What’s on this week
Last weekend’s Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe season opener at Brands Hatch marked not just the start of a new chapter for the SRO’S sprint championship, but an evolution in the coverage of the series.
This year, there’s been a noticeable development in the presentation on the livestream, with a number of changes highlighting the organiser’s shift towards improving the user experience.
New, cleaner graphics are the biggest difference. Gone are the rainbow-effect columns and in their place comes a larger, single-coloured list with a font that’s easy to read on screens ranging from the biggest TVS down to mobile phones. The more modern style means timing gaps and longer names – Ezequiel Perez Companc, for example – don’t cause eye-strain as you try to read the text.
What didn’t need an overhaul, though, is the tried-and-tested commentary team of David Addison and ex-formula 1 driver John Watson.
The pair have become familiar voices to watchers of the Blancpain GT Series over the years, and their knowledge of the championship shines through.
As well as an encyclopaedic understanding of the racing and its teams and drivers, the fact that the pair are well-known and have a wide range of contacts in the paddock is clear.
Nowhere was that more evident than during the 10-minute safety-car period at the start of race one at Brands. Addison’s research and confidence in reading incidents – and how they occurred – allows him to both fill the time and provide genuinely meaningful insight.
Combine that with Watson chipping in with experiences from his own top-flight motorsport career, along with his excellent reading of tactics and pit strategy, and the pair have to be up there with some of the best duos in the business.
Their knowledge in the commentary box is complemented by the expertise of pitlane reporter Dakota Jane, who is always ready to immerse herself and viewers in the thick of the action. Every success, every failure, every controversial incident, Jane knows where to be and who to talk to. Between the three, there’s a good sense that we’re getting to the heart of the events both on track and off it.
Add that to a raft of onboard and trackside cameras, which make sure that little is missed, and you’ve got the recipe for genuinely classleading race coverage.
Given the quantity of prestigious marques involved – including Ferrari, Bentley and Aston Martin – plus a string of contingent drivers, it seems the Blancpain GT Series has long flown under the radar. But the marked step up in coverage quality can hopefully go a long way to reversing that.
And there’s little time to wait before the field is in action again in Britain. The Blancpain Endurance Series takes to Silverstone this weekend for the three-hour enduro, where it’s supported by the Lamborghini Super Trofeo – one of the fastest single-make GT categories around.
Last year’s Silverstone winners Matthieu Vaxiviere, Jake Dennis and Nicki Thiim return with Aston Martin squad R-motorsport, but for this season the latter two have split from Vaxiviere in the line-up. The brace of Vantage
GT3S are just two of the near-50-car entry list.
To watch the action live and free, head to Motorsport.tv.