What was the first ever car race televised live?

[duke_toaster]

It's almost deffo in the 50's but does anyone know what was the first ever car race that was televised live in its entireity?

[D-Type]

In its entirety - probably a club race in the days when the BBC covered them.

[mountainstar]

I know in the late 30's BBC did some live tv broadcasts of motor racing with the commentary being done from one person sitting in a car trackside. At that time I think there were only 2000 TV's in the UK.

[GORDON STREETER]

The first live BBC car race was the 1947 British GP from Silverstone. I don't remember it as it was the year I was born ! By all accounts it was pretty pathetic, but given the equipment at the time and that nobody had done it before I'm not surprised !!

[Rob29]

First live race was Crystal Palace 1937.First British GP was Silverstone 1953.Last British GP NOT televised was Aintree 55-I remember listening to it on radio.First foreign GP was Monaco 59.As to total coverage of GP from start to finish don't think we go this in UK anyway until the 80s.

[Adam43]

ooo, Contradictions. I like it. We need some sources, I reckon

It doesn't say entirety, but the beeb did cover the 1947 GP:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...5/ai_n21032334

Originally Posted by Keating, The Spectator, Sep 15, 2007

During ITV's drama from Monza on Sunday I thought, too, of BBC television's first attempt at motor-racing in the summer of 1947 on the airfield runways at Silverstone.

They sent game-for-anything Max Robertson to cover it. As the two ace drivers, Raymond Mays (Maserati) and Giuseppe Farina (Ferrari), diced wheel-to-wheel, good Max breathlessly identified 'Maserati in his Mays and Ferrari in his Farina'. They let him stick to tennis after that.

[GORDON STREETER]

Its going to be difficult to get a definitive answer on this, as television pictures couldn't be recorded (only on film) until the early to mid 50s. All broadcasting was either done live or filmed and the camera just pointed at a screen. We didn't have a television at home until the mid 50s as they were very expensive. I wonder what Baird would think of today's high def pictures compared with his 30 line images in the 30s !

[mountainstar]

There was mention sometime in recent past in Motorsport magazine(maybe bill boddy's column?) about the BBC broadcasting races live on tv back in the late 1930's. I remember the article mentioned how many cameras were set up and how the commentary was done.

[Rob29]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

There was mention sometime in recent past in Motorsport magazine(maybe bill boddy's column?) about the BBC broadcasting races live on tv back in the late 1930's. I remember the article mentioned how many cameras were set up and how the commentary was done.

That would have been the 37 Crystal Palace meet.I believe London was the only place with broadcast TV at this time.Cable TV started at the Berlin Olympics 1936,but you needed to be in a hotel in Berlin to see it!
I think the early British GPs from 1948 were broadcast by the BBC but sound only which is where some confusion may arise.

[johnw]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

. We didn't have a television at home until the mid 50s as they were very expensive.

The increase in TV ownership was due to the coronation I believe. That's when we first had one. Programmes have gone downhill since

[mountainstar]

AFAIK CBS broadcast on television some races in the late 1930's though the limited network available at the time in the USA.

[RAP]

As a results of my research for my book on Crystal Palace I can confirm that the first live broadcast on tv was 9 Oct 1937. The broadcast times were
2.25 - 2.55 Heat 1 started at 2.30
3.15 - 3.30 Heat 2 started at 3.10
3.46 - 4.05 This was timed for a demonstration by Seaman in the GP Mercedes
4.15 - 5.00 The final started at 4.15

As the 2 heats lasted 20 mins each and the final 33 minutes, this indicates that all three races were broadcast in full, although Heat 2 seems rather tight, hopefully they didn't cut it with a couple of laps to go !!. So that answers the question.

[GORDON STREETER]

Well done RAP, but I wonder if anyone remembers seeing it ! I say seeing it as the quality on those "enormous screens" in 1937 left a bit to be desired.

[RAP]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

Well done RAP, but I wonder if anyone remembers seeing it ! I say seeing it as the quality on those "enormous screens" in 1937 left a bit to be desired.

Indeed ! and tv was then only available in London I believe.

Incidentally I also found that on the day before the 20 May 1939 Crystal Palace meeting a demonstration of racing cars was broadcast, culminating in a 2 lap handicap "race" between Dick Nash's 1912 Lorraine Dietrich, a 1914 GP Opel, a Bentley and Arthur Dobson's ERA. Dobson "won" from Nash whose car caught fire after the flag. I would imagine that this was the first "made for tv" event !