Archive for the 'Features' Category
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The Death of the 2010 British Grand Prix?
June 13th, 2009
The 2010 British Grand Prix isn’t going to happen and somebody has to say it. The sooner we realise this the better we will all be. The 2010 season will go down in history as a dark year for the British as the once epicentre of world motorsport loses its Grand Prix after 62 years.
Let’s [...]
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Dunlop Race Academy: Now with Motorsport News
February 11th, 2009
The 2009 Dunlop Race Academy gained the support of Motorsport News this week as it officially announced its judges. The scholarship, which will provide a fully funded drive in the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup for 2010, has also now opened for the registration on the Dunlop Drivers Know website.
The now, Dunlop Motorsport News Race Academy (sort-of, because Dunlop doesn’t call it that), judges are: James Bailey (Dunlop PR chief), former academy winner Simon Shaw, BTCC racer Paul O’Neil (and half-brother to Sporty Spice) and Motorsport News journalist Matt James.
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Racing Steps Foundation: 2008 season review
February 3rd, 2009
It has been over a year now since the initial announcement of the Racing Steps Foundation. In 2008, the programme enjoyed its first full season of competition. During this time, it has enjoyed success, disappointment and at the hands of British Formula Ford champion Wayne Boyd, controversy. I thought this was a good excuse to take a look back at the programme, its participants and what they achieved over the year.
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London 2012: How much funding should Olympic sports receive?
January 29th, 2009
The BBC is reporting that eight Olympic sports have had their London 2012 funding cut following an overall budget shortfall of £50 million. In total, eight Olympic sports have had budgets cut by 50% or more with Shooting (-75.5%), Wrestling (-68.1%) and Fencing (-59%) hit hardest.
Before I say anything more, I’d like to state where [...]
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How much travelling is in your motorsport season?
January 18th, 2009
Britain is great for some things; not so great for others. For example, in Britain, we boast a very high concentration of race circuits (that is great). However, from time to time, racing championships seem to want to visit all of them and generally speaking - that is not so great.
When I first saw the calendar for the National Formula Ford 1600 championship, that was the impression I got. It is a true championship of the British Isles with two rounds in Wales (Anglesey, Pembrey), one round in Scotland (Knockhill), one round in Ireland (Modello Park) and the other five in England (Snetterton, Silverstone, Castle Combe and Mallory Park).
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Spreading the wealth: Who’s getting all these scholarships and awards?
October 17th, 2008
Over the last few weeks there have been plenty of announcements. First, the initial five McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of Year nominees were announced. Next, Porsche announced the six drivers to be evaluated at Silverstone for the new Carerra Cup GB Scholarship. And finally, the Racing Steps Foundation announced that 2008 British Formula Ford Champion Wayne Boyd will be the recipient of the fully funded Formula Renault UK drive with championship winning Fortec Motorsport.
During this spate of announcements, I was wondering: Is it just me, or do many of the same names keep coming up, time after time? I decided to take a look and see what I could find.
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Why you must use the entire width of the track
July 18th, 2008
Using the entire width of the track is basic race driver theory. From your local kart track to the Silverstone racing academy, it is taught without impunity and in Formula One, millimetre precision demonstrates excellence. And the idea is pretty simple - the more of the track you use, the more you square off the corner and the faster you go.
But you see, I was wondering: how much of a difference does it really make? If I turn into a corner with a foot to spare on my outside, what does that actually cost me?
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The end of Formula BMW in the UK
June 8th, 2007
The Formula BMW UK and Formula BMW ADAC (Germany) series is to be homologated into a pan-European series for 2008, ending the British championship after only three seasons and the German after five. The move brings the championship into line with Formula BMW USA (which encompasses Canada) and Formula BMW Asia. But will we miss Formula BMW UK? What does this mean for our other national championships? What does this mean for BMW’s involvement in British motorsport?
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In an alternate reality, would we still have Lewis Hamilton?
April 19th, 2007
Lewis Hamilton’s route to Formula One is as good as it gets. It took just six years and in this time he showed dominance throughout each major championship in which he took part, cumulating in the GP2 title last year. It is hard to find fault or weakness in his ascent to the [joint] lead of the Formula One World Championship and to becoming the most successful rookie in the history of the sport.
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MSA announces new addition to its elite programme
April 1st, 2007
Today, the Motor Sport Association, the body which governs motor sport in the UK made a landmark announcement. Well, at least, I am pretending that they did.
Call it an April Fools joke if you like, but actually this is a subject which could do with some attention. The MSA British Race Elite programme is [...]
The Death of the 2010 British Grand Prix?
June 13th, 2009
The 2010 British Grand Prix isn’t going to happen and somebody has to say it. The sooner we realise this the better we will all be. The 2010 season will go down in history as a dark year for the British as the once epicentre of world motorsport loses its Grand Prix after 62 years.
Let’s [...]
Dunlop Race Academy: Now with Motorsport News
February 11th, 2009
The 2009 Dunlop Race Academy gained the support of Motorsport News this week as it officially announced its judges. The scholarship, which will provide a fully funded drive in the Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup for 2010, has also now opened for the registration on the Dunlop Drivers Know website.
The now, Dunlop Motorsport News Race Academy (sort-of, because Dunlop doesn’t call it that), judges are: James Bailey (Dunlop PR chief), former academy winner Simon Shaw, BTCC racer Paul O’Neil (and half-brother to Sporty Spice) and Motorsport News journalist Matt James.
Racing Steps Foundation: 2008 season review
February 3rd, 2009
It has been over a year now since the initial announcement of the Racing Steps Foundation. In 2008, the programme enjoyed its first full season of competition. During this time, it has enjoyed success, disappointment and at the hands of British Formula Ford champion Wayne Boyd, controversy. I thought this was a good excuse to take a look back at the programme, its participants and what they achieved over the year.
London 2012: How much funding should Olympic sports receive?
January 29th, 2009
The BBC is reporting that eight Olympic sports have had their London 2012 funding cut following an overall budget shortfall of £50 million. In total, eight Olympic sports have had budgets cut by 50% or more with Shooting (-75.5%), Wrestling (-68.1%) and Fencing (-59%) hit hardest.
Before I say anything more, I’d like to state where [...]
How much travelling is in your motorsport season?
January 18th, 2009
Britain is great for some things; not so great for others. For example, in Britain, we boast a very high concentration of race circuits (that is great). However, from time to time, racing championships seem to want to visit all of them and generally speaking - that is not so great.
When I first saw the calendar for the National Formula Ford 1600 championship, that was the impression I got. It is a true championship of the British Isles with two rounds in Wales (Anglesey, Pembrey), one round in Scotland (Knockhill), one round in Ireland (Modello Park) and the other five in England (Snetterton, Silverstone, Castle Combe and Mallory Park).
Spreading the wealth: Who’s getting all these scholarships and awards?
October 17th, 2008
Over the last few weeks there have been plenty of announcements. First, the initial five McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of Year nominees were announced. Next, Porsche announced the six drivers to be evaluated at Silverstone for the new Carerra Cup GB Scholarship. And finally, the Racing Steps Foundation announced that 2008 British Formula Ford Champion Wayne Boyd will be the recipient of the fully funded Formula Renault UK drive with championship winning Fortec Motorsport.
During this spate of announcements, I was wondering: Is it just me, or do many of the same names keep coming up, time after time? I decided to take a look and see what I could find.
Why you must use the entire width of the track
July 18th, 2008
Using the entire width of the track is basic race driver theory. From your local kart track to the Silverstone racing academy, it is taught without impunity and in Formula One, millimetre precision demonstrates excellence. And the idea is pretty simple - the more of the track you use, the more you square off the corner and the faster you go.
But you see, I was wondering: how much of a difference does it really make? If I turn into a corner with a foot to spare on my outside, what does that actually cost me?
The end of Formula BMW in the UK
June 8th, 2007
The Formula BMW UK and Formula BMW ADAC (Germany) series is to be homologated into a pan-European series for 2008, ending the British championship after only three seasons and the German after five. The move brings the championship into line with Formula BMW USA (which encompasses Canada) and Formula BMW Asia. But will we miss Formula BMW UK? What does this mean for our other national championships? What does this mean for BMW’s involvement in British motorsport?
In an alternate reality, would we still have Lewis Hamilton?
April 19th, 2007
Lewis Hamilton’s route to Formula One is as good as it gets. It took just six years and in this time he showed dominance throughout each major championship in which he took part, cumulating in the GP2 title last year. It is hard to find fault or weakness in his ascent to the [joint] lead of the Formula One World Championship and to becoming the most successful rookie in the history of the sport.
MSA announces new addition to its elite programme
April 1st, 2007
Today, the Motor Sport Association, the body which governs motor sport in the UK made a landmark announcement. Well, at least, I am pretending that they did.
Call it an April Fools joke if you like, but actually this is a subject which could do with some attention. The MSA British Race Elite programme is [...]
