![The following is severely incorrect and does not in any way relay the true beginning of RACE CAM...It was me.... GARY YOUNG.. who first produced RACE CAM in my feature length 35mm motion picture "...Drag Racing WHEELS ON FIRE.." the very first RACE CAM IMAGES were broadcast by Channel 7 in Sydney on the BOB ROGERS SHOW circa 1972.....it created an extraordinary storm among 7 network producers and directors who asked that I work with them to develop RACECAM for live broadcast. Initially it was impossible to even use film cameras for RACECAM and it was myself who came up with the ideas and equipment to allow initially film capture of RACECAM...[to remove the shaking and camera shocks preventing images being formed] ..initially I used a 4 pulldown camera system [Bell and Howell 35mm ...model 1209 studio camera] to keep the film from shaking out of the gate and coupled with a shock absorbing mounting plate to remove more camera movement. For years video cams still could not capture even the roughest images. Finally the idea of not trying to record video onto tape was solved with my suggestion to 7 network engineers to connect the video feed directly to a microwave send unit... receive that signal in a helicopter and then resend that signal for transmission... and FROM THERE....the FOLLOWING STORY IS CORRECT....BUT I WAS THERE FIRST.....IN 1972...MANY MANY YEARS EARLIER.. An updated of WHEELS On FIRE was released about 1980 and I am currently working on a 4k video transfer to bring it to vibrant life...again...The movie played almost every single Australian Drive in theatre..some many times over...the movie was literally a smash hit....putting viewers in the drivers seat at over 200mph...for the very first time. Seven Network Sydney engineer John Porter with race car driver Peter Williamson and the Racecam camera system Porter's team developed. The Bell JetRanger in the background provided a microwave link between tracking stations positioned around the racetrack and the race car Racecam1979.JP+PW.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Racecam1979.JP%2BPW.jpg/220px-Racecam1979.JP%2BPW.jpg)
RaceCam is a video camera system used primarily in motor racing, which uses a network of car-mounted cameras, microwave radio transmitters, and relays from helicopters to send live images from inside a race car to both pit crews and television audiences.
Although a vehicle-mounted 16mm motion picture camera was used as early as 1973, the technology was first developed in the late 1970s by the Seven Network in Australia, who introduced it for the 1979 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 endurance race at Mount Panorama in Bathurst, New South Wales with Sydney-based driver Peter Williamson able to give commentary from his Toyota Celica. [1]
RaceCam in Australia was unique in that the drivers were often wired for sound and able to converse with the television commentary team during races with top touring car drivers such as Dick Johnson, Allan Grice, Peter Brock and later Glenn Seton, Jim Richards, Mark Skaife, Wayne Gardner and Channel Seven's own commentator turned racer Neil Crompton all becoming regular users of the system. RaceCam (with drivers doing their own commentary) became a staple of Seven's Australian Touring Car Championship and Bathurst 1000 broadcasts during the 1980s and 1990s. [2]
American audiences were first introduced to RaceCam at NASCAR's 1979 Daytona 500 on CBS network with Benny Parsons' Chevrolet Monte Carlo, and later at the 1983 Indianapolis 500, when ABC acquired the rights to use a streamlined version of the technology for their coverage of the race. The first Indy winning car with a RaceCam was that of Rick Mears in 1991.
Over the years, the camera location varied from "over-the-shoulder" in 1983, to rear-mounted (looking backwards) in 1988, nosecone-mounted in 1994, and rollbar/above-mounted in 1997. Later, the above-mounted cameras were improved to be able to rotate 360°. Other camera views have included the rear wing (just above the rear tyre), the gearbox, the driver's helmet ("Visor cam"), a "footcam" looking at the driver's feet (to illustrate the heel-and-toe shifting process in road racing), and a view from the sidepod. Additional mounting locations inside the cockpit gave a face view of the driver, but usually little or no view of the track. The "CrewCam" was another view, mounted on a pit crew member's hat or helmet, showing the point of view of a pit crew member performing his duties on pit road.
In the same time-frame, CBS and ESPN began using on-board cameras during NASCAR telecasts from different developers. The large, boxy interior of the NASCAR stock cars allowed modified, nearly regular-sized video cameras to be mounted in the cockpit. CBS used a remote controlled, 360° rotating camera, and 1984 Daytona 500 winner Cale Yarborough carried one to victory.
While Racecam units had become common place in NASCAR, unlike in Australian touring car racing the drivers generally refused to be wired to talk to the television commentators while driving, saying that it was too distracting. In a NASCAR first, at the 1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500 held at the Calder Park Thunderdome in Melbourne, Australia (which was also the first NASCAR race held outside of North America), Australian drivers Dick Johnson and Allan Grice talked to the Channel 7 commentators during the race. Johnson, who had been using Racecam since 1982, also created a first for American NASCAR viewers when he was able to talk to the ESPN commentators during the 1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 at Sears Point Raceway. When Johnson's car went off on oil during the race, he was famously caught dropping the F-bomb just before riding up a bank. [3] Typically in NASCAR, any conversations with drivers are done before the race, after the race, or during safety car periods as not to interfere with normal driver to crew communications.
Over the years, RaceCam has been refined and led to further developments. Besides the natural upgrades for high-definition television, the "Bumpercam" uses a camera mounted on the car's bumper. The "Roofcam" is a camera mounted on a car's roof, which gives a broader view, and a more authentic perspective of the driver's sightlines. Both systems are popular with NASCAR viewers. "Clearview" is another system, which removes grit and dust from the lens.
Formula One has also incorporates similar technology, with each car featuring a distinctive streamlined "camera pod" mounted above each car's airbox, giving video from a perspective similar to the driver's point of view, while also allowing a rearward-facing view for cars trailing behind. FIA regulations mandate that a total of five cameras (or dummy camera housings) must be mounted on the car, in a choice of several predetermined positions. [4]
In IndyCar, all cars in the field are equipped with multiple "camera pod" housing units - one each above the roll bar, one embedded within the front nosecone, one in the aeroscreen, and in previous season, one the rear wing, and inside one of the rear-view mirrors - regardless if they are actually carrying cameras in those locations. This rule is such that cars carrying cameras will not have an aerodynamic disadvantage (or advantage) compared to cars not carrying cameras. In addition, camera-less cars carry equivalent ballast in place of the cameras, to ensure all cars have equal weight characteristics.
In 2019, the FIA Formula E Championship developed a miniature camera titled "Driver's Eye", designed to fit within the padding of a drivers' helmet. [5] Evolving out of FIA safety regulations disallowing professional drivers to mount GoPros or CamBoxes to their helmets during race weekends, the first trial was held at the 2019 Diriyah ePrix with Felipe Massa used as test subject. [6] American motorsport apparel company Racing Force Group acquired the rights to the product and it has since been used in Formula One, NASCAR and the Supercars Championship. [7] [8]
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit lane which runs parallel to the start/finish straightaway of the track and is connected to it at each end. Along this lane is a row of garages outside which the work is done in a pit box. Pit stop work is carried out by the pit crew of up to twenty mechanics, depending on the series regulations, while the driver often waits in the vehicle.
Richard 'Dick' Johnson is a part-owner of the V8 Supercar team Dick Johnson Racing and a former racing driver. As a driver, he was a five-time Australian Touring Car Champion and a three-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. As of 2008 Johnson has claimed over twenty awards and honours, including the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame into which he was inducted in 2001.
Mount Panorama Circuit is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama (Wahluu) and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race held each October, and the Bathurst 12 Hour event held each February. The track is a 6.213 km (3.861 mi) long street circuit, which is used as a public road when no racing events are being run, with many residences which can only be accessed from the circuit.
Racing flags are traditionally used in auto racing and similar motorsports to indicate track condition and to communicate important messages to drivers. Typically, the starter, sometimes the grand marshal of a race, waves the flags atop a flag stand near the start/finish line. Track marshals are also stationed at observation posts along the race track in order to communicate both local and course-wide conditions to drivers. Alternatively, some race tracks employ lights to supplement the primary flag at the start/finish line.
Dick Johnson Racing, is Australia's oldest motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. Founded by Dick Johnson, the team's drivers have won ten Australian Touring Car Championship titles and the team has taken four victories in Australia's premier race, the Bathurst 1000.
Allan George MoffatOBE is a Canadian-Australian racing driver known for his four championships in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins in the Sandown 500 and his four wins in the Bathurst 500/1000. Moffat was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 1999.
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Christopher Constantine Economaki was an American motorsports commentator, pit road reporter, and journalist. Economaki was given the title "The Dean of American Motorsports Journalism." He was an inductee of several halls of fame, including the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.
An onboard camera or in-car camera is a camera placed upon a moving object, such as a vehicle.
Kevin Bartlett, often known by his nickname "KB", is an Australian former open wheel and touring car racing driver who won the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1968 and 1969, as well as the prestigious Bathurst 1000 in 1974. Bartlett was named in Wheels magazine's annual yearbook in 2004 as one of Australia's 50 greatest race drivers. He placed #15 on the list.
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) makes and enforces numerous rules and regulations that transcend all racing series.
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The 1995 Tooheys 1000 was the 36th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 1 October 1995, at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. The race was held for cars eligible under CAMS Group 3A 5.0 Litre Touring Car regulations, that later became known as V8 Supercars. This was the first Bathurst 1000 to be contested by single class.
Robert Morris is an Australian former racing driver. Morris was one of the leading touring car drivers during the 1970s and continued racing until 1984. Morris won Australia's premier Touring car race, the Bathurst 1000 in 1976. He also won the Australian Touring Car Championship in 1979. Morris was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 2004.
The following is a glossary of terminology used in motorsport, along with explanations of their meanings.
The Goodyear NASCAR 500 race was run at the then new A$54 million Calder Park Thunderdome in Melbourne on 28 February 1988. The race was the first ever NASCAR event held outside North America. Unlike Winston Cup races in the United States, the 500 was actually 500 kilometres which is only 310 miles.
A racing suit or racing overalls, often referred to as a fire suit due to its fire retardant properties, is clothing such as overalls worn in various forms of auto racing by racing drivers, crew members who work on the vehicles during races, track safety workers or marshals, and in some series commentators at the event.