Always Meet Your Heroes

You know that phrase 'Never meet your heroes'? Well I've never stood much score by that. I honestly think that you should always meet your heroes - if you're disappointed when you meet them then maybe they don't deserve to be your hero in the first place. On the other hand, every time I've met one of my heroes, I've been thrilled and all the happier for the experience. This past weekend, I was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with my Dad. This is a huge motorsport event in the UK, and one of the best places for you to meet your motorsport heroes - something which meant one of my dreams was made a reality on Saturday...

Wednesday - The Shaky Start

The Festival of Speed is spread over four days, with Thursday hosting the Moving Motor Show; a place for manufacturers to show off their latest models. As Dad and I had bought tickets for all weekend, we decided to set off on Wednesday so we could be at the show bright and early on Thursday. We left the house around midday, hoping to arrive in around three hours. As per usual, we took our Range Rover - a car which has served us very well in the eight years that we've owned it. We also decided to take the caravan with us, as there's a lot to be said for having heating when you come back from a long day out!

So, with the Range Rover packed up and the caravan close behind, we made our way towards the motorway and on to Goodwood. However, after only a few miles on the motorway we hit a problem: the Rangey was overheating! We managed to get off of the motorway and into a nearby garage to let it cool down, however this situation was far from ideal. Dad had the idea that maybe the radiator was blocked up with mud from the off road trials. So, once the Rangey had cooled down we set off to a nearby relative's house to clear out the radiator. 

After a long time clearing out the mud, we set off for attempt two of Mission to Goodwood. Once we'd been on the run for 15 miles, we hadn't hit any problems, so we assumed all was well - although we didn't take any chances and stayed well clear of the motorway. A few hours of travel and what seemed like an endless traffic jam, we finally made it to the campsite at around quarter to 6 in the evening. We got the caravan set up, had dinner at the campsite's cafe and got ready for the first day of the show.

Thursday - The Moving Motor Show

We got up bright and early on Thursday, after hearing horror stories about the traffic getting into and out of Goodwood. Luckily, Thursday is one of the quieter days at Goodwood so we got in with no problem. After parking, we wandered over to the aviation exhibition (which was the way to the main gates), where a Lewis Hamilton look-alike was standing at an RAC trade stall. Of course, I posed for a photo before we continued in to the show. 

The first thing that we saw was the huge moving motor show area next to the start of the hillclimb. Inside was where manufacturers (including Ferrari, Mercedes, Fiat, Renault, Honda, Porsche and so many more) could show off their latest models. We had a look around, and so at 8:15 in the morning Dad and I got to sit in not one but two Rolls Royce cars - the Rolls Royce Phantom and Ghost! Now there's an opportunity that doesn't come along that often.

After wandering around the moving motor show for a while, we progressed on to the trade stands and the other manufacturer exhibitions outside. We walked past the Honda stand, where the BTCC car was on display. From there, we walked past Mercedes, which had loads of old and new models all together. The Lotus display was one of my favourites - mostly because they were showing off two Lotus-Renault F1 cars on the corner of their stand! When we went inside, Dad got chatting to a guy who worked for Lotus, hearing about the new technology and development that Lotus had conducted. That's one of the best things about Goodwood - you get a good chance to talk to other like-minded petrolheads without any restrictions. After looking over the Lotus cars, we moved on to the Renault display. Inside I saw my first Red Bull F1 car of the day! Of course, I ogled this car for quite some time before progressing to the other cars Renault were showing - some of them the very earliest models. One thing that did let me down in the Renault display was the showing of their latest electric car - the Twizy. This car honestly looks ridiculous, and throughout the rest of the day I must have seen hundreds being sent up the hillclimb - much to my distaste! All in all, I think I'd rather walk than get inside a Twizy... While browsing the stands, we came across a TVR Tuscan - one of my favourite cars, and one I intend to own some day. As with most exhibitors at the show, the guys at the stand were very welcoming and allowed me to sit in the Tuscan - yet another photo opportunity!

After more wandering around the stands, we headed over to the Goodwood Action Sports Arena; a place obviously for the daredevils among us. In this area, people who have no sense of danger launch their motorbikes and pushbikes over large jumps and perform stunts such as backflipsmotorsport!

From there, I caught eye of a large Red Bull logo, and of course I went over to investigate. It was the Red Bull Gridster's area; a place where people could compete in videogames to be crowned the virtual racing champion. In this area, we also saw another Red Bull F1 car (another photo opportunity of course), and the Gran Turismo car designed by the brainboxes at Red Bull as a "What if there were no restrictions" exercise. After staring at my beloved Red Bull F1 car once more, we then watched the hillclimb for a while.

On Thursday, the hillclimb is full of demonstration runs of the newest makes of car. While some manufacturers were showing off the big, shouty-engined supercars, others were demonstrating their electric models. I'm kind of against electric cars. While I understand the ethos of being eco-friendly, I must admit I like the sound of a noisy engine much more. That probably says a lot about my character, but there we go!

When we'd seen enough Renault Twizy cars than we could stomach, we wandered over to the F1 paddock. On the way, we saw the amazing Lotus sculpture outside Goodwood house. The reviews were right: the sculptures outside the house are really impressive! When we got to the paddock, we saw so many F1 cars that I thought I'd died and gone to petrolhead heaven! The contemporary F1 cars on display included Lotus, Caterham, McLaren, Red Bull and, somewhat to my surprise, Ferrari. We also saw F1 cars from every other era from teams including Williams, Ferrari, Tyrrel, Lotus and way too many more for me to list. We also saw other race cars from many disciplines, and even the odd supercar.

Once we'd been overloaded with racing cars, and after we'd watched the Ferrari F1 car being delivered, we headed over to the Cartier Style Et Luxe display to look at the luxury design icons of the car world. To our joy, there were even a couple of Land Rovers thrown in! Directly opposite this display was the supercar paddock - probably one of the most expensive areas of the show. In this area, we saw almost every type of supercar worth seeing, including two Bugatti Veyrons, the Red Bull Infiniti cars and Pagani cars for good measure. As well as the supercars, a third Red Bull F1 car was thrown in! See what I mean about petrolhead heaven?

You might think that by now we'd seen every possible display of cars, but oh no. We walked down from the supercar paddock over to the Cathedral Paddock, where more racing cars were being held before their attempt at the hillclimb on the coming days. We saw contemporary racers, as well as some lovely classics from the very early days of motorsport. It was great to see the evolution of racers, and it's a rare opportunity to see so many cars in the same space.

The day still wasn't over, and so from Cathedral Paddock we wandered back up through the F1 paddock and along the hillclimb to the rally stage. This was the only time we did this walk: let me tell you now that the hillclimb at Goodwood is LONG! On the other days we opted to take the tractor shuttle towards the rally stage - a wise decision I feel! However, once we did get up to the rally stage we were rewarded by being able to see loads of rally cars up close. Once we'd had our fill, we wandered back down the hill, through the F1 paddock one last time (where we saw Alain Prost, but at the time didn't register who it was!) and eventually headed back to the campsite absolutely exhausted!

Thursday photos:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Friday - Our First Stars

On Friday we got up a little later, mostly because of the tiredness from Thursday! Unfortunately, this meant that we caught the traffic and it took us an hour to travel four miles. Still, we managed to get into the circuit for 9:00, giving us plenty of time to look around. When we arrived, we saw the first lot of cars attempting the hillclimb in anger. Even though some people were attempting timed runs, those who were on the hill for show managed to perform some stunts to entertain those of us in the crowd. One person who was performing a timed run who managed to entertain us - Terry Grant, who attempted the hillclimb in reverse!

We managed to wander around most of the bottom section of the hillclimb, before we headed off to the F1 paddock for a second time. While we were in there, we saw a pre-war Mercedes being fired up. In stark contrast to the electric cars, this Mercedes sounded great - although most of the crowd jumped at the noise! As we were walking away Dad spotted an F1 star - Nick Heidfeld! Sadly, Nick disappeared into the crowd before we got a chance to get any autographs or photos, but it was cool to know that F1 stars were still wandering around, even on the main show days.

From the paddock, we headed up to the shuttle tractors to the rally stage. We had to wait a fair while, however eventually we got on to the tractor and up to the rally stage. When we were up there, we managed to catch a glimpse of the Red Arrows display - something which is always impressive. Once the air display was over, we walked into the rally stage to watch the rally cars in action. We walked around most of the outside of the stage, before heading back down the hill. As we were wandering out of the woods, a car crashed into a tree right behind us. This highlighted the dangers of the chalky surface in the stage, coupled with the rain we had on that day!

We watched the hillclimb as we walked back down the hill, seeing cars ranging from F1, endurance racing, touring cars, supercars and many more. I don't think I've seen so many cars from so many disciplines in one weekend.

As on Thursday, we wandered back through the F1 paddock before we set off to the campsite. When we were in there, I spotted Jerome D'Ambrosio by the Lotus truck! Just as he was setting off to the driver's club I managed to have my photo taken with him - the first F1 star I met over the weekend! 

After the final wander through the paddock, we went back to look at the Alain Prost display. In here, there were F1 cars that Prost had driven over his career, as well as photos documenting his career to date. What we weren't expecting to see was the man himself! I of course went over and managed to get my first autograph of the weekend. Smiles all round!

Friday Photos:

Part 1

Part 2

Saturday - Meeting My Hero

Now, I'll digress for a moment. As you're probably already aware, I'm a Vettel fan. Sebastian is my absolute hero, and I've been a fan of him for quite a long time. I love his attitude and approach to races, and it's something I have tried to incorporate into my academic career. On Saturday at Goodwood, Vettel was due to attend. As I mentioned at the start of the blog, I've never believed in the 'Never meet your heroes' phrase, and I was desperate to meet Seb in person for the first time. 

We left the campsite much earlier than Friday, something which paid off as we arrived before the gates had even opened! This gave us plenty of time to wander around the trade stands once again, where Dad bought me a Team Lotus backpack (my usual Land Rover bag had been killing my back, so I needed something a little more practical!). Once we'd looked around for quite some time, we headed over to the Red Bull Gridster's area. Seb wasn't due to arrive until 9:45 so, content in the knowledge that this was the place to meet Sebastian, we headed back over to the hillclimb to watch the pioneering cars set off from the start line. 

We stayed at the hillclimb for a while, but knowing what the crowds were like at Goodwood we wandered back over to the Gridsters area to ensure we got a good spot to have the best chance of meeting Sebastian. We arrived just in time, and I managed to get a good place right at the front of the crowd! After quite a wait, I spotted Sebastian standing in the VIP area of the Gristers stand. When Seb had completed his interviews, he headed over to the stage through the crowd. He signed loads of autographs - but walked straight past my Red Bull Haynes manual book! I worried a little that I wouldn't get my autograph after this, but I was still happy that I got to see Seb so close. We stayed for the whole event, during which Sebastian raced the current Gran Turismo champion and gave an interview. After this, I thought that Sebastian would simply head off to his next appointment, however to my joy he came back down to sign more autographs! I got my autograph (the smile was even bigger), and asked whether he'd mind if I had my photo with him. After a nervous second waiting for the answer, Seb replied 'Sure! Just let me sign these autographs and we can take it' - to my delight of course! Another worrying moment arrived though, as a member of Red Bull staff tried to pull him away to his next appointment. Luckily, Sebastian was lovely enough to still let me have a picture together, and he even waited to make sure the photo came out alright - what a guy! I have to say, by this point I was probably the happiest person alive, and Sebastian/Red Bull, if you're reading this, THANK YOU! You've made a motorsport geek very happy! After wishing Seb good luck for the rest of the season, we headed away from the Gridsters, mission accomplished and ready to enjoy the rest of the day.  

 

From this point (still with a large grin on my face) we headed back over to the hillclimb to watch the bikes and F1 cars. Of course, the riders and drivers were keen to impress the crowd, and we saw our fair share of wheelies and donuts - cue the tyre smoke! There really is nothing like the sound of an F1 car in front of you - it's something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.

 

 

By this time, it was around lunch and we were both pretty worn out from the wandering of the past few days, so we headed over by the Blackrock Driver's Club, where people were waiting for more autographs. I waited there for a while, not really expecting to meet anyone, but to my surprise Karun Chandhok came over! I managed to get another autograph, and then had a much needed sit down to rest for a while.

After resting, we once again watched the hillclimb. In between stages, we also saw a 'Jubilee moment' featuring cars which had at one time carried royalty. This was accompanied by canon fire, fireworks and the Irish Guards - quite a spectacle, even if you're not a royalist. Saturday also featured another air display - that of the Tornados. Again this was quite something, and honestly it was one of many moments when nobody knew what to look at!

Our final visit of the day was to my beloved F1 paddock, where the F1 cars were returning from their second runs. Vettel was the last F1 car in, and for the second time in my life a Red Bull F1 car performed a burnout two feet in front of me. It was worth the damage to my ears - thank you Sebastian!

Saturday Photos:
Part 1
Part 2

Sunday - The Rally Stage

On Sunday we decided to spend most of the day at the rally stage. The tractors weren't running when we arrived, so we investigated more of the trade stands. While we were browsing, we came across some wacky racers - both from the cartoon and some more innovative and realistic versions! We saw real-life versions of the cars from the Wacky Races cartoon, probably one of the TV series from my childhood that got me in to motorsport. We also saw cars made from a double bed and an office (where the steering wheel was actually a keyboard!). Honestly, we saw new things every day.

After we'd wandered for quite a while, we headed up to the rally stage. We managed to wander quite a way in to the stage, seeing the jumps and a load of sideways cars. As much as I love rallying, I'd never actually seen a rally stage in person. After watching it at Goodwood, I still think that if money were no object, I'd happily become a rally driver. 

When the stage had closed for lunch, we headed over to the top paddock, where the cars waited to descend back down the hill after their climb. The F1 cars had come back from their first run, and as we arrived we saw Nico Rosberg giving out autographs. We also heard from the commentators that Nick Heidfeld was up at the rally stage, after asking Skoda whether he could have a ride around. Of course, we didn't want to miss the opportunity to meet yet another F1 driver, so we wandered over to the rally cars. Nick didn't sign any autographs before heading out, but when he returned he happily posed for a photo and signed my programme - thanks Nick!

We had lunch after this, then wandered back over to the top paddock. At the time, it wasn't that full, so I managed to get a spot right next to the fence. This paid off, as the supercars came up next - with the Infiniti cars being driven by Mark Webber and Adrian Newey. I managed to get two photos with each, and my Red Bull Haynes manual gained two more signatures. So, once again Red Bull made my weekend!

We stood around there for a while longer, and watched the F1 cars come back up the hill. I have to say now, that I have never seen so many F1 cars doing donuts in my life. Mark Webber must have gone for the record, with at least seven consecutive spins around. You have to love a bit of showing off!

Once we'd watched the F1 cars for the last time, we headed back into the rally stage to watch some more sliding around and drifting cars. We walked through the stage to get back to the hillclimb before watching the top 20 cars competing for the fastest time up the hill. This was yet another moment when we didn't know where to look, as we could see the rally stage, hillclimb and racing buggies all at the same time! When we'd watched all of the cars, we walked back down the hill and watched the last cars of the day make their way around (including a great few stunts!). We eventually left at 7 after the curfew fell on the show, and headed back to our campsite. 

Sunday Photos:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The End

So, all in all a fantastic weekend! One last thing to mention was that when we were leaving the campsite on Monday, we passed two Infiniti supercars - one of which was showing off the Red Bull logo. This was pretty cool in itself, but when I looked over to the other Infiniti I looked at who was in the passenger seat. It looked suspiciously like my hero - Sebastian. With that last moment of awe, we drove back home (a much less dramatic journey than getting there!). Same time next year?

Predict Unpredictability

This morning I saw an article on the Sky Sports website in which Jenson Button claimed this year's unpredictability in the 2012 F1 season is bad for the sport, and will ultimately drive fans away. This was somewhat of a surprise to me, as personally this unpredictability is making the sport more - not less - exciting for most of us fans out here.

The 2012 F1 season has thus far seen 6 different winners in the six races. Jenson Button claimed the first win in Australia back in March, followed by Fernando Alonso in Malaysia, Nico Rosberg in China, Sebastian Vettel in Bahrain, Pastor Maldonado in Spain and Mark Webber in Monaco this weekend. This is the first time that we've seen such an opening to the season in F1 history - and yet Jenson believes this is a bad thing?

Admittedly, Jenson did have a point in saying that we couldn't see who had the best car this year. But, I disagree that this is bad for the sport. In having such variability, we might get a chance at seeing whose driving skill is better at any particular race. Maldonado's win in Spain highlighted that even if you don't have a dominant car, you can still win a race. Whether this is also down to the variability of the tracks suiting different cars is another point, but all of these factors together mean that the races are not a foregone conclusion.

If we think back to 2011, when Sebastian was so dominant, I recall seeing much more complaining that Red Bull were destroying the unknown element to the championship. We all knew that Red Bull and Sebastian would win the championship. This year, there are six drivers within one race win of each other, with Button one win and a 7th place just behind. So, when you have seven drivers in contention for the world championship, surely this is better than having a one-horse race. Admittedly, I loved the 2011 season - I am somewhat biased as Vettel is my favourite driver. Plus, the racing last year arguably made up for the fact that we often knew who was going to win before the race even started. So, having the racing of 2011 plus the unpredictability would surely bring more fans to the sport, rather than driving them away?

Further in the Sky article, Martin Whitmarsh also disagreed with Button and spoke of opinion a few years ago when the racing was seen as processional. Indeed, when Schumacher was so dominant, winning seven world titles, many fans were put off, as it was clear who would win without even watching.

So, while it may be annoying for drivers to not know where they stand race by race, and while it's also annoying for statisticians and betting companies, who would like at least a partial element of predictability; unpredictability is not a bad thing for the fans. I say let the championship continue as it is, and bring the question of who wins the titles down to the very last race. How can anyone fail to be hooked on this year? If you want to know who's going to win, you have to watch the races! Thus, we should expect the unexpected, predict the unpredictable and let the races play out as they will. Who knows what we'll see in the rest of the season?

That Bahrain Race

In my last post, I briefly eluded to the latest controversy in F1; that of whether the F1 circus should be making its way to Bahrain given the difficulties currently faced there. There's been no end of coverage in the media about this point, with different outlets giving different views on why F1 should or shouldn't attend this weekend.

Last week, Bernie Ecclestone met with the teams to discuss the race after the FIA had previously stated that everything would be going ahead. Sure enough, after the meeting Bahrain was confirmed as going ahead, prompting criticism from some.

There are a lot of media outlets discussing the ethical issues surrounding attendance in Bahrain. I'm obviously not an expert on the situation in the country, but I can see the point of those citing this reason for cancelling the race. There are massive human rights issues in Bahrain, something which I'm sure most people want to see changed. It's obviously unacceptable that people in the country are being treated poorly, and it should be a matter of importance to rectify this. However, I'm in disagreement with many who claim that F1 should abandon the race on these moral grounds. Personally, I'm with Bernie Ecclestone et al. who state that F1 is a sport, and as such should not be involved in the political debates of the country. Yes, F1 does bring benefits to the countries it visits by way of tourism and so on, however I disagree that F1 itself can be a catalyst for political reforms.

Because of the events in Bahrain making the issue of human rights more salient, a lot of people have been talking about F1's presence in China - another country with problematic human rights issues. People have questioned whether it is morally right for F1 to take place in countries which treat their citizens poorly, and it's right to question these points and get an insight into the politics of a country. However, politics is just that. It's not the place for a sport to try and reform a country by protesting and withdrawing. Reforms should be left to people in places of authority - governments and such. While Bernie Ecclestone undoubtedly has power and influence, this influence does not - and should not - extend into the range of changing a country. The attendance of F1 in a country with poor human rights records does not mean that the sport is an advocate of this country's mode of operation, it simply means that a sporting event is going to take place. As such, I'm not wholly swayed by the argument against Bahrain on moral grounds.

What I am more concerned with is the safety of the people who will be in attendance of the race - not just teams, but spectators, officials, caterers and so on. Mark Webber summed this up nicely when speaking to the BBC - there is always large security precautions for the teams and drivers, however it's also important to protect everyone else in attendance at the race. There has clearly been unrest in Bahrain, leading to violence and injury. These outcomes are intolerable for anyone to experience, and so I would question whether it's right that F1 should attend if there is a large risk of the event becoming a target. 

Of course, at any event there are security issues. Red Bull announced after the meeting with Bernie Ecclestone that their security would be tightened at Bahrain, however that this was not far removed from the security provided for any other race. Any large event is going to appear to be a target for violence, and the situation in Bahrain is just enhancing that. However there's no reason why the event shouldn't take place providing that precautions are taken and the whole thing stays safe.

Ultimately, the FIA has taken the decision to hold the race, and everyone has to accept that judgement. Bernie Ecclestone stated that nobody was forced to take part in the event if they genuinely had concerns (although he also reminded everyone that all teams were bound to a contract stating they had to take part in all events on the calendar, so this point is arguably dubious), and all teams have been consulted. Nobody wants anyone to be at risk during a sporting event, and it's up to the officials to make sure that risks of all sorts are minimised. If the FIA honestly believed that there were huge safety implications to racing in Bahrain then we can safely assume that the event would have been cancelled. As for the moral issues in the country, well I'm sorry but this has little to do with F1 or any other sport (let's not forget the large golfing tournament taking place in Bahrain as well). While ethical problems are damnable, it's up to politicians and the like to fix them - not F1 teams. Providing the situation in Bahrain doesn't worsen, in all likelihood we'll be watching the racing action this weekend. Hopefully it will be another memorable race, but let's hope that's for the on-track racing than for any other reason.

Three to a Corner

After yesterday's qualifying giving us a mixed-up grid, we all knew we'd be in for a treat for China's 2012 grand prix. For the first time since 1955, it was Mercedes locking out the front row of the grid, while the bigger teams were somewhat further down the field. In the mix we had Saubers and Lotus-Renaults, so the prospects for the race were promising.

After the lights went out, Vettel had an absolutely terrible start and slipped from 11th to 15th - a disappointment for the Red Bull fans. However, if you're a fan of German drivers you'll be pleased to know that Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher maintained their place at the front of the field during the first stint. The McLarens also had a pretty good start, and Button and Hamilton made their way towards the front alongside Mark Webber's Red Bull. With all these top drivers at the front, there was a hell of a lot of close racing - it was a miracle that we only had one retirement during the race; Schumacher's spell of bad luck continued with a mistake in the pitstop and ultimately a loose wheel.

If you've not watched the race, you should just to see the epic battle towards the end of the race involving both Lotuses, both Red Bulls and both McLarens. Seeing three F1 cars heading into a corner at the same time is quite a sight to see, especially when getting off-line leads the car into the marbles!

China is a race when it's notoriously difficult to find a good strategy. A two-stop strategy was feasible, however the driver's tyre management would have to be sublime for it to be pulled off. Because of the tyre wear, the majority of the top teams elected for a three-stop - even though they'd lose the time of an extra stop compared to those on the alternative strategy. So, who did what? Well Nico Rosberg ended up on a two-stop strategy, and eventually went on to win the race by quite a comfortable margin. It could be argued that we were deprived of a battle between Rosberg and Button, as Button's third stop was less than perfect, however nobody can deny that Rosberg deserved that first win - especially considering that so many of us doubted the Mercedes' ability to maintain their pace in the race. Third and fourth place men Hamilton and Webber also elected for three-stop strategies, which allowed them to pass the fifth place man on a two-stop strategy, Sebastian Vettel. Yep, the guy who can't race managed to recover to fifth. Make of that what you will, but I'm pretty pleased...

Once again we had an absolutely thrilling race, with closer battles than anything I've seen for a while. It doesn't seem that any one team has a straight advantage, although for the time being both McLarens are leading the championship. As for who is the favourite for the title this year, I think it's way too soon to tell. In races like today's, anything can change in an instant - again it was a massive surprise that only Schumacher retired. As I said in a previous post, although we've had to wait so long over the winter for the season to begin, it was definitely worth it.

Next weekend is the race in Bahrain - something which has been subject to a lot of speculation given the situation there. The FIA confirmed yesterday that the race would definitely be going ahead, something which I'm in two minds about. I know there was a lot of talk about whether F1 should be going to Bahrain or not based on ethical concerns, however personally I'm not sure this has a lot to do with F1. My personal misgivings about the race taking place aren't based on the ethical dilemmas in the country (although obviously this situation isn't acceptable), but are more linked to the safety aspects. Mark Webber commented on this beautifully in an BBC article earlier this week, arguing that safety isn't so much an issue for teams and drivers, but the other people heading to and from the track every day. Overall, it's the FIA's decision whether to race or not, and obviously they wouldn't have chosen to attend if the situation was unsafe. With any luck, the race next weekend will be memorable for its racing, rather than the political situation surrounding it. Either way, 2012 is shaping up to be an interesting season.

Qualifying Surprises of a Different Sort

Once again it's a grand prix weekend, with this week's action coming from China. Qualifying took place at 7 this morning, and it definitely held a few surprises which should make for an intriguing race tomorrow. This season, McLaren have been confident in all the race weekends so far - despite Lewis Hamilton's sometimes grumpy demeanour. While 2011 was Red Bull's qualifying season, this year it looks as though McLaren have the advantage, securing a front-row lock out in Australia and a third place slot for Lewis in Malaysia. However, this weekend the team have had a few hurdles, with Lewis having to take a 5-place grid drop due to a gearbox change, meaning that his second position on the grid actually translates into seventh. Jenson Button also had a somewhat disappointing session, only qualifying sixth (translating into fifth after Lewis's penalty).

With the McLarens further down, you'd expect the other two big teams to be ahead. Well, this also prompted suprise this morning. Despite Alonso's promising win in Malaysia, Ferrari this week could only manage 9th and 12th, with Alonso out-qualifying Massa once again. Whether the team can turn this around in the race is a question to be answered tomorrow. So what of the Red Bulls? Well, this was perhaps the biggest surprise of all, with Webber no higher than 7th and Vettel not making Q3 for the first time since 2009, instead only managing 11th place.

Now, you should all be aware that I'm a Red Bull girl anyway, and Vettel is without doubt my favourite driver, so I'm leading on to a slight rant here. After Q2 with Vettel out of Q3, Twitter was awash with what I can only describe as childish tweets. Some people were simply laughing at the driver's misfortune, others were making sarcastic comments, and still more were questioning Vettel's ability in F1. While I understand that we all have our own favourites and not all drivers are to all tastes, the frankly low comments I saw on Twitter were embarrassing. I know for example that I'm not the biggest fan of Lewis Hamilton (largely for the fact that his personality has shifted since he first started driving and since he won the 2008 championship - that and the earrings), however I don't ever mock him if he gets a bad result. I certainly don't question his ability in an F1 car either. I recall a comment by Martin Brundle that there are seven billion people in the world, and only 24 F1 drivers in the sport right now. Surely then we should all have respect for every one of those drivers on that grid, as they've proven their talent throughout their careers? Thus, one bad result doesn't mean that the competitor isn't a good driver, and we have to examine other aspects to the session which could contribute to a poor result (for example, Vettel running an old spec exhaust while Webber ran the newer spec).

I think the Vettel-hate on Twitter is largely to do with the success of the driver, and from reading comments (and through personal experience in my academic career) I've noticed that people generally don't like successful people and rejoice when they fall. It seems silly to question Vettel's ability as a result of one bad qualifying session. The guy's won two world championships and was absolutely dominant throughout last year. Before you utter the age old cry 'but it was the car!', I'd ask you to consider that Webber could not match Vettel's performance in the identical Red Bull, so I think that this is a point which is null and void. This year, Red Bull clearly haven't got the dominance with the car, hence the poorer results for both drivers. A similar thing happened after Brawn became Mercedes - the car which dominated 2009 just dropped away in 2010. These things happen, even if the ability of the driver stays the same.

Another case in point is the performance of Alonso. Ferrari have obviously been having issues in the past couple of years, and yet I don't see anyone questioning whether Alonso is a good driver or not. So why the target on Vettel? Like I said before, all 24 of these drivers have exceptional talent to make it this far, and to post childish comments on a social networking site is just petty to me and I'm urging fans to grow up just a little, and at least form some coherent arguments! With any luck, as the season progresses we'll be able to see an improvement for the Red Bull guys, and hopefully the petty comments will stop so we can all go back to watching races and appreciating them no matter who is driving.

So, with the top three teams suffering in China's qualifying session, who took the top slots? Well, after Hamilton's penalty we've got an all Silver Arrows front row, with the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg occupying the first slot (a career first for Rosberg) and Schumacher following close behind. This is a phenomenal achievement, and Mercedes are proving that their car has the pace in qualifying. It could be argued that the aerodynamic system on the rear wing of the car is helping a lot during qualifying (as use of DRS is pretty much unlimited during quali and practice sessions), however we've yet to see this sort of advantage during the race itself. Again, tomorrow will tell us exactly what Mercedes can do.

The third and fourth slots on the grid are also occupied by some surprising drivers. Third place went to Kamui Kobayashi, which is promising for Sauber considering their excellent achievements in Malaysia. Fourth place went to Lotus Renault's Kimi Raikkonen

Motorsport, or: How to Survive the Thought of Six Exams

I'm at the end of my penultimate week of my second term of my second year of university. In this time, I've had a hell of a lot of ups and downs and a phenomenal amount of coursework and revision. Over the past couple of weeks, it's been pretty intensive. We've had written coursework, as well as exams crammed into the last two weeks. It's honestly felt that I've had no life outside of university. So, how do I still have a shred of sanity left? The answer: Motorsport.

I have to admit that in the week before the first F1 race in Australia I was going completely mad. I was writing up an essay for cognitive psychology, I was working on another essay for social psychology and I was writing a practical report for statistics. I was also revising for the two exams, and trying to plan my revision for the summer exams. The only thing that kept me from going mad was the thought of having a weekend off at home watching the race. I also think that the F1 race helped me massively with my organisation, and consequently I'm now finished with all of my coursework for the year. I know it seems incredibly random, but the reason for this is simply that to justify having my F1 weekends off, I had to finish my work early.

So, now that my coursework's over, I'm looking towards the six summer exams. It's going to be pretty intensive over April and May, but I'm not worried at all and I have a huge motivator. Namely, that in the summer my Dad and I will be going to the Grand Prix in Spa, as well as the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Having motivators like this is a huge help I find. If I don't have anything to look forward to in the summer, the work seems kind of wearing and drags along. However, because of the thought of these trips I know I'm going to increase my preparation and work especially hard, just because it feels as though I'm working towards my holiday and my motorsport trips. Of course, the race weekends over this time will be of massive help, so that I actually remember to have some time off and relax a little. If I didn't have those weekends then I know I would just work almost 24/7 and end up more stressed and wound up than Massa when he's being told to let Alonso past...

With this in mind, let me give you an overview of the trips Dad and I will be taking this year. Firstly, we'll be going to the Goodwood Festival of Speed at the end of June and start of July. I've wanted to go to this for the past couple of years, but financial constraints have often been a bit of a barrier to this. However this year the festival have introduced a young person's ticket, which is half price of a full adult ticket. So, if you're under 21 and can prove this then you're allowed this cheaper entry. A big attraction of this festival is the sheer proximity to the cars and drivers. At other shows and events like Autosport or even F1 weekends you're fairly closed off from the cars and drivers, however at Goodwood everything's made more accessible and you are allowed just a bit closer to the elite world of motorsport. This is a particular attraction for me this year, as Red Bull Racing will be in attendance with both drivers of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, as well as Christian Horner and Adrian Newey. Hopefully soon we'll get the tickets booked up, and you can definitely expect an update when I've been to the race!

The second big trip this year is another F1 weekend away. Last year, Dad and I went to the Nurburgring to watch the German Grand Prix. It was the most amazing weekend I've ever had, and it still brings a smile to my face to remember it, and honestly I don't think you can have a more vivid memory than standing next to the circuit's fence with Schumacher's Mercedes passing by you at eye level! This year, we're heading to Spa Francorchamps, one of the most iconic races on the calendar. I booked the tickets last week, and we've got access to most of the circuit. We've also got camping booked, so we'll be staying just outside the circuit itself. If the atmosphere at the Nurburgring was anything to go by, it should be another amazing weekend!

So now that I've given you an overview of where we're going and what we're doing, it should give you a bit more of an idea why motorsport is such an important feature in my life. University work is hard, I don't care what anyone says. To some people, having nights out in clubs or bars is what they do to relax and (possibly) motivate themselves. Personally, I don't go anywhere near the archetypal student stuff. Instead, my motivation and relaxation comes from watching cars zoom round circuits, or occasionally driving in off road competitions myself. When I go on big trips to F1 races or to shows like Goodwood, it reminds me that the work I did throughout the year was worth the effort, just to get to this break. Hopefully there will be many more trips in the future!

And we're back!

It's 8 in the morning, and I've been awake for 3 and a half hours already. The weekend's race in Australia has just ended and marked the start of the season. I have to say, it was worth sacrificing the weekend's sleep!

On Saturday, the qualifying session presented us with the first opportunity in which to see what teams had the edge. People who aren't so experienced in F1 might wonder why we had to wait until qualifying to see who was fastest what with the weekend's three practice sessions and the preseason testing. Well, testing is notoriously unreliable for predicting who will be the fastest, and so there is very little that anyone can glean from these sessions. In practice sessions, it's often unclear as to who is sandbagging and hiding their pace. So, it's on the qualifying sessions that we can see who is genuinely fast.

After Red Bull's dominance of 2011, a lot of people were wondering whether they could do it again. As the three quali sessions progressed, it looked increasingly like this wasn't the case. Q3 sadly confirmed that the massive gap of Red Bull had diminished over the break, and we didn't see Sebastian's perfect lap. Instead, the McLarens appeared to have the edge over the rest of the field, with Hamilton getting pole and Button second, locking out the front row for the first time in a few seasons. You might expect Red Bull to be just behind this, however you'd be surprised. Romain Grosjean instead took the third spot in the Lotus. So, where were Red Bull? Fourth? Nope. That spot went to none other than Michael Schumacher, suggesting that the experienced racer might be returning to his old form. Of course, it's early in the season so this is a question which may remain unanswered. Finally, in fifth and sixth positions we found the Red Bulls, with Webber out qualifying Vettel. Rosberg followed the two Red Bulls, himself followed by the Williams of Pastor Maldonado, again suggesting that this team might be having a much better season than in 2011. The Force India of Nico Hulkenberg and the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo made up the last of those in Q3, and I think this year the mid-field battles will be much close than last year. You might have noticed that I haven't mentioned the Ferrari drivers. Well, qualifying for the red cars was a bit of a let down, with Alonso beaching himself in the gravel in Q2, and Massa just not getting up to speed in the session. They eventually qualified 12th and 16th. The final surprise of the first 2012 quali session was Raikkonen's inability to get out of Q3, qualifying 18th.

So, with a fairly jumbled grid set up all we had to do was get up at 6am to watch how the race would unfold. The McLaren of Jenson Button made a fantastic start, overtaking Lewis to take 1st. To my delight, Vettel also had a brilliant start, getting behind Schumacher and Nico Rosberg after another good start for the Mercedes. Alonso also appeared to come from nowhere and managed to get himself in the top 10. The race unfolded fairly eventfully, with a lot of overtaking (not least from Vettel, prompting me to ask whether we can leave behind the argument that Seb can't race - I think he's proven himself as a racer for quite some time now) and one safety car after the Caterham of Petrov pulled over on the pit straight. While the safety car was out, Seb pitted the Red Bull (named Abbey this year, following on from Luscious Liz, Kinky Kylie, Kate's Dirty Sister and Kate) and managed to leapfrog Hamilton's McLaren. From there on, there was a lot of close racing between second, third and fourth places, however eventually this resolved into a train of Vettel, Hamilton and Webber (Webber's best finish in his home race). Jenson Button ultimately won the first race of the season.

Further back in the field, there were a lot of surprises and disappointments. Schumacher's car broke down, so sadly we didn't get to see whether he had returned to his old ways. After Maldonado's close racing with the double world champion Alonso, he dipped a wheel on the grass and crashed into a barrier on the last few laps of the race. Despite Grosjean's amazing qualifying position, the race wasn't quite as favourable after he ended up in the gravel having almost lost a wheel. Raikkonen's fate, however, was much better. Even though he had an abysmal qualifying session, he eventually ended up in 7th place, securing six championship points on his return. Honestly, I think that Lotus will be a team to watch this season, providing their races go without incident and they have decent qualifying sessions. Again, it's early in the season so watch this space!

Overall, it looks as though the season will be a close fight between McLaren and Red Bull, with Ferrari having some catching up to do like last season. Sauber also appeared to be moving up the mid-field, with (the remarkably entertaining) Kobayashi ending up just behind Alonso in 6th place, and Perez finishing 8th. Williams appear to be having a better season than last year, however some bad luck during the race meant that they couldn't reap the rewards this time round.

2012 then looks like a good one. With 19 races left to go, the championship is far from decided and anything can yet happen. I can definitely say that the sleep deprivation was worth it, but if you weren't as keen on getting up a stupid o'clock then go watch

The Long Overdue Post

I sit here after watching the phenomenal Korean Grand Prix and I am writing an apology. I have been somewhat neglectful of this blog of mine lately, largely because of my return to university and the start of a whole new year of hard work. While I have a spare 20 minutes or so though, I feel I should update you with my life outside of university and let you know about my recent motorsport musings.

Since my last post (over a month ago... Sorry...) things have been all go in the world of motorsport and I thought I'd start with my favourite piece of news: Sebastian Vettel is the youngest ever double F1 world champion! Obviously, you've probably all heard this anyway, but news such as this is deserving of at least a mention. I'm incredibly biased anyway (a look around my room would tell you this - a Vettel poster, flag and Red Bull Racing merchandise litters my living space), but there's not much debate that Vettel absolutely deserves this second title. As of this morning, Vettel has won ten races and been off of the podium only once (funnily enough in Germany - the race I attended). His qualifying has been absolutely phenomenal, being on the front row in most races. In terms of points, Sebastian has (so far) acquired 349 out of a possible 400 - that's 87.25% of all available points. If he wins the final three races, he'll match Schumacher's most number of wins in a single season. Oh, and for those who doubted his overtaking ability then I suggest you watch the past couple of races again. An awesome move on Fernando Alonso and today's overtake for the lead on Lewis Hamilton should put a stop to the rumours that Vettel's not a racer. So, very well done that man! This morning also, Red Bull managed to seal a second consecutive constructor's world championship - a testament to the dedication of all the staff working for the team, and of course well deserved. Well done that team!

The Korean Grand Prix today was absolutely amazing. We've been treated to some good races this year and this one has to be one of the best. Battles between Webber and Hamilton were a joy to watch, and the psychology of the teams and drivers is getting more and more apparent in each race. An example of this is Fernando Alonso's dummy radio message of "I'm giving up, I'm giving up" - potentially an attempt to get Jenson Button to slow a little and give Fernando more of a chance of overtaking. With any luck we'll get to see more and more of this throughout the remainder of the season.

During Korea, we also saw the first non-Red Bull pole position since November last year. Lewis Hamilton managed to grab pole position at the last moment. Now, you'd have thought that Lewis would have been thrilled to halt Red Bull's Saturday pace, but apparently not. After getting out of the car, Lewis slowly wandered over to get weighed, seemingly disappointed with his performance. I'm not going to speculate why exactly Lewis is behaving in this way: no doubt the media will be all over this soon anyway. However, I do think that Lewis's image is in danger of being pulled down what with his behaviour recently. His on track performance has been subject to scrutiny by stewards, drivers, teams and fans alike. We're just not seeing the measured aggression of the old Lewis. Whether this is to do with his bad luck this year or some sort of personal issue I don't know. Hopefully he'll pick up in the next few races, if for no other reason than to build his reputation back up and gain more respect.

Now, my involvement in motorsport hasn't suffered as a result of returning to university. Of course, I've been watching the F1, but I've also been planning more trips and have visited Brands Hatch once again. The next big trip I have planned is a visit to Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix. After going to the Nurburgring this year, I don't think I could go a whole year without hearing the sound of an F1 engine or experiencing the atmosphere of thousands of F1 fans sharing a race. So, with any luck the tickets for next year's race at Spa will be booked very shortly, and another summer trip will ensue - watch this space!

A few weeks ago my Dad and I took my nephew back to Brands Hatch to watch the British Touring Car Championship. I've been watching the BTCC on the television this year, and the racing in this discipline is just insane. So, of course, I had to see it in person. Brands Hatch seems to be offering a lot more to the fans recently, with pit walks being a fixture of the big races I've attended. So, early in the morning we went down to Brands and managed to get a walk around the pits. Autographs ensued, and my nephew managed to grab a grand total of 18 posters. I was also thrilled with my chance to get a photograph of Tom Chilton, and very pleased when Frank Wrathall signed my programme, despite officials trying to usher fans out of the pits. Thanks to Mr Wrathall for staying and making a motorsport geek very happy!

The support races included the Ginettas, Ginetta Juniors, Formula Renault and the Porsche Supercup. The Ginetta Junior race was surprisingly slow, but then again the drivers are all around the age of 14! It's interesting to see the young drivers build up their race technique, and this training is important as most of the drivers were warned for dangerous driving!

I was pleased that the PorscheNurburgring, and it brought back memories of the F1 atmosphere. The lead driver, however, suffered some bad luck as he gained a puncture, forcing him to sit by the fence at Graham Hill Bend.

The BTCC races were really quite fast paced, however we couldn't see a whole lot of the race as the Grand Prix circuit was being used. However, a lot of cars seemed to be pushing hard where we were stood. When the tyres of a racing car go off, you can really see it. Especially when numerous drivers end up off the circuit right where you're standing! Jason Plato was the man with the best luck of the day, as he won the first two races - no doubt pleasing the fans wearing the Plato masks!

So, once again I apologise for the neglect of the blog, but it's good to be back! Hopefully there will be many more motorsport musings to come with the closing of the F1 season and hopefully with more Brands Hatch trips to come.

I Love F1. I'd Love To Drive. But I Don't Envy The Drivers...

If you're a regular reader of this blog you'll be aware of my obsession with motorsport and F1 in particular. I really love watching the spectacle of motorsport, and I honestly feel that motorsport and racing is so unique that you don't get the same experience with any other sport. I also enjoy competing in motorsport through off-road trials in Land Rovers. I've done a few rally experiences over the years too, and found that I quite enjoy driving fast, and I love getting a car to go exactly where I put it, whether through slow maneuvering in the trials or the fast-paced actions in rally driving (I turned 18 exactly while executing a handbrake turn in a Subaru rally car). In short, I'd love to drive competitively for a career. However, I don't envy professional racing drivers.

This seems quite an odd thing really - kind of paradoxical. I'd love to drive professionally, however I wouldn't want to be in the same position as a professional driver. This isn't because of the pressure that drivers come under - I thrive under pressure. It's not because of the danger - I can be quite an adrenaline junkie. No, it's because of the sponsors.

Tonight I was watching the television when the ever annoying ad break came on. Alongside the usual 'Cash-for-Gold', 'Have you been injured?' and Hovis ads was an ad for Santander, the bank which sponsors McLaren. Two Santander ads came on, in fact. In the first, McLaren's own Lewis Hamilton was pictured standing on a podium - all three slots on the podium were occupied by Lewis to be accurate (the stewards would have a field day!). The second Santander ad (which admittedly, I quite enjoyed) featured Lewis and Jenson Button building a massive lego F1 car. Once the Santander ads had finished, an ad for the new Fiat 500 came on, this one featuring Fernando Alonso (although not, I noticed, Fernando's voice). Finally, an advert for Head and Shoulders shampoo aired, featuring Jenson Button and the worst acting I've ever seen. This final ad pushed me over the edge.

I understand that F1 is big business, with sponsors galore and lots of people involved in the apparent corporate machine. Yes, drivers need to be sponsored to even get into F1. Sponsorship is part and parcel of racing. However, do drivers really need to feature in adverts like those listed above? Head and Shoulders, Jenson? Really? Drivers should be just that; drivers. While the sponsors obviously need the reciprocity (we give you money, you give us advertising) can't they leave the drivers to get on with their sport? This is one of the reasons why I don't envy the drivers. F1 in particular is getting more like big business and moving away from being a pure sport. (Ok, other sportsmen are involved in advertising, I realise this, however I have to point out this feature in racing too).

A second reason why I don't envy racing drivers was highlighted when I went to the Nurburgring. During my trip to the Nurburgring I attended a pit walk and an autograph session. I also watched the drivers' parade before the race. Now, I had a choice whether to attend these events. I sense the drivers are more limited in their free will. Fair enough, I'm guessing the drivers understand that they have to meet fans, but would I want to walk out to hoards of people screaming my name and hounding me for a signature every single working weekend? I'm not so sure.

A third reason became apparent today on Twitter. The usual suspects were in attendance at Monza, and so for people who are slightly addicted to Twitter we got an interesting insight into a Thursday on a race weekend. Loads of Twitter/F1 people were posting pictures of the media sessions on a Thursday, and it made me realise how many interviews, press conferences and general publicity sessions that the drivers have to go to. F1 is a team sport, however you rarely see the mechanics giving interviews - the drivers are the ones who face the questions. Would I enjoy my every move being questioned a hundred times over by different journalists? I doubt it.

So, on a race weekend a driver has to answer a never ending barrage of questions and meet their adoring (and at times, crazy) public. When not racing, they have to please the sponsors and become the face of a brand - be that Fiat, Santander or, indeed, Head and Shoulders. However, that's not all.

Last weekend I took an unexpected trip to Cardiff to watch the Red Bull Speed Jam for which I won tickets. In attendance were Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo. It was their weekend off, however they were still being made to get back to the day job and entertain us. Don't get me wrong, I loved it. However, it does seem a bit much for the drivers to have to drive around and show off when they're not actually racing. You wonder how much choice a driver has in this matter. No doubt they enjoy the actual driving - if they didn't then they wouldn't be in that career - but do they enjoy having to go to these events? If someone went up to Mark Webber and said 'you have to drive this car round this place at this time and go and sign a hundred-odd autographs', would he be that willing? I doubt I would be, and that's another reason why I wouldn't envy the drivers.

F1, Mark Webber, Chris Pfeiffer, Stunt Planes and Hugs From DTM Drivers... All in a Weekend!

It's Monday afternoon, I'm sat in front of my PC absolutely exhausted but happy from the weekend that I've just had. As you may have gathered from my previous blog post, on Friday I won tickets to watch the Red Bull Speed Jam in Cardiff on Saturday. The win was a complete shock - not least because I had to make provision for getting to Cardiff from Kent in less than 24 hours. Luckily, I had won two tickets to the Speed Jam, and so of course I told my Dad and we drove from Kent to Cardiff at 9am on Saturday morning.

We arrived in Cardiff around 12:30, and there was none of the stress of traffic and finding parking spaces that I was expecting. We pulled up, parked the van and then went for lunch at one of the restaurants in Cardiff Bay. When searching for a restaurant, I was surprised to see that nobody else in the Bay had arrived for the Speed Jam. I was in my usual motorsport attire of Vettel hat and Red Bull shirt and couldn't see anybody else wearing anything like this... Until I saw a Red Bull mechanic waiting outside one of the restaurants! Reassured that the Speed Jam was taking place, and pleased that I wasn't the only person in Cardiff wearing Red Bull attire (alright, the other person worked for the team but still...), we found a restaurant and had lunch.

After this, we had an hour to spare and so wandered around the bay when all of a sudden we came across the streets which would be holding the races and demonstrations later. The arena itself was quite big, and we could see a whole lot of Red Bull displays. While we were standing there, I heard a familiar voice - that of Jake Humphrey. I looked around and then actually saw Mr Humphrey! He managed to trick a crowd of fans who had gathered into thinking that the Red Bull Matadors (the air display pilots) were flying while the sun was shining. Sadly, we'd have to wait for this spectacle.

We watched the show rehearsals for a while, then decided that we'd be best off getting in the queue early for the gates opening at 2:45. We were glad we did - the queue had extended up the road towards the hotel even once we arrived. People arriving after us eventually went past the hotel and around the corner - again, before the gates were due to open! We queued for a long while when the gates finally opened and we swapped our printed tickets for a wristband (which is now adorning my wall of memories in my room) and grabbed a spot from which to spectate.

I was really pleased with the fact that we could get so close to the track. We positioned ourselves near the fountain outside the Millennium Centre so that we could see along one of the straights and could see a screen. Although the gates opened at 2:45, it was ages before the action started at 4:30, so I engaged in my favourite pastimes of photography and people watching. During my people watching, I noticed that some people entering the circuit had printed programmes. I am a bit of a hoarder of programmes, and so I set off to find out where to obtain one for the Speed Jam. There were no stands for merchandise near where we were standing, and so it was a mystery to me where people had managed to get a programme. Determined, I managed to summon up the courage to ask a Red Bull fanatic couple where they got their programme - luckily Red Bull fans are a friendly bunch and I grabbed myself a souvenir for the day at the entrance where the programmes were being handed out for free.

On my way back to Dad (who was saving my space by the track), I noticed that security were stopping people from going up to where Dad was stood. This worried me, as I wanted to get back to Dad, and wasn't sure whether security would be very forgiving. Luckily, a large group of people had just entered the track and were being redirected to the other side of the circuit. I made a break for it and ended up back with my Dad, ready to watch the event, and while we were waiting a golf buggy was making its way around the circuit. We didn't really realise what was happening and nobody paid much attention to the buggy until it got up close and started bibbing. Then, we realised that the buggy was piloted by none other than Mark Webber! Waves and applause from myself and my Dad ensued and the event got underway.

The first things to appear were the Red Bull Matadors. These guys are something else. They fly their planes so close to each other that every moment they are flying is impressive. All sorts of stunts are incorporated into their routine; flying upside-down, flying up and then coming to a halt before tumbling towards the earth and, my personal favourite, sliding the planes so that they look as though they were drifting. If you've never seen the Red Bull Matadors, I suggest you go straight to YouTube and look them up - you won't regret it! As soon as I've finished writing I will upload my videos from the Speed Jam so you can see exactly what I've seen.

After the Matadors came the first of three qualifying heats for the Red Bull Kart Championship. The Speed Jam played host to the finals of Red Bull's mission to find the best amateur kart driver in the UK in 2011, and so the qualifying heats were so important to the men and women driving. Unfortunately, just as the first heat got underway the rain started to fall. I say unfortunately, however for the spectators this was fantastic. You could easily tell who was at home in these conditions and the driving prowess of the karters came through. Heats two and three came later on and a grid was formed for the final of the Kart Fight.

In between heats we saw what I was most looking forward to - Mark Webber taking the Red Bull F1 Show car out for a spin on the streets of Cardiff - quite literally! The first time he took the car out the rain was falling and so we didn't get to see the car driven in anger, however being two feet from one of these machines while it's being driven is always special.

The second demonstration to take place in between kart heats was Chris Pfeiffer giving us a stunt display on his motorbike. This was absolutely amazing. I'd seen Chris Pfeiffer once before at the Race of Champions a few years ago, however I'd not seen him this close. Armed with my camera I managed to film him right as he was coming round to where we were stood. He came along the straight on one wheel and right where me and my Dad were stood he stopped the bike by lifting its back wheel in the air and then proceeded to spin around on the bike - again, with only one wheel. Chris Pfeiffer is definitely another recommendation for a trip to YouTube, he's absolutely insane but clearly brilliant as well.

A third demonstration right before the finals for the kart fight came from Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull Nascar. The car was surprisingly big and noisy! The size of it was so big in comparison to the track that it was a worry whether Ricciardo would actually make it round some of the tight turns. Of course, Daniel is an F1 driver and therefore he managed it with no problems and we got to hear the noise of the car. It's great when you see drivers really enjoying themselves, rather than just driving for the day job and we perhaps saw this the most with Daniel Ricciardo. Just as the presenters thought he'd stopped, he span the car around to do so many doughnuts that we lost him in the smoke, and then came around for a second lap of the track. Once back at the arena, he asked the mechanics whether he could do a third lap, however he was told to switch off the engine - much to his disappointment! To make up with a swift end to his runs, he grabbed a bunch of Red Bull hats and ran off to the edge of the crowds and rewarded some lucky fans with free merchandise! It's safe to say that Jake Humphrey had to wait for Daniel to stop having fun before he got his interview.

With Ricciardo's display over, the final heat of the Kart qualifying took place, immediately followed by the final. The race was quite intense, with the top three men constantly swapping places. Some of the track was still wet from the earlier rain, and so the drivers had to be careful to stay facing the right way. After much overtaking and lots of fast paced racing the kart winner was crowned and Red Bull had their champion!

So, you'd have thought with the final race over that Red Bull would call it a day. But, knowing this team, we were treated once more with a display from Mark Webber in the show car. This time though, the rain had stopped and so Mark got his chance to really show off. I had made a video of Mark on his first run and so this time round I decided to photograph the car. Just as Mark got around the corner before our spectating point I had my camera ready. As soon as he got right in front of me and my Dad, he decided to give the engine a rev and perform a burnout. I had no ear defenders and leapt back about three feet! I've never heard something so loud as an F1 car burnout two feet away from me and it's something I'll never forget! Thanks Mark! On Mark's second lap round I decided that my ears had taken enough of a beating and so my Dad became my ear defenders - it must have been funny to see. I gave Mr Webber a wave as he went past, and that concluded our day at the Red Bull Speed Jam. We arrived home around midnight and had to go straight to bed - the next day we were due to go to Brands Hatch for the DTM!

After around seven hours of sleep I got up and gathered everything I needed for my trip to Brands - camera, sunhat, coat, but typically I forgot my umbrella (possibly the most vital thing for the whole day as it turns out!). We set off to pick up my nephew at 8 in the morning to arrive at Brands in time for our 9am pit walk.

My Dad and I have been to Brands numerous times and so we know that the best plan for a day there is to get Southbank parking. We arrived at 8:30, pulled up at Southbank and wandered over to the megastore. During the walk around Druids, my nephew asked what the queue was for. I asked him what queue and he pointed out the people standing at Paddock Hill Bend. I said to my nephew that they weren't queueing, they were simply waiting for the racing to start. Oh how wrong I was. It turns out that my nephew was right and there was a queue for the pit walk extending from the end of Hangar Straight towards the middle of Paddock Hill. Inevitably, we had to join the back of the queue and my hopes of getting into the pit walk fell. I needn't have worried. As soon as we joined the queue the people in front of us started to move forwards and in less than five minutes we were walking around the pits.

I've been going to Brands Hatch for many years now - I think I went to my first race when I was around 4/5 years old. However, I've only been in the pit lane once, and it was so long ago that I don't really remember it. I was determined to get a good look at nearly everything this time around. There were loads of people in the pit lane - however it wasn't nearly as crowded as the Nurburgring pit walk. My nephew was completely in awe of the cars, and because he's so young people were more than happy to let me and him through to get a good look. To my delight, the drivers started coming out to give autographs when we were looking at the cars. I managed to get the autographs of Renger van der Zande, Oliver Jarvis, Susie Stoddart, Mike Rockenfeller, Mattias Ekstrom and Jamie Green. I also got photographs and hugs from Mattias Ekstrom and Jamie Green - something which put a massive smile on my face! We stayed in the pits until we were ushered out, and as we were walking out over the Hangar Straight I took the opportunity to pick up some tyre marbles and a small spring that I found lying on the ground - definitely interesting souvenirs!

The pit passes that we'd bought also enabled us to go around the paddock. I've walked around the paddock a few times at Brands, however the last time I watched the DTM (in 2009) it was completely off limits. It was nice then to finally get a look at the cars of the support races. We were photographing the various Lotuses, Eurocars and Nippon Challenge cars, and stopped to have a look at a Subaru. While we were looking, the driver of the car came over and asked us whether we'd like to sit in it! Of course, my nephew jumped at the chance (as did I come to that!) and we had our photographs taken inside a real racing car. The driver of the car, Richard Senter, was a really nice guy and we cheered him on in the Nippon race - many thanks go to him for making our day that little bit more special! During the rest of our time in the paddock, my nephew got his chance to sit in his dream car - an AMG SLC Mercedes - and we saw a hell of a lot of amazing machines. After the ramble around the paddock, we went and watched the last of the DTM warm up, ready for the races.

There was so much on at Brands in terms of support races. We saw three Lotus Elise races, the Racecar Euroseries race (which features some spectacular slides at Graham Hill Bend), two Formula Ford races (which were surprisingly well behaved - not like the other races I've seen with them!), the Nippon Challenge (in which we cheered on Richard Senter) and a demonstration lap of the World's Fastest Ice Cream Van (yes, really!). All of the races were spectacular, with the Nippon Challenge being the best of all.

The DTM race took place in the pouring rain. Martin Tomczyk went on to win the race, with Mattias Ekstrom coming second. We cheered on Jamie Green and Susie Stoddart during the race, and it was awesome to see Ralph Schumacher, Gary Paffett and David Coulthard racing as well. The noise of DTM cars is also an amazing experience - it was lucky that we remembered to bring ear defenders and so we're not deaf one day on!

Brands Hatch is always a good experience, and if ever you get a chance to go then once again I'd recommend a visit there without hesitation. Getting to walk around a racing paddock and pit lane is a rare experience and you have to get this experience at least once.

So, overall a brilliant motorsport weekend and one that I won't forget. The Speed Jam was so unexpected, and hopefully I'll get a chance to visit this event again. Brands Hatch, while not a surprise, once again reminded me why I love that circuit. Oh, and being hugged by DTM drivers was great! Bring on the next motorsport weekend!

Pictures:

Speed Jam

DTM Pits and Paddock

DTM Races part 1

DTM Races part 2