F1 Spanish Grand Prix, Auburn auction highlight 25-plus hours of motorsports coverage this week on NBCSN

By May 7, 2014, 3:05 PM EDT
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* Spanish Grand Prix Airs Live Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN; Coverage BeginsFriday at 8 a.m. ET with Practice 2, Qualifying Saturday at 8 a.m. ET

* 10 Hours of Auctions America Coverage Starts Thursday at 2 p.m. ET

* NBC Sports Live Extra to Stream All TV Coverage, Plus Practices 1 & 3 of Spanish Grand Prix

NBCSN presents more than 25 hours of motorsports coverage this weekend, including the live presentation of the Formula One™ Pirelli Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. ET, and 10 hours of Auctions America coverage from Auburn, Ind.

NBCSN’s Spanish Grand Prix coverage begins Friday at 8 a.m. ET with Practice 2, followed by live qualifying on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. ET. NBCSN will air an encore presentation of qualifying at 6 a.m. ET on Sunday, leading into the Spanish Grand Prix at 7:30 a.m. ET.

NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets – will live stream the Spanish Grand Prix, including exclusive coverage of Practices 1 and 3. Live Extra will stream Practice 1 on Friday morning at 4 a.m. ET, and Practice 3 on Saturday at 5 a.m. ET.

Mercedes looks to continue its dominant start to the 2014 F1 season, as Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have combined to win the first four races of the schedule, including three straight victories by Hamilton heading into the Spanish Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) sits third in the points standings, and is a two-time winner of the Spanish Grand Prix (2006, 2013).

Lead F1 announcer Leigh Diffey will call the Spanish 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 the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalyuna in Barcelona, Spain.

In addition, NBCSN will air live episodes of F1 Countdown on Friday at 5 p.m. ET, and F1 Extra on Saturday 9:30 a.m. ET, following qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix. Diffey will host both programs alongside Hobbs, with Buxton reporting from Barcelona.

 

AUCTIONS AMERICA AUBURN

In addition, NBCSN will present 10 hours of Auctions America coverage from the historic Auburn Auction Park in Auburn, Ind. this week, starting Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.  NBCSN’s presentation continues at 10:30 p.m. ET on Friday, followed by live coverage from Auburn on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET. The Auburn Spring telecast represents the first telecast in Auctions America’s new multi-year agreement with NBCSN, and features Auctions America’s largest Auburn Spring event to date.

Auction highlights include a 1939 Packard Twelve Touring Cabriolet by Brunn, a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette 427/435 Roadster, a 1955 Ford “Glass Wonder” Show Car Roadster, and a 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Vol.9 Edition Coupe.

During three full days of auction action, approximately 900 collector cars are expected to cross the block, joined by a diverse selection of memorabilia. In keeping with the Auctions America’s commitment to cater for both veteran hobbyists and entry-level collectors, the auction offering spans the spectrum of the market, presenting something for all automotive tastes and budgets.

Veteran broadcaster Bill Patrick will host NBCSN’s Auctions America coverage this week, alongside NBCSN F1 analyst and former race mechanic for the Benneton F1 team Steve Matchett, and reporter Carolyn Manno.

 

Motorsports Coverage This Week on NBCSN (subject to change, all times ET):

Date Program Network Time
Thu., May 8 Auctions America – Auburn NBCSN 2 p.m.
NASCAR America NBCSN 5 p.m.
Fri., May 9 Auctions America – Auburn (Encore) NBCSN 1 a.m.
Spanish Grand Prix – Practice 1 NBC Sports Live Extra 4 a.m.
Road To Ferrari NBCSN 7 a.m.
Spanish Grand Prix – Practice 2 NBCSN 8 a.m.
F1 Countdown NBCSN 5 p.m.
Auctions America – Auburn NBCSN 10:30 p.m.
Sat., May 10 Spanish Grand Prix – Practice 3 NBC Sports Live Extra 5 a.m.
Los Angeles Auto Show NBCSN 6 a.m.
Detroit Auto Show NBCSN 7 a.m.
Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying NBCSN 8 a.m.
F1 Extra NBCSN 9:30 a.m.
Auctions America – Auburn NBCSN 10 a.m.
Sun., May 11 Spanish Grand Prix – Qualifying (Encore) NBCSN 6 a.m.
Spanish Grand Prix NBCSN 7:30 a.m.

 

FORMULA ONE™/AUCTIONS AMERICA 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 Spanish Grand Prix and Auctions America Auburn auction airing on NBCSN via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of 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 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.

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”