Live coverage on the internet of Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso's first IndyCar test attracted more than 2 million views on Wednesday, "as interest in the Spaniard’s progress captured the attention of fans," according to Jonathan Noble of MOTORSPORT. Although Alonso's first experience at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a "private test" arranged by McLaren-Honda-Andretti, the circuit "pulled out all the stops with a proper broadcast" of the event involving a studio, in-depth interviews and "fly-on-the-wall access." The test was broadcast live on YouTube and Facebook, and generated an "unprecedented level of interest." Reaching peaks of more than 70,000 concurrent viewers at times, "the official figures recorded by YouTube and Facebook showed a combined overall viewership of 2,149,000 views." This included 950,000 views on IndyCar’s official Facebook channel and 1.2 million viewers on the official IndyCar channel on YouTube. These numbers "are in excess of what many popular categories" -- like F1 and MotoGP -- get for race highlights and incidents, and proved that Alonso’s IndyCar effort has "captured the imagination of fans." It has "already prompted suggestions that F1 could learn lessons from what has happened" (MOTORSPORT, 5/4). In Barcelona, Piedrabuena & Marchi reported Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles said, "This is a sensation around the world. This is a great champion taking on a totally unknown challenge. It's a race that has a great international history and for IndyCar it is an opportunity to present ourselves to the world again" (MUNDO DEPORTIVO, 5/4).
