I’m sure few people would disagree if I said that the BBC’s coverage of Formula 1 this year has been excellent, as it was last year. Admittedly Eddie Jordan’s rant about team orders at Hockenheim raised a few eyebrows, but that’s another story…
It’s not really surprising that the BBC spends so much time and money on F1 as it is truly a global sport that attracts millions of viewers every time the cars are on track.
What is surprising is that the Beeb is about to air a new documentary series called ‘Gears and Tears’ that is based on, wait for it… BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Car Racing. The first part will be aired on BBC1 on Monday August 2 at 10.35pm and, if the premise is anything to go by, it’ll make for some great viewing. (‘Movie trailer voice’ optional here…)
“It’s an obsession that’s divided two rival families for 40 years,” the release states, “two racing dynasties who, every weekend, fight fiery gladiatorial showdowns in thundering purpose-built chariots designed to push the opposition off the track.”
Of course at Motor Sport we should really be talking about the 850bhp machines that feature in the stock car series rather than the feuding families behind them, but suffice to say that they are truly spectacular.
The release continues, and I couldn’t resist including this, “over a nine month season the film makers enjoyed unprecedented access to this world of everyday heroes from all walks of life. Gears and Tears celebrates values often forgotten in contemporary British society where enthusiasm, improvisation and home grown engineering skills are still king. It’s the stuff of legends”. Well I’m not sure about that but I know where I’ll be on Monday night at 10.35pm.
This sounds like the Beeb’s version of the American show “Madhouse” on The History Channel, a reality series that gave an inside look at two rival families and other drivers in NASCAR modified racing at Bowman-Gray Stadium, a quarter-mile asphalt oval in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The show was much more compelling than I thought it would be.
As an F1 stock car fan, I think that those who know nothing of short circuit oval racing in general will be not a little suprised to see just how committed both the drivers and the fans are to this particular branch of motorsport.
The cars might look basic and even odd to some but they are a very much a case of function over form being designed to race hard whilst being easy to repair at the track. This is very much a contact motorsport remember.
It’s also worth remembering that falling outside the direct control of the RACMSA doesn’t make it any less appealing or entertaining. As you will see, every weekend stock car racing draws crowds that most club meetings would kill for.
This of great interest to me, partly as TV entertainment and partly because I will be representing Motor Sport at the championship finals in September.
We should remember that Derek warwick was a World Champion in stock cars. I will be consulting him before I go to the races!
RW
Yes Derek and Paul (at just 15!) were champion Stockcar drivers in the “Superstox” formula. A much smaller 2 litre class based around the Southern and East Anglian circuits. Similar in one sense, and just as professional, but about as similar as a Formula Ford is to a Formula One.
I really hope you enjoy the visit to Coventry Stadium in September, to see them in the flesh and discover a motorsport which is very hard to portray on tv (perhaps why it hasnt been on tv very much!)
These are one of a few unique ‘pure extreme’ machines we still see on the tracks and everyone should try and get involved at some point. Get walking around the pits and find a moment to chat to the friendly drivers or their teams. Its certainly an experience!
Yes, thanks, I will be intrigued by what I see. I usually am which is probably why The Guvnor sends me to this type of thing.
Certainly it will be a different experience and hopefully a good subject for some space in the magazine. From the F1 paddock to the stock car stadium – never a dull moment!
Well done John Lakey and team for getting the sport onto BBC 1. Must be the best exposure they’ve had. A lot of people have told me they are watching the programme.
Hope you are enjoying the magazine.
RW
In NZ we have similar stock cars and modifieds, but we also have a series based at Western Springs in Auckland (going contiuously for nearly 80 years) where they run both World of Outlaws type Sprint Cars and USAC type Midget cars. The racing is top notch and very close, culminating in a Test Series against the US and Aus.
When is the UK going to adopt these classes of racing, which to me incredibly great to watch?