>Driver’s Briefing
Autosport is perhaps the world’s most famous motorsport magazine and is released weekly costing £2.70 which, let’s face it is way too much to pay for a weekly 100+ page magazine.
Autosport is one of those magazines I enjoy reading immensely, yet I find ... Read review
Advantages: Content, depth in some areas, brilliant classifieds section, analysis, photography, comment, F1 coverage… Disadvantages: …compromising other series (that few people care about), 100+ pages is sometimes just a constraint. Its price makes it out of reach regularly for people like me...
>Driver’s Briefing
Autosport is perhaps the world’s most famous motorsport magazine and is released weekly costing £2.70 which, let’s face it is way too much to pay for a weekly 100+ page magazine.
Autosport is one of those magazines I enjoy reading immensely, yet I find that I seldom purchase it, why? I have no idea, but I think price is definitely an issue.
>Free Practice
Autosport ... ...as it stands, I think Autosport is brilliant. However for just less than £3 it is overpriced, and this is why I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5. You can get a subscription and sae money, but I personally wouldn’t.
It’s such a shame that we are all naturally F1/British content obsessed, and quite rightly Autosport caters for that, I am sure that there are a few more readers out there that want more on other series and ... more
>Driver’s Briefing Autosport is perhaps the world’s most famous motorsport magazine and is released weekly costing £2.70 which, let’s face it is way too much to pay for a weekly 100+ page magazine.
Autosport is one of those magazines I enjoy reading immensely, yet I find that I seldom purchase it, why? I have no idea, but I think price is definitely an issue.
>Free Practice Autosport is dominated by Formula 1, the front cover is always a Formula 1 story (even when the F1 season is over; okay, that may be an exaggeration) but the magazine does seem to have more F1 coverage than adverts if you catch my drift. The other main flagship series that are covered in depth are the BTTC, British F3 and Cart (if Dario Franchitti wins), quite understandable.
Let’s face it this is what the average reader wishes to read about right?
>The Grid The magazine usually starts off with the latest F1 developments. Lots of excellent photography blended into easily digestible chunks of interesting news, no complaints here. There’s a good dozen of these pages, I think this is about right.
Then there’s what I would call the 2nd priority news, like British involvement in foreign top class racing, BTTC, F3000 and British F3.
Then there’s the third priority, which is surprisingly another other interesting motorsport news and the FIA Rally championship, I would call the Rallying third priority, but it is just at the end.
The letters section can be an interesting one, with the cartoon of the week and “star letter” and a comment by the editor. Following this, a few writers have a page of things to say, sometimes interesting, sometimes not!
Then there’s a few pages of the cover story, in my opinion it lets me know everything I want to know about the issue and is always well written (this is usually about Formula One by the way).
Then there may be the GP review/preview, which I find fantastic (particularly the previews as I like to know about the latest developments and regulation changes and their significance). The reviews in my opinion are excellent, the charts and excellent photography could be a substitute for watching the race.
>Pit stops We’re midway through the race now, there’s usually some tacky (or nice if you are lucky) stuff in the centre of the magazine, celebration or advertising., fair enough. There is always some fascinating info about the past (like 10 years ago that day, 20 years etc etc…)
Then there is what I like the most (apart from the F1), the GT section, it rightly starts with the ALMS series, one or two pages of that (this assumes there will be or was a race) and the FIA GT which gets little coverage (unless the number of pages is not a multiple of 4) and is focused on the GT battle. Sometimes they cannot even be bothered to display the full results! (I care about this because I am/was involved in a team that was not in the results, yet some cars that didn’t finish were displayed, but hey, every CM is money right?)
Then we enter the European/American zone. Then onto the classifieds, and the club circuit, the coverage of the club circuit is about 6 stories a page (including results).
>Advertisements If we exclude the classified section, about 1 in 5 pages are adverts, I don’t mind reading them at all, they aren’t relevant to me (maybe more enthusiastic race fans). The classifieds section is excellent, probably the best for motorsport; with appointments, cars for sale, motorhomes for hire etc… In fact I placed an advert there to sell a Porsche 993 GT-2 on behalf of my team and it was really efficient but rather expensive, but either way, it was probably the best place to advertise, though we only received 3 enquiries.
>Alternatives Erm, there aren’t any, all the rivals are F1 obsessed!
>The Chequered Flag You would find it strange that motorsport can grace a 100+ page magazine each week wouldn’t you? It’s a great read and has mostly what you need to know (about Formula One).
When the team I am part of was about to enter the FIA GT, there was a paragraph about it (May 3 2001, page 19) and I was really surprised they mentioned it, because we were not going to get any points or make any other sort of impact, obviously there was nothing more on this afterwards.
So what’s my opinion? For the perfect motorsport magazine, I would expect more, and if I wanted more, this would have to be a 200+ page magazine, and that would not be practical, so as it stands, I think Autosport is brilliant. However for just less than £3 it is overpriced, and this is why I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5. You can get a subscription and sae money, but I personally wouldn’t.
It’s such a shame that we are all naturally F1/British content obsessed, and quite rightly Autosport caters for that, I am sure that there are a few more readers out there that want more on other series and I think that something needs to change a little for Autosport to maintain its international status.
Autosport is the complete motorsport magazine for the average reader, it’s a shame that it has no rivals to make it work for its success.
Advantages: Up to date news, well informed writers Disadvantages: Heavy F1 bias
WHAT IS IT?
Autosport is a magazine covering all aspects of motor racing and rallying, published 51 times a year by Haymarket Specialist Magazines Ltd. It has been around since the early 1950s and comes out every Thursday, except over the Christmas period when there is a double issue on the last Thursday before Christmas, hence 51 issues a year. There are a number of free supplements throughout the year including previews of the Le Mans 24-hour ... ...of my kitchen door!
Autosport is the magazine of choice for most professionals and fans from Formula 1 right down to grass roots national racing and rallying. It is not unusual to see the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya (F1 driver), Richard Burns (World Rally driver) or even myself flicking through a copy during a quiet moment at an event. The magazine has correspondents all over the world, and 5 ‘star’ writers, these currently being Juan Pablo Montoya, ...
jez_taylor 08.01.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Autosport
Advantages: An essential read for anyone interested in motorsport Disadvantages: A little bit pricey
...Williams is a shining example. Autosport has even been known to be less than respectful to Bernie Ecclestone, and you don't do that lightly!
Coverage of non-F1 motorsport is a little variable, and does seem to depend somewhat on the identity of the current editor (something of a revolving door post of late). For example, rally reporting is now quite good, with more than just dry press release rehashes in the "Special Stage" section; but I've found ... ...of any real competitors to Autosport (maybe Motoring News, but then that's owned by the same firm) does seem to induce a slight air of complacency in one or two areas.
The big feature stories, often spanning four or more pages, are usually very well done, being written by someone with in-depth knowledge of that particular branch of the sport, rather than the nearest staff hack. This means that any interviews are likely to throw up some intriguing ...
davidbuttery 17.02.2001 (18.02.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Autosport
Advantages: Great articles and photos Disadvantages: Published weekly and work out to be costly
...have noticed the sells of Autosport has increased at my local newsagents, but what is this magazine about? Autosport is a weekly journal that covers most aspects of motor racing; from Formula One to Club Level and Rally racing. Vintage racing and Tin Tops are not forgotten either, making Autosport one of the most comprehensive magazines for the motor sport enthusiast to read in the UK today.
Within its many pages there are interviews with the drivers, ... ...as well as an Appointments page towards the end of the periodical.
Autosport is well worth a look if you are into motor racing, but do not expect to find go-carting or hot-rods in this book, as you will need to purchase another publication.
Web site address: www.autosport.com ...
wulise 05.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Autosport
Advantages: Excellent coverage of all aspects of motor racing Disadvantages: None
...of 4-wheeled soap opera.
Autosport is a long established motor sport title and is extremely thorough in its coverage of all levels of motor sport in Britain. This is not to say Formula 1 is ignored, it certainly is not. And respected motor sport journalists such as Mark Hughes and Nigel Roebuck contribute interesting articles to the magazine. The magazine is not only interested in the drivers within Formula 1 however and thorough technical updates ... ...£2.60 every week Autosport can run out a costly magazine to be every week and the discerning buyer may choose to be selective on which editions he or she chooses to buy. Alternatively much of the main covergae and news can be found on Autosports execellent web site at www.autosport.com. ...
polydeuces 12.11.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Autosport
...out weekly. I think Autosport is a great magazine as long as you are really interested in all kinds of motor sports. If you are only interested in one particular type, like Formula 1, you’ll probably be better off with a magazine that is focused solely on this. ...
Orinoco 09.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Autosport
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Advantages: very comprehensive, good subscription rates for the magazine Disadvantages: a dog of a site, slow to load
I originally started reading Autosport as a 17 year old, interested in F1, and found that it was clearly a lot more than just a F1 magazine, as the title suggests it should be. In terms of the breadth of different series covered, the online version, at www.autosport.com, is every bit as good as its paper version. However the maxim that more is less appears to be sadly true, as autosport.com seems to spread itself too thinkly on occasions, still clearly focussing on Formula One when there are in fact other series of merit, but which of course lack the global appeal that F1 has, and is gaining even more of.
As well as concentrating on Formula 1, the other principle competitions covered aer the British and German Touring Car Championships (BTCC and DTM respectively), NASCAR, Indy Racing League, ChampCart, Formula 3 and Formula 3000 ...
Morgenhund 14.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of autosport.com
Advantages: Wide range of news items Disadvantages: But not a huge number of news items in each section.
Autosport, jack of all virtually matters concerned with racing and wheels and sadly master of none. But then a generic motorsport website will never reach the same coverage levels as almighty websites like Planet F1 or www.cart.com. Anyway, what does Autosport cover? Well, you have the mainstream well known championships; namely the BTCC (British Touring Car Championship), Formula One, WRC (World Rally Championship), the Fedex Championship (Or CART or CHAMP Cars or whatever it is they’re calling it today – it’s the big open wheeled formula in America that ISN’T Indy cars and that DOES race on tracks other than ovals). It also covers some lesser known championships, IRL (The big open wheeled formula in America that IS Indy cars and DOESN’T race on tracks other than ovals), DTM (German Touring Cars), American ...
yhwman 09.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of autosport.com
Advantages: Fast, well presented and clear. Disadvantages: Doesn't cover articles in the same depth as the magazine
There are few - indeed no - faster sports than those that are covered by www.autosport.com. Therefore it is quite fitting that the emphasis of this site lies with providing rapid access to the top motorsports news of the day.
Autosport.com, like its established magazine counterpart from Haymarket publishing, provides covaergae of the international and national level motosport events. Everything from Formula One down to Formula Ford and smaller club events. World Rallying, CART, F3000, BTCC, NASCAR, F3 and many more.
The site's front page is very straightforward, clear, and low on high-quality graphics to minimise loading times: Compare with ITV-F1, for example, and the difference is startling. Autosport.com, however, looks a lot more appealing than its low-graphics rival AtlasF1.com, which resembles a broadsheet newspaper ...
SkyscraperFanClub 19.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of autosport.com
