As a former rally driver and the current TV producer of the CARS series,
here is the best advice I have for drivers wanting to get on TV as it is
currently produced in North America.

1. Drive Fast. If your car won't go really fast, at least be spectacular.
Patrick Richard has never competed in a rally where he wasn't included in
the TV show even before he became a factory driver. His driving was (and
is) over the top and TV producers and rally fans love to watch. I've seen
P1 Justies driven so flamboyantly that we just have to include them in
our shows. On the other hand, class winners are often successful due to
thoughtful, well-paced and conservative performances. I'm not giving
advice on how to win, just how to get on TV.

2. If you must crash, please do so on camera. If you see the backside of
banners at the side of the course, there's a good bet that a camera
position is coming up. Some drivers take that as a cautionary note. 'This
must be a gotcha, better slow down.' My guys may have cruised through the
rest of the stage but they are flat out on the edge of control in front
of the cameras. Andrew Havas is a classic adherent to this principle. No
one can always drive that way, but the camera loves him.

3. Don't feel shunned if you don't get interviewed. We probably wouldn't
use it anyway. We probably only air 10% of all the time we waste of the
top drivers at service. Truth is you don't know what is significant until
the event is over and the scores are in. If you think I'm missing a story
line during the event, please draw it to my attention. Sometimes it works
and I'll gratefully hustle over and do an interview or more likely we'll
look for illustrative footage to make your point in editing. 

4 Public Relations. Don't whine - inform. The Canadian teams are getting
pretty good at this and our shows are improving because of it. Instead of
post-broadcast complaints about lack of coverage, give me your timely
inside perspective on what happened. I don't want a press release telling
me who won and what the weather was like and absolutely don't need a
photograph - just a few lines of hardcore insight that will make my
announcers sound more intelligent. 'We probably lost 30-45 seconds by
driving out 3kms on a right front flat.' That sort of thing. Canadian P3
driver Steve Walkington always writes sends a report 'the View from P3' a
few days after each CARS rally and his insight invariably forms the
outline of how we report that class on TV. 

5. In-Car cameras. Don't wait for the TV crew to put a camera in your
car. Until you're regularly cracking the top five overall, it's not going
to happen. Buy a good two-piece camera/recorder unit, mount it properly
and tie it into your intercom system. At worst you'll get a good
souvenir. At best, when you get some great footage, offer it to the
producer. Similarly, if a fan shows you an awesome shot of your car and
you can get a copy to the production company within a day or two of the
rally, you stand a good chance of being included. Another tip: Don't make
us plough though 4 hours of stages to find the bit where you almost
nearly spun. Cue the tap to the big incident.

ONLY FACTORY TEAMS GET IN THE SHOWS. I have never produced rally for
SCCA, but I've done lots of racing for them and I never received
instructions about who to put in and who to leave out. Same deal in
Canada. Subaru Canada and Yokohama have been our excellent sponsors for
many years and have never even hinted that I shouldn't say Pirelli or
Volkswagen. The top teams get the lion's share of exposure not because
they pay but because they ARE the top teams. They've got the best drivers
in the fastest cars and generally put on the best show.

Please accept apologies if this all sounds patronizing. That is not my
intention. I'm a passionate fan of the sport and truly believe that
you're all heroes. During my career as a driver, I was never more than a
midfield runner. While it always seemed very fast to me in the car, as a
TV director, I can be objective enough to know that I was one of those
guys I never put in the show.

Lawrence Partington
TV2GO Toronto