96 replies to this topic

[jonpollak]

For me...

 

F1 - Outside of Murray and James..the best team ever.... I loved Varsha & Hobbs.

Indy -  Paul Tracy, Robin Miller and Kevin Lee

IMSA- Hindhaugh and Jeremy Shaw.

F-e Triple threat of Dario, Varsha and the hysteria of Jack Nicholls

NASCAR- Mike Joy

 

Over to you  savvy race fans....

 

 

Jp

[Ben1445]

Bob Varsha is my new hero

[Ivanhoe]

Nick Harris

[krapmeister]

In V8Supercars Neil Crompton sh!ts over everyone else...

[Alex79]

As a Dutchman I watch a lot of different language commentaries, as our own was either **** or not available (and for any countrymen reading, no I do not like Olav Mol, although I respect him and I absolutely HATE Ronald van Dam). Best Dutchman in commentary was Allard Kalff while working together with John Watson.

 

F1: Gaetan Vigneron and Thierry Tassin: French Belgian, so they talk a bit slower then your typical Frenchman. Only when it gets really exciting they suddenly got twice as fast. Incroyable

Btcc/ Blancpain / sometimes F3: Dave Addison. His "safetycars breed safetycars" remark is so true.

WTCC / WTCR and in the old days of World Series by Renault: Martin Haven. I heard him even on the Olympics last year doing Bobsleigh reports for Eurosport 

When watching 24hrs of Nurburgring on RTL Nitro: Peter Reichert. Beautiful smoky voice without too much German harshness in it. Reminded me of Das Boot Actor Otto Sander.

GP2: Will Buxton (alex jacques is ok, but Buxton was more fun). And although he was not really understandable but quite funny: Davide Valsecchi.

Formula E: JACK NICHOLLS!! OMG HE'S IN THE WALL !!!    Come to Holland to do some Eredivisie Football games, outside of Sierd de Vos it gets a bit boring on tv.

V8 Supercars: Mark Skaife was always a favourite, sometimes even sounding like he wanted to get back in a racesuit when he criticized a former collegue. Dunno if Pitreporters are allowed, but Mark Larkham does a great job in explaining and interviewing while being both knowledgeable and funny

MotoGP: Today we're stuck with Dutch commentator Frank Weeink, who shouts like he really needs to go to a bathroom when he gets excited. In the good old days when we had British commentary I always liked the team of Julian Rider with Toby Moody. Ryder for the scathing humor and knowledge, Moody for the "fan-with-a-microphone" atmosphere

Superbikes: Jack Burnicles typical accent combined with the almost not understandable James Whitham

Edited by Alex79, 30 April 2019 - 13:47.

[krapmeister]

If anyone grew up watching NHRA drag racing - or at least videos of it - as a kid, Steve Evans was the voice of drag racing in the US of A...

[dierome87]

Paul Page/Bobby Unser/Sam Posey - Indycar/Indy 500

[SophieB]

I love Bob Varsha. I love how in some sports he sounds like he is only half a page ahead in reading the sport rule book and yet at the same time sounds so polished and enthusiastic. I would love him to cover every single sport, just to see what he'd bring.

 

I'm grinning as I type just remembering how damn good he is.

[JHSingo]

Murray Walker is the obvious choice for me. Maybe some of it is nostalgia, but I always remember him as being both balanced and enthusiastic - as well as (advertently and inadvertently) funny. My favourite Murray-ism is in my signature.

 

I feel the modern F1 commentators - both Ben Edwards and David Croft - try too hard to be like Murray sometimes. There seems to be some unfortunate trend that you have to shout every time something even half exciting happens, which gets annoying over the duration of a race. Jack Nicholls is perhaps the worst for this - which is exacerbated by the fact that Formula E cars are pretty much silent anyway, so you don't need to be shouting constantly.

 

As for lesser known, I'd have to say David Addison, who does the BTCC and many others. He doesn't come across as shouty as Edwards and Croft.

 

I like John Hindhaugh and Neil Hodgson (colour commentator for the MotoGP) just for a more subjective thing of it being nice to have a few Northern voices in motorsport too.

Edited by JHSingo, 30 April 2019 - 14:19.

[Ben1445]

I used to like John Hindhaugh but he’s begun to annoy me recently. Too many undertones of bias and feeling self important.

I think Dario Franchitti has slipped perfectly into the commentary job in Formula E now. Him and Bob Varsha have good chemistry and temper Nicholl’s enthusiasm mostly quite effectively I feel.

[Afterburner]

Love seeing Varsha get so much praise in here. Didn’t matter if he was doing racing or figure skating–he was always so composed that he came across as more a narrator than a commentator, even in the heat of the moment, and it was always enjoyable to listen to.

John Hindhaugh is great, too. I normally don’t like it when commentators get shouty, but Hindy does it in a way for me that evokes Varsha’s style. His enthusiasm is genuine, but he does a good job containing it enough that it’s not overwhelming. The way he chooses to emphasize certain words is hilarious to me sometimes. “OHH! And there’s a Ferrari, with a significant amount of FLAME coming out the back...”

Have not heard much of Dario’s commentary, but he was amazing when he called an Indy 500 practice session a few years ago. If I were NBC I’d be tripping over myself to get him for the 500...

[Adventuris]

Nascar 1980's. Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett.

 

In terms of today, as alot of people are saying, Varsha.

[pacificquay]

What Americans call "announcers" are "commentators" - they wouldn't be called presenters anywhere.

 

The presenter is the person who does the in-vision bits eg Simon Lazenby

[Vielleicht]

What I have grown to like about Bob Varsha is how he does it out of love. I think somehwhere, either broadcast or written, he said that the FE paddock reminds him more of the racing paddocks of his early career. So the idea that he's drawn to doing it out of nostalgia of golden days gone by I think is somewhat romantic.
 
This is an article he wrote about his current job. Reveals some of the qualities that make him good for me.
https://e-racing365....ting-formula-e/
 

As a mentor of mine from many years ago, NASCAR Hall of Fame announcer Ken Squier, once told me, viewers aren’t going to sit and watch a race unless they care about what happens to the competitors.
And making viewers care, to me, drives everything we say and do in a broadcast.

I have to say that the ABB FIA Formula E Championship is right up there with the most fun I’ve had in television.
This is in no small part because this ground-breaking series allows me to go where the races are, speak to the drivers and teams, and deal with people face to face.

[phrank]

Best Dutchman in commentary was Allard Kalff while working together with John Watson.

This, when they were together in Europsport, I loved the live bits Allard did during the Sunday morning warm up, walking around in the paddock.

[TomNokoe]

I really enjoyed Will Buxton in F2. Not as much anymore. Alex Jacques has taken over the reigns with aplomb.

Unlike many, I really enjoy(ed) James Allen and Martin Haven in their respective roles.

Commenting on a point about "shouting whenever something happens", Murray would shout because he was actually genuinely shocked, whereas nowadays it is just totally faked. How difficult is it to be genuine?

Edited by TomNokoe, 30 April 2019 - 15:19.

[f1paul]

I do like Andrew Coley.

 

Also, Jack Nicholls - always liked him from when he was commentating the GT stuff a few years back.

Alex Jacques is very good.

Although Mark Skaife is a bit Red Bull is everything in the Supercars - I think he is very good, not quite as good as Neil Crompton though.

David Addison is also excellent.

 

There's many commentators I like actually, there are more that I like than I dislike. 

[milestone 11]

I really enjoyed Will Buxton in F2. Not as much anymore. Alex Jacques has taken over the reigns with aplomb.
Unlike many, I really enjoy(ed) James Allen and Martin Haven in their respective roles.
Commenting on a point about "shouting whenever something happens", Murray would shout because he was actually genuinely shocked, whereas nowadays it is just totally faked. How difficult is it to be genuine?

Agree with everything you say with the exception of Jacques. Hopeless. Why can't he call Hubert Hubert, or even Ubert if he wants to sound French, but no, let's try Joubert, bloody Joubert, where in hell and blazes has he got that from? The vast majority of his pronunciation of names is over emphasised, rather like the prick that does the cycling when Carlton's not there.

[milestone 11]

Another thing with the clown is that he quite clearly says could of, should of and would of, he most certainly isn't saying 've. He's a bloody idiot!

[PayasYouRace]

Always enjoyed Ben Edwards work most of all. Whether it was with John Watson on Eurosport for F1, with Jeremy Shaw on Eurosport for CART, with DC in recent years and I’m sure he did a stint with BTCC too. Seems to have the right balance of accurate information and excitement when needed. With a background in racing in junior formulae he has the necessary grounding.

[JHSingo]

Commenting on a point about "shouting whenever something happens", Murray would shout because he was actually genuinely shocked, whereas nowadays it is just totally faked. How difficult is it to be genuine?

 

That's a good way to sum up. I'd also say (and this might seem like praise he wouldn't necessarily want) - is that he always knew what to say when something bad happened. Unfortunately he had a fair bit of practice at it over the years, but he was the ultimate professional in that regard. Knowing what to say/what not to say in serious circumstances is a skill not everyone has.

 

For instance:

Edited by JHSingo, 30 April 2019 - 17:06.

[f1paul]

Agree with everything you say with the exception of Jacques. Hopeless. Why can't he call Hubert Hubert, or even Ubert if he wants to sound French, but no, let's try Joubert, bloody Joubert, where in hell and blazes has he got that from? The vast majority of his pronunciation of names is over emphasised, rather like the prick that does the cycling when Carlton's not there.

Rob Hatch?

 

Or Declan (enter surname) - the Irish one.

[BuddyHolly]

When it comes to F1 nothing for me compares to Murray Walker and James Hunt.  The absolute passion of the sport by Murray combined with the acidity of James was just awesome.

 

Can't believe we have useless tools like Croft these days, its ridiculous.

[MikeV1987]

Speed TV’s in 07/08ish. Pretty sure it was Varsha and Hobbs.

[TomNokoe]

And whilst we have a thread... and
I appreciate its not for negative comments... what's with "F1 commentator soundboard syndrome"?

'Welcome along!'
'Lights out and away we go!'
'Down the inside!'
'Swoops around the outside!'

Boring and repetitive.

I wasn't watching F1 until long after Murray retired, but this piece of commentary is my favourite, from what I've listened to. 5:50-6:05

 

 

and Schumach-
...
...

YEEESSS!!!

Edited by TomNokoe, 30 April 2019 - 17:44.

[eibyyz]

Nascar 1980's. Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett.

 

In terms of today, as alot of people are saying, Varsha.

 

I'm Ussian-centric so I have to say Varsha and I have a lot of time for Jenkins/Parsons/Jarrett.  

 

ESPN for a time ran Jackie Stewart as their F1 commentator and I was underwhelmed.

[ThadGreen]

I think that Bob Varsha belongs at the top of this list, to me he was the glue that held the broadcast team together and I am pleasantly surprised that he is appreciated outside of the US.

[milestone 11]

Rob Hatch?
 

Yep, that's the nut. Ridiculous over emphasis of any French competitors name and the town. Yet, he's still not pronouncing correctly. Drives me crackers.

[milestone 11]

Raymond Baxter
Murray Walker
James Hunt
Martin Brundle
Damon and Perry double act
Barrie Gill
Allard Kalff
John Watson
James Allen
I'd love to hear Davide Valsecchi do an F1 race. Only once.

Edited by milestone 11, 30 April 2019 - 23:33.

[427MkIV]

Agree with Varsha. Jarrett, Squier, Jenkins and Parsons were the best NASCAR commentators ever. Buddy Baker was good. No one today is nearly as good. Earnhardt might get there.

 

In Indycar, I liked Jackie Stewart (who also did NASCAR on ABC and was good there, too), Bobby Unser and Danny Sullivan. I have great respect for Sam Posey and all he's done in his life but never liked him as an announcer. Feel free to tell me all the reasons I'm wrong.

 

This is TV. On radio, the MRN crew back in the 80s and 90s was good. They're pretty good today, but they're owned by NASCAR, so I feel like they have to watch what they say.

Edited by 427MkIV, 30 April 2019 - 19:15.

[pacificquay]

What sums it up for me is if I replay in my head any F1 moment from back in the day it has Murray Walker’s commentary on it.

If it’s a more recent moment it has only natural sound in my mind.

I do listen to the commentary live but it doesn’t stick in my memory whereas I can virtually recall many of Murray’s words.

[Jeeves]

I do like Andrew Coley.

 

Also, Jack Nicholls - always liked him from when he was commentating the GT stuff a few years back.

Alex Jacques is very good.

Although Mark Skaife is a bit Red Bull is everything in the Supercars - I think he is very good, not quite as good as Neil Crompton though.

David Addison is also excellent.

 

There's many commentators I like actually, there are more that I like than I dislike. 

 

Addison & Watson is an excellent pair, and Nicholls really completed the trio when he was working as a pit reporter - great chemistry and quality sense of humour all around.

 

RLM has a variety of great commentators in the team, but if I had to pick, maybeee.. Bruce Jones and Graham Goodwin.

-----

 

And for those dark hours in the middle of the night, when all the adults have gone to take a nap, there's nothing better than handing the booth over to Martin Haven and Nick Daman. Sadly, as far as I can tell, this has only happened once (Spa 24h, 2014).

 

I'll see if I can dig up some audio clips..

[barzini]

Matti Kyllönen. Big part of Mika-mania in the late 90s.

[HeadFirst]

The 3 Amigos on the "Speed Channel" immediately come to mind as my favs for F1, and  I do like Paul Tracy, Robin Miller and the other 2 (names escape) that did IndyCar last year. Other individuals I have enjoyed listening to in the past/present .... David Coulthard, Anthony Davidson, Karun Chandok, and Damon Hill. I am sure there are others too.

[Gary Davies]

In V8Supercars Neil Crompton sh!ts over everyone else...

What with your username and the nature of your praise of Crompton, you appear to have a lively interest in bodily functions.

[Sterzo]

For years at British circuits there was a brilliant commentary team: Ian Titchmarsh, David Addison, with Alan Hyde in the pits. Titch and Addison are brilliant; Hyde added wonderfully to the backchat between races. Titchmarsh has only done a little TV as far as I know but Addison does that now instead of circuits. He really should be lead commentator for F1 and, well, everything really.

 

Alex79 reminded me of Allard Kalff who was excellent, though it's years since I've heard him. Dario Franchitti is excellent and could be a lead commentator; he's that good.

 

The overall standard of bike racing commentary on UK TV is very high. They are less likely to choose an accentless, smooth and professional "voice" but more likely to go for great knowledge and enthusiasm. Where they shine is in working as twosomes, complementing each other, and sorting out the inevitable errors quickly and with humour, rather than pretending they didn't happen. Jack Burnicles, Jamie Witham, Neil Hodgson, Eugene Laverty - take any two.

 

Ben Edwards does sometimes raise his voice unnecessarily but is, nevertheless, a very good lead commentator, and my household rejoiced when Channel 4 poached him from Eurosport.

[milestone 11]

I thoroughly enjoyed Henry Hope-Frost's Goodwood commentary. Sad that we lost him to a cretin on the wrong side of the road.

[ANF]

My current favourite lead commentators
are David Addison https://youtu.be/J5v5K1o_57g?t=11m54s
and Ben Evans https://youtu.be/v9N0hZW3oBI?t=13m22s
Both are great (even) without a co-commentator.

Favourite (ex-)driver co-commentators: John Watson is usually fun and Townsend Bell is usually right.
Favourite other co-commentator: Jeremy Shaw is always enthusiastic but never overenthusiastic.
Favourite strategy whizz co-commentator: Paul Truswell can bring order to multi-class chaos.
Favourite pit reporter: Shea Adam has a masterful voice modulation and gives descriptive accounts of pit stops that can cut through any engine noise.

I don't think I've watched that many races with Bob Varsha, so I can't rate him.
But I used to like Paul Page when he commentated on CART races.
And there will probably never be a better commentator than Murray Walker, especially when it comes to telling the story of the race, and the championship, and the drivers' lives and careers.

Edited by ANF, 30 April 2019 - 22:06.

[paulb]

My current favourite lead commentators
are David Addison https://youtu.be/J5v5K1o_57g?t=11m54s
and Ben Evans https://youtu.be/v9N0hZW3oBI?t=13m22s
Both are great (even) without a co-commentator.

Favourite (ex-)driver co-commentators: John Watson is usually fun and Townsend Bell is usually right.
Favourite other co-commentator: Jeremy Shaw is always enthusiastic but never overenthusiastic.
Favourite strategy whizz co-commentator: Paul Truswell can bring order to multi-class chaos.
Favourite pit reporter: Shea Adam has a masterful voice modulation and gives descriptive accounts of pit stops that can cut through any engine noise.

I don't think I've watched that many races with Bob Varsha, so I can't rate him.
But I used to like Paul Page when he commentated on CART races.
And there will probably never be a better commentator than Murray Walker, especially when it comes to telling the story of the race, and the championship, and the drivers' lives and careers.

I concur with jp’s list. But above all, I love the IMSA radio team including Ms Adam as ANF calls out. She is simply great.  As Calvin Fish would say, they are the best in the business.

[jonpollak]

What Americans call "announcers" are "commentators" - they wouldn't be called presenters anywhere.

The presenter is the person who does the in-vision bits eg Simon Lazenby

Oh golly gosh.
Thanks for clearing that up for us idiot foreigners !!
Jp

[917k]

Brundle

[RacingGreen]

 

Raymond Baxter
Murray Walker
James Hunt
Martin Brundle
Damon and Perry double act
Barrie Gill
Allard Kalff
John Watson
James Allen
I'd love to hear Davide Valsecchi do an F1 race. Only once.

 

 

Glad to see I'm not the only person with fond memories of listening to Raymond Baxter. 

[RacingGreen]

'Lights out and away we go!'
 

 

While even "let's get ready to rumble" has worn a bit thin over the years this is possibly the worst commentary catch phrase of all time. What's more every time I hear it I'm left thinking "why can't we just have a man with the national flag anymore - what spectacle do the lights add anyway?" 

[absinthedude]

Murray Walker. Incomparable. Not just for his vast experience (who else active in the 2000s actually SAW Nuvolari win?) but for his sheer enthusiasm and his ability to communicate both his knowledge and enthusiasm to his audience. Especially when paired with James Hunt. James on his own wouldn't have cut it but the double act was supreme. 

 

Paul Page

Bob Varsha

John Watson/Allard Kalff 

[teejay]

Paul Page during the CART era. 

[Frood]

I’m having to listen to the IndyCar radio broadcasts more often now (especially for qualifying) and I enjoy Mark Jaynes and Anders Krohn as much as the TV team.

Also backing up what other people have said about David Addison. Thoroughly enjoy his BTCC commentary.

[Ben1445]

That's a good way to sum up. I'd also say (and this might seem like praise he wouldn't necessarily want) - is that he always knew what to say when something bad happened. Unfortunately he had a fair bit of practice at it over the years, but he was the ultimate professional in that regard. Knowing what to say/what not to say in serious circumstances is a skill not everyone has.

Could it be that with fewer 'bad' accidents in modern racing there's just less opportunity to develop this skill amongst the younger commentators? Murray will indeed have watched and commentated on countless drivers die over his career. Many commentators today will never have had to do such a thing. If getting to the level of Murray in dealing with these incidents requires that experience and loss of life I think how it is now is the better deal. 

 

That said, it is still the duty of commentators to be ready for the possibility, know their procedures for such an incident and do their best to learn how to recognise one with the resources they have.

Edited by Ben1445, 01 May 2019 - 08:41.

[Peat]

Yep, that's the nut. Ridiculous over emphasis of any French competitors name and the town. Yet, he's still not pronouncing correctly. Drives me crackers.

 

On 'The Cycling Podcast', they have pre-recorded Rob Hatch (Chief Superintendent of the Pronunciation Police) clips whenever the hosts mangle a foreign riders' name, accompanied by a 'nee-naw-nee-naw' siren. Quite funny.

[PayasYouRace]

While even "let's get ready to rumble" has worn a bit thin over the years this is possibly the worst commentary catch phrase of all time. What's more every time I hear it I'm left thinking "why can't we just have a man with the national flag anymore - what spectacle do the lights add anyway?" 

Well they’re not there to add spectacle but to provide a clear start indication.

[Vitesse2]

Glad to see I'm not the only person with fond memories of listening to Raymond Baxter. 

"... And now we go over to John Bolster on the radio mike in the pits ..."

 

"Thank you Waymond, I'm here talking to Gwaham Hill ..."