Everyman Driving Experience

Last Saturday, I headed to the Top Gear Test Track at Dunsfold Aerodrome to drive a Porsche 911 (997), Aston Martin DB9 and Nissan GTR. As I drove each car, the experience, just by pure luck of the order in which I drove the cars and a growing confidence in driving the track, got better and better.

The Porsche had a great sound when it was being pushed hard in the lower gears but thanks to the auto gearbox you never knew when the car would decide to actually change down and start using  them - quite frustrating and ultimately made the car that I was most looking forward to drive a disappointment. The handling of the car was otherwise brilliant.

The Aston had a semi-auto, flappy paddle gearbox which was more fun but the on-board computer took about a second before engaging the actual gear I was requesting. The accelerator at low speeds was ultra sensitive too to the point of being slightly unsafe. I did hit 140 mph down the straight though which was fun and probably the fastest I have ever driven a car in my life...!

The Nissan, being the most modern car driven on the day, ended up being the best of all three and proved to be quite a joy to drive. So much so that I actually forked out the extra dosh to purchase my on-board footage which can be found here.

Senior Pro Kart Part 5 - Lydd Kart Circuit

This was it... This is what I had been aiming for since the age of about 17/18, after having got my first taste of karting when I was 16 in my friend's spare Honda pro-kart. To head back to Lydd with my own kart and thunder down the back straight, re-living the thrilling experience of having the sound of my kart's twin engines revving in my ears and the feeling of speed that you get when only a couple of inches off the ground...

July 1998 - Lydd Kart Circuit

So I had finally got myeself in a position where I could take my own kart back to Lydd. Latest updates on the kart had been another £330-£400 spent on replacing the rear axle, two new rear hubs, both engines fully serviced and dynoed for improved performance (new gaskets, new valve springs, new spark plugs, oil change...), and just in case, my Bridgestone wets were fitted to a full set of rims (requiring the purchase of two new rear rims).

I was therefore completely ready for my return to Lydd... and to top it all, the friend that had got me there in the first place agreed to come back with me on my return. Thanks Lee! ; )

September 2015 - Lydd Kart Circuit

Chasing the pack...

Needless to say it was another great if nackering day out in the kart and I got to achieve a dream I had held for a long 16 years - life seems to want to teach me patience... I was never good at being patient...

 

What it takes to get to F1....

I recently saw this video on the BBC F1 website all about Max Verstappen and his Dad, Jos, and what it took to get Max to F1 in terms of the investment in time and money just in the karting phase of Max's career. Admittedly, karting has formed the majority of Max's racing career, having only raced in F3 before entering F1. But this is still very impressive and quite touching to see the commitment of Jos for his son and his career.

Link here.

Midnight Rambler | Magnus Walker in L.A. | eGarage

I need to get me one of these... ; )

Nico Hulkenberg - Diamond in the Rough???

Nico Hulkenberg 1st on the right celebrating his Le Mans win,
the first of Porsche's since their return last year to the historic event.

With Nico Hulkenberg's recent LeMans 24 hour win he has reminded everyone in F1 and the wider motorsport community of his potential and talent. I have been a long time fan of Hulkenberg's given his ability to take whatever F1 car he is driving and deliver its optimum potential plus more as shown by his consistent outperformance of every team mate he has raced against. Witness his current 24 points versus team mate Sergio Perez's 15 points - it doesn't seem a huge difference but when you are racing for the second half of the points paying positions (6th gets you 8 points, 7th: 6, 8th: 4, 9th: 2 and 10th 1), it reveals a wider gap in performance between the two drivers.

I have never understood why the likes of McLaren would plump for an overly expensive option such as Button when you have both experience and greater potential in an option such as Hulkenberg (plus he would be a great deal cheaper!) Being one of only three drivers to win the GP2 championship in their debut season (the other two being Rosberg and Hamilton), you would think greater stock would be placed on Hulkenberg. But the F1 fraternity has a notoriously short memory (who is talking about Robert Kubica anymore?) and an outstanding performance is often needed to remind them that a certain driver even exists.

Considering Hulkenberg's dominantion of all classes of motorsport outside of F1, it makes you wonder what the missing ingredient is that would give him the success he deserves in F1?? Comparing Nico to the likes of Hamilton and Vettel I would almost say that Nico is too nice and lacks the aggressiveness and a bit of drive to want to get ahead at all costs. Perhaps this makes him a better all round driver with consistent points finishes but a bit of aggressiveness is needed sometimes to secure a good result. Take his closest chance at a win to date, the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, a bit more aggressiveness could have fended off Hamilton (Youtube video here) and secured his first F1 win and gained the extra confidence needed to secure better performances subsequently.

Now there is an article about Hulkenberg being happy to bide his time before moving to one of the top teams and I think this illustrates a lack of drive - compare his comments to Senna who would have tolerated running in a midfield team as much as Alonso would tolerate having Hamilton as his team mate... 

Come on Ron, kick out the past Champion Button and hire the future Champion Hulkenberg before someone else does!!

The mystery of Kimi Raikkonen's Performance

I believe that despite being called 'The Iceman', Kimi Raikkonen is not such a cool cucumber after all. Like a lot of F1 drivers (particularly those at the very top), I believe Kimi needs to feel like the real star of the show within any team that he is driving for. I believe this partly explains his relative performances with the likes of Alonso and more recently with Vettel. Deep down, Raikkonen knows that with such teammates, the focus inevitably is not all on him and perhaps his performance suffers as a result...

I say this because you can't help but compare the Raikkonen we saw in his 2 years at Lotus, where he was undeniably the clear focus of the team in terms of ensuring that his every concern and request was met. This was inevitably because the team knew that he was their best bet of getting the best out of the car and producing some eye catching performances. Lotus therefore had to keep Kimi happy otherwise they knew they would very quickly lose him (inevitably they lost him anyway).

As a result of this clear focus and attention, Kimi's performances improved and he became a real 'dark horse' threat come race day for a surprise win as he did in his now famous Abu Dhabi 2012 race win and as he almost achieved  in Bahrain 2013 against Vettel. This ominous, looming threat was always associated with Kimi as in his McLaren days - who can forget his last lap win of the Japanese Grand Prix after scaring Fisichella out the way?

There is an argument that the atmosphere / culture of a team also has to fit the driver and it could be said that the Ferrari 'family' atmosphere doesn't quite fit with Kimi as can be seen during his tenure with Massa between 2007-2009. McLaren's precise and almost clinical approach seemed to help Kimi during his time at McLaren between 2002 - 2006, when the Iceman was quickly feared up and down the grid. At Ferrari, both past and present, I can't help but get the impression that Raikkonen gets quite comfortable and as a result, loses some of his sharpness.

Either way, Kimi's current performance against Alonso and Vettel at Ferrari has been somewhat disappointing particularly compared to the promise shown during his performances at Lotus. It could be said that at Lotus, Kimi was motivated to drive at his absolute best in his attempt to impress and join a larger team to obtain a real chance to win. With a new Ferrari contract now being dangled in front of him, will this help him in his performance as again Kimi fights for the continued survival of his F1 career and once achieved, settle back into the comfort of the Ferrari family...?

F1 Female World Championship...

I think Bernie Ecclestone's recent statement with regards to setting up a separate all-female F1 championdhip is quite sad really as I believe there must be women out there who have the ability to compete with men on equal terms and beat them.

I learnt this first hand when I recently competed in an arrive and drive, 40 minute endurance race at Daytona Milton Keynes. Before these events, looking around, you can tell those drivers that are regular karters and who may actually be good, from the fact that they come along all fully decked out in their own racing gear. So it was the case when I saw two drivers present at the event, with the one wearing the more impressive kit (i.e. more complete and expensive) actually being a girl. Now when I see a girl dressed in proper racing gear I know that they must be half-decent because girl's egos aren't as big as blokes who may be fooled into thinking that just because they look the part, they are the real deal (this tends to happen a lot in life actually). Whereas if a girl has bought decent kit, you know she has done so because she is serious about the sport and probably has invested a lot of time and effort into it, part of which is the purchasing of proper racing gear. To be honest, when I see blokes coming all dressed up, it actually makes me more determined to beat them and I often do... (that's my ego talking now!)

However, this girl I raced was in another league as once the race started (I qualified 3rd), I  could see from just the first 3 or 4 corners that she was already able to start pulling away fairly significantly. Now when you go to an arrive and drive event, there is no equalisation of weights through the addition of ballast, which is something I normally benefit from being a smaller bloke and this girl was undoubtedly lighter than me (so was the guy who qualified in 2nd), thus benefitting from a weight advantage. But even so, the performance difference was too large to be just that! Needless to say, for the first time in such an event, I was actually lapped and the girl in question actually obtained the lap record during the race... Very impressive Stephanie!

There is Danica Patrick in America who competes with the boys and regularly beats them and we have Susie Wolff and now Carmen Jorda in F1 as test drivers. Surely someone can break through into F1 and show that it can be done?! A recent article about Stirling Moss' sister caught my attention too (link  here) who regularly beat her male competitors in rallying, which again highlights the point that it can be done and should be possible if the right lady were to come along...

The Amazing Vettel...!!!



Sebastian's win in Malaysia has turned a potentially disastrously boring F1 world championship season into something that potentially could be much more interesting. No one would have predicted that the Ferrari would beat the Mercedes in a straight fight so soon into the season and whilst recognizing the unique conditions under which the Malaysian GP is run, with high temperatures and humidity, it bodes well for the rest of the year. For not since the like s of a certain Michael Schumacher has a driver been able to achieve 'the impossible' and it is fitting that it is another German in a red car that is now doing the same.

Hamilton was undoubtedly thinking that his stiffest competition in the race for the title this year would again come from his team-mate and, like Alonso, has openly claimed that Vettel's dominance over recent years came more from the benefit of driving an Adrian Newey designed car than any innate talent Vettel may have had. It looks like both drivers will have to start re-evaluating how good the German is and, just as he did at red Bull, it is clear he will be the one who may well achieve 'the impossible' and drag the Ferrari team back to the front of the field.

All I can say is - I can't wait now to see how the rest of the season unfolds because if anyone can beat Hamilton, Vettel can. The creaking of Lewis' self confidence can almost be heard as it comes under the weight of this new, unexpected and very real threat to his championship ambitions.

Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton: Three of the Very Best

It has been quite apparent to all I suspect that the fight for best of the best in F1 over the last 5 to 10 years has only really been between Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel. But of the three, who is really the best??! I guess that begs the question as to what is meant by 'the best'? By what metrics do you determine the best F1 driver? Is it the fastest? The most consistent performer? The most intelligent? Or the most mentally strong?

If all three were put in the same car under the same circumstances, who would come out on top?? It's clear there is no doubt in Hamilton's mind as to where he would be (Telegraph article here). But saying that, a certain Daniel Ricciardo has blown that idea straight out of the water with his amazing lap time on the Top Gear test track and beating Hamilton's and vettel's times in the process.

Alonso, the oldest of the three, has been quite openly contemplative of his position in the sport over the last couple of years and has openly admitted that he does not see himself as the fastest driver in F1 but rather the most consistent driver. Many claim he is the best all round driver - one things is for certain he is definitely one of the most determined drivers with his gutsy drives in almost every race he participates in. The guy rarely has an off day. Lsat year (2014), with the performances of the Red Bull and Ferrari much closer together, we saw some nice dicing between Vettel and alonso and it was invariably Vettel that came out on top.

From a mental strength point of view, the clear winner is Vettel with Hamilton needing to have 'all the pieces of the puzzle' around him to operate at his best. Some people may say Alonso is mentally the strongest but his loss of the 2012 championship despite having a 40 point lead going into the last 3 races revealed a clear kink in his mental armour. By contrast, Vettel's steely nerve was clar for all to see during his amazing recovery drive at the last race in Brazil where, after a first lap spin and collision that placed him plum last, he went on to finish high enough to secure his third world championship (and surpass Alonso in the process)!

Intelligence is another measure and by this I would say that from my experience, champions are those that can most accurately assess the situations they find themselves and clearly see the positives and the negatives and move on. Alonso and Vettel both appear to be good at this although sometimes Alonso likes to play games and try to make himself out to be in a stronger position than he really is: note his comments at the last season 'I am in the unique position of being able to go to any team and any time...' Errrr no, McLaren was your only choice and not your first choice come the end of 2014 (a sabbatical for 2015 was mooted if it meant a 2016 race seat at Mercedes).

Intelligence also means being in the right team at the right time and in this regard, everyone will agree Hamilton has played a masterstroke. I heard stories that Sebastian Vettel actually spun in the Red Bull simulator when he first heard Hamilton was moving to Mercedes. Everyone assumed Hamilton was a McLaren man through and through and Vettel and Red Bull knew as long as he stayed there, the continuing shortcomings of the McLaren team would frustrate Lewis' title ambitions. By moving to Mercedes, Hamilton fundamentally changed the game and the subsequent movements of Vettel and Alonso have been delayed attempts and counter-moves to respond to Hamilton. So far it would appear Vettel's move has been the more successful one but Alonso just might have the patience to see his McLaren gamble pay-off, which despite the new car's current performance, could materialize.

In summary, I believe Hamilton is the fastest and most naturally talented of the three. But it takes more than talent and speed to win championships, which is why Sebastian is on World Championship number 4. Vettel is the most mentally strong of the three and Alonso has displayed great perseverance, determination and consistency of performance in his continuous challenge for the top spot. Such battles are what Formula 1 is made for and parallels the Senna, Prost and Mansell battles of the 80s and early 90s - an era considered to 'Golden' in F1 history. I would say the battle that these three gladiators represent will be looked back on as another golden age of the sport in the future too and that we should make the most of their duels while this level of competition exists in the sport.

Formula E - The Future of Racing

I have been a life long Formula 1 fan... literally. Thanks to a Mum who has loved and followed F1 from before I was born (supporting a certain Nelson Piquet Snr - now there was a real character of the sport who is often not lauded for his achievements in F1!) I inevitably grew up hearing the scream of F1 engines and the shouts of excitement and disappointment from a very young age. But I have three brothers and we were all exposed to the same Formula 1 loving environment but I seem to be the one that got bitten hardest by the F1 bug!

Even so, even passionate F1 fans such as myself can get disillusioned with a sport that seems to be so preoccupied with everything but actual close, hard fought racing. As such, I was very happy to find that from the very first race of the new Formula E series in Beijing, excitement and close racing appears to the constant order of the day. The driver line up as well is top notch with a number of ex-F1 drivers who were racing as recently as last season!

The excitement of the sport, particularly noting all the current bad press with regards to the level of dominance of Mercedes in the current turbo era of F1, has to be put down to the relative equality of all the cars. Same chassis, same electric motor and powertrain and also - something maybe F1 should take more note of - the same aero-package on every car. Despite the latter the cars still look futuristic and with the differing liveries of all the various teams, it is not immediately obvious that the cars are pretty much the same.

The inaugural season of the new FIA championship for electrically powered cars began on 13 September 2014 at Beijing in China and will finish on 28 June 2015 in London after eleven races. All races are undertaken on temporary, inner city race circuits which adds to the spectacle. I for one am looking forward to the last two events that will take place in the heart of London (well Battersea Park) - a feat that even Bernie Ecclestone has been unable to achieve with F1!

I highly recommend the watching of a Formula E race just for the sheer closeness of the racing - something that perhaps the new era of F1 could learn a thing or two from...

Who is behind the new Manor Marussia F1 team???

 

After seeing the confirmation of the entry of the Manor Marussis F1 Team in the official 2015 F1 World championship entry list (Autosport article here), I couldn't help but be intrigued to find out who would be so bold as to try and force themselves into F1 off the back of the tattered remains of the now bankrupt Marussia team. As it turns out, it is a Stephen Fitzpatrick, heralding from Northern Ireland and the owner and founder of energy firm OVO (cheaper alternative gas and electricity supplier - as confirmed on the BBC here). Whilst having no connection to the now defunct Marussia, the new team have had to retain the name so as to qualify for the £30 mln share of the prize money Marussia were entitled to thanks to Jules bianchi's 9th place achieved in Monaco last year.

Interestingly again, there also is talk of ex-Sansbury CEO Justin King's involvement in running of the new team, which could prove beneficial given his previous business success and passion for motorsport / F1 as borne out by his son's upcoming participation in GP2 this year.

Jordan King - competing in GP2 in 2015 for Racing Engineering

The new team's website (link here) looks as well finished as their 2015 cars are likely to be, given the short space of time that has been available for the team to prepare for the upcoming season. After Force India's veto against allowing Manor to use the 2014 spec' Marussia F1 cars for the beginning of the 2015 season, the new team have had to redesign parts of the 2014 car so as to conform to the majority of the 2015 rules. In particular, a new, lower nose has had to be designed and crash tested. Reports indicate that this task has been successfully completed which is a remarkable feat in itself! Being born and raised in England, I myself am naturally drawn to supporting this new underdog of the pinnacle of motorsport and wish F1's newest team the best of luck - I hope they have a long and successful life in the ever unpredictable world of Formula 1!  ; ) 

 

Ferrari's New Look F1 Car

 

These pictures show Ferrari's bold vision of how F1 cars could look in the not too distant future. With a potential overhaul of the rules scheduled for 2016 or 2017, Ferrari have made a cunning move to promote its own vision of how Formula 1 cars could be. I quite like it myself...

 

Link to the Skysports article here.

What is Sebastian Vettel so excited about?!

So this is what makes Sebastian Vettel woop like a little child - it can only be Ferrari's new hyper-car for the track, which boasts 1000+ bhp. Check out the link to the video below. Man I bet Alonso is missing being a Ferrari driver already....

Vettel in the FXX K at Fiorano