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July 22, 2013

Back to the Festival of Speed

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, Goodwood Motor Circuit, mclaren, mercedes benz, MG, motorsport, porsche, sportscars | Tags: Ferrari, Ferrari 458, Festival of speed, Goodwood, lotus, mclaren mp4-12, Mercedes Benz, mg SV, Peter Stevens, Porsche 911, sir jack brabham, supercars |
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Beast’s claim to fame is being the oldest surviving production MG SV. She was a works car and was used for promotion work when the car was launched in 2003. That year she was prepared for the Goodwood Festival of Speed and spent the weekend in the supercar paddock and being driven up the hill by luminaries such as Australian multiple F1 champion Sir Jack Brabham and the designer of the car (and the McLaren F1) Peter Stevens. So when earlier this year the Goodwood Road Racing Club announced that there was to be a new area of reserved parking at the Festival of Speed for visiting supercars I was determined that the Beast should have the chance to mix it with the Ferraris, Lambos and other exotica. The organisers were supportive and allocated me a ticket when they found out the Beast would be revisiting the Festival nearly 10 years to the day since she was last there. Getting a ticket was not as easy as it sounds as the organisers had a list of what they thought of as supercars and MGs were not on it! Only two door Ferraris were allowed, and amongst the volume brands only Jag XJ220’s (no other Jags) only Lotus Esprits and Evora S, 911’s but for this year only, and only SLS Mercs (no AMGs). So pretty exclusive company!

The Beast attracted lots of attention, indeed more than the McLaren MP4 12 c and Ferrari V12 parked next to it. In fact there were 23 McLarens present so they were considerably more common than the MG! Surprisingly there was only two Ferrari 458’s when I had been led to believe that they were, when compared to the McLaren, the better car. Clearly the Festival crowd are a patriotic bunch.

McLarens – any colour as long as its orange..

As it was the 50th anniversary of the 911 there were plenty of Stuttgart’s finest. Next year its said they won’t be allowed amongst the supercars but this year the super car car park would have looked a bit empty without them so it would not surprise me if they get a reprieve.

I suspect the attention focused on the Beast was the result of her striking looks and the fact she is such a rare car. One of her admirers turned out to be someone who had worked for the Isle of Wight company who had made the carbon fibre blanks used to construct the bodywork of the car. The Beast was the first complete SV he had seen.

July 6, 2013

The British Grand Prix

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, lewis hamilton, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, vettel | Tags: alonso, Bernie Ecclestone, Ferrari, Hamilton, lotus, massa, McLaren, Mercedes, Pirelli, Raikkonen, Red bull, Rosberg, Silverstone, vettel, webber, williams |
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The British Grand Prix was certainly dramatic! Pirelli managed to conjour up a thrilling spectacle for the capacity crowd on a beautiful English summer’s day. Watching from the fast slalom that is Becketts I missed seeing most of the multiple blow outs myself, though I did see Massa’s excursion off track after his rear left burst.

Lewis’ burst tyre was particularly harsh after his fine qualifying performance and clearly robbed him of victory in front of his home fans. Helped by the safety car he drove magnificently back to fourth from last. His comments after the race were revealing. He said that the “illegal” tyre test with Mercedes had been undertaken to try and address the tyre failure problems that had occurred earlier in the season but that nothing was done after the tests. His anger that drivers’ lives were being put at risk was clear.

Certainly tyres exploding at 190 mph are very dangerous for the driver, other racers, spectators and marshals who have to run on track to recover bits of rubber. That no one was killed or injured last weekend owes a lot to the skill of the drivers (only Massa lost control) and luck. In particular both Alonso and Raikkonen were lucky to avoid contact with tyre debris.

After the race some were quick to blame the “sharp” curbs at Silverstone. This was manifestly nonsense given the curbs were the same as last year. It was only days later that Pirelli admitted there was an issue with the tyres but again this was only after they appeared to suggest that fault lay with the teams using incorrect tyre pressures and camber. Whatever the cause it became clear something needed to be done urgently to avoid the (albeit slim) prospect of a boycott of this weekend’s German GP. Bernie Ecclestone wasted no time in banging heads together and hopefully we will not see any more failures this weekend.

The repeated blow outs and safety car periods led to a dramatic finale with Webber and Hamilton carving through the field to finish second and fourth. It’s a shame Mark could not win his last British GP but he certainly pushed Rosberg hard. His metronomic victory for Mercedes was ominous for Red Bull – nearly as ominous as Vettel’s gearbox failure retirement when he looked to have the race in the bag (the cheers of delight from the British fans when he pulled over left you in no doubt where their sympathies lay). A steady drive from Alonso meant he closed the gap on Vettel and though Raikkonen will have been disappointed to have lost a number of places in the last few laps the fact he has now finished more consecutive GP’s than Schumacher in his pomp is certainly some achievement. It was another race to forget for McLaren and Williams.

June 29, 2013

British Grand Prix Qualifying

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, lewis hamilton, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, vettel | Tags: F1, Ferrari, force India, Hamilton, lotus, Silverstone, vettel, webber |
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I head off to Silverstone at dawn tomorrow for the British Grand Prix. There is always a great atmosphere at Silverstone where despite eye watering prices over 130,000 spectators regularly watch the race. It should be exciting tomorrow. Qualifying was thrilling, with Mercedes getting the better of Red Bull again. Hamilton seems to have finally got the measure of his car and stormed to pole with the only sub 1 minute 30 second time, nearly half a second quicker than team mate Roseberg. Vettel was the quickest of the Red Bulls but Paul D Resta gave British fans something else to cheer about with a fantastic P5. Will he finally get the podium place he so deserves? Ricciardo also did very well at P6 – perhaps motivated by the soon to be vacant Webber seat at Red Bull? Conversely the Lotus struggled to P8 and 9 and the Ferraris did even worse, Alonso managing only P 10 and Masa P12. But the news was far worse still for McLaren and Williams with both teams failing to make it out of Q2. Hamilton’s much derided decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes now looks increasingly sensible. Williams’ sad slide to oblivion is beginning to look irreversible.

Whilst I’ll be in my Lotus shirt tomorrow I’ll be cheering on Hamilton and Di Resta and wishing the best to the other Brits. A victory for Hamilton in a Mercedes would be a fairy tail mirroring Moss’s first British GP win for Mercedes in 1954. But whilst Mercedes seem to have the pace for qualifying Red Bull seem stronger in the races. Can Mercedes hold Red Bull off this time?

June 27, 2013

Rush: Hunt v Lauda 1976

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, mclaren, motorsport | Tags: Ferrari, grand prix, GRRC, James Cameron, James hunt, McLaren, niki lauda, world championship |
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Ever since the success of the Senna film in 2010 there has been talk of more films, with racing at their heart, making it to the big screen. It’s fair to say that racing films have not really enjoyed much success beyond the piston head market. Whilst I can watch “Le Mans” and “Grand Prix” many times most critics were not impressed. There have been other racing movies since but none has made much impact – but that looks like it could soon change.

The 1976 F1 World Championship battle between James Hunt and Niki Lauda, McLaren and Ferrari, was one of the most epic racing seasons of all time. Hunt, the flamboyant English playboy, was a darling of the British public and Lauda, the precise Austrian World Champion, was the villain. Added to the patriotic drama was the amazing story of Lauda’s recovery mid way through the season after a terrible fiery crash. And set against all of this was Hunt’s tortuous private life, his insecurity, and his disintegrating marriage.

Bringing all this drama to the screen would not be easy but the producers have picked a great director in Ron Howard (Apollo 13 etc). Take a look at the trailers on YouTube. The film looks like it will be fantastic. I Thought I was going to have to wait till mid September to see the film with everyone else but last week the Goodwood Road Racing Club announced they had organised an exclusive preview showing of the film, with an introduction from one of the producers, in Soho on Monday evening. I can’t wait. Luckily I read David Benson’s excellent slim summary of the season (“Hunt v Lauda”) a few months ago so a lot of the story will be fresh in my mind. I recommend the book. It can be picked up for a couple of quid on eBay.

June 1, 2013

Geneva Supercar Shootout

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, mclaren | Tags: Ferrari 458, geneva Motorshow, la Ferrari, McLaren mp4-12c, McLaren p1 |
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In March I managed to visit the Geneva Motorshow for the first time. I have fond memories of the British Motorshows at Earls Court and the NEC – vast halls stuffed full of people admiring the shining products of the leading manufacturers of the day. That the British Motorshow is no more is a sad state of affairs. We are told people no longer want to come and look at stationary cars. No one seems to have told that to the huge crowds of Swiss, Germans and French at the Geneva show!

Amongst the new hatchbacks and saloons the stars of the show were the supercars – in particular the new McLaren P1 and the ridiculously named LaFerrari. The cars, like their manufacturers, are great rivals. Each is limited to a production run of 500 and each manufacturer makes great play of the F1 technology that they have included in their fearsomely quick hybrid stars.

The Ferrari, in traditional Corso Roso red, looked stunning. Some of the detailing looked fiddly when compared to the sublime Ferrari 458, but overall the Ferrari had the edge on the McLaren in the looks department.

One can’t help but feel that McLaren, stung by the criticism that the MP4-12C was not as dramatic as a Supercar should be, pulled all the stops out when it came to the P1. Certainly it was no shrinking violet with its bright yellow paintwork and swooping lines. But overall the effect was just a bit too much, like they had tried too hard.

Each car costs in excess of a million pounds. Ferrari have, however, sold all theirs. McLaren have a few hundred left. So in commercial terms it looks like the tradition and looks of the Ferrari have triumphed over the technological focus of the McLaren. But in reality would you want either car? If you want to buy a Supercar do you really want a complex hybrid transmission and KERs technology? Do you really care about emissions and fuel efficiency in a car that you will drive a few hundred miles a year? I suspect not. Personally I would rather save £800k and buy an MP4-12c or 458. And of those two it would be the McLaren, with its restrained looks, that would get my money.

May 16, 2013

Donnington Grand Prix Collection

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, jaguar, mclaren, motorsport | Tags: damon hill, donnington park, hesketh penthouse, jaguar F1, matra, McLaren, nigel mansell, Stirling Moss, tom wheatcroft, tyrrell, vanwall streamliner, williams |
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On the way up to a conference in Manchester I dropped into Donnington Park, Leicestershire, to take a look at the largest collection of Grand Prix racing cars in the world. I had been to Donnington before but that was many years ago when founder of the collection Tom Wheatcroft was still alive. I wanted to see whether his son, Kevin, had put his own stamp on the place. He certainly had!

A visit now begins with a walk brought two halls full not of racing cars but military hardware. One of Kevin’s passions is military vehicles and he has an amazing collection of immaculate and rare tanks, half tracks, lorries and bikes. Whilst I like that sort of thing too I’m not sure it should be displayed with the racing cars. Indeed some of the most famous cars from the collection were not on show. Where was the 3 litre Sunbeam, the Alfa Bimotore, the Lancia D50, the Rob Walker ex Moss Monaco winning Lotus 18/21, the ex Ickx Ferrari 312B, the JPS Lotus 72 and the ex Stewart Tyrrell 006? Maybe the cars are being fettled for the beginning of the season? But I would have liked to see them rather than a load of brooding German half tracks..

Still there was a lot else to see…

Jackie Stewart’s exquisite Matra Tyrrell

Pure 70s kitch – Penthouse sponsored Hesketh

Damon Hill’s 1996 Championship winning Williams

Red Five! Mansell’s Championship winning 1992 Williams

Jaguar’s inappropriate attempt at F1 – which ended in failure..

New Zealand Racing Orange! Part of the fantastic McLaren collection

Fine selection of Vanwalls including streamliner designed for use (like the equivalent Merc – see below) at the fast circuits such as Reims and Monza. It was not, however, a success.

March 10, 2013

Spa Francochamps

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, jaguar, motorsport, porsche, spa motor circuit | Tags: Dennis jenkinson, Ferrari, formula 1, Jackie Stewart, Jaguar XKR, masta kink, Michael Schumacher, perform Rodriguez, Porsche, spa, spa 1000km |
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Nestled amongst pine clad hills, Spa is one of the oldest and most legendary of the Formula 1 circuits. They started racing here 100 years ago as a novel alternative to the then popular city to city races. The current circuit is often mentioned by Formula 1 drivers as their favourite and the plunge downhill to Eau Rouge before the climb up to Les Combes is regarded as one of the most perfect racing corners in the world. I have never driven the current circuit but doing so is certainly on my bucket list.

I was last at Spa for the Belgian GP in 1998. The weather was unusually fine but the race was dull. Schumacher and Ferrari were in their pomp and pretty soon the race began to resemble the sort of dull processions that did so much to turn off fans in the Schumacher era. Even sitting at the bottom of Eau Rouge could not make things more interesting and that race was the last F1 race I went to for 12 years.

The Spa circuit we see today is only a fraction of the Spa circuit that was in use from 1902 until 1978. That circuit was much much longer at 15km in length and had a reputation for appalling weather and danger as notorious as that of its near neighbour across the German border, the Nurburgring.

The typically wet weather, the lack of run off and the brooding trees claimed many lives, even before the War. Dick Seaman was killed here in his works Mercedes on 1939. Throughout the fifties and sixties lap times shortened as cars got quicker. Inevitably the danger increased. For example the 1960 GP claimed two British drivers, Chris Bristow and Alan Stacey. Stirling Moss was also injured.

The weather for the 1966 race was awful and Jackie Stewart had a serious accident he was lucky to survive. Having crashed on a remote part of the track he had to rely on fellow competitor Graham Hill to pull him from his car. Jackie has often said that it was this accident that started his campaign for better safety in Formula 1.

Those running Spa made little effort to make the circuit safer and F1 ceased to race on the old circuit in 1970. Sports car racing continued, lap times got quicker still and the death toll mounted. Three drivers died in the 1973 Spa 1000km race. The lap record (that still stands) was set in that era by Pedro Rodriguez in a Porsche 917 at an incredible average speed of over 150 mph.

Finally, in 1978 the old circuit was closed and reconfigured. It was reopened in the shorter form we see today and GP racing returned in 1983. The public roads that bore the old circuit reverted to full time public highways and can be driven today.

You join the old circuit at Les Combes and meander slowly down hill through the village of Burneville. It’s pretty straight and an F1 car would be going very fast as you enter the long right hander at the bottom of the hill. Houses and junctions keep your speed down and it is hard to believe you are on such a notorious circuit.

The long straight between Malmedy and Stavelot is interrupted by the infamous Masta Kink. It’s been tightened in modern times but its old configuration can be seen in the lay – by that sits where the wicked left / right must have terrified drivers in the past. Motorsport’s famous correspondent Dennis Jenkinson used to sit above the Kink and watch and listen to the passing racers to see who could take the Kink flat out and who would lift off. To him it was the ultimate test of a driver.

Just before Stavelot a cambered right hander takes the old circuit back towards Blanchimont and the new circuit. The crumbling Tarmac and flaking Armco at the beginning of this stretch are from the original circuit. Finally, with little traffic and few houses, it is possible to open up the throttle a bit. The road is very straight and its easy to see why the old circuit was so fast. Pretty soon you arrive at some huge gates that mark the point the old circuit joins the new, but for at least a few seconds its possible to imagine how Fangio, Moss, Stewart and Rodriguez must have felt all those years ago.

Below: Masta Kink isn’t what it used to be; Blanchimont gates; Rodriguez’s Porsche 917

November 4, 2012

Abu Dhabi GP : a thriller

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, lewis hamilton, mclaren, motorsport, red bull, vettel | Tags: alonso, Ferrari, Hamilton, lotus, Raikkonen, Red bull, vettel |
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This year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was perhaps the most exciting race of the season thanks to some fantastic, and not so fantastic, driving. From the first corner pile up to Hamilton’s McLaren breaking (again) when he seemed to have the race tied up, it was edge of the seat stuff.

The race produced a tremendous result for Lotus, Raikkonen, Vettel, Alonso and Abu Dhabi itself.

Last year I attended the Abu Dhabi GP as a guest of Lotus and I know how much winning a GP means to them. An excellent bunch, owned by real enthusiasts, they deserve their success.

Despite being third in the championship Raikkonen had not won a race until Abu Dhabi. And though he did not seem overly pleased with the result, the fact he finally proved all those who doubted the wisdom of his return to F1 wrong, must be pleasing.

Vettel’s drive to third from the back of the grid was remarkable. Although he clearly benefited from the three safety car periods he pulled off a number of fine overtaking moves. He is looking strong for the championship.

Alonso also drove well and his second place just about keeps his title ambitions alive.

Finally, it was great to see Abu Dhabi hosting such an exciting race. The facilities for spectators are excellent, the locals friendly and the city fascinating. The new Pirelli tyres, coupled with DRS and KERS, have turned what was another boring modern circuit into one of the most exciting away venues for British F1 fans.

October 29, 2012

Indian Grand Prix: Red Bull Unstoppable

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, lewis hamilton, mclaren, motorsport, red bull, vettel | Tags: alonso, Ferrari, Hamilton, Indian Grand Prix, McLaren, Perez, Red bull, Sauber, vettel, webber |
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Another Grand Prix and another dominant Red Bull performance. The recent tweaks to their cars have relegated the opposition to mere spectators. And if it wasn’t for late mechanical problems with Webber’s car, Red Bull would have converted a qualifying one two into the same result on the podium. As it was, another fine drive by Alonso took him from fifth on the grid to second to keep his title hopes alive.

October 27, 2012

Indian Grand Prix Qualifying

Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, lewis hamilton, mclaren, motorsport, red bull, vettel | Tags: alonso, button, Hamilton, Indian Grand Prix, McLaren, qualifying, red bill, vettel |
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It’s a Red Bull one two in qualifying for the second Indian Grand Prix, with Seb Vettel taking pole from his teammate Mark Webber. Our special correspondent Perseus Bandrawalla is there and captured a happy looking World Champion talking to the press.

McLaren managed a strong third and fourth on the grid with Lewis Hamilton ahead of Jenson Button. The Ferraris locked up fifth (Alonso) and sixth (Masa) ahead of Lotus driver Raikkonen who is currently third in the championship. Hamilton’s replacement at McLaren next year, Sauber’s Sergio Perez, managed a strong eighth on the grid. Schumacher managed only fourteenth on the grid though he did not seem to worried about it when snapped in conversation with compatriot Seb Vettel.

Ferrari felt they could have done better in qualifying but are confident their drivers will do well tomorrow. Certainly all seemed well in the Ferrari garage.

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More news from Perseus (who is based in the HRT garage for TATA motors) later.

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