FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 20th, 2015

��BIGGEST DAY IN MOTORSPORTS” BEGINS WITH FORMULA ONE MONACO GRAND PRIX ON NBC THIS SUNDAY

Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix Airs Live on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBC – Leigh Diffey, David Hobbs, Steve Matchett & Will Buxton On-Site in Monaco

F1 Monaco Grand Prix Conference Call Transcript – Diffey, Hobbs, Matchett & Motorsports Producer Rich O’Connor

“This is the crown jewel in the Formula One crown.” – Matchett

“Like the Indy 500 or the Daytona 500 – this is the one they all really want to win.” – Hobbs

Live Coverage of Indianapolis 500 Carb Day Starts Friday at 11 a.m. ET

Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship – Glen Helen Raceway – Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN

NBC Sports Live Extra to Stream All Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 Carb Day & Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship Coverage

STAMFORD, Conn. – May 20, 2015 – NBC Sports Group will present more than 35 hours of motorsports coverage this week leading into the “Biggest Day in Motorsports,” highlighted by NBC’s live presentation of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET. NBC Sports Group’s F1 team of play-by-play voice Leigh Diffey, analysts David Hobbs and Steve Matchett, and F1 insider and pit reporter Will Buxton will call the action on-site in Monte Carlo.

NBC Sports Group’s extensive motorsports coverage this week includes coverage spanning Formula One, IndyCar, NASCAR, and the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, culminating with NBC’s live coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix, kicking off the “Biggest Day in Motorsports” on Sunday morning with one of world’s most iconic racing events.

NBC Sports Group is the home of motorsports in 2015, providing exclusive Formula One coverage, exclusive cable coverage of the Verizon IndyCar Series on NBCSN, and the first of 10 consecutive seasons featuring the final 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and 19 Nationwide Series events.

 

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F1 MONACO GRAND PRIX CONFERENCE CALL TRANSCRIPT – DIFFEY, HOBBS, MATCHETT, & MOTORSPORTS PRODUCER RICH O’CONNOR

Diffey, Hobbs, Matchett and motorsports producer Rich O’Connor previewed the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix on a media conference call on Wednesday morning. Following are excerpts from Wednesday’s call.

Hobbs on Monaco GP: “This is a massive party weekend as well as a very important race weekend… the big question on everyone’s lips is can Nico Rosberg be one of the drivers to win this race three times in a row? A bit like the Indy 500 or the Daytona 500, this is the one they all really want to win.”

Matchett on unique aspect of Monaco: “The cars are largely built for this one-off event.  They all feature new aerodynamic packages on the front wing and rear wing to give as many possible downforce to the car.  Also one of the special features on the Monaco track is the very tight Lowe’s hairpin, which is certainly the tightest hairpin on the Formula One calendar… it is so tight, winding and tortuous around here, there is no room for error.”

Diffey on Ferrari’s resurgence: “We won’t call it overwhelming success just yet, but they have won a Grand Prix this year which is very impressive. (Sebastian Vettel’s) definitely got the magic…last year was one of the most tumultuous years in the team’s history in Formula One.  They’ve come out of that this year very well.  They continue to be one of our big storylines.”

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F1 MONACO GRAND PRIX COVERAGE BEGINS THURSDAY AT 7:30 A.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBC Sports Group will kick off live coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix tomorrow morning at 4 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Live Extra with Practice 1, followed by NBCSN’s presentation of Practice 2 tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. ET. Live extra will stream Practice 3 on Saturday morning at 5 a.m. ET, leading into live qualifying coverage on NBCSN at 8 a.m. ET. Diffey, Hobbs, Matchett and Buxton will be on-site for practice, qualifying, and Grand Prix coverage, which begins Sunday at 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN with F1 Countdown, prior to NBC’s presentation of the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET.

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) is looking to win his third consecutive Monaco Grand Prix this year, after earning his second straight wire-to-wire win in Monte Carlo last year. Rosberg (91 points) currently sits second in the driver standings behind teammate Lewis Hamilton (111), who has finished in the top two of all five races in 2015. Mercedes and Ferrari drivers occupy the top four spots, with Sebastian Vettel (80) and Kimi Raikkonen (52) in third and fourth positions, respectively.

Through five races on NBCSN to-date, Formula 1 racing has drawn 406,000 average viewers, up 9% from the same point in the 2014 season (371,000).

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Thu., May 21 F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Practice 1 4 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Practice 2 8 a.m. NBCSN
Sat., May 23 F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Practice 3 5 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying 8 a.m. NBCSN
Sun., May 24 GP2 Monaco 1:30 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Countdown 7 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Monaco Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBC
F1 Monaco Grand Prix (Encore) 2:30 p.m. NBCSN
GP2 Monaco 5:30 p.m. NBCSN
/DRIVE on NBC Sports – Monaco (Encore) 6:30 p.m. NBCSN

 

LIVE COVERAGE OF INDIANAPOLIS 500 CARB DAY STARTS FRIDAY AT 11 A.M. ET

NBCSN, the cable home of IndyCar, will provide six hours of Indianapolis 500 Carb Day coverage, beginning Friday at 11 a.m. ET. In addition, NBCSN will air a live presentation of the Indy Lights Freedom 100 race at noon ET on Friday. Indy 500 coverage concludes on Saturday with the Indy 500 Festival Parade at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Kevin Lee will lead NBCSN’s Carb Day coverage, filling in for Diffey who will be in Monaco, alongside analysts Townsend Bell, who is driving in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, and Paul Tracy. Jon Beekhuis, Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast and Robin Miller will handle the pits.

 

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Fri., May 23 Indy 500 Carb Day 11 a.m. NBCSN
Indy Lights – Freedom 100 Noon NBCSN
Indy 500 Carb Day 1 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., May 24 Indy 500 Festival Parade 5 p.m. NBCSN

 


LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP – GLEN HELEN RACEWAY – SATURDAY AT 7 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

NBC Sports Group continues its coverage of the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship season with this week’s event at Glen Helen Raceway on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Last week, Eli Tomac earned his second career win with a 1-1 moto sweep in the 450 Class. In the 250 Class, reigning champion Jeremy Martin won to claim his second straight win at Hangtown.

Jason Weigandt will handle play-by-play duties, alongside two-time AMA Pro Motocross Champion Grant Langston and reporter Georgia Lindsay.

This week’s motorsports coverage begins tonight at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN with a special edition of NASCAR AMERICA, providing analysis of the NASCAR Hall of Fame announcement of the 2016 class. NBCSN will also present a special two-hour NASCAR AMERICA Motorsports Special on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET, hosted by Mike Massaro and Kyle Petty. NBCSN’s NASCAR AMERICA Motorsports Special will break down this year’s F1 Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600, and feature interviews with analysts and drivers previewing the “Biggest Day in Motorsports.”

NBCSN will also air coverage of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series Casey’s General Store 150 from Iowa Speedway on Thursday at 11:30 p.m. ET, the first of two annual combination races between the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West.

Ralph Sheheen, Frank Stoddard and Parker Kligerman call the action from Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.


NBC SPORTS GROUP’S “BIGGEST DAY IN MOTORSPORTS” WEEK-LONG COVERAGE

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Wed., May 20 NASCAR AMERICA 6 p.m. NBCSN
Mecum Auctions: Indianapolis (Encore) 11:30 p.m. NBCSN
Thu., May 21 F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Practice 1 4 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Practice 2 8 a.m. NBCSN
NASCAR America 5 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR K&N Pro Series – Iowa 11:30 p.m. NBCSN
Fri., May 22 Indy 500 Carb Day 11 a.m. NBCSN
Indy Lights – Freedom 100 Noon NBCSN
Indy 500 Carb Day 1 p.m. NBCSN
NASCAR AMERICA Motorsports Special 3:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sat., May 23 F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Practice 3 5 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying 8 a.m. NBCSN
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross – Glen Helen Practice 2:30 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
IndyCar Chronicles 4 p.m. NBCSN
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross – Glen Helen Practice 4 p.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
Indy 500 Festival Parade 5 p.m. NBCSN
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross – Glen Helen Moto 2s 7 p.m. NBCSN
F1 Documentary – “1” 9 p.m. NBCSN
/DRIVE on NBC Sports: Monaco (Encore) 11:30 p.m. NBCSN
Sun., May 24 F1 Monaco Grand Prix – Qualifying (Encore) 12 a.m. NBCSN
GP2 Monaco 1:30 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Countdown 7 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Monaco Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBC
F1 Monaco Grand Prix (Encore) 2:30 p.m. NBCSN
F1 Extra (Encore) 4:30 p.m. NBCSN
GP2 Monaco (Encore) 5:30 p.m. NBCSN

 


FORMULA ONE™ ON NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA:
NBC Sports Live Extra — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will provide live streaming coverage of this week’s F1 Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 Carb Day, and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship events via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The NBC Sports Live Extra app is available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and Windows Store.

MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on Formula One, the Verizon IndyCar Series, and other open-wheel and off-road racing from around the world. The site also serves as the destination for all news, analysis and video from NBC and NBCSN productions of IndyCar and F1, including contributions from on-air commentators.

MotorSportsTalk’s F1 content is provided by top racing journalists and expert analysts, including:

 

  • Luke Smith is creator and editor at Richland F1, which begins its second season this year. Smith works alongside Tony DiZinno in providing F1 content on MotorSportsTalk He’s on Twitter at @LukeSmithF1, primarily handling the F1 scene from Europe in great detail.
  • Tony DiZinno has most recently served as web editor for RACER Magazine and provides open wheel coverage on MotorSportsTalk. DiZinno has more than seven years of experience in the industry. Follow him on Twitter at @TonyDiZinno.

To explore the site, please visit MotorSportsTalk.com.nbcsports.com or www.NBCSports.com.

 

SOCIAL: NBC Sports Group will continue to provide comprehensive motorsports social coverage across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. On Twitter, fans can follow @MotorsportsTalk for all-encompassing content across NBC Sports Group’s motorsports properties, and follow@F1onNBCSports for the latest F1 news.

For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.

 

– NBC SPORTS GROUP –