The podcast host and Triple Eight co-driver was drafted into the broadcast line-up for the Queensland Raceway event in a move that raised a number of eyebrows in both team and TV land given his past criticism of the coverage.
While his on-air work wasn’t particularly confrontational or controversial, and was generally well received, he has now lifted the lid on his experience via his own Apex Hunters United channel.
“All in all, I did enjoy it,” he said on the latest AHU episode.
“I just was a little disappointed with the amount of time I was given. Because really, I wanted to go in there and actually be able to have some discussion, share opinions.
“It didn’t have to be interviews all the time, but I thought there’d be opportunity to stand at the desk with [Mark Skaife] or [Garth Tander] and Skaife, or [Tander] and [Mark Winterbottom] and actually have some discussion and talk about things, debate things.
“On Sunday, in the schedule, I had two and a half minutes planned for the whole day. On Saturday, I got that and I said to them, ‘look, guys, this is a bit of a waste of time, if I’m totally honest. And I don’t mind if you just cut that, because what can I do in two and a half minutes that any other wobbler in the pit lane couldn’t do?’.
“I don’t have any opportunity to bring a point of difference here. And then the segments I was involved in were really just Q&As with Jess Yates. So I’m like, ‘what the fuck am I here for?’.”
WATCH THE FULL APEX HUNTERS UNITED EPISODE HERE
Pye admitted to frustration over the rigid nature of the post-session desk conversations hosted by Yates.
“I understand there’s restraints with commercial TV, but she pretty much links every question with B-roll, like with vision overlay,” he explained.
“She sort of just throws us questions. And I’m like, well, this seems pretty boring. I don’t think this sounds that fun.
“I realised like by the third day, you almost don’t need notes. I’m like, this is why everyone’s gotten lazy. I felt like no one was really dissecting the race.”
Pye did flag that the scale and complexity of the broadcast as an eye-opener and hinted at being less critical of live production values in the future.
At the same time, he wasn’t impressed with the half-hour pre-event production meeting.
“I found that a little bit frustrating, a little bit frustrating that teams live and breathe this sport, they spend so many hours, every team, in trying to make sure the product when we go racing is amazing,” said Pye.
“And then that product we care so much about is really in the broadcast’s hands to take it to the public. And when they only put 30 minutes into a pre-production meeting, I felt like that was a little bit half-arsed in a way.
“People weren’t even in the office. They were just calling in from different locations. Someone really key didn’t even pull over. He’s driving and entering in and out of the Zoom call.
“I’m like, fuck, if I did this in a team briefing… you think back to T8, Roland Dane would have absolutely murdered me. He had a fine in place for Jamie [Whincup] if he was one minute late. You have to be at those things, and they normally go for two, three hours.”
He also questioned the passion for motorsport within the broadcast talent pool based on his observations off-camera.
“The team is a little bit comfortable, everyone’s got quite long contracts in place,” he said.
“One in particular has got his fingers in every pie. You can’t have someone having too much control or too much say.
“Looking at the weekend, I did feel like it’s very political. Obviously, I’m going to get the icy reception, which I expected, but I didn’t see any real chemistry off camera between anyone.
“For you (podcast co-host Elliott Barbour) and I, we literally will start talking [and] forget to hit record, because we’re just talking about the sport. We’re loving it.
“No one speaks off camera. It’s just like, you stand there, you wait, and then you hit go, and it’s fake laughs.”
According to Pye, his thoughts have already been sent back to Supercars in a 1200-word feedback report, which he feels has been welcomed by those in the inner sanctum.
“I did get a lot of insight and I would say none of it is a shock,” he said.
“My report I wrote on Monday to Supercars was 1200 words. I gave a pretty detailed breakdown of my thoughts, what needs to improve right down to the uniform.”
He added: “I’ve kind of come away, though, thinking, was it… and I do want to trust them, but I do worry a little bit that it was a token gesture to try and win over our listeners.
“Which I really hope it’s not. I hope that they do take on board the feedback.
“I had some really great chats after with [Supercars CEO] James Warburton as well. He saw my notes and was really positive about them, which was really nice.
“I think that he’s a breath of fresh air. I think there’s going to be some great change.
“And I do believe deep down, that’s why I was there.”
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