandamerican.com


Formula Nippon

- Twin-Ring Motegi
- Motegi, Japan
(with All-Japan F3)


Dutch Supercar Challenge // German F3 Cup

- Assen
- Netherlands


Brazilian V8 Stock Cars

- Salvador
- Salvador, Brazil

Possible support series for the new IndyCar round?


* * * *
Sources:
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
and several of the series sites mentioned above

For motorbike fans, I don't usually note anything other than MotoGP but FYI the British Superbikes are at Brands Hatch this weekend. Otherwise it seems most European-based series are on a break for this weekend, meaning a very US-dominated schedule for this weekend. Nothing wrong with that - if only we could see it live!

Friday, July 31, 2009

Weekend Preview : 1-2 August 2009

Feature Events


IRL IndyCar Series

- Meijer Indy 300
- Kentucky Speedway
- Sparta, Kentucky, United States
- (12/17)
- www.indycar.com

Changes to the aero rules for this race (see previous post) should mean an improvement in the racing on this 1.5 mile oval, as it has been fairly bad on ovals earlier this season. Since side by side open-wheel racing on ovals is the hallmark and unique selling point of this series, let's hope they work.

Note this is a Saturday night race under the lights.

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on Sky Sports 1 at 2am Sunday
(repeated 11.30am and 4.30pm on SS Xtra)
USA – LIVE on VERSUS at 8pm ET Saturday

Other Events


Le Mans Series

- 1000KM do Algarve
- Portimao
- Algarve, Portugal
- (3/5)
- www.lemans-series.com

The is the first evening/night race for the Le Mans Series in Europe, and also the first visit of the series to this new circuit. The race will begin at 7.15pm local (and UK) time and run for the usual LMS distance of 1000km or six hours.

TV Guide:
UK – Eurosport at 7pm for 1h30m.


Formula Renault 3.5

- Portimao
- Algarve, Portugal

Supporting the LMS, both races are on Saturday afternoon.

TV Guide:

Race 1 on Eurosport at 12pm Saturday.
Race 2 doesn't appear to be covered.


NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Pennsylvania 500
- Pocono, Pennsylvania, United States
- www.nascar.com

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on Sky Sports 3 at 7pm Sunday
US - LIVE on ESPN at 1pm Sunday


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Iowa Speedway
- Iowa, United States
- www.nascar.com

NASCAR Camping World Trucks

- Nashville Speedway
- Tennessee, United States
- www.nascar.com


DTM

- Oschersleben
- Germany
- www.dtm.tv / www.dtm.com

dtm.tv should have live coverage from 1pm UK time.


V8 Supercars

- Norton 360 Sandown Challenge
- Sandown, Australia
- www.v8supercar.com.au


Indy Lights

- Oschersleben
- Germany


F3 Euroseries

- Kentucky Speedway
- Kentucky, USA


Superleague Formula

- Donington Park
- Leics., England, UK


World Rally Championship

- Rally Finland
- www.wrc.com

Kimi Raikkonen has entered his home round of the WRC in a Super 2000 spec Abarth. After the first day's stages he's performing among the top runners in his class and in the top 20 overall!


Intercontinental Rally Challenge

- Rally Vinho Madeira
- Madeira, Portugal
- www.ircseries.com


British Touring Car Championship

- Snetterton
- Norfolk, England, UK

TV Guide:

UK - The usual six hours (3 x BTCC plus lots of support races) on ITV4 from 11.30am!


* * * *

Sources:
Live Sport on TV
RadioTimes.com
and several of the series sites mentioned above

Friday, July 24, 2009

Weekend Preview: 25-26 July 2009

Feature Events

FIA Formula 1 World Championship

- Formula 1 ING Magyar Nagydig
- (ING Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix)
- Hungaroring, nr.Budapest, Hungary
- (10/17)
- www.f1.com

F1 returns to the dustbowl of the Hungaroring, where as usual the forecast is for high temperatures. The dust of the surrounding area has a tendency to get all over the track and make grip very hard to come by, it is this in combination with the circuit layout itself that tends to prevent good racing at this notoriously boring race track - though the changes to turn one a few years ago have created a divebomb-braking opportunity for the brave/crazy (if not in the F1 race, definitely in the GP2 support races!).

I am not a fan of this event although it did bring F1 to Eastern Europe as long ago as the mid-1980s, and track improvements over the last two decades have improved racing.. a bit..

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on BBC One at 12.10pm Sunday, race starts at 1pm
(qualifying on BBC Two at 12.10pm Sat)
USA – HEAVILY DELAYED on FOX at 3pm ET.


IRL IndyCar Series

- Rexall Edmonton Indy
- City Centre Airport, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- (11/17)
- www.indycar.com

This is the second visit to Edmonton for the IndyCars but the 5th (I think?) running of the event, with this being a former Champ Car venue - but any advantage the CC guys had has now been erased and there should be a nice level playing field, apart from the actual track surface of this bumpy airport circuit!

Of note this year is the first visit to the circuit of the supporting Indy Lights series.

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on Sky Sports 2 at 10.45pm Sunday (directly after NASCAR)

USA – LIVE on VERSUS at 5pm ET Sunday


FIM MotoGP

- British Grand Prix
- Donington Park, Castle Donington, England
- (11/17)
- www.motogp.com

The final visit to Donington for the premier motorbike series, for now at least, as it moves in the opposite direction to F1 and will pitch up at Silverstone in 2010, with apparent mixed feelings from the riders. Some love Donny, some can't wait to leave. I think it makes a great motorbike track with the sweeping curves.

Living in the UK I know the forecast for the weekend. Saturday is due to be warm and sunny so qualifying should be representative - but rain is due to appear for the race on Sunday.

(I can never remember if DP is in Northants or Lincs)

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on BBC ONE at 3pm Sunday (directly after F1), race start 3.30pm

USA – SPEED claims 6pm ET, which is not possible because the race starts at 8.30pm ET.


Other Events


GP2 Series

- Hungaroring
- Budapest, Hungary
- (6/10)
- www.gp2series.com
- (F1 support with F.Master, FBMW Europe and Porsche Supercup)

TV Guide:
UK – Eurosport 2
- Race 1 @ 4.45pm Saturday (this may be slightly delayed due to MotoGP coverage)
- Race 2 @ 7pm Sunday (very delayed - I can't see any live coverage)


World Superbikes

- Brno
- Brno, Czech Republic
- www.worldsbk.com
- (with Supersport, etc.)

TV Guide:

UK – Eurosport
- Race 1 LIVE @ 11am Sunday
- Race 2 DELAYED @ either at 3.40pm or 6pm (Eurosport's website sucks)


NASCAR Sprint Cup

- Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana, United States
- www.nascar.com

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on Sky Sports 2 at 7pm Sunday
US - LIVE on ESPN at 2pm Sunday


NASCAR Nationwide Series

& NASCAR Camping World Trucks

- O'Reilly Raceway Park
- Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
- www.nascar.com

Firestone Indy Lights

- Edmonton
- Alberta, Canada
- (IndyCar support)


IMSA Atlantics

- Autobahn Country Club
- Joliet, Illinois, United States
(with Star Mazda)


FIA GT

- Total 24 Hours of Spa
- Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
(with European GT4 and British F3)
- www.fiagt.com


Super GT

- Sugo
- Sugo, Japan


Silverstone Classic

- Silverstone Circuit
- Silverstone, Northants, England, UK

A multitude of historic racing series at what used to be known as the Coys Historic Festival.
Featuring: GP Masters, Pre-66 F1, the David Leslie Memorial Trophy for 90s Tourers, BRDC Historic Sportscars, Classic Group C and a lot more.

TV Guide:
UK - LIVE all weekend on MotorsTV


* * * *

Sources:
Live Sport On TV
RaceFanTV
SkySports.com
Eurosport.co.uk
BBC.co.uk
SpeedTV.com

Friday, July 17, 2009

Weekend Preview: 18-19 July 2009

Feature Events

MotoGP

- Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland
- Sachsenring, Germany
- (9/17)
- www.motogp.com

Last weekend we had the German F1 GP, the 9th race of 17, and either due by design or coincidence this week sees the German MotoGP, also the 9th race of 17 but this time on the opposite side of the country to the Nurburgring over at the Sachsenring circuit between Dresden and Leipzig.

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on BBC Two at 12.50pm Sunday, race starts at 1pm
(qualifying on BBC Red Button on Sat)
USA – LIVE on SPEED at 6pm ET Sunday
(amazing, the US gets a live MotoGP race!)

Support races are live on Eurosport and the BBC Red Button from 9.30am.


American Le Mans Series

- The American Le Mans North East Grand Prix
- Lime Rock Park, Connecticut, United States
- (5/10)
- www.americanlemans.com

The long hiatus to allow teams to compete at Le Mans – and recover – is finally over! This is a 2h45m event on the little Lime Rock circuit which last year was just a little bit frantic! Slightly fewer cars this year of course, but those up front will be trying just as hard.

TV Guide:
UK – Heavily Delayed on MotorsTV at 9.30pm on Monday 27th July
USA – LIVE on SPEED at 2pm ET Saturday

UK fans if you want to follow this event live I suggest listening to www.radiolemans.com instead! Should be at 7 or 8pm Saturday?

Other Events


FIA World Touring Car

- Brands Hatch
- Kent, England, UK
- (8/12)
- www.fiawtcc.com

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on Eurosport
- Race 1 @ 11.45am Sunday
- Race 2 @ 1.30pm Sunday


FIA Formula 2

- Brands Hatch
- Kent, England, UK
- (4/)
- www.formulatwo.com
- with Formula Master

TV Guide:
UK – LIVE on Eurosport
- Race 1 DELAYED @ 6.45pm Saturday
- Race 2 LIVE @ 12.30pm Sunday

Elsewhere – Live streaming on www.formulatwo.com
Race 1 starts at 2pm on Saturday, Race 2 at 12.45pm Sunday


DTM

- Zandvoort
- Holland
- (4/10)
- www.dtm.com for news
- www.dtm.tv for live streaming and other video

The annual visit to Holland for the Germans appears likely to receive no UK TV airing following the collapse of Setanta Sports, as unlike GP2 no other broadcaster has stepped in to pick up the rights.

There should be live streaming on www.dtm.tv though! It is due to kick off at 1pm UK time.


Superleague Formula

- Zolder
- Belgium
- (6/11)
- www.superleagueformula.com

No TV deal here either for the same reasons as DTM, although I’m a little less bothered about this one!


World Series by Renault

- Le Mans Bugatti
- Le Mans, France
- (6/9)
- www.worldseriesbyrenault.com

There is a 30 minute update at 10pm Sunday on Eurosport, otherwise coverage seems as patchy and randomly-timed as ever.


Atlantic Championship

- Lime Rock Park
- Connecticut, USA
- (4/10)
- www.atlantic-championship.com


Grand-Am Rolex Series

- Barber Motorsport Park
- Alabama, USA
- (8//12)
- www.grand-am.com


Formula 3 Euroseries

- Zandvoort
- Holland
- (4/10)
- www.f3euroseries.com


NASCAR Nationwide Series

- Gateway International Raceway
- Madison, Illinois
- www.nascar.com


NASCAR Camping World Trucks

- Kentucky Speedway
- Sparta, Kentucky
- www.nascar.com
- with ARCA Re/Max


* * * *

I think that’s everything, if you spot anything I’ve missed or if you are attending any of these events be sure to leave a comment!

For those in the UK who missed the Goodwood Festival of Speed show on Tuesday, it will be repeated on ITV4 on Sunday at 5pm – don’t miss it!