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Old 5 Sep 2008, 13:27 (Ref:2282309)   #1
AvdB
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AvdB should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridAvdB should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Autosport requests your input on redesign

Dear all,

During the winter Autosport magazine is planning a complete redesign. All elements of the mag are under review, as we seek to create a fresh, vibrant must-read weekly motorsport magazine.

We will be conducting some professional research into what the readers think of the current product and what they like and dislike, but given the number of current and former readers that post on this forum, I thought I'd seek your opinion on how you'd like Autosport to be.

Fire away.

Best,

Andrew van de Burgt
Editor, Autosport
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 13:39 (Ref:2282318)   #2
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Some input from fans. Currently the only opportunity a fan has to comment is in the letters page. Possibly soundbites from fans trackside?

A more balenced approach to motorsport: Less F1, more national, more international. Better coverage of brits abroad. Improved articles on Historic racing.
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 13:46 (Ref:2282320)   #3
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Justin Moran should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridJustin Moran should be qualifying in the top 5 on the grid
Better coverage of sportscars would be nice
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 14:04 (Ref:2282326)   #4
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A more balenced approach to motorsport: Less F1, more national, more international. Better coverage of brits abroad. Improved articles on Historic racing.
I quite agree with all your points. Also less of the Nuts style headlines like "it's war this time", it's a magazine for adults not pimply youths and finally how about more facts and less what if''s. I don't really care if Alonso might go to Honda, i am only interested to find out if he has, the magazine has over the past few years filled it's pages with speculation which is why i am now only a casual buyer of it when at one time i was a regular weekly buyer. I currently much prefer the more balanced Motor Sport Magazine.
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 14:18 (Ref:2282335)   #5
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Smarten up the presentation, a bit more formal not as formal as Motorsport.

I have to applaud the way you put Le Mans on the cover after the epic race we had there this year, what I would ask is that unless there has been a grand prix / big news re. F1 that you put something other than F1 on the cover.

More road tests of racing cars would be good where possible, as would coverage of Nascar on an equal level to Indycar in the magazine.
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 14:22 (Ref:2282338)   #6
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Agree with Foreversideways. I'm a predominantly happy subscriber, but the production values are currently a little tabloid - okay it's never going to be a Monocle or Wallpaper, but less emphasis on primary colours and shouty headlines would probably be good.

Content wise I'm delighted to see the GP Gold features show up - and more of this sort of thing would be good. In fact, more words full stop would really be appreciated, the acid test I used to apply was whether the magazine would last from Waterloo to the Channel Tunnel, if yes then good, if no then bad, or, alternatively, it should occupy my attention for about an hour on a Thursday evening.

More balance in terms of flavours of motorsport covered is always good. I appreciate F1 is invariably going to get the lion's share of coverage and that there are financial realities to running a magazine, but more weighty features on other aspects - sportscars, touring cars etc wouldn't go amiss.

Finally thanks for asking - I appreciate fora like these aren't always the most friendly environments for magazine editors but I for one feel a bit more appreciated for having been given the chance to give you a bit of input.
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 14:24 (Ref:2282339)   #7
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Ditch the fatuous headlines: The "jokes" are feeble to say the least and puns such as these would embarrass even a Sun journo.

I agree with previous the previous post.

Many thanks for asking us!!!

Last edited by ford prefect; 5 Sep 2008 at 14:26.
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 16:18 (Ref:2282388)   #8
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most of the above; but by posting this in F1 section I assume the blinkers are still on, hope not !
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 16:49 (Ref:2282396)   #9
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At the beginning of this year I came very close to stopping buying Autosport but the changes that have been made during the year have definitely improved things. It now takes much longer to read.

In general though I think that Autosport started going downhill some years ago when the dedicated F1 magazines came on the scene as a lot of the decent articles and columns became diluted across more publications.

GP Gold is a great addition, perhaps this could be extended to national racing and cover specifc championship seasons eg 1983 F3 championship etc.

One thing I really miss from the 70's and 80's is that so much reporting of our sport is PR drivel. This comment isn't aimed at Autosport particularly but the media in general.
In this respect I really enjoy reading articles such as Nigel Roebuck's old fifth column and the Mark Hughes replacement, as they scrape below the surface and give an insight into what’s really going on behind the scenes.
Maybe you could add columns that give a similar inside look into other areas such Indycars, Nascar, Sportscars and Touring cars.

Marcus Pye's column does a good job on the National scene.

Also I never read the GP report as by the time Autosport comes out I've watched the race, done the rounds of the internet etc, but without fail I always read the trackside column with its insight into driver styles etc.
I also like the section that takes a step back and describes what was going on just away from the track.
These sorts of articles would carry across well into other areas of national and international racing.

Everyone loves Martin Brundle's insights on ITV, apart from pikeys that is. An ex driver / or even team manager to do the same for Autosport would be great, if you could find one brave enough that is. I'd suggest Eddie Jordan but he already does it elsewhere.

'Where are they now' articles and those like ‘Photo Finish’ are popular, just look at the responses threads of this type get on here.

I’m sure I’ll think of more and thanks for asking.

Tony
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 16:58 (Ref:2282399)   #10
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This would be better in Armchair. I'll leave a link from here.
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 17:10 (Ref:2282410)   #11
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More and better coverage of sports car racing like: FIA GT, Le Mans Series & American Le Mans Series.

Tom.
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 17:14 (Ref:2282412)   #12
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Can't edit previous post so.....

Don't always make the cover of the magazine F1 oriented, there are other types of motorsport.

Tom.
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 19:40 (Ref:2282487)   #13
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I'm a largely happy subscriber (although I need to re-subscribe after accidentally cancelling my DD online yesterday - muppet), but for what it's worth I also read the football magazine When Saturday Comes, and dream of a motor sport equivalent.
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 21:13 (Ref:2282535)   #14
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motorsport equivalent of when saturday comes = the red bulletin, surely?

i think a couple of reporters need to go back to writing school - and yes, i could do better - because it's rare when reading non-f1 reports that i learn anything about what actually happened in the races. the lack of driver quotes is often frustrating.

overall i like the magazine as it is - the reader participation isn't something that bothers me particularly, but i can see where it would be nice to have reader opinions about incidents or talking points at particular meetings instead of the sidebar.

i agree with isynge about gp gold - that's a great feature, especially for those of us too young to remember any of the races covered the first time around!

i sometimes wonder whether it's worth featuring a person from any of the paddocks in a feature similar to the "one to watch" driver feature - it never ceases to amaze me how many young people want to be involved in motorsport and never know where to start. and more often than not there's some excellent characters in our paddocks and it would be great to hear some of their stories (the clean ones ).

as for where a lot of this space would come from - i think a lot of the f1 coverage is irrelevant now. driver by driver report? not really needed - we have team press releases at our fingertips and the stats are readily available online too.

yeah, overall i'm happy too
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 21:43 (Ref:2282554)   #15
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I've been a reader of Autosport since the early 1960's and have seen many changes in format, content, style and print quality, not to mention price!

I miss the track tests of individual race cars, of all types, by a competent magazine staff member or a regular race driver who can put actions into words. A bit like they do on Top Gear on a known track, so we can get a comparison on sector times and speeds. I want to know what it's like to drive these great machines that I'll never get to drive, by an experienced and articulate driver.

The thing I hate at present is all this hype about a driver just because he's British, I have to admit that I have stopped buying Autosport for the first time this year because of it!
I like all the drivers, I really don't care what nationality they are, most of them are heros to me. I don't need this Celebrity cult, hyped up stuff.

I would also like to read about ex race drivers, a 'Where are they now' catch up feature each week.

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Old 5 Sep 2008, 21:45 (Ref:2282556)   #16
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motorsport equivalent of when saturday comes = the red bulletin, surely?
Eh? They're nothing alike.
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 22:58 (Ref:2282590)   #17
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am i being rude by saying its too expensive to buy- maybe a little lower price?
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Old 5 Sep 2008, 23:05 (Ref:2282595)   #18
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I cancelled my subscription when you became obsessed with F1. Autosport is a MAGAZINE, which is an overview.

I want F1, Sportscars, BTCC, National reports, rallying, etc.

If you could dig up Bolster for those pithy Road tests, it wouldn't hurt either?

Seriously, I grew up with Autosport, and never missed a copy from mid 1975 through to 1996ish. By which time you had stopped being a broad church magazine, you'd gone chasing the F1 magazine audience. I bought F1 magazine for the images, Autosport for the reporting. Sorry Jeff!

Cover everything. Well.
Then I'll be back.

If that's unreasonable, I'm sorry, but they used to do it!
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Old 6 Sep 2008, 07:14 (Ref:2282691)   #19
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Agree Tim.I have bought it since 1955-I think every issue since 1961.Recently I have began to wonder whether I really need it-have I not already got all the news I need on TV or the internet? I hadly bother to look at the F1 coverage anyway.
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Old 6 Sep 2008, 08:29 (Ref:2282703)   #20
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I've bought Autosport religiously since the early 1980s and have seen it change a lot since. The improvements in DTP and colour printing have been great but the over emphasis on formula one, tabloidism and hypothesis are not.

o Put less emphasis on Formula One. Remember your bedrock is the motor racing enthusiast, not the casual browser in WH Smith who watches the odd GP.

o Stop this tabloidism. This has been the worst development in the mag in the past 5-10 years. I don't buy the mag to read some piece of drivel about a driver or a team that reeks like its come from the Sun. The many friends I have in motor sport feel exactly the same way and some have stopped buying Autosport because of this. This is not The Sun or Hello!

o A larger national section. Most of the national series are now covered on TV and we want more on the background of these championships/drivers/developments etc... We also want more coverage of club championships. It would be nice to devote more than half the mag to that. Its a British mag after all.

o A where are they now feature would be great too. Many of us have been buying the mag for a long time and we'd love to know what happened stars of the past [people, teams and cars]... what happened to Team Brask ? Where's the Casio Ralt Mike Thackwell drove to F2 victory back in the 1980s ?

I like Rennen's idea of track tests of racing cars at a known track a la Top Gear... plus a nice technical feature on the car itself. Would be great.

I'll write more later.
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Old 6 Sep 2008, 08:59 (Ref:2282709)   #21
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I too would like to see more track tests akin to the slots that Martin Brundle did on ITV in the lead up to Silverstone. Obviously there would be a significant cost factor in achieving this, but I think it would be worth it.
To control the cost a bit, maybe it could be a fortnightly piece with 4/5 cars being tested in one day to reduce track hire/insurance?

I, like many above, would like to see a little less emphasis on F1. If I wanted wall to wall F1 I would buy F1 Racing! As davyboy says, lets have more of the National and Club stuff and make Autosport what it once was.
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Old 6 Sep 2008, 09:16 (Ref:2282725)   #22
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Lose the tacky tabloid headlines. More detailed reporting on overseas events. IRL gets (fairly) good coverage but I'd like to see more. Many overseas events (TC2000, GrandAm etc) are pretty marginal fair enough, but there is an interest and Autosport should cover everything. Even NASCAR races only get a small column unless it's a 'big' race. Bring back the 'Race Of My Life' series - always enjoyed that. How about running some classic 'Fifth Columns' alongside the GP Gold series? Mr Roebucks page was always the first thing I turned to on a Thursday morning...
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Old 6 Sep 2008, 10:39 (Ref:2282762)   #23
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The recent posters must have some sort of direct link to my mind because i have been thinking about this since i made my first post and you guys have stolen all my ideas. I have nothing left to say now

Except !!!! where is Mike Thackwell now ?.
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Old 6 Sep 2008, 11:11 (Ref:2282782)   #24
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Except !!!! where is Mike Thackwell now ?.
Running a pub somewhere I believe... he's certainly got the right idea
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Old 6 Sep 2008, 12:29 (Ref:2282816)   #25
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