In the following 4 weekends, we're likely to experience 2 of the most action packed weekends in motorsport:

October 7-10: V8 Supercars Rnd10: Bathurst 1000
October 8-10: Formula 1 Rnd17: Japanese Gran Prix (Penultimate Round)

(Fortnight later)

October 21-24: Champ Car Rnd13: Lexmark Indy 300, Surfers Paradise (Penultimate Round)
October 21-24: V8 Supercars Rnd11: Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge, Surfers Paradise
October 22-24: Formula 1 Rnd 18: Brazilian Gran Prix (Final Round)


To add to this, this year is turning out to be one of the most technological advanced Bathurst races, with not only the destruction and reconstuction of pit lane, to make it one of the most advanced pit lanes in the world, but Channel 10, the Oz broadcasters, have announced some great advancements in their telecast:

Historic Bathurst broadcast

Release Date: 30/09/2004

Network Ten is providing one of the biggest weekends of motor sport ever seen in Australia with a historic three day broadcast of the 2004 Bob Jane T-Marts Bathurst 1000 and a prime time broadcast of the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday, October 10.

TEN’s Bathurst broadcast is now 18 hours over three days: Friday, October 8: 1pm – 4pm, Saturday, October 9: 12pm – 5pm and Sunday, October 10: 7am – 5pm (Sunday is live into all markets).

Immediately following the Sunday Bathurst broadcast at 5pm, TEN News will provide a full round up of the Federal Election and at 5.30pm go straight to the start of the Japanese Grand Prix (5.30pm – 7.00pm).

Network Ten’s general manager, sport, David White said: “The Friday broadcast at Bathurst is testament to the size of this world class, truly iconic sporting event and to then offer a prime time broadcast of the Japanese Grand Prix reinforces our strong commitment to motor sport”.

In addition to the extended broadcast, Network Ten will offer the most technically advanced coverage in the history of this great race.

Technical innovations include:

• Flycam – will completely revolutionize motor sport broadcasting with the camera running along pit lane and pit straight at speeds of up to 120kmh, offering an incredible new perspective for viewers.

• 3D Graphics on the grid – based on the V8 Supercar computer game, this software offers a three dimensional image of how the cars will line up on the grid and can be organized in 15 seconds.

• Pitsmart technology – this combines historical race data to predict the likely outcome of a race. The software can recall every factor that can impact on race positions (ie – pit stops, lap times, safety cars). It also allows our commentators to have a stronger understanding of the strategies that can be played out by the
teams and how that will impact race positions.

A significant addition to the international broadcasters will be China’s Shanghai TV who will show some live coverage of the Saturday and Sunday broadcasts to a potential audience of 140 million people.

While the 2004 Bathurst 1000 is the most advanced broadcast in the history of the race, it is also the biggest. A few statistics to confirm it:

• 285 crew: the largest crew for an annual sporting event in Australia (note: every member of the crew is transported and accommodated from around the country).

• 34 cameras around the track: the most in the history of the race.

• 40 in car cameras: 12 cars with 3-4 in car cameras each – the most in the history of the race.

• 230 microphones – the most in the history of the race.

• 38 kilometres of cable – just a whole lot of cable!