WRC and ALMS action will be available on line this weekend
If you’re looking for live racing action this weekend, but can’t make it to the track, your online choices are good. You can watch the Mini WRC cars contest Rally France on Friday and Saturday on the WRC web site, and then, if your Internet provider lets you access ESPN3.com, you can switch to ALMS Petit Le Mans qualifying on Friday, and can watch the entire Petit Le Mans race on Saturday.
Rally France will be the next outing for the Mini WRC cars, coming off Dani Sordo’s third place finish in Rally Germany. The cars have shown great promise in their test season.
The live rally webcast, which will appear on www.wrc.com, is described on the site as “part of a pilot project to investigate future digital opportunities for the all-action series.” Coverage will include action from rally stages as well as interviews, scenes from the service parks, and press conferences. It will run from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM eastern time on Friday, and from 6:45 AM to 1:30 PM eastern on Saturday. Access is free, and commentary is available in either English or French.
BMW Team RLL wrapped up the ALMS GT drivers’ championship for Joey Hand and Dirk Müller and the GT team title for Team RLL two weeks ago at Laguna Seca. This weekend, in the season finale Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta, the team will be gunning for the GT manufacturers’ championship for BMW, the tire championship for Dunlop, and second place in GT drivers’ points for Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner.
Petit Le Mans coverage on ESPN3.com will include both qualifying on Friday, beginning at 2:35 PM eastern, and the entire race on Saturday. Coverage of the ten-hour race will begin at 11:15 AM eastern on Saturday, fifteen minutes in advance of the start, and will continue through post-race interviews. For those who cannot access ESPN3.com, there will be a summary race broadcast on ABC on Sunday afternoon, and you can access live timing and scoring and audio coverage on www.americanlemans.com.
We know, the race should be on live TV; we’ll have to wait to see what ALMS management announces for 2012. Meanwhile, ladies and gentlemen, start your laptops.—Brian S. Morgan, motorsports editor, bmwcca.org
