NBC revs up for "biggest day in motorsports"

NBC Sports Group will have more than 50 hours of motorsports coverage this weekend, highlighted by the Monaco Grand Prix which will air live on Sunday on NBC at 7:30 a.m.

Racing on TV this weekend

For NBC F1 analyst David Hobbs, on site in Monaco, the race – and the weekend – is always a special highlight, but maybe even more so this year, he reckons.

"Of course the thing about Monaco is, obviously like the Indy 500 or like the Daytona 500 – this is the race the drivers all want to win," relates Hobbs. "Half of them live here of course because it's a low taxation zone! But of course the track has been the same since the 1920s. It really has changed very, very little in all that time. It's got 19 corners stuffed into the two miles and it goes right through the city streets — it's exactly the same shape it's always been. It uses all the city streets — none of it's extra. And it's very tight. And of course for the drivers it's particularly exacting. And one of the big problems here is qualifying. Because as I say it's very narrow, there is no runoff area.

"If you put a wheel over the edge, I mean, the edge is the guardrail. So you have to be extremely precise all weekend. Everything counts on Saturday because it's also extremely difficult to overtake here. So if you get near the front it's very important to be on the front row or in the first couple of rows.

"That makes Saturday's qualifying absolutely crucial. I had lunch with Mark Webber, who of course is no longer in Formula 1 but has won here twice. And he was saying, the teams are really uptight here because of the dangers of coming off the track and damaging the car. The cars this year are much more complex than they've ever been before, much, much greener. Almost as fast using a third less fuel. So they're very, very, very high tech. Unfortunately this means they're not easy to fix. So the teams are going to have their hearts in their mouth on Saturday morning and qualifying.

"So, it's very important for these guys to get near the front. But it is a most exacting course which, of course, it's why it's the one they all want to win."

Meanwhile, NBC IndyCar analyst Townsend Bell will be back in the cockpit as takes part in the Indianapolis 500, instead of breaking down the action for viewers during NBCSN IndyCar telecasts. Interestingly, he says he feels his dual role has helped him as a driver.

"I never would have imagined how much analyzing the sport from the point of view of a television analyst would sort of improve my own analysis when I have the helmet on, when I'm in the car or working with the team," said Bell, who was third fastest in the fional Carb Day practice session on Friday. "Frankly, as racing driver, you don't really care what the other guys are doing so much. You want to know how fast they are, but other than that, it's all about you; it's all about you and your team and performing. And you don't really take the time to study other people; you don't really have the time to do that. You're so focused on your own program.

"Taking a step back and working in the television situation while I'm still in my racing career has really allowed me to – and forced me – to do a good job as analyst, to analyze drivers and teams objectively. And I've been really surprised at how much I've learned frankly. And it's been fun to apply the learnings back, you know, as a driver again and back-and-forth.

In terms of any downside, I really don't see any. I love being at the racetrack whether it's commentating or driving. And there's such a competitive attitude at NBC that I love – which is an insistence, and I think it comes from Sam [Flood, NBC Sports executive producer] all the way down through the organization. It's an insistence on quality and being the best, telling the best stories, and we never settle; we're always analyzing how we can do a better job.

And I've taken great lead from guys like Leigh Diffey, David Hobbs...the best in the business; they've been doing it a long time. And it's a real pleasure for me to just learn and feed off of their energy and expertise. So all around, it's been a real plus for me."

Executive producer Flood said that having play-by-play announcer Diffey and analyst Hobbs on-site in Monaco, as well as the overall reach of NBC's coverage this weekend, demonstrates the breadth of the network's commitment to motorsports.

"Being on site there is so critical as we continue to grow in the huge rating we got last year for the race in Monaco – we want to continue that tradition on the 'Biggest Day in Motorsports,' which is Sunday," said Flood. "In Indy it's such a great event and to have one of our own racing it is incredibly exciting. And shows how current our staff is.

"Then you get to Jeff Burton [lead NASCAR analyst this year for NBCSN's "NASCAR America"], whose garage in Charlotte opens with our live cameras in there. And Jeff is going to be reporting from there and still in and out of the racecar this year has he builds to next year, where he and Steve Letarte will share the booth for our NASCAR events at all our races with Rick Allen.

"We've got motorcross and rallycross this weekend. We're hitting motocross with James Stewart. We've got the gang from Monaco. We've got the gang from Indy. We've got our premiere of Global Rallycross – Kanaan, Patrick, Bush, Andretti — all names that'll appear in that show and across everything we do.

"It's really safe to say we are motorsports in this country now. Next year champions will be crowned in F1, IndyCar, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series. It goes on from there. Between NBC, NBCSN and Live Extra it's going to be the place to be to watch racing."