Radio Le Mans coverage discussion.

[arakis]

not only medal but a golden Cup like the ones 24h of le mans overall winers get

[MartinSmith]

And the booth is tiny, not very big at all. At LeMans when I went up there it was a cubicle right on the very end of the ACO building opp the pits and you coundnt swing a cat let alone Hindy's hair (I'm gonna get in trouble for that! )

Ha ha

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Adam43

"That is two in the pit lane, two on the track, "
*cue hysteria*
"That's a Jaguar 1-2-3-4."

As some French-type person once said, 'I remember eet well.......'

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by ClaireSmith

And the booth is tiny, not very big at all. At LeMans when I went up there it was a cubicle right on the very end of the ACO building opp the pits and you coundnt swing a cat let alone Hindy's hair (I'm gonna get in trouble for that! )

Ha ha

But it does have a stunning view - I've been in there too - which is obviously more than can be said for the Silverstone booth......

[andy_b]

Originally Posted by Graham Goodwin

I remember trhe very first time I stood in a booth with Messrs Hindhaugh and Tyler - I was staggered at the workload and its intensity - If anything that's got even more intense with the onset of social media - lots more info (and questions) coming in and remember the principal commentators do this wiuthout a break for well over 6 hours for a normal ILMC race (no shuift changes a la Le Mans)

x2 Having been at the booth at N24 and Le Mans (cracking view, but small) its amazing how he manages to juggle it all, as he's also directing the pit guys while they are talking. I think they do an amazing job and like someone else said, one of the best thing is the laid back style with inverviews discussions etc.

That Goodwin fellow is pretty good too....

[TWRv12]

Originally Posted by ClaireSmith

Listening to RLM on a telephone stream IS

I dont see their principle role to call the race....

The live action has to the priority, everything else is secondary, support for the main event, otherwise you may as well download a podcast.

[Adam43]

The principle role is to tell you what is going on, in case you are not at the corner where it is happening. Or are not up to speed on the big picture.

Secondarily they should talk about Audis

The general chat is a bonus.

[Steve Milward]

I think to be fair to the RLM team they have a very difficult job to keep track of everything going on.

If you look at other radio and TV broadcasters they have plenty of researchers, spotters and extensive camera feeds to assist them. As well as this they also have directors in contact with earpieces to point out where and what is going on.

RLM are a team of ethusiasts who are pasionate about sport cars, they report what they see and how they see it. Fair enough in the heat of a race they get things wrong but you could also say that about Murray Walker, yet he was one of the best in the business.

For me they do a frantastic job and provide some great talking points, race commentary is extremley difficult sometimes even harder with their limited resource.

[Nordic]

Agreed that RLM is not perfect, but unless you have been to Le Mans before they started you dont really know just how quickly you can loose track of the race. Trying to depend on Mr Monotones's hourly English update was not practical. It was so bad I almost considered leaning French.

Thankfully RLM came along to save me from that fate.

I do think that they may have drifted from commentating and as Graham says are maybe trying to balance too many input mediums. If that starts to harm the content then they will need to ditch some so the core program is worthwhile.

[Adam43]

If I haven't said, it is because it doesn't need saying. RLM is essential listening.

[Marcel ten Caat]

Originally Posted by andy_b

That Goodwin fellow is pretty good too....

No, he's not.....a reason to switch off RLM.

[dwh43scale]

This is an easy one - imagine Le Mans without RLM. Yes, they do sometimes frustrate ... but it is a small price to pay.

It's a darn sight easier watching the race from your armchair, live timing on the lap top, RLM on commentary, cup of coffee in hand ... than doing it in the booth !

Forza RLM !

[The Badger]

Ive been going to Le Mans since 1989 , RLM was there then . Discussing Le Mans with my brother , we both agreed that if RLM wasnt there , we probably wouldnt go .

We have been to many Le Mans test weekends when RLM wasnt there , and to try and find out whats going on is near impossible . So , yeah , RLM is excellant , and a completely nessessary addition for the race .

However , their lead up to the race has been better in past years , a little too much repeats on interviews , especially taking into consideration that there is 168 drivers driving and God only knows how many others cruising about the pits .

But all in all ..... an excellant addition for any race .

By the way , anyone know the name of the song ...... Baby , ya make me go brooom broom , yer just my kinda girl ..... it was a castrol sponsor track in the days of the TWR Jag's , always loved it !!! Where can I get it please ?

If they wernt there , neither would I , probably .

[The Badger]

Originally Posted by Stranger

No, he's not.....a reason to switch off RLM.

[Aysedasi]

We all have those we prefer and others we don't.........

[Matt Hunter]

Ok so going back to Silverstone. As someone who was there all three days and who was involved in the #23 fire I can say having listened back to the FP3 coverage they did miss it and it was only whe Paul Trusswell saw the smoke coming up that it was looked into. The reason for this was essentially because there was NO TV feed for that session so any commentary was relying on what the team could see out of the window, on the rolling CCTV footage and the timing screens.
The accident happened right at the bottom of the camera's view, most likely it will have only picked up the marshals on the grass and smoke.
I too walked the circuit on the Sunday and find, particularly in a long race, that the commentary is invaluable. I agree the lighting system wasn't working consistantly. That much was clear. But the main comms position in the Wing had VERY limited viewing and if the TV is focussing on the lead battle in P1 then what else can you say?
It's not as if it was a boring battle at the front either. It was frenetic action all the time. As such I can sort of see why the TV producers were perhaps focussing on that battle moreso than the GTs further back.
All commentators make mistakes. F1 is littered with them. So I don't think that's really any sound argument. If the OP thinks he can do better then head off to your nearest circuit hosting ILMC and grab a mic. Having done commentary myself I can safely say that even with all the info in front of you it's a very difficult job to convey all that data in an interesting and enthusiastic manner, consistantly, for 6hrs!

[Audi Racer]

Is this a thread attacking Radio Lemans? The ONLY english radio commentary or sports car events? Would any of us rather hear nothing. And watch a silent film? hahaha

[Aysedasi]

No it's not.

If you read it you will see that members are generally praising RLM to the hilt. But we all have those parts that we like and those we're not so keen on. Just like the rest of life.....

[Audi Racer]

I only heard the eurosport feed as well. They where just as blindsided lol.

[Graham Goodwin]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

We all have those we prefer and others we don't.........

I THINK he's kidding - If not then he's sacked!!!

[Marcel ten Caat]

But who would do the DSC live reports then when you're 'on air'

[JAG]

What RLM needs is a female voice in the pitlane like the woman who covers the ALMS.

[Adam43]

Janice!

[Aysedasi]

Where is Ms. Minton these days?

[Adam43]

Running her Event consultancy business: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=49197855
And I know someone who knows someone who knows her according to linkedin!
This is like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon.