ITV4 to Screen GP2 Live in 2008!

As I am sure many of us here are aware ITV4 has recently announced that it will be screening GP2 live throughout this year, not sure if that means British Eurosport and Setanta sports wont be showing the races or not but it got me thinking. With ITV now having lost the rights to Formula One are they perhaps using this year to set the stage for live GP2 coverage in 2009 on their main ITV channel? Sure GP2 isnt as high a profile series as F1 but well its still a strong series and would fill some nice quiet empty slots on a Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

Either way great news for GP2 this year, and hopefully beyond. I find it hard to beleive that ITV would bother screening races live this year if they were planning on axeing the coverage for 2009.

Surely they'd be better off putting the British Superbikes or BTCC on their main channel?

David Croft will be the lead commentator, which is great as he's a lovely bloke and a really good race caller. Seems odd that he's going over to ITV as he's a BBC guy, although it could be a hint as to the F1 line up next year if all goes well.

With ITV now having lost the rights to Formula One are they perhaps using this year to set the stage for live GP2 coverage in 2009 on their main ITV channel?If they are then they're verging on insane. Let's be honest should another Lewis Hamilton make his way through GP2 then ITV would do a fine job building up his fanbase just in time for him to waltz off to fame and fortune in F1 televised on the Beeb.

Nope - this'll be a one year deal I have no doubt.

I can't see the sense in showing GP2 live on ITV1, unless you've got the guarantee of a British front-runner. For all the hype surrounding the 5 hours of BTCC coverage on ITV4, people with only terrestrial are missing out big-time. I think ITV are losing interest in motorsport, and I can't see them showing anything live on ITV1 for the forseeable future.

Yeah but from what I read ITV4 is turning to a motorsport magnet

I think ITV are losing interest in motorsport, and I can't see them showing anything live on ITV1 for the forseeable future.

Losing interest in motorsport? Yes they are losing the contract rights for Formula One but this year ITV have announced that they will show all BTCC rounds live on ITV4 with a highlights programme on ITV as well as showing all FIA GT races either live or same day delayed in full. Added to that we have live coverage of GP2 throughout the year. Show me when ITV offered this level of coverage to motorsport, last year they had BSB and BTCC live in addition to their F1 coverage, now they have BTCC, FIA GT and GP2 in addition to their F1 coverage. All live (in 95% of cases) too.

Either way great news for GP2 this year, and hopefully beyond. I find it hard to beleive that ITV would bother screening races live this year if they were planning on axeing the coverage for 2009.

GP2 rights are part of the same deal as F1, so ITV won't be able to show GP2 next year. It will be on the BBC.

Losing interest in motorsport? Yes they are losing the contract rights for Formula One but this year ITV have announced that they will show all BTCC rounds live on ITV4 with a highlights programme on ITV as well as showing all FIA GT races either live or same day delayed in full. Added to that we have live coverage of GP2 throughout the year. Show me when ITV offered this level of coverage to motorsport, last year they had BSB and BTCC live in addition to their F1 coverage, now they have BTCC, FIA GT and GP2 in addition to their F1 coverage. All live (in 95% of cases) too.

...And the Isle of Man TT will be live again too.

Yeah but it's ITV4(!) I didn't realise I had it until I looked.

Still great news though - I can't pick up Eurosport where I live and also means its another justification why I don't need pricey Sky just yet! Would choose GP2 over F1 any day, so am very happy with this announcement.

GP2 rights are part of the same deal as F1, so ITV won't be able to show GP2 next year. It will be on the BBC.

Your 100% sure about that? If that is the case why has Eurosport and Setanta Sports been showing live coverage of GP2 in recent years? To the best of my knowledge neither Eurosport or Setanta Sports have the rights to Formula One and yet still have shown GP2 live.

To the best of my knowledge neither Eurosport or Setanta Sports have the rights to Formula One and yet still have shown GP2 live.

Setanta show Formula 1 in Ireland, that is why during their commentators are at the circuit, also Eurosport show F1 Free Practice in France ;).

I think it is normaly the case that broardcasters who show F1 get a special price on GP2 if they want it, all across Europe GP2 is normally shown on the same channel as F1 i.e. Premiere, Sky Italia, MTV3 MAX...

ITV probably brought the rights to GP2 live (and F1 practice online) to keep Bernie happy after they told him they didn't want F1 anymore. My other theory is that they are trying to raise the bar with the BBC taking over in 2009, fans will now expect the BBC to cover GP2 Live.

also Eurosport show F1 Free Practice in France ;).



Yes thats true, but British Eurosport is a seperate channel to the Eurosport you get in mainland Europe. On British Eurosport GP2 was screened live, and British Eurosport didnt have a contract to show Formula One live. Now if the commercial rights for GP2 are the same as F1 then shoudnt British Eurosport show F1 live as well as GP2? The fact that they didnt last year indicates that the statement is in my opinion innacurate. Of course if I were to see concrete evidence to the contarary then that would be different, although personally I beleive it is possible to buy the rights to air GP2 live without having the F1 rights too.

wow, now im just waiting for ITV4 to be renamed ITV Sport. ITV4 usualy has about two episodes of stupid police chases a day then turns off. lol.

Looking foward to it, something to watch on the run up to F1. More motorsport is always welcome :) especially for those who aint got eurosport.

Although different countries/markets may get different treatment, I know for a fact that Greek F1 TV rights holder (Alpha) also gets GP2 and F.BMW for free as part of their deal. Of course both of them are getting farmed-out to a Alpha TV owned minor channel.

Your 100% sure about that?

Yes


If that is the case why has Eurosport and Setanta Sports been showing live coverage of GP2 in recent years? To the best of my knowledge neither Eurosport or Setanta Sports have the rights to Formula One and yet still have shown GP2 live.

Setanta does show Formula One, although it is blocked for UK viewers because ITV has an exclusivity clause in its contract.

Eurosport is slightly different in that it has shown F1 as a secondary rightsholder in the past in other territories, but has always had GP2 or F3000.

However the Eurosport deals have often been done at the last minute and only once the primary rights holders in the four key (for FOM) territories of UK, Italy, Germany and France have decided not to show those races live. (Although they all showed highlights as part of their F1 contracts).

ITV probably brought the rights to GP2 live (and F1 practice online) to keep Bernie happy after they told him they didn't want F1 anymore. My other theory is that they are trying to raise the bar with the BBC taking over in 2009, fans will now expect the BBC to cover GP2 Live.

ITV's decision to show Free Practice online and GP2 live was taken long before they lost the rights.

ITV's decision to show Free Practice online and GP2 live was taken long before they lost the rights.

Yeah that is probably true.

I was trying to remember if ITV had F3000 before 1997 (not including Live F3000 on Central for the Birmingham Superprix). I know that with the F1 rights Bernie included F3000 and ITC (but it did not last until the '97 season). I also believe they had FIA GT highlights, but I am not sure if Bernie held those rights to sell :?

Sorry to double post.

While we are on the subject of ITV4, I read on another forum from an ITV source that ITV4 wanted to show F1 races from 1998, but there was an issue with the rights :(. I hope that the BBC can show old F1 races, I think they still have allot of the races on tape because they sold some pre 1981 races to ESPN Classic.

ITV lost the F1 rights, they didn't simply "not renew them" Bernie took it away from them.

So because ITV has lost the rights to show F1 live does that mean they have lost the rights to show GP2 live next year too, or are people just guessing at the moment? If ITV has lost the rights to show GP2 live next year as some here are saying can we expect the BBC to screen GP2 live also? Im pretty confident of good viewing figures this year for GP2 providing ITV4 give it some decent advertising, which they have been on their ITV4 channel that I have seen. Assuming therefore that ITV4 do get good tv ratings for GP2 this year hopefully this will persuade the BBC to cover the races live too, if ITV do lose the contract to the GP2 rights that is.

Some of the posts on this thread should be really quite reliable and informed.

My guess, on the other hand, is that BBC GP2 live coverage might be behind the red button.

My guess, on the other hand, is that BBC GP2 live coverage might be behind the red button.

I would be pretty sure that if ITV don't keep GP2, which they most probably won't, BBC will show them on the red button. This would be similar to their MotoGP coverage, where they show the 125 and 250 races on the red button.

Sorry to sound daft, but for us non UK viewers, what is this red button you mention?

I am actually quite curious and might actually want one :)

Sorry to sound daft, but for us non UK viewers, what is this red button you mention?

I am actually quite curious and might actually want one :)

Red button = "interactive" services. In practice, it's just an extra channel or two the BBC use to show extra sport etc. at the weekends.

Yeah but from what I read ITV4 is turning to a motorsport magnet


the more motorsport on tv the better :)

Hi there. Can anyone point me in the direction of a GP2 website that actually shows anything about the 2008 season?
All I get is either Asia or last years season. Can't quite understand what's going on...? Thanks.

I don't think the official GP2 site is up yet, as you've already found the Asia series site is in its place. The nearest they have is here http://www.gp2series.com/en//website/news_series/news/ but there's not a lot really.

Red button = "interactive" services.
I don't know about Alfonso and other GP2 team owners but I am sure Ron would kill for such a red button to "communicate" with his drivers last year :laugh:

I know, I know :offtopic:

I think it is a real shame that ITV did not get Gareth Rees alongside David Croft. He has experiance in these kind of cars (well F3000), has seen every GP2 race and is a good commentator. I would write to ITV but it wouldn't make any difference...

I think it is a real shame that ITV did not get Gareth Rees alongside David Croft. He has experiance in these kind of cars (well F3000), has seen every GP2 race and is a good commentator. I would write to ITV but it wouldn't make any difference...
That’s very kind of you, thank you very much. Funnily enough, over the winter I spent a long time agonising over whether to carry on with the GP2 commentary work. I love the work and I can’t deny that the money comes in handy too, but my Monday-to-Friday, non-commentary work is busier than ever and my wife and I had our first child last August, so it was becoming harder to balance everything. For the last couple of seasons I have regularly worked 7 day weeks but now I have a family I want to spend a bit more time at home, not to mention maybe have a social life!

In the end I decided that I would carry on for at least one more season and then review things again, so it was ironic that only a week or two later I should receive notification that Eurosport had lost the GP2 contract, but at least it made my mind up for me!

I will be happy to pick up the odd bit of commentary work here and there (for example, I help out occasionally with the Motors TV DTM coverage, standing in when Carlton or Mark are unavailable), but I don’t have any interest in covering a whole series any more as I just can’t make that commitment.

Anyway, it’s been a fun 8 or 9 years, thank you to everybody who tuned in, especially the regulars, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I’m looking forward to taking my place with my baby boy on the settee this season and listening to somebody else do all the work!

Nice to hear back from you Gareth, I hope you enjoy your weekends at home. By the way, my surname name is also Rees, but I don't think were related :p

I'm looking forward to GP2 on ITV4... hopefully we'll have a bit more detailed coverage compared to what Eurosport gave us, which was just formation lap-race-podium if you're lucky. Hopefully we'll get some build-up and aftermath of each race.

I'm gonna miss the Eurosport coverage. :( I enjoyed Martin and Gareth's commentary. It was the only thing I watched on Eurosport, so I may as well cancel the cable tv subscription now GP2's on a freeview channel! Anyway, good luck with the future Gareth and Martin if you're reading this. Oh alright I might keep Eurosport just to watch the WTCC now and then...;)

I'm looking forward to GP2 on ITV4... hopefully we'll have a bit more detailed coverage compared to what Eurosport gave us, which was just formation lap-race-podium if you're lucky. Hopefully we'll get some build-up and aftermath of each race.

yeah, we just struggled by really, with all the races live lights-to-flag...

Still, maybe ITV will find some way of making it even more exciting... it'll sure be a comedown to then have to get excited about the F1 for them all, won't it??:rofl:

Oh alright I might keep Eurosport just to watch the WTCC now and then...;)

Oh, don't worry about upsetting me... I'm quite thick-skinned... now as for Toby, Julian and Randy on the MotoGP coverage... I really wouldn't p*ss them off!!

Oh, and then there's the new boy... http://www.ten-tenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106117

He'll be expecting your undivided attention...:p

yeah, we just struggled by really, with all the races live lights-to-flag...

Still, maybe ITV will find some way of making it even more exciting... it'll sure be a comedown to then have to get excited about the F1 for them all, won't it??:rofl:

It was good to see all races lights to flag... it's just a shame there wasn't a pundits-in-studio type thing before and after the races. We got to hear you and Gareth's voices, but not see your faces... :)

I have to say I thought ITV's coverage of the Barcelona GP2 was pretty ropey all in all - certainly the commentary was very poor compared to Eurosport and it really irritated me the way David Croft kept referring to the cars by their team name (e.g. "Parente wins in the Super Nova" "Conway off in the Trident").

Yes there were some post-race interviews but they were conducted by a presenter with no racing background whatsoever! And I'd rather have no pundits whatsoever than have to suffer Mark Blundell's statements of the bleeding obvious!

I have to say I thought ITV's coverage of the Barcelona GP2 was pretty ropey all in all - certainly the commentary was very poor compared to Eurosport and it really irritated me the way David Croft kept referring to the cars by their team name (e.g. "Parente wins in the Super Nova" "Conway off in the Trident").
How else should they refer to them: that guy in the dark blue car?

We got to hear you and Gareth's voices, but not see your faces... :)

And anyone who's ever met us will know that is a good thing...

How else should they refer to them: that guy in the dark blue car?

That does at least recognise that not every viewer will automatically recognise the team colours...

'blue car, red car' works...

saying that driver A is 7th and driver B is 8th is no use if they're in a bit of a queue (as so often in the GP2 midfield)...

pointing out they're just behind the yellow car highlights them to even ITV viewers

don't forget that even ITV4 (how long ARE they going to hang on before they finally give in and call it ITV Sport???) doesn't have a died-in-the-wool enthusiast audience...

Eurosport is a niche sport channel - by definition, sports fans watch it...

ITV4 is just another ITV channel, with mixed content - by definition, NOT a dedicated sports audience

I have to say I thought ITV's coverage of the Barcelona GP2 was pretty ropey all in all - certainly the commentary was very poor compared to Eurosport and it really irritated me the way David Croft kept referring to the cars by their team name (e.g. "Parente wins in the Super Nova" "Conway off in the Trident").

Yes there were some post-race interviews but they were conducted by a presenter with no racing background whatsoever! And I'd rather have no pundits whatsoever than have to suffer Mark Blundell's statements of the bleeding obvious!

I was okay with the team name calling - at least it gets you learning the teams (thankfully most have kept to their GP2 Asia colours, DPR, FMSI & ART excluded).

I'd have preferred that they'd introduced the drivers and teams in the preshow, rather than having just a pointless interview with Hanley & Conway, and a Formula BMW race dragged out of the archives.

The post race was good though, mainly by making their own press conference by interviewing the top 3 - and having the whole podium ceremony. I've only just realised I never knew what Andy Zuber looked like.

Seemed a little odd Conway and his manager standing there for the race re-cap :)

I just thought the team name calling sounded a bit strange - for example "Parente wins for Super Nova" or "Conway off in the Trident car" is the more normal way of referring to team cars in one-make formulae. I've probably made a bigger fuss about it than was actually necessary though!:)

I agree that the pre-show wasn't too good, they didn't go through the teams and drivers or even show the starting line-up...would have been much more worthwhile than showing that FBMW race from ages ago which seemed to be just random filler.

I suspect the post-race stuff might get better as the host settles into the role - the idea was good but the execution was a bit amateurish I thought.

I have to say I thought the GP2 coverage was absolutely excellent. The lady introducing the show was a bit of a babbler but she was ok to look at so she can stay! As for the commentary I thought it was spot on - I was particularly impressed with Goodwin who didn't miss a beat. He came across as knowledgeable but also enthusiastic at the same time. There have been other 'expert' commentators over the years who haven't given the impression that theyre enjoying being behind the mic. I like David Croft - he doesn't make the same number of mistakes as some commentators who get carried away in the moment and his voice just seems to fit motor sport commentary. I think some people wear rose tinted spectacles on here. Eurosports coverage was reasonable but ITV's was much more slick and professional and I for one am glad its been switched.

Lets be realistic here...

Eurosport have had knowledgeable commentary for years. OK, they had little pre-show but in what they did at the very least they covered stories from the weekend and the grid. Back in the late 90's they had extensive pre-show including qualifying footage - and remember when F3000 was still a prominent series they carried qualifying live too.

Ok, there's disadvantages with eurosport, e.g. Carlton Kirby filling in for Martin; missing race starts cos previous shows have over-run etc.

But - they did it on a very limited budget with a London-based commentary team.

ITV however, are producing a show on site, so it should be slick. Yet it wasn't that slick and the pre-race content was dire.

The commentary was not as good as Martin and Gareth, in fact was way off. The host made Mark Blundell look good, which is more a reflection on her than Mark Blundell, and all in all it was pretty poor!

ITV4 will mean the show is on and we wont get mucked around, so in that respect its good for fans, and is more readily accessible than Eurosport. I guess in an ideal world we'd have Martin and Gareth plus ITV4!

i really dont care about pre race or post race coverage. The only thing that ITV offers to me that Eurosport didnt is the guarantee that it will be on, and it wont be "throw a six to start" as to whether to trust the schedules or not.

But Martin and Gareth made up for all that. And im gonna be forced to get into WTCC to get my fix of Martin this year, Martin did say in one of the first round of WTCC races, about his career being one that he may have missed the phonecall occasionally, and i did just wonder wether that was in reference to maybe ITV wanting him for their GP2 coverage etc lol.

But anyway back on topic im sure the presenter girl will improve over the next couple of races. David Croft was much better in Race 2 aswell. So there is hope. But anyway it'll probably be back on Eurosport next year :).

Some things need improving but it wasn't bad. Where did they get the presenter from and why? Commentator Croft sounds decent enough to me and Chris Goodwin sounded insighful and professional, even if he hasn't been anywhere near this level of racing in his career. Nice to have driver interviews pre and post race too, really like that.

I guess i'd preferred Martin and Gareth to be doing it but I'm not too fussed who does and says anything as long as GP2 is actually on live - I can roughly work out what's going on from the pictures on screen.

I was petrified that when we heard Eurosport wasn't likely to be showing it again we might lose it to Setanta, which is a channel I would rather avoid like the plague anyway!

Chris Goodwin sounded insighful and professional, even if he hasn't been anywhere near this level of racing in his career.

Chris Goodwin raced in F3000, and was a McLaren F1 test driver.

More importantly, he's been in the paddock at 31 out of 33 GP2 races over the last three years.

I don't recall him racing in F3000 or testing for McLaren. Pretty good driver as he was, I only recall his single seater career got as far as Vauxhall Lotus and a couple of F3 races. Did he do Brit 3000 at some point?

I wasn't aware he's been in the GP2 paddock, many thanks for the heads up sceptic.

With Chris' dad being my old Doctor, he used to keep me astream with his racing progress. He's a capable driver and was very insightful.

If i'm honest, I preferred watching the GP2 Sprint race than the F1 race in the afternoon. Without the 'grainy' picture from Eurosport, and the improved liveries/bodywork of the new generation of cars, I prefer the series as a whole compared to its big brother.

The woman who 'anchored' was...erm...rubbish. But, she was enthusiastic. What did make me laugh was her statement after the race "we'll give you all the feedback and information after the break". When we cut back i think they showed the podium, and that's it...brilliant. Made me chuckle ;)

Glad it's on ITV4 now, being a Freeview owner. Was great to watch whilst nursing a polite hangover.

ITVs coverage was good. The main thing i am pleased about is the reliability. Chris Goodwin was excellent, David Croft made quite a few mistakes like saying Zuber had stalled when it was clearly Maldonado, but i still thought she he was decent. But at least Croft can pronounce Maldonado's name, unlike Calrton Kirby! Only joking, we love you really Carlton.

Good overall coverage, still miss Martin and Gareth!

I don't recall him racing in F3000 or testing for McLaren. Pretty good driver as he was, I only recall his single seater career got as far as Vauxhall Lotus and a couple of F3 races. Did he do Brit 3000 at some point?

I wasn't aware he's been in the GP2 paddock, many thanks for the heads up sceptic.
He's still testing a fair bit for McLaren, albeit on the simulator. He's also in GP2 because he's working with Senna.

Which is why it was a bit cheeky of him to say that Senna has hardly any experience compared to Parente: admittedly the Portuguese driver has raced for longer, but it was his debut weekend while Senna has a 1.5 years under his belt at this level...

It could be good to hear about these GP2 ITV4 transmissions, hope I could see them to analyse the quality.

Yesterday's post-race "interviews" were painful to watch. I don't know who was in charge of telling her to just point out that we are now watching a clip of something fairly innocuous and asking a diffferent driver who had nothing to do with it their opinion.

She fluffs her lines all the time and seems incapable of reading from an autocue.

She has an irritating habit of putting emphasis on the 'is' or 'was' when saying things like "Mike Conway is with us now" or "Giorgio Pantano was the winner.

She flutters her eyelashes and smiles inanely constantly.

She is crap and hasn't got better. Obviously ITV have decided to go for the conventional concept of the eye candy. But for God's sake, can they not find one who can actually present? This is not a finishing school for aspiring TV presenters. She is a TV presenter, but this is embarrassing to watch.

Totally agree, they need to get rid of her now. I feel embarrassed for the drivers who have to answer her inane questions afterwards. If they have someone presenting who isn't a motorsport fan to begin with (which I can only presume to be the case), then at least choose someone at the very least competent at TV presenting. I'm afraid we've had ample time now to see she's not.

I really miss Martin Haven and Gareth Rees, but like others have said, at least we now know GP2 will be on when they say it is, and the extra pre and post-race coverage is welcome. I don't mind David Croft or Chris Goodwin, but don't think they're a patch on Martin and Gareth. And the one thing that really bugs me is when Croft calls a car a "Super Nova" or a "Trident" etc*. It's not F1!

*Edit: As I just saw J-C said too, with the same examples, on the last page!!

I would do a better job than that woman, im enthusiastic, love the sport, and would say i know a decent amount to ask the drivers relevant questions !

I would also now agree that it's annoying when Croft refers to the team names. Chris Goodwin gets better each week though, he really is top notch

agreed, the woman has to go. She can't present and just causes you to cringe at what she says.

David Croft is so much better at the F1 on the radio; in fact, he's good at it. Either he doesn't have the knowledge base to do GP2 or doesn't suit TV, or both. But, at the end of the day his priority for the weekend is probably the Radio 5 F1, so we need to remember that.

Bring back Martin and Gareth any day - they were really good!

agreed, the woman has to go. She can't present and just causes you to cringe at what she says.

David Croft is so much better at the F1 on the radio; in fact, he's good at it. Either he doesn't have the knowledge base to do GP2 or doesn't suit TV, or both. But, at the end of the day his priority for the weekend is probably the Radio 5 F1, so we need to remember that.

Bring back Martin and Gareth any day - they were really good!

so i'm the only one who thinks david croft is pretty good at telly commentating then? obviously he'll be better at f1, he knows it inside out...

I'd say you may well getting David Croft doing the Beeb's TV F1 commentary next year.

In the meantime, I'm very happy with his GP2 commentary and think Chris Goodwin makes a good sidekick, too. The girl brings nothing to the party, though.

I don't care about Charlie much. Presenters are quite secondary to the commentators in terms of importance - and Croft and Goodwin are doing okay.

What's rubbish is the length of the ad breaks. The one this morning was so long, by the time they came back it was like I was watching a different race - it was ridiculous!

^ And they put it in right in the middle of Zuber and Maldonado's battle :(

I don't care about Charlie much. Presenters are quite secondary to the commentators in terms of importance - and Croft and Goodwin are doing okay.

Well may change your mind if you saw Saturday's post race interviews. It was cringeworthy TV. I'm not sure you can lay all the blame at Charlie's door though. From what I could see ITV had overallowed the time for the race and ended up with an inordinately long post-race filler period which they dumped in Charlie's lap. She was in a very difficult situation. She clearly doesn't know enough about motor-racing or GP2 to be able to do that. Note for ITV - get motorsport professionals, or consumate link-people [a la Steve Rider, Jim Rosenthal] do handle your programmes. Not a ex-model who's done some football work.

Any better this week you think ? David Croft seemed abit over excited during the great 3 way battle at the end and struggled to get his words out.

Crofty wasn't that bad but Charlie Webster is getting more and more annoying.

And Croft is still calling cars by their team names. It's plain wrong, and gives the impression that he doesn't even realise they're all identical Dallaras. Other than that I think he (and Goodwin especially) are pretty good.

I've mentioned this before but Goodwin is awesome. He really knows his stuff, and i enjoy his commentary

And Croft is still calling cars by their team names. It's plain wrong, and gives the impression that he doesn't even realise they're all identical Dallaras. Other than that I think he (and Goodwin especially) are pretty good.

I'm sure he knows they're all Dallaras.. but calling them by team-name is surely more accurate and useful to the viewer? The IRL commentators call all the teams by name and/or sponsor, even though they all run identical Dallara-Hondas - why should GP2 be different? Agreed that Goodwin is an excellent addition to the commentary line-up though.

I don't mind him using team names as there is a big difference between them, for example it would be of note if a Durango or DPR got on the podium because they are not highly rated teams.

Also there is a Teams' Championship, so it's not just about the individual drivers. In Pantano's case, he is an employee of the team. He is there to deliver results for Racing Engineering.

You're both missing the point made by J-C and myself... David Croft would say "Mike Conway in the Trident" when all we ask is that he says "Mike Conway in the Trident car" - which then makes sense, as the car itself isn't a "Trident" - I'm entirely in favour of the teams being mentioned, of course that's absolutely essential!! In the example of the IRL it would be equally annoying (to me) if the commentators said "Tony Kanaan in the Andretti Green" for example. And rightly they don't. It may seem trivial but I maintain it's plain wrong, and to some of us, rather annoying :rotate:

You're both missing the point made by J-C and myself... David Croft would say "Mike Conway in the Trident" when all we ask is that he says "Mike Conway in the Trident car" - which then makes sense, as the car itself isn't a "Trident"

To me if he said "in the Trident car", it implies that the car (Chassis) is a Trident. The other way he could say it would be "driving for Trident", but technically that's wrong because he pays for his drive so he's driving for himself.

I think there are bigger problems with Crofts commentary, like the way whenever the action gets going he totally loses his train of thought. He forgets the drivers names and results to saying rubbish like "Wow, a great move there by ... (hesitation) ... the Racing Engineering driver, was that Villa for 12th position? (more hesitation, looks to Goodwin for help) No, no it was Pantano for third." :rolleyes:

To me if he said "in the Trident car", it implies that the car (Chassis) is a Trident. The other way he could say it would be "driving for Trident", but technically that's wrong because he pays for his drive so he's driving for himself.

You're right, my example wasn't great, but I guess you know what I mean. Whatever he might say instead, it has to be better than "[driver x] in the [team name]"

Clearly he should say "Mike Conway in the Dallara car run by the Trident team." Or does that wrongly imply that the engine is also a "Dallara?"

You get quality, free, live coverage and people complain about how the teams' cars are described. If you don't like it, don't watch!

I do like it and I will watch. It's just a minor point that bugs me and others; believe me I didn't intend for it to take so long to (fail to) make my point... as I said before other than that I'm reasonably impressed with Croft and Goodwin. ;)