The thing about age

So here’s the thing. I was watching a review at the weekend of the 1993 Indycar World Series. You know the one with Mansell winning it straight after his F1 championship. It was quite well known.

For me it was the finest season of motorsport, ever, anywhere. I watched a full replay of the Indy 500 that year on YouTube the other day and I was glued throughout. With all due respect, I can’t do that these days with Formula One.

Then it struck me. The leading contenders that year were ‘old’ when you compare that to the present day. Think back to ’93 – Mansell, Fittipaldi, (Mario) Andretti. All over 40. Some over 50. Yet they were still at the sharp end, fighting tooth and nail. I think the battle between Mansell and Fittipaldi at Cleveland’s airport circuit was one of the finest battles ever in motorsport history. Gripping, edgy, lively, gutsy… it was all there.

So this got me wondering about age in motorsport, hence my blog today.

In other sports, physically you are limited when it comes to age. Your body performs better at a younger age – fact. But what about motorsport? Surely if that were true then younger drivers at the time – Paul Tracey for example – would have performed better in Indycar 1993. Or was it just inexperience?

Is motorsport - particularly F1 – now almost obsessed with young drivers? Are ‘junior programmes’ REALLY necessary or is it just based on commercial interests? It’s an interesting debate.

I’d love to put a series of drivers from teenage to 50 in the same car and see who would come out on top. Would younger age beat experience? Intriguing…

Help me get on the grid (well, sort of)

So the motorsport season at large – with the exception of a few – is coming to an end. It’s been incredible once again. Across the categories there’s been classic close racing, strong grids, a last race BTCC title decider and a new F1 champion (well, maybe!).

For me, as most of the teams get to enjoy a small amount of peace and quiet before next season, it’s an opportune moment to address the motorsport industry with a personal message – I can help you in 2017.

Let me explain why. In a nutshell, my time in motorsport isn’t finished yet. I’m 32 and I have many more skills to give now than I ever have. In other words…my motorsport mission is incomplete.

I’m a motorsport PR and marketing specialist primarily, although I’m not working in the industry at the moment. So what actual motorsport experience do I have? In 2007, I was press officer for the Sibsport independent team in the BTCC, who ran an ex-Team Halfords Honda Integra. It was a great experience and something that I will remember forever. I got involved with everything, from writing pre and post-race reports to arranging local TV interviews. I even created a competition that, to my knowledge, no one else had ever run in the BTCC.

Away from this, I’ve worked for some of the world’s leading motorsport suppliers when I was working in a leading motorsport marketing agency. This included gearbox manufacturers, brake specialists, race car builders and even a fire safety firm. I also worked agency side for Donington Park, where I played a key role in an exciting BTCC media day at Alton Towers in 2012.

From car launches to brochures, I've got a lot of skills honed in motorsport

I’m active in motorsport on a personal level too. Together with this blog, I have various social media outlets. I also do a lot of motorsport photography when I get the chance. I’ve even got a National B racing license so I can pretend I’m the new Ayrton Senna (one can dream!).

So what is the point of me writing this blog? Well, just to let you know I’m in the market and would happily discuss terms with anyone. Freelance, weekends or even full time…I need to get back into the paddock.

Thanks for reading; I hope this catches someone’s eye.

Jon Bennett

Twitter: @jbautosport

Email: jonlbennett@yahoo.co.uk

A true inspiration

I’m writing this just as the 2016 Rio Paralympics is coming to an end. I’ve been so busy recently that I sadly haven’t seen much of it first hand, so I have had to keep up to speed with things via the various sport news apps I have on my phone.

The inspiring stories from these amazing athletes are never ending. I’m probably biased due to my love of motorsport - as you’ll all probably have guessed by now – but the story coming from across the Atlantic regarding Alex Zinardi has blown me away. Perhaps though it’s the general public’s reaction to his achievements that has made me realise what a true hero figure he actually is.

By way of a background, if you don’t know his story, here’s a brief run down.His F1 career started with Jordan in 1991, ending in 1994 after the Lotus team folded. After a brief stint driving in sportscars, he joined the US-based CART series. He won the championship in 1997 and 1998 before switching back to F1 for a year with Williams. He eventually returned to CART.

On September 15^th 2001, at a race that was held as a ‘memorial’ to the terrorist attacks in the USA 4 days earlier, he was involved in an accident at the CART race at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany. Gravely injured, his legs were amputated - one at and one above the knee. Having been so close to death, it must have been so easy to give up. But that’s not the Zinardi way.

He began a rapid, tough rehabilitation. He even designed his own legs. With hand controls, he did ceremonial laps in a CART machine just two years after his accident and his time would have put him fifth of the grid in the race that same race. This inspired him to make a racing return in touring cars, winning races from 2005-2009 before he retired. At the same time, he started handcycling, for which he is now a legend.  

His emotional reaction to the gold medal in the Men’s Time Trial T5 at the Rio Paralympics led to an amazing reaction across Social Media and it was clear it impacted a lot of people. One of my favourite quotes given after this latest Paralympic triumph, he said: “Day by day I managed to regain control and strength, regain some confidence and concentrate on different things and here I am now.”

Of all the Social Media comments I’ve seen, this one had the most impact - from Channel4's 'The Last Leg' – and I don’t think I’m the only one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAXBOcv6AS4

Zinardi certainly has inspired me over the years. When you’ve been through what he has and he’s so positive, it teaches us all a bit of lesson.

#inspiredbyzinardi

Put the brakes on, F1

As I do every year, I looked forward to the revealing of most of the F1 cars ahead of the new season this week.

The rule changes for the 2014 season have been a talking point for a long time now and represent one of the biggest changes the sport has seen in decades. And what a change it proved to be when the teams (apart from Lotus) turned up in Jerez, Spain for the first test of the year.

After day one of the test, Roger Benoit, one of the most experienced correspondents in F1 circles, was quoted on the website Grandprix.com that the initial day of testing was ‘embarrassing’. Most cars only completed a handful of laps, with some not even managing that. 

Looks only a mother could love? 2014 noses are causing a stir

Before the cars even took to the track however, it was clear that in most cases the beauty of an F1 car's design has now largely been ruined by the odd and really quite stupid noses sections that have resulted from rule changes. They also look dangerous and as I write this the governing body is seeking reassurance that the designs of the noses will be safe, even though the cars have passed crash tests.

When I was growing up, F1 cars looked fantastic - they were beautiful machines and they sounded amazing too. Now their designs and sounds are not driven by passion, more science. But passion is the essence, the origin of F1. Not science.

Whilst the ‘glory days’ of expensive launches involving the Spice Girls and unlimited testing are now long gone (unfortunate but understandable), F1 really needs to re-invent itself to the fans, especially after the latter part of last season which was to everyone apart from Vettel's fans, really bland. These new rule changes have so far worsened my ever fading view of the sport I grew up loving and always wanted to be part of. I cannot imagine that F1 will attract new fans in significant numbers at the moment. It is also obvious by the lack of sponsors on cars that companies aren't that thrilled either.

It's surely time to revert back to a simpler way of thinking and to stop messing around with the rules every 5 minutes.

It will be interesting to see how the season pans out. All I can say is that the racing better be good...otherwise F1's future will surely be questioned. 

Patience F1Team

It's a few days after the 2013 Formula One season has come to an end. Personally I'm glad it is over following the dominance of a certain Mr Vettel, yet for other reasons, I feel this season was refreshing. This was pretty much down to one driver - Frenchman Romain Grosjean. 

Towards the end of the 2012 season, Grosjean (or 'Goujon' as my girlfriend calls him) was under more pressure than any driver on the grid. Whilst undeniably quick, he'd was involved in several high profile accidents and he was being verbally targeted by drivers up and down the grid following a series of collisions that led to him being banned for one race. I've been a big supporter of Grosjean since he joined 'Ice Man' Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus at the start of 2012 but at the end of the season, even I thought his days were numbered and he was off to race in sportscars. 

But Lotus had patience, something which most F1 teams don't have (or can't have, depending on how you look at it). Fantastically, their patience was more than rewarded. As Raikkonen tailed off, falling back and eventually not taking part in the last two races in 2013, the Lotus 'star' baton was rapidly passing on to Grosjean. 

Taking the fight to the dominant Red Bull's as best he could, Grosjean's performances in the latter part of the season were nothing less than spectacular, with some of his critics from 2012 becoming his praisers in 2013. Even the 4 time World Champion Vettel was impressed. Grosjean was, without doubt, one of the biggest stars of 2013 - a titanic change to 12 months earlier. 

Formula One teams need money more than ever as the recession is still hitting the sport. This is why a driver like Pastor Maldonado, who many people find questionable as a front running driver yet has a serious amount of financial backing, is holding all the cards in terms of what's left of the remaining empty F1 cockpits (Lotus being one of them). In a world like this, it's so refreshing that a team like Lotus can be patient and trust in a driver turning things around, especially as their finances have been questioned too.

Other teams, even outside Formula One, should take this as a lesson from the faith Lotus have shown in Grosjean.

My First Race...15 Years Ago Today

It's a typical late British summer’s day. The weather is overcast – warm but with a bit of a chill in the air. I don't mind this though as this is my first experience of a motor race, live and in person. Little did I know at the time that this is a day that would affect my life in a big way.

 

The date is September 13^th 1998 – 15 years to the day before I wrote this blog post. It's a Sunday race day at the fastest race circuit in the country, Thruxton.

 

I had been to the track once before in passing with my Dad when we were coming back from London on the A303. I’d heard the race engine notes from inside the car and asked Dad to pull in.  We drove into the circuit and parked near the final chicane (Club). I remember climbing the little spectator bank and there, coming through the chicane, was The Stig!! Well, it was actually Ben Collins, who became the famous character from Top Gear. Ben was driving a Dallara F398 for the Intersport team and was competing in the 1998 Autosport British Formula Three championship.

 

I returned to the circuit in September, but this time, it was a proper race in that year’s F3 championship – round 14 to be exact. There was such an atmosphere and it was a real thrill to be experiencing a high octane race meeting live in the flesh. To be able to walk around the paddock, see into the garages, smell the fuel and meet the leading drivers was great – especially as a 15 year old.

Andrej Pavicevic, Fortec Motorsport

I actually remember very little about the race itself. The driver who shined for me was an Australian called Andrej Pavicevic. I’m pretty sure he qualified second and as he’d been very kind to me earlier in the day chatting to me about his car, I’d turned into a fan. The driver I’d followed all year however was a Brazilian, Enrique Bernoldi, who at the time was leading the championship. Unfortunately, Thruxton would mark a bad run of form for him, with a series of retirements losing him the championship to countryman Mario Haberfeld. However, Enrique still drove in Formula One a few years later, for the Orange Arrows team in 2001 and 2002. During the race I remember his distinctive yellow and blue Promatecme UK team car pulling over (or spinning, I can’t remember!) and Enrique walking back, dejected, through the grass towards the back of the paddock. This was pretty much the defining moment in the race and pretty much all I specifically remember.

The racing, the emotions, the smell, the noise all helped fuel my passion for the sport. It’s a day I’ll never forget and ironically I probably now have driven more laps around Thruxton than some of the drivers who were on the grid on that September day!

The race that could change the world

Motorsport has become cleaner, especially across Europe, with hybrids now fairly commonplace especially in sports car racing. But let’s be honest, it’s never really firmly grabbed the imagination.

Formula E could change the game. Due to launch next year in an 8-round series, this single seater concept could finally be a real answer to motorsport’s ‘green’ problem.

The man behind the series, Alejandro Agag, looks like a slick chap. He’s clearly got the right contacts and can make his mark politically. Plus Formula E is all about the green issue, promoting zero emissions, which is very much a current automotive industry focus.

The lack of emissions and engine sound also opens up a whole new world of potential circuits, with street races now a real possibility where traditional motorsport would not stand a chance.  A race in London is pencilled in for 2014 with the support of the legend that is Mayor Boris Johnson, with LA and Rome also included on the calendar.

Big brands are keen on the series too it seems, such as Michelin and Renault. The series also has some high profile series supporters.

It all sounds positive so far but in my view it needs other ingredients to work. It needs to capture a fan base and a TV audience. Without those two the sponsors won’t turn up and the investment will be lower. As we all know money rules, especially on four wheels.

An impressive TV deal is vital then, as is having some leading drivers to bring in an audience. It’s been mentioned, however, that the series should be focussing on advanced technology more so than good racing, but it’s my view that the two should run in parallel. If the racing proves dull, audiences will switch off, which would be a catalyst of failure.

Formula E is a step change in motorsport – but the fact it’s green doesn’t guarantee it will work.

Formula One, Cornwall and the first Lotus win...unofficially!

If someone said the word ‘Davidstow’ to you, there is a high probability that you’d probably think of cheese. However, there are some people out there…myself included…that think of an entirely different thing when that name is mentioned. I think of motorsport.

OK, so on the face of it, that seems rather a random thing to think about. But there is method to my madness.

Go back 60 years or so and if you’d mentioned the idea of the British Formula One Grand Prix being held in Cornwall, not everyone would have laughed it off. It’s a bit of a different story in 2013! With the pretty terrible road, rail and air links into the county (I speak with some authority on this!), the idea is practically impossible in the modern era.

But Davidstow holds a bit of a secret. Near Davidstow village a site was purchased by the RAF in 1941 which became an RAF Coastal Command airfield, known as RAF Davidstow Moor, which was active from 1942-1945. As was common post-war, the airfield’s perimeter roads and runways were transformed into a motor racing circuit following World War II, when the military no long needed the land.  The majority of the UK’s current circuits, such as Thruxton and Silverstone, started out in a similar fashion.

The Davidstow motor racing circuit opened in 1952 and held three Formula 1 races between 1954 and 1955. In its short life the circuit had two layouts, one 2.6 and the other 3.1 miles in length.  Events that took place at the venue included speed trials, F3, F2 and Formula Libra. Crowds went up to around 20,000 – much more than expected.

On the 'Back Straight' looking west on the old Davidstow circuit

Perhaps most notably, in a race that took place on August 2^nd, 1954, for F1 and F2 cars (although no F1 car turned up), John Coombs in a Lotus Mk8 won. Some regard this as Lotus’ first victory in an F1 race, but as the car that won was recognised as a sportscar, the victory was never official.

There was one main advantage to the Davidstow circuit. There was a lack of local populous, which meant limited noise issues. However, this advantage could also be seen as a disadvantage as it meant there was a lack of crowd, even though attendance figures at the few races that took place were positive as I mentioned earlier. The main disadvantage though, which would still be an issue today, is the location of the circuit.

It’s around 5 miles from the coast and it’s on the North edge of Bodmin Moor, meaning weather throughout the year can be a real issue – especially fog and heavy spells of rain.  This was in evidence during some of the races.

So could Davidstow ever host an F1 race again? Or even any type of motor race? Well, in a word, no. Too much investment would be involved and obviously there would be considerable protests about a race track being opened up on what is now classified as moorland. The South West remains poorly linked in terms on transport too, so long term, it probably wouldn’t work. It’s a shame though, because Davidstow represents the only circuit racing history this side of Castle Combe, which is East of Bristol…some 150 miles away.

So the short history of motor racing at Davidstow seems to forever remain just that…history. But a quirky one at that.

Autosport International impresses…

Last Friday I made my annual pilgrimage to the NEC in Birmingham to the 2013 Autosport International show. It’s an event that is an essential date in the diary if you’re in the industry and, to many, it symbolises the start of the racing season.

I went on the second of two trade days, so I can’t pass comment on either public day, but having seen the reports the show overall was clearly well attended. In this blog I’m not going to go into a huge amount of detail as I know a lot of you reading this will have been to the show this year, but what I am going to do is give some of my opinions into the positives and negatives of the show, influenced by my experience as a professional in the PR/marketing area of motorsport.

I spent some time over the weekend thinking about the one thing I’ll remember from this year’s show. It came to me quite quickly – I was really impressed with the quality of the cars on display. I’m not talking about the more promoted displays either, like the F1 grid or the Richard Burns collection of cars. I’m referring to the cars that were dotted around the show on all manner of stands. For example, my friends over at TrackDriver magazine brought a McLaren F1 GTR owned by Nick Mason, Classic Team Lotus had a stunning ex-Nigel Mansell F1 car, Radical showed off its new RXC and over on the Aurora Bearing Company stand the DeltaWing was on display – a car that is simply amazing in its radical nature. The cars undoubtedly draw people in to the stands, so as a promotional tool they are fantastic.

Whilst there were an awful lot of positives, I have to add some negatives in too. The first isn’t to do with the show itself, more the NEC. I have a real problem with the £10 parking charge – I’m going by train next year now I’ve had a tip off. It’s a pretty outrageous price, particularly when you consider the entry price isn’t exactly a bargain. I don’t know how some families on the public days can justify the expenditure – particularly if they are travelling far.  Secondly, some stands were totally overloaded with information which meant you couldn’t get a clear picture of what the company actually offered. Clearly, some companies overthink their stands, which is where they should look at hiring professional branding or marketing advisors to assist in producing displays that are much more audience focused.

The Dunlop/BTCC display at the 2013 Autosport International

Some of the stands this year however were fantastic; better than at previous shows from recollection. The best stand I’ve ever seen was a few years ago when Prodrive had a magnificent ‘clinical white’ stand, which was extremely eye catching (I dare say expensive too!). In 2013, I was really impressed in particular with the Dunlop/British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) display; it wasn’t overly complicated and was visually appealing with a small mock-up of the iconic ‘Dunlop Bridge’. There weren’t too many staff on the stand either, which leads me on to a topic that I continue to have issues with. I really feel that some companies could make better use of the staff that attend the show. Without naming any firms specifically, it was quite clear that some had far too many staff and, in some cases, the staff weren’t interacting effectively with visitors. I saw far too many visitors wondering around several stands without being approached by anyone. To me, this is a waste of perfectly good resource and those companies should be doing more to engage with the audience.

So what did the Autosport International teach me about the year ahead? Well, there are certainly a lot of exciting new projects underway and it was clear, particularly in the Autosport Engineering area of the show, that innovations continue industry-wide. It appears that motorsport is continuing to fight off the economic climate - after speaking to a journalist friend of mine, it is clear that the BTCC in particular is looking very healthy going into 2013. Having said that, there have been some casualties, such as the loss of the HRT F1 team and the potential loss of Ford/Arena in the World Touring Car Championship.

It will be interesting what 2013 brings. I’m already looking forward to the 2014 show – I hope it’s equally as good.

Vettel is at the back...but will it make much difference?

It's only a few hours until the Abu Dhabi GP and what probably would have been a fairly dull affair has turned into an interesting prospect, thanks to Seb Vettel being dropped from third on the grid right to the back.

This is obviously big news but given that he'll have over 50 laps to claw himself back, it's probably not as big as the news made it sound when the penalty was announced last night.

Red Bull clearly has the best car in F1 at the moment and he'll be able to slice through the field with relative ease I would have thought. And when the red mist decends, Vettel can really be on it. 

I doubt Vettel will get on the podium, but I don't think Alonso will take the championship lead. I hope the latter does make up the points difference as we have more chance of an exciting end of season battle.

It will be an interesting afternoon of action...and I have to record it! :(

Look out Goodwood...here comes Pentillie!

One of the biggest disadvantages, for me at least, about being born and living in the South West of England is the serious lack of motorsport activity taking place. For example, the closest 'proper' race circuit is at Castle Combe near Bristol - a two and a half hour drive from my home in Plymouth. Don't get me wrong though; I'm not slagging the South West off, far from it. It's a beautiful part of the world (despite the weather) and I'm really happy here. But the lack of motorsport has always impacted on me.

I was out with a friend a few weeks ago and noticed a sign by the side of a rural road promoting a 'festival of speed'. This took me by surprise a bit and I didn't really think about it again, until I saw a short report on BBC Spotlight (our local TV station) a couple of days ago. Instantly I knew this was the event that the sign I'd seen several days earlier related to - the inugeral Pentillie Festival of Speed, near Saltash in Cornwall.

After my experience at the British GP earlier this year at Silverstone, where the weather had caused chaos with the car parks, I wasn't going to take any chances here. It was only a thirty minute drive to the venue, Pentillie Castle, the other side of the river Tamar from Plymouth. I purposely got there early and I was glad I did - the fields where already muddy from a horrid day the day before, so I predicted a chaotic scene later in the day when everyone started to leave. Other than a bit of wheel spin, I parked without a problem - but was less positive when thinking about getting out later!

After quite a lengthy walk with all my photographic equipment, I got to a hairpin bend and saw some of the competitors practicing. This got busier, so I moved more towards the castle once the 'crossing' had opened for fifteen or so minutes after one of the practice sessions. This was a good decision as, in addition to seeing the cars continue up a different part of the course, there were static displays of some stunning cars (an old Mercedes W192 replica, a WRC Subaru Impreza, a 1930's Bentley to name a few), all set against a beautiful setting within the fine grounds of the castle. The views of the Tamar valley were simply stunning also, particularly as the weather had stayed dry and - amazingly - featured some sun too. After completing a lap of the course and achieving some photos I was happy with, I left early to avoid the traffic issues I'd predicted as I mentioned earlier.

A modified Mini at the Pentillie Festival of Speed 2012



The amount of people attending surpassed my expectations and I'm sure it made the organisers happy. A combination of a bank holiday, good weather and a great mix of cars proved popular.  For the first year it was fantastic in my opinion - with particular highlights being the stunning location, good signage, great toilet facilities and helpful staff. Good beer, too!

There were negatives too though, but these aren't meant to be overly critical as it was the first running of the event. There should be more crossings in the future, improved access via paths and (in an ideal world, which totally depends on budget) tarmaced car parks - but if Silverstone can't event afford this, Pentillie can never be expected to do the same.

I'm just delighted that (at last) a motorsport event, which plans to expand, has been put on in this part of the world. Long may it continue! Well done to the organisers.

Putting something back...the FOTA Forum

I was privileged to attend the FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) Forum in the evening of July 3^rd, held at the Williams F1 Conference Centre, in advance of the British GP.

I registered for the event quite randomly after seeing promotion on the web and I was thrilled to receive an email a few days later confirming my attendance.  It clearly was an event in demand!

After a thoroughly miserable drive up in the classic British summer weather (heavy rain), I arrived early at the gates to the Grove facility.  After parking, a small group of ‘early adopters’ and I waited patiently until a delivery van had disappeared (welcome to the secret world of F1!) before we entered the Conference Centre.  You’re greeted by a display of F1 cars in the foyer and you instantly get a feeling of the prestigious history associated with the Williams team…even their most recent trophy from Pastor Maldonado’s win in Spain 2012 was on open display!

We were all privalaged to be allowed to tour the museum of Williams cars, set in a fantastic low-light setting that gave off a real atmosphere.  Then it was up the stairs into an area that explained about the more technical aspects of F1, from wind tunnel importance to the design of the tubs. Next to this was an engaging room featuring ex-Williams driver’s helmets and a huge variety of Constructor winning trophies from down the years.  It was in this room we were offered refreshments and I must say a huge thanks for the fantastic effort put on by the staff at Williams as it made for a fantastic, memorable experience.

Lee McKenzie, the BBC F1 reporter/presenter, hosted the guests and it was a real pleasure to see Sir Frank Williams take to the stage and say a few words.  The applause surrounding this moment really gave you a sense of how respected this truly remarkable man is, by both industry insiders and fans alike.

Current Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was then introduced after signing hundreds of autographs in the Champions Gallery earlier, answering questions on his recent crash in Valencia with Lewis Hamilton, the impact he has experienced in Venezuela after becoming the country’s biggest sporting icon, and his amazing win at the 2012 Spanish GP.

As Pastor rushed off for more PR engagements, Ross Brawn (AMG Mercedes), Martin Whitmarsh (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) and Bob Fernley (Force India) took to the stage and immediately took questions from the fans.

(L to R) Lee McKenzie, Bob Fernley, Martin Whitmarsh and Ross Brawn on stage

The focus for many of the questions were on tyres and DRS.  MW stated that the current tyres used in F1 are “massively exciting for fans”, due to the amazing change in grip levels that can suddenly occur.  I certainly agree with this…it’s made F1 very exciting.  Interestingly, when Ross Brawn was quizzed about DRS, he suggested that it is by no means a perfected system, saying that “the fans need to tell us if DRS is working”.  This underlines the spirit of the FOTA Forum to be honest…F1 clearly wants to get fans (old and new) more involved in the future of the sport which will benefit everyone in the long run. 

There were two other questions that really took my interest.  The first asked why there is such a tight gap between the majority of cars during qualifying, which MW felt was mainly down to a lack of significant rule changes this season, which has allowed more teams to refine the development of their cars and close the gap to the bigger teams.  The second question I enjoyed was to do with new technology and the fact that with sportscars allowing more freedom for new ideas (the DeltaWing seen at Le Mans this year springs to mind), is F1 still the pinnacle of motor racing?  MW felt that F1 has to remain at the top in the tech stakes and that the sportscar model isn’t necessarily a good one, relying too much on a handful of manufacturers (Audi and Toyota) which could affect its own future, certainly in the LMP1 class.

After well over an hour of questioning, the three men left the stage and went straight into media interviews.  It was time for the ‘legends’ to make their appearance…former F1 drivers Derek Warwick and John Watson, together with former Williams heavy weight Patrick Head. 

The whole Q&A was extremely engaging, with them discussing everything from their experience with turbo cars, current F1 drivers, the pressure put on them by the media and their thoughts on driver stewards.

I was lucky enough to be picked by Lee to ask a particularly emotive question which I really had just thought of moments earlier after DW had answered a question on safety.  I asked Derek what it was like physiologically getting into the Lotus F1 car at Jerez in 1990 after his team mate Martin Donnelly had a serious, career-ending crash in the same design of car that same weekend.  Derek unfortunately had witnessed a lot of tragedy during his career and it was touching to hear him explain how it was.  As a racing driver of that era, it came down to two things…you have to create an emotional detachment and, at the end of the day, it’s your job, so you carry on.  These sentiments were echoed by John Watson, with both also discussing the fatal Gilles Villeneuve accident back in 1982.  I will always be grateful to the panel for addressing this difficult question and I know that the audience were very engaged.  I just underlines the fact that the drivers of F1 cars are driven by passion more than anything else and they know the risks.

As the three legends left the stage, Lee closed the Forum and everyone left the hall gradually (via the shop in my case!), bringing to a close what had been a fantastic event.  I will hold it long in my memory.  Thanks FOTA!

Life sucks - it certainly did in 1990!

As you all know, I love my motorsport.   The current era of Formula One always brings up some points of interest to discuss.   Today however I want to go back a mere 22 years – when West Germany won the World Cup, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, Glasgow was the European City of Culture  and I was a mature-yet-small 7 year old probably ferrying people about in a rowing boat.  It was also the year that Ayrton Senna won his second of three F1 World Championships.

It was a classic year of Formula One – action aplenty both on and off the track.  However, I want to focus on a story that could almost be seen as a comedy. This is the story of the Life Racing Engines F1 team.

The team was principled by Ernesto Vita and based in Modena, Italy.  It was seriously under financed from the start – something that could never happen in the era of modern F1.  The poor ingredients went on: They had one chassis, one engine and few spare parts.  The unreliable W12 3.5ltr engine was the least powerful on the grid with just 480bhp – hopeless when others had 600 to 700hp.  It was also one of the heaviest cars in the field at 530kg, meaning terrible handling. 

Richard Divila was the concept designer of the car, which originally was the meant to be for the stillborn ‘FIRST’ team in 1989.  When he saw the final design, he suggested that the car was too dangerous.  In 1989, it alarmingly failed the FIA’s crash tests, backing up Divila’s comments.  Somehow it got through for 1990, under the new chassis banner of the Life L190.  Divila was so concerned he took legal action to prevent his name being used in connection to the car. 

What was the point of the team being on the grid? Life Racing Engines aimed to showcase its ‘innovative’ W12 engine so a major team would step in and take the engine on in their own cars.  With the car and engine built by the same enterprise, they were the only team on the 1990 grid other than Ferrari to do so.  Unfortunately, race wins weren’t on the horizon - but neither were race starts as it turned out!

The first race in Phoenix, for the USA GP, Australian Gary Brabham – part of the Brabham family motorsport dynasty - was nearly thirty seconds away from the nearest car in front.  These were the days of pre-qualifying, which allowed the fastest cars into proper qualifying, which would then make up the race grid.  In other words, Life was at the bottom of the pile and would have a mountain to climb to even make qualifying. 

After the second race in Brazil, when the car broke down before even it could record a lap time, Brabham had seen the iceberg and left the team.  He was replaced by the aging Bruno Giacomelli.  This didn’t improve anything.  In what has to be the worst performance ever by an F1 car, his timed lap at the San Marino GP was over seven minutes…the pole time was one minute twenty three seconds!

The team gave up on the W12 engine by the time the Portuguese GP came around later in the year, replacing it with a Judd-manufactured V8.  It’s a wonder why they bothered, seeing as the sole aim of the team was to showcase its own engine.  When hilariously the engine cover didn’t fit over the car at the Portuguese GP, they went home.  The next race in Spain showed no better promise, with the car still almost twenty seconds off the pace in pre-qualifying. 

It appears this was the end of Life Racing Engines – an innovative concept that was fatality flawed from the start.  They didn’t fly out to the Southern Hemisphere for the final two races of the 1990 season.  

The Life L190 car (the only example in existence) did make a public appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2009, fully restored with its original W12 engine.

The most amazing thing is that the team tried to qualify for fourteen of the sixteen races in 1990, yet they never got close to even qualifying in a single one of them. 

If you look back at it, it’s a pretty funny story.

Here's a photo that really sums the car up...http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/40/1990brunogiacomellilife.jpg/

Who's going to rule around the harbour?

With the most prestigious race of the F1 year coming up around the streets of Monaco, there is normally a favourite for one of the most prized trophies in motorsport.  In F1 2012 though, you'd be a fool to predict a winner.

It's been an impossibly unpredictable year so far.  McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and most recently Williams have been on the top step of the podium in the five races so far.  Both Sauber and Lotus have also come close to victory...in fact, had it not been for a slight mistake, Sergio Perez would have won for Sauber in Malaysia.  If Sauber and Lotus do win a race in 2012, that would make seven teams winning a race, which must be a record.

The team that has been underperforming this year in my view has been Force India, who were a big tip for me this year after a fantastic season in 2011.  But I'd never rule them out with a strong driver line-up.  Torro Rosso have shown pace this year too with two exciting drivers.

Monaco can be unpredictable anyway and is unlike any race on the calendar, so it's very much anyone’s guess.  I won't be putting a bet on, especially this year! 

A Senna victory at Monaco sounds right though, doesn't it?!

F1 Bahrain GP – Right or wrong?

I write this on the eve of the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix 2012. This is normally a race that doesn’t receive a huge amount of coverage from the Western media compared to, for example, Monaco.  In 2012 however, this is definitely not the case.

The focus in the media isn’t the racing though. The various political and civil unrest issues in the Middle Eastern country is the key news hook, but the complexities of this are far beyond my understanding – I only know what the media are reporting. Plus, this is a blog about the world of motorsport, so I’m going to stick to the fundamentals here.

Ultimately, what I am asking myself is whether it is right to stage the GP in Bahrain this weekend. When Force India mechanics were caught in a skirmish between police and protestors on the way back from the track to their hotel on Wednesday evening, the media began to feature the event higher up on the news agenda.  Then the ‘will they, won’t they’ debate intensified when UK politicians waded in, which in all honestly just became the usual slagging match between the leading parties arguing about what is right and what is wrong. Since the Force India incident, as far as I’m aware, there have been no further violent events affecting any of the F1 paddock.

Everyone has an opinion on whether F1 should be at Bahrain or not. It should be noted that F1 is a private business - Bernie has a contract with Bahrain and teams are obligated to attend as a result (they have sponsor contracts too remember). In theory, F1 should be in Bahrain. If anything, F1 is being used as a vehicle of exposure for both sides of the Bahrain situation, which has raised the issue to the world. 

I have no doubts that the race will go ahead tomorrow and will probably run smoothly, although the threat of some kind of protest on Sunday may rear its head at some stage.

Will the F1 race contract be renewed with Bahrain?  Probably not – and personally I don’t like the setting for the track – it’s featureless and it never appears to be that well attended.  F1 won’t be worse off if it doesn’t go back…there will be plenty of circuits queuing up to take the slot if it becomes available.

Why motorsport needs a living history

Some modern motorsport venues are gaining a reputation for being bland and uninspiring.  It takes a visit to an historic circuit to truly understand the original essence of motor racing.

There is probably no better place to go than the origin of purpose-built race tracks – Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, England.  Long since abandoned by the cars that once graced it, but not forgotten.  The Spirit of Brooklands Trust now holds an extensive museum featuring both automotive and aviation displays.  From 1907 until the onset of World War Two in 1939, the circuit was the main venue in Britain for motorsport and was the home of many famous races, including the demanding annual 500-mile event.  After the war the main use of Brooklands was for aviation, for which it has an interesting and (as with the automotive side) pioneering history.

Strangely, it appears the exhibits aren’t the main reason why motorsport fans go to Brooklands.  The site has clung on to some of its most important features, which helped make the circuit what it was – a truly awesome venue.

The track itself was originally a 2.75 mile banked oval but subsequently had new sections built including the ‘finishing straight’, close to the heart of the circuit and where related businesses were located.  Many of theses original buildings still exist – including Sir Malcolm Campbell’s workshop, press room and the magnificent clubhouse.  The latter building has been completely restored, including the billiard room, which instantly creates an image of the wealth that was synonymous with the early era of motorsport.

Hugh Locke-King built the circuit on his land and funded the entire project himself.  His wife was also heavily involved and she actually drove the first ever lap of the Brooklands course.  Effective project management and a team of 200 workers ensured that the entire track was completed in just 9 months. That included constructing the banking and diverting the course of the River Wey.  Sadly, the river now represents the cut-off point of the banking that remains above the finishing straight – but the track also stretches a few hundred yards the other side of the Members Bridge.  If you look at a current aerial photo, you see how much of the circuit is broken up by roads and industrial estates, although some banking still exists on private land. 

There is a somewhat eerie feeling about the banking.  Climbing up the 29ft high concrete slope is no easy task but once near the top you get a drivers eye view – and you instantly appreciate the bravery of the men and women that took up the challenge of the circuit.  There are memorials scattered around the site that commemorate the drivers who lost their battle with Brooklands.  The bravery – or perhaps madness - of the drivers is emphasised by Selwyn Edge.  He won the first 24 hour race at Brooklands by driving entirely on his own.  During the night, the track was only lit by railway lanterns and flares. The Members Banking remains in the state it did when the last race took place – cracks and bumps in the surface of mixed gravel and cement.  It is a scary enough place just to stand, let alone drive at full throttle with hardly any brakes, literally feet from potential death.

It should not be forgotten that Brooklands signifies the birth of so many things that underpin motorsport not just in the UK, but world-wide. 

The track opened on June 17^th 1907, so it’s already over a century old.  The recent addition of ‘Mercedes Benz World’ on the site, the ‘Spirit of Brooklands’ is alive again and many more people have been attracted in to enjoy the experience.

What little remains of the original circuit is important to preserve as it evokes the feelings that encompasses what the motorsport is all about – passion and bravery. 

The cut-throat world of F1

Recently, Toro Rosso announced an exciting all-new driver line-up of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.  Both of these rising stars are Red Bull protégés.  Aussie Ricciardo raced with HRT at the back of the F1 grid for part of the season just gone, gaining experience in a car that – let’s face it – wasn’t a machine that could showcase much of an individual driver’s talent.  Vergne has impressed in recent young driver’s tests driving for both Toro Rosso and the parent team, Red Bull. 

It’s great that Toro Rosso are ‘designed’ to bring in rookies into F1.  But let’s not forget that it’s not just any rookies they are designed to bring in – it’s for those who are supported by Red Bull in their Young Driver programme.  That hasn’t always been the trend in the team's driver line-up however – think the talented Frenchman Sebastian Bourdais.

Toro Rosso’s 2011 drivers, Sebastien Buemi and (part-time DJ) Jaime Alguersuari, had been with the team since 2009 (Buemi slightly longer).  They have both produced good performances.   After several years however there haven’t been many openings in the top teams, with most sticking with the same line up.  So they had limited options where to go if they wanted to move.  Now they have been dropped, just like that.  Both drivers face a rush to get one of the very few remaining seats for the 2012 season.

Let’s not forget that Buemi is 23 and Alguersuari is just 21.  At the time of writing they are both out of F1, although there are rumours that Alguersuari is all set for an all-Spanish team at HRT.  Based on this, I cannot help but feel that talent gets lost for other agendas.

Here are a few more examples - Adrian Sutil performed brilliantly this year at Force India, yet may find himself out of a seat in 2012 now he’s been dumped by the team.  Nick Heidfeld did better than his team mate during his brief season at Lotus Renault but was sacked.  Look at Nico Hulkenburg in 2010 – pole position in Brazil for the struggling Williams team and other good performances, then chucked into a 3^rd driver role at Force India for 2011 (although this has turned into a 2012 race seat).

I know that these things have happened in F1 for years and it’s not new.  It’s a massively competitive and business-focused sport.  Personally however, I don’t think F1 has been crueller than it is at the moment.  If you lose your race drive in F1, a 3^rd driver role brings little in terms of running.  Logically the most sensible move would be to go to the next ‘best’ series – Indycar – but this doesn’t have the global reach that F1 does.

With so many young drivers realising their F1 dreams early in life, if it ends quickly, how are they motivated to achieve more?

The tragedy of motorsport

"Racing is in my blood.  It's part of me, it's part of my life".  So said the late, great, Ayrton Senna.  It is a statement that I completely agree with, as I feel the same.  It also is a statement that reminds me of the amazing loss I felt when we lost Senna at Imola in 1994.  Despite being only 10, I still remember that day like it was yesterday.  That weekend, when we also lost Roland Ratzenberger, was utterly unbelievable for the motorsport world.  To have that much sorrow over a weekend was horrific. 

Last weekend in Las Vegas British motorsport lost a huge personality, although those not familar with the sport probably wouldn't have heard much of Dan Wheldon.  At this point it is only fair that I say that although I followed him, I didn't know him personally.  I do know people who did however.  It was Monday morning UK time as I was preparing for work when I saw the accident on BBC Breakfast News. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  I had to stop everything and just sit for a while.  I still can't believe it now.  Champ Car and Indycar - both together and when they were seperate - has experienced alot of awful weekends (Paul Dana, Alex Zinardi, Greg Moore to name a few) but this latest event seems to have sent real shock waves internationally.

Despite the obvious journalistic comments about safety issues, I am amazed that more people got away with it.  It was such an intense, violent, wide-spread accident that even the safest car on the planet wouldn't have assured protection. 

I'm not in a position to make comments about safety in Indycar.  I simply have no right to.  But my closing statement would purely be that the tragedy that can occur in motorsport affects every stakeholder in the industry - from drivers to fans.  Everyone knows the risks associated with such a high speed, cutting edge sport - even spectators are reminded on all their tickets over here in the UK.  But it's a sport with a passion and adrenaline rush that I can't define.  It's the families who suffer the most as it's always so sudden.  My thoughts are with Dan's family, friends and all the many people who worked along side him over the years.

Integra takes its final bow

Lea Wood’s British Touring Car race meeting at Silverstone with his Central Group Racing Team's Honda Integra may, on the face of it, seem nothing to particularly shout about.  However, I beg to differ.

The third race on Sunday was a significant moment as it marked the end of the Honda Integra's use in the BTCC.  Since its first use in 2005 in the iconic orange colour of Team Halfords it's provided many memories for many people, including myself.  Maybe none more so than newly-crowned triple BTCC champion Matt Neal, who won two of his championships at the wheel of the Integra.

I will always have a personal connection to the Integra as I worked for a team that ran one in the BTCC a few years ago.  I even think the Integra I was involved with was the one on the grid at Silverstone. By the time I worked with it it was starting to lose its edge, but it was still a heavy points scorer.  Now, sadly, its competitive edge is over - but to still be on the grid after seven years is a true credit to the car and Team Dynamics, who built the thing in the first place.  What's even more interesting is that the car was simply imported into the UK with no manufacturer backing - it was never an official UK car.

So here ends the story of the Honda Integra Type-R DC5 in the BTCC.  May it grace club level motorsport for years to come.

Tonight I will be raising a glass to the DC5 - a true legend in the history of the British Touring Car Championship.  Cheers for the memories!

The rise and fall of Yuji Ide. Who?!

I guess most of you will not be aware of a little fella called Yuji Ide. And who can blame you.

Who is he, I hear you ask? Well...as a simple introduction…he was an F1 driver for the now extinct Super Aguri team back in 2006 for the first four races…until the FIA (motorsport’s governing body) persuaded the team to demote him to test driver.  He was pretty slow.

Yuji Ide seems to be a classic example of a driver risking his career reputation by entering F1.  Some like Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Fernando Alonso prove their talent at handling an F1 machine from the start.  Others such as Alex Yoong, Norberto Fontana and Ralph Firman have proved a lot in other forms of motorsport but never got to grips with F1 and only lasted, in many cases, due to sponsorship interest.  The trend suggests that a noticeable performance early on means that the driver is much more likely to have a long term future in F1.  With F1 being so public, any poor performances are amplified.

Ide’s career up to F1 wasn’t world changing - between 1996 and 1998 he was hardly racing at all.  However the following year he was fortunate enough to be ‘saved’ by Aguri Suzuki and he started to perform in Sportscars and Formula Three.  He had positive and negative seasons, but his second place finish in the 2005 Formula Nippon championship persuaded Suzuki to give him a chance in F1.

                                                                                    

Ultimately his short time in F1 counted for nothing.  There were perhaps too many disadvantages that he faced.  He had limited experience in Europe after spending just one season in France, whilst the majority of other drivers on the F1 grid at the time had at least a ‘good’ knowledge of many of the circuits that currently adorn the championship.  Another disadvantage was the car - fundamentally a four year old OrangeArrows F1 design that even back in 2002 was not at the sharp end of the grid, so would naturally struggle to get off the back of the grid in 2006.  He had hardly sat in the car when Super Aguri got to the opening round in Bahrain, so to his credit he coped well with his initial race performances, even if he was to retire from his first two GP’s due to mechanical problems.  He also faced being up against a quick team mate.  Takuma Sato may have received a grilling due to his performance in the competitive BAR-Honda in 2005, but he amassed a huge amount of F1 experience compared to Ide, and he had knowledge of ultra-competitive European racing after winning the British Formula 3 Championship in 2001.

In order to make a real impact Ide had to do it quickly, as being in his early thirties has counted against him in an F1 world that seems to be discovering a string of young superstars.  Sadly the impact he made, particularly after his incident with Christian Albers’ Midland F1 (another now extinct team) at Imola in '06, was more negative than positive.

It perhaps is unfair that Ide’s superlicence has been taken away so early in his F1 career because after all everyone makes mistakes.  Maybe it was a signal to him to learn more and develop as a driver who can really cope with motorsport’s high tier – and it may serve as a warning to other drivers who have not yet taken the step up.

Despite all this though, some could argue that he has at least raced in F1, which to most professional racing drivers will remain a dream.

(Article originally written in 2006, adapted in 2011)