Anyone planning on watching the Monte Carlo rally next weekend? I recently bought a month of RallyTV to see how it is. It’s looking to be a really interesting WRC season with the new points system and Kalle Rovanpera driving part time. It also looks like this might be the last season with the current hybrid cars.
Didn’t know rally had a dedicated streaming service! Cool.
I found it curious it’s a little bit more than 2x what I pay for a year of F1 TV?!
I’ll be interested in hearing how the service works from a reliability of delivery angle. I’ve always wanted to get into watching rally but never found any way to watch it.
Edit: huh the first hit I got for ralllytv review produced this:
Yeah, I guess it is more expensive because it also includes World RX and ERC. Still, it isn’t really helping spread popularity of the sport if it is so expensive to watch.
From what I’ve seen, the app had a really rough launch last year. I’ve had a couple issues using it myself, but when it works it’s really cool! I love how you can watch onboard video from all drivers for all stages.
You’ve peaked my interest for sure. I’ll be interested in hearing how this month test drive of yours goes.
I’ll be watching the 24 from Daytona next weekend. The Cadillacs smashed the track record and three divisions set new ones. Lots of names in the race as always.
Starts at 1:30 on Saturday.
Rallying is something I find cool in concept—and in games—but could never really get into following in real life. Even if, this is a bad weekend for its season to start for me as it’s the same time as the 24 Hours of Daytona (the best race of the year, imo) and the final rounds of the Australian Open. So, basically no room for me to follow it even if I wanted and was able to.
Yeah, I have been interesting in it for years, but have only really started following it recently. I’m going to try watching the events on Rally TV for a few months and see if it’s worth the cost. If not, I may go back to watching the great recap videos that Red Bull releases on their platform.
My biggest impediment to enjoying rally on TV is just the nature of the “race” itself. It’s essentially always going to be only a highlights package. I have massive respect for the drivers and the teams and how fast they go where they go, but rally is the one form of motorsport I’ll always choose to just play as a videogame and not watch on television.
Isn’t this kind of how endurance racing is as well? About ten years ago I tried to get into F1 but quickly realized that very little actual position changes happen after the first handful of laps. So, instead of watching the actual race I would watch the qualifying. Hopefully, this is better now.
I’m not at all a motorsport expert, but I’ve found rallycross to be the most entertaining from an actual spectator perspective. It packs a lot of action into several very short races per event.
The only motorsport even I’ve watched regularly is the Macau Grand Prix because I live there! It takes over the city for a week and is impossible to avoid. I used to literally walk across (well under) the road circuit to work for a few years and I would hear the cars practicing in the morning.
I have historically recorded then watched every minute of IMSA endurance races plus Le Mans and a few other WEC (in 30min to 1hr chunks). So no, not just the highlights at least for me.
But now 90% of the Daytona24 is behind the Peacock paywall, which at this point I’m choosing not to reward.
F1 has gotten alot better on positional changes, as long as you do not mean the lead. The best battles are in the pack, and the F1 broadcast have been showing those much more given Max is just out circulating in the lead.
Rallycross is rallying’s way of making it so you can see the cars for more than just a brief blast past you and it’s a good thing for sure.
I watched every lap of IndyCar, most every lap of F1, and probably half the laps of every NASCAR Cup race in 2023. I also watched a lot of IMSA stuff and tons of World of Outlaws, USAC, and All-Stars sprint car racing via Floracing and Streaming. USAC Midgets and Silver Crown too. That’s all in addition to the multitude of events I attended in 2023, and I probably had a down year in attendance tbh.
This year for attendance, I’ll be at Indy in May, Milwaukee in September, and possibly Iowa in July and/or Mid-Ohio in July. In addition to that, I’ll attend a number of events locally at Williams Grove, Lincoln, Port Royal, Kutztown Action Track, Bridgeport, Big Diamond and Grandview. I’ll also be at the Little 500 in Anderson, IN, and wherever we go on Friday night the weekend of the Indianapolis 500.
So I watch a lot of racing, and attend a lot of racing, too. I kind of hate time trials of all kinds and wouldn’t choose to watch them. Sometimes I avoid them at sprint car shows by arriving late. :)
@eliandi, the Peacock sub is at least really cheap. They also have lots of coverage on there you wouldn’t get on TV anyway including all 24 hours. The IndyCar practice and qualifying sessions have been worth having the sub for me. I watch the Premier League too though, and right now you can use it for Supercross if you like the bikes.
Good list to make on motorsports events we plan to attend
right now I plan to attend GT Americas at COTA in the spring, and then WEC at COTA that is around labor day. That one will be brutal hot, but I’ve got endurance friends from out of town who really want to go despite our warnings. Also plan on seeing 1 or more dirt track racing nights.
We lost our Indycar date at TMS this year due to the olympics. :(
I’ve been thinking of getting back to IMSA event at Road America…that is one awesome venue for spectators.
High Limit is going to be at Texas Motor Speedway’s dirt track when NASCAR is in town. Pretty sure Larson will run that one. They’ll also be back in October for their finale.
https://www.highlimitracing.com/schedules/event/492228
https://www.highlimitracing.com/schedules/event/492354
Night two is 50k to win.
https://www.highlimitracing.com/schedules/event/492357
The World of Outlaws are in Texas in March.
With Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet buying the All-Stars Circuit of Champions from Tony Stewart, there are two legitimate competing top level winged sprint car series this year. It’s a bit of a mess tbh, but you’ve got lots of Texas options for 2024.
Also, USAC sprint cars make one appearance…
Sep 05 RPM Speedway Crandall, TX
Yes, we were going to pick one of the winged sprint car events for sure.
Thats good to hear. When I watched it, there were usually only less than five notable overtakes per race, and almost never in the top positions.
So for a 24 hour race, you watch the entire thing? I didn’t realize that people actually did that. Endurance racing fascinates me, but I’ve never tried watching it (aside from highlight videos).
That’s a lot of racing! I’m curious, for someone who is only casually interested in Motorsport at this point, which series would you recommend to start with? Though, I likely live on the other side of world from you so I rarely have the chance to watch anything live.
Yes, I watch every minute. Many people (not me) stay up an try to watch it live
I also watch nearly all the Indycar races (I skip some of the ovals). But I rarely watch the NASCAR races
IndyCar typically has the most entertaining open wheel racing on the planet. It’s better than F1, unless you’re so caught up in the car makers that you just like to watch a Ferrari or a Mercedes built F1 car go fast. There is less on track action in F1, but it can still be entertaining.
IndyCar is a not quite spec series. Honda and Chevy make the engines, and the teams have a number of areas they can do whatever they want, most notably in the shocks/dampers area. The chassis and tub are spec, though, with some bits and bobs that affect aerodynamics that you can choose from on any given weekend. This serves to keep the racing close, but also means the cream still rises to the top.
When it comes to drivers in IndyCar, they are among the best in the world, and with some of the highest longevity in racing. Scott Dixon is a motor racing hall of famer. Will Power, Josef Newgarden… they’ll probably be there too. Alex Palou is easily on his way. There are a number of others that can and will win races, Scott McLaughlin, Marcus Ericsson, Pato O’Ward, Alexander Rossi… and then up and comers like Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas, and Christian Lundgaard. The other cool thing about IndyCar is these guys have a lot of personality IMO, and make following the series a good time every week for not only the racing, but also the interviews.
Now, for something that is more akin to your rally interest, I would highly recommend looking at Sprint Car racing, which doesn’t exist in your part of the world, but does happen in the US and Australia. 410 Cubic Inch motors with 900-1000 horsepower. 1400lbs including the driver. They’re like lightning in a bottle and driven with the throttle. Here are a couple highlights from races I attended in 2023. Everything is streaming online live but replays are available if you buy in.
This holds true even in sim racing. Last weekend my friend, who absolutely grinds out optimal setups in the iR-18, lost to one Max Verstappen by all of 4 seconds in an hour long race. The setup changes are definitely enough to give you an advantage over equally skilled drivers, but pure driving skill still wins it in the default setup. Also, Max just low key showed up with no practice and won. I would love to see him against Alex Palou in real life. Or hell, even in the sim. They both had unbelievably consistent seasons last year.
I wish I could watch it, but it seems like I have no way to stream it since we don’t have Peacock here. I have heard good things about Indycar previously, but never watched a race.
Yeah, Palou is among the best in the world right now. There’s no doubt. When you’re beating Scott Dixon in equal equipment, even with Dixon on the late end of his career, you’re truly doing something.