50 replies to this topic

[Colbul1]

https://www.autospor...-2025/10677086/

 

I'm not sure if this is the start of the end for the venerable publication.  We already have a perfectly good monthly with Motor Sport Magazine and I doubt Autosport will be going all glossy.  Also, I expect my subscription price to go down as I will be receiving a decrease in printed content.  I'll see how it looks and then decide if it is time to cancel my subscription.

[Bloggsworth]

Shrinkflation, the price will stay the same, those who have subscriptions will get no refund were the price to go down;  then Autosport and this site will disappear not too long after. Call me a cynic...

[JHSingo]

Long-time reader, and I think this is the right move. They do have a good point that a print magazine publishing race reports of major events, when these days most people are able to access that online immediately afterwards, is pretty outdated and superfluous. Greater focus on content and quality journalism that isn't so easily accessible online sounds like a great idea.   

I dare say Autosport will be able to find a gap in the market, being for a slightly younger demographic and having a greater focus on contemporary motorsport than in Motor Sport Magazine. 

 

Definitely interested to see the changes, and I'll continue to support the print magazine - still much prefer having a paper copy to read rather than something on a screen. So I'm glad to hear they're keeping going - and hope they'll continue previewing big events like Le Mans, Indy etc - even if it might be a bit more challenging to do if they're having to prepare the previews more in advance of the events than they have before. 

Edited by JHSingo, 28 November 2024 - 11:51.

[ensign14]

Not surprised, the instant internet is death to weeklies. Music press has had it a lot worse.  There is still an argument for a monthly to give more considered reflection.  But there will be no need for Autosport AND MotorSport.

 

Announcement reminds me of one of those "Great news for readers!!!!" splashes in Scorcher, that it was being "merged" with Tiger and mayyyyybe 2 of your favourites will last for about a month before it's over.

[Risil]

There's GP Racing magazine among the monthlies too, right?

[JHSingo]

There's GP Racing magazine among the monthlies too, right?

 

I'm surprised they haven't gone back to the old F1 Racing name, given 'the official F1 magazine' only lasted a short time before it stopped being published. 

[Vitesse2]

I'm surprised they haven't gone back to the old F1 Racing name, given 'the official F1 magazine' only lasted a short time before it stopped being published. 

'F1' is now trademarked. (Am I allowed to say that without paying?)

[PJayBe]

Sad news for this reader.  My "old" Thursday highlight was picking up Motoring News & Autosport and catching up on what we rarely saw on television.  Now we have more on the box, but have to pay for a lot of it, so it's back to reading Autosport again for the full gen.  Is Motoring News still in circulation??

[messy]

It’s a shame, although maybe needed to happen given the circumstances - print media clearly in a very different place now to what it was twenty years ago. To be honest I thought the writing was on the wall a few years ago when so many of the high profile staff went to The Race, and although I think some areas have really suffered in terms of quality (particularly the podcast output), I think the magazine remains strong. I still look forward every year to the F1 review then the Top 50 issues, and I hope to keep reading them for a long time yet. I’m not a massive fan of Motorsport Magazine or GP Racing. A bit style over substance sometimes. Autosport is my sweet spot, although I don’t buy it every week.

Edited by messy, 28 November 2024 - 13:56.

[Sterzo]

It is indeed sad news, but Autosport has done incredibly well to weather the storm until now, is currently very high quality, and is at least is going to continue rather than disappear.

 

It would be great if they could maintain the current length of race reports, while ensuring I still have somewhere to read about who finished fifth in Formula Vee at Croft. Ideally I'd like the monthly mag to be four weeklies bound together. Just saying...

Edited by Sterzo, 28 November 2024 - 13:58.

[Alan Lewis]

Picked up this week's print version at Newcastle Central Station this morning on the way into the office and it also has the announcement (page 15).

Not a surprising development, any weekly is doing well just to survive in recent years.

Doesn't work out too bad for me though. In the New Year I'm stopping full time work and doing two days per week consultancy from home for the few years left until I retire, so I won't be going through Central weekly anymore. But I will be there once or twice a month for the ex-BA IT staff beer nights...

[Richard Jenkins]

Long-time reader, and I think this is the right move. They do have a good point that a print magazine publishing race reports of major events, when these days most people are able to access that online immediately afterwards, is pretty outdated and superfluous. Greater focus on content and quality journalism that isn't so easily accessible online sounds like a great idea.

I dare say Autosport will be able to find a gap in the market, being for a slightly younger demographic and having a greater focus on contemporary motorsport than in Motor Sport Magazine.

Definitely interested to see the changes, and I'll continue to support the print magazine - still much prefer having a paper copy to read rather than something on a screen. So I'm glad to hear they're keeping going - and hope they'll continue previewing big events like Le Mans, Indy etc - even if it might be a bit more challenging to do if they're having to prepare the previews more in advance of the events than they have before.

Agree 100 per cent with this.

It won't be Autsoport as we know it, but I can see a revised magazine with features, writing and especially a focus on club racing that has a real future.

Let's hope so, Kevin's done a Sterling job trying to keep it going.

[bsc]

It won't be Autsoport as we know it, but I can see a revised magazine with features, writing and especially a focus on club racing that has a real future.

Let's hope so, Kevin's done a Sterling job trying to keep it going.

 

The idea of a club racing 'newsletter', as mooted, seems like a positive step to keep that side of the coverage. Wholeheartedly agree regarding the contribution of Kevin Turner. 

 

Sad news for this reader.  My "old" Thursday highlight was picking up Motoring News & Autosport and catching up on what we rarely saw on television.  Now we have more on the box, but have to pay for a lot of it, so it's back to reading Autosport again for the full gen.  Is Motoring News still in circulation??

 

MN still exists. My secondary school days (which weren't really that long ago, he say's optimistically) were punctuated by weekly illicit trips into town to buy copies of Autosport and MN as it was the only way of finding out who'd won the preceding weekend's races including things like the BTCC, DTM and Formula 3000. I don't think, at the time, I'd have imagined 30 or so years later watching free online live coverage of the Formula Ford Festival.

 

I'm surprised they haven't gone back to the old F1 Racing name, given 'the official F1 magazine' only lasted a short time before it stopped being published. 

 

I think the F1 Racing magazine title and the 'Official F1 magazine' were of the shelves alongside one another. The change to GP Racing came after the demise of the 'official' title owing to increased licence fees. 

[JHSingo]

Sad news for this reader.  My "old" Thursday highlight was picking up Motoring News & Autosport and catching up on what we rarely saw on television.  Now we have more on the box, but have to pay for a lot of it, so it's back to reading Autosport again for the full gen.  Is Motoring News still in circulation??

 

Yeah, it'll be a shame to lose that weekly aspect of it. In my teens, I used to buy it pretty much every week, so Thursdays would always be for heading to the local newsagents on my school lunch break or finding anywhere that sold it in rural places when on holiday with my parents.   

But to be honest, this sounds like a necessary revamp/modernisation of it, and if it means it will help it survive longer than it would have done otherwise, I'm all for it. ​ I was horrified a few years ago when they tried to kill it off for good by putting the price up to £10.99 for a few weeks, and some of my favourite issues have been when they've included more historical features etc while F1 is on its summer/winter break. 

 

[KWSN - DSM]

Latest redesign of online front page not very good, it may be we are headed towards the end - Hopefully this forum will continue living on somewhere within the conglomerate's infrastructure.

[john aston]

I suspect I might even subscribe again .I gave up about 20 years ago - after 30 years buying it every week - as it was becoming far too F1 centric, and some of the journalism was becoming tiresome. 

 

If - IF - it can cover F1 and WEC  in a mature and insightful style that would be great . But I'd want also to cover motor sport (not just racing ) far better , especially the UK national scene . For years I had to endure dull reports about the Brazilian pick up championship and the like - at the expense of coverage of stuff that I think is  important for people like me - and perhaps the TNF 'us'- national racing, speed events , drag racing and so on. At present Autosport will tell me who won a MotoGP race (in which I have zero interest) but not who did well at Prescott or Cadwell. 

 

The style of reportage must change too - even the results of the humblest club race are available on line in real time from TSL But reports and impressions like Simon Arron did ? Yes please ...

 

And the final issue is this-  how it is  going to  fish the same pool as Motor Sport? Best mag wins or peaceful co-existence ?   

[sabrejet]

Autosport used to cover a lot of decent stuff like hill climbing, sprints and club meetings but that gradually seemed to vanish. Ditto for IMSA and Indy coverage. At that point I gave up buying it: there are already too many F1 magazines so I don't see it has a market for motor sport enthusiasts anymore. Going monthly makes that even less of a realistic proposition.

 

What we could really do with is a more up-market mag with more technical detail and less celebrity-culture waffle.

 

And a total ban on anything that starts, "The greatest 100..."

[ajcrean]

Very sad news but I have to admit it's been many years since I ravenously devoured the weekly print edition as the obsessive focus on F1 occasionally got on my nerves.

It still annoys that a WEC or Indy race gets three of four pages (IMSA doesn't even get that) but F1 reports ramble on for over twenty!  Yes; I get that it's the most popular form of motorsport in this part of the world but one of the great things about the Autosport of old was that it covered - and informed the reader - on everything!  I was introduced to it back in the late eighties and learnt so much from it!

I'll keep my subscription for now but am not hopeful.  At least I've still got Motor Sport Magazine...

Edited by ajcrean, 28 November 2024 - 17:16.

[Sterzo]

Very sad news but I have to admit it's been many years since I ravenously devoured the weekly print edition as the obsessive focus on F1 occasionally got on my nerves.

It still annoys that a WEC or Indy race gets three of four pages (IMSA doesn't even get that) but F1 reports ramble on for over twenty!  Yes; I get that it's the most popular form of motorsport in this part of the world but one of the great things about the Autosport of old was that it covered - and informed the reader - on everything!  I was introduced to it back in the late eighties and learnt so much from it!

I'll keep my subscription for now but am not hopeful.  At least I've still got Motor Sport Magazine...

My memory is dreadful, but I must admit I don't remember the Autosport of old where an Indycar race would get more than four pages, nor do I see the current edition as lacking coverage of UK racing. Meanwhile we have things like Superformula which at one time wasn't reported at all. I just think it's an excellent mag. Nor am I aware (in my ignorance!) of any other mag in the world that provides more comprehensive coverage than Autosport. Others may be able to correct me.

[DCapps]

The Internet forum will be the next legacy form of media to go, along with the already almost completely vanished blog.

 

The book is still holding out and probably will longer than most expect.

 

So it goes.

[GMiranda]

The Internet forum will be the next legacy form of media to go, along with the already almost completely vanished blog.

 

The book is still holding out and probably will longer than most expect.

 

So it goes.

Which blog?

[GMiranda]

I think this is the way to go.

With good content on the web, there are conditions for Autosport, Motor Sport and GP Racing to survive. The internet and the new media give everybody plenty of opportunities to thrive thanks to the infinite possibilities of exploring new angles of support so rich and diverse like ours. I'd love to see Motor Sport focused solely on history and classic cars, while Autosport could provide in-depth interviews and analysis; it's impossible to do so weekly covering the current scene and even some history, too. GP Racing is an F1 Magazine and should focus on a younger audience who is following the sport more and more, so its historical content is small.

[F127]

Sad news, but understandable.

 

I'm one of the last hangers on subscribing to the magazine and I will give the new monthly a fair chance. For me, I don't feel quite old enough (or wealthy enough?) for the Motor Sport demographic, so I'm hoping it positions itself in a more modern and more accessible way.

 

I spend most of my life on screens, I need my lunchtime break!

[DCapps]

Which blog?

 

All of them...

[john aston]

Perhaps - but if the blog is on life support the podcast is thriving . And some are excellent - Richard Williams and Matt Bishop's And colossally... that's history has  been excellent , as are many of the Motor Sport pods. 

[Nathan]

The Internet forum will be the next legacy form of media to go

 

But we get to communicate and give our opinion on a forum that doesn't operate like social media land, hard to kick all that.

[GMiranda]

All of them...

Yes, but were there any related to Atlas Nostalgia?

[Doug Nye]

Sad news certainly so far as my immediate reaction to the end of 'Autosport' as a weekly is concerned.  It shaped my entire life after big brother Rod first introduced me to it in 1950-51, very soon after its August '50 launch.  I never would even dream that come 1968 contemporary Editor Simon Taylor would hand me my very first commission as a wide-eyed, penniless, and definitely naive, freelance.

 

It seems particularly poignant that the magazine's demise as a weekly should come just as it enters its 75th anniversary year.  But it's heartening to hear that the current team are up for the fight to achieve its survival in monthly form.

 

I for one most emphatically hope it works out well for them.

 

DCN

[Sterzo]

It is indeed a very sad time. The first words in the first copy were: "In presenting the new weekly, Autosport, we feel confident that we shall give readers a service which cannot be surpassed, or even equalled, by any journal other than one devoted entirely to motor sporting affairs." I think Gregor Grant was right, and I don't believe any other specialist motor sporting publication has surpassed them either.

 

Report headings included "Vauxhall Villiers Best at Hartlepools" and "Ken Carter Collects the Coupe du Monde." (He defeated the Continentals in his Cooper 500). John Bolster's first Technical and Otherwise article was headed "Independent Suspension versus Cart Springs".

 

Anyone who has contributed to Autosport over the years can, I think, congratulate themselves on being a part of a wonderful tradition.

 

And from now on, while definitely subscribing to the new monthly (or "paper" as Gregor Grant would have called it), I shall be looking at Autosport on my laptop to read about 2CV racing at Anglesey and 850 Minis at Croft.

[Alan Baker]

Well, it is sad, but as I haven't picked up a copy for years I suppose I'm partly responsible! I am not sure if I left Autosport or Autosport left me to be honest. It has also just been announced that Flight International is going quarterly, from monthly (again, so long since I bought one I hadn't realised it was not still weekly). Two weekly staples of my youth, but as the years go by one alas gets used to familiar things disappearing.

[Derwent Motorsport]

Autosport was always more racing orientated with Motoring News more rally biased.   I never bought AS regularly but had a sub for MN/MSN until about 10 years ago when it became full fo press releases about about some wonder kid, written by his dad, who went on to never win and never get a mention in copy. The standard of journalism slipped as well.  The hacks were not going out to find the news. 

The downside is that I don't know about part sof the sport I am not involved in. Not a clue who won GBF3 or the BTRDA rally championship and I don't care for the current BTCC

[cooper997]

I wonder if going monthly means copies will re-appear in Australian newsagents (as sea-freight).

 

They did appear as air-frieghted copies before we all had our forced stay at home period. But all air-freighted car mags stopped during that period and never restarted.

 

 

Stephen

[john aston]

One of the casualties of web publishing is that the consumer can be very selective, only reading about what interests them. In paper days , one read Autosport about one's own special interest , but that could still leave most of the content about other topics. And inevitably we read about other stuff, or at least osmosed  the general picture. Not any more - in motorsport, not to mention current affairs - it is possible to read only what most appeals . This cherry picking comes at a high price - ignorance about anything outside one's special interest and an underlying confirmation bias served up by the algorithms which configure our news feed. 

 

 In an age where it is possible to know everything it's easier than ever to know nothing at all. . 

[Doug Nye]

VERY good point - and very well expressed, if I may say.

 

DCN

[GLaird]

I remember as as an early adolescent reader of Autosport, being out with parents, on a day trip. Autosport was my 'thing' not shared, and of course I did'nt want to go for a walk with them. My focus was F1, but Boredom got me reading Nigel Roebuck's inteview with Fangio, with opened my eyes to another era.

 

Likewise another sulk brought the half term report of can am 1979, Up to then I ignored American racing, but in a roundabout way, it lead to a USA motorsport trip in 1984, I agree a broad report background helps, as of old, but I am guilty of moving away from Autosport in the last 15 years too.

 

I just felt it lacked the depth, and novelty I liked. I know the more i read, the more I know, therefore less novelty, but I just felt, it was missing something. Maybe its just the novelty wearing off over decades!

[61GT]

With the demise of Autosport as a weekly, where does this leave Motorsport News?

 

What are peoples thoughts?, will it try to carry on ‘as is’ or push to pick up some of Autosport’s club/national coverage?

I used to buy MN regularly since the mid 1970s and occasionally Autosport too although I felt MN diminished significantly when Neil Randon took over as editor. Matt James seems to operate pretty much as a one-man band and does a really good job in the process. I wonder how long it can/will continue?

Edited by 61GT, 20 December 2024 - 09:24.

[DEllson]

Latest issue of GP Racing says that this issue is the last before it merges with new monthly Autosport as of January 25. Online customer services told me that all 'club level stuff' was going onto the website.

[DEllson]

: there are already too many F1 magazines 

 

Apart from GP Racing (used to be F1 Racing) what others are there?

[GMiranda]

Latest issue of GP Racing says that this issue is the last before it merges with new monthly Autosport as of January 25. Online customer services told me that all 'club level stuff' was going onto the website.

Oh, will they merge? I think it's better that way if they do a good job. Motor Sport should focus more on the historical and nostalgia side, and Motor Sport News will bring club racing and rallying results! Truth is... with the flow of information and the speed the digital media allows, paper can't continue the same way. Even if I'm young, I far prefer paper issues, but I acknowledge there isn't a way to maintain the newspapers and magazines on the model they existed before the omnipresence of the digital. And the overall community may win with this situation, even if it might not be the same.

[blackmme]

Latest issue of GP Racing says that this issue is the last before it merges with new monthly Autosport as of January 25. Online customer services told me that all 'club level stuff' was going onto the website.

I will have a complete collection then, every edition from number 1 in 1996.

Not in any way valuable of course but nice to have as I head into my dotage (it’s a while off yet).

 

Regards Mike

Edited by blackmme, 20 December 2024 - 15:20.

[Dunc]

One of the casualties of web publishing is that the consumer can be very selective, only reading about what interests them. In paper days , one read Autosport about one's own special interest , but that could still leave most of the content about other topics. And inevitably we read about other stuff, or at least osmosed  the general picture. Not any more - in motorsport, not to mention current affairs - it is possible to read only what most appeals . This cherry picking comes at a high price - ignorance about anything outside one's special interest and an underlying confirmation bias served up by the algorithms which configure our news feed. 

 

 In an age where it is possible to know everything it's easier than ever to know nothing at all. . 

 

Very well said! I started reading Autosport in the 1990s as a teenager, initially because I was a massive Damon Hill fan but it helped me go on to become much more informed about motorsport beyond my immediate interest. To this day, I still follow WEC and BTCC and - to a lesser extend - Indycar off the back of what I first read about in Autosport. I hope the monthly continues to give us a good spread of coverage. 

 

I'm really intrigued by what the monthly might offer. I have bought Motor Sport at various times but there's something about the title I can't quite put my finger on (probably that it seems a bit 'luxury', for want of a better word) that has put me off becoming a regular, rather than occasional, reader. Hopefully it can be both accessible but also detailed enough for us die-hards.

Edited by Dunc, 09 January 2025 - 16:16.

[sabrejet]

With already F1-centric Autosport merging with an F1 magazine and Motor Sport already down-market it seems that the time is nigh for a good-quality paper publication dealing with modern motorsport. Automobilsport already leads the way in the historic field (latest issue with a focus on Stefan Bellof is awesome), so why not a similar version for 'modern'?

[VWV]

With already F1-centric Autosport merging with an F1 magazine and Motor Sport already down-market it seems that the time is nigh for a good-quality paper publication dealing with modern motorsport. Automobilsport already leads the way in the historic field (latest issue with a focus on Stefan Bellof is awesome), so why not a similar version for 'modern'?

Why do we need 2 separate publications? I don't mind a mag that covers both. Racecar Engineering covers the current cars and they have articles that covers historic racecars.

[sabrejet]

Why do we need 2 separate publications? I don't mind a mag that covers both. Racecar Engineering covers the current cars and they have articles that covers historic racecars.

 

If it's 200 pages of content then yes. Trouble is, we had a magazine that covered 'both' (Autosport) and it gradually reduced the hill climb/sprint coverage to nothing, then the club sport to nothing, then the rally and historic to pretty much nothing. Then the WEC, IMSA, Indycar etc to minimal. Motor Sport too has become F1-centric. 

 

A dedicated historic title would not suffer the same fate. So long as they could avoid "Lewis Hamilton's 50 favourite sandwiches".

 

And I have the current issue of Racecar Engineering: if you think that's "coverage" of historics then you aren't getting my point. Take a look at Automobilsport.

Edited by sabrejet, 09 January 2025 - 20:05.

[VWV]

If it's 200 pages of content then yes. Trouble is, we had a magazine that covered 'both' (Autosport) and it gradually reduced the hill climb/sprint coverage to nothing, then the club sport to nothing, then the rally and historic to pretty much nothing. Then the WEC, IMSA, Indycar etc to minimal. Motor Sport too has become F1-centric. 

 

A dedicated historic title would not suffer the same fate. So long as they could avoid "Lewis Hamilton's 50 favourite sandwiches".

 

And I have the current issue of Racecar Engineering: if you think that's "coverage" of historics then you aren't getting my point. Take a look at Automobilsp

 

I don't think your getting my point but that's all good with me, We are a small, diverse, niche group here in motorsport history, nostalgia, or what ever you want to call us TNF'rs with all sorts of different backgrounds. What interests me, may not interest others. I don't not read every topic on this forum but I do read quite a lot.

 

I have not had the chance to read Automobilsport magazine as of yet. It's not available in any shops near me and I am reluctant to subscribe without looks at it first. If I am reading you correctly, what you want is a modern day version of Historic Race and Rally magazine. Unfortunately there is not enough of us buggers around to support such niche products.

[sabrejet]

If I am reading you correctly, what you want is a modern day version of Historic Race and Rally magazine.

 

No. 200 pages of contemporary motorsport that's not F1.

 

Hence my comment "so why not a similar version for 'modern'?". Nothing to do with historic: Automobilsport already does that very well.

[john aston]

I hope we get a diversity of content but,  if we do,  I wonder who will buy the mag.  .

 

If I may make a comparison with my other obsession , fishing , angling mags used to cover all species. So even if I were not interested in sea fishing for bass or match fishing on canals I'd absorb what was going on, as I liked the wider picture (as  I said in an earlier post re Autosport ). But  I was in a minority. Bear with me,  but carp are the F1 of angling, and so not only is most angling TV about carp,  but magazines devoted to them are the one category which has survived and thrived. .30 years ago there were two national weeklies and one regional, as well as several monthlies . all covering a wide range of topics. Now there 's a single weekly , mainly advertorial and targeted at people with low attention spans . Not a single  'generalist ' monthly has survived . 

 

The only way a paper publication will sell widely is if its subject gets lots of TV time. But it then attracts a new audience whose presence can destroy the appeal of the sport before it became popular with the wider  public .TV 's tail wags the sporting dog and has done for years - and yet we still kow- tow to it. How many times do we read some hack saying what a good thing Drive to Survive has been  in expanding the TV audience? In a pig's **** it was.... 

 

So we're doomed . 

[FastReader]

I hope we get a diversity of content but,  if we do,  I wonder who will buy the mag.  .

 

If I may make a comparison with my other obsession , fishing , angling mags used to cover all species. So even if I were not interested in sea fishing for bass or match fishing on canals I'd absorb what was going on, as I liked the wider picture (as  I said in an earlier post re Autosport ). But  I was in a minority. Bear with me,  but carp are the F1 of angling, and so not only is most angling TV about carp,  but magazines devoted to them are the one category which has survived and thrived. .30 years ago there were two national weeklies and one regional, as well as several monthlies . all covering a wide range of topics. Now there 's a single weekly , mainly advertorial and targeted at people with low attention spans . Not a single  'generalist ' monthly has survived . 

 

The only way a paper publication will sell widely is if its subject gets lots of TV time. But it then attracts a new audience whose presence can destroy the appeal of the sport before it became popular with the wider  public .TV 's tail wags the sporting dog and has done for years - and yet we still kow- tow to it. How many times do we read some hack saying what a good thing Drive to Survive has been  in expanding the TV audience? In a pig's **** it was.... 

 

So we're doomed . 

[Dunc]

With already F1-centric Autosport merging with an F1 magazine and Motor Sport already down-market it seems that the time is nigh for a good-quality paper publication dealing with modern motorsport. Automobilsport already leads the way in the historic field (latest issue with a focus on Stefan Bellof is awesome), so why not a similar version for 'modern'?

I know it's a bit OT but what is it about Motor Sport that you think makes it down-market? As I said it above, I find it a bit luxury so I'm interested in hearing the opposing view.

[Sterzo]

Autosport sold a mere 5,487 copies on average per week in 2023. (Source ABC https://www.abc.org.uk/product/2469). That compares with 155,584 for Woman's Weekly. Meanwhile, magazine sales overall have been falling by about 12% per annum for the last five years.

 

It's all very well to bemoan other people's interest in F1, but it is the highest level of motor sport, and is accessible through TV. Why would we not expect F1 publications to sell better than those about club racing? My own favourites are 750MC and VSCC, but when I attend meerings, I half-expect the commentators to read out the names of the spectators to the drivers. They aren't going to sell magazines.

 

This change is inevitable. The real test is not so much what the new magazine will be like. It's more whether we get decent club racing coverage on the website. If we do, I'll be happy. If we don't, I shall be disappointed.