Red Bull GRC: NBC Sports Group confirms TV deal through 2015 - MotorSportsTalk

NBC Sports Group has announced a multi-year partnership with Red Bull Global Rallycross today through the 2015 season, presenting up to nine Red Bull Global Rallycross races annually the next two years. Coverage begins Saturday, May 24 at 1 p.m. ET on NBC with the first race of the 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross season from the Top Gear Festival in Barbados. The NBC confirmation post is linked here.

Additional race locations this year include New York, Washington D.C., Daytona, Detroit, Charlotte, Los Angeles Seattle, and the season finale in Las Vegas in November. Red Bull Global Rallycross features some of the world’s premier rallycross drivers, including Ken Block,Tanner Foust and Scott Speed.

“We are thrilled to partner with Red Bull Global Rallycross and present more than 10 hours of original motorsports content on NBC,” saidGary Quinn, Vice President, Programming and Owned Properties, NBC Sports Group. “NBC Sports Group is one of the premier destinations for motorsports coverage, and the addition of Red Bull Global Rallycross to the NBC Sports family reiterates our commitment to the category.”

“Our fan base is growing exponentially, and being on NBC is an important step in meeting the demand out there for our Red Bull Global Rallycross motor sports platform.” said Colin Dyne, CEO, Red Bull Global Rallycross. “This partnership gives our fans incredible flexibility in how they view our races and we look forward to introducing the non-stop action of our sport to millions more households this season.”

Veteran motorsports play-by-play announcer Tes Sewell will call the action this season, joined by NBC Sports Group motorsports analyst and active driver Townsend Bell.

In addition to NBC’s coverage of the Red Bull Global Rallycross series, NBCSN will air encore presentations of all nine events this season, and all content will be streamed via NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets.

2014 RED BULL GLOBAL RALLYCROSS SCHEDULE ON NBC

Date	Coverage	Network	Time (ET)
Sat., May 24	Top Gear Festival – Barbados*	NBC	1 p.m.
Sun., June 22	Red Bull Global Rallycross – Washington D.C.	NBC	2 p.m.
Sun., July 20	Red Bull Global Rallycross – New York	NBC	2 p.m.
Sat., July 26	Red Bull Global Rallycross – Charlotte	NBC	2 p.m.
Sun., August 3	Red Bull Global Rallycross – Detroit	NBC	2 p.m.
Sat., August 23	Red Bull Global Rallycross – Daytona	NBC	3:30 p.m.
Sat., September 20	Red Bull Global Rallycross – Los Angeles	NBC	5 p.m.
Sun., September 28	Red Bull Global Rallycross – Seattle*	NBC	2:30 p.m.
Sun., November 16	Red Bull Global Rallycross – Las Vegas*	NBC	2 p.m.

*Denotes tape-delayed presentation

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In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

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