The commentary was broadcast on local ('special event') radio in 1986. In 1987, it was headed by a sports car and radio enthusiast, Harry Turner, backed by Jim Tanner and Chris Crewe-Smith, founders of TTC radio. Backed by Silk CutJaguar the station quickly found favour with the tens of thousands of English-speaking fans at the race. The early years provided for only a very rudimentary service, no pit reports and a music loop played overnight.[1]
Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, the station evolved adding new features like the 'Mad' Friday Campsite Tour in 1989. This show, conceived and presented by a newcomer, John Hindhaugh, was to prove almost as popular as the race coverage, and propelled Hindhaugh, with his distinctive North-Eastern accent and irreverent attitude, to a similar status with the fans as the commentary team. Resident statistician Paul Truswell, famed for not only remaining standing at his microphone throughout the 24 hours (and more) but also not urinating during this entire time, has been ever-present on the Radio Le Mans commentary team since 1988.[1]
Haymarket Publications, publishers of Autosport had been involved almost from the start. At first only giving ad pages which were then "sold on" by Radio Le Mans to raise funds. When Studio 6 and Landon Brown, the first operators of the service, stepped aside Haymarket took over the running of the service and remained in control until 2005.
Radio Le Mans has been available to listeners at the circuit every year since 1987. In 1997 it began streaming on the internet.
From 2004 to 2006 the service was also available to digital satellite listeners, as it was carried on the Globecast Radio channel on the Sky Digital (UK & Ireland) platform in the UK. Globecast Radio also carried coverage of the American Le Mans Series. Globecast Radio ceased broadcasting in January 2007.
Since 2006 the service has been run by Radio Show Ltd., RSL was formed specifically to ensure the continuation of Radio Le Mans when Haymarket Publications declined to renew their contract with the ACO. RSL was given an initial five-year contract.
Over time new ways to listen to the Radio Le Mans coverage of the 24 hours were added. In 2008 the service was bundled with the Kangaroo TV[3] system at Le Mans,[4] (although that system has since ceased to exist), and in 2009 Radio Le Mans made its debut on Sirius satellite radio in the US and Canada.[5]
RSL audio was also used as the narrative in the movies "Truth in 24"[6] and the sequel,[7] plus the 2013 Patrick Dempsey documentary which aired on Velocity in the USA[8] in addition to appearing in vision in all of these productions, main presenter/commentator and owner John Hindhaugh[9] provided commentary for the Jota documentary "Journey to Le Mans".[10] As well as the Amazon Video series "Le Mans: Racing Is Everything" using Radio Le Mans audio for all of the commentary that was included over the six episodes as well as including interviews with John Hindhaugh.
Mid-2017, RSL rebranded their collection of radio broadcasts from Radio Le Mans to RS1, IMSA Radio to RS2 IMSA Radio and the creation of a new station, RS3, which like RS1 and RS2 broadcasts 24 hours a day. RS3, was previously RSL Extra, which only broadcast when required, in cases where three live events coincided. Reflecting this change of branding for the channels, the main portal was switched to www.radio-show.co.uk although the www.RadioLeMans.co[11] domain is still active and RSL retain the licence, granted by the ACO, for the operation of Radio Le Mans on FM at the track.
Radio Show Limited, the people behind Radio Le Mans, also provide internet radio commentary on every round of the American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Series, Nürburgring 24 hour race, and Silverstone 24 hour race. There is also coverage of other motorsport events, car tests, and motorsport magazine shows.
In August 2009, a sister channel called RLM Extra, later renamed to RSL Extra, was launched to allow for web streaming of two events simultaneously.[12] This launched with coverage of the 2CV 24 hours from Snetterton,[13] while the main channel ran coverage of the ALMS from Mid Ohio. However, with few clashing events this service wasn't used much after 2010. In 2016 it was used several times when IMSA and ELMS/Le Mans Cup races clashed.
In 2011 the 360 Motor Racing Club 6 Hour race was added to the list of events covered on Radio Le Mans.[14]
In 2012 Radio Le Mans added coverage of the Dubai 24 Hours[15]
2012 also saw RSL air live coverage of the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the first time. The team provided full 24-hour race commentary plus live coverage of all the practice and qualifying sessions, the only broadcaster to do so. The audio was also used for Motors TV's 15 hours of live television coverage, and on Speed.com as its overnight feed when the linear service was off air.
Radio Le Mans began covering Creventic's 24H Series in 2015, which was also broadcast live on the English lingual MotorsTV and the live stream, as well as the Japanese Super GT series with the 3rd round of 2016 at Sportsland SUGO, streamed over live video on Nissan's NISMO.TV.[16]
From 2017 onwards, Radio Le Mans will cover the German VLN championship making them the primary and only English commentary for the full series.
American Le Mans Series radio
Since the first Petit Le Mans race in 1998,[17] John Hindhaugh and other members of the Radio Le Mans team provided commentary of every round of the American Le Mans Series until the end of 2010 when the series decided to axe its radio coverage as part of its new TV contract.[18]
In the year 2000, the team also covered two European Le Mans Series races, at Silverstone and the Nurburgring, and the Race of 1000 Years held in Adelaide, Australia.[19]
The service, known as the American Le Mans Radio Network, is not only streamed on the internet but also carried on the Sirius satellite radio & XM satellite radio service, usually on XM144 Sport Nation.
The service is also broadcast at each track on 454MHz, and occasionally also carried on local AM and FM stations.
After the ALMS axed its radio service at the end of 2010, Radio Le Mans continued to cover the races at Sebring and Petit Le Mans, which were also part of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, and Sebring in 2012 which was part of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The ALMS merged with Grand-Am in 2014 to form the United Sports Car Championship, which was run by the International Motor Sport Association (IMSA). In 2015 IMSA and Radio Le Mans' owners RSL launched a radio service for the series called IMSA Radio.
In 2009 the opening round at Barcelona was again missed, due to a date clash with the American Le Mans Series, however, coverage resumed at Spa-Francorchamps for the second round of the series.[21]
In 2010 all rounds of the championship were covered live, as was the ILMC race in China.
Radio Le Mans first covered the Nürburgring 24 hours race as part of its Le Mans 24 hour coverage in 2006 (the races ran on the same dates that year).
The following year saw the first English-language commentary of the race, however, unlike the Le Mans commentary this did not run for the full 24 hours but stopped for six hours during the night. That year the race itself stopped for a time during the night as thick fog caused a red flag period.
The Nürburgring 24 hours was successful enough that it has been repeated in 2008 and 2009,[22] but using the same format of covering the first ten, and final eight hours of the race, rather than the full 24 hours. However, in 2010 the entire race was broadcast live with John Hindhaugh, Paul Truswell and Graham Goodwin pulling out almost a 24-hour live shift. The same was repeated in 2011, with Jim Roller joining the commentary trio once again.
Unlike the former Le Mans Series race at the Nürburgring, coverage of the Nürburgring 24 hours is not simulcast on FM. It is only available online.
The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) was a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consisted of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout, a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) combined road course that uses most of the tri-oval plus an infield road course. Held on the last weekend of January or first weekend of February as part of Speedweeks, it is the first major automobile race of the year in North America. The race is sanctioned by IMSA and is the first race of the season for the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as automotive-focused programs.
The International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) is a North American sports car racing sanctioning body based in Daytona Beach, Florida under the jurisdiction of the ACCUS arm of the FIA. It was started by John Bishop, a former executive director of SCCA, and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France Sr. of NASCAR. Beginning in 2014, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier series resulting from the merger of Grand-Am Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series. IMSA is owned by NASCAR, as a division of the company.
Jörg Müller is a Dutch-born German BMW factory driver.
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.
Guy James Mutlow Smith is a British professional racing driver and IB English teacher and coordinator in Brazil, who has competed in various levels of motorsport, most notably the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he won in 2003, and the American Le Mans Series, which he won in 2011.
Schnitzer Motorsport was a motorsport team based in Freilassing near Munich, Germany. From the early days of its establishment, the team has operated an automobile racing squad for BMW, and has remarkable results in touring car and sports car racing scenes. The team often runs the cars for BMW under the name of "BMW Motorsport". In 2012, the team operated the DTM team for BMW under the name of "BMW Team Schnitzer".
Renger van der Zande is a Dutch racing driver who currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Chip Ganassi Racing. He is the son of the 1978 National Dutch Rallycross Champion Ronald van der Zande. In 2016, Van der Zande won his first major sports car championship with co-driver Alex Popow and Starworks Motorsport in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PC Class. Renger resides in Amsterdam with his partner Carlijn and their daughter.
Nicholas Tandy is a professional British racing driver currently racing for Porsche Motorsport as a factory driver in the IMSA Sportscar Championship. His major victories include the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 2015 Petit Le Mans, the 2018 24 Hours of Nürburgring and the 2020 24 Hours of Spa. He scored also class win at the 2014 24 Hours of Daytona and 2018, 2019, 2020 12 Hours of Sebring.
Tristan Vautier is a French professional racing driver who is currently competing in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship for the Vanwall Racing Team.
The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). It is a result of a merger between two existing North American sports car racing series, the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series. At its inception, the name was United SportsCar Championship, which subsequently changed to IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2016. Rolex SA's Tudor brand was the championship's title sponsor in 2014 and 2015, and since 2016 WeatherTech has served as title sponsor.
Jordan Lee Taylor is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing, part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 10/11 Chevrolet Camaros for Kaulig Racing. He won the 2017 24 Hours of Daytona and the 2017 championship in the Prototype class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
John Hindhaugh is a sports commentator and broadcaster from Sunderland, England. He resides in Thrapston, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom with his wife Eve Hewitt, the managing director of Radio Show Limited, the production company of Radio Le Mans and IMSA radio, a company they own together.
The 2015 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance was a professional sports car racing event held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, Ontario on July 12, 2015. The race was the seventh round of the 2015 United SportsCar Championship season and the event marked the 30th IMSA sanctioned sports car race held at the facility.
The 2016 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix was a professional sports car racing event held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, Ontario on July 7, 8, 9 and 10, 2016. The race was the seventh round of the 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the event marked the 31st IMSA sanctioned sports car race held at the facility.
Shane Lewis is an American racing driver who has competed primarily in sports car racing. He also competes in off-road racing and short course SXS racing.
Shea Adam is an American auto racing reporter on television and radio. The daughter of a news anchor and a race car driver and commentator, she was a graphics supervisor for the American Le Mans Series in 2012 and 2013. Adam subsequently made her debut as a pit lane reporter for Radio Le Mans at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. She has also covered the IndyCar Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the Bathurst 12 Hour, Pirelli World Challenge and the Mazda Raceway California 8 Hours.
Jamie Howe is an American television auto racing reporter. Her career began as a runner at American Le Mans Series endurance motor races before obtaining on-screen roles covering the championship, the National Hot Rod Association, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series.
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