April 18, 2016
MG to Monte (Part 2 – Paisley to France)
Posted by morewheelspin under MG, monte carlo rally, regularity rally, Uncategorized | Tags: austin a35, croft motor circuit, daily express production touring car race 1953, Derby Bentley 3.5 litre, ford popular, ford zodiac, gregor grant, ian glass, lamotte, MG YB, monte carlo rally, nick green, nick ward, per jonsson, rally monte carlo historique, rallye monte carlo classique, Robert van Rheenan, Silverstone, terry mower |Leave a Comment
July 6, 2014
Silverstone Grand Prix 2014 (4)
Posted by morewheelspin under ferrari, formula 1, lewis hamilton, Lotus, mclaren, mercedes benz, motorsport, red bull, royal automobile club, silverstone, vettel | Tags: Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, gold cup, grand prix, John surtees, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Mercedes, Royal Automobile Club, Sebastian Vettel, Silverstone |Leave a Comment
The British Grand Prix was another thrilling race in what has turned out to be a classic season. Although it might lack the glamour of Monaco or the first rate facilities of Abu Dhabi and the other new circuits, Silverstone more than makes up for such deficiencies with the passion of the 120,000 fans who make the pilgrimage to Northamptonshire every year. All the British drivers, including Max Chilton labouring at the back of the pack, received loud applause every time they went past the packed grandstands. And foreign drivers received sporting applause when their conduct merited it. In the end the fans got what they wanted, a British victory. Although the mechanical failure which robbed Rosberg finish handed the race to Hamilton, I think the fans would have preferred to have seen him take the lead following an overtaking manoeuvre. Instead, for thrilling overtaking and racing the fans had to look to Alonso and Vettel who battled it out wheel to wheel for many laps. Bottas also drove magnificently, finishing second having started 16th. Ultimately though it is Hamilton who will be happiest with today’s result as it now leaves him just four points behind Rosberg in the race for the championship.
Below, Hamilton crosses the line and takes the chequered flag for only his second British Grand Prix victory.
Below, the top three on the podium face the ecstatic British fans. Bottas received his second place trophy from the legendary John Surtees who was celebrating the 50th anniversary of his world championship with Ferrari. Incidentally, as noted below (“Dinner with Emerson Fittipaldi”), the famous British Grand Prix Gold cup was at Silverstone to be presented to the winner. However all Lewis got was a horrible plasticky trophy based on sponsor Santander’s logo. He had the good taste to show his disgust and ask “Where is the gold cup? ” Where indeed?
July 6, 2014
Silverstone Grand Prix 2014
Posted by morewheelspin under formula 1, Lotus, mclaren, motorsport, silverstone | Tags: british grand prix, damon hill, graham hill, mclaren m23, Silverstone, Utp march |Leave a Comment
After a gripping qualifying session in the rain yesterday the sun is shining at Silverstone for the 50th British Grand Prix held at this famous old Northamptonshire circuit. To celebrate that anniversary some of the stars from the past were out demonstrating some lovely old cars.
Below, Damon Hill driving his father Graham’s Lotus 49.
Below, Adrian Newey driving the UTP March followed by Emerson Fittipaldi in his McLaren M23. Behind him is the McLaren of James Hunt.
July 5, 2014
Racing MG3
Posted by morewheelspin under MG, motorsport, silverstone | Tags: mg 90, mg3, penske, Silverstone |Leave a Comment
A couple of weeks ago I went to Silverstone for the annual MG Car Club meeting. In between the races, a couple of demonstration laps by a rather special MG 3 caught peoples’ attention. The MG 3 has been out for about a year now and is selling relatively well given the current low profile of the company. It’s won plaudits from the critics for its fine handling and bargain price ( fully loaded its about £10,000). However, for the enthusiastic driver it has lacked one crucial ingredient-poke. In China the car is now available with a turbocharger but that option is not available as yet in the UK. The car paraded at Silverstone was a one-off race car. It’d been assembled by a skunk group at MG in Longbridge with money from the marketing team in China. They clearly wanted something sporty to show the press back home. The boys at Longbridge certainly did a fine job. The car was prepared and driven at Silverstone by MG’s engineering workshop manager. I had a good chat with him. He hoped that interest in the car might lead MG to prepare similar cars for a race series (like the old MGF Trophy) and also kits for owners to modify their own cars. Sounds appealing to me!
July 6, 2013
British Grand Prix Images
Posted by morewheelspin under lewis hamilton, mercedes benz, motorsport, silverstone | Tags: British GP, drivers parade, Hamilton, lotus, Mercedes, Raikkonen, red arrows, Silverstone |Leave a Comment
The lead up to the Grand Prix is always fun. Arriving early in the morning, watching the GP2 and Porsche Super Cup races and then the drivers’ parade.
After that there is time for a quick burger and a stretch in the sun. Some fans take their support beyond baseball caps and shirts with logos. Have a close look at the hair cuts of these two blokes. Kimi and Lewis would be pleased!
The Red Arrows always put on a terrific display. No big British summer event would be complete without them!
Sadly I was too far away from the track to be able to take good photos with my iPhone but here are some rather poor efforts.
Sadly Silverstone was the last GP I will be able to attend this season – can’t wait till next year!
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 |Leave a Comment
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 |Leave a Comment
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?