John Watson

[Kiwi3]

What do you guys think of John Watson's commentary? He does seem to talk a lot compared to his co-commentator and has an opinion on everything. I have thought his commentary OK however at Zandvoort he did the post qualifying and post race interviews as well and I thought they were awful:

1. Stupid questions, e.g. "you are quick, where has it come from?"
2. Talking over the drivers and not letting them finish their answers.

At times he asks a quesiton, and by the time the driver has got two words out Watson is speaking again!

Hopefully we can get someone else doing the interviewing in future.

[outflat]

He's a good "expert" commentator, works well with Ben Edwards - going back to when they worked together on F1 for Eurosport ten years ago.

But it seems interviewing's not his forte.

Maybe Lee or Simon, the two pit reporters should do the interviews.

[strider]

Lee did them last year and was very good, I thought.

[SALEEN S7R]

Personally I think he does a okay job, nothing fantastic but not dreadful either. As mentioned before he is a good expert commentator, not much more than that though. A1 could find someone better to partner Ben Edwards though, Martin Haven or David Leslie immediately spring to mind but if nothing does change on the commentry front I can live with what we have got now.

[strider]

Martin Haven is a commentator, not an expert. Gareth Rees might be worth a try as someone who has experience of this type of car.

Actually, when he's not duty for Team GBR, Darren Manning would be ideal, but I hope that won't be often!

[SALEEN S7R]

Martin Haven I would say is a expert, true he isnt a ex racing driver but he has commentated on GP2,F3000,FRV6,ETCC,WTCC,FIA GT,ALMS,BGT,F3 amongst other series and is extremely well informed and probably knows more about a lot of the drivers backgrounds than some of the "experts" themselves do due to the fact he has covered various motorsport categories over the years, this IMO is useful especially with a series like A1 GP where the spread of drivers is quite varied from sportscar and touring cars through to GP2.

[strider]

I am sure Martin Haven is well informed, but you're missing the point.

He is employed to cover the various series you have mentioned as the main commentator and he is usually supported by a specialist expert commentator, be it Gareth Rees, David Leslie, Kelvin Burt, Darren Manning or whoever.

A1GP already has a main commentator in Ben Edwards, who does an excellent job, and I for one would not wish to see him replaced by anyone else.

John Watson is the expert commentator for A1GP and last week he did the post-race interviews as well, which is what this thread is about. Let's get back on topic, eh?

[SALEEN S7R]

You dont need to replace Ben Edwards, have 2 main commentators working side by side. This has worked perfectly well in F1 commentry over the past few years, yes Martin Brundle is a ex racing driver who does provide some insight but he is also a "main" commentator just as much as James Allen is. There is room for 2 "main" commentators in A1 GP. IMO.

Ben Edwards is a good commentator but he really doesent have much experince outside of the BTCC in terms of International commentry, other than what he has done with A1 GP. I sincerly doubt that he knows anything more about most of the drivers backgrounds that are racing in in A1 GP than what he has in front of him on a clip board. Experinced international commentators like Martin Haven or even John Hindaugh however who have followed many International series for many years probably do have a greater depth of knowledge regarding most of the drivers. IMO.

As for getting the thread back on topic I am perfectly happy to do so, unless of course you feel the need to debate my opinion again. I started off by purely giving my opinion on the current commentry team, you didnt like what I said. Thats fine. Anyhow, back to the original topic.

[Mekola]

It's not necessary to have an "expert" (= racing driver) in order to bring the best coverage about racing events.
Being a good journalist / commentator depend on your skills on that, and that's one of the most important things about "expertise".
Generally, best commentators aren't racing drivers, and you can revise the history of TV coverage to mark that.
Nonetheless, the group of journalists tends to include "experts" in order to attract more people. And ocasionally they could bring interesting points of view.

[strider]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Ben Edwards is a good commentator but he really doesent have much experince outside of the BTCC in terms of International commentry, other than what he has done with A1 GP. I sincerly doubt that he knows anything more about most of the drivers backgrounds that are racing in in A1 GP than what he has in front of him on a clip board.

That is one of the more inaccurate comments I have seen posted recently. I really can't be bothered to continue the discussion if you persistently miss the point and fail to do any research. You could make a start here. Ben also provided the commentary for the British F3 and GT programmes on Channel 4 and MotorsTV before Martin Haven came in this year. He is meticulous in his research and far more likely to know the background of the many new drivers in A1GP this year than anyone else.

[cptkablamo]

Ben Edwards is a great commentator and he knows his stuff too. I remember him commentating Champ Cars in the 1990s and quite frankly he is better than most of the commentators that we are inflicted with now.

But yes John Watson likes the sound of his own voice a little too much, he still needs a few lessons

[Kiwi3]

I don't have a problem with John Watson's commentary, just as a post race interviewer he is appalling!

[Asp]

Originally Posted by strider

That is one of the more inaccurate comments I have seen posted recently. I really can't be bothered to continue the discussion if you persistently miss the point and fail to do any research. You could make a start here. Ben also provided the commentary for the British F3 and GT programmes on Channel 4 and MotorsTV before Martin Haven came in this year. He is meticulous in his research and far more likely to know the background of the many new drivers in A1GP this year than anyone else.

Not only that, but Ben and John were paired in F1 commentary in the past - Ben has plenty of experience outside of BTCC, and is a very good main commentar.


Taking strider's point about F3 footage - going back even further Martin and Ben commentated alongside each other for the British F3 at one point, so it is possible to have two "commentators" together, agreeing with Mekola here
However, there will always be a 'main' commentator to get excited at the start and 'call' (to use the American term) the race; and a second 'expert' commentator to add the on-the-spot analysis, and, IIRC, Ben was more of the expert in these F3 days, being more of the former racer.
It's a tradition, and it works well. You don't want two main commentators trying to "fight" over each other to call the race; and whilst a commentator can take the expert roll well, it is often best for a driver to comment from his view point

[strider]

Originally Posted by Kiwi3

I don't have a problem with John Watson's commentary, just as a post race interviewer he is appalling!

Now that we're back on topic, here's a comment I agree with! As I said earlier. they should use Lee MacKenzie. She was definitely at Zandvoort last weekend, so I don't knowwhy they didn't.

I don't mind John Watson's commentary, but he does get a bit excited at times and Ben has to pick him up on the odd error in the heat of the moment, e.g. mistaking Team Malaysia for Team Australia towards the end of the Feature Race.

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by strider

He is meticulous in his research and far more likely to know the background of the many new drivers in A1GP this year than anyone else.

I dont doubt that he knows what he is talking about, but outside of national motorsport I dont beleive he has commentated on any International series on a regular basis. People like Martin Haven however have, and have done so for many years. I know that Ben Edwards was part of the Motors TV commentry team last year for BGT and BF3 but going back further it was Martin Haven back as far as 1999-2002.

Most of the drivers in A1 GP this year have come from GP2 or WSR, thats not to say all but I think you will find that these 2 series account for a lot of the drivers in A1 GP this year. Both series Martin Haven commentates on incidently. Ben Edwards hasnt, at least not on a regular basis and not on GP2. Both commentators however are good. Just Martin Haven has been around a lot longer and has a lot more experince than Ben Edwards. But again, lets get back to the original topic, shall we?

[maximus]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

I dont doubt that he knows what he is talking about, but outside of national motorsport I dont beleive he has commentated on any International series on a regular basis. People like Martin Haven however have, and have done so for many years. I know that Ben Edwards was part of the Motors TV commentry team last year for BGT and BF3 but going back further it was Martin Haven back as far as 1999-2002.

And going back further Edwards was the F1 commentator for Eurosport has also does the commentary trackside for the British GP. He has plenty of international experience and you are still missing the point!

[Gilles lives!]

Originally Posted by maximus

And going back further Edwards was the F1 commentator for Eurosport has also does the commentary trackside for the British GP. He has plenty of international experience and you are still missing the point!

I used to watch GP's on Eurosport when Ben and John Watson worked together. Back then that used to be Friday/ Saturday practice sessions live plus qualifying and the Sunday morning warm up before the race ! Now if that isn't experience I then I don't know what is!

The pair back then knocked the spots off of the then BBC team, IMO, I can still remember the weekend of the Ratzenberger/Senna deaths with the two of them commentating live, they did an outstanding job.

It's good to see them back together, one of the highlights of the coverage for me.

[marcus]

I just loved John Watsons comment this weekend when referring to the Team New Zealand driver as "Johnny Halliday"