WSB on Speed!!

[lvnvbiker]

The coverage is not too bad, but the comercials SUCK. As I am typing this Corser is in 8th and Xaus is 17th..

Sweet race and amazing finish for Haga, but the 8th for Coarser on a new bike, first year back into racing for BMW is quite impressive and may lead to a outstanding maiden season. Go BMW!!!!!!

[Deadboy]

Man Speed sucks....most important pass of the race and they were busy showing a commercial....and no replay.....

 

Finally got a replay at the end.....pretty anti-climactic....

[ltljohn]

That was one of the best hours I have spent in a while.

2 bikes in the top 20 for BMW, pretty good for their initial outing. The commercials were very poorly timed especially since it was not live TV.

[lvnvbiker]

Yep, the hour was spent on the edge of my seat wanting both beemers to advance a bit on the grid and watching Spies climb back up after mucking up a superpole start. I have to agree that the ads could have been placed better, but what do you expect from folks that are used to televising races that only have left turns. I hope they get better as the season progresses.

[Matts_12GS]

but what do you expect from folks that are used to televising races that only have left turns.

 

No need to be a hater... NASCAR runs a couple races a year with both kinds of turns in them!

 

Having done some "post production" motorsports stuff in my past I know it's difficult to do and time stuff to make everyone happy, but, not putting the pass in there is pretty sad. It seems that they likely didn't have anyone who understood what was happening to recognize the significance of the event.

 

That was my first WSBK race, I think I might be hooked!

[Deadboy]

Be sure not to miss the WSBK supersport race on Tuesday (and race #2 of Superbike)...usually a very evenly matched field and tons of final lap drama.

[ghaverkamp]

Apparently sometime since racing ended, I know longer have Speed in my program lineup; must be some special tier, even though I thought I pretty much had everything...

 

Since I'm going to have to call Comcast and add this, does anyone know if Speed HD carried the race in HD?

[lvnvbiker]

Yes it did, well it was on speed HD but I'm not sure if it was broadcast in HD...I taped it so if you don't get Speed before they quit playing it over I could burn you a DVD.

[Matts_12GS]

I don't believe it was, even their HD channel. It was in a small frame the way most non HD programming is.

[90%angel]

Matt, that was actually kind of a dull race compared to most WSB races...they are usually full of lead changes, exciting passes, and not knowing who is going to win (out of like, 4 or 5 possibles!) until the last lap! So if that was your first race, keep watching; it'll only get even better! Looking forward to seeing race 2 on Tuesday.

 

After looking at the replay, it looks like Biaggi took Spies out; not a screw up from Spies. Although, he didn't get the best start in the world.

 

Knowing Ben, he's gotta be madder than H - E double hockey sticks right now, and he'll come back in race two with a vengance!!

[ghaverkamp]

I don't believe it was, even their HD channel. It was in a small frame the way most non HD programming is.

 

That's unfortunate. If they want to charge me extra for the HD channel, I guess I'll pass.

[mikewarax]

You can watch race one Here

 

and you can watch race two Here

 

 

Mike

[OoPEZoO]

I don't believe it was, even their HD channel. It was in a small frame the way most non HD programming is.

 

That's unfortunate. If they want to charge me extra for the HD channel, I guess I'll pass.

 

It is unfortunate........the top two things I want to watch in HD are WSB races and F1 races, and neither of them are EVER brodcast in HD. Instead we some some crappy 3rd world feed that looks like it was taped with a VHS camcorder and then dubbed another 2-3 times to degrade the quality further. Damn shame

[Boffin]

I don't believe it was, even their HD channel. It was in a small frame the way most non HD programming is.

 

That's unfortunate. If they want to charge me extra for the HD channel, I guess I'll pass.

 

It is unfortunate........the top two things I want to watch in HD are WSB races and F1 races, and neither of them are EVER brodcast in HD. Instead we some some crappy 3rd world feed that looks like it was taped with a VHS camcorder and then dubbed another 2-3 times to degrade the quality further. Damn shame

 

Probably due to Europe using PAL encoding and the USA NSTC encoding. Every time I have seen a 'conversion' from one format to the other the quality is truly dire.

 

Andy

[CoarsegoldKid]

looks like it was taped with a VHS camcorder and then dubbed another 2-3 times to degrade the quality further. Damn shame

 

Hey guys and gals you all speak like you're watching WSK on SPEED for the first time. Its been like this for several years. You are however correct, the coverage sucks. The picture almost hurts my eyes and when after the race I turn channel to another non-HD program the difference is amazing. HD would be wonderful. One other comment I'll share that no one else has is the commentary needs help and has for the last two years. I guess they never hear themselves. One of the guys a former racer whose name escapes me sounds like he is always mumbling. I'm sure he has informative things to say but he may as well just watch the race and stop talking. The other fellow can be clearly heard although sometimes the bike exhaust noise rides over his voice.

 

Remember back when Edwards and Bayliss were competing for the title, was that 2000. The commentary was great. The close up cameras and the onboard stuff was great. Of course the ownership of SPEED was more motorcycle friendly, but in all honesty the feed is bought by them they have no control. Now days the cameras appear to be placed far back from the track.

 

Like junkies hungry for fix, anything will do. I love roadracing so this coverage will have to do.

Yes the supersport racing usually has better action.

[BSAtoBMW]

I saw the first race but Speed did not show the second race as far as I know. What's up? Does anyone know if the second race was or will be on the tube at a different time??

[russell_bynum]

I saw the first race but Speed did not show the second race as far as I know. What's up? Does anyone know if the second race was or will be on the tube at a different time??

 

Speed is showing the second race (and Supersport) on Tuesday.

[BSAtoBMW]

Thanks!

[CoarsegoldKid]

Of course we already know who won!

[Fugu]

Apparently sometime since racing ended, I know longer have Speed in my program lineup;

I had to call Directv and have them ping my receiver to get it on there, it had disappeared from mine, too.

 

I hadn't noticed since I don't watch their reality show "me too" dreck...

 

 

 

Inexcusable not showing that pass even if only as a replay at the end in the highlights.

 

 

[russell_bynum]

Inexcusable not showing that pass even if only as a replay at the end in the highlights.

 

 

Someone help me understand that one....They don't show us replays during the race while we're still excited about what happened. Then after we've just watched the race, they show us a highlights reel of replays...most of which didn't really need replays anyway. WTF? It isn't like they don't have time for the replays...they could just waste less time at the end and skip the highlights reel.

 

Am I missing something??

[Boffin]

Inexcusable not showing that pass even if only as a replay at the end in the highlights.

 

 

 

 

Am I missing something??

 

Yes, the pass they showed live in the UK

 

Andy

[russell_bynum]

Inexcusable not showing that pass even if only as a replay at the end in the highlights.

 

 

 

 

Am I missing something??

 

Yes, the pass they showed live in the UK

 

Andy

 

@#($&@!%+^!!!

 

Don't make me come over there.

 

 

[Dave in Doodah]

I missed the race yesterday, but just watched the wobble and pass on SPEEDTV.com videos... what a great way to start the season. I am hooked, too.

[OoPEZoO]

looks like it was taped with a VHS camcorder and then dubbed another 2-3 times to degrade the quality further. Damn shame

 

Hey guys and gals you all speak like you're watching WSK on SPEED for the first time.

 

Nah, been watching and bitching for years.......and I'm already looking forward to grainy footage from Losail in two weeks

[bootzilla]

Didn't realize Speed was going to show the supersport race, too - I definitely want to see that one again.

 

I found a place to watch online in time for half of the SS and then the second race (and the replay of race 1 between the two), and I couldn't believe Speed edited out that pass...it's not like they didn't know it was going to happen. There were way less commercials on the original broadcast.

 

Also mean of Speed to show race 1, then not show race 2 right afterwards....it isn't like they had anything pressing at the time they needed to get on the air.

[ghaverkamp]

I had to call Directv and have them ping my receiver to get it on there, it had disappeared from mine, too.

 

I hadn't noticed since I don't watch their reality show "me too" dreck...

 

I basically hadn't been on Speed since MotoGP ended. I guess I saved an hour of watching TV on Sunday.

 

Anyhow, since MotoGP ended, Comcast apparently moved Speed to some $5/mo sports package, which I didn't have. I already have way too many channels I never watch, 17 new regional sports channels aren't going to help. But now, I get them.

 

I also have Speed in HD, even though the customer service rep -- and the online channel lineup -- claim that it's unavailable in my area. Not that it matters, apparently...

 

It was fun trying to get the rep to tell me some way to get a current channel lineup. She didn't really seem to care about my problem. "I can mail you one." Great. As I told her, why would I expect it's different from the ancient one online?

 

*grr*

[CoarsegoldKid]

Race two was a good dice. Haga is fun to watch. Good outcome too. Supersport was even more exciting.

[flars]

"...Haga is fun to watch". I love his comment as he was walking away from the mic after the race 2 interview: "Tomorrow is my birthday. I am 34. Too old". I bet the guy is a real hoot when he is speaking Japanese so he doesn't have to constantly think about what he is going to say.

Ben was good in the post race also. Very clear, humble and complimentary. "I waited for his tires to go off, then...etc" Not as much fun as Haga or Val. All three WSBK riders are good representatives of the sport.

The WSBK Dux are obviously easier to ride than the MotoGP versions.

 

[markgoodrich]

If you set your DVR/TIVO to record (on DirecTV it's) FIM motorcycle racing (just search for "FIM" and you'll find it) you can set it to record all the races during the season, no matter when Speed decides to rebroadcast them. I'm sure you can do the same with the other services, too. Then the trick is to avoid reading these threads until you've seen the races.

 

All the ad breaks are approximately 90 seconds long, so it's easy to jump ahead. Same goes for MGP.

 

You can of course do the same thing for recording MGP and whatever AMA is calling itself this year. If you don't like Jonnathon Green and Steve Martin, just wait until you see the horrible coverage on U. S. racing. I disagree about the announcers. Martin is very informative, when you can hear him over the too-loud trackside feed, and Green is hilariously enthusiastic and even more hilariously wrong in his predictions, but is also dead-on knowledgeable about the racing and racers.

 

Here's who Martin is:

 

Steve Martin is a motorcycle road racer from Australia. He lives in Switzerland with his partner Sandra and son Axel. He has not raced in 2008, but is a veteran of the World Superbike Championship, and former champion of the Australian series.

 

After success in trials, he started racing in his home Superbike Championship in 1990, initially on a factory Suzuki. Years on private bikes followed, but he later earned a Ducati ride. He lead the 1998 standings until a crash at Phillip Island, but won the title in 1999. He also did an assortment of wild card rides in the Superbike World Championship rounds at Phillip Island over the years, as well as four 500cc Grand Prix races in 1999.

 

After that, he moved to the Australian Supersport series, before moving to the Superbike World Championship full time for 2001, riding on Pirelli tyres for DFXtreme. He scored a pair of top-6 finishes at Imola in 2001, and set fastest lap at the Lausitzring that year, but he was not a frontrunner for much of 2001 or 2002. However, he stepped up to 8th overall in 2003 and 7th in 2004, along with 3 pole positions. He spent the next 2 years with Carl Fogarty's Foggy Petronas team, which struggled to be competitive with its three-cylinder machine, although beating team-mates Garry McCoy and Craig Jones in those years. He returned to DFXtreme for 2007[1], turning down other offers as he believed the team had enough funds for the full season. It soon became clear that this was not the case - he nearly lost the ride after 2 races[2], but continued for rounds 3 and 4, before leaving the team as it could not provide a full-time entry. He moved into the World Supersport Championship at Assen, replacing injured countryman Kevin Curtain[3] Later in 2007 he contested the Suzuka 8 Hours race, and he made World Superbike starts on Yamaha and Suzuki equipment, but finished the season with a broken metatarsal[1]

 

 

And yes, we can't get the races in HD due to the world feed coming out of Europe. I think it was the MGP race in Indianapolis last year that was in HD. What a difference. Except we had to put up with the horrible announcing.

[russell_bynum]

That, my friends, is what a World Superbike race is like.

 

The dice for the win was interesting, but the 4-way hairball for 3rd was where the real action was. 3 wide over Lukey Heights. Frickin' sweet!