Shop
We just experienced what was probably the biggest single weekend of the year for motorsport in terms of international flagship events, with the Indy 500, the Monaco F1 Grand Prix, the Charlotte 600 plus MotoGP at Barcelona. Oh, I should add Formula E in China… but I suspect that no one noticed, nor cared.
And what contrasts these events provided for those of us who followed them all closely. One contradistinction stood out beyond all else though; the utter boredom of the F1 Grand Prix around the streets of Monte Carlo.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, I know, but to be reminded annually that the real action at that GP is always on the Saturday (qualifying, which was excellent) rather than Sunday shows that this is one issue that Liberty, as the owner of F1, really does have to sort out. The cars are too big, too heavy, and too equal across the grid to provide any real racing. Even a large tyre condition differential didn’t create more than the very occasional opportunity to pass. Watching racing cars drive around this place at up to nine seconds off their qualifying speed simply isn’t anything to get excited about.
The Grand Prix weekend wasn’t all negative from an Aussie point of view though. Great work in their respective quali sessions led to podiums for not only Oscar Piastri in F1 but also Christian Mansell in F3. Well done to both young guys.
However, from a real enthusiast’s point of view, something needs to be done to at least reduce the soporific nature of Formula 1 races in Monaco. Unfortunately, I suspect that for a decent sized proportion of the crowd there, they don’t really care what happens on track. They just want to be in the place and get as many Instagram pictures as possible. Those fans who want the best European F1 racing experience should head for the likes of the Red Bull Ring, Spa, or Monza. As the celebrated British playwright put it, “Monaco is a sunny place for shady people,” and best steered clear of.
Luckily, the other motorsport offerings available on television, and streaming, more than made up for it, and, starting with MotoGP, there was no shortage of action.
Whilst the Grand Prix of Catalunya, outside Barcelona, might not have been quite the humdinger of the last couple of events, both the Sprint and the GP itself were great entertainment. The camera work, the graphics and the portrayal of the sheer emotion that is regularly a part of the aftermath of a race, all continue to set standards that others should seek to emulate.
Back on four wheels, the Indy 500 was a ripper. And, thanks to the weather gods, we got to watch it live on Monday morning. Whilst it would have been great to watch Scotty Mac win, the spectacle of the whole race right through to the last lap was extraordinary. And in front of a mega crowd that really looked, from the coverage, as though it was back to the 1990s days when it was filled to real capacity. That shows that there’s a lot of people out there who still want to watch a real motor racing spectacle.
It’s escapism, not only from the regular everyday pressures of life that spectator sports have provided for decades, but also, these days, from all the woke, green, and PC agendas that are increasingly thrust upon us. I only hope that IndyCar doesn’t screw up the purity of the generally great racing that they provide with their new, politically correct, hybrid system that’s due to debut in a few weeks’ time.
And then I switched channels for the Charlotte 600.
Actually, I watched the Xfinity race from Charlotte as a warmup and to see how SVG went in that before his Cup run on Monday, our time. He just keeps impressing everyone and, on a great strategy, he would have featured in the top 10 at the flag on Saturday easily without that brush with the wall. He just kept learning on his first experience at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s not just me who’s impressed with his performance this year, by the way. For sure, I’m absolutely and totally biased and proud to be so. But many people in the NASCAR community have been, I gather, seriously excited by Shane’s progress in the first half of this year.
By the way, the use of current Cup drivers as the full commentary team for the Xfinity race was an excellent initiative. Great to listen to. Supercars should use main series drivers to cover the Super2 races and get rid of the professional race callers. Give it a go. Will Brown, Chaz Mostert, and Brodie Kostecki at Townsville please.
Unfortunately, the Cup race didn’t run the distance due to inclement weather. But SVG again took it steadily to start with and then started to gain ground. It’s worth bearing in mind that the Xfinity car and the Cup car are very different animals these days, so much of what he learned on Saturday didn’t immediately translate to the 600.
For the Cup races, I go to the NASCAR website and stream SVG’s in-car camera on my PC, whilst the Kayo coverage is on in the background. If you haven’t checked it out, it’s well worth a look, as is the timing and the messaging. And it’s free. Supercars should take note.
That in-car feed from the Charlotte 600 showed Shane’s progress during the race. He suffered at restarts when he wasn’t as aggressive as the competition or possibly as comfortable as them on colder tyres, but then, as each run progressed, he started to pick cars off one by one. I think that, with some decent green flag runs in Stages 3 and 4, he was going to show really well with a top 20 finish on the cards. It’s fascinating to watch the battles on an individual basis and the sheer skill of most of the drivers. A great viewing option.
One negative though. Here in Australia, we need to get the message across to NASCAR that we need an ad-free stream to go to Kayo for us to watch the action on. How Americans put up with the continual bombardment of ad breaks is a mystery to me. It’s not even as though the broadcast is free!
With all that motorsport over the weekend, hopefully there was something for most people in that mix. And I, for one, was so pleased to see hundreds of thousands of spectators in attendance, proving that the sport ain’t dead yet!
