Journalist LEWIS ISAACS joins TRT to discuss how he’s shifted from being a cynic to embracing the Supercars eSeries for what it is.

WORDS: Lewis Isaacs IMAGE: Team 18

I’m a cynic at the best of times. And, when I heard Supercars was going to be running a trumped ‘series’ on iRacing, I thought the idea was a little … naff. 

I doubt I was alone. 

For me, watching cars go round in circles is about overcoming the technical challenges for engineers, the physical ones for drivers and witnessing bravery and competition on show. When you’re at the track, there’s the visceral experience of the sound and smell that accompanies witnessing what can look like impossible physicals.

Games, in my mind, can’t replicate this. Just because I can play Call of Duty doesn’t mean I’m credentialled to fight a war. Nor will thumping Celtic on FIFA feel as good as the real thing.

Nissan had proved racing sims can be used to discover and develop drivers, but it’s one part of the equation. As for entertainment, however, which is what a lot of commercial sport sells itself as, ordinarily, my interest would flat line.

But, like a lot of people, these days I’ve got more time on my hands. And two weeks ago curiosity got the better of me. With nothing better to do I flicked on the first round of the Supercars Eseries that was already half-way through.

Unlike other sporting games or the Trackside greyhound racing machines you see at pubs, the look of this is close to the real thing. Pair that with a fully-baked production and commentary effort and it has a feel of legitimacy.

While I wasn’t entirely convinced about it as a replacement for sport, it is plugging a gap and has so far been entertaining enough to tune in again.

And let’s be clear, there are a lot of things the Eseries isn’t. I don’t think it’s as exciting or occupies as much emotion as the real thing. Nor do I care about the points score and championship. At least not compared to the analog equivalent. I also find it hard to take serious from a competitive standpoint.

But that’s not the point.

It’s not a replacement for the championship, but it supplements it well.

If you’re predisposed to frame the world through a half-empty glass, you’d say Supercars had its challenges before the pandemic. Holden is gone and its impact on the sport is yet to be fully realised. The TV deal is up for renewal. If you want to gaze into the future, existentially, the fate of the internal combustion engine is an unknown in the long-run.

They’re big problems on the horizon. Yet the sky isn’t falling.

The Eseries and its early reception show the promise of both adaptability and change for the category. Its birth came from unusual circumstances, but it has given more positives than negatives.

I’m not entirely sold on its serious side, but it is worthy of some couch time. It’is fun. It’s a great opportunity in these weird times, and it’s thought-provoking. 

Here are a couple of those brain waves.

The calendar

I’m not someone who is excited by the idea of digital Supercars racing on tracks that would be otherwise unfeasible logistically. Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s a byproduct of what’s available on the platform than anything else. Where the Eseries calendar has opportunities is in the future.

A few years ago, when V8s was rejigging its schedule under the watch of the James Warburton regime, one of the key problems identified was the gaps between races. In effect, the series would disappear between events, while the ball sports played on every week. I remember watching Inside Supercars breaking down incidents that happened weeks earlier, while the rest of the world moved on.

Logistics dictate most races need two-to-three weeks gaps for travel, repairs, rest and whatnot. 

An Eseries is a great chance to fill in those voids with regular racing that isn’t encumbered by those problems. The production and drivers have already shown its viability. Here’s the chance to make it a week-to-week sport without many of the hurdles.

The buy-in 

One of the key elements of the Eseries success in its infancy is the buy-in from the drivers. Having all the championship full-timers compete has given it credibility. even if the skills in this arena are disparate across pitlane.

Motorsport is advantageous in the aspect it can be replicated online. Michael Jordan taking on Lebron James on NBA 2K doesn’t settle the debate over who is greater (Jordan). Neither would a digital match up of Andrew Johns vs Johnathan Thurston on Rugby League Live (Johns).

I don’t think being a quick sim racer carries the same gravitas as winning a championship, but being a quick racing driver does make you handy on the sim as we’ve seen so far.

Kudos to the drivers for putting in the effort to give the Eseries some authenticity. And just like the real world, the excuses have already started coming in.

The wildcards

Having Max Verstappen dial in for a round was a masterstroke. Supercars has been a tough place for newcomers to arrive and drive regardless of their skill and background. This has proven to be a solid leveller.

What’s more, these wildcards add an intrigue. Verstappen is a superstar in the top level of motorsport and fared well. How would drivers from other disciplines compare? Could the top Super2 drivers earn a place? Is there an opening for the top sim racers? The intrigue is the opportunity.

Commentary and production

Hearing Neil Crompton and Matthew White call a race offered some familiarity for those regular Supercars viewers. Likewise, the panel and ‘pitlane reporters’ are a quality touch for those new to the concept. 

However, we’re still watching sim racing – and when a commentator hits the rev limiter over a crash that has only happened in the game, it’s hard to suspend the disbelief. 

It might be a personal thing, but there’s something quite peculiar and surreal about that side of it that doesn’t land for me.

Sponsorship

Motorsport sponsorship is hard at the best of times, yet through a pandemic that is flipping the world on its head, a new avenue to a wider audiences just opened up. If I were trying to sell computer components or games to wannabe racers stuck at thome, this is where I’d be looking.

It was fascinating to see the more commercially minded drivers setup their rolling sponsor setups or place boards around the camera. And updating the look of the cars is also a matter of jumping on MS paint. 

That said, wearing your race suit and gloves while you’re racing is a firm no from me. Even if it were winter in Melbourne, that would seem unnecessary. Like Andrew van Leeuwen’s aversion to black wheels, this is a hill I’ll die on. 

The crashes

The danger of motorsport is part of the appeal. There’s none here. So let’s look at crashes differently.

Though some of the bingles are spectacular, and really would take some bending of physics to occur, there’s something to lean into there. It’s best not to take them seriously, and embrace the Mario Kart like element of it..

The chat

Let’s get more of it. Less Kyle Larson style and more like team radio. Having everyone on a camera and mic’d up has huge potential. Though some interviews have been utterly inaudible, once that technical hiccup is solved, these play well into the fun and entertaining side of the concept.

Across sports media, Supercars is renowned as a leader in Australia for accessibility to the competitors. Here’s another chance for that to grow.

Ratings

It’s best to leave these numbers upto the brains trust here. But in a year where a broadcast deal is up for negotiation and the sport and its teams rely on TV cash, this is a quality value add to have in your pocket. The Twitch and Facebook audiences are new, global and growing, and while the revenue isn’t the same, any earnings these days are to be embraced.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and now Supercars as an entertainment and competition perspective doesn’t just have to be a 14 round spectacle with some additional programs.

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ABOUT: LEWIS ISAACS

Lewis Isaacs is a multimedia producer, editor, shooter and writer based in Sydney, Australia.

His media career began at ACP Magazines, writing for Auto Action, Rugby League Week, Top Gear and Motor. He has since developed as a digital and video producer, with his work featuring on SBS, The Sydney Morning Herald, ABC, Fox Sports and more.

For more information, please check out his website here.