Speedvision World Challenge Television Coverage Announced
24 April 1999
36 HOURS OF COVERAGE, IN-RACE COMMENTARY HIGHLIGHT UNPRECEDENTED SPEEDVISION WORLD CHALLENGE TELEVISION PACKAGEENGLEWOOD, Colo--Speedvision World Challenge Championships, North America's premier production-based GT and Touring Car racing series, head into the 1999 season with the most comprehensive television package in the series' 10 year history, featuring 36 hours of flag-to-flag coverage on the Speedvision Network and FOX Sports Net.
The television package will feature hour-long broadcasts of each GT and Touring Car race with up to two re-airs per race. Race broadcasts will include coverage from over one dozen on-site cameras and multiple in-car cameras. Additionally, drivers will be miked to provide the insider's perspective so closely associated with the network's motorsports coverage. Speedvision will wrap up its season coverage with half-hour, year-end review programs.
"We have a successful model in our broadcasts of various European touring car series, and that's what we will be bringing to our coverage of the World Challenge in 1999 and beyond," said Roger Werner Jr., Speedvision Network President and CEO. "Our coverage will bring race fans closer to the on-track action of the Speedvision GT and Touring Car races and we have created significant new features and enhancements to position the Speedvision World Challenge at the forefront of sports car racing."
Speedvision's innovative coverage will feature in-race commentary by racing legend and five-time LeMans winner Derek Bell. Bell will be behind the wheel of a European Technologies-prepared BMW at multiple Speedvision World Challenge Events. In-car cameras and state-of-the-art audio will allow Bell to bring the on-track action into the viewers' living room as he provides analysis and insight from inside the car as the race unfolds.
The Speedvision will broadcast back-to-back one-hour programs of the separate GT and Touring Car races from the following 1999 Speedvision World Challenge Championships venues: Mosport (June 7), Lime Rock (June 12), Mid-Ohio (June 20), Road Atlanta (Aug. 7), Grand Rapids (Sept. 11), Pikes Peak (Oct. 2) and Laguna Seca (Oct. 24).
The two remaining races on the 1999 Speedvision World Challenge Championships schedule are slated as combined-class races. Trois-Rivieres (Aug. 29) and Vancouver (Sept. 20) will be broadcast as single one-hour programs.
All races will be rebroadcast on the Speedvision Network, with select races also rebroadcast on FOX Sports Net. FOX Sports Net broadcast dates and times to be announced.
The Stamford, Conn.-based Speedvision Network is America's first and only cable network dedicated to automobile, aviation and marine information and entertainment. The 24-hour channel offers a wide range of programming-from news and lifestyles to historical documentaries, racing events and instructional shows-and has grown to a reach of 20 million households, up from 13 million households one year ago.
1999 SPEEDVISION WORLD CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIPS TELEVISION SCHEDULE
(Speedvision GT Championship and Speedvision Touring Car Championship)
Date, Venue/City, Network, Broadcast Date*, GT Time, Touring Car Time
May 22-23, Mosport International Raceway 3 / Bowmanville, Ontario,
Can.,
6/7, 9:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m.
May 29, Dodge Dealers Grand Prix 2 / Lime Rock Park, Lakeville, Conn.,
6/12,
4:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m.
June 5-6, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course 2 /Lexington, Ohio, 6/20, 4:00
p.m.,
5:00 p.m.
July 24-25, Road Atlanta 3 / Braselton, Ga., 8/7, 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
July 31, Le Grand Prix Player's de Trois-Rivieres 3 / Trois-Rivieres,
Quebec, Can., 8/14, 8:00 p.m.**
Aug. 28, West Michigan Grand Prix 3 / Grand Rapids, Mich., 9/11, 8:00
p.m.,
9:00 p.m.
Sept. 4, Molson Indy Vancouver 1 / Vancouver, B.C., Can., 9/20, 10:00
p.m.**
Sept. 18-19, Pikes Peak International Raceway 3 / Fountain, Colo.,
10/2,
2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
Oct. 9, VISA Sports Car Championships 4 / Laguna Seca, Salinas,
Calif.,
10/24, 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
* Rebroadcast dates and times to be announced.
** Combined-class race with a single one-hour broadcast.
1 CART FedEx Championship Series Weekend
2 BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series/USRRC Can-Am and GT Weekend
3 BFGoodrich Tires Trans-Am Series Weekend
4 Professional Sports Car Weekend
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