Monthly Archives: November 2012

Death of SPEED

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Before SPEED

Death of SPEED?  Say what?  Let’s start with a brief history.  In 1996 a new cable channel called Speedvision was launched to the great happiness and enjoyment of motorsports nuts across the country.  That first year, Speedvision picked up Formula 1 broadcast rights for the US beginning with replays.  By 1998, Speedvision had exclusive Formula 1 broadcast rights in the US.  The network grew its audience rapidly, especially among males, with innovative programming – remember Victory By Design and the SCCA World Challenge Series – and access to live events that just didn’t exist before on broadcast television.  I think of it as a whole channel dedicated to the motorsports programs of the old ABC Wide World of Sports.  Speedvision was awesome.

Along Came Fox

In 2001 News Corp invested in Speedvision and then bought out other investors to have a controlling share.  As Fox Sports had recently acquired NASCAR broadcast rights, Speedvision began including more and more NASCAR programming to complement Fox’s coverage.  During the 2002 Daytona 500, Speedvision was relaunched as Speed Channel, and over the next several years NASCAR and NASCAR-related programming took an even greater share of the broadcasts including the Craftsman Truck Series from 2003 along with NASCAR practice and qualifying sessions.  Throughout the mid to late naughties, SPEED also included plenty of other motorsports coverage including ALMS, Grand-Am, 24 Hours of Daytona, and Le Mans.  2008 brought High Definition broadcasting to Speed, launched as SPEED HD.  So far, so good.

SPEED – The Salad Years

With the launch of HD broadcasting, viewers were treated to some great coverage on SPEED.  NASCAR was still going strong, ALMS had some great years with epic battles in both prototype and GT classes, and in 2011 Formula 1 added HD broadcasting.  The SPEED 24 Hours of Le Mans coverage was truly fantastic, continuing with interesting and innovative programming even when the French feed was down to a bare minimum of cameras during the night.  However, some cracks were starting to show.  ALMS coverage was lost to ESPN.  Reality based programs began replacing true motorsports programming.  UFC showed up.  What’s happening to the neighborhood here?  Then SPEED2 showed up with a glimmer of hope and lots of true motorsports action.  But alas it’s still just a glimmer.  Hopefully it expands and maybe someday becomes a broadcast network of its own.

Death of SPEED

In the Spring, we started to hear that by 2014, SPEED would likely morph into Fox Sports 1, a national general sports channel somewhat similar to ESPN (like we need another one of those to add to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN News, ESPN Classic, and on and on).  NASCAR coverage would probably be reduced.  Things seem to be going in that direction with many of Speed’s broadcasts featuring a Fox logo along with the SPEED logo.  Supposedly much of the motorsports programming would move to Fuel  TV.  Last month, Formula 1 announced that they had secured a four year contract with NBC beginning in 2013.  Wow!  Another kick in the gut.  The team that brought us Formula 1 since the early days of Speedvision would be no more.

To me, the symbolic, emotional death of SPEED as we know it comes this very weekend, with the last Formula 1 broadcast and a week after the end of the NASCAR season.  If rumors/stories are true, and Fox Sports 1 takes the place of Speed in 2014, presumably 2013 will be a transition year, but to me, we already have the death of SPEED – at least in spirit and in its original incarnation – even if the life support machine stays plugged in a little longer.

US Grand Prix – Wrap Up

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US Grand Prix – The Race

US Grand Prix

Vettel leads the field into Turn 3 on the opening lap of the US Grand Prix.

What a race for the first US Grand Prix in five years!  Lots of drama and on track action.  A great start by Fernando Alonso moving from his seventh place spot of the grid (thanks to team-imposed penalty on his teammate, Felipe Massa, which moved him up one spot and off the dirty side of the track) to fourth after the first turn, a gutsy charge up through the pack by the same Felipe Massa to finish fourth, some great passes at different places on the track, an electrical failure for Mark Webber, and a thrilling battle at the front between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were the key highlights of the show.

The front of the grid got away well at the start of the US Grand Prix, with Webber just edging out Hamilton for second place thru Turn 1 behind his teammate Vettel.  Alonso had the most remarkable start, taking a deep but quick line through the first turn to move up three spots going into Turn 2.  Overall, it was a relatively clean start with none of the carnage that some expected.  Hamilton successfully passed Webber at Turn 12 on lap 4 after a failed attempt on lap 3, and then Vettel and Hamilton gradually gapped the field.  On lap 13, Kimi Raikkonen made a great pass on Nico Hulkenberg around the outside of Turn 2 and into Turn 3.  Shortly after that bit of excitement, we left our Turn 4 seats and gradually worked our way down to the Turn 11 hairpin.

US Grand Prix - Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen at Turn 4 at US Grand Prix.

US Grand PrixBy lap 16, Hamilton had worked his way to within 1 second of Vettel enabling him to us the DRS.  In the meantime, Alonso was also closing in on Webber, whose KERS failed on lap 17, followed by a complete electrical system failure.  Amazingly, Alonso was now in third.  Vettel gradually pulled away from Hamilton a bit over the next interval, and then after pit stops, Hamilton once again closed the gap.

US Grand Prix - Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez in his next to last race with Sauber before joining McLaren.

US Grand Prix

Vettel leads Hamilton thru Turn 10 at US Grand Prix.

By lap 33, Hamilton was within 1 second of Vettel, allowing use of the DRS.  Nine laps later, after closing the gap further, Hamilton finally passed Vettel for the lead at Turn 12.  On lap 46, Jenson Button , who had made a nice run up from twelfth, passed Raikkonen for fifth after running side by side through Turns 12 and 13.  Vettel tried in vain to catch Hamilton over the last few laps of the race; he did manage to set fast lap of the race.  Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on winning the inaugural US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.

US Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton leads Sebastian Vettel unto Turn 11 at US Grand Prix.

US Grand Prix – Results

The top ten (points scoring) positions were:

  1. Lewis Hamilton – McLaren
  2. Sebastian Vettel – Red Bell
  3. Fernando Alonso – Ferrari
  4. Felipe Massa – Ferrari
  5. Jenson Button – McLaren
  6. Kimi Raikkonen – Lotus
  7. Roman Grosjean – Lotus
  8. Nico Hulkenberg – Force India
  9. Pastor Maldonado – Williams
  10. Bruno Senna – Williams

US Grand Prix – Overall Impression

Overall, the US Grand Prix experience at Circuit of the Americas exceeded my expectations substantially.  Evidently > 120,000 people showed up for the race on Sunday, and I have heard reports that more than 25% of those came from Mexico – to see their hero Sergio Perez.  The facilities were great with none of the hiccups seen in Korea or India in their maiden Grands Prix.  The sight lines were superb at many places around the track which made walking about worthwhile and enjoyable.  A nice margarita could be had in a cool souvenir glass for a mere $12.  The weather was great the entire weekend.  And logistics were relatively smooth: we left the track as the interviews were wrapping up, and we were cruising along toward Austin at 60 MPH within about 20 minutes.  Great job to the organizers and the Circuit of the Americas, and congratulations to Austin on the first US Grand Prix in five years and the best one in a long time.

I took over a thousand pictures throughout the weekend, and I’ll be posting them here gradually as I sort through and pick out the best.  Use coupon code USGP2012 for a discount on pics and other goodies.

US Grand Prix – Saturday Update: Qualifying

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US Grand Prix – Qualifying

The US Grand Prix qualifying results were no surprise, at least at the top of the time sheets.    Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton were both very quick throughout the practice sessions, and these two drivers have been consistently battling for the front in the last several races.  Vettel ultimately claimed the pole position by 0.1 seconds.  Somewhat surprising was the poor showing by Ferrari.  Both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Mass struggled to get performance out of their tires and finished qualifying in ninth and seventh respectively.  Fernando will need a tremendous performance in tomorrow’s US Grand Prix to keep Vettel from all but wrapping up the Formula 1 Championship.

US Grand Prix – Circuit of the Americas

Even though crowds were much larger today, logistics seem to be holding up quite well at the Circuit of the Americas.  Traffic was heavier, and getting into a specific parking lot took longer, but overall, not too bad.  The weather in Austin was absolutely spectacular, which made it easier to bear with crowds and minor inconveniences.  The highlight of my day was getting to relax in the Turn 20 Hospitality Suite after qualifying with a well-connected great friend.  As the sun was getting low on the horizon, I decided to take the new, 85 MPH limit, Route 130 toll road back toward San Antonio.  Just over an hour track-to-hotel.  Nice.

US Grand Prix: Friday Night Update

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US Grand Prix – The Good

We made it from our hotel in San Antonio to the Circuit of the Americas, home of the US Grand Prix, in about 1:20, which wasn’t too bad at all.  Traffic moves along pretty quickly, and when we exited the toll road it was a breeze to get to our parking area.  Parking in Lot L was quick and easy, and there as an entry gate just a few minutes walk away at Turn 11.  Great start to the day.  Even better were the sight lines from the south side of the track.  I’d almost call this a ‘stadium course’.  There are plenty of amphitheaters – natural or man-made I don’t know, but I’d suspect man-made – from which to watch the action or take pictures that aren’t obstructed even by fencing.  As I walked along from the hairpin at Turn 11 to the esses at Turn 4, it occurred to me that a general admission ticket might be a damn good deal here, especially once they have some grass grown around the track.

Our seats at Turn 4 are pretty good; we can see cars as they come out of Turn 2 all the way to the Turn 5/6 complex.  It seems like a pretty technical area of the track that could be important in qualifying, but we won’t see much passing.  Watching the cars scream by with multiple high speed direction changes is a pretty awesome sight.  Previously I said it might be something like Suzuka, but I’ve also seen it compared to Maggotts/Becketts at Silverstone, and I think that’s a better comparison.  If I had to do it over again, I’d pick the Turn 9 grandstands, which, depending upon where you sit, will have a view from the exit of Turn 6 all the way to the exit of Turn 11 down the long back straight.  Note for next time.

My overall impression of the track and facilities is that it’s quite spectacular.  Not  Abu Dhabi, mind you, but considering this place was a field of dirt a year ago and the US Grand Prix was in doubt multiple times, the people who had a hand in building this place deserve a big round of applause.  We’ll see how it holds up with qualification crowds tomorrow and the race crowd on Sunday.

US Grand Prix – The Practice

Surprise, surprise, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time in both P1 and P2.  Most  impressive was the fact that he sat in the garage for almost an hour of P2 as the team dealt with a water system issue.  Vettel’s teammate, Mark Webber, was at the top of the time sheets for most of P2 until Vettel came back out and gapped the field by 3/4 of a second.  Until then, Vettel’s rival for the championship, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was very close behind Webber and looking quite strong.  At the end of P2, the top five looked like this:

  1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:37.718
  2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:38.475 (+ 0.757)
  3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:38.483 (+ 0.765)
  4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.748 (+ 1.030)
  5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:38.786 (+ 1.068)

 US Grand Prix – The Not So Good

I needed to make a call after P2, so out to the parking lot I headed for some quiet.  Unfortunately, the mobile signal coverage at the Circuit of the Americas leaves something to be desired – at least with AT&T’s network.  So I let the exit crowd subside a bit, and then I set off in my car to find civilization.  Getting out of and away from the track was surprisingly quick, and within a few minutes I was in the parking lot of a small strip mall making my call.  When I finished, there was still 20 minutes until the start of GT3 practice, so I decided to head back in, figuring it would be pretty quiet by then.  Well, to clear the area, most roads are one way traffic outbound, so I had to take ‘the long way’ back to the same place where I entered originally.  No problem so far, but by now, the GT3 cars were already on track.  I couldn’t get back to my designated parking area, because that road was outbound only as well.  After more fighting of temporary one way roads going the wrong way, I found a place to park just in time to see the GT3s exiting the track.  Oh well.

Now for the worst part.  After all the track activity was done, getting away from the area was a real problem.  After about an hour and a half, I was still within sight of the Austin Airport, and any road heading toward Austin was jammed, so about face and back to San Antonio, from where I write this update while enjoying a Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale…

US Grand Prix: Thursday Night Update

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We arrived in San Antonio this evening – our headquarters for the US Grand Prix – checked into our hotel, and then headed out to famous Chester’s Hamburgers.  F1 fans were in abundance on the flight out of San Diego: a Lotus Racing jacket, a Kimi Raikkonen shirt, several Ferrari hats…  Evidently lots of people got the memo that San Antonio was a viable alternative to the crazy hotel rates in Austin.  Supposedly rental cars were sold out even in San Antonio for the crowds heading to the US Grand Prix.

Back to Chester’s Hamburgers.  I give it a big thumbs up: very casual but pretty cool  atmosphere, good selection of beer, and a great burger.  To some this might be blasphemy, but they give In-N-Out a run for the money on the burger itself.  Side salad was also surprisingly good.  Fries were so-so: a little soggy.  Didn’t sample the shakes made with real ice cream.  Maybe tomorrow or Saturday.  I did try a Pedernales Classic IPA from Fredericksburg, TX, and I’d give that good marks, too.

We’re getting settled in for the night to get an early start tomorrow for Circuit of the Americas.  More then…

 

US Grand Prix

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US Grand Prix

Back in the summertime, I decided to pick up tickets for the US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas and then see what transpired with the season.  Maybe I would go, or maybe I’d put the tickets up on Ebay and just stay home and watch.  Well, with this season so close and with the idea to fly in and out of as well as stay in San Antonio – all much less expensive than Austin – and commute to the race, I’ve decided that Texas, here I come.  Having a business trip to San Antonio recently, which was productive as well as enjoyable also added momentum along with the fact that Texas just opened an 85 MPH toll road between San Antonio and Austin.  I’ll post here throughout the weekend to let you know how my San Antonio decision worked out.  I figure we’ll spend some evenings in downtown Austin, and some at the San Antonio Riverwalk.

US Grand Prix – The Prelude

This season has been something else with seven different winners in the first seven races.  Ferrari, namely Fernando Alonso, was punching well above his weight in the first third of the season.  He was also the first double winner in race eight at Valencia.  Seeing Fernando at the top of the podium in his home country to take the lead in the season points standings once again was surely something special, but did it foretell the rest of the season?  Well that lead was to hold until the sixteenth race, Korea, when he lost it to Sebastian Vettel, who won his third consecutive race.  Vettel took India to make it four in a row before Kimi Raikkonen won at Abu Dhabi to make it eight different winners this season.  So now onto the US Grand Prix in Austin with Vettel bringing a ten point advantage over Alonso.

US Grand Prix – The Game

To get a better sense of what I’d see at the US Grand Prix – the Circuit of the Americas, how my seats should work out, where the passing zones are likely to be – plus to have some diversionary fun, I picked up F1: 2012 for my Xbox 360.  Based on what you can tell on a game, I’d say WOW!  I think we are in for quite an interesting race.  It doesn’t seem to be a typical Tilke track, meaning that there do seem to be alternative lines through some corners, and overtaking should NOT be limited to use of DRS.  I sure hope reality turns out that way.  As a game player, one of the interesting impressions is that the S turns remind me of Suzuka, and the radii seem to tighten noticeably.  I guess we’ll see how my very amateur game experience compares to reality.

US Grand Prix – The Week

Flights, car, and hotel rented, tickets in hand, schedule sorted – I’m ready to head to Austin via San Antonio on Thursday.  Looks like the weather will be very SoCal like – highs in the low 70s and lows in high 50s.  Just right.  Not much going on in the media runup to the event just yet.  Just the notification by FIA spicy language will not be tolerated.  Come on, we’re headed to Texas, with lots of spice!

That’s all for now.  I’ll be posting about the US Grand Prix here and on Twitter throughout the weekend, so stay tuned…