84 replies to this topic

[dweller23]

Can anyone clarify to me the situation between ITV and BBC in that period? From what I've read around the internet (including this forum), I know that BBC stopped showing F1 in early 1976 (Race of Champions?) due to Durex sponsoring. As for ITV, I've read that they showed highlights of many races that year, surely Long Beach, Watkins Glen and Fuji (I also read, but couldn't confirm, that they showed South Africa, but this would be weird, because it happened before Race of Champions...). But, BBC then came back for the last race of season and showed highlights of it, most probably because Hunt won the championship.

So basically what I'm wondering about - was British GP that year showed at all in British TV? The highlights of this race in season highlights clip were taken from documentary made by Barry Gill's company if I'm not mistaken. Was that race broadcasted at all in any TV station in Europe?

Moving on to 1977, it seems fairly easy - a lot of the races were showed as highlights by ITV. But what confuses me is the fact that BBC showed highlights of British GP that year using rather unusual camera angles for most corners. I also read that these highlights from BBC were showed some time after the race weekend. And what about ITV? Did they show it live? Or did they make highlights like for other races that year? Or maybe they skipped it completely? And what about other European countries? Did they get the coverage?

Finally, what seems to be slightly less weird - 1978. I've read that ITV showed at least three races live that year - South Africa, Sweden and Monaco. On the other hand, I've read that the whole "Grand Prix" program in BBC started at Monaco in 1978 (what about International Trophy then, which was also done by BBC?). So, were there two different transmissions of Monaco 1978 in Great Britain? And did BBC show highlights of every remaining race of that season (I know that they did Italy, covered Great Britain live, plus showed small highlights package from Canada)? And were there any other F1 championship races that year that ITV covered?

I will be thankful for any help, the whole thing seems really complicated. The best thing would be if someone could list the races that each TV station showed in that period. So far I know about those:

ITV:
1976: Long Beach, Watkins Glen, Japan (maybe South Africa?)
1977: Argentina, Long Beach, France, Austria
1978: South Africa, Monaco, Sweden

BBC:
1976: Japan
1977: Great Britain
1978: International Trophy, Monaco, Great Britain, Italy, Canada

Cheers.

[rateus]

Finally, what seems to be slightly less weird - 1978. I've read that ITV showed at least three races live that year - South Africa, Sweden and Monaco. On the other hand, I've read that the whole "Grand Prix" program in BBC started at Monaco in 1978 (what about International Trophy then, which was also done by BBC?). So, were there two different transmissions of Monaco 1978 in Great Britain? And did BBC show highlights of every remaining race of that season (I know that they did Italy, covered Great Britain live, plus showed small highlights package from Canada)? And were there any other F1 championship races that year that ITV covered?

Monaco '78 was definitely on the Beeb only - the first live transmission of F1 I can recall, and as you mentioned the first time the 'Grand Prix' branding was attached to the programming. Sweden was the only race after that that wasn't on the BBC in some form - ITV had the exclusive rights and had a legendarily difficult broadcast which probably put their execs off the whole idea. Races such as the International Trophy would, I suspect, have been transmitted tape-delayed as part of the BBC's 'Grandstand' magazine programme rather than as stand-alone highlights programmes - both the BBC and ITV (via 'World of Sport') used this approach for other motorsports for years to come.

The significance of the 'Grand Prix' branding was that it acknowledged the BBC's commitment to stand-alone highlights packages from every GP. Only the highlights mind - the live coverage of (at least) the European races remained part of the Grandstand progranmming, and as such prone to being interrupted for eg. one-day cricket.

[Rob29]

As far as I remember the 'rights. at this time would have been negotiated with each race organiser/promoter? The .Bernie, contract did not start until 1982.1983 Swiss GP was cancelled because french TV refused to cover it.

[dweller23]

Thanks for clearing things up regarding 1978. I presume that pre-Monaco races weren't show by ITV? (apart from South Africa that is)

[LittleChris]

I think some of the highlights of the early races were shown the following week on Sportsnight with Coleman

Edited by LittleChris, 25 December 2011 - 17:45.

[dweller23]

I think some of the highlights of the early races were shown the following week on Sportsnight with Coleman

Yes, some of them even were shown by BBC in their "Classic Grand Prix" programme.

Any information about 1976 or 1977, though?

[eurocardoc]

I remember we would leg it to the airport, catch the FOCA charter and be home to watch the Euro races on the Beeb. the 'long haulers', well we were often too imbibed after taking over the refreshment cart duties from the paid help!

[nmansellfan]

Hello Dweller, interesting topic. I've also wandered about who broadcast what race in the UK in this period, as well as the late sixties / early seventies (ITV showed the 68 and '70 British GP partly live, for example).

The only info I can really add at the moment is which races ITV most likely didn't broadcast in '76 - judging from the short review Dickie Davies does of the season before ITV showed their extended highlights of the '76 Japanese GP. While doing his review, footage is shown of the Monaco, French, British, German, Canadian and US East G.P's. Watkins Glen you know that ITV showed, as you mentioned. Of the other five races with footage though, only the French GP is a clip from a TV broadcast, the rest are from film, which suggests to me that either ITV didn't show those five races, they only borrowed film footage (maybe from ITN, or Barrie Gills film company as in the case of the British GP). The French GP clip doesn't have any commentary, so it may have been a borrowed clip from a French or German station (ARD showed the race live), but I don't know if they would have gone to the trouble of sourcing a clip from an overseas TV station just for a 5 minute season review, so there is a likely chance ITV broadcast the French GP that year, and used their own clip.

The only two people I know who were into motor racing around that time were trackside at Brands Hatch for the British GP in '76 so they couldn't tell me if it was on TV at the time anyway!

An idea might be to scan old TV listings on race days or the following weeks in '76, maybe through The Times online digital archive or a similar paper (I think The Times charges for this, but not much), to see if there is a mention of a race being shown. I do remember though from my early days of watching GP racing (the mid eighties), that what was promised to be shown in the paper for Grandstand or World of Sport, would not make an appearance on the actual programme, or vice versa!

Edited by nmansellfan, 28 December 2011 - 01:04.

[Vitesse2]

An idea might be to scan old TV listings on race days or the following weeks in '76, maybe through The Times online digital archive or a similar paper (I think The Times charges for this, but not much), to see if there is a mention of a race being shown. I do remember though from my early days of watching GP racing (the mid eighties), that what was promised to be shown in the paper for Grandstand or World of Sport, would not make an appearance on the actual programme, or vice versa!

The period 1976-79 was one of the worst for "industrial action" in the print industry - especially at The Times. I did make a start on looking at this when the question was first posted, but as so many Saturday issues were not in the archive it became a rather pointless exercise. The Times Online Archive is usually available free with home access via your local library, BTW ;) The Guardian Online Archive (pay only) might be another source, but the most reliable way of hunting this would be a trip to the British Library at Colindale, which will have the relevant issues of Radio Times and TV Times.

[dweller23]

I actually came across site called thetvroomplus - it's free and contains many old tv listings for BBC and ITV.

However, I wasn't able to find much information - found information about 1969 Italian GP was broadcasted by BBC, but I knew it earlier (1968-1969 is another interesting period in British TV when it comes to F1, because of sponsors coming to the sport. I've no idea when BBC switched back to showing F1, but I presume it was in 1969, since they showed Italian GP and ITV showed both 1968 and 1969 British GP) and that on the day of 1977 Belgian GP ITV did not show anything F1-related.

[DN5]

My recollection as a keen F1 fan, hungry for information in 1976, was that the only coverage on the day was about a minute or two on the radio at the end of a sports round up.

Geoff

[John Saunders]

Just found this BBC film from 78 on East Anglian Film Archive site.


www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/5489

[dweller23]

So according to Motorsport, ITV didn't cover any races between South Africa and Sweden. Also, there's a suggestion that there was no live coverage in British TV of 1977 British GP.

[LittleChris]

I think there were highlights shown of the 1977 British GP the following week ( possible on ITV's World of Sport ) but I'm pretty certain there was no live coverage in the UK of the race

[Vitesse2]

Also, there's a suggestion that there was no live coverage in British TV of 1977 British GP.

Yep, correct. Just checked The Times: BBC had cricket, showjumping, horse racing and athletics, ITV their usual ITV Seven horse races, Tour de France, surfing, wrestling and something called "Muhammad Ali meets the Geordies"

No evening highlights and nothing on the Sunday either.

[Vitesse2]

I think there were highlights shown of the 1977 British GP the following week ( possible on ITV's World of Sport ) but I'm pretty certain there was no live coverage in the UK of the race

Half an hour on BBC's Grandstand on July 23rd

[LittleChris]

I think there was live coverage on the radio though, is it possible to check ?

[dweller23]

Half an hour on BBC's Grandstand on July 23rd

Indeed. However, the cameras used for it, apart from Woodcote one, were not placed in the usual fashion, which makes me think that the race wasn't broadcasted in other countries as well. 1978 Motorsport says that it was ITV who placed cameras for International Trophy in March 1978 (which was broadcasted by BBC...). Obviously, placing was similar to that in 1975 and earlier.

So now I am wondering if BBC showed anything in 1978 apart from Monaco/Great Britain/Italy/Canada/Int. Trophy.

[Vitesse2]

I think there was live coverage on the radio though, is it possible to check ?

Yes, there was radio coverage on Radio 2, as part of a programme which also covered rugby from New Zealand, athletics, cricket and horse racing. No exact timings in The Times though: Radio Times might have more detail, but the only set to which I have easy access only goes back to 1980.

[arttidesco]

I think there was live coverage on the radio though, is it possible to check ?

I remember listening to Simon Taylor on the live broadcast of the 1977 British Grand Prix courtesy of the BBC World Service in Zambia

[dolomite]

I also listened to the live commentary of the 1977 British GP on BBC radio.
The highlights that the BBC showed the following weekend were shot on film cameras rather than video, for some reason. There was no coverage of the race by normal TV cameras hence no TV broadcast to any other country.

[Pullman99]

The highlights that the BBC showed the following weekend were shot on film cameras rather than video, for some reason. There was no coverage of the race by normal TV cameras hence no TV broadcast to any other country.

I spoke with the producer (name forgotten, I'm afraid but he also made a 1/2 hour documentary on the LSR with Raymond baxter in 1981) of that coverage some years ago and he told me that the BBC were testing the waters a bit after their "ban" on F1 coverage. As far as I know it was shot on 16mm film with mult-cameras and clips are still shown occasionally. Still some years away, however, to a return to live coverage. At the time, it always seemed to me to be a wasted opportunity to cover a sport in which Britain had produced the reigning World Champion. Not sure if other TV companies were there or not. If so, it makes the BBC's highlights programme going out a whole week after the event seem even more second rate. Not the production team's fault of course, just policy of the day I guess.

[La Sarthe]

I seem to recall that the Beeb's Grand Prix highlights programme started with the 1978 Belgian GP, Monaco being shown live by either the BBC or ITV. The only other races I remember as live were the Swedish and British GPs - again, not sure of the station but I think they were ITV and BBC respectively. I definitely remember highlights programmes for Spain, Germany, Austria, Holland, Italy, US and Canada. I'm sure France must also have been covered but it doesn't ring any bells at the moment.

Edited by La Sarthe, 16 February 2012 - 18:37.

[nmansellfan]

At the time, it always seemed to me to be a wasted opportunity to cover a sport in which Britain had produced the reigning World Champion. Not sure if other TV companies were there or not. If so, it makes the BBC's highlights programme going out a whole week after the event seem even more second rate. Not the production team's fault of course, just policy of the day I guess.

Agree there Pullman, especially as the BBC had at least covered the '76 Japanese finale (with Murray back in the UK and Barrie Gill trackside?), with decent enough viewing figures I recall reading somewhere?

Edited by nmansellfan, 17 February 2012 - 13:16.

[Pullman99]

...especially as the BBC had at least covered the '76 Japanese finale (with Murray back in the UK and Barrie Gill trackside?), with decent enough viewing figures I recall reading somewhere?

Not sure if that was actually ITV coverage (Andrew Marriott?). I think someone must have (finally) recognised that there was a decent chance that a British driver could win the Championship and the race coverage was, indeed, live in the early hours of the morning here in the UK. So, a bit like they do now for Andy Murray in Australia...sort of.

[Vitesse2]

I'm not saying it didn't happen, but the television listings in The Times don't show a live broadcast of the 1976 Japanese GP. However, both BBC and ITV showed highlights on the Sunday afternoon. ITV from 1.10 to 2.15 and BBC from 3.55 to 4.15.

[PeterElleray]

I'm not saying it didn't happen, but the television listings in The Times don't show a live broadcast of the 1976 Japanese GP. However, both BBC and ITV showed highlights on the Sunday afternoon. ITV from 1.10 to 2.15 and BBC from 3.55 to 4.15.

It didnt happen..

you are quite right that both itv and bbc showed the race in a highlights package that afternoon, i watched both progs in the junior common room of collingwood college in durham and remember above all else the huge roar of derision that brambilla's spin caused from the largely non motorsport orientated and probably hung over contingent that filled the room, expecting to watch something else i expect.. it was like that in the 70's.. interesting that the coverage was not planned far enough in advance to make radio times.. i believe the beeb showed it as a reaction to itv doing their own coverage using the world feed.

the other info about highlights starting in 1978 at the belgian gp, and about the 77 british gp being filmed but not televised live is also quite correct.

ive still got all the coverage!

check out y. t.

edit - highlights show started with monaco gp - edited p.e see below

peter

Edited by PeterElleray, 17 February 2012 - 21:01.

[Charlieman]

...but the most reliable way of hunting this would be a trip to the British Library at Colindale, which will have the relevant issues of Radio Times and TV Times.

That is a sound suggestion, but those two publications list what was intended to be broadcast and are not a record of what happened. As suggested by others TV listings in one of the UK national papers may have more accurate listings.

TV reviewers in the broadsheets may have some useful comments about what was broadcast. Clive James in The Observer was an F1 fan, for example, and the books of selected columns are good reading for many other reasons.

As a fan of Patrick Depailler, I remember the 1978 Monaco race well. I am almost certain that the UK TV broadcast was not continuous and that I relied on a radio broadcast in addition.

[PeterElleray]

That is a sound suggestion, but those two publications list what was intended to be broadcast and are not a record of what happened. As suggested by others TV listings in one of the UK national papers may have more accurate listings.

TV reviewers in the broadsheets may have some useful comments about what was broadcast. Clive James in The Observer was an F1 fan, for example, and the books of selected columns are good reading for many other reasons.

As a fan of Patrick Depailler, I remember the 1978 Monaco race well. I am almost certain that the UK TV broadcast was not continuous and that I relied on a radio broadcast in addition.

it was broadcast live in the afternoon, in parts, by the bbc (i think), highlights in the evening . didnt see that one in full till 2010....

peter

[dweller23]

Wow, this is a lot of great information, thank you all for that.

It's nearly 100% sure now that 1977 British GP wasn't covered at all in other countries, unless FOCA would be able to bring their own cameras and crew.

the other info about highlights starting in 1978 at the belgian gp, and about the 77 british gp being filmed but not televised live is also quite correct.

ive still got all the coverage!

check out y. t.

peter

Wow, I had no idea that any of 1978 (apart from British, Italian and Canadian races) BBC recordings survived. What is the name of your YT channel?

[PeterElleray]

Wow, this is a lot of great information, thank you all for that.

It's nearly 100% sure now that 1977 British GP wasn't covered at all in other countries, unless FOCA would be able to bring their own cameras and crew.


Wow, I had no idea that any of 1978 (apart from British, Italian and Canadian races) BBC recordings survived. What is the name of your YT channel?

i dont have one - just use the search facility be prepared to think laterally and be aware that most of the material, whilst world feed, is not from the vaults of the bbc...

peter

[dweller23]

It would appear that 1976 Race of Champions was covered by BBC Radio 1. Still no idea about TV, but I'm pretty sure that the cameras were placed on the track, so maybe there were broadcasts in some of the countries? Also, no idea about 1976 British GP.

Edited by dweller23, 18 February 2012 - 22:50.

[Vitesse2]

1976 RoC was covered by BBC TV. Highlights only - 45 minutes starting at 4.10pm on BBC1. No radio coverage.

No "on the day" TV coverage of the GP, but there was a "Grand Prix Special" on Radio 2 long wave only between 4.02 and 5.00. ITV showed highlights on July 24th: the listing in The Times suggests it was approximately 20 minutes.

[Tim Murray]

1976 RoC was covered by BBC TV. Highlights only - 45 minutes starting at 4.10pm on BBC1.

Did this actually happen? This was the race where the Beeb got coy about the Durex Surtees, and I thought they had refused to broadcast any coverage of the race, leading to Pete Lyons's 'Letter to Auntie' race report in Autosport telling them what they'd missed.

[Vitesse2]

Ah - good point. That was in the back of my mind but I wasn't sure if that was the RoC or International Trophy.

[dweller23]

Didn't Jones' Surtees have Durex sponsorship at Silverstone as well, though? After all, International Trophy happened later than Race of Champions, so it's interesting how BBC changed their minds, especially when keeping in mind there was no coverage of British GP which was way later that year.

[PeterElleray]

some more details from memory...

the 76 RoC was due to be covered but the bbc camera's were removed after the durex row before the race, so no coverage or world feed. the only coverage of the 76 british gp on uk tv was the 30 minute film shown on itv the following weekend (?). the 76 international trophy was not covered. so no tv cameras present , or in 1977 at either the gp or roc (int trophy was f2 that year). the bbc didnt start covering the race live again till 78.

through 76/77 itv carried quite a few short reports with edited world feed, never live but useful all the same.

back in 1968 the bbc had also withdrawn coverage at the GP when adverstising appeared on the cars, but itv stepped in in that year, 1969 and 1970. the bbc came back in 1971, and carried the race through to 1975. of these broadcasts, the 69 race has recently surfaced, on espn in english, and elsewhere using the world feed in franglais, with francois cevert, remarkably, in there as the expert commentator in the later hunt/brundle role, a year prior to his proper gp debut but only a coule of weeks before running in the f2 section of the german gp.

segmenets of the 68 race have appeared in recent years, the whole race surely still exists and will no doubt surface soon enough, probably in french german or italian.. of the 1970 race i have never seen a single scrap of tv coverage since the day it was first broadcast... 71 exists in part, 72 almost in whole except for the final 10 minutes, copies usually tack film footage on here but the live coverage is wonderful in showing how hard stewart chased fittipaldi and ickx in the older tyrrell having shunted 005 in practice.

73 has been broadcast in truncated form,along with 74 and 75 on espn in recent years. the 75 international trophy has also surfaced there. sadly none of the other 71/2/3/4 non championship races have surfaced in any decent length, although a segment of the october 71 race at brands, including the immediate aftermath of the siffert accident has.

in more general terms, world feed of complete, or near complete races is generally around for almost every gp raced including and after 1977. much of 1975 and 76 also exist. the vast majority of the world feed coverage is not overlaid with english commentry however. if you know the era, and the drivers and cars, then this actually makes very little difference. quality varies, the best is almost as good as was generally acceptable pre digital only a few years ago. some other is third or fourth generation.

as i said, check out the usual places...

peter

[dolomite]

I have recently seen the 69 British GP broadcast as shown on ESPN. I was disappointed to find that it only starts halfway through the race (presumably the footage of the start and early laps is still missing) and there is little sign of the much-vaunted Stewart/Rindt overtaking battle - most of the time they are just shown circulating in formation until Rindt gets his puncture and Stewart goes past near the end.

[PeterElleray]

not sure why they did that, unless thats the only english language segment left... the full race does live up, more or less, to the printed accounts - interesting to hear francois commenting on jackie's racecraft!

peter

[dweller23]

Yes, I heard about the French broadcast of this race, it's very interesting, especially that I know a lot of French people claiming that there was no F1 on tv (apart from French GP) until 1976/77. And this one as well as Spanish GP from 1971 were definately shown by French TV.

As for 1977 - recently I've learned that someone found 45 minutes of Canadian GP at Mosport from Austrian TV. I've never seen any live pictures from Mosport (apart from Hunt punching the marshall).

Going back to British broadcasters, I think that ESPN Classic showed only a part of original ITV broadcast. However, BBC came back before 1971 if we're talking about F1 (not only British GP), because they showed Italian GP in 1969 and I'm sure of that.

It would seem that most of 1976-78 stuff is figured out, but I'd like to ask - was 1977 South African GP ever shown in Great Britain? I know about other broadcasters (France, Italy and South Africa).

[Vitesse2]

It would seem that most of 1976-78 stuff is figured out, but I'd like to ask - was 1977 South African GP ever shown in Great Britain? I know about other broadcasters (France, Italy and South Africa).

It appears not. No highlights on either BBC or ITV the following Saturday according to The Times.

However, that's one which might be worth cross-referencing to Radio Times or TV Times - might planned coverage have been dropped out of respect?

[PeterElleray]

Yes, I heard about the French broadcast of this race, it's very interesting, especially that I know a lot of French people claiming that there was no F1 on tv (apart from French GP) until 1976/77. And this one as well as Spanish GP from 1971 were definately shown by French TV.

As for 1977 - recently I've learned that someone found 45 minutes of Canadian GP at Mosport from Austrian TV. I've never seen any live pictures from Mosport (apart from Hunt punching the marshall).

Going back to British broadcasters, I think that ESPN Classic showed only a part of original ITV broadcast. However, BBC came back before 1971 if we're talking about F1 (not only British GP), because they showed Italian GP in 1969 and I'm sure of that.

It would seem that most of 1976-78 stuff is figured out, but I'd like to ask - was 1977 South African GP ever shown in Great Britain? I know about other broadcasters (France, Italy and South Africa).

quite a lot of french tv footage before 1976/77 as a matter of fact...

when i spoke about the bbc and f1 in the 69/71 era i was refering to using their own cameras in british events. they also showed f1 on wheelbase, complete with cars showing advertising, as we have also seen on espn, and i believe there were other european feeds shown live or time delayed. strange case of confused standards or directives..

77 south african gp was not broadcast in the uk, but a brief clip was shown in sportsnight on the following wednesday as part of a tribute to tom pryce.

havent seen the 77 canadian coverage yet. as a matter of fact the canadian races are almost completetly missing from the list of those races that do survive prior to 1978, after which all is avaliable..

peter

[nmansellfan]

Great info, Peter. I too, like Dolomite, was left a little (only a very little though!) disappointed by the coverage of the '69 British GP on ESPN Classic, only for the reason that for years I head read of the titanic battle between Rindt and Stewart in the race, yet the coverage shown didn't reflect that. It could well be that the segment shown is the only bit left that ITV could give to ESPN! I will have to track down the French broadcast to get a fuller picture of the race - no pun intended...

Do you have any recollection of any GP's shown in '67 by the BBC or other broadcasters? There is the last few laps of the Italian GP that is well known (I wonder if this is all that's left of the race in the BBC archives), and I've seen a clip of the Monaco GP with Raymond Baxter commentating, a mute clip of the Dutch GP, and extended highlights of the German GP (by ARD I think). I haven't seen any TV footage of any of the other races that year - no cameras were present at the season opening South African GP, TV didn't start in SA until some years after from what I've read.

Edited by nmansellfan, 19 February 2012 - 18:55.

[Tim Murray]

I definitely remember watching some sort of TV coverage of the 1967 French and British GPs (presumably BBC), but am not sure whether this was live coverage or highlights. I also vividly remember listening to the last few laps of Clark winning the Dutch GP live on the radio, but can't remember if there was any associated TV broadcast.

[dweller23]

1967 British GP was broadcasted by BBC as far as I know.

[PeterElleray]

didnt really start to follow things till the early 1970's myself, but i am 'aware' of some of the earlier footage - the first 10 minutes or so of the world feed for the 1967 german gp have surfaced on YT, easy enough to find (not the two documentaries that have been around for a while). Not sure if this was broadcast in the uk or not, vitesse wil probably be able to help on that. ABC (US) coverage of monaco was in the same place until recently (havent checked) majoring on the bandini footage, some of which was also in that documentry last year.

peter

[Vitesse2]

I definitely remember watching some sort of TV coverage of the 1967 French and British GPs (presumably BBC), but am not sure whether this was live coverage or highlights. I also vividly remember listening to the last few laps of Clark winning the Dutch GP live on the radio, but can't remember if there was any associated TV broadcast.

1967 French GP was on BBC. Probably not live, though: the start was shown from 2.30 to 2.55 and the finish from 4.35 to 5.00.

I remember watching the Dutch GP, Tim. Grainy picture, but the first public view of the Lotus 49 Again BBC, 2.15-2.40 and 4.20 to 4.40. Radio commentary on the Third Network, but no exact timings.

1967 British GP was broadcasted by BBC as far as I know.

No, it was ITV. The listings state: 2.10 World of Sport from Silverstone (until 2.20), so presumably a quick intro from Dickie Davies. There were further segments from 2.45 to 3.20 and 3.45 to 4.00, followed by the inevitable wrestling. Pre-ITV 7, so not much racing, but they were also covering showjumping from Hickstead: that day BBC were mainly committed to the third Test v India, but also fitted in racing, the Open golf and highlights of the AAA championships! That evening, there was an episode of Whicker's World called "How they filmed Grand Prix": does that survive, I wonder, or is it missing presumed wiped?

[D-Type]

I remember watching the 1967 Italian GP. I think live, but I don't know which channel it was on.

[Vitesse2]

Other 1967 races in Europe:

Monaco: BBC TV 2.50-3.15 and then two segments of "cricket and motor racing" 4.30-5.05 and 5.30-5.50. Radio: Home Service 5.30-5.50 - but this may be an error, as that was the usual slot for Sports Report.

Belgium and Germany: no on the day coverage.

Italy: BBC TV 2.25-2.45 then shared coverage with swimming between 3.35 and 5.05.

[Tim Murray]

I remember watching the Dutch GP, Tim. Grainy picture, but the first public view of the Lotus 49 Again BBC, 2.15-2.40 and 4.20 to 4.40. Radio commentary on the Third Network, but no exact timings.

Interesting, thanks Richard. I wonder if the later TV transmission was delayed for some reason, and I turned on the radio to get the latest news - I would have been desperate to find out how the Lotus 49 had fared. As an aside, it always annoyed me that the Beeb would often tell you that they were taking you live to some event or other (not necessarily motor sport) when they were really showing recorded material.