Excuses, Excuses

Sir,

I write to say how much I agree with your remarks on the appalling coverage of motor sport by the BBC. Leaving aside the non-coverage of Le Mans, I have been in correspondence with the BBC over the coverage (or lack of it) of this season’s Grand Prix series.

After two attempts, I finally received a reply from Charles Balchin, the producer of Grand Prix. He stated that the Brazilian and San Marino Grands Prix were not shown in full because Sunday Grandstand had not then started its new run (this never seems to stop wall-to-wall snooker), and that the three races on the American continent were not shown because they would have to be transmitted during the evening and this would offend the “sports opponents” (sic).

He also stated that it was difficult to persuade the Director of Programmes to screen a dull two-car race for two hours. Obviously the BBC prefers dull two-hour coverage of an England soccer match, which it inflicts upon us at peak viewing times at regular intervals.

In his final paragraph Mr Balchin stated that he was confident that the European races would be shown live and in full, “unless it gets even more boring”.

In fact, as we all know, only the British Grand Prix has been transmitted live. The French Grand Prix was only seen in full because Wimbledon was rained off, and the German Grand Prix was recorded and transmitted at a later start time. The Hungarian Grand Prix was shown in severely edited form. What price the rest of the season?

The only solution is for all your readers who share my concern to express their views direct to the BBC. If the corporation chooses to ignore Grand Prix races, perhaps some independent broadcasting organisation could take over the coverage. They could not do a worse job.

Nicholas Serpell

Liskeard, Cornwall