Speed

SPEED is gearing up for a huge week of Indycar action when qualifying for the 100th anniversary Indy 500 gets underway this Sunday 22 May.

LIVE coverage of the qualifying rounds will begin at 1am AEST on Sunday, where the top 24 spots in the 33-car field for the Indy 500 will be up for grabs on ‘Pole Day’.

Aussie driver Will Power has opened up an early lead in the 2011 IZOD Indycar Series Point Standings with two victories from the opening four races of the season. Fellow Australian Ryan Briscoe sits in fifth position after two consecutive top three finishes.

The two Aussie stars will be among the favourites for this year’s Indy 500, which celebrates a century as the Indycar’s flagship race.

Qualifying coverage will continue on SPEED on Monday 23 May with the final nine race positions to be decided on ‘Bump Day’.

The week-long racing festival concludes the following weekend with the traditional ‘Carb Day’ warm-up event on Saturday 28 May setting the pace for the big one – The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on Monday 30 May from 1am AEST.

James Harrison, SPEED Channel Manager, said: “This is one of the most exciting years in the great history of the Indy 500 and we’re delighted to be able to provide LIVE coverage of all the qualifying action as a lead in to our LIVE coverage of the main race on May 30.”

“It’s been a fantastic Indycar series for Aussie fans with Will Power and Ryan Briscoe in such outstanding form to start the season,” he said.

“The Indy 500 is considered the pinnacle event in open-wheel racing and with Will having already won the Alabama and Sao Paulo races and Ryan on a roll with two straight podium finishes we could be in for a spectacular one-two finish for the Aussies next Monday morning.”

SPEED’s coverage of the 2011 IZOD Indycar Series is available to FOXTEL and AUSTAR subscribers.

Indy 500 LIVE qualifying coverage on SPEED & SPEED HD

Sunday 22 May – Pole Day LIVE @ 1am AEST (Part One) & 6.30am AEST (Part Two)

Monday 23 May – Bump Day LIVE @ 6.30am AEST

Saturday 28 May – Carb Day LIVE @ 1am AEST

100th Anniversary Indy 500 Mile Race

Monday 30 May @ 1am AEST

LIVE on SPEED & SPEED HD

SPEED, Australia’s only dedicated 24-hour motorsports channel, welcomes the world-renowned Indycar series to its rapidly-expanding programming stable after announcing a two-year broadcast agreement today.

The American-based open-wheel racing series is staged over eight months across 13 different venues in the US and includes a handful of international events in Canada, Brazil and Japan.

The series is contest by 15 teams and features two prominent Australian drivers, Ryan Briscoe and Will Power. 

SPEED will provide LIVE coverage of all 17 Indycar Series races this season, including the sport’s flagship Indianapolis 500 event in May.

The 2011 IZOD Indycar Series action begins on Monday 28 March with LIVE coverage of the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg from 3.30am AEDT on SPEED & SPEED HD.

James Harrison, SPEED Channel Manager, said: “SPEED will become the new home for the IZOD Indycar Series with coverage of every race to feature on SPEED and SPEED HD over the next two years.”

“The series has a very strong following in Australia, which was forged over the long association with the Gold Coast Indycar event,” he said.

“Although the Gold Coast event has not been held in recent years, there is still a strong local interest in the series with the two Aussies Ryan Briscoe and Will Power expected to feature among the top drivers this season.”

2011 IZOD Indycar Series

LIVE coverage on SPEED & SPEED HD

Monday 28 March

Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg LIVE @ 3.30am AEDT

*Check guides for further upcoming Indycar coverage on SPEED.

SPEED, Australia’s only dedicated 24-hour motorsports channel, welcomes the return of NASCAR this weekend when the 2011 season commences with the traditional four-day event at Daytona.

SPEED will provide LIVE year-round coverage of NASCAR’s flagship Sprint Cup Series in 2011, with additional LIVE coverage of the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.

The Sprint Cup action begins this Monday 21 February with LIVE coverage of the Daytona 500 from 4am AEDT on SPEED & SPEED HD.

As well as enjoying a full LIVE broadcast of the event, including practice and qualifying rounds, SPEED viewers will have access to exclusive additional content with ‘Hot Pass’.

Hot Pass, an interactive feature activated by pressing the red button on the FOXTEL remote control, offers a selection of four unique viewer channels each showcasing different on-board cameras, combined with a LIVE audio feed direct from the pit crews.

James Harrison, SPEED Channel Manager, said: “NASCAR is one of the most popular motorsport brands world-wide and SPEED will deliver the most extensive coverage ever seen on Australian television with LIVE races from the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series throughout the season.”

“Hot Pass will be available on selected Sprint Cup Series races to allow subscribers to choose how they want to watch the race, whether it be through the eyes of the driver, from within the cockpit, or viewing the action from the rear of the car.”

Hot Pass will be active for Monday’s broadcast of the Daytona 500, the season-opening Sprint Cup event which is billed as “The Great American Race”.

Over 200,000 fans will cram the Daytona International Speedway for the famous event, which will be seen by millions more motorsports enthusiasts across the globe on television.

Daytona coverage on SPEED & SPEED HD Friday 18 – Monday 21 February, 2011

Fri 18 Feb – Duel at Daytona LIVE @ 6am AEDT

Sat 19 Feb – Daytona 250 (Camping World Truck Series) LIVE @ 11am AEDT

Sun 20 Feb – Daytona 300 (Nationwide Series) LIVE @ 4am AEDT

Mon 21 Feb – Daytona 500 (Sprint Cup Series) LIVE @ 4am AEDT

Regional motorsport fans could be in for some good news soon with confirmation that Austar is in negotiations with Premier Media Group over bringing SPEED to regional Australia.

The motorsport channel launched at the start of this month on Foxtel but not Austar, leading fans to channel their anger on Austar’s Facebook page.

A spokesperson for Austar said: “I know it’s deeply frustrating for customers not to have a definitive answer, but we hope to have one one way or the other soon.”

Source: TV Tonight

Premier Media Group today announced that Australians will, for the very first time, have a channel dedicated to motorsports when SPEED launches on November 1, 2010.

Available to FOXTEL sports subscribers, SPEED will offer extensive racing coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Whether it’s on four wheels or two, on land or water or in the air – if it goes fast it will screen on SPEED (FOXTEL Channel 505) and SPEED HD (FOXTEL Channel 206).

Premier Media Group (PMG) chief executive, David Malone, said: “PMG is home to Australia’s leading sports broadcaster FOX SPORTS and we’re delighted to be expanding our terrific sports offering to include a channel dedicated to motorsports with the launch of SPEED.

“PMG is committed to taking the sports broadcasting experience to exciting new levels for all Australian fans and with FOX SPORTS, plus FUEL TV’s ever-broadening array of action sports, SPEED is a wonderful addition – and another Australian first.”

Fans will be able to experience NASCAR like never before with the most extensive broadcast of the Sprint and Nationwide series, with LIVE telecasts of the practice, qualifying and main race, plus SPEED will go interactive with HotPass – four dedicated driver channels for the Sprint Cup which will include different on-board cameras as well as the audio feed from the pit crew. SPEED will also offer LIVE and EXCLUSIVE coverage of the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series.

SPEED channel manager, James Harrison, said: “It’s fantastic to be launching a channel targeted at the multitude of motorsports fans in Australia, and to be heightening their viewing experience with the introduction of the HotPass technology in our Sprint Cup coverage.”

One of the world’s premier motorcycle racing series – Superbike World Championship – will also be at home on SPEED, with coverage of EVERY race LIVE, commencing in early 2011 with the prestigious and challenging circuit at Phillip Island. Jessica Yates will host SPEED’S LIVE and EXCLUSIVE coverage of every race, with expert commentary from former 500cc race winner Kevin Magee, who also won the Australian leg of the Superbike World Championship in 1991 and 1992.

Other live action on SPEED will include the British and International Speedway, Super X, the GT1 World Championship, Rolex Sports Cars and much more.

Recognising the appetite of Australian fans for more motorsports, there will also be prime time racing from the V8 Supercars, Dakar Rally, Formula 2 and World Series Sprintcars.

SPEED will be available to FOXTEL sports subscribers from November 1, 2010.