A LUCRATIVE $1.5m contract to produce live television coverage of a prestigious racing series will see the North-East flag flying 7,000 miles away from home.

Media company XCel Broadcast will be living life in the fast lane as the company assumes responsibility for beaming the six-race supercar series that tours several Formula One circuits in Asia.

The broadcasting deal will see the Middlesbrough-based firm supplying worldwide coverage of all the action from the Blancpain GT Asia Series for the next two years.

XCel managing director, Dave Roberts, said: “This is a real coup for Teesside.

“The Blancpain GT Asia Series is a very high-profile event on the motorsports calendar and to think Teesside will be responsible for the live TV pictures bouncing around the world from iconic F1 circuits is fantastic.”

The company will fly the equivalent of twice around the globe on their travels to install and operate trackside and pit lane cameras, commentary box facilities, control rooms and satellite uplinks for the second season of the series.

A team of 60 technical and production staff will work each race, providing everything seen and heard on the series coverage from television pictures and internet streams to commentary and race graphics.

The championship starts this weekend at Malaysia’s Sepang Circuit, which has held F1 races between 1999 and 2017 and will host MotoGP motorbike racing later this year.

Being a former vice president of Asian TV network Fox Sports, Middlesbrough-born Mr Roberts has experience of what to expect when working abroad.

He added: “In 2015 in Malaysia, a camera just 20 yards from me was struck by lightning while we were on air.

“This took out half of our track cameras so we had to work through the storm just to get a few of them working again. It’s probably the hairiest experience I’ve ever worked in.

“The working conditions will be tough, however it’s fantastic to think we have again been chosen by SRO Motorsports and we’ll be flying the Teesside flag in the glitz and glamour of professional motor racing.”

After Malaysia, the race calender continues to Thailand in May, the famous Suzuka and Fuji circuits in Japan over the summer, before ending with two races in China.

Mr Roberts said: “In our case, being 7,000 miles away from some of the racing circuits meant we had to jump a few hurdles, but if you have the skills, the talent and the determination, you can succeed anywhere.”

Qualifying and races over the weekend will be broadcast live and for free on Blancpain GT Series Asia’s website and Facebook page for UK viewers.