There are lots of puzzled fans out there so V8 Sleuth gives you the low down …
THE various announcements by V8 Supercars, FOX Sports and Network 10 of their line-ups for the TV coverage of the V8 Supercars Championship this year has left many race fans puzzled – who is doing what?
A lot of familiar faces are popping up in different places and it can be all a bit hard to keep up with!
V8 Sleuth has intimate knowledge of the V8 Supercar television landscape, so to answer the mountains of emails from fans of the sport he’s put together this simple story to explain the who, what, when and where.
COMMENTATORS
V8 Supercar Media will provide the commentators and pit lane reporters to produce a feed of the practice, qualifying and race sessions.
In simple terms, V8 Media is producing the commentary feed that both FOX and Ten will use. The two networks will come in and out of the feed when required.
Greg Rust and Neil Crompton will call in the commentary box while Greg Murphy and Riana Crehan will patrol the pits.
Rust and Murphy will call the V8 Supercars Dunlop Series while Chad Neylon is also with V8 Media and is to call the support categories – of which there is a mountain of content with every session from every V8-contracted category.
So that’s Porsche Carrera Cup, Australian GT, V8 Utes, Aussie Racing Cars, Touring Car Masters, Formula 4 etc etc.
Kylie King will also be with V8 Media to complete reports and support information.
It’s understood there will also be post-produced support category shows for categories such as V8 Utes and Carrera Cup on ONE HD – just as has been the case in recent years when they were shown on 7mate.
FOX SPORTS
Jessica Yates, Mark Skaife and Russell Ingall are the hosts for FOX’s coverage of V8 Supercars.
They will not be commentators during the sessions, but give their opinions and insights both pre and post sessions.
Think of them akin to how a studio host goes in and out of the feed for say, Formula 1, being taken from another providing source.
As has long been reported, FOX will show every V8 Supercar session without any commercials.
The only exception to this is Bathurst – it will have some commercials but not to the levels of a free-to-air broadcaster.
FOX is expected to show all V8-contracted support category sessions to fill the days of coverage up. But don’t expect one-off categories (eg. Improved Production in Darwin) to be aired at rounds they appear at.
NETWORK 10
Matt White, Mark Larkham, Mark Webber and Rick Kelly are the pool of talent for the Network 10 telecasts.
It’s understood Webber will be at a handful of events around his Porsche WEC commitmentswhile Kelly will offer his insights as a driver where and when possible over event weekends.
Think of Kelly in the same way as Ten used Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton as ‘their’ go-to experts when they were driving in the category in the late 1990s/early 2000s.
Some social media users even asked if Kelly was not racing this year – he most certainly is driving the #15 Jack Daniel’s Nissan.
White will obviously be the host while Larkham’s role won’t be the same as in years gone by when he was with Seven.
Given V8 Media will provide the in-session coverage, it remains to be seen where Larko is able to roam – we can’t see him enjoying being tied behind a desk!
As has long been reported – but still misunderstood by many – every V8 Supercar race will be on Ten, though differently presented than in previous years.
The six marquee events – Adelaide, Townsville, Sandown, Bathurst, Gold Coast and Sydney – will be covered in exactly the same way as they were previously on Seven, both in terms of hours of coverage and blend (ie. V8 sessions and support category coverage).
These six events reportedly make up 70% of the yearly V8 Supercar television audience.
The eight other events – Symmons Plains, Barbagallo, Winton, Hidden Valley, QLD Raceway, Sydney Motorsport Park, Pukekohe and Phillip Island – will be shown in one-hour packages from 4pm to 5pm leading into the news on Saturday and Sundays of that weekend on Ten.
No, they will not be shown at 11pm at night as some have reported on social media. Perhaps we’d expect some further replays to be perhaps at a later time, but the first-run of those races will be in this 4pm window.
Given the regular sprint race format this year is a pair of 60-kilometre races on Saturday, viewers won’t miss much of the action on Saturdays – it will, obviously, be delayed.
But every race will be viewable in free-to-air TV either live or in package format.
So there you have it – that should answer most of the common questions the V8 Sleuth is being asked!
If you have anymore, write them on the comments board on the V8 Sleuth’sFacebook page!
