J.O.U.R.N.A.L.

J.O.U.R.N.A.L. is a motorsport publication. Officially, J.O.U.R.N.A.L is an backronym for Journal of Underdogs' Rejectful Named Autoracing Leagues.

History

The publication was originally called The Grand Prix Journal and was founded in 1977, first publishing in September that year. In March 1996, Northwind Publishing, publishers of the publication, declared banckruptcy. At this point, a few disgruntled staff from rival publication The Generic Times, consisting of Jason O'Brian, Ugo Robertson, and Nick ArnalL decided to buy the publication, renaming it J.O.U.R.N.A.L. The first edition published in April 1996.

In October 2000, the publication became part of Catalyst Media group, having purchasing the publication.

Reputation, content

J.O.U.R.N.A.L is known for its speculative content, launching and spreading many rumours about the series it covers, as well as covering the day-to-day events in the racing world.

After the disappearance of other publications, such as the Japanese Autosport or Some Publication, J.O.U.R.N.A.L became the de facto main source for racing news.

The highly speculative nature of the publication of course means that their reports often turn out wrong, but the usual professionalism and high level of information still make it a choice read. J.O.U.R.N.A.L also controls an online version and a Twitter account.

The paper was however often criticized for having an anti-Sunshine bias for it's F1RWRS reporting.

Racing series covered

The main championship covered by J.O.U.R.N.A.L is the Formula One Rejects Microprose Grand Prix Series, the first high-level series covered by the publication, which they have covered since 2014. They were notably the first to confirm Pac Racing Team's entry to the Bathurst Enduro that season.

J.O.U.R.N.A.L have also sporadically covered the Formula 1 Rejects World Race Series, especially since early 2015.