The German Touring Car Masters – DTM – is a cut above other touring car championships in terms of the sophistication of the machinery and the quality of competitors it attracts.
BMW’s arrival two years ago as a third manufacturer alongside long-time rivals Mercedes and Audi was a shot in the arm for the championship which has spurred the level of competition to new heights.
Having tweaked the formula to improve the on-track action, the DTM is now forming ambitious plans for global expansion. The series will return to China later this year – a major market for Germany’s premium car manufacturers – and is even considering an American championship.
The level of technology and professionalism in the championship is arguably exceeded only by Formula One, and drivers like Paul di Resta have shown it is possible to graduate from it to the sport’s top flight.
That makes the DTM a uniquely important and competitive player in international motorsport. Here’s a few more reasons why you should tune in to this weekend’s opening race at the Hockenheimring.
The quality of the field
The DTM field is an appealing mix of talented juniors drivers and competitors who have already made their mark in other championships.
Among the up-and-coming drivers are Red Bull’s hotly tipped Antonio Felix da Costa, 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 champion Robert Wickens, 2012 European F3 champion Daniel Juncadella and his predecessor of two years earlier, Edoardo Mortara.
Their rivals include a trio of ex-F1 racers, with Paul di Resta returning to the series he won in 2010, Timo Glock beginning his second year in the category following his breakthrough win in last year’s season finale, and Vitaly Petrov making his DTM debut.
Expect series veterans Bruno Spengler and Gary Paffet to feature in the battle for championship honours, along with last year’s runner-up Augusto Farfus and the ever improving Wickens and Christian Vietoris.
The closeness of the field is another major part of DTM’s appeal. Pole position is often decided by mere thousandths of a second. Drivers can go from hero to zero in a short space of time, as demonstrated by Wickens’ failure to get out of Q1 at Oschersleben immediately after his win at the Nurburgring.
Even past champions Timo Scheider and Martin Tomczyk struggled in last last year’s championship, showing just how competitive this melting pot of motorsport stars is.
Rejuvenated races
A fair criticism levelled at the DTM in recent seasons is that its abundance of quality drivers and teams has too often failed to produce good racing. Similarly to the correlation seen in F1 in past decades, chassis bristling with aerodynamic appendages may look impressive but they tend not to create exciting wheel-to-wheel racing.
The DTM’s answer to that has been borrow from the F1 book of gimmicks. These include DRS-enabled rear wings, which fold back when an attacking driver is within two seconds of the another car ahead. Unlike in F1, these can be used at any point on a track, giving a more strategic dimension to the competition.
F1 fans will also be familiar with the DTM’s introduction of different tyre compounds which drivers have to use during each race: the ‘standard’ and slightly faster ‘option’ tyres. Couple this with DTM’s preference for shorter tracks (for instance the 1.4 mile Norisring), results in closely-packed racing.
In an attempt to prevent one manufacturer from holding the upper hand for too long, 2014 will see the controversial introduction of success ballast. This is designed not to penalise successful drivers, but to level out performance between cars.
The winning driver, as well as any drivers from the same manufacturer who finished inside the top ten, will have to carry an extra five kilograms at the next race. Drivers in the same cars which finished outside the top ten will have 2.5kg added.
For a series not famed for its on-track action, qualifying diminished in its importance in 2013, with just three of the eleven races won from pole position. In the season opener at Hockenheim Dirk Werner reached the second step on the podium from last on the grid.
Formula One DNA
Despite the outward differences between the cars the similarities between F1 and the DTM run deep. Particularly the strategic nature of the racing, where a pit stop ‘undercut’ is often the easiest way of gaining track position rather than than overtaking on-track. Rockenfeller used this to good effect at the Nurburgring where he finished fourth in spite of a first corner incident that dropped him to the back of the field.
In a bid to introduce more freedom in this area, the DTM has reduced the number of mandatory pit stops from two to one this year, while maintaining the requirement to use both ‘standard’ and ‘option’ tyres. Drivers may also not used the softer tyres for more than half of the race. As degradation tends not to be a factor with Hankook’s rubber, expect just a single stop for each car at most races.
In 2014 the DTM will adopt a three-part qualifying system nearly identical to that of F1. The “pole shootout” format is now a thing of the past.
Given the quality of the drivers, qualifying in DTM will continue to be a spectacle in 2014, where the driving perfection of a lap needed to poach the higher placings is higher than almost any series, and the difference between advancement and elimination is often little more than thousandths of a second.
Also, impressively for a touring car series, the DTM regularly manages sub-three seconds pit stops for changing all four tyres following its move to mirror the 2010 ban on refuelling in F1. Couple that to segmented qualifying, brilliant drivers, professional teams and strategic racing, and it’s clear the DTM shares more with F1 than more conventional touring car series like the BTCC and WTCC.
Accessible racing
One of the most appealing aspects of the DTM is the lengths the organisers have gone to encourage people to watch. Live streaming via YouTube gives viewers worldwide the choice to watch on a wide selection of devices.
Race and qualifying sessions can also be viewed on demand through the DTM channel, with the entirety of the 2013 season still available to watch.
The coverage itself is also excellent, with quality graphics and reliably good direction. A new commentary team will be in place this year.
In qualifying the unfolding laps are not simply shown versus the fastest lap, but the sectors are displayed as purple (fastest of all), green (personal best) or white (not an improvement), and in the race the highly strategic nature of the races is simply displayed in graphics on the left-hand side, where the number of stops and the tyre compound in use are displayed.
This transforms the viewing experience, making highly strategic racing easy to understand, and is one of a number of areas where F1 can learn from DTM.
DTM cars and drivers of 2014
Here are some of the cars and drivers of the 2014 DTM championship:
Expanding beyond Germany
| Date | Circuit | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 14th May | Hockenheimring | Germany |
| 18th May | Oschersleben | Germany |
| 1st June | Hungaroring | Hungary |
| 29th June | Norisring | Germany |
| 13th July | Moscow Raceway | Russia |
| 3rd August | Red Bull Ring | Austria |
| 17th August | Nurburgring | Germany |
| 14th September | Lausitzring | Germany |
| 28th September | Guangzhou | China |
| 19th October | Hockenheimring | Germany |
Germany’s premier touring car championship famously became a victim of its own success in the mid-nineties when unrestrained spending and a hasty expansion beyond the championship’s homeland saw the championship collapse.
Today’s series has grown more cautiously, but even so four of this year’s ten races will take place outside Germany. Here’s where and when you can catch the DTM in 2014.
Will you be following this year’s DTM championship? What appeals to you about this series? Have your say in the comments.
What motorsport would you recommend other F1 fans to follow? If you want to put the case for your favourite non-F1 category write a guest article and send it in. More information here: Write a guest article for F1 Fanatic
Why you should watch…
- Why You Should Watch… F1 testing
- Why You Should Watch… DTM
- Why You Should Watch… NASCAR
- F1 hopefuls battle for Formula Renault 3.5 title
- Why you should watch… Bathurst 1000
Images © BMW ag, Audi, Daimler/Hoch Zwei
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
28th April 2014, 11:49
Wow, nice read, @willliam-brierty !!!!
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
28th April 2014, 11:49
@william-brierty
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
28th April 2014, 15:25
@wsrgo – Thanks! It’s my debut article and I look forward to writing more in the future…if Keith will let me!
bull mello (@bullmello)
29th April 2014, 6:00
@william-brierty – Nice article! I’ll have to check out DTM.
Robbie (@robbie)
29th April 2014, 12:46
@william-brierty I expect Keith will let you write more after reading your excellent article. Way to go.
uan (@uan)
28th April 2014, 16:01
+100
@william-brierty @wsrgo
BasCB (@bascb)
28th April 2014, 12:13
Thanks for the write up, maybe its getting time to pick up DTM more regularly again after watching a solid amount of it in the ’90s
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
28th April 2014, 15:40
@basb – After Hakkinen left I gave up on it several seasons, and looking at some of the races online (dull), I was probably right to. But having prolifically watched and attended DTM races since BMW’s return in 2012, I can reliably inform you that the series has come along way. And with di Resta’s direct promotion from DTM in 2010 as well as Da Costa standing a good chance of promotion this year, the DTM’s position in international motorsport is secured.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
28th April 2014, 15:44
@bascb
BasCB (@bascb)
28th April 2014, 19:24
Again, thanks for the write up, looks like something new to fill my time again @william-brierty.
Now that my brother is moving to Berlin, I think we should find the time to visit some races somewhere not too far away :-)
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
29th April 2014, 8:24
@bascb – Because I’m going to Spa and Monza this year I think I might take in some DTM whilst I’m on the continent…I’m the tall one with the unfriendly face in case you spot me…
BasCB (@bascb)
29th April 2014, 8:41
:-)
BasCB (@bascb)
29th April 2014, 8:46
Looks like my best bet would be the Lausitzring (between where the both of us live) or the Red Bull ring – not too far from me, holiday time, etc.
FlyingLobster27
28th April 2014, 12:23
About expansion, it’s not just the races outside Germany: the DTM is also exporting its technical regulations to other series. This year, the Japanese GT500s are run to DTM rules, with two differences: -the engines are hybrid turbocharged straight-fours, -there is a tyre war. The goal is to get more constructors entering either series. There is also talk of a US series run to DTM rules in the years to come, but I think that’s a long, long way off.
London (@london)
28th June 2014, 2:47
Hopefully they don’t try and start a whole other DTM in the states, the racing world is already too oversaturated. If anything they should just add a US race to the calendar (COTA, Watkins Glen, Laguna Seca, etc).
OlPeculier
28th April 2014, 12:35
Live streaming via YouTube – somebody pass that to FOM please…
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
28th April 2014, 15:47
…and some of the excellent graphics to help viewers follow the strategies.
London (@london)
28th June 2014, 2:49
FOM couldn’t be bothered to care about its fans. As a matter of fact I think just recently Bernie stated that he doesn’t care for social media or establishing a viral presence.
Albert Tarra (@albert-tarra)
28th April 2014, 12:46
Before the Super GT DTM-unification in 2010. I believe the Super GT fastest car vs DTM.
500hp, 700nm torque and a massive aero modifications including a twin-turbo engine.
But it’s different now …………..
DTM is different, and a lot of collaboration f1 tech…………
mrjlr93 (@mrjlr93)
28th April 2014, 12:54
i think the V8 supercars is a much more competitive series than DTM 5 different manufactures and with 28 cars within a second of each other over qualifying it makes for many entertaining races
oliveiraz33 (@oliveiraz33)
28th April 2014, 14:42
V8 supercars is simply the best racing out there, very competitive, and more overtakes than even motogp. V8 supercars makes things like DTM and WTCC unwatchable… Every racing fan should watch V8 supercars, and every category should be like that.
Real racing, real drivers, cars sideways, crashes, great sounds (especialy the flat plane crank Mercs), and lot of flames from the exhaust, and 300kph! And they look much faster than any other touring cars.
JCost (@jcost)
28th April 2014, 22:04
I have a lot of fun watching Stockcar Brasil and it is a bit similar to V8 supercars, however, I’d pick DTM over both.
WTCC in meh…
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
29th April 2014, 8:26
@jcost – I completely agree, and “meh” is the best way to describe WTCC…
London (@london)
28th June 2014, 2:53
Ya it’s just too bad V8SC races are no longer aired in the US b/c Fox Sports gave that series the axe when they rebranded it from Speed. What’s even worse is that the geniuses at V8SC try and charge you to watch the races online when you go to their website.. Seriously? You guys are trying to charge fans to watch your series online? You’re lucky that people are even trying to watch it in the first place.. They need to take a lesson from TUSC and DTM and post the races on Youtube so that fans all across the globe can enjoy that awesome series. Instead they’re doing the complete opposite.
Jonny Edwards (@racectrl)
28th April 2014, 18:24
+1 for V8 Supercars (great that it seems like BTSport has picked it up).
I gave up on DTM a long time ago. It should be great but every time i watch it i’m bored off my face within 15 mins. The racing is so boring yet it’s fantastic to look at and listen to, with a great pool of drivers to boot. I might tune in on Youtube for the first race to give my support because that is a fantastic idea and should be applauded. However, i don’t expect to be entertained much.
GB (@bgp001ruled)
28th April 2014, 23:23
@racectrl, how can it be boring and fantastic to look at at the same time? is it because the cars are good looking (liveries and aero-parts)?
Jonny Edwards (@racectrl)
29th April 2014, 14:53
Cars look superb, sound great, and are impressively quick but the racing is predictable with very little overtaking. What can i say, it puts me to sleep. As I said – I’ll watch the first race to see how the racing is because that’s what I care most about it.
Julien (@jlracing)
30th April 2014, 17:21
Since I have Motors TV for a few months, I’ve watched some V8 Supercar races.
I have to say I absolutely love this series. Real close racing, flat out all the time!
The cars look incredibly fast on those small, bumpy circuits and drivers are allowed to take
risky moves. Just incredible entertainment and really good racing.
Has to be the best touring car series there is.
matt90 (@matt90)
28th April 2014, 12:58
This year’s Merc looks lovely in profile. Simple but fluid.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
28th April 2014, 13:20
Don’t like the look of the cars. Somehow DTM is harder to watch than BTCC for me, dunno why. Maybe it’s all the pitstops and stuff, don’t like that on touring car racing.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
28th April 2014, 17:03
@fer-no65 – I, and many others ( ^ @matt90 included ^ ) love the pumped, aggressive looks, although aerodynamic appendages and LEDS aren’t for everyone. As for the racing, it tends to help not to think of it as a touring car series, because as I mention it bears greater resemblance to F1 than it does to BTCC. Think of it as a series with GT style cars and single seater style racing…
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
29th April 2014, 3:54
@william-brierty That’s why I don’t like it, maybe. I admire the series, but I don’t find it particularly appealing ! not what it used to be.
I’m a nostalgic anyway :P I prefered the old-ish DTM with Merc, Audi and Opel heh!
Brilliant write-up anyway. Forgot to say that in the first post :)
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
29th April 2014, 8:29
@fer-no65,
You forgot Alfa Romeo! ;-)
ajokay (@)
28th April 2014, 13:30
I’m afraid I can’t agree. Japanese Super GT, which runs to very similar and ever-converging regulations, and adds the GT300 (FIA GT3) class alongside and provides much better racing throughout than I’ve ever seen in any DTM race. I visited Brands Hatch for the DTM a couple of years back and it was the worst race of the day. A procession of cars, 2 seconds apart, unable to overtake. The F3, the Lotus Cup, and the Euro NASCARs were all far more entertaining.
zomtec (@zomtec)
28th April 2014, 13:51
I watched a WTCC race once at Valencia with close racing and also contact between the cars. Despite racing on a narrow and slow track it was fun to watch just because the cars could handle some tackling. DTM cars are so overengineerd that you loose a lot of performance if a fly impacts and damages one of the little extra wings. Due to this high standard of development the cars are super expensive and only the 3 premium manufacturers are willing to pay the price for their product display.
I would be have if these cars would come back closer to serial cars again like in the early 90’s with V6 engines instead of V8, steel/alloy bodywork instead of carbonmonocoques and basic aerodynamics to aid more manufacturers joining the show and to improve wheel-to-wheel action.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
28th April 2014, 14:42
After reading first few paragraphs of this article, I really thought I’ll watch this weekend’s race. But after “gimmics” paragraph, I decided not to. I see enough gimmics in F1, and I thought DTM can offer something more of “pure racing”, but DRS and wight ballast, especially in touring car series, is just too much for me.
Don’t get me wrong, I like current F1, but not as much as 10 years ago, when F1 was uncompromising top racing series: when drivers would push whole race, when engines were amazing V10s, when it had that real “wow” factor (“wow” factor made me start watching F1 in 1999, when I was 9 years old). Of course, F1 is still pinnacle of motorsports, cars are still very fast, but does not have that whole package of “awsomeness”.
Dave (@)
28th April 2014, 15:11
5kg is almost nothing. BTCC has success ballast up to 45kg, and there it helps keep the racing close.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
28th April 2014, 15:18
I’ve never followed other racing series but i think i will give this a go, given that it’s free to view.
Dumb question regarding ballast, i presume it is only for the winner of the previous race (and others of the same car as described in the article) who takes the penalty, rather than a cumulative ballast penalty? i.e I’m assuming if you win two races you won’t carry 10kg for the following race, then 15kg if you win again etc.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
28th April 2014, 15:32
also, is there any chance of teams ‘gaming’ the ballast system? Say they are running with only one car in the points in 10th place, would they be better to drop back and finish 11th so all their cars run lighter the next race?
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
28th April 2014, 17:10
@osvaldas31 – Trust me, the “gimmicks” have little effect. The DRS saw very little in the of “push-to-pass” racing last year in that overtaking still required a lot of skill to execute, and as @raceprouk says, a mere 5kg will have little effect and may prove an elegant solution in keeping the racing close whilst not penalizing the best drivers. If anything, watch DTM to appreciate the fact that outside of F1, and the top-flights of single seater and sportscar racing, there are other equally professional and prodigiously talented racing drivers.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
28th April 2014, 14:43
Maybe somebody knows about engines, used in DTM? What power figures, is there some kind of hybrid technology?
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
28th April 2014, 17:20
@osvaldas31 – No hybrid, just oil and metal! They all use homologated 4.0 L V8s, which are capped at 470bhp, but impressively rev to 9,000 rpm. In fact most of the car, the monocoque in fact, is standardized across all manufacturers, with the manufacturers allowed to modify their cars only minimally. Sorry, I probably should have mentioned that in the article.
Osvaldas31 (@osvaldas31)
28th April 2014, 18:12
@william-brierty Thanks.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
28th April 2014, 15:10
Thank you @william-brierty for this nice article
I’ve been trying to watch the DTM every year since my favorite driver Alesi finished competing there after 2006. Didn’t like the racing there even prior to that, but had to watch because of Alesi. From 2007 every year I try to watch and then abandon it after a race or two since it’s just too boring. Hopefully this year will be different but I’m not holding my breath
I’ve been saying repeatedly that the only touring series worth watching that I know of are the V8 Aus and BTCC. Can’t watch any of them on TV. I can watch the DTM and the “W”TCC(not a typo), but usually I’ve got much better things to do
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
28th April 2014, 17:26
@montreal95 – I followed DTM whilst Hakkinen was there, but then, like you, lost interest when he left. When BMW returned in 2012, and when the series opted for these BEAUTIFUL aerodynamically honed coupes I became hooked once more, and since then the racing has improved ten-fold. Genuinely, I probably enjoyed the 2013 DTM season more than I did the 2013 F1 season.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
28th April 2014, 20:01
@william-brierty Well I cannot really judge the 2013 season since I’d only watched 2 races, but I didn’t like them much. They’d reminded me of the early-2000’s F1: the finishing order is quite different to the starting order but most changes happened not through on-track action.
I hope they were the worst of the season though. And I like the look of the cars, same as you. So again, I really hope you’re right and DTM is good this year
sketchyterry (@sketchyterry)
28th April 2014, 15:40
Great read, will definitely be looking to watch this series as I want to watch more motorsport this year and expand beyond F1.
FYI the first race isn’t on 14th May but this weekend 3rd/4th of May.
TMF (@)
28th April 2014, 18:38
Great read – I’ve been looking for something else since they put WEC behind a paywall. Now I definitely give DTM another chance.
Sergei Martyn
28th April 2014, 18:38
Me and my son visited DTM racing August 4th last year at Moscow Raceway and the experience was breathtaking. We walked through the pitlane watching teams practicing pitstops, then we were able not only to take autographs from ALL the racers but to chat with the most of them including the top guns, later thanks to effort of my son we won the visit to the Audi garage where we could sit in the last year race car and learned a lot of interesting things about the machinery and team work, some luckier folks won few laps ride in current and past race cars. The race itself was much closer than most of latest F1 races and the screaming blast from the full grid of the fire spitting 4 liter V8 valkiries was the music which ruined my hearing for a couple of days but who cares? That was a pure joy of racing, sparks flying, engine sound volumes blasting all the unimaginable limits, cars were so beautiful (especially comparing to the current breed of F1), the experience was unbelievable and I still can’t wait for the race this summer.
I have read somewhere that people who visit F1 races today can hear the tyres screech at corners – in DTM even if it is a single car and you’re sitting at the end of straight at the top of the grandstands you hear it’s banshee howl from the other end of the straight, then you feel you body and the grandstands vibrate and then the beautiful and mean machine blasts past you at the unimaginable speed spitting fire and popping when the gears are changed at the corner.
And yes, folks I heard the tyres screech that weekend – but only WHEN some road car cup as held as the support race before DTM…
God bless DTM! Merciless German engineering, beautiful cars, sparks, wheel and bodywork bangs, deafening sound of 4L V8 orchestra, real racing at it’s best.
HiPn0tIc (@hipn0tic)
28th April 2014, 22:52
I wanted António Felix da Costa in the F1, as it can’t be done, i honnestly think he did a good move, DTM is a great championship, and can be a good set up for higher flights. If i think he’ll ever “return” to F1, as hard as it cost me no…
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
29th April 2014, 8:33
@hipn0tic – I think we will see da Costa in F1. The people at Red Bull know Sainz has zero competition in FR3.5 this year, and by comparison da Costa had Magnussen and Vandoorne as well as an under-performing Arden car to contend with. If da Costa does well in what is a ferociously competitive series, I think he stands an excellent chance of Vergne’s seat. Could DTM not be a litmus test of Antonio’s talents?
HiPn0tIc (@hipn0tic)
29th April 2014, 11:31
@william-brierty I really hope you’re right because fo me and for my country was a dream, because it could be the most tallented driver we had.
Last year he didn’t achieve and delivered, and that’s one of the reasons he didn’t got in.
My guess is that is difficult, if he deliveres this year take him out of the DTM, it’s kind when you got in a “friend zone” with a girl you know? They know you’re there and they want risk it, RBR could do that too…what do you think guys?
HiPn0tIc (@hipn0tic)
29th April 2014, 13:01
won’t and not want sorry
GB (@bgp001ruled)
28th April 2014, 23:36
i’ve watch brief moments of dtm before and never got my attention. but i must say: the article sells the series pretty well! it really motivates me to want to watch. but one thing in common almost all commets have is that it is boring! exactly what i remember that series to be!
is there out there any series that is the utopic F1 every fan wishes for? no gimmicks, a level field, lots of overtaking, minimal gaps between the best and worst teams, etc., etc…
it seems like it would have to be GP2 or WSR35…
HiPn0tIc (@hipn0tic)
29th April 2014, 1:47
A think know F1 is one of the most boring category in motorsport…
Mark in Florida
28th April 2014, 23:44
I used to watch the DTM series on the old Speed Channel but it was taken over by another network and it became NASCAR 24/7. It drove me a little crazy for a while I hated it so much. I’ll start watching it on the YouTube channel now. Great article on the new style of racing in DTM not to sure about the drs, but the weight penalties make perfect sense.
London (@london)
28th June 2014, 2:43
The races are aired on CBS Sports Network in the US, so you can watch them on TV.
Alex
29th April 2014, 9:34
I never saw dtm or almost never, because i dont know on what schedule are races (saturday? sunday?) no idea, i dont have idea also in which tvs they show, at least in my country nop…
Ricardo Ferreira (@yes-master)
29th April 2014, 12:04
Great article @william-brierty! I enjoy very much DTM. Love the cars, the races, great pilots, the spirit, the organization, and ofc…the engine’s noise :)
This year, for my rejoice, I ‘ll have the opportunity to watch Felix da Costa (great portuguese driver!) in a top level. Perhaps he’ll find the way to the F1. So I hope.
james2488 (@james2488)
29th April 2014, 22:53
BTCC is a better racing series, you only have to watch race 3 at Donington last weekend to see that, an overtake for the lead on the last corner! you don’t get that in DTM or F1, it may not have the technological advantage they have but the cars are loud and the racing is the best I have seen in years, plus there 7 BTCC champions in the field this year and 32 cars per race and no DRS !!!!
London (@london)
28th June 2014, 2:42
Great article. The thing that sucks is that DTM is no longer uploading full races to their Youtube channel anymore. However, you can still probably find the races on there b/c various individuals upload them on their own channels. The series is now being aired on CBS Sports Network in the US. Pretty cool that it’s finally getting TV coverage in the states, but DTM should still do themselves and their fans a huge favor and post those races online.