Here are your Belgian Grand Prix air times on NBCSN, CNBC, Live Extra

By Aug 19, 2015, 8:54 PM EDT
0 Comments

Formula 1’s summer break comes to an end this weekend with the Belgian Grand Prix from the Ardennes forest at the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the longest and one of the oldest, most historic circuits on the calendar.

You can catch the action back on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra for this weekend’s race, with race coverage back on NBCSN after the last two Grands Prix (British, Hungarian) were on CNBC. The race coverage start is at 7:30 a.m. ET Sunday morning, with lights out at 8 a.m. ET and F1 Extra at 10 a.m. ET.

However, live qualifying will be on CNBC on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. ET.

Here’s more information, via the NBC Sports Group Press Box:

—

NBC Sports Group’s coverage of the 2015 Formula One season continues this Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET with the Belgian Grand Prix on NBCSN. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (202 points) and Nico Rosberg (181 points) continue to occupy the top two spots in the driver standings, followed by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel (160 points). Vettel won the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 26, his second win of the year, and the trio has combined to win all 10 races this season. Vettel has won twice at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (2011, 2013), while Hamilton won at Spa in 2010.

Coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix begins with Practice 1 on Friday at 4 a.m. ET on NBC Sports Live Extra, followed by NBCSN’s coverage of Practice 2 on Friday at 8 a.m. ET. Live Extra airs Practice 3 on Saturday at 5 a.m. ET, followed by CNBC’s live coverage of qualifying at 8 a.m. ET. NBCSN’s live coverage of the F1 Belgian Grand Prix begins on Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. ET, followed by post-race analysis on F1 Extra at 10 a.m. ET.

Diffey (play-by-play), Matchett (analyst) and veteran analyst and former driver David Hobbs will call the Belgian GP. Will Buxton will serve as the team’s on-site reporter from Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

—

Lead F1 and IndyCar race-caller Leigh Diffey and F1 and IndyCar analyst Steve Matchett will pull a broadcasting doubleheader this Sunday, calling the F1 Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. ET and the IndyCar ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Diffey and Matchett will arrive at NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn. on Sunday morning prior to their 4 a.m. ET production meeting. Following the F1 race, the duo will depart from Stamford at 10:30 a.m. ET, take a charter flight, and arrive at Pocono Raceway in time to call the IndyCar race on NBCSN at 2 p.m. ET.

Following is the schedule for Diffey and Matchett for Sunday’s broadcast doubleheader:

  • 4 a.m. ET – Production meeting at NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn.
  • 5:30 a.m. ET – F1 Rehearsal
  • 7:30 a.m. ET – F1 Belgian Grand Prix on NBCSN
  • 10:30 a.m. ET – Depart Stamford for charter flight to Pocono
  • Approx. 12:30 p.m. ET – Arrive at Pocono Raceway
  • 1 p.m. ET – IndyCar Rehearsal
  • 2 p.m. ET – IndyCar ABC Supply 500 at Pocono
  • 6 p.m. ET – Off-air

TV and Live Extra times are below:

Date Program Time (ET) Network
Fri., August 21 F1 Belgian Grand Prix – Practice 1 4 a.m. NBC Sports Live Extra
F1 Belgian Grand Prix – Practice 2 8 a.m. NBCSN
 Sat., August 22  F1 Belgian Grand Prix – Practice 3  5 a.m.  NBC Sports Live Extra
F1 Belgian Grand Prix – Qualifying 8 a.m. CNBC
Sun., August 23 GP2 Racing – Belgium* 1:30 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Belgian Grand Prix 7:30 a.m. NBCSN
F1 Extra 10 a.m. NBCSN

After New York whirlwind, Josef Newgarden makes special trip to simulator before Detroit

By Jun 2, 2023, 10:00 AM EDT
0 Comments

DETROIT – There’s no rest for the weary as an Indy 500 winner, but Josef Newgarden discovered there are plenty of extra laps.

The reigning Indy 500 champion added an extra trip Wednesday night back to Concord, N.C., for one last session on the GM Racing simulator before Sunday’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.

After a 30-year run on the Belle Isle course, the race has been moved to a nine-turn, 1.7-mile layout downtown, so two extra hours on the simulator were worth it for Newgarden.

INDYCAR IN DETROIT: Entry list, schedule, TV info for this weekend

JOSEF’S FAMILY TIES: Newgarden wins Indy 500 with wisdom of father, wife

“I really wanted to do it,” he told NBC Sports at a Thursday media luncheon. “If there’s any time that the sim is most useful, it’s in this situation when no one has ever been on a track, and we’re able to simulate it as best as we can. We want to get some seat time.

“It’s extra important coming off the Indy 500 because you’ve been out of rhythm for a road or street course-type environment, so I really wanted some laps. I was really appreciative to Chevy. There was a few guys that just came in and stayed late for me so I could get those laps before coming up here. I don’t know if it’s going to make a difference, but I feel like it’s going to help for me.”

After a whirlwind tour of New York for two days, Newgarden arrived at the simulator (which is at the GM Racing Technical Center adjacent to Hendrick Motorsports) in time for a two hour session that started at 6 p.m. Wednesday. He stayed overnight in Charlotte and then was up for an early commercial flight to Detroit, where he had more media obligations.

Newgarden joked that if he had a jet, he would have made a quick stop in Nashville, Tennessee, but a few more days away from home (where he has yet to return in weeks) is a worthy tradeoff for winning the Greatest Spectacle in Racing – though the nonstop interviews can take a toll.

“It’s the hardest part of the gig for me is all this fanfare and celebration,” Newgarden said. “I love doing it because I’m so passionate about the Indy 500 and that racetrack and what that race represents. I feel honored to be able to speak about it. It’s been really natural and easy for me to enjoy it because I’ve been there for so many years.

“Speaking about this win has been almost the easiest job I’ve ever had for postrace celebrations. But it’s still for me a lot of work. I get worn out pretty easily. I’m very introverted. So to do this for three days straight, it’s been a lot.”

Though he is terrified of heights, touring the top of the Empire State Building for the first time was a major highlight (and produced the tour’s most viral moment).

“I was scared to get to the very top level,” Newgarden said. “That thing was swaying. No one else thought it was swaying. I’m pretty sure it was. I really impressed by the facility. I’d never seen it before. It’s one of those bucket list things. If you go to New York, it’s really special to do that. So to be there with the wreath and the whole setup, it just felt like an honor to be in that moment.”

Now the attention shifts to Detroit and an inaugural circuit that’s expected to be challenging. Along with a Jefferson Avenue straightaway that’s 0.9 miles long, the track has several low-speed corners and a “split” pit lane (teams will stop on both sides of a rectangular area) with a narrow exit that blends just before a 90-degree lefthand turn into Turn 1.

Newgarden thinks the track is most similar to the Music City Grand Prix in Nashville.

“It’s really hard to predict with this stuff until we actually run,” he said. “Maybe we go super smooth and have no issues. Typically when you have a new event, you’re going to have some teething issues. That’s understandable. We’ve always got to massage the event to get it where we want it, but this team has worked pretty hard. They’ve tried to get feedback constantly on what are we doing right, what do we need to look out for. They’ve done a ton of grinding to make sure this surface is in as good of shape as possible.

“There’s been no expense spared, but you can’t foresee everything. I have no idea how it’s going to race. I think typically when you look at a circuit that seems simple on paper, people tend to think it’s not going to be an exciting race, or challenging. I find the opposite always happens when we think that way. Watch it be the most exciting, chaotic, entertaining race.

Newgarden won the last two pole positions at Belle Isle’s 2.35-mile layout and hopes to continue the momentum while avoiding any post-Brickyard letdown.

“I love this is an opportunity for us to get something right quicker than anyone else,” he said. “A new track is always exciting from that standpoint. I feel I’m in a different spot. I’m pretty run down. I’m really trying to refocus and gain some energy back for tomorrow. Which I’ll have time to today, which is great.

“I don’t want that Indy 500 hangover. People always talk about it. They’ve always observed it. That doesn’t mean we have to win this weekend, but I’d like to leave here feeling like we had a really complete event, did a good job and had a solid finish leading into the summer. I want to win everywhere I go, but if we come out of here with a solid result and no mistakes, then probably everyone will be happy with it.”