Not on speed anymore :(

[Grayman222]

I watched rally for a few years then fell out of watching it for a few years because of the erratic tv schedule. Lately I've wanted to start following again but realized it isn't even on tv now.

 

[Tornado]

It hasn't been on TV all year in the U.S. It really doesn't bother me, because I fell out of watching it when Makkinen retired.

 

[luftrofl]

I watched rally for a few years then fell out of watching it for a few years because of the erratic tv schedule. Lately I've wanted to start following again but realized it isn't even on tv now.

Yep, basically every non-U.S. car racing(excluding Le Mans 24h, which had terrible coverage, bad reception, etc.) series is off.

I was just getting into V8 Supercars when Speed canceled it. I thought it was the most exciting car racing series I had ever seen.

 

[Dougboy]

bring on the nascar

 

[Jay]

I thought it was the most exciting car racing series I had ever seen.

Really? wow, These days I find it quite boring after many years of watching Holden vs Ford.

Except Bathurst, Bathurst is always exciting.

 

[Grayman222]

Yep, basically every non-U.S. car racing(excluding Le Mans 24h, which had terrible coverage, bad reception, etc.) series is off.

I was just getting into V8 Supercars when Speed canceled it. I thought it was the most exciting car racing series I had ever seen.

that sucks. You would think that with nascar bringing in a lot of money they would still stick with their full lineup of content still by adding a second channel if they have to.

About wrc specifically, I checked out their website but you couldn't read lots without registering, registration was broken, and the email to send to if you have problems redirected back to me saying failed delivery.

 

[ozyran]

That really is a shame to hear. WRC has always been my favorite type of racing, and I'm really disappointed to hear that.

I'm finding fewer and fewer reasons to subscribe to anything beyond basic cable...

 

[KAMKA-Z]

You Missed it. They showed the new Rally Competition part of the X-Games on ABC sports today. Go to Rallyamerica.com or I think it's EXPN.com to read all the details. Travis Pastrana and Colin McRae were trading fastest times. The final super special at Home Depot Center was fantastic. I've been going to rallies in the US since 1980 and I gotta say, that was one great show. I'm not giving the details you'll have to look them up yourself.

I miss the ol Quattros.

 

[HONDATYPER]

Man Pastrana had a great run. Too bad McRae had to flip the car. Espn was also showing rally qualifiying for the xgames a few weeks ago.
BTW Pastrana also did a double backflip in the Moto Best Trick. A trick that was never tried in the xgames.
Heres a vid if anyone interested
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/ivp/index?id=2541129

 

[TS]

It's still on, I believe it's on the Outdoor Channel or OLN.

 

[KAMKA-Z]

It's still on, I believe it's on the Outdoor Channel or OLN.

OLN and Rally America couldn't come to an agreement on covering this year's series as I understand. I don't think they carried Dakkar either this year.

 

[JohnBM01]

I am not a regular participant to the F1 and WRC forums. I don't go to the F1 forums a lot since I don't consider myself a big F1 guy. I don't go to the Rally forums a lot because the name of the forum is on the WRC, which essentially means that stuff like Rally America and British Rallycross are off-limits. There is one thing I DO agree with though, and that's Speed's taking away of World Rally coverage. Time for a Texan to sound off.

SOUND OFF: No World Rally Championship Coverage on Speed Channel
Back in 2001, I've finally gotten to see what (then) Speedvision was all about. I was so impressed with all the variety of racing. I could see the Valvoline Runoffs at one point, then turn around and go see Legends of Motorsport or whatever. Speedvision would become Speed Channel a year later. The big kicker was all the NASCAR-type coverage. One-by-one, the different varieties in racing would fall or get the dreaded "low ratings" deal. Here was a network about people enjoying all kinds of racing. Hell, I thought of Speedvision as my oppurtunity to further enjoy racing away from a mainstream America perspective. My knowledge of racing series wouldn't have been expanded had it not been for Legends of Motorsport, older show Motorvision, and one of my all-time favorite Speed shows- Motorsport Mundial. It was also the only network where I could see highlights of the (then) JGTC championship and Paris-Dakar Rally, albeit late in the year. I could see British Touring Car and DTM along with the exceptional Australian V8 Supercars. Speed may have done one of the stupidest things they've ever done- take away same-day highlights of World Rally. Why? Tell me without using "ratings." World Rally is the Formula One of off-road racing. The amount of intense action and death-defying races in off-road and tarmac locales make rallying one of the most exciting forms of motorsport out there. Which is tougher- trying to avoid being part of the "Big One" at Daytona and Talladega, or trying to safely keep the car in one piece while doing the Acropolis Rally? People prejudiced at any form of motorsport that isn't American or doesn't feature an American will likely say that a restrictor plate race at Daytona and Talladega is more intense than a World Rally event. For the well-educated racing fan who knows domestic and international racing from amateur to professional would say World Rally. And think about what World Rally teams have to do. I say that rallying can be a death-defying sport. People have actually died in crashes in World Rally events. Rally drivers and co-drivers have to be on point. If the co-driver says "long 6 left into jump" and then lets you know of a "slow 2 right," you better do as the co-driver says if you want to bring the car home. It would be the saddest sack of s:censored: on Earth to say that World Rally isn't interesting or doesn't draw in ratings. And it would further show the prejudice and unknowlegable side of certain people who want to learn more about different kinds of racing, all to put it down and put in a lesser form of racing. I wanted to watch Speed because I am a committed racing fan. I don't want to see the same kind of racing in circles. Which is why I'm a road racing guy. There are many more kinds of racing out there including other stock cars doing road racing. I love racing, so broaden my knowledge of international competition and stop relegating me to America. I question Speed's current commitment to racing. I don't believe in ratings. Just because some dope in some podunk would rather see stock car racing and demolition derbies than World Rally and international competition doesn't mean bulls:censored: to me. When I say I love racing, I mean it. Show me passes. Show me a car blasting down the Hunadieres at Le Mans. Show me a well-deserved win from a talented motorbike racer at the Isle of Man TT. But the assumption is simple- mainstream people can hardly care about anything that isn't an American motorsport or isn't any form of oval racing. Which is a damn shame. Is it that people don't care about certain forms of racing? Aren't educated enough on a certain type of racing? Or only care as long as some American involvement is made or that announcers are forced to say "NASCAR" or talk about Saturday night dirt track racing? It's a great shame to not see some extended coverage beyond a simple news show. The fears that Speedvision would become a predominantly NASCAR-ized Speed Channel five years ago have come down to the 2,000 lbs. gorilla it is now. And we're [still] paying for it... at least those who have a love of racing in and outside of America.

So all we get is highlights of World Rally from The Speed Report. What if we want to see how the race went and get some profiles of the rally stages? This is why there's no more Dakar coverage or whatever. At least the other networks of Fox have shown sprint car action as well as Dakar. I want to know how it is in other countries that love motor racing. Is some of the coverage more predominatly in favor of a domestic motor sport that isn't all that interesting?

 

[weiss_komet]

Absolutly brilliant statement. +rep.

 

[luftrofl]

Really? wow, These days I find it quite boring after many years of watching Holden vs Ford.

Except Bathurst, Bathurst is always exciting.

You'd find it exciting if you lived in America with only NASCAR to watch(because let's face it, it's 99% of what Americans think of when they think of car racing).

 

[Scaff]

I don't go to the Rally forums a lot because the name of the forum is on the WRC, which essentially means that stuff like Rally America and British Rallycross are off-limits.

I'm quite sure that Giles will not mind me saying this, while the sub-forum may be titled 'World Rally Championship' its is certainly not off-limits to discuss any other form of rally events.

The title simply helps draw in members (as the WRC is by far and away the most well known rally event world wide), however please feel free to discuss any and all forms of rallying here.

I myself have had discussions on the SCCA rally events here in the past and may topics have been on world rally events that occured before the WRC even existed, the Dakar has been discussed on a number of occasions.

So feel free and jump right on in.

Just to illustrate the point here is a picture of one of my favorite rally cars



A Ford Escort (Mk 1), a car that forms one of my earliest memories (watching them drive past my old house aged about 5 while watching the Rally of Great Britain with my dad), now these cars never took part in the WRC because it never existsed when they competed.

I want to know how it is in other countries that love motor racing. Is some of the coverage more predominatly in favor of a domestic motor sport that isn't all that interesting?

I have to say that I do feel very lucky to live in the UK in this regard. A large amoungt of the domestic series are shown either live on in highlight form on 'normal' TV. So the likes of the WRC, F1, BTCC, Seat Cupra, Formula BMW, Formula Renault, British GT, etc, etc.

You can then go for cable/satellite and two channels here provide a huge amount of coverage from around the world. Between them MotorsTV and Eurosport cover ALMS, LeMans Series, LeMans (full 24 hr coverage this year), Super GT, V8 Supercars, V8 Brutes, additional live coverage on some of the domestic stuff from above, WTCC, international rally championships, DTM, etc, etc.

Honestly the list is just far to large, safe to say I can switch on my TV at just about any time of the day or night and watch racing of some form, form some part of the globe. That does of course include all the normal US stuff such as NASCAR, IRL and Champcar; also a lot of the more domestic US series such as dirt track racing is also covered.

The foloowing sites should give you guys and idea of whats avaliable in the UK.

http://www.eurosport.com/allmotorsports/

http://www.motorstv.com/site/home.php?lg=2

As an example today I could watch (on MotorsTV alone)

DUTCH SUPERCAR CHALLENGE
AMA 125 MOTOCROSS
AMA 250 MOTOCROSS
SUPER GT HIGHLIGHTS
BRITISH RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
POWERBOAT P1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
AMA SUPERSPORT
AMA FORMULA XTREME
AMA SUPERBIKE
NASCAR BUSCH SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
V8 SUPERCARS HIGHLIGHTS
AUSTRALIAN F3 / GT / PROD

On WRC coverage of this weeks Rally Finland I had the pick of 3 1/2hour shows each night on Eurosport and a one hour highlight show on ITV on Sunday.

I must remember never to moan about living in the UK in this regard.

Ta

Scaff

 

[Law93]

well speed up here in canada is the same thing with the stuff in the states. i'm just hoping speed doesn't take off Formula 1 and Le Mans

 

[KAMKA-Z]

On WRC coverage of this weeks Rally Finland I had the pick of 3 1/2hour shows each night on Eurosport and a one hour highlight show on ITV on Sunday.

Scaff

We used to get that on speedvision before Fox bought them and converted it to NASCAR-TV (SPEED). SPEED wastes hours on end dissecting last weeks race, or boring us with some lame NASCAR Truck Race.

I Guess it's all about how many times you can send that rolling bilboard past the fans.

Loeb was just beginning to show his strength last time I saw WRC in the US.

 

[JohnBM01]

Oh, let me tell you. Sebastien Loeb is having a Hall of Fame-style performance right now. You have a 1-2 French punch- Sebastien's beating of the French colors as well as having a Citroen to kick some ass in the WRC. S. Loeb isn't the great Carlos Sainz yet or anything, but he is one incredible rally racer. In fact, look into the "Drifting and Other Motorsports" forum where I made a thread called "Sebastien Loeb vs. Sebastien Bourdais." Both of them are incredible drivers for their programs. Bourdais kind of been struggling a bit, even to the point of being face-to-face with Paul Tracy in Denver.

But all we're getting out of it is highlights on some one-hour news show. We used to have like, same-day coverage of all three days of competition with a Sunday show highlighting on all the happenings of that specific rally. I bet it would get more publicity if America had their say. Imagine if Dodge entered the Caliber (which should have been its own car rather than a Neon replacement) into WRC with a solid American driver and co-driver. Maybe imagine a driver like Paul Choinere(?) who won more than or about three Pikes Peak events. Just like Red Bull has their driver search for the next American to enter F1, there should probably be a similar program looking to series like Rally America. If that's what it's going to take to at least care about rally racing, then so be it. And by the way, Moslers and Corvettes (to my knowledge anyways) are racing in the Autobacs Super GT Series. Why not give them some coverage? One day, Speed Channel will get their priorities straight.

 

[Scaff]

S. Loeb isn't the great Carlos Sainz yet or anything, but he is one incredible rally racer.

In terms of WRC wins he is now equal to Sainz, with 26 wins each. And in terms of a win to start ratio Loeb is the most successful driver the WRC has ever seen (with a ratio of around 30%, Sainz is around 18% - all figures approx).

Quite frankly he is an amazing driver, who has managed to adapt to almost every surface type quickly, while developing great speed and consistancy.

Debate will almost certainly rage over if he is the greatest WRC driver or not, but on paper he is at least equal, and unless he fails to win another rally (which is very unlikely) soon to beat Sainz's number of wins.

Regards


Scaff

 

[kjb]

It's funny when I was starting to get into the WRC they take it off. I used to love Speed. When I heard Fox bought them I knew bad things were in store. Why didn't Fox just turn FX into NASCAR central? At least they still show a few non-nascar events.

 

[Freddie]

If it's any help; the official radio is at least free, and has Live coverage (with on-air hours listed). And Rally Japan is about to start.

 

[gran_champ]

man, speedvision rocked. I remember that year they showed all 24 hours of Le Mans. Nowadays you have to live in Europe to get that kind of commitment.

 

[TS]

man, speedvision rocked. I remember that year they showed all 24 hours of Le Mans. Nowadays you have to live in Europe to get that kind of commitment.

They showed 22 hours this year, I'm sure they would've shown all 24 if a NASCAR Truck race wasn't scheduled on that same Saturday.

 

[gran_champ]

They showed 22 hours this year, I'm sure they would've shown all 24 if a NASCAR Truck race wasn't scheduled on that same Saturday.

For sure, if there wasn't a NASCRAP race we could've had non stop coverage. It did suck at the night portion though, the storms broke up the signals.....

 

[Grayman222]

If it's any help; the official radio is at least free, and has Live coverage (with on-air hours listed). And Rally Japan is about to start.

I tried to register for their website the day I made this thread and not only was registration down but the email for help didn't send

 

[RVDNuT374]

Speed Channel is only watchable in the Nascar off-season where there's actually a variety of racing. During the season however, it's almost unwatchable due to the consant reruns of the same programs over and over again. I still don't understand why Fox didn't just create a seperate channel called Nascar TV and left Speedvision alone.

 

[Studentdriver]

I wonder what would happen to the programming on SPEED if Fox lost their contract with NASCAR. ESPN did win part of the season, but I think they're getting the latter part of the season, which is currently shown by NBC. Hypothetically speaking, if FOX did lose NASCAR I would like to see SPEED go back to its old format.

And now I just realized that maybe OLN could pick up more of this stuff. I've read that they're changing their name to Versus at the start of the hockey season, so maybe they'll go full on sports and racing and ditch the snooze-fest that is hunting and fishing.