There is a surfeit of motor racing championships that aim to usher in the next generation of Formula 1 stars. But only a few are worth paying serious attention to. GP2 — the ‘official’ way to progress to F1 The most well-known by a long way is GP2. Backed by Bernie Ecclestone, GP2 is the […]
Archive:
June 2011
The Senna film
If you follow Formula 1 online, it has been absolutely impossible to avoid the hype. Films about Formula 1 do not get made often. It is highly unusual for so much footage to have been prised out of Bernie Ecclestone. When you factor in that the film is about Ayrton Senna, a driver who has […]
Waking up to Le Mans
Confession time. I have always been a bit sceptical about the Le Mans 24 Hours. There is nothing to doubt about its prestige, or the special challenge it presents. It clearly is one of the most important races on the planet. But as a spectacle to watch on television, I have always been a bit […]
Is Hamilton becoming the anti-Senna?
Shortly after the Canadian Grand Prix finished, Bill asked me in the comments what I thought about the latest tangle that Lewis Hamiton has found himself in. It was another bad race for Hamilton. Two more clumsy clashes were added on top of the controversial incidents in Monaco that are still fresh in the memory. […]
How to survive a ‘moment’
Here is an incredible video of three times British Rally Champion Mark Higgins losing control of his car at 150mph with a journalist on board at the Isle of Man TT (via dank_ross). Higgins describes it as “the biggest moment of my life”. But the journalist looks nonchalant! It is an incredible save. It reminded […]
BBC Select
In the early 1990s, the BBC ran a short-lived service called BBC Select. It was designed to deliver highly specialist programming to narrow audiences. The programmes were broadcast after BBC One or BBC Two had stopped broadcasting for the day. This example demonstrates the sort of thing BBC Select did. This is a programme about […]
What’s going on with the F1 calendar?
What a tangle Formula 1 has found itself in, again. The sport has ended up on the front pages for the wrong reasons yet again. The problems with rescheduling Bahrain The reinstatement of the Bahrain Grand Prix is somewhat of a surprise. Clearly the situation in Bahrain is not the sort of circumstance where you […]
Stefan Mücke, the racetrack is no place for revenge
I have become a big fan of the FIA GT1 World Championship in the past year or so. The recently-revamped championship has done what had previously seemed impossible — it has made GT racing exciting. But it has also developed a reputation for some pretty poor driving standards. No race goes by without some silly […]
The scourge of security questions
Is there anything more annoying than those security questions you need to login to certain websites? I cannot understand how they are supposed to make websites more secure. I understand that passwords can be cracked and the security question is a safety net. But let’s face it. All the advice on passwords is that they […]
Grandstand theme tune
Is this the greatest theme tune ever? And have you ever heard the full version of it? I bet many don’t know about the guitar break in the middle! I reckon you could probably tell how old someone is by what pictures they associate the boing with. For me, it is a snooker ball going […]