The IMSA Radio (and Radio Le Mans) team is the world-wide voice of sportscar racing. With a team of broadcasters led by the dulcet tones of John Hindaugh, they bring the passion and speak to the sportscar fan. Where other broadcasters might be forced to presume little audience knowledge or speak to surface issues like celebrity participation, the IMSA Radio team is talking about lap counts, fuel stints, historical precedent and lap times.
While they make it look easy, clearly there are years of craft and passion that have built to the current day and material work behind the scenes. They take pride in the quality of the broadcast and aren’t just looking to “be on the radio” or “announce sports.” They have done the difficult, invested their own resources, struggled through awful travel logistics, rented the terrible hire car, stayed in the dreadful hotel, and worked with the skeptical sponsors – all because they love racing and want to make it work. Motor racing is in the blood and it runs deep.
To be fair, the sport owes a debt of gratitude to the team. They have brought fans together, brought new fans to the sport, given sponsors an engaged platform and injected life into the sport. They unabashedly acknowledge that calling the races is the fun part – the work happens before and after the race. The members of the team spent a ridiculous amount of time in hotels and on airplanes and often have different teams covering different races at the same time on different parts of the globe. They operate in widely varied conditions and settings, bringing a minimum of their own equipment along to each race.
This photo was taken of John Hindaugh and Jeremy Shaw just after the conclusion of the Petit Le Mans. John and Jeremy were sorting through the finishing order, the stories that arose during the race, and a bit of question with the rules for the Magnus Audi at the finish. Presumably, the pictures on the screens are a commercial from the television coverage. Thanks much to John and Jeremy, pit reporters Jim Roller and Shea Adam, and Eve Hewitt who put it all together to make the broadcast happen. Thanks much to them and all the other IMSA Radio and Radio LeMans team who provide more quality content at more races than all but the most dedicated sportscar fans can consume.
Camera Settings – cell phone photo