Motorcycle Racing
Why beINSPORT Is The Best Home Possible for WSBK (and WSSK) in the U.S.
[Disclaimer: This post may contain spoilers for Round 1 of the 2013 WSBK and WSSK Championships from Phillip Island, which took place 22-24 February 2013. Any such spoilers will be posted after the jump, so you can safely scroll down this main page without fear of race spoilers if you haven’t watched it yet. Also, this post heaps loads of praise on beINSPORT. The author is in no way affiliated with beINSPORT, and has not received any sort of compensation for this post. The author is simply a motorsports fan giving an honest opinion.]
For world motorsport fans in the U.S., the name of the game for quite a few years was SPEED.
But for 2013, SPEED decided to make some changes. They’re no longer showing F1; instead, it has been picked up by NBC Sports (which thankfully kept most of the commentary team we’d been enjoying for several seasons on SPEED).
Then it announced that it was dropping WSBK and WSSK coverage just a few scant weeks before the 22-24 February season opener at Phillip Island in Australia. WSBK fans here were frantic. Yes, there will always be a contingent of fans around the world who are content to watch races (legally or otherwise) online. But dammit, we have an HD TV. It’s really nice to be able to watch stuff like this on it.
Enter beINSPORT USA.
If you’re a premiere-league soccer (or football, outside the U.S.) fan, you probably already know about beINSPORT. I’m not, so I didn’t. We ended up having to change subscription plans with our satellite provider to get it. But their HD broadcasts are simply stunning. (I’m wondering if I shouldn’t start watching football, seriously. They’re that pretty. But where would I find time?)
Watching the first race of the 2013 WSBK season on beINSPORT has been the absolute best racing broadcast I’ve ever seen here — in any series. Why? Follow the jump for a full explanation in excruciating detail. And race spoilers. (See, I’ve warned you twice. You have no excuse if you read spoilers and are upset about it. 😉 )