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Post by chrisb on Nov 29, 2021 8:56:52 GMT
after a very limp November and the announced delays to December issues this months finally arrived. Aside from the lead story it is actually quite good, there is a good article by MH about why the large car companies are getting interested in F1 again, and his reports of the recent races is as usual excellent, a great interview with one of the drivers whom I always liked and rated but in F1 never got the break he deserved, Gabriele Tarquini, but of course he did pretty well in saloon cars. It also includes a great and respectful piece of Rossi, whatever one feels about him he certainly brought MotoGP to millions more people than anyone since Bazza and Mike.
I am not sure this is widely know but Jean Todt retires at the end of the year, the two vying to succeed him are Graham Stoker and MS give him a great platform to express his view, whilst I think given the favouritism of the Middle East his opposition is sitting in a much better position, Mohammed Ben Sulayem,
This is followed up by a good piece of those monstrous Group C Nissan's and then a very sadly poignant piece of the late Richard Burns, which is just so tragic, the battles with Colin were really legendary and we lost them both far too early
What irritates me is the 'main' feature, toxic rivalries, I suppose they need an attention seeking headline but it is just so repetitive and quite frankly for me anyway boring, I would have much rather an article on 'friendly rivalry' how you can be friends but still compete against each other, and how time, money and safety seems to have eroded that to a certain level, although it still exists it is somewhat rarer than 50 + years ago
a final word is about an advert from Duncan Hamilton's a 1989 Jaguar XJR-11, maybe one of my favourite racing cars of all time, it is beautiful
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Post by robmarsh on Nov 29, 2021 12:00:02 GMT
Chris I wonder about the continued longevity of MotorSport. I tried to get hold of them a couple of months ago re my online access. I couldn't get hold of anybody and they never returned my calls. I eventually tried again a few weeks ago and got through but I wonder why they are so slow. That said the magazines are generally ok but even Mark Hughes' columns seem to be getting shorter and shallower.
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Post by Carl on Nov 29, 2021 19:04:10 GMT
Chris I wonder about the continued longevity of MotorSport. I tried to get hold of them a couple of months ago re my online access. I couldn't get hold of anybody and they never returned my calls. I eventually tried again a few weeks ago and got through but I wonder why they are so slow. That said the magazines are generally ok but even Mark Hughes' columns seem to be getting shorter and shallower. Rob and Chris, I wish there was cause for optimism, but MotorSport and other specialist magazines are fighting for survival in a digital environment. I began to notice a number of MS articles with the scent of commercial messaging several years ago and stopped my subscription earlier this year, for that reason and also a neglect of editing, both clear signs of money problems.
For years my favorite American car magazine, Road & Track, still publishes, but is now bimonthly and altered by an editorial attitude of millennial coolness reminiscent of Car & Driver in the 1960s. I inherited a renewed subscription when sister publication Autoweek halted publication and don't know if I'll renew. Times have sadly changed. Cheers, Carl |
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Post by chrisb on Nov 30, 2021 8:00:46 GMT
sadly chaps I fear you may well be right, I would rather MS went to bi-monthly rather than go the Autosport route, there is something much more tangible in a paper edition than online, they have recently put their prices up and are offering silly deals for new customers, sadly for the likes of MS their main audience I would suggest is ageing and decreasing year by year,
personally I would encourage MS to look at why it was so successful in the 60's etc and be a bit less 'sensational' with its main stories but both Mat and Mark's articles are smaller than for a long time and a number of digital stories never appear, presumably Joe has a strategy for its survival and development but I would fear for its future
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Post by René on Nov 30, 2021 19:26:30 GMT
Same for me. I was subscribed to the printed version for many, many years. Then I changed to digital only about five years ago and now I have not continued my subscription for next year. I may subscribe again one day…
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Post by charleselan on Dec 3, 2021 15:03:25 GMT
Great review Chris, thank you.
I would suggest that unless a magazine has a very big circulation the costs of production make it very difficult to sustain a printed copy these days. Even back in the 1980's it was difficult to produce something at a price people would find affordable. A great shame as having a hard copy in ones hands is always much more worthwhile than a digital example.
Here in France there always appears to be an abundance of motor sporting magazines on the stands, a few like Auto Hebdo and Échappement are still going strong but others constantly change and many are now huge soft back book like volumes that come out occasionally with lots of advertising apparent. The wonderful quarterly Auto Diva went under last year, not sure if it was due to Covid or other reasons.
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Post by mikael on Dec 4, 2021 9:18:13 GMT
I would suggest that unless a magazine has a very big circulation the costs of production make it very difficult to sustain a printed copy these days. Even back in the 1980's it was difficult to produce something at a price people would find affordable. A great shame as having a hard copy in ones hands is always much more worthwhile than a digital example.
Yes, the "printed word" is having a hard time in general, now that many are content with having their books (and magazines) just in electronic form. For specialty books with limited circulation, it is clear that the costs are being "shaved down" to the absolute minimum. Even if you wish to buy a hard cover version, all you can get is a version where the pages are just a stack of sheets, glued together in the back - and thus it won't last long. It's well-nigh impossible to find books that are printed in segments, and sewn together in the back, as good quality books used to be in the "old days".
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Post by charleselan on Mar 16, 2022 20:03:43 GMT
The other day I was running through the current magazines on my Readly App and came across a Motorsport Special on Great Racing Cars. It mainly features drivers and designers plus other members of the motor sport fraternity describing the car they felt was the best in their experience. The most striking was Mario Andretti who contrary to expectation chose the Lotus 78 in preference to the 79. Mario says that he felt that the 78 was the better car and that with better reliability he would have easily won the championship in 1977. His main gripe with the Lotus 79 was its poor brakes which apparently went away then they became hot, in particular the rears which due to being mounted inboard at Chapman's instruction were not up to the task. Mario said that both he and Ronnie complained to Colin about the problems with the brakes but he would not listen and completely ignored their worries. Below is a picture of Ronnie & Mario at what looks like Brands Hatch judging by the buildings in the background. I bet they are saying:- Mario - "I have told him Ronnie but he will not listen, the brakes are rubbish". Ronnie - "He never listens, but I am still going for pole".  On a more serious note here is a beautiful picture of Mario's favourite, the Lotus 78.  |
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Post by chrisb on Jul 26, 2022 8:02:46 GMT
although it was the magazine MotorSport that brought us together I don't think many of us continue to subscribe anymore and quite frankly after this months attempt I am questioning my continued loyalty to its subscribers,
the headline article is 30 moments that changed racing and quite frankly it is bloody annoying what they have selected, I am a bit miffed that they ignore so many important moments - admitting that it was a very daunting task to select just 30 but to ignore so many vital moments just confuses me,
no mention of Ferrari's domination of 1952/3 and the end of that - or of Le Mans 1955 and what changed after that - 1962 Lotus 25, 1967 Lotus 49, 1970 Lotus 72 and the Lotus 88 and what could have been amongst others , the tragedies of 1968 and 1994 and what happened subsequently. there just seemed to me so many more important moments that MotorSport would have been better off with at least a 100 such moments, they talk of full face helmets but ignore seatbelts or the end of Group B or the brilliance of the 956/962 and how it ushered in arguably one of the greatest sports cars era's or the launch of commercial sponsorship - let alone the awesome times of the F1 turbo's - I am sure you guys could list a lot more than I can about moments that changed racing and would dwarf once was the greatest motor sport magazine
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Post by Carl on Jul 26, 2022 16:47:06 GMT
although it was the magazine MotorSport that brought us together I don't think many of us continue to subscribe anymore and quite frankly after this months attempt I am questioning my continued loyalty to its subscribers, the headline article is 30 moments that changed racing and quite frankly it is bloody annoying what they have selected, I am a bit miffed that they ignore so many important moments - admitting that it was a very daunting task to select just 30 but to ignore so many vital moments just confuses me, no mention of Ferrari's domination of 1952/3 and the end of that - or of Le Mans 1955 and what changed after that - 1962 Lotus 25, 1967 Lotus 49, 1970 Lotus 72 and the Lotus 88 and what could have been amongst others , the tragedies of 1968 and 1994 and what happened subsequently. there just seemed to me so many more important moments that MotorSport would have been better off with at least a 100 such moments, they talk of full face helmets but ignore seatbelts or the end of Group B or the brilliance of the 956/962 and how it ushered in arguably one of the greatest sports cars era's or the launch of commercial sponsorship - let alone the awesome times of the F1 turbo's - I am sure you guys could list a lot more than I can about moments that changed racing and would dwarf once was the greatest motor sport magazine Chris, MotorSport was one of the best, but has been in decline along with print in general. I started noticing the occasional commercial interest portrayed as journalism several years ago, then clumsy editing in a magazine that could once have served in English classes as a model of correctness. With social media and websites dominating and fewer young enthusiasts subscribing, budgets are strained and publishers are trying to stay afloat by cutting corners and quality. It's a damn shame because a good magazine is one of life's pleasures, and a reason to hold on to old copies. - Carl |
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Post by charleselan on Jul 27, 2022 11:00:11 GMT
Where to begin and as typing is hard work it will have to be limited. Stopped buying MS years ago, just not the same anymore as it reminds me of an ageing rock star or band still doing the rounds in their 70's and 80's, just not the same as they were! I had not used my Readily account to look at the current editions for well over two months but felt able to look a few days ago and was immediately turned off by what Chris says, pretty poor I would say.
However i did come across a special edition on Jackie Stewart and it was superb with amazing photos of his whole career and some great text, very well worth looking out.
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Post by mikael on Nov 16, 2022 13:43:56 GMT
Interesting to notice that the discussion forum that centered around Mark Hughes' F1 reports (at the Motor Sport Magazine homepage) has vanished completely. Now, half a week away from the Brazilian GP, there are zero comments to the Brazilian GP report (written by Chris Medland). Mark Hughes' commentary on the Brazilian GP, centering around the progress of the Mercedes car, has merely received two tame comments.
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Post by Carl on Nov 16, 2022 17:07:07 GMT
Interesting to notice that the discussion forum that centered around Mark Hughes' F1 reports (at the Motor Sport Magazine homepage) has vanished completely. Now, half a week away from the Brazilian GP, there are zero comments to the Brazilian GP report (written by Chris Medland). Mark Hughes' commentary on the Brazilian GP, centering around the progress of the Mercedes car, has merely received two tame comments. That's a real mystery. I wonder if my fellow Welshman has fallen out of favor with whoever is steering the magazine onto the shoals. |
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Post by René on Nov 16, 2022 18:47:23 GMT
Looking back I think it was actually a relative short period when the Mark Hughes reports were at their best and the regular group of forum contributors were a joy to read and discuss. A shame it went sour but that also meant the start of RRT.
But zero comments is not a lot...
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Post by robmarsh on Nov 17, 2022 10:42:31 GMT
But zero comments is not a lot...
I love it Rene, the master of understatement.
Mark Hughes writes on another forum as well, can't remember the name exactly or how I got there, but I do happen to chance upon it now and then. Most of the ex PITAs from the old motorsport site appear from time to time as well as some new ones. Normal drivel especially by Ray from Toronto, going under a new alias, who attacks everyone. I do think that SLH's lack of a competitive car has cut out a lot of comments and counter comments. Maybe they have just all grown up.
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