FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 1st, 2014
FORMULA ONE VISITS SILVERSTONE & INDYCAR HEADS TO POCONO, HIGHLIGHTING MORE THAN 30 HOURS OF MOTORSPORTS COVERAGE ACROSS NBC, NBCSN & CNBC
Live Coverage of F1 British Grand Prix Begins at 7:30 a.m. ET on CNBC; Live Qualifying Airs Saturday at 8 a.m. ET on CNBC
NBCSN Presents Pocono IndyCar 500 Sunday at Noon ET; Qualifying Airs Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN
NBC, NBCSN & NBC Sports Live Extra Present Five Hours of Live Lucas Oil Pro Motocross RedBud National Coverage on Saturday
IndyCar Houston Doubleheader Boasts Triple-Digit Gains From 2013
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 1, 2014 – Formula One travels to Silverstone Circuit for the Santander British Grand Prix, while IndyCar visits “the Tricky Triangle” for the Pocono IndyCar 500 at Pocono Raceway, highlighting more than 30 hours of motorsports coverage across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC and NBC Sports Live Extra this week.
Live race coverage of the British Grand Prix begins at 7:30 a.m. ET on CNBC, followed by the Pocono IndyCar 500 on NBCSN at noon ET. NBC Sports Group’s live motorsports coverage is rounded out by the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross RedBud National on Saturday across NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra.
F1 BRITISH GRAND PRIX – SUNDAY AT 7:30 A.M. ET ON CNBC
NBC Sports Group’s coverage of the British Grand Prix from Silverstone Circuit begins with Practice 1 on NBC Sports Live Extra on Friday at 5 a.m. ET, followed by live coverage of Practice 2 on NBCSN at 9 a.m. ET. Live Extra will exclusively stream Practice 3 on Saturday at 5 a.m. ET, followed by live qualifying at 8 a.m. ET on CNBC, due to NBCSN’s Tour de France coverage. Live coverage of the British Grand Prix begins at 7:30 a.m. ET on CNBC, followed by F1 Extra at 10 a.m. ET
NBCSN will air an encore presentation of qualifying on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, and an encore of the British Grand Prix on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET. NBCSN will air the GP2 race from Silverstone Circuit Sunday at 11 p.m. ET.
Two weeks ago, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) earned his third victory of the season at the Austrian Grand Prix, extending his lead to 31 points in the standings ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, who finished in second place. Both Rosberg and Hamilton have won at Silverstone – Hamilton, who grew up in nearby Stevenage in the United Kingdom, won in 2008, while Rosberg will look for a second straight win in the British Grand Prix following his 2013 victory.
Lead F1 announcer Leigh Diffey will call the British Grand Prix, and will be joined by veteran analyst and former racecar driver David Hobbs, and analyst and former race mechanic for the Benetton F1 team Steve Matchett. F1 insider Will Buxton will serve as the team’s on-site reporter from Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, England, and will also call the GP2 race.
POCONO INDYCAR 500 – SUNDAY AT NOON ET ON NBCSN
NBCSN’s coverage of the Pocono IndyCar 500 from Pocono Raceway begins Saturday at 7 p.m. ET with qualifying, followed by live race coverage at Noon ET on Sunday. Last weekend, rookie Carlos Huertas (Dale Coyne Racing) led an all-Colombian podium with his first career victory in Race 1 of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston doubleheader. Simon Pagenaud (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) took the checkered flag in Race 2 on Sunday to move into fourth place in the points standings, followed by rookies Mikhail Aleshin (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) and Jack Hawksworth (BHA/BBM). Last year, Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) won the 2013 Pocono IndyCar 400 in IndyCar’s return to the Tricky Triangle following a 24-year absence.
Bob Varsha will call the Pocono IndyCar 500 on-site, alongside former IndyCar driver Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell, who raced in this year’s Indy 500. Reporters Jon Beekhuis, Kelli Stavast, Kevin Lee and Robin Miller will report from the pits.
NBCSN will also present coverage of the Indy Lights race from Pocono Raceway on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. Lee will handle play-by-play alongside analysts Anders Krohn and Jake Query.
LUCAS OIL PRO MOTOCROSS REDBUD NATIONAL – SATURDAY
NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra will combine to present five hours of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross RedBud National coverage from Buchanan, Mich. on Saturday. Coverage starts on Live Extra at 10:30 a.m. ET with practice, followed by the pre-race show at 12:15 p.m. ET. Race coverage begins at 1 p.m. ET on Live Extra with 1st Motos, followed by NBC’s live presentation of the 450 Class of Moto 2 at 3 p.m. ET. Coverage shifts to NBCSN at 4 p.m. ET with the 250 Class of Moto 2.
Last weekend, Ken Roczen won the 450 Class in Moto 2 at Muddy Creek Raceway last week, while Cooper Webb won in the 250 Class for his first career victory.
Veteran play-by-play voice Jason Weigandt, analyst and two-time AMA Pro Motocross Champion Grant Langston, and pit reporter Georgia Lindsay will call the action from RedBud National in Buchanan, Mich.
INDYCAR HOUSTON DOUBLEHEADER BOASTS TRIPLE-DIGIT GAINS FROM 2013
Last weekend’s coverage of the Shell and Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston doubleheader posted triple-digit viewership gains from 2013. Race 1 on Saturday (3:52-5:51 p.m. ET) averaged 361,000 viewers, up 121% from the same race last year (10/5/13), while Race 2 on Sunday (3:42-5:47 p.m. ET) averaged 396,000 viewers, up 146% from the same race last year (10/6/13).
Through five races, NBCSN’s IndyCar coverage has registered 390,000 average viewers, up 34% from the 2013 season through five races (291,000).
Motorsports Coverage This Week on NBC, NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra:
| Date | Program | Time (ET) | Network |
| Wed., July 2 | NASCAR America | 5 p.m. | NBCSN |
| Thu., July 3 | NASCAR America | 5 p.m. | NBCSN |
| KURT BUSCH: 36 | 6:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Fri., July 4 | Motocross Highlight Series | 2 a.m. | NBCSN |
| F1 British Grand Prix – Practice 1 | 5 a.m. | NBC Sports Live Extra | |
| F1 British Grand Prix – Practice 2 | 9 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| “1” – F1 Documentary | 10:30 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Mecum Auctions: Kansas City (Encore) | 4 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sat., July 5 | F1 British Grand Prix – Practice 3 | 5 a.m. | NBC Sports Live Extra |
| F1 British Grand Prix – Qualifying | 8 a.m. | CNBC | |
| Lucas Oil Pro Motocross RedBud – Practice | 10:30 a.m. | NBC Sports Live Extra | |
| Lucas Oil Pro Motocross RedBud – Pre-Show | 12:15 p.m. | NBC Sports Live Extra | |
| Lucas Oil Pro Motocross RedBud – 1st Motos | 1 p.m. | NBC Sports Live Extra | |
| F1 British Grand Prix – Qualifying (Encore) | 2 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Lucas Oil Pro Motocross RedBud – 2nd Motos | 3 p.m. | NBC | |
| Lucas Oil Pro Motocross RedBud – 2nd Motos | 4 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Pocono IndyCar 500 – Qualifying | 7 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| Sun., July 6 | F1 British Grand Prix | 7:30 a.m. | CNBC |
| F1 Extra | 10 a.m. | CNBC | |
| Pocono IndyCar 500 | Noon | NBCSN | |
| Pocono Indy Lights | 4 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 British Grand Prix (Encore) | 5 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| F1 Extra (Encore) | 7:30 p.m. | NBCSN | |
| GP2 – Silverstone | 11 p.m. | NBCSN |
MOTORSPORTS 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 British Grand Prix, Pocono IndyCar 500 and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross RedBud National. The majority of coverage will be provided via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to authenticated customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.
For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.
Coverage airing on:
- NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra;
- NBCSN will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere,” which is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs.
MOTORSPORTSTALK: MotorSportsTalk (@MotorSportsTalk) on NBCSports.com brings racing fans up-to-the-minute news, video and information on the Formula One, Verizon IndyCar Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and all other motorsports 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 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. 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 has more than seven years of experience in the industry. Follow him on Twitter at @TonyDiZinno.
- Chris Estrada has written for NBCSports.com’s MotorsportsTalk since its inception in 2013, and has been a contributor for various outlets, including the Boston Globe, IndyCar Nation and FoxSports.com. Follow him at @estradawriting.
- Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran NASCAR reporter with more than 30 years of experience. He has contributed to USA Today, Yahoo! Sports and other websites over the course of his career. Follow him on Twitter @JerryBonkowski.
To explore the site, please visit MotorSportsTalk.com.nbcsports.com or www.NBCSports.com.
SOCIAL: Follow @MotorsportsTalk, @F1onNBCSports and @NBCSN on Twitter and “like” Facebook.com/NBC Sports for the most up-to-date news, videos and commentary about Formula One on NBC Sports and NBCSN.
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 –
