World Sports Cars on TV (1953-1992)

This topic is about the World Sports Cars on TV (1953-1992) about broadcasts done by host feeds.

1966:

Daytona 24H - ABC (Live / Taped)

Sebring 12H - ABC (Taped)

Le Mans 24H - ORTF

1967:

Sebring 12H - ABC (Taped)

Le Mans 24H - ORTF

1971:

Buneos Aires 1000km - Canal 7

Le Mans 24H - ORTF

Anyone want to add.

1968 Brands Hatch - ITV London area. Schedules say 12.40-13.00 and 14.30-15.20. If the Sunday Times listing is correct then it may also have been shown on Grampian, with the earlier programme (only) also on Border. At that time ITV was a confederation rather than a network, with individual companies doing their own thing! No idea if there would have been a live feed for foreign broadcasters though.

None of the other Brands Hatch races seem to have been televised.

1955 Mille Miglia - RAI.  There's a few minutes of live coverage floating about on YT.

1989 480Km of Donington - Eursosport or Screensport, I think they covered most of the race live.

1991 Le Mans 24H - Not sure of the host broadcaster, La Cinq?  I watched it live on the BBC, they covered the first hour or so as I saw Rosberg's 905 catch fire at his first pitstop.

1968 Brands Hatch - ITV London area. Schedules say 12.40-13.00 and 14.30-15.20. If the Sunday Times listing is correct then it may also have been shown on Grampian, with the earlier programme (only) also on Border. At that time ITV was a confederation rather than a network, with individual companies doing their own thing! No idea if there would have been a live feed for foreign broadcasters though.

 

None of the other Brands Hatch races seem to have been televised.

Televised racing on British TV in that era tended to be on Saturdays and Bank Holidays when there was a Grandstand or World of Sport programme into which it could neatly fit. Having said that the odd European GP broadcast did turn up on the BBC on Sunday afternoons but I don't remember this extending to other racing categories, although,  perhaps the closing stages of Le Mans was sometimes shown?

The 1958 and 1959 Tourist Trophy races were both part of BBC's Grandstand offering.

No UK rounds 1960-61.

In 1962 it clashed with Test cricket and athletics and was shown on ITV. All regions.

Another clash with cricket in 1963. Again shown on all ITV regions. (On that day, BTW, the lead headline on The Daily Telegraph was POLICE HUNT FOR RACING DRIVER 'Find the Weasel' call in mail gang case - they were of course interested in the whereabouts of one Roy John James who had last been seen on Thursday, practising at Goodwood!)

In 1964 it was again shown on all ITV regions - BBC were more concerned with show jumping and athletics that day.

The 1965 race wasn't televised as it was a big sport day generally. Both BBC1 and ITV showed the FA Cup Final. There was also the Middlesex Sevens rugby from Twickenham, golf from Sandwich and racing from Ascot, shared between BBC1 and BBC2.

The Dundrod TTs weren't televised live, although they may have been filmed for the BBC's Newsreel programme:

1953 - sporadic radio commentary on the Light Programme. Radio commentary of the start only on BBC Northern Ireland's Home Service.

1954 - sporadic radio commentary on the Light Programme.

1955 - sporadic radio commentary on the Light Programme.

First BBC TV coverage of Le Mans 'presented by the French television service' was in 1961. That year and 1962 they provided a report on the race early on Sunday afternoon and then covered the finish live. There were of course regular radio reports throughout the day.

1963 saw reports during Grandstand on Saturday then the same pattern as above on the Sunday.

1964 - as 1961-62.

1965 - live reports on BBC1 09.45, 13.15 and 15.25 (the finish) on Sunday

1966 - preview on Grandstand on Saturday, live reports 13.15, 15.35 Sunday

1967 - preview on Grandstand on Saturday, live reports 10.15, 13.30, 15.45 Sunday

1968 - radio only - the delayed Le Mans clashed with the opening meeting at Thruxton, which was covered by BBC Grandstand.

1990 Player's Mondial (FISA WSC Montreal round) : Current Canadian F1 rights holder RDS's first live race.

First BBC TV coverage of Le Mans 'presented by the French television service' was in 1961. That year and 1962 they provided a report on the race early on Sunday afternoon and then covered the finish live. There were of course regular radio reports throughout the day.
 
1963 saw reports during Grandstand on Saturday then the same pattern as above on the Sunday.
 
1964 - as 1961-62.
 
1965 - live reports on BBC1 09.45, 13.15 and 15.25 (the finish) on Sunday
 
1966 - preview on Grandstand on Saturday, live reports 13.15, 15.35 Sunday
 
1967 - preview on Grandstand on Saturday, live reports 10.15, 13.30, 15.45 Sunday
 
1968 - radio only - the delayed Le Mans clashed with the opening meeting at Thruxton, which was covered by BBC Grandstand.

I recall seeing the final laps of the '69 LeMans on the Beeb, including helicopter shots of Ickx's Ford passing Herrman's (?) Porsche for the lead.
Steve

I only checked Radio Times as far as 1968. IIRC 1967 set the pattern and they usually showed the finish for several years afterwards. Will look when I have a bit more spare time ...

I recall seeing the final laps of the '69 LeMans on the Beeb, including helicopter shots of Ickx's Ford passing Herrman's (?) Porsche for the lead.
Steve

This is no doubt the same video feed you saw, although it has American TV commentary form Keith Jackson, Chris Economaki, and Phil Hill (on ABC's sports anthology program "Wide World of Sports"):

https://youtu.be/LCwzQkosHoE

Unfortunately, the quality of the video is rather poor, particularly the helicopter shots.

Nice interview with a young Jackie Oliver at the end!

Edited by Emery0323, 21 July 2021 - 19:34.

I seem to recall that there was no mention of BBC showing any of the 1968 Le Mans in any listings. However I recall walking down a high street somewhere, glancing in a shop window and seeing Le Mans racing on a TV. I believe the end of the race was shown that year. 

I also recall that since I was going to the race in either '88 or '90 I set my video recorder to record advertised broadcasts on BBC. Arriving home I discovered I had recorded horse racing or something else equally uninteresting. I later discovered there was a blazing row involving John Egan, the BBC and even I believe Maggie Thatcher because the Beeb had pulled the broadcasts because, sacre bleu, the French wanted paying...

First BBC TV coverage of Le Mans 'presented by the French television service' was in 1961. 

Also in '54 Vitesse, according to Genome.  Looks like it was the first live TV broadcast of the race that the BBC had shown.

was 1955 Le Mans shown live on French TV?

Probably either mine of my father's memories playing tricks but he once mentioned that we had seen some coverage of Le Mans the year "Jaguar won because of their disc brakes", presumably 1953. If so it would only be a month or so into our ownership of a television.

Sometime in the current century Channel 4 (I think) showed fairly extensive Le Mans coverage. I don't think it was well received and didn't happen again.

Also in '54 Vitesse, according to Genome.  Looks like it was the first live TV broadcast of the race that the BBC had shown.

Yes, I'd missed that little TV sapling in the forest of Light Programme references! At least half an hour live, covering the finish. The listing hints at possibly more, depending on the course of events in the Davis Cup tennis, I suppose.

Looking more carefully at Genome I see they also broadcast a film of the 1952 race on Saturday June 12th 1954. That had first been shown on April 6th 1953. No live TV in 1955 but according to Genome there was a film - made by Pathé - of that year's race, shown on both July 4th and August 5th.

1956 and 1957- highlights only, shown on Sunday evening.

Apparently no TV coverage 1958.

1959 - as 1956-7. 'A Sportsview Unit presentation in conjunction with Radiodiffusion-Television Francaise.'

1960 - a live report late Saturday night, including film of the start. Another report on Sunday afternoon, followed by coverage of the finish.

Probably either mine of my father's memories playing tricks but he once mentioned that we had seen some coverage of Le Mans the year "Jaguar won because of their disc brakes", presumably 1953. If so it would only be a month or so into our ownership of a television.

Maybe the film of 1952 as above? Or possibly some uncredited stuff on 'Radio Newsreel'?
 

I have a very vivid memory of watching the start and opening laps of the 1965 Le Mans live on UK TV, with the two new 7-litre Fords pulling away from the field. However, as Vitesse2 has posted, there’s no mention of this coverage in the BBC listings. Was this possibly last-minute unscheduled coverage, or is my memory playing tricks?

The cricket seems to have proceeded without interruption. Racing as well, no doubt. However, as the scanned originals of RT aren't online after 1960 I have no clue what the listed volleyball was. I can't find a report of a volleyball tournament that day in the Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times or the Observer of June 20th though. So maybe - for whatever reason - that was dropped and Le Mans inserted?

Certainly wouldn't have been on ITV - on that day World of Sport had its usual mixture of ten-pin bowling, athletics and racing until the one fixed point which never varied. Wrestling! Listed as starting (as usual) at 3.40pm - its absence would have enraged the nation's grannies ...

I have vague recollections of 1965 too, being slightly worried that Ferrari's run might be coming to an end!   I have nothing definitive for UK broadcasting but, on the Live TV Coverage thread, both Stefan O and Don C mention 1965 Le Mans as the first for live satellite broadcast. Would this have been relevant to us in the UK?  Presumably not, but I'd be surprised if there wasn't some coverage. A live start seems familiar, but I suppose the first lap or so might have been shown later, on the evening news perhaps?

Looking at Genome, there are the Sunday BBC broadcasts as listed by Vitesse, but also this, which appears to be the first scheduled coverage, a resumé of the first few hours. It does seem odd not to have broken into the Saturday afternoon sports programme to have shown the start. 

was Daytona 24H shown live in the 1960s and 70s when it was part of the WSC?

Interesting topic.

I will add a one particular new race found when looking for the NBC:s F1 race coverage from the years of 1963-1965:

Sebring 12 Hours Race 1963: Mixed and taped coverage in Wide World of Sports in ABC. It was shown in 30.3.1963 at 5-6.30 pm. It had to share it's programme time with NCAA Wrestling Championship. It was commentated by Jim McKay.

Maybe some new races could be added eventually all in due time.

Edited by Blue6ix, 02 March 2024 - 18:32.

I will add a one particular new race found when looking for the NBC:s F1 race coverage from the years of 1963-1965:

Daytona Continental 2000 Kilometres Race 1964: Mixed and taped coverage in Wide World of Sports in ABC. It was shown in 22.2.1964 at 5-6.30 pm. It had to share it's programme time with All-American Water Ski Championship race from Cypress Garden, Winter Haven, Polk County, Florida.

Maybe some new races could be added eventually all in due time. 

Edited by Blue6ix, 02 March 2024 - 19:30.

I will add a one particular new race found when looking for the NBC:s F1 race coverage from the years of 1963-1965:

Sebring 12 Hours Race 1964: Mixed and taped coverage in Wide World of Sports in ABC. It was shown in 28.3.1964 at 5-6.30 pm. It had to share it's programme time with Alpine Skiing Championship from Winter Park, Grand County, Colorado and with Ski Jump World Championship race from Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway.

Maybe some new races could be added eventually all in due time. 

Edited by Blue6ix, 02 March 2024 - 19:48.

was Daytona 24H shown live in the 1960s and 70s when it was part of the WSC?

 I don't recall any coverage of the Daytona race in the later 1960's -early 1970's when I would have been keen to watch.

The only endurance racing coverage I can recall seeing was  highlights from Sebring 12 hours and LeMans 24 hours.

The sports compilation show "Wide World of Sports" (mentioned in postings above) would show highlights in some years, along with the Monaco GP in F1

Andretti's Sebring win (co-driven) in 1970 made a big splash.

I recall that from 1961, maybe earlier, BBC showed the start of Le Mans live although they maybe didn't advertise the fact. Knowing when the race would start it was worth turning on the TV. They would also return for a brief report, presumably when they had a slot,, before the end of "Grandstand.". In 1963, not sure of other years, there was a report around 11:00pm and then there would be a couple of reports on Sunday and then the finish. This was certainly the case in the early to mid '60's. Even as late as 1968 the start was shown. I also recall, maybe my memory is playing tricks but having seen the finish in 1966, I turned on the BBC News at 6:00 which was actually headlined by the Ford victory at Le Mans. Quite remarkable for the Beeb, no my memory must be playing tricks.  

I will add a one particular new race found when looking for the NBC:s F1 race coverage from the years of 1963-1965:

Sebring 12 Hours Race 1965: Mixed and taped coverage in Wide World of Sports in ABC. It was shown in 3.4.1965 at 5-6.30 pm. It had to share it's programme time with Ski Jump World Championship race from Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. It was commentated by Charlie Brockman. As a side note, Art Devlin covered the Ski Jumping race from Norway.

Maybe some new races could be added eventually all in due time. 

I will add a one particular new race found when looking for the NBC:s F1 race coverage from the years of 1963-1965:

Daytona Continental 2000 Kilometres Race 1965: Mixed and taped coverage in Wide World of Sports in ABC. It was shown in 1.5.1965 at 5-6.30 pm. It had to share it's programme time with Tournament of Champions PGA Tournament Tour Golf race from Las Vegas, Desert Inn Country Club, Nevada.

Maybe some new races could be added eventually all in due time. 

Edited by Blue6ix, 03 March 2024 - 19:46.

In the US, ABC Wide World of Sports, frequently broadcast footage of non US racing events, including annual coverage of the Monaco GP.  I believe their coverage started with the 1962 race, and lasted through the duration of the show.  They also covered the US GP for several years, along with summaries of important sports car races.

CBS broadcast the entire 1976 GP season, featuring Stirling Moss as primary commentator, who was drafted after Graham Hill died.   The 1977 and 1978 GP seasons were broadcast in the US, with coverage split among CBS and NBC.

ESPN and later, Speedvision, broadcast live coverage of GP and endurance races, beginning in the very early 1990's.

 

 

ESPN and later, Speedvision, broadcast live coverage of GP and endurance races, beginning in the very early 1990's.

I can recall ESPN covering the full schedule of F1 races live as far back as 1986,  and it probably started earlier than that. 

Bob Varsha and John Bisignano were typically the commentators, sometimes with guest appearances by Jackie Stewart, Stirling Moss, and on at least one occasion, Innes Ireland.

I recall seeing some Endurance races that got coverage ESPN, but usually as taped highlights, and often not with ESPN commentators.