The Grand Prix of Mosport

[Articus]

Agree about the duration issue. I have watched so many Mens tennis finals at Grand Slams lasting 3-5 hours on average not to mention the semifinal matches. Tennis looks very exciting.

The problem I think is the cars need to look like they are actually going fast(because they really are). I was watching a little bit of the morning hours of the 24 hours of Le Mans in a crowne plaza lounge in berlin and some people decided to watch and they(I also) pointed out that the cars looked like they were goingslow. And thats at Le Mans....Let alone Long Beach

They need to do something with camera angles etc to make the cars look like how fast they are going. that just what I think however.

When Montagny and McNish where racing at Sebring in 2010(2009?) when McNish(Montagny?) made the pass on the inside a friend I showed this replay to said big whoop. The more I watched the slower the cars looked. Of course when I was watching it live I have a good idea of how fast they are going and consequently everything actually looks pretty darn fast. But when you show other people its not as so.

Indycar does a good job with there camera's. So does F1.

[Matt]

they need more shots from the close fences.

[Jonerz]

The TV package deserves the criticism it receives. It isn't invisible, but it is hard to access. I think the ESPN2/ABC broadcasts likely provide the numbers that you can sell sponsors on, but quality of the package can turn people off. The fact that the races aren't shown live and in full as NASCAR races, PGA Tour and ATP tour tournaments are is likely a turn off for some sponsors as it reflects on the lack of prestige of the series.

The ALMS made a good, albeit small step this season getting live images onto ESPN2/ABC at all and hopefully that expands next year as well. Furthermore, the visibility of ESPN3, XBOX Live and the Watch ESPN App (can you watch the ALMS on that?) is only going to increase.

There are some crucial things the ALMS needs to do, in my opinion. I know money is tight in Braselton but they need to invest in a dedicated advertising sales department. That seems unlikely given the initial investment required (despite sales people actually visibly MAKING companies more money than they cost) and for the reason that the ALMS has been overly selective with its "partners" in the past - though the current Battery Tender ads can't make the champagne and caviar folks too pleased.

A dedicated advertising sales department would provide the crucial finances necessary to invest in expanding the visibility of the series off of new media (where it lives almost exclusively) and into television and radio year round in key markets. Advertising revenue would also allow for the ALMS to pay for the race coverage so desperately needed if Sebring and Petit are to be taken seriously as big events in the American sports scene. I talk to people in my profession and they say, regardless of the history and fence-side crowds, big events need to be live on national television for them to be taken seriously, and I tend to agree despite my radical biases towards Sebring's inherent greatness.

Chris

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Jonerz

The TV package deserves the criticism it receives. It isn't invisible, but it is hard to access. I think the ESPN2/ABC broadcasts likely provide the numbers that you can sell sponsors on, but quality of the package can turn people off. The fact that the races aren't shown live and in full as NASCAR races, PGA Tour and ATP tour tournaments are is likely a turn off for some sponsors as it reflects on the lack of prestige of the series.

The ALMS made a good, albeit small step this season getting live images onto ESPN2/ABC at all and hopefully that expands next year as well. Furthermore, the visibility of ESPN3, XBOX Live and the Watch ESPN App (can you watch the ALMS on that?) is only going to increase.

There are some crucial things the ALMS needs to do, in my opinion. I know money is tight in Braselton but they need to invest in a dedicated advertising sales department. That seems unlikely given the initial investment required (despite sales people actually visibly MAKING companies more money than they cost) and for the reason that the ALMS has been overly selective with its "partners" in the past - though the current Battery Tender ads can't make the champagne and caviar folks too pleased.

A dedicated advertising sales department would provide the crucial finances necessary to invest in expanding the visibility of the series off of new media (where it lives almost exclusively) and into television and radio year round in key markets. Advertising revenue would also allow for the ALMS to pay for the race coverage so desperately needed if Sebring and Petit are to be taken seriously as big events in the American sports scene. I talk to people in my profession and they say, regardless of the history and fence-side crowds, big events need to be live on national television for them to be taken seriously, and I tend to agree despite my radical biases towards Sebring's inherent greatness.

Chris

Some very sensible words Chris. Maybe you should apply for a job with IMSA? So far this year Sebring is the on race I have gotten to watch live (not to be confused with in person), so I do appreciate the online streaming after the fact. Plus I always record the ABC/ESPN shows so I can see the Michelin tire tips, the Battery Tender ads, and the same Mazda/Corvette/Porsche ads over and over!

[tux]

Flying Lizard have made us a nice report into the Stall Test. http://www.motorsport.com/alms/news/...re-at-mosport/

[Jonerz]

Originally Posted by joeb

Some very sensible words Chris. Maybe you should apply for a job with IMSA?

No comment.

Originally Posted by joeb

Plus I always record the ABC/ESPN shows so I can see the Michelin tire tips, the Battery Tender ads, and the same Mazda/Corvette/Porsche ads over and over!

Me, too!

Chris

[Porsche917K]

This last weekend I showed two long time Xbox live subscribers that they had ESPN3 and they were blown away. One promptly watched an ALMS race with me... It surprised the crap out of me that nearly none of the people I know understand how much programming is actually on there, and in such good quality.

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by joeb

Plus I always record the ABC/ESPN shows so I can see the Michelin tire tips, the Battery Tender ads, and the same Mazda/Corvette/Porsche ads over and over!

Just remember not to tape it over the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola presented by Menard and Sunoco proud provider of ethanol, and see who receives Aaron's Lucky Dog (because all you need is Aarons) before it's time to check in with Goodyear's aerial coverage

[Accident]

Originally Posted by Salamus

I don't think the TV coverage is the problem. A bigger problem is that people don't know about the ALMS and don't know when the races are. I live in Ontario so I watch all the races on Sportsnet but I've only ever seen two commercials about upcoming races.

What's the point of having an event if nobody knows about it.

The coverage isn't very good most of the time, but I agree with the rest.

Even if they had more advertising though, the series really isn't very friendly for new viewers. I didn't really think about it before, but recently I've been trying to get a friend into it, and I realized how difficult it is for people who are not familiar with the racing to follow. He just loses interest so fast because he can't tell the 3 classes of prototypes apart and can barely tell the GTC cars from the GT cars without pausing the video. Even as someone who isn't a hardcore racing fan, he doesn't even care about the spec classes because he finds it boring that they are all the same cars, and is seriously unimpressed with the P1 and P2 grids. He does love the GT battles, but as a casual viewer that has no real attachment to any of the teams competing, he would much rather watch the GT1WC races or Rolex series as they are so much easier to follow.

I do think the car count hurts it though. It seems like many casual fans initially only care about the fastest class as they are supposed to be the "best" but with only 2 cars that doesn't seem interesting. The only type of racing that involves 2 cars is drag racing, and even if we have seen some great races with only 2 cars in the class, to the casual fan watching 2 cars go around a track for nearly 3 hours just doesn't sound that entertaining.

While I know it is a common and sometimes unpopular view, I really feel the prototypes are holding the series back right now and the series would be better off dropping them if numbers can't be made without having too many classes. The GT class has the famous manufacturers, popular rivalries, manufacturer involvement, variety, identifiable cars... basically everything that a top class should have, but it's buried in a field of spec cars and gentleman driven cost capped cars and the like.

I know many of don't want to see the prototypes go, but the series needs to draw in some new fans if it is going to grow any, and I really don't see many fans being drawn to the track or TV or computer by "come see an HPD ARX-03a race a Mazda-Lola for 2 hours and 45 minutes while an HPD ARX-03b driven by a loanshark races with a Nissan-Morgan driven by a programmer in a different class while a handful of identical cars race for the win in another class" and etc so on. "Come see Corvettes and Vipers take on the worlds best in Ferrari, Porsche, BMW and Lotus" on the other hand...

[FalkenALMS]

Hi Everyone!

After an exciting weekend full of ups and downs at Mosport, we're all back at the shop, prepping for Mid-Ohio.

There was a story behind the story that explained our weekend at Lime Rock and the challenges we were facing at Mosport. At the time, we were still trying to figure some things out as well as coming to a decision on how much to tell to the public. I sent our press release to the mods, but it looks like it isn't posted, so for those of you who would like to see it, here it is: http://bit.ly/MBOweK.

Thanks for those who followed on twitter to find out that we in fact did NOT fail tech. Crazy how those rumors fly. We went though tech about the same time the Lizards did, and by the time the #17 Falken Porsche returned back to the paddock (after passing), we knew the Lizards were having trouble with the stall test. We were able to tweet it as soon as it was official. It's tough during times like that because you want to be the first to get the news about a higher finish out there, but you also want to be accurate. As great as it is to finish 4th on a weekend where we honestly weren't expecting a good finish, we're still disappointed for our fellow Porsche team that had to lose a win.

We've got some news that would probably be flagged as spam, so if you'd like to raise money for charity and get your hands on some falken artwork, visit our twitter (falkenalms) for more info.

We've got a recap blog of the Mosport weekend coming up, so stay tuned on the Falken QA thread. Thanks to the loyal die hards who came out to say hello at the race. As always, it was nice to meet everyone and put some names to faces!

[jborelli]

Keep it up Falken Team, like to see you guys stand on the top again, rain or not. The level 5 withdrawl ****ed me off for sure, Kyle Marcelli looked good for the hometown fans until the crash. I'd like to see the Lotus doing better, I like the car cant wait to see it when it is fully developed. Lack of competition in P1 kinda sucked though

[Purist]

Articus, I'm not sure any one series does their camera angles particuarly better than the others on the whole.

What would help EVERY series is having more of the shots closer in, and not relying nearly so much on those long-angle lenses that make it look like F1 cars are doing 35-mph into Parabolica at Monza. The curb cams can be nice to have a little of, but those work better on ovals, where the banking gives those shots a real third dimension, which provides a much more stunning perspective at the end of the day. Having a good director is always helpful, especially when two cars with onboard cameras are dicing, and switching back-and-forth with the right timing can really do wonders for how you see the fight.

Technology has, in some ways, maybe hampered the sensation of speed also. Remote cams can be "too smooth" in their motions. Even manned cams can be too steady at times. Some of the old long-angle shots still looked rather impressive for portraying speed, because the mount was less steady, so the camera was visibly shaking while the man behind it was trying to keep up with the cars in his viewfinder.

As a final note on this, it should be rather telling that easily the most spectacular, and somehow terrifying at the same time, onboard lap to watch in F1 is Monaco.

Lebanza, I can't say that I'd be that excited about a GT-only ALMS; I might not even watch if that was the case, at least not watch the more minor races. GT/TC-only series have a more second-tier connotation over here also. I should add that NO GT-only series in the US has live TV, and their races are already all sprint format anyway: Trans-Am, Continental Tire Series, SCCA World Challenge, etc.

I can't explain it, but upon seeing my first sportscar broadcast that I can remember (ALMS Sears Point 1999 on NBC), I could pick out which cars were in which class pretty well right from the off, and I'd never seen most of those types of cars, and the few I had seen I'd only spotted in a few, small photographs in AutoWeek. And I saw my first GT(2) Porsche before I saw my first Cup Porsche, but I didn't need to see them side-by-side to tell just how much more tame the Cup car looked the first time I saw one. The LMPCs all look the same to one another, and don't have fins. And generally, the LMP675s/2s have just seemed physically smaller to me than the LMP900s/1s. It might be a placebo effect, but it seemed real enough to me. Even without that, I think a number of the LMP1s have visibly more complicated aero than the LMP2s anyway.

So again, I just don't understand the confusion, especially when I'm blind in one eye, and the other only gives me 20/400 vision, with my glasses. And on a cognitive level, multi-class racing should be perfectly comprehensible to anyone who's read a novel with multiple threads going on: "Lord of the Rings", "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", "Red Storm Rising" to give just a few.

[FstrthnU]

Since we're here debating about camera angles, what do you guys think of DRIVE's "Trackside" series of ALMS videos?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ykxo...ature=g-user-u

I think these would look really cool in terms of presentation but they would not be practical for seeing the "racing". Personally I think the ALMS crew did a good job with the Mosport broadcast in terms of shots (the Level 5 vs. Conquest onboard was the highlight for me).

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Purist

Articus, I'm not sure any one series does their camera angles particuarly better than the others on the whole.

What would help EVERY series is having more of the shots closer in, and not relying nearly so much on those long-angle lenses that make it look like F1 cars are doing 35-mph into Parabolica at Monza. The curb cams can be nice to have a little of, but those work better on ovals, where the banking gives those shots a real third dimension, which provides a much more stunning perspective at the end of the day. Having a good director is always helpful, especially when two cars with onboard cameras are dicing, and switching back-and-forth with the right timing can really do wonders for how you see the fight.

Technology has, in some ways, maybe hampered the sensation of speed also. Remote cams can be "too smooth" in their motions. Even manned cams can be too steady at times. Some of the old long-angle shots still looked rather impressive for portraying speed, because the mount was less steady, so the camera was visibly shaking while the man behind it was trying to keep up with the cars in his viewfinder.

As a final note on this, it should be rather telling that easily the most spectacular, and somehow terrifying at the same time, onboard lap to watch in F1 is Monaco.

Lebanza, I can't say that I'd be that excited about a GT-only ALMS; I might not even watch if that was the case, at least not watch the more minor races. GT/TC-only series have a more second-tier connotation over here also. I should add that NO GT-only series in the US has live TV, and their races are already all sprint format anyway: Trans-Am, Continental Tire Series, SCCA World Challenge, etc.

I can't explain it, but upon seeing my first sportscar broadcast that I can remember (ALMS Sears Point 1999 on NBC), I could pick out which cars were in which class pretty well right from the off, and I'd never seen most of those types of cars, and the few I had seen I'd only spotted in a few, small photographs in AutoWeek. And I saw my first GT(2) Porsche before I saw my first Cup Porsche, but I didn't need to see them side-by-side to tell just how much more tame the Cup car looked the first time I saw one. The LMPCs all look the same to one another, and don't have fins. And generally, the LMP675s/2s have just seemed physically smaller to me than the LMP900s/1s. It might be a placebo effect, but it seemed real enough to me. Even without that, I think a number of the LMP1s have visibly more complicated aero than the LMP2s anyway.

So again, I just don't understand the confusion, especially when I'm blind in one eye, and the other only gives me 20/400 vision, with my glasses. And on a cognitive level, multi-class racing should be perfectly comprehensible to anyone who's read a novel with multiple threads going on: "Lord of the Rings", "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", "Red Storm Rising" to give just a few.

kerb shots work, look at V8 Supercars.

[gregtummer]

Tracking shots and wide angle shots work if you are showing a battle, but you do not get a good sensation of the speed or the character of the track.

Go on youtube and look for videos of the 2011 Petit Le Mans taken by spectators sitting in the esses. You get a sense of the REAL elevation change and speed that these cars are doing.

I had been watching these things for 5 years now and when I went to Petit last year, I was shaking my head in amazement at those things.

[Jonerz]

Originally Posted by Matt

kerb shots work, look at V8 Supercars.

I love those shots!

Originally Posted by gregtummer

Tracking shots and wide angle shots work if you are showing a battle, but you do not get a good sensation of the speed or the character of the track.

Go on youtube and look for videos of the 2011 Petit Le Mans taken by spectators sitting in the esses. You get a sense of the REAL elevation change and speed that these cars are doing.

I had been watching these things for 5 years now and when I went to Petit last year, I was shaking my head in amazement at those things.

Agreed.

Chris

[Matt]

It would ruin a prime viewing spot, but there really should be a camera positioned on drivers left at the Downhill on Lime Rock Park, just past the bridge. There'd you get your sense of speed.