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This weekend’s Repco Bathurst 1000 is not just an enduro event for the teams and drivers.
It is also a massive undertaking for those who ensure that the show is beamed around Australia, and around the world, to millions of Supercars fans.
Jess Yates is the face of the Fox Sport telecast, a position she has held for nine years now.
Through almost 43 hours of live coverage which can be seen on Kayo Sports this weekend, she will be in the host role, starting this morning at 07:25 AEDT.
However, like the teams which prepare for months back at the workshop for the Bathurst 1000, it is a similar story for the television team.
“It’s an epic week for us in terms of the broadcast,” Yates told Speedcafe.
“It’s an endurance race on track, and it’s definitely an endurance race off-track for the broadcast team.
“The prep probably starts well before Bathurst; going into Sandown is probably when we really start.
“Even as far back as Tailem Bend, we really started gearing up to collate where we’re at this year in terms of the championship, but then also looking at driver pairings, and what the trends have been for teams and drivers in the last couple of years, because that’s what really forms the story for us about what we can expect when we get to the Mountain.
“Plus, on Kayo and Fox Sports/Foxtel, we’ve got a Bathurst Channel to fill, so we’re also thinking about what content our viewers want to see when they get to Australia’s biggest race, and how we can do some more storytelling in and around such a showpiece for Australian sport.”
Yates has been a presenter on Fox Sports for over 15 years and, when the network acquired live rights to Supercars in 2015, was already a familiar face to motorsport fans as the network’s MotoGP host and through her work on the Speed Channel.
However, she has also reported from the boundary on Fox Sports’ cricket coverage and fronted its National Rugby League telecasts.
In fact, when Speedcafe caught up with Yates during pre-Bathurst 1000 publicity, she was coming off hosting the Dally M Awards, the highest individual honour in the sport of rugby league.
Still, it is her part in covering the Great Race which she cherishes.
“This is such an interesting time of year for me because it’s really, really busy,” explained Yates.
“[One] night, I hosted the Dally Ms and then I roll straight onto Bathurst.
“This is my favourite time of year because it’s all the very best parts of what I do – they come to the fore – and Bathurst is at the top of the list.
“I mean, it’s so iconic in Australian sport, it’s right up there with grand finals, with Melbourne Cup, with any of those marquee events and moments in Australian sport.
“I’m really grateful to have the opportunity to be front and centre of the broadcast and to be there witnessing history.
“I think I’m the luckiest person on our broadcast team because I actually get to interview the drivers as they get out of the car after the Bathurst 1000.
“The emotion, I guess the relief a lot of the time, the exhaustion, and just the pure elation of that moment is something so special, and to be able to be the conduit from that to our audience is one of the best gigs I’ve ever had in my career.”
Kayo Sports will offer a range of extra feeds for this weekend’s Bathurst 1000, including:
- Heli-Cam: Watch the great race from above Mt Panorama, with a live helicopter camera across the entire weekend
- Live Timing: Keep across the latest figures from on-track. Fastest laps, sectors and timing from all teams
- Gazoo Dipper: A live feed from the third corner of the Esses. This iconic part of Bathurst folklore live on Kayo all weekend
- Camaro Channel (Race Day): For Chevrolet fans, this channel will rotate across Camaro drivers across race day, including key place battles
- Mustang Channel (Race Day): For Ford fans, this channel will rotate across Mustang drivers across race day, including key place battles
- In-Car Channel 1 (Qualifying & Shootout): A rotating live in-car shot of drivers on track throughout Friday and Saturday
- In-Car Channel 2 (Qualifying & Shootout): A rotating live in-car shot of drivers on track throughout Friday and Saturday
Practice 1 for the Repco Supercars Championship field starts today at 13:20 local time/AEDT.
