Review: Autosport and Motorsport News

I subscribe to both Autosport and Motorsport News, the UK’s two leading publications on auto racing, because both have regular WRC coverage. If you live in the US, and have a couple hundred bucks to spare, you might want to sign up for them.

Autosport’s dominant focus is Formula 1, but they have a regular section for rally news. It’s written by Anthony Peacock and David Evans, and the latter brings a lot of experience and perspective to the rally reports. The design is clean, the printing is high-quality and the tone is polished. However, in between rallies there is very little WRC coverage. But when there is, the rally reports are quite entertaining. David Evans captures a lot of the stuff that happens in off the stages.

Motorsport News is printed like a newspaper (but smaller), so its quality isn’t as nice. There are more items on rally than Autosport, but the tone is a bit looser. The difference between the two is like that between Time Magazine and the New York Post. Jerry Williams and Richard Rodgers are their main reporters. It’s fun though; the commentary’s got more humor to it, the pictures can be hilarious, and there’s a crossword puzzle in the back. Bonus!

There are two downsides. One is the price. They’re both weekly publications, and though each issue averages out to $2 roughly, that works out to a big chunk of dough. My local bookstores don’t carry them either. Two is the overseas delay. I’m in California, so it takes about two weeks for them to arrive. It’s better late than never, but that’s the reason I’m sometimes very behind on my rally news.

Bottom line is that these are much better than only receiving RallyWorld. There’s great writing, relevant news articles, colorful rally reviews, and reporting on the sport’s problems and controversies. They’re both available through Haymarket Publications in the US. And if you’re lucky enough to live in the UK, they have neat-o free gift offers for new subscribers.

July 2, 2007. Appreciation, Reviews. 1 comment.