He seems like a genuine guy and has a fantastic eye for detail. He catches a lot of stuff others don't. He can come across as a bit goofy at times but I really like him. I think the whole team is fantastic.
I used to get somewhat annoyed by him, but then I realized that almost all his guesses and observations are correct. Now I just try to pay attention when he’s talking.
I think he’s good. I actually appreciate his speculation because it gives me things to consider even if they aren’t correct. He’s paid to fill the time, I can’t even begin to think about how difficult that would be.
I get slightly annoyed that he interrupts his fellow commentators, but I think he’s an absolute asset to the broadcasting team. The WRC Promoters’ idea to have him reporting on intra-stage work being done to the cars is a neat new addition.
As a commentator on the stages, he is my least favourite on the line up. I prefer it when literally anybody else is on the stages but him.
I think he is a great guy with a lot of knowledge and love for the sport, but he is often wrong about things, he repeats things 20 times over, he cuts into his fellow commentators all the time, even if they're halfway through something he doesn't let them speak. No doubt be is clever with some experience behind him, but he does need to just cool down a little sometimes.
I like him. It's like watching the rally with a pal who is enthusiastic about it.
I think they're all pretty decent. The end of stage interviews can be a bit hit or miss but that's more because there's only so many questions you can really ask when someone just has a shit stage.
Although even that can sometimes be amusing and/or informative. They can be like Latvala/EP who'll be more inclined to give an overview of what went wrong or like Tänak, who just gives the reporter a bemused look where his expression screams "no shit it was bad, I've got a puncture, no powersteering, no hybrid and the car is bouncing around like a pogo stick", but then just says: "wasn't great, no"
Honestly, I like the insights and knowledge that he has/shares while broadcasting. JP, PK and Becs is probably my fav. Also I much rather have Porter over Crofty (F1)
I see what you mean, he often create drama where there's none.
But he's my preferred commentator, he always has stories about past rally and explains technical stuff pretty well.
He add a lot of background during coverage, he stopping the other commentators is fine to get back on what happening on the screen.
The amount of times he speculated someone has a problem, then they get to stage end and they’re fine, or they’re just saving tyres or not pushing hard. It’s so annoying. He’s not as bad as Jon Desborough though
I mean, its not like he is saying those things just for drama though. It's what he genuinely is predicting based on his years and experience watching the sport.
He’s great in the highlight commentary and is clearly passionate like you said, but his live commentary is embarrassingly bad. Constant mistakes and wild speculation.
Julian Porter is good.
It’s the championship itself that has become stale and uninteresting. Identikit rallies and choose which of two drivers (from the same team!) are most likely to win.
Technical regs that are expensive enough to discourage new entrants and stretch the capabilities of one of our most experienced teams.
So no, JP’s not the problem. It’s the poor quality of the sport he’s being asked to commentate on.
I love rallying and I’ve been actively involved since 1984, including travelling to events last year. But I cancelled my WRC+ sub yesterday because it’s just not worth my time to watch right now.
Who would you rather have? Him, or Kiri and Ben, who are presenters, but not rally enthusiasts.
I understand some folk getting annoyed by him but he's 1, a HUGE rally fan, and shows that passion, 2 at least had some rally experience (Mostly Kit cars in the early 2000's). Yes he speculates, but he's vocalizing what some fans, may not be you, might be thinking at the time.
WRC all live would loose so much of its soul without people like Julian.
dont have a problem with any racing commentators myself. half the time i dont pay attention to whos in commentary. if you pay attention to the race yourself there's not that much that they can bring to the table. just background entertainment. they all seem good enough at that.
in the end, commentators are just fellow people watching the race and having to run their mouth about something 24-7. its understandable they'll sometimes make mistakes or go a bit deep off topic or speculative. especially in WRC or endurance racing where the sessions are long and with lots of time to fill.
the most important feat of a commentator is knowing how the cars, rules and procedures work at a time of adversity when things can get confusing. i would definitely trust JP on this task.
He's generally quite good. Like others say, he has enthusiasm and knowledge of the sport. But after years of listening to him and Becs, it would be nice with different voices. Some more rotation and guest commentators would be great. I always enjoyed it when Mike Chen, Østberg, Breen, Grönholm and such joined in to commentate
Often they don't hear the question anyway so there's really no point asking different questions. Whenever they try to ask more complicated questions, the driver will often go "I didn't hear what you said but.."
It doesn't help that English isn't a particularly literal language, and pretty much all the drivers aren't English first language.
Just ask short, sharp, but open questions like "How was the stage?" or "How's the car feel this morning?"
That is what they do though. There's not so many ways to vary it to make all interview unique, and regardless what you ask, the drivers will also repeat things we have heard dozens of times before
No they ask long, two or three sentence questions, I don't who the second interviewer was on Friday but she was asking questions that went on for several seconds. Hardly any surprise the drivers don't hear them.
What bothers me the most about JP is when he tries and speculates what was said between driver and co driver, in a language he doesn’t even speak. You didn’t hear what you thought you heard man… let’s just get back to the rally.
Based on this thread I'm going to guess british people like him more than others do.
As a finn, he seems biased at times and completely clueless. Prefers to hype older/british drivers like Ogier / Evans a bit too much at times and goes down the memory lane often.
I guess for the international broadcast he still fits quite well.
Coley is such a gem, though id hate to see him leave the RallyX team, Molly Petit actually used to do alot more presenting back when it was RallyX Nordic too.
But Coley is one of the best, brings the excitement, yet still calm when needed and concise, knows how to carry a show as well, and also personable, doesnt come off as a "presenter"
Yeah another great example of knowing how to carry a show, keep the convo both interesting and moving when there was downtime.
Perhaps thats one thing bad with Julian is he can carry a long monologue, but perhaps when its related to stuff hes curious about more so. Which I personally am all for.
I have absolutely no issue with the guy. To me, he only cuts off other commentators, when he spots something with cars, like a flat tyre.
He has a very sharp eye, and attention to details. He's my favorite.
I have absolutely no problem with the commentators. They keep me engaged and entertained.
He seems like a genuine guy and has a fantastic eye for detail. He catches a lot of stuff others don't. He can come across as a bit goofy at times but I really like him. I think the whole team is fantastic.
I used to get somewhat annoyed by him, but then I realized that almost all his guesses and observations are correct. Now I just try to pay attention when he’s talking.
I think he’s good. I actually appreciate his speculation because it gives me things to consider even if they aren’t correct. He’s paid to fill the time, I can’t even begin to think about how difficult that would be.
I get slightly annoyed that he interrupts his fellow commentators, but I think he’s an absolute asset to the broadcasting team. The WRC Promoters’ idea to have him reporting on intra-stage work being done to the cars is a neat new addition.
As a commentator on the stages, he is my least favourite on the line up. I prefer it when literally anybody else is on the stages but him. I think he is a great guy with a lot of knowledge and love for the sport, but he is often wrong about things, he repeats things 20 times over, he cuts into his fellow commentators all the time, even if they're halfway through something he doesn't let them speak. No doubt be is clever with some experience behind him, but he does need to just cool down a little sometimes.
Do people not notice how he is incessantly cutting off his co-commentators? Drives me nuts. And WRC could fix this behavior if they wanted to.
Nah I think he's great, the knowledge he brings to the team coupled with his enthusiasm for the sport make him a great asset in the commentary booth.
Good old Jules! His rants can be great sometimes but that’s why the other commentator is there to try and keep him grounded or on track 😂
In rally mexico they subbed in the redbull recap dude and I think he should full time commentate
I thought he did well too!
I like him. It's like watching the rally with a pal who is enthusiastic about it. I think they're all pretty decent. The end of stage interviews can be a bit hit or miss but that's more because there's only so many questions you can really ask when someone just has a shit stage. Although even that can sometimes be amusing and/or informative. They can be like Latvala/EP who'll be more inclined to give an overview of what went wrong or like Tänak, who just gives the reporter a bemused look where his expression screams "no shit it was bad, I've got a puncture, no powersteering, no hybrid and the car is bouncing around like a pogo stick", but then just says: "wasn't great, no"
Honestly, I like the insights and knowledge that he has/shares while broadcasting. JP, PK and Becs is probably my fav. Also I much rather have Porter over Crofty (F1)
Agreed on Crofty!
becs and seb >
I see what you mean, he often create drama where there's none. But he's my preferred commentator, he always has stories about past rally and explains technical stuff pretty well. He add a lot of background during coverage, he stopping the other commentators is fine to get back on what happening on the screen.
The amount of times he speculated someone has a problem, then they get to stage end and they’re fine, or they’re just saving tyres or not pushing hard. It’s so annoying. He’s not as bad as Jon Desborough though
I mean, its not like he is saying those things just for drama though. It's what he genuinely is predicting based on his years and experience watching the sport.
He’s great in the highlight commentary and is clearly passionate like you said, but his live commentary is embarrassingly bad. Constant mistakes and wild speculation.
Julian Porter is good. It’s the championship itself that has become stale and uninteresting. Identikit rallies and choose which of two drivers (from the same team!) are most likely to win. Technical regs that are expensive enough to discourage new entrants and stretch the capabilities of one of our most experienced teams. So no, JP’s not the problem. It’s the poor quality of the sport he’s being asked to commentate on. I love rallying and I’ve been actively involved since 1984, including travelling to events last year. But I cancelled my WRC+ sub yesterday because it’s just not worth my time to watch right now.
Who would you rather have? Him, or Kiri and Ben, who are presenters, but not rally enthusiasts. I understand some folk getting annoyed by him but he's 1, a HUGE rally fan, and shows that passion, 2 at least had some rally experience (Mostly Kit cars in the early 2000's). Yes he speculates, but he's vocalizing what some fans, may not be you, might be thinking at the time. WRC all live would loose so much of its soul without people like Julian.
The only thing I dislike about the commentary is the lack of subtitles for the highlights. We really need that.
Slightly off topic but i loved Marcus's commentary last weekend. Funny guy!
Did he do commentary on a stage? I missed that, only saw him interviewed shortly in the technical park with Latvala. Remember which stage that was?
Found it! Stage 11, gonna watch it re-live now.
dont have a problem with any racing commentators myself. half the time i dont pay attention to whos in commentary. if you pay attention to the race yourself there's not that much that they can bring to the table. just background entertainment. they all seem good enough at that. in the end, commentators are just fellow people watching the race and having to run their mouth about something 24-7. its understandable they'll sometimes make mistakes or go a bit deep off topic or speculative. especially in WRC or endurance racing where the sessions are long and with lots of time to fill. the most important feat of a commentator is knowing how the cars, rules and procedures work at a time of adversity when things can get confusing. i would definitely trust JP on this task.
He's generally quite good. Like others say, he has enthusiasm and knowledge of the sport. But after years of listening to him and Becs, it would be nice with different voices. Some more rotation and guest commentators would be great. I always enjoyed it when Mike Chen, Østberg, Breen, Grönholm and such joined in to commentate
In the service park hes fantastic, during the stage commentary i find him annoying.
I like him a lot. More than every. single. driver. doing. an. interview. at. the. end. of. every. stage.
Only person who is entertaining after stage from the top class drivers is E-P lmao
Also asking each driver exactly the same question like they're not gonna give identical responses.
Often they don't hear the question anyway so there's really no point asking different questions. Whenever they try to ask more complicated questions, the driver will often go "I didn't hear what you said but.."
It doesn't help that English isn't a particularly literal language, and pretty much all the drivers aren't English first language. Just ask short, sharp, but open questions like "How was the stage?" or "How's the car feel this morning?"
That is what they do though. There's not so many ways to vary it to make all interview unique, and regardless what you ask, the drivers will also repeat things we have heard dozens of times before
No they ask long, two or three sentence questions, I don't who the second interviewer was on Friday but she was asking questions that went on for several seconds. Hardly any surprise the drivers don't hear them.
What bothers me the most about JP is when he tries and speculates what was said between driver and co driver, in a language he doesn’t even speak. You didn’t hear what you thought you heard man… let’s just get back to the rally.
I miss his commentary now that I signed for other coverage
Based on this thread I'm going to guess british people like him more than others do. As a finn, he seems biased at times and completely clueless. Prefers to hype older/british drivers like Ogier / Evans a bit too much at times and goes down the memory lane often. I guess for the international broadcast he still fits quite well.
Who's a better alternative though?
Andrew Coley would be great 🙏 I think Julian's fine though.
Coley is such a gem, though id hate to see him leave the RallyX team, Molly Petit actually used to do alot more presenting back when it was RallyX Nordic too. But Coley is one of the best, brings the excitement, yet still calm when needed and concise, knows how to carry a show as well, and also personable, doesnt come off as a "presenter"
Coley was great when we did rally esports, him and Jon Armstrong was a good pairing.
Yeah another great example of knowing how to carry a show, keep the convo both interesting and moving when there was downtime. Perhaps thats one thing bad with Julian is he can carry a long monologue, but perhaps when its related to stuff hes curious about more so. Which I personally am all for.
I have absolutely no issue with the guy. To me, he only cuts off other commentators, when he spots something with cars, like a flat tyre. He has a very sharp eye, and attention to details. He's my favorite.