rec.autos.simulators

Read it and weep, brothers:

Formula 1 News
ESPN Loses F1 Broadcasts
3/6/98

BRISTOL, Ct. -- ESPN, which has owned the rights to broadcast the
Formula One series in the United States has lost that right, at least
temporarily, leaving the Speedvision Network as the sole source for a
live broadcast of this weekend's opening round of the series in
Australia.
Unfortunately for many television viewers, Speedvision has a very
limited availability on both cable systems in North America and on most
DBS satellite mini-dish programs.
Live qualifying from Melbourne on Saturday at 1 pm local time (Friday, 9
pm EST) will only be available on Speedvision.
The race on Sunday, at 2 pm local time (Saturday, 10 pm EST), will be
shown live by Speedvision, and carried as a tape-delay by Fox Sports
West on Sunday, at 7 pm PST. If your area has a Fox Sports Network cable
station, check your local listings, or call the station and ask details
on whether or not they will be showing the race.
It was normal to have ESPN still negotiating with Bernie Ecclestone's
people for the rights to continue to broadcast the F1 races at this
point in the pre-season (days before the start of the first race). But
this week, according to an ESPN spokesman, the negotiations were
terminated by Ecclestone's group.

On Fri, 06 Mar 1998 19:03:42 +0000, Barton Spencer Brown

... much snipped

Too BAD you ESPN idiots.  Bernie knew you had already relegated him to
the minor league station.  He gets coverage by a channel that is
ACTUALLY e***d about carrying F1 and which now has a lever into more
cable networks.  Enjoy your provincial sport of Nascar racing.
Americans deserve a sport that they only have to comprehend turning
left 4 times per lap.

GO SPEEDVISION!

Jeff Haas
South Bend, Indiana USA

--
Kevin
(Remove the "x-" prefix from my address in order to reply via email)

SpeedVisions problem is that they don't seem to be available except
via dish.  Why can't they be on cable like other channels?  At least
we get the Fox Sports network here, so at least there is hope for
seeing the race.

Clark

Perhaps you could educate this uncomprehending American about the attraction in
watching six cars finish a 'gruelling' hour-fortyfive-minute 'race', with maybe
two of them on the same lap.

MW

Clark -- I get Speedvision from my local cable provider here in
Connecticut, not a dish. Hound your cable co. until they get sick of
hearing from you!

Bart Brown

F1 only hurts itself by leaving ESPN. It reminds me when the NHL went to
Sportschannel which was only in a limited area and was nearly forgotten in
the rest of the USA.
F1 needs ESPN more than ESPN needs F1. With that said I will miss the F1
races I was just becoming a fan.

Ike

Have you tried it??  I mean the screaming 3 wide heading into a turn at 197
MPH, on the final lap??  In NASCAR, a blowout finish is when  you have 5
car lengths on someone.  In F1, you're lucky to have five cars RUNNING at
the end of a race.

Provincial??  NASCAR Winston Cup has over 30 races a year, all over the US.
 In all divisions, they run hundreds of tracks

NASCAR fans actually have a chance to meet and talk to drivers of Cup cars.
 I met a few while in Atlanta last fall.  Invited to the race by DuPont.
How was your last experience at an F1 race????
--

Robert Haviland
President, Doyle Bowen Memorial Park, Inc.
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Be glad to.  It is the mindset. F1 is about technology and encompasses
engineering, cleverness, driving skill, etc.  If you can whip
everybody's ***by creating the best package, then so be it.  You
won't have some sanctioning body immediately changing the rules on you
as a reward for your hard work. It takes a deeper appreciation of all
the factors to enjoy.  Nascar is entertainment (something we Americans
have got to have).  We get high drama of all the cars using  limited
technology,  yellow flags thrown for debris on the track, and really
pissed off officals if someone wins by more than half a car length.
Why watch a nascar race?  The race is really only the last 2 or 3
laps, the rest is just to fill the clock out.  I think that they
should do away with body styles all together and just paint the name
of the car on it.  I mean, how can you take it seriously when they use
a front drive, V-6 engined car and make it a rear drive v-8. Ah, I
see, paint "Taurus" on the front and no one will know the difference.

Regarding the gruelling part. Have you ever dealt with 3.5 to 4 g's
from different directions (laterally and longitudely (sp) ) ? I have
in an aerobatic airplane and it takes a high level of fitness to get
used to it.  I don't think Nascar is much less demanding if the races
have limited yellow flag situations but when there are a lot of
yellows, it gives a break. You generally don't see any letup in an F1
race.

I don't personally need 40 cars out there.  We all know that generally
only a handful are capable of winning anyway.  The lower level of
technology and the dumbass rules for points (also setup for
entertainment) means that we get to see half-destroyed hulks chugging
around the track in the way of everyone.  Yea so 35 finish. How many
were on the lead lap?  How many were in serious contention?

I like more complex things and Nascar just doesn't fit those
parameters. I just like road courses,  16,500 rpm engines with 700 +hp
and 1200 lb cars.  It's like airliners vs fighter planes.  I like
fighters.

I don't like rigged races regardless of the formula and I'm pretty
disgusted with the McLaren race fixiing that's happened the last two
races now...

Enjoy what you like..

Jeff Haas

Another thing, look at NASCAR sponsorship- breakfast cereal, laundry
detergent,
toys, chewin' terbaccy. Kinda shows you the demographics, eh? Little
kids,
women and rednecks. You can keep it...

--
"NASCAR- the professional wrestling of motorsport"

I get Speedvision from my cable company too, Prestige provides it as basic
service in North Carolina.

Josh Davis

Robert Haviland wrote

I actually had the possibility to make tour of the Tyrell-Yahama team in
Formula 1 back at the Montral Open pits day in 1995.  Talked with Ukyo
Katayama for about 15-20 mins.

I also spoke 2-3 mins with David Coulthard.  Sorry I didn't know in F1 you
could never talk to drivers.

Comparing Nascar to F1 is like comparing CART to NHRA....   <vbfg>.  I like
every kind  of racing.  F1 is F1.  Nascar is different, but it's Nascar...

Fran?ois Mnard <ymenard> Sponsored by http://www.awpss.com/
Good race at the Brickyard, (-o-)

Official Mentally retarded guy of r.a.s.
Excuse me for my English (I'm French speaking)
Excuse me for being provocative (I'm dumb speaking)

--"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realise
how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."--

I find very little drama in most NASCAR races.  They take so long and
whoever is leading at lap 100 bears little resemblance to who is
leading at lap 300.  You can pretty much just tune in the last 30
minutes of a NASCAR race to see the interesting stuff (unless you
count wrecks as 'interesting').  I can enjoy NASCAR, but not anywhere
near as much as I do a CART race.  CART is my favorite because it
combines the best of Formula One with the best of  NASCAR.

Ya think?

Randy