Magnus Racing’s Guide to Watching the 12 Hours of Sebring
Friday, March 18, 2011 at 11:45AM 
We are still kind of new to the American Le Mans Series, and we are coming in during a major change in the way the series delivers its content to viewers. Basically, in order to see races live now, you must watch them on ESPN3.com.
Confused about this? We sure are. Here’s the long and the short of it: no, not everyone will be able to see the races on ESPN3.com, and yes, you must watch it on your computer.
Since the Magnus Nation is growing like wildfire, we attempted to log in to ESPN3.com in our trailer here at Sebring International so we would be able to help our legions of fans with any issues they may come across while attempting to access the site. We found the smartest person available – Shannon, our team manager – and he attempted to sign up on ESPN3.com so that the race broadcast could be seen in the Magnus Racing trailer and pit wagon. We normally have race broadcasts on at both locations during races.
Unfortunately for us, Shannon wasn’t able to get very far in the registration process of ESPN3.com. After muttering phrases such as “they don’t make it very easy, do they” and following it with something like “This is way too difficult” Shannon pronounced that it was impossible and stopped trying.
Having given up, we then enlisted someone who is better at dealing with computers and electronic things – Thad, our data guy. After an aborted attempt in which he found out that the internet provider at Sebring is not supported by ESPN3.com, he tried a variety of other ways to try and procure an internet host that might be willing to provide ESPN3.com by offering fistfuls of cash. This also was unsuccessful.
As a last resort, our PR guy tried to go online with a Verizon 4G card to access ESPN3.com. But as the track is pretty removed from civilization, he was unable to connect to the internet.
So, since we weren’t able to find a way to register with ESPN3.com, we’re probably not the people you should be listening to for advice on this. Some of our friends and family have told us they have been able to register, and will be watching when we qualify today at 3:15 PM ET. As a result, we can only assume they are smarter than us.
But if you are outside of the U.S.A, you’re in luck! You will be able to watch all the races live on americanlemans.com. If you are in the U.S.A., that player will not work for you.
However, if you can find your way to a college campus or a military base, you are in luck again – as ESPN3.com is offered on college campuses and military bases with no restrictions. And apparently if you own an Xbox, you can also watch the race live on Xbox 360. So if you are over the age of 30, get your younger brother / nephew / friend’s kid with an Xbox to get set up with Sebring coverage. Also, you can also get excellent live audio coverage of qualifying and the race at www.radiolemans.com.
If all else fails…you can join in on our Live Chat which will be on magnusracing.com, or follow us on twitter (@MagnusRacing), Facebook (facebook.com/magnusracing).
Reader Comments (7)
wait, all is not lost!
Magnus fans can simply tune in on Sunday to ABC and watch a re- braodcast of the 12 hour race masterfully edited down to 1.5 hours. just in case you really were not interested in all the real race action.