BTCC
BTCC: BTCC News 98-02-26
NEWS FROM THE AUTO TRADER RAC BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP 26/2/98 MURRAY WALKER STOPS TALKING! The BBC's extended TV coverage of this year's Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship is to feature a new commentary team. This ...
Edited: Apr 10, 2006, 6:41 AM
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NEWS FROM THE AUTO TRADER RAC BRITISH TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP 26/2/98
MURRAY WALKER STOPS TALKING!
The BBC's extended TV coverage of this year's Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship is to feature a new commentary team. This announcement follows the news that Murray Walker is to stand down from the role.
Seventy-four-year-old Murray's decision to concentrate on his Formula 1 commentary work for ITV was a reluctant one: "It's difficult to find the words to say how sorry I am to be severing my association with BBC Sport. This is my fiftieth year with the corporation and I have always enjoyed working for it. I am leaving behind some wonderful and superbly professional people.
"Sadly, sheer pressure of work means that I have to give something up, and because I have an exclusive contract with ITV to cover Grands Prix, it has to be touring cars... I have enjoyed the BTCC immensely over the years and I wish it well - I am sure it will go from strength to strength."
Alan Gow, chief executive of BTCC organiser TOCA, said: "Murray has long been the cornerstone of the BTCC's enormous television success and when he advised me last year that he won't be able to continue it took some while for me to reconcile with this fact... he's part of the furniture! However I appreciate and respect Murray's decision; I suppose we all knew that he could not continue forever. I sincerely thank him for his support and enthusiasm for the BTCC, as should every BTCC fan. He will be greatly missed.
"Charlie Cox will be partnered by a new-to-BTCC voice for 1998 onwards and I know that our new commentary team, which we will announce next month, will provide the billions of BTCC viewers with the same entertaining and insightful commentary that they expect. In many ways it's disappointing, but in others it is exciting... a new era has begun."
A BILLION MORE VIEWERS
TOCA has signed a major new television contract which will add an amazing one billion viewers to the Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship's television audience in 1998. The new deal is with 40 terrestrial stations in China, covering all the major cities and provinces, including Hong Kong, each of whom will take 13 dedicated 30-minute BTCC shows following each of the '98 meetings.
"Forty stations will take the dedicated BTCC programme," said Alan Gow, "with a conservative combined audience of around 80 million per programme creating over one billion new viewers to the BTCC.
"This is huge, and the importance of this deal should not be underestimated. To have the BTCC shown on major terrestrial television stations throughout the increasingly important socio-economic region of China, and to such a massive audience, yet again underlines the prominence of the BTCC in international motor sport."
A deal has also been signed with Norwegian broadcaster TV3 to screen the BTCC in a prime-time stand-alone show. With Norwegian drivers Roger Moen and Tommy Rustad set to join the ranks of the independent runners in 1998, it's expected that Norway will follow Sweden's lead in adopting the BTCC as its top-rated form of TV motor sport.
Meanwhile, a switch of BTCC broadcaster in Japan is set to boost Asian viewing figures still further. Japan's largest cable and satellite network, JSB, is the new BTCC host and will give the series pan-Japan coverage to complement coverage on the NBC Asia satellite network. Previously, the BTCC was shown only in the Tokyo region.
POINTS MAKE PRIZES
A revision to the rules of the 1998 Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship has seen the introduction of a further opportunity for drivers to score an extra point in the pitstop-punctuated Feature Race at every meeting.
"It will add considerably to the points pool available to the drivers. Given, say, three or four lead changes during the pit-stop races then there are some 30-50 extra points available... which could be decisive in the final points tally. Besides, with the BTCC being so ultra-competitive, it's a suitable reward for those drivers who have the talent and strategy to lead a race."
Each driver can score the leader's extra point only once during a race, irrespective of how many laps he may lead.
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