[LM24] Radio Le Mans

[Adam43]

And their levels make my ears hurt.

I love it, but I do find I don’t listen sometimes. Take in the race even if it means I don’t fully know why is going on (sometimes makes no difference).

I maintain that the sponsor chat could still be done without missing anything. Like test match special when talking about bigger things - every single ball is commentated on. They are the standard bearers here.

[Truckosaurus]

Their job must get harder every year.

There few places trackside at Le Mans where there isn't a view of a video screen, so people expect them to instantly respond to any on-track action, even if they are mid-advert or doing the hourly round-up.

Plus, most people have smartphones to check live timing so the radio isn't the only source of information as it perhaps once was.

(Let alone there being more support races and scrutineering/practice the weekend before the race, meaning they have to be on-air longer than ever).

[Aysedasi]

True enough. I well remember what a revelation RLM was when it first appeared in 1987. In 1986 (my first Le Mans) I didn't really have a clue what was going on for most of the race......

[crooky]

Our group was in the T21 Grandstand and only those with the 'digital' style FM radios (where you could specify the exact frequency to the nth degree) were able to pick up a consistent signal.

My trusty old style radio I've used at many race tracks in the past including Le Mans in the exact same grandstand couldn't pick up a reliable signal.

So difficult for me to comment on how the RLM crew were.

I do wonder if their talking around the action style rather than commentating actually what's happening actually suits these new elongated sprint style races where things can change so very quickly though?

[Gerard C]

Don't they have a live too where you can watch them commentating and a large screen displays the live timing. I seem to remember its on YT but may be I'm wrong. Anyway its a real institution and belongs to the LM history. IMO.

[Simmi]

We were chatting about this after the event - I do think that if Trussers wasn't there, there are a number of points during the race where, if you missed the half hourly update, you'd have genuinely no clue what was going on at a basic level.

I do think they could do a better job of outlining and explaining the race situation outside of those super brief updates. They seem more interested in shouting out regular listeners/mates, people watching elsewhere (their own collective), versus giving any sort of priority to anyone who is trackside.

There are also 3-4 moments every year where Hindy becomes insufferable.

But as others have said, it's part of the fabric and I'd be the first to complain if it disappeared.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by crooky

Our group was in the T21 Grandstand and only those with the 'digital' style FM radios (where you could specify the exact frequency to the nth degree) were able to pick up a consistent signal.

We had a very bad signal for periods on Wednesday/Thursday. Myself, my son and his partner all have the same digital earphones/radios and we all suffered. Having mentioned it on RSL's FB page though it seems it wasn't widespread and I suspect it had something to do with the location in the stand. It was much better on race day.

[Peter Mallett]

They did say that someone was crashing their frequency although I didn't experience any major problems using my headphones as per previous years.

[dwh43scale]

There has always been an issue (IIRC) with the closeness of the French language FM frequency and it is especially bad around pit in where the FM bleeds into French. Being a late arriviste at LM this year, I had been watching Eurosport with the WEC comms team - Rob Bell was I thought especially good and they do commentate on what is on the screen / on track. Likewise, I liked Johnny Mowlem alongside Jonny Palmer on RLM for the race with the occasional gentle "I think you will find that..." when JP missed something. Hindy is Hindy and his style may or may not be your cup of tea. There was a comment during the race that RLM was not just a radio commentary which explains part of it, but those of us at the race with FM radios, that's exactly what I (at least) would like them to be. Having said that it is free and in English for those of us who last studied French half a century ago (flippin' 'eck, that long ago ?)

[Akrapovic]

Originally Posted by Simmi

We were chatting about this after the event - I do think that if Trussers wasn't there, there are a number of points during the race where, if you missed the half hourly update, you'd have genuinely no clue what was going on at a basic level.

I do think they could do a better job of outlining and explaining the race situation outside of those super brief updates. They seem more interested in shouting out regular listeners/mates, people watching elsewhere (their own collective), versus giving any sort of priority to anyone who is trackside.

There are also 3-4 moments every year where Hindy becomes insufferable.

But as others have said, it's part of the fabric and I'd be the first to complain if it disappeared.

I like this post because it does something the internet doesn't do well - nuance.

It's possible to like/love something, but still be critical of its negative qualities. I ADORE Radio Le Mans. But we talk about Right Turn Lover more than we do the racing now. And some sound editing experts to sort out the sound levels would be much appreciated. BUT. I still love it.

[Truckosaurus]

Originally Posted by dwh43scale

...There was a comment during the race that RLM was not just a radio commentary which explains part of it, but those of us at the race with FM radios, that's exactly what I (at least) would like them to be....

Wasn't the quote that they are doing a radio commentary not a video commentary, so don't expect them to comment on everything happening on the screen.

[dwh43scale]

Originally Posted by Truckosaurus

Wasn't the quote that they are doing a radio commentary not a video commentary, so don't expect them to comment on everything happening on the screen.

Sorry, yes, jet lag getting the better of me. At least we had some FM at Le Mans - IMSA at the Glen had nothing on FM that I found although the PA, when you were near the speakers, were loud !

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

It's possible to like/love something, but still be critical of its negative qualities. I ADORE Radio Le Mans. But we talk about Right Turn Lover more than we do the racing now.

There are about half a dozen people in 'the collective' who I'm sure compete with each other to get the most mentions on RLM during race week......and the vast majority of those 'mentions' really aren't worth the air time......

[Mike E]

Echoing some points above, I can't imagine the race without RLM, and it would be impossible to follow without it. But my feeling over the last couple of years is that it often feels more like a podcast than a race commentary. Just some mates chatting, with in jokes and shout outs and all the other things that make many podcasts half an hour too long.
It's also the only race on the calendar where I am not listening to the official comms on the TV feed. And actually, I think the official feed is better as a race commentary (Martin Haven's hysteria notwithstanding). Graham is the benchmark for general knowledge about the whole ACO universe and Ant's driver insights are always on the money.

[J Jay]

Originally Posted by Mike E

Echoing some points above, I can't imagine the race without RLM, and it would be impossible to follow without it. But my feeling over the last couple of years is that it often feels more like a podcast than a race commentary. Just some mates chatting, with in jokes and shout outs and all the other things that make many podcasts half an hour too long.
It's also the only race on the calendar where I am not listening to the official comms on the TV feed. And actually, I think the official feed is better as a race commentary (Martin Haven's hysteria notwithstanding). Graham is the benchmark for general knowledge about the whole ACO universe and Ant's driver insights are always on the money.

Listening back to previous broadcasts, RLM has always been like this - the recent additions of WEC and (actually competent) Eurosport commentary teams have brought the comparison into focus. Compared to 10-15 years ago, we have the envious position of being able to choose from multiple commentary feeds of at least decent quality.

Graham Goodwin provides a good point of comparison - The Week In Sportscars isn't much different to Midweek Motorsport in tone (and that's fine for the content both podcasts output). But on the WEC feed, he's all business, which is now my preference for commentary... whenever Haven is not in the booth.

While I hope Radio Le Mans does become more professional in its output,
Le Mans, endurance racing, would unquestionably be worse without them.

[Simmi]

We often joke about how they brought on Julia Wurz randomly to plug her book - I think one year (11 or 12 I think) in the final hours of the race.

They're freelancing and providing a service at Le Mans so there's no one to tell them otherwise. How they get away with some of the stuff they do on the official IMSA broadcast is always baffling to me.