Bikes… camera… MotoGP action…

We go behind the scenes with TNT Sports’ MotoGP team to find out how the show comes together.

Three. Two. One. Action! TNT Sports (previously BT Sport) have been the exclusive live broadcaster of MotoGP in the UK since 2014. The show provides in-depth coverage, with 20+ hours of TV across the three days.

Bosses have assembled an array of talent, with the presentation team led by Suzi Perry, who is joined by Michael Laverty, Neil Hodgson, Sylvain Guintoli and Natalie Quirk. Hodgson is then joined in the commentary box by Gavin Emmett.

It’s a who’s who of bike racing experts, but there’s a whole army behind the scenes who help bring this show to life.

MCN joined them at Assen to learn how it comes together.

TNT’s Series Editor is Kevin Brown, who is now in his seventh season and previously led ITV’s F1 coverage. Brown represents North One TV, who are the producers of the programme.

It’s from Brown’s seat in the production room – which is actually a metal cabin – at each circuit that the puzzle pieces come together. The team is split between 16 people on-site and 12 working at TNT headquarters in Chiswick.

Inside the Production Control Room in London sit the Director, Script Supervisor, Graphics Operator, Assistant Producers, VT Crew, Editors, Sound Supervisor and Technical Managers.

“I can do my job in either location, so I tend to mix it up 50/50,” Brown told MCN. “It’s good for everybody that I spend time in both locations. As soon as I put the headset on, it puts me in London, but also allows me to spend time with the on-site crew.”

From his workstation Brown can see MotoGP organisers Dorna’s world feed, the feed from the three TNT cameras, the commentary box, timing screens, VT replays that are incoming, as well as graphics that have been lined-up.

A race weekend sees TNT go live from early morning to late afternoon, after shooting features and interviews on Thursday.

Brown says: “We must generate material that will engage and interest fans and ensure they enjoy the stories that surround the sport. It takes a lot of planning; deciding on the stories we need to cover, working on the editorial side of things, ensuring with the Production Management Logistics team that we have the right people, facilities, timings…”

Gabriella Martin is the Unit Manager for the Production Management team, and she oversees the logistical, operational, and financial aspects of the show. But the job doesn’t end there, Martin and her team are responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of live broadcasts and recorded content, while handling logistics of scheduling, travel, accommodation, equipment/ facilities allocation and accreditation.

“I ensure that all resources are in place for production, personnel are where they need to be when they need to be there and everyone has the correct access they need at each circuit,” she expands.

“Additionally, I manage the budgets, secure necessary permits, liaise with local authorities and Dorna as well as health and safety. Ultimately, we ensure that every element is in place for the team to capture the best of MotoGP.”

There’s a rough schedule, but this is live TV. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and the team must react accordingly, as they did in Assen with Joe Roberts. A feature on American Racing’s 100th race was planned following Roberts’ Mugello win, however the American crashed on the Friday and fractured his collarbone. Surgery was required. The feature was shelved.

Thinking on their feet

Sitting inside the production office during the Moto2 race, Suzi Perry and Floor Manager/Producer Charlie Hiscott are watching and making notes, while Brown is overseeing the action, talking with the London team, including director, Richard Coventry.

“I tell the story and Richard paints it,” Brown says. “He’s taking the various feeds and putting it together on air. If I ask for the championship standings, he’ll get the graphics and put it out. He’s in control of the finished job and directs the cameramen.

“For example, we had an interview with Massimo Meregalli (Yamaha Team Director) and he asked one of the cameramen to go and get shots of Quartararo’s bike while we were talking about it.”

Coventry has a wealth of experience and has also directed the race and presentation of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship for the last 18 years.

“I work closely with the Producer and Script Supervisor, and my job is to implement Kevin’s running order,” Coventry explains. “On this production, as well as directing, I also operate the vision mixer while choosing the sources to go to air, be that a camera, the host broadcast race feed, a VT or graphic.

“I sit on ‘open talkback’ [more on this later] to the crew and to Suzi, Natalie etc, and ‘switch talkback’ [with a press of a button] to Gav, Hodgy, Michael and Sylvain. My job includes communicating to everyone how we’re going to action the next steps in the running order, to ensure the smooth running of the show. I also cue Suzi or Gav and let them know when they’re on air.

“It’s a collaborative process with the entire team, but I can also take executive action to implement immediate solutions in case of a technical failure. One of the best bits of being a director is having to think fast and be decisive.”

At Assen, the Moto3 race didn’t disappoint, with home hero Collin Veijer coming agonisingly close to victory, plus David Alonso and David Munoz duelling for third.

Once the race is over, Brown is directing content traffic, asking for replays from the final chicane, including the helicopter shots, and organising the running order of the presenter’s post-race analysis. It’s all systems go.

To the floor

TNT broadcast interviews from the paddock and pit-lane, alongside pre-recorded features filmed on Thursdays, or during a non-race week like the At home with Pedro Acosta special.

This is managed by a team consisting of Hiscott (Producer & Floor Manager), Alannah Fellows (Floor Manager &Assistant Producer), Ruby Whitham (Junior Assistant Producer), and Jamie Burton (Producer, London-based).

Hiscott looks after the presenters while Fellows works with the reporters. For both, it’s about ensuring that everybody knows what they’re doing, where they need to be, who they’re talking to, and the topics of interest.

“We start prepping at the previous race weekend,” Fellows tells MCN. “We’ll start thinking on Sunday about what features we can do and how to react. I get everything organised, and get the schedule sorted for Thursday.

“Back-to-back race weekends make me a little nervous, you want to tell the story, but I hate sending an email on a Sunday night saying: ‘Can I have this on Thursday?’. I’ll speak to those in London, we’ll think about it and we’ll book in a back-up. Sometimes we’ll cancel but teams are very understanding.”

Organisation is key, but so is making great contacts – not only forming relationships, but also keeping them friendly. This is the case when interviewing people during live sessions, and when trying to find riders to interview pre-race on the grid.

“We like to respect them and not doorstep people, because the more you doorstep them, the less likely they are to give you things. Most of the time we have enough notice because the day is planned so well by Kev, but sometimes in-between qualifying I’ll key through in a quiet moment and ask who he’s thinking of interviewing, and then I’ll go to the press officer.

“Relationships are so important. You never want to upset anybody. To be fair, there’s nobody who I think is hard work to approach and see. Everybody is willing to help because we all want the same end goal.”

Hiscott plays a key part in the special features. It’s down to him to ensure that each one is unique and takes place in a suitable setting.

“It’s challenging,” Hiscott admits. “For example, you rock up at Assen and it’s just concrete and trucks… it’s awful. Trying to be creative in those situations is quite hard, and then you throw in the sun’s location and the wind.

“It looks like you just stand somebody there and turn a camera on. It doesn’t work like that, not with this quality. All of our stuff must look amazing, be shot properly, composed correctly. That’s the cream of the job for me, setting up these interviews, then watching them go out during the race weekend when they look really nice.”

In a world in which access has shrunk and media requests have to go through press officers, efficiency and timing are crucial.

“If they say you get half-an-hour, you get half-an-hour. We do a track piece with a drone, you get a rider and you literally get that 30-minute window. He has to get there in a car and then back again; you’re really short on time, so you get one go at it. And when you throw in a drone, or two cameras, sound equipment… it gets quite hairy.

“You can’t not have a piece at the end of it. That’s really challenging, but I really enjoy it and you get to be quite creative.”

Production

Back in London, Jamie Burton produces the VT packages. He’s in constant communication with the on-site team, particularly Fellows, in order to have all the right stories and interviews in place.

“This initial stage of the process may require writing voiceovers or sourcing any relevant archive or music for potential features,” Burton says. “If the on-site team are able to steer us editorially to the more interesting parts of an interview, or can report any potential issues before the footage is fed back to us, it makes the edits so much easier.

“Once edits are signed off, they will be sent to Livetouch (replay/ playout machines). We have two Livetouch operators per weekend. One will play out the replay analysis, while the other plays out any VTs or interviews. As well as looking after the edits, I share the role of VT co-ordinator where we will sit with the operators and ensure any replays, interviews and VTs are played out cleanly.”

Burton’s team receive several feeds from the on-site team, as well as thousands of individual clips known as ‘best images’ which are the best shots from every session, plus any VTs and any footage TNT have shot themselves.

Burton continues: “An ongoing job for myself, Alannah and Ruby is to go through everything from each GP and comp footage down to a manageable amount, as we cannot keep everything, and it’s more efficient for the edits going forwards. We then have to make sure this material gets archived correctly into the media system.”

‘I hear voices in my head’

The crew wear headsets or ear pieces through which they can communicate through open talkback. This means that when you see the presenters on TV, not only are they talking to each other and the viewers, they’re also listening to instructions and updates.

This isn’t easy to work with, and everybody has their preferred options when it comes to how many voices they listen to.

“I keep it down so it’s quiet,” Hodgson says. “I don’t like people talking when I’m talking. When me and Sylvain are on presentation, we don’t have that. I don’t need to know how long is left. With Suzi, we have a code, so I know if I need to talk longer, or less.

“When we’re coming to the end of the programme, you’re on your toes because you know you’re coming to the end, but she’ll give me a look to stop talking.”

Perry and Emmett have much more experience with the open talkback system, so they’re able to mentally drown out the voices they don’t need to hear at any moment.

“I like having open talkback,” Perry admits. “I like to have a feel for the energy of what’s going on in the truck. I can hear the director if he talks to me, I can hear the PA doing all of the counts, whilst talking to the director and editor. I can hear Kevin, who’s feeding me information and letting me know if we’re not doing something, or if there’s a penalty for a rider etc.

“At Sky the editor said that if I wanted to become an anchor, I had to have open talkback. You just filter out what you don’t need to hear. I know I don’t need to hear, let’s say Nina (PA) at certain times, so I just cut through it… but sometimes she’s all I need to hear.”

Getting the sound

The show wouldn’t be possible without on-site Sound Supervisor Ethan Ejdowski and his team, consisting of two sound assistants and another supervisor back at HQ in Chiswick.

“We integrate our Tall Audio sound kit with the RF and facilities provided by Dorna,” Ejdowski says. “We organise and manage all audio feeds gathered onsite, then send these back to the UK. The full programme output is then mixed back in Chiswick by the sound supervisor stationed there.

“With commentary, we handle the local mixing before sending the feeds back to London, but occasionally we include a commentator from London, which requires careful synchronisation to ensure that everyone is hearing and seeing the action simultaneously.”

The presentation team have to deal with real-life noise, as well as voices inside their headsets.

Ejdowski creates individual mixes for these scenarios as they arise and works with his team to ensure they’re comfortable with their sound equipment. He also helps determine where people and equipment need to be to cover the features being filmed.

Presenting & commentary

On-screen presentation is led by Suzi Perry, who works with Guintoli, Hodgson and Laverty, the latter being the technical and, according to Perry, medical guru.

Emmett is the lead commentator, the journalist telling the story, whilst Hodgson is the racing expert as a BSB and WSBK champion.

Through facial cues and hand gestures, each person knows what’s happening at any one point.

“When Kev is speaking to me whilst I’m talking or listening to the boys, I’ll do the one nod and he knows I’ve heard,” Perry explains. “With Neil, I’ll give him a slight look and firm my brow a little if he needs to stop talking.

“With Sylvain he does panic a little… I give him the look and I have Kevin telling me I must get to the break because it’s a hard count. I’ll look and wink, I can’t move my hands and it has to be the eye not looking at the camera! It’s the only way I can do it… unless I know which camera is on which person, and if so, I can grab him.”

The presenters use a three-camera setup; one producing a wide shot, mainly for Perry as the programme anchor, and two which pick up single shots for the co-presenters and guests. Interviewees are placed to the right of Perry, with the other two presenters to her left. That way, the guest won’t have their back to anybody.

“The hardest time is on the grid because everything changes. The frequency changes slightly, we have some interference, it’s noisy, you’re getting bumped around and hit in the head by cameras. But this is the favourite bit for people watching, right before the race.

“I want to capture that vibe and get as many interviews as we can, follow the stories and pick up on things being said.

“It’s really vibrant and I hope it comes across. We want it to be like you’re down the pub with us. People say, ‘we feel like we know you really well, but we don’t’. But you do, because we are what you see. We’re genuine. It’s a nice, relaxed format which works very well.”

Emmett reads and researches everything he can pre-race weekend across every medium, including in Spanish and Italian. He collects rider facts, watches the previous year’s race and has a spreadsheet full of information. He also draws a track map.

“I like to know where all the advertising boards are because that’s corner identification to know where you’re at with tight cameras angles,” Emmett expands. “If you can spot a little Monster sign, or Motul sign, ah that’s this corner. There’s a printed map, I get sent it, but I need to do it myself.”

Coming in as an ex-racer, Hodgson has continued to grow in his role after taking the spot vacated by Julian Ryder in 2018.

“It took me a while to understand this, but I used to do too much homework,” Hodgson admits. “I had too many stats. I’m not the stats man, I’m the ex-rider. I don’t need to say that it’s a rider’s third podium of the season, that’s not my job. I need to be saying, I’m watching this rider, and this is what I’m seeing. That’s what I bring to the team.”

There’s visual cues between Hodgson and Emmett so they know the other needs to jump on the mic. However, such is their chemistry, it’s not needed too often.

“It’s more of a hand signal, Hodgson said. “But honestly it works naturally anyway and we know each other so well that we can bounce off each other. Of course, you’re going to cross and say something at the same time, but it doesn’t happen often.

“Occasionally, I’ll be saying something and he’ll signal when he wants to come in and vice versa. If I’m rambling, I’ll finish up as soon as I can. Or sometimes he’ll jump across. It’s funny, you get to know each other so well. I spend more time with Gav than I do my wife!”

Emmett adds, “It happens [talking over each other] because it’s a sport where milliseconds matter and things happen. But we always get back into the rhythm. “As a lead commentator, you must be clear, spell things out because not everybody is an expert, and you must prepare. Don’t go into any race with a blank piece of paper. It’s not a script, it’s just notes because you can’t prepare for a last lap battle, but you can in terms of background knowledge.”

TUNE IN…

There are only four MotoGP rounds remaining in 2024 and the stage is set for another showdown between reigning two-time champion Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. Both men have eight races (four Sprints / four GPs) to battle it out for the right to be crowned World Champion.

• All of the action will be live and exclusive on TNT Sports and streaming service Discovery+.
• Oct 18-20 Phillip Island (Australia)
• Oct 25-27 Chang International (Thailand)
• Nov 1-3 Sepang (Malaysia) Nov 13-15 Valencia (Spain)