How can local motorsport return in a post COVID-19 world?
The world’s sporting community is properly shaken up currently with so much uncertainty around what’s going to happen next. Even though every organisation has their eyes and ears wide open, grasping for any information that can help, truth be told, no one really knows when things will return to some resemblance of the norm that we were once so comfortable with. Therein lies a word, being ”Comfortable” which is a major issue in itself.
Disassembling the sporting world in it’s current state, it’s no lie that any act within this roman circus is haemorrhaging cash by the hour, motorsport being no different, and in fact, likely the most extreme victim. Think F1 at the highest level and your local circuit on the opposite end, one thing they both share right now is the uncertainty as to when racing will return. They are victims of the same circumstances, albeit at polar opposite ends of the scale. Think, for a minute (if you can stomach it), about the widespread effects. From the gate ticket sales to sponsorship deals to any potential broadcasting deals to spend on an event day, the entire business model is comprised post-COVID-19. Without revenue, how are event locations able to cover overheads in the short to medium term whilst the deck chairs are being reshuffled?
The re-entry into mass gatherings will be one that will paint a cautionary tale guided by the expertise of health experts but the quicker & smarter the pro-active plans are, the quicker things will get to the new norm. F1 themselves have decided that the Austrian Grandprix will go ahead, albeit sans a crowd. With the TV rights they own, I’m sure this can happen with success even with no crowds. But will local motorsport follow the trend set by the upper echelon of motorsport?
This brings us to matter at hand as ordinary folk like you and I on the ground aren’t part of the decision making process and our inputs are largely limited to digital outcries on social media platforms and evangelistic motoring outposts like this website. But just how quickly can the leaders of motorsport within our country execute creative and sustainable ideas that inject the right impetus into getting the wheels turning again? And what exactly are these creative solutions?
I’ve gone ahead and scratched together some ideas around how, through the back end of this pandemic, local motorsport over and above involving crowdless events, could get back onto its wheels sooner rather than later and with, possibly, a greater fan base than before. Humour me a little if you will as some suggestions may seem to be a bit ‘‘out there’’:
1._Internet Radio/AM FM Commentary – Kicking off with old school broadcasting. There is still a large number of subscribers that still listen to AM/PM radio. Why ignore this? If subscriptions like race monitor are able to stream content, then this can be streamed over the radio waves reaching those listeners or over the internet. Who knows that from this, a spark would have been ignited yearning to experience motorsport live?
2._Live feed to YouTube and Facebook for track events – In 2019 a production company facilitated a live feed of action from the 3-hour endurance event held at Killarney, through tapping into the circuit’s surveillance equipment and streaming it online. Even though the execution wasn’t quite up to everyones standard, as we’ve been spoilt with the international standard, it did serve as a successful proof of concept that with better equipment, this can be a viable endeavour. Who will pick this up?
3._VR/360 full immersion – This is where we go “back to the future”. If we were to go crowdless racing, this can work. We’ve seen this in other sports like NBA where they have a paid-for subscription for courtside action, happening live. Now think race car. How much better would you feel watching a 360-degree view from inside the cockpit of a car involved in a 3-way dice for the lead with the ability to jump between the cars and angles of views at your own discretion? I know my palms are sweating at the thought of it. George Schutte, a local racer in the Class B Gti Challenge proves that this can work with live Facebook feeds from inside his car. Yes, I know the internet in South Africa is going to be an issue. This brings me onto point 4.
4._5G – That thing some people thought caused COVID-19 after the bat incident. Well, folks, that same thing we thought may kill us could turn out to be the unlock, live streaming anything will improve thanks to the technological advantage of this, motorsport footage included. Sure, we’re looking at a longer lead time here to get this into the market but it’s something to keep back of mind.
5._Taking the racing to the people. My uncle had a saying that went” Mohammed wouldn’t came to the mountain so the mountain went to Mohammed” Meaning what? I’ll tell you. Perhaps it’s high time that the city authorities realize the need for greater entertainment and revenue generation opportunities in facilitating a city street course where certain local classes can then compete in including a national class like Polo cup? Organizations could team up and reduce the noise pollution issues by running more decibel friendly exhaust systems (Polo cup already complying on the noise front) along with relaxed council regulations. That way the racing goes to the people vs relying on them to come to the track.
Obviously, this will need to be run as a home track missionary outpost in order to stream some revenue back to the track too. Albeit a more medium to long-term plan, with local tourism completely destroyed for the next two years, any form of supplimentary income will be appreciated and should be encouraged.
6._DSTV sharing local racing again. It’s no surprise that subscription services like Netflix and Showmax have eaten away at the market stake that DSTV so tightly held throughout the years of broadcasting in South Africa. With revenue depletion and all that live coverage infrastructure sitting around gathering dust, what’s better than putting it to use by reintroducing local motorsport and perhaps increasing the audience reach. This will sure beat re-runs of Francois Pienaar lifting the William Webb Ellis Cup for five times per day. As much as what I am proud bok supporter, I know what I’ll choose.
7._Newspaper Coverage – If anything sports like motorsport may get back into gear sooner compared to other physical team sports especially in South Africa. Who knows the lead time for cricket, Rugby and soccer to return to the sporting pages? It could 3-6 months after motorsport. Therein lies the golden opportunity for newspapers to promote motorsport as they’re going to need to fill the pages with something current. Imagine a class battle appearing on the sports back page involved a 3-way dice in class A Gti Challenge?
I am a firm believer in traction and doing and especially within a moment of crisis where the opportunties are ripe for the picking. The more we do will result in greater traction, which will build momentum in the right direction. Whether it be any of the ideas above or many others which I'm sure exist, any effort will be welcomed but needs to be started. Kind of like a “Build it and they will come” type of thing and that age old maxim of “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” applies. What do we have to lose anyway? All I know is that we should never let a crisis go to waste.
