FORMULA ONE: ABC, Speedvision, IMS Radio Broadcasting SAP US Grand Prix
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
September 26, 2001INDIANAPOLIS - Formula One is back on ABC Sports.
The SAP United States Grand Prix Formula One race will be broadcast live on ABC from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway starting with the live pre-race show at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) Sunday followed by the live race broadcast at 2 p.m. (EDT).
Bob Jenkins will serve as host, with Eddie Cheever Jr. as color analyst and Jason Priestley as pit reporter. Jenkins and Priestley are part of the ABC/ESPN broadcast team for Indy Racing Northern Light Series events, and Cheever, winner of the 1998 Indianapolis 500, is one of the top drivers in Indy Racing. Cheever also competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1978-89 and started 132 races, the most of any American driver in history.
It's the first ABC telecast of a Formula One race since the early 1990s. ABC Sports has been the leading broadcast partner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 36 years. The network first aired the Indianapolis 500 in 1965 and has broadcast it live since 1986. The network previously aired Formula One races on "Wide World of Sports" until the early 1990s. The ABC broadcast will be shown on a tape-delayed basis in the Indianapolis area at 11:30 p.m. (EST) Sunday.
In addition to ABC's coverage, Speedvision will also rebroadcast the race at 8 p.m. (EDT) and midnight Sunday, Oct. 7. "US Grand PrixView" a half-hour preview show, will air at 8 p.m. (EDT) Thursday. Practice will air live on Speedvision from noon-4 p.m. (EDT) Friday and 10 a.m.-noon (EDT) Saturday, and qualifications will be broadcast live from 1:30-3:30 p.m. (EDT) Saturday. The race morning warm-up will also air live at 9:30 a.m. (EDT) Sunday.
Bob Varsha will lead Speedvision's coverage of the Grand Prix with commentary from David Hobbs, Sam Posey and Steve Matchett. Hobbs was a starter in seven Formula One races between 1967-74 and a veteran of four Indianapolis 500 starts in the 1970s. Posey, a starter in the 1972 Indianapolis 500, also competed in the United States Grand Prix in 1971 and 1972 at Watkins Glen, N.Y. He also served as an analyst on ABC's Indianapolis 500 coverage in the 1980s and early 1990s. Matchett was chief mechanic for Michael Schumacher's World Championships with Benetton in 1994 and 1995.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network will broadcast the SAP United States Grand Prix starting with a pre-race show at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) Sunday followed by the live race broadcast at 2 p.m. There will be a qualifying wrap-up show at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Mike King will anchor the broadcast with Indianapolis Motor Speedway Historian Donald Davidson and Formula One expert Roger Horton serving as analysts. Jerry Baker will covers Turns 1-6, Chris Denari will cover the backstraight and Turns 7-10, and Mark Jaynes will cover Turns 11-13. Chris Economaki and Ralph Sheheen will work the pits.
The SAP United States Grand Prix is the largest-attended Formula One race in the world. This will be the second year for the event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, also the site of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400.
Text provided by Paul Kelly
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