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Anger accelerates over Bathurst delay

Senator Conroy, ACMA and race winner Craig Lowndes are all said to be unhappy with Seven delaying Bathurst 1000 to viewers.

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Senator Stephen Conroy is said to be angry with Seven’s decision a week ago to delay the Bathurst 1000.

It’s certainly not well-timed just ahead of a submission to be put to Cabinet on the Anti-Siphoning List.

Advertisements in the broadcast meant the end of the race aired some thirty minutes after its actual conclusion.

A source told The Australian, “We understand both Conroy and the Australian Communications and Media Authority ‘burred up’ big-time about Seven’s behaviour with the Bathurst race.

“Seven has been told in no uncertain terms that its behaviour is entirely unacceptable and the whole industry has been made aware of Conroy’s and the regulators’ justifiable displeasure.”

Craig Lowndes, wrote in a News Ltd column, “I’ve heard about the complaints on Twitter over Channel 7’s delayed coverage of the event and I must say I agree.

“There is always a slight delay, but 20-odd minutes was excessive. In these days of instant communication with Twitter, Facebook and mobile phones it is more evident to fans if there is a delay. I understand the commercial realities, but Seven could easily have made up the time during safety-car periods.”

Meanwhile a Foxtel spokesperson underlined the “use or lose it” strategy.

“Channel Seven’s approach to its broadcast of the motor racing in Bathurst is one of many examples of where the current regime means Australian television viewers get a dud deal,” they said.

Time is ticking on the Anti Siphoning List shake-up, with the current List to expire on December 31st.

Most expect an outcome that delivers more for everyone.

Source: The Australian.

30 Responses

  1. Barry, you haven’t really provided any evidence that CAMS limited the “touring cars” category to just one group at any time, be it Group A, Super Tourers, or whatever. Maybe you’re hoping people don’t look at the manual and see how many groups there actually are in the “touring car” category..

    “Manual of Motor sport – category 3 – Touring Cars” contains 7 different groups, all of which are classified as touring cars. You can run a race with any one of these groups and call it a touring car race. There is not just one group, so there is choice available (though Group A and Super Tourers are no longer available in that category).

    “Competing at those race meetings are cars in a number of categories” chosen by the organiser of the event, from the CAMS manual, and then ask CAMS for permission to run said event. With said permission, the organiser then runs that event – some have CAMS officials there, some don’t, in any case the event is run by the organisers (who must display their CAMS permit to run the event).

    I can’t do any more than refer you to the manual again, so I’m done.

  2. Donald you really don’t know when to give up. All motor racing world wide is controlled by the FIA. Its Australian representative is CAMS. It is the governing body of all motorsport in Australia. It determines the categories, rules and regulations of all motor racing in this country. CAMS made the change for the Australian Touring Car Championship to become Group C in 1973. CAMS changed the ATTC to Group A in 1985. CAMS Manual of Motor sport – category 3 – Touring Cars. The Bathurst 1000, although separate to the ATTC, was a 1000 km race held by the ARDC and Bathurst City Council for current ATCC cars.
    Here’s a link: cams.com.au/Common/About/Constitution.aspx#clause5
    Read it..
    Whether it be race, rally, speed or a simple gymkhana it all falls under CAMS. Clubs like the Sporting Car Club of SA, the QRDA or even the ARDC all hold race meetings. Competing at those race meetings are cars in a number of categories. Categories determined by CAMS! Move on.

  3. There is no “Touring Car” category. There are a number of categories that fall under the touring car umbrella (just like there are several sports car categories, etc.). Anyone reading this can go the the CAMS website and look them up in the manual. It was widely reported at the time that the ARDC wanted to get more international entrants (e.g. Eggenberger), and so chose the popular European category in order to achieve this. CAMS doesn’t hold a gun to anyone’s head, and they could still go and run a touring car event at Bathurst (e.g. improved production) in competition with the V8 Supercar event, they just chose not to when Super Tourers fell flat (Super Tourers aren’t even in the CAMS manual anymore, so you can’t argue that HAS TO be the touring car category for a Bathurst 1000).

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