After some technical difficulties and a puncture on day one of the RACMSA Rally of Scotland, Gordon Noble and I finished third in class and 21st overall in our Ford Fiesta R2. The Sky Bet/ProSpeed team had a difficult job as we pushed hard to make up places on Sunday despite running with a broken front suspension.

Being the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), there were thrills and spills from start to finish among the crews as they struggled to overcome punishing stage conditions to claim valuable series points. Norwegian driver Andreas Mikkelsen dominated the event with five stage wins to establish a 26.4-second lead over Finland’s Juho Hänninen. Frenchman Bryan Bouffier was third.

For the Sky Bet team, it was rewarding to bring our Kumho-shod R2 home to a podium finish in Perth after 14 stages totaling 184 kilometres. The Scottish stages are tough, so I’m pleased to have finished the rally in one piece. We had lots of dramas on Sunday as the left front suspension was in danger of collapsing. It was a case of nursing the car through arguably the four fastest stages of the event, plus we struggled with some intercom problems. The car took so much punishment and there were so many other cars off that it was mainly about survival.

There were rocks everywhere on the Errochty stage on Saturday and we punctured our front left tyre which we had to drive on for two kilometres, risking breaking the driveshaft. That slowed us up and after navigating through rain and fog on Saturday night to get to stage eight I must say we were relieved when the test was cancelled due to the worsening conditions.

Gordon, a highly experienced co-driver, was navigating for me for the first time during the rally. He said afterwards: “I knew some of the stage conditions were going to be bad, but I didn’t expect it to be as bad as it was on Drummond Hill and Errochty. They were treacherous in terms of rocks and mud, and our visibility was at a minimum through there as half our screen steamed up. We were trying to preserve the car but it was a truly demanding event. Ultimately, we have achieved what we set out to do which was to make sure we reached the finish ramp. It has been challenging but fun.”

Thirty-seven cars started the event in front of Stirling Castle on Friday evening. British driver Guy Wilks retired on the final stage after climbing back up to ninth place following an off on stage five. There was also disappointment for the top Scottish names in front of their home crowd including Lanark’s Alister McRae and Dumfries’s David Bogie.

Mikkelsen’s win was his first in the IRC, and at 22 years old he is the youngest IRC event winner. The weekend’s results have now set up what promises to be an enthralling six-way battle for the title in Cyprus next month.

By Tony Jardine

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

After a hard afternoon’s racing last weekend – in which he’d taken a well-deserved third place – the newly crowned series champion pulled into parc fermé. Clambering out of the car, he punched the air victoriously. His dominant season has made motor sport history. Thousands of miles away at Suzuka, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was celebrating in similar fashion.

Scott Malvern, the 2011 British Formula Ford Champion, has rewritten the series’ history books this year. Not too shabby considering previous champions include Messrs A Senna and J Button. Having switched to series powerhouse Jamun Racing during the off-season, Malvern has taken a staggering 18 British FFord victories from 24 races on his way to overall glory.

The young Briton’s consistency was epitomised during the summer when he took the top spot of the podium 11 times on the bounce. Only victory for Dutchman Joey van Splunteren at Zandvoort prevented Malvern extending his run. But since guest driver van Splunteren was ineligible for championship points, it was Malvern who again took the maximum score. Put simply, from late April to early September, only Malvern received the winners’ trophy and only once did anybody else outscore him.

Having missed the title in 2010 by a single point – his consistency ironically costing him on this occasion as series regulations decreed each competitor dropped their worst two results – the laurels were Malvern’s for the taking this season and were wrapped up with a meeting to spare.

That’s not to say his championship run has been without incident, though. Having posted his first-ever series retirement at the opening event at Silverstone in April, Malvern posted his second DNF in the next race when his Mygale chassis was launched into the air at high speed, courtesy of Australian Geoff Urhane’s rear wheel and a misjudged braking point. On the series’ return to Northamptonshire last weekend, ill luck once again plagued Malvern when engine failure sidelined him in race one.

Though these maladies deprived the Jamun mechanics of a good night’s sleep on several occasions, they did provide a platform for 2011’s other championship ‘contenders’ to flex their racing muscles at the Silverstone finale.

Having survived his contretemps with Malvern at the same track six months earlier to score a maiden British FFord victory, JTR driver Urhane took another (very) hard-fought win after rebuffing incessant pressure from no less than six cars, each slipstreaming their way past the other as they vied for the top spot. More than once, three cars were side-by-side across the finish line heading into Copse.

Though Malvern returned to winning ways in the second race, his Jamun Racing stablemate Jeroen Slaghekke and Urhane made it far from easy, as did the changeable wet-dry-wet conditions. Falling short of victory by just over half a second, Slaghekke’s turn on the top step was saved for the final race following the Dutchman’s Herculean scrap with both Urhane and Malvern. In the closing stages, the lead between the three swapped at almost every turn. It was certainly a fitting send-off for Ford’s iconic single-seater ahead of the debut of its new-for-2012 Ecoboost homologation.

Having circulated his CV around the Formula Renault and F2 paddocks, Malvern surely makes his way to pastures new next year. The Brit has worked hard to earn his success, and even though his climb up the motor sport ladder is far from over, he intends to savour this time at the top. “It’s been a fantastic year for me,” he said. “It was a risk staying in [Formula Ford] for another year, but it’s paid off and I’m incredibly happy. I think we did the right thing.” Few would disagree.

By James Gent

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Aside from the hotly contested championship battle, the buzz during last weekend’s British Touring Car Championship meeting at Rockingham Speedway surrounded the circuit’s 10th anniversary. Hard to believe, but it’s been a decade since the asphalt was laid, the ribbon was cut, and America’s Champ Car series arrived to baptise Britain’s first banked oval circuit since Brooklands. While it took the BTCC another two years to make its first appearance (amid controversy as fan favourite Knockhill was bumped to make room on the schedule), Rockingham quickly became a BTCC stalwart, regularly producing close racing since 2007. Memorable moments have followed, including some during Sunday’s event.

Take, for example, Honda’s strong performance throughout the weekend. Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal took a 1-3 in Sunday’s second race aboard their Civic Type-Rs, with Shedden in the pound seat. In the very first race in 2003, Neal and then team-mate Alan Morrison took a dominant 1-2, also in (albeit older) Civic Type-Rs. This wouldn’t be the only nod to races run.

Paul O’Neill – who alongside Neal, Rob Collard and Tom Boardman took the green flag at the 2003 meeting – came home second in race one, one year on from his popular podium in the ageing Honda Integra. Jason Plato ultimately took the spoils, though a flawless drive was overshadowed by his post-qualifying ‘scuffle’ with Neal in parc fermé. In the dying minutes of the session, both came close to driving each other off the circuit in their attempts to gain track position. “I came in and the front of the car was bust up. So I was pretty cheesed off, and went across to have a word”, explained Neal. Certainly Plato’s first win in the Chevrolet Cruze at Rockingham one year earlier involved fewer fireworks.

Mat Jackson and Tom Onslow-Cole, however, left Rockingham frustrated. Just as reigning Ginetta GT50 Cup winner Frank Wrathall raised his game to net two podium finishes in the Toyota Avensis, so too had the then reigning SEAT Cupra and Renault Clio Cup Champions made giant-killing performances on their Rockingham bows in 2007. Both were regular visitors to pitroad last weekend though, their Ford Focuses bearing the dented bumpers, flat tyres and – in Jackson’s case – broken door locks indicative of the BTCC battlefield. Onslow-Cole’s 12th place was as good as it got.

Porsche Carrera Cup regular Michael Caine was all smiles throughout the weekend. His was a less star-studded affair than Johnny Herbert’s guest appearance in the series had been in 2009, granted, but it was a popular addition to the roster nonetheless. “It’s the old story,” he explained. “Wife gets pregnant, has a child, so you trade in the sports car for a family saloon and I’ve got myself a Focus this weekend! It’s an amazing event. Just to be here is an absolute pleasure.”

Nerfed off track several times, turn two proved to be Caine’s Achilles heel, much as the last 100 metres to the chequered flag has been to many over the years. Former Champion Colin Turkington, for example, was denied sixth place by Plato on the line during a sodden 2008 event. After all, the Northern Irishman had started the final lap in second! This year Jeff Smith made the roll call, with Neal denying the Vauxhall Vectra sixth place in the final race by just 0.028sec.

Frustration and ever-rising bodywork repairs aside, the weekend’s sojourn down memory lane ended with a nose-to-tail battle for the lead in the reversed-grid race three. Eventual third-placed Rob Collard in the BMW looked good from pole position, as did newcomer Rob Austin, who leapt off the grid in his Audi A4. “Just one more lap,” was the cry from Austin, who took second (and his first BTCC podium) only three-tenths shy of the lead. Rockingham has been kind to BTCC debutants over the years, and just as Stephen Jelley had done in 2009, James Nash in the Vectra dutifully took his first series victory in Northamptonshire. Care to guess at which circuit Nash made his Triple 8 Racing debut?

They may not make up the series’ greatest moments, but there has been enough excitement and drama throughout the BTCC’s Rockingham reign to keep race-goers and ITV4 viewers alike on the edge of their seats. Ask anyone when the flag comes down on the BTCC season what their residing memory is, and most will probably cite that incident in pitlane after qualifying. And, just like when the gates opened 10 years ago, some of us in years to come will able to say “I was there”.

By James Gent

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

The empty fairground rides weren’t a particularly good omen as I arrived at Brands Hatch for the FIA Formula Two Championship round last weekend. Where were the parents promising excited children a ride on the bumper cars? Turns out a fair few of them were in a lengthy queue patiently awaiting the chance to secure an autograph or several from this year’s F2 field, which to be honest might have proved more thrilling than the somewhat processional race that followed.

But this is not to say the race was without its highlights. British hopes Alex Brundle and James Cole sadly didn’t fare well – I watched as both took a trip through the gravel at Dingle Dell – but Jack Clarke received a cheer that could be heard across the infield when he followed up Saturday’s win with third place in the race on Sunday.

Round 10 in this year’s championship was won by Spanish driver Ramon Piñeiro, who is coached by Martin Donnelly. The former Grand Prix driver was present to witness his protégé’s maiden F2 success ahead of points leader Mirko Bortolotti, and took time to reflect on an enjoyable weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where he was reunited with the 1990 Lotus 102 Formula 1 car. “It was a bit of a tight squeeze but I don’t know if that’s because the car has shrunk or I have grown,” he said. “It wasn’t the most comfortable of cars to drive but it was great to be back and I really enjoyed the atmosphere.”

A good package of support races included European F3 Open, International GT Open and a hectic 40-strong Lotus Elise field, to say nothing of the MR2 Race Series round which was red-flagged after one car ended up on its roof at Paddock Hill Bend.

The crowd looked to be of modest size, but at least it was varied in age, and even if they were missing out on the German Grand Prix there was always the BBC highlights that evening (except perhaps for those who remained glued to the TV coverage in the F2 hospitality area…).

So is modern F2 a success? Of course it’s pretty hard to judge on the evidence of one race, but what do you think? Were you there? Is this series a new breeding ground for F1 talent, or just another championship in the overflowing single-seater arena? Your thoughts are always welcome…

By Gillian Rodgers

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

The Sebastian Vettel steamroller continued in Valencia as the German scored yet another finely judged victory in the European Grand Prix, having seen off an unexpectedly strong challenge from Fernando Alonso and Ferrari.

Vettel has not finished lower than second in any of the eight races thus far this year, and he now has a massive advantage of 186 points to the 109 of his nearest challengers, Jenson Button and Mark Webber.

Valencia has never produced much in the way of entertainment, and the trend continued with a race that lacked in drama. All 24 cars finished, which meant that Narain Karthikeyan became the first driver to ever finish 24th in a Grand Prix, the Indian having already set a record of 23rd in China. There were no penalties and no spins, and the only unscheduled stop occurred when Michael Schumacher crunched his front wing on Vitaly Petrov, and had to come in for a replacement.

It was not a race totally devoid of excitement, however, as for much of it Vettel enjoyed only a slender advantage and behind him there was a great battle for second.

Having earned pole Vettel stayed safely ahead of Webber at the start, while Alonso jumped Lewis Hamilton and slotted into third. From the front Vettel was able to control the pace, staying just a few seconds clear of Webber while preserving his tyres. The race turned into a three-stopper for almost everyone, with three stints on the soft tyre followed by one on the slower medium compound at the end.

In the second stint Alonso managed to get past Webber in a well-judged move, one of the few in which any driver successfully used the DRS zone. However, at the second stops Webber came in earlier and did just enough on his one lap on fresher tyres to get back ahead.

At the third stops the Aussie again came in before the Ferrari, but his new medium tyres were no match for the old softs that Alonso still had on. A slight glitch on the pit entry cost also Webber a few tenths, but the two laps on the softs were they key that saw Alonso go ahead.

In the final stint on the medium tyre Vettel had no reason to be cautious, and he was able to pick up his pace and pull away from the Ferrari, even setting fastest lap as he opened up a 10-second advantage. Webber had a few worries about high gearbox temperatures and was content to drop away from Alonso and secure third.

McLaren was off the pace of those ahead all day, and Hamilton finished a lonely fourth an incredible 46sec down on the winner. He did at least get ahead of Felipe Massa, who like Alonso had passed him at the start. The Brazilian took fifth place, while Jenson Button was a frustrated sixth and even further off the pace than Hamilton.

Nico Rosberg was seventh for Mercedes, while an unusual two-stop strategy saw Jaime Alguersuari jump from 18th on the grid to eighth at the flag, giving many of his rivals food for thought. The final points went to Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld. After his collision Michael Schumacher trailed home 17th.

Attention now turns to Silverstone, where the complete ban on using engine mapping for off-throttle blowing of diffusers is put in place. Will it trip up Red Bull more than its main rivals? Don’t bet on it…

By Adam Cooper

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

I was surprised by my reaction to the news that Sir Stirling Moss has hung up the Herbert Johnson after 63 years of racing. I thought I would be sad, for truly an era has ended. But I’m not: I’m overjoyed that Stirling has walked away on his own terms and in a manner of his choosing. A career that so nearly took him from us on more than one occasion has concluded in the happiest way.

Retirement from racing, I know, is something that has been on Stirling’s mind for a while. I think the only fear he ever had behind a wheel was that the day would come when he might hold someone up or get in their way and now it never will. I imagine it has not even occurred to him that almost any one of us would pay a sizeable sum to follow Stirling Moss around a track.

Still the decision to quit must have been terribly tough. More than anyone else I have met save Senna, Stirling is defined by his sport. They even called him Mr Motor Racing for goodness sake. I remember talking to Tony Brooks about why he never looked back after quitting in 1961 and he said simply “racing was only ever going to be part of my life and that part was over. Unlike Stirling: racing is his life”.

How will he take to retirement? Well, he might have retired from racing, but I imagine the rest of his life will continue at the same frenetic pace. He will be as in demand as ever and I cannot see him withdrawing from public life for a moment. And I look forward to seeing what kind of celebration of his career will be staged at the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month.

In the meantime, perhaps you’d care to share your best Stirling moment with us? Mine is watching him coax a Lotus Cortina into a drift through Goodwood’s Fordwater kink at a hundred and goodness knows how many miles per hour. It was pure mastery from a man who, at the time, was just a few days short of his 77^th birthday.

Stirling, I’m not going to say we’ll miss you because I’m sure you’re not going anywhere. Instead I’ll just say thanks for everything and hope to see you, if not actually on, then at least at the track for many, many years to come.

Andrew Frankel

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Congratulations to Kevin Wheatcroft, Duncan Wiltshire, Carol Spagg and everyone else for making the first Donington Historic Festival such a fabulous success. Fine weather undoubtedly played its part in getting 12,000 people through the gate over the weekend as did the unprecedented interest in historic racing at large in the country at the moment, but few could have been disappointed by what they saw.

Some 300 cars from vintage Bentleys to Group C Jaguars assembled on 12 grids and put on a show to remember. Those who thought the molestation Donington suffered in the vain attempt to host the British Grand Prix might have caused irreparable damage need not have worried. Indeed, with the infield now opened up, viewing opportunities at what was already a fairly spectator-friendly circuit were better than ever. For competitors the only significant change is a fractionally shorter main straight and a slightly quicker chicane with more run-off.

I ended up in four races and was struck partly by the quality of the entries but even more by the quality of the racing. I think the fast and flowing nature of the circuit brought out the best in almost everyone.

My brother and I even came home with some silverware after pedalling an Alfa Giulietta Berlina in the Under 2-litre Touring Car race to an entirely heroic 23^rd place out of 25 finishers, to be the first four-door car over the line, though being the only four-door car in the race probably helped our cause.

So more please next year, particularly in the way of ’70s and ’80s Touring cars, the only thin grid of the weekend. And if you weren’t there, don’t worry: to join Silverstone, Brands Hatch and of course Goodwood, fans now have another first-rate festival to attend. And judging by the success of the first, it’s here to stay.

Andrew Frankel

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Gasps in the RAC Club last night at the annual Motor Racing Legends prize-giving. Its new Stirling Moss Trophy had got off to a great start in its inaugural year, the series victory finally going to Alan and Jason Minshaw for multiple successes in their Birdcage Maserati. But what was the trophy actually to be?

Series organiser Duncan Wiltshire thought it best to consult the great man himself, who duly dispatched Lady Susie to rummage around in the cupboard under the stairs for something suitable. What she returned with was the trophy given to Stirling for winning the 1955 British Grand Prix. Just think about that for a moment: not only is the trophy stunningly beautiful, it was awarded on the occasion of not only Sir Stirling’s first World Championship Grand Prix win, but the first time a British driver had won his home Grand Prix. What a thing to have your name on…

The evening also served as a great curtain-raiser for the fast-approaching new season. Despite apparently wall-to-wall bad news on the economic front, historic racing – or at least most parts of it – appears to be in joyously rude health. Grids are not just full, but full of great cars. There are more series than ever to take part in, with Duncan’s Group A Touring Car series kicking off this year and a whole world of relatively affordable opportunity opening up courtesy of Julius Thurgood’s two newly announced Historic Racing Drivers’ Club series. Throw in the first-ever historic festival to be held at Donington to go with the world-class festivals already held at Goodwood, Silverstone and Brands Hatch, plus the delicious prospect of Britain’s first-ever historic 24-hour race next year, and you can see that for anyone with any interest in the sport we really have never had it so good.

Andrew Frankel

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Punch ‘Snetterton 300’ into YouTube (or see below) and have a look at the simulation of the new circuit. It’s hardly a state-of-the-art presentation but it doesn’t need to be: what is clear is that the Norfolk circuit has been transformed, and apparently for the better.

Modifying an existing circuit is as much about knowing what to leave as what to change, and the reason so many of us are so happy to schlep so far to an invariably cold and windy track is that Riches, the Bombhole and Coram are corners that rival the best in the world. The Esses are pretty decent too. All remain untouched save the exit of Coram, which looks more challenging than ever.

What Jonathan Palmer and his MotorSport Vision team have done instead is turn dull old Sears into a hairpin that releases drivers onto an all-new infield section, with a series of both fast and slow corners. You can’t judge these things without driving them so I’m not going to try, but you are eventually launched onto a slightly abbreviated version of the old back straight and thence onto the original track for all the old favourites.

But as you barrel through Coram you realise its radius has been extended even further and a very careful line will have to be trodden to end up both in the right place and in a position to slow for an entirely new Russell. Perhaps the best bit of news for anyone who’s raced at Snett in recent years is that the horrid and slow right-left chicane has now been replaced by a reasonably conventional left-hand corner, complicated only by being placed at the exit of one of the hairiest curves the country has to offer.

The proof of the pudding will, as ever, be in the driving but I can’t wait to get to grips with it. Better still, if the rumours are correct next year it will host Britain’s first-ever 24-hour race for historic cars. Details of this are in the next mag but, in the meantime and after too long, the star of Snetterton seems firmly in the ascendant.

Andrew Frankel

Click here to view the embedded video.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Following the inaugural Motor Sport Hall of Fame event in early 2010, the prestigious awards evening will return to the Roundhouse in Camden, London, on Tuesday 15 February 2011. Celebrating and honouring the achievements of motor racing’s greatest luminaries, the event brings together a host of personalities from the sport.

The second annual Hall of Fame event, in association with TAG Heuer, takes place less than four weeks ahead of the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship, starting in March.

Already confirmed to attend the 2011 Hall of Fame, are two of Motor Sport Magazine’s existing Hall of Fame inductees – Sir Stirling Moss OBE and one of Britain’s most respected Grand Prix drivers, Tony Brooks.

Hosted by BBC Sport’s Jake Humphrey, the evening will be a gathering of names and faces, with celebrity guests joining legends from the world of motor racing, making it a highly memorable occasion for the next inductees due to be announced on the night.

Sir Stirling Moss explains what the Hall of Fame means to him, “I started reading Motor Sport avidly in 1947, or thereabouts, and I haven’t missed an issue since then. It’s an exceptionally good magazine. To be invited to the opening Motor Sport Hall of Fame event earlier this year, where I was awarded a founding membership, was an absolute delight for me. I can’t wait to attend again in 2011 and find out who the next inductees will be.”

Talking about the forthcoming awards, Motor Sport Magazine’s editor, Damien Smith, said, “The inaugural Motor Sport Hall of Fame event was a huge success. The evening has become a real highlight on the motor racing social calendar. Motor Sport Magazine is proud to present racing legends, which are an inspiration to our readers, with an accolade which pays tribute to their significant contributions to the sport.”

For further information, contact Debbie Beale at Jardine International:
Tel: +44 (0)20 8607 3907 / +44(0)7766 088 713
Email: debbie.beale@jardine-international.com

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Motor Racing Legends has just announced a new series for tin-top racers dating between 1977-85. These are cars which raced in the BTCC and ETCC at the time, so we’re talking TWR XJSs, Bastos Rover Vitesses, Schnitzer BMW 635CSIs, Alfa GTV6s, Capris, XR4is, Dolly Sprints and possibly even some Volvos. To spice it up further Motor Racing Legends will also be inviting production-spec IMSA cars from the same era to take part.

Can you imagine how much fun that’s going to be? How good would it also be if some of the old stars could be persuaded to have a go too – perhaps they could have a two-driver race for the owner and someone who raced these cars in period. There’s no shortage of potential stars still ready, willing and able to turn back the clock.

It may be that simply because I am a child of that era, but I can’t remember when a new race series last captured my imagination like this. Just think of the sounds: Rover V8 versus Jaguar V12, BMW straight-six versus Alfa and Ford V6. And because it’s Motor Racing Legends doing the organising, you can be sure the entry will be impeccable, the racing close and the atmosphere fantastic.

It all kicks off at the Donington Historic Festival on April 29. Nothing will stop me being there to see it.

Andrew Frankel

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

It was a good time to return to Wales. A couple of years after my last Rally GB, I was back as a guest of the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team in time to see the last outing for the current generation of World Rally Car.

Regulation changes for next year have spelt an end to the careers of the Ford Focus and Citroen C4 WRCs, to be replaced by their smaller (and cheaper) siblings in the shape of the new Ford Fiesta and Citroen DS3.

I’m afraid there aren’t any prizes for guessing who won the rally – yes, that man Sebastien Loeb – but nevertheless the sheer spectacle this sport provides still draws a sizeable crowd, as witnessed when my group travelled to the Crychan and Halfway stages on Saturday (which were a sell-out).

We were lucky with the weather that day, and also lucky to see the cars sliding around as they switched from a gravel to asphalt surface in Crychan – mixed stage surfaces are a rarity in the WRC.

Back at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre we took a tour of the adjacent service park, with a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the Ford service area. It was like walking into a hospital theatre – all shiny surfaces with every bit of equipment in its place (£20,000 carbon brake discs here, four drills – one for each wheel – there…).

The day finished with a hurried walk down to Cardiff Bay for the superspecial stage. No doubt Monster World Rally Team driver and Gymkhana stunt driver Ken Block would have loved a crack at the short asphalt test on gravel tyres, but alas the American’s Focus had been sidelined by a broken driveshaft earlier in the day.

Victory to Loeb then, but at least we were treated to a close fight for the lead between the seven-time World Champion and 2003 title winner (and fellow C4 driver) Petter Solberg, who was this year again running his own one-car team. It was Loeb’s third Rally GB win, his eighth of 2010 and his 62nd overall (an ever-growing record…), but there was some joy for Ford when talented young Finn Jari-Matti Latvala secured the runner-up spot in the championship by finishing third behind Solberg.

Abu Dhabi driver Khalid Al Qassimi, who just missed out on a top-10 finish, was left to reflect on just how good a rally car the Ford Focus WRC has been: “It’s a great car, and has won two manufacturers’ titles [in 2006-07], so it’s definitely one of the best Fords over the years. It’s good to finish this rally in the last event for the Focus.”

So bye-bye Focus, C4 and outgoing official tyre supplier Pirelli. Next year the WRC will say hello again to Michelin, Mini and a second British driver in the shape of 2009 Intercontinental Rally Champion Kris Meeke. My bet is that tickets for those mid-Wales stages will be sold out again…

Gillian Rodgers

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

In the final part of our special Jochen Rindt tribute, we hear from two more of his rivals who were due to race against him at the fateful 1970 Italian GP, where the Austrian was killed in practice before becoming Formula 1’s only posthumous World Champion. Fifteen of the 26 drivers entered for that race survive, and we’ve spoken to all but one of them (as reader Chris Hall guessed correctly – George Eaton) in the run-up to this weekend’s race at Monza.

John Miles

GB, Lotus (team-mate)

“Jochen and I didn’t really mix, so in one way I didn’t know him that well. I didn’t move in the same circles as the F1 glitterati. He had a very glamorous wife, and I lived in a terraced house in Islington with my three children, so it was a rather different lifestyle. Socially our paths didn’t really cross. We didn’t gel I think because we came from such different backgrounds. He didn’t see me as the next Emerson Fittipaldi, or whatever.

“Having said that, we were team-mates, so I got to know him quite well. He had a tremendous urgency about the way he conducted his life and he was very quick to judge, I would say – not the most tolerant guy in the world, like a lot of racing drivers.

“The Lotus 72 (the title-winning car on which Miles led the development) was such a troublesome child for me – every time I got into it something broke and there were a lot of confidence-destroying problems with that car. Jochen once said to me at Spa, ‘I wouldn’t drive that car if I were you’. I had a wheel fall off – fortunately at La Source – then two tyres went down in the race. There were an unending sequence of things going wrong.

“Jochen kind of didn’t want to drive for Lotus in one sense because he knew the cars were liable to let him down. But once the anti-dive and anti-squat were taken off, the car got very fast, and he was compelled to drive it because it gave him a very good position to win the World Championship. He was caught between the opportunity of winning a World Championship, but of the car always falling to bits.

“To me he was always fair, but he didn’t see me as a racer. He didn’t see me as someone with the same risk-taking profile as he had. His clan were the likes of Jackie Stewart and Jack Brabham – he had a good relationship with them.

“1970 was the year that destroyed my career in a sense, so it’s not one that I remember with great fondness. It was a bit like being a rear-gunner in a Lancaster bomber. The Monza weekend itself… Well, it was catastrophic, for obvious reasons. I had a big disagreement after practice on Friday about the wing situation and I didn’t want to run the car without them. We had no idea, no data that supported the aero balance without wings. I drove one lap with the car like that and I concluded it was completely undriveable; I nearly killed myself going round the Curva Grande. Colin Chapman ordered me to take the wings off the car, so they came off, but before I could get out to practice Jochen was killed. He was such a tremendous driver that I don’t believe the aero issue was what made the car leave the track. I believe that something broke, although others think differently. I followed Jochen at the end of Friday practice and his car looked dreadful. Colin already wanted to take the wings off the car, but the initial idea wasn’t Colin’s: Jochen had suggested it to him.

“There was engineering rashness with the 72. If we hadn’t been doing stupid experiments like taking the wings off with zero aerodynamic data to base it on, and if the mechanics hadn’t pulled an all-nighter to do this stuff, then maybe Jochen would still be alive.”

Emerson Fittipaldi

BR, Rob Walker Lotus (team-mate)

“My relationship with Jochen ran quite deep, because we raced together in Formula 2. By the time of Monza I was the third driver at Lotus, behind Jochen and John Miles, and I remember him helping me in the first Formula 1 test at Silverstone. He told me about the car and he was holding out the board as I went around each time.

“Monza was my fourth race and on the morning before practice I remember clearly that Jochen and I were talking about my 1971 contract over breakfast. He wanted me to drive in the team he had started with Bernie Ecclestone (his manager) and I agreed. It was very exciting and I felt so proud that I would be driving for Jochen. That was the last time I spoke to him.

“Then came the disaster. It was awful for me. I was only 22 and he was a guy I had looked up to as an idol. He was always very good to me when I arrived in Europe from Brazil, and his death was a big shock. My wife had become very close to Nina Rindt also, so on many levels it was a really difficult time. It wasn’t just the racing. Back then we never knew when we packed our bags on a Wednesdsay or Thursday whether we would be coming home on a Sunday night.

“Jochen was always extremely focused and he used to read a lot, he was intelligent. That was his way to relax. He could sometimes seem quite cold if you didn’t know him, but if you got close to him as a friend he was a really warm guy underneath. The way he treated me was fantastic and it gave me a huge motivation. He was an extreme talent and a fantastic guy.”

Anthony Rowlinson

Anthony Rowlinson is executive editor of The Red Bulletin

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Hats off to Kevin Wheatcroft and everyone else involved in the recommission of Donington Park after its disastrous flirtation with modern Formula 1. I was actually quite excited about the plans, not least because Donington is such a great circuit for spectators, but like all of us, I feared for its future once it was clear it was no more likely to hold the British Grand Prix than jump over the moon.

Well, I’ve been back and the good news is it’s as good as ever, perhaps slightly better.

I happened to take part in the last race meeting held at Donington before it closed for its alleged transformation, and can remember a strange feeling as I pulled off the track that I’d never again lap the circuit, at least not in a form that made it my favourite in the land.

The scenes that greated visitors last year

But I was wrong. You can see patches in the asphalt where work has been undone but all the way from Redgate to Coppice, through the Craners, Old Hairpin and McLeans, it’s as if it were all a bad dream. All that’s changed is the chicane leading onto the pit straight, which has been pulled back to allow some run-off and eased to make it faster and more flowing. In other words, the only bit that’s changed is the only bit that needed changing.

So no matter whether you do track days, race or simply spectate, please remember that Donners is back on the menu. If enough people do, it will help ensure it stays that way.

Andrew Frankel

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

In the fourth part of our special Jochen Rindt tribute, we hear from three more of his rivals who were due to race against him at the fateful 1970 Italian Grand Prix, where the Austrian was killed in practice before becoming Formula 1’s only posthumous World Champion. Fifteen of the 26 drivers entered for that race survive, and we’ve spoken to all but one of them.

There are more recollections to come tomorrow, as we count down to this weekend’s Grand Prix at Monza.

Tim Schenken

AUS, Williams

“I remember that weekend well. It was only my second Grand Prix. I’d been doing Formula 2 up to then, so I’d already raced against Jochen and he was a bit of a hero of mine. It’s funny how you have heroes and then suddenly you’re racing against them. Jochen was a special sort of person. Some people have something about them – Ayrton Senna, Enzo Ferrari – and Jochen was that kind of guy. When you were with him you knew you were in the presence of someone special.

“Jochen’s accident, and his death… It’s hard to explain how it affects you as a driver. You get to F1 and you’re doing something that you desperately want to do, so you’re there and suddenly someone who you look up to is killed and you feel very confused. Today a driver would probably have people around them, a manager maybe who they could talk to. But I was on my own. I was 27, and I’d come up through the ranks as you had to back then. So when Jochen died, it was certainly something you were never going to forget.

“A racing driver’s mind is really strange. You really think you’re never going to be hurt, otherwise you’d never do it. So somehow you put another driver’s death out of your mind. I didn’t reflect on it, which seems quite harsh, and in the next race it was as if he had been forgotten, which was quite odd and sad.”

Nanni Galli

IT, Ecurie Bonnier

“To understand something about Jochen, it’s enough to remember that he is the only posthumous World Champion in the history of Formula 1. He was that good and we were firm friends, although not everybody understood him. Above all, Jochen was a decisive man who knew his own mind.

“I don’t actually remember much about the Monza weekend now: maybe to some extent the sadness blocked it out. But I recall feeling shocked when I heard that he had died: I hadn’t seen any fire, so at first I thought the accident was not too serious. Back then, though, we measured things by different standards. Racing was dangerous: we were driving around in thin metal tubes protected only by 220 or 230 litres of petrol. This meant that fatalities were just a fact of life, but it also meant that the relationships between people were closer and that driving standards were more correct. In 1970, you would never have found drivers doing to each other what Michael Schumacher did to Jacques Villeneuve in 1997. It was too risky and everyone knew it.”

Chris Amon

NZ, March

“I talked to Jochen in the pitlane in Monza just before he went out for his last practice lap. I don’t remember what we talked about, but it was obvious his confidence levels were very high. He was on his way to winning the World Championship and he was confident of a good result at Monza. A few minutes later he got in the car and never came back.

“I didn’t see him crash. I didn’t even see the aftermath. I was having some problems with my car and by the time I got on the track it had all been cleaned up. We were all a bit shell-shocked because there had been a number of fatalities that year. But you block it out. He wasn’t wearing a full six-point harness belt but that is not quite as surprising as it sounds, because seat belts hadn’t been around that long. One of the reasons drivers didn’t like them is they were terrified of fire, and the thinking was you were almost better to get pitched out than stay in the car.

“Jochen was a very forthright character with a wicked sense of humour, and as a driver he was right up there. I don’t know if we ever fully saw the best of him. He drove some fairly ordinary cars up until the last few years of his career and I think there was a lot more to come from him. Around that time the two guys I really rated were Jochen and Jackie (Stewart). For me he will always be one of the best.”

Anthony Rowlinson

Anthony Rowlinson is executive editor of The Red Bulletin

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

In the third part of our special Jochen Rindt tribute, we hear from three more of his rivals who were due to race against him at the fateful 1970 Italian Grand Prix, where the Austrian was killed in practice before becoming Formula 1’s only posthumous World Champion. Fifteen of the 26 drivers entered for that race survive, and we’ve spoken to all but one of them.

There are more recollections to come tomorrow, as we count down to this weekend’s Grand Prix at Monza.

Jean-Pierre Beltoise

FR, Matra

“For us as drivers at the time, it wasn’t a question of if we would die in a racing car, but when. So after I learned that Jochen had died during the Italian Grand Prix, I didn’t really feel huge shock, just as I didn’t when my brother-in-law François Cevert was killed three years later. You became very hardened to injuries, accidents and deaths. These were simply the price you paid for racing, and for as long as the rewards were worth it and you had the chance to win races you just accepted it. The risks never stopped you sleeping at night and if those thoughts ever cropped up in your mind you chased them away.

“I don’t remember much about the weekend in Monza, but I’ll always remember Jochen as a very nice guy. The French drivers used to stick together and were very close, but while Jochen was Austrian, he was also one of our circle. I knew him well as we were both racing in Formula 2, and although I was younger than him, we were very good friends. When he died he was the man to beat in Formula 1: definitely one of the great drivers.”

Henri Pescarolo

FR, Matra

“At the time of the accident it was very difficult to know what had happened. It wasn’t like now when you have a safety car and yellow flags. Often in races, even if there was a very bad accident, they would just carry on. We knew something bad had happened because we could see how badly the car was damaged, but we didn’t know about Jochen until much later.

“He was a good guy, you know, and we were friends as we raced together in F2. I remember the year he died, 1970, at Monaco I stayed ahead of him for most of the race until he won at the very last corner when he passed Jack Brabham. I knew that if I stayed ahead of Jochen I had done a good job. He was exceptionally fast, very spectacular and aggressive. Great for the fans to watch.

“After he died… well, it’s hard to say it now, but we just carried on because we were so used to drivers being killed in F1 or sports car racing. It was just the way of the times. Every weekend, it seemed, somebody would die. The next time, maybe it would be you…”

Peter Gethin

GB, McLaren

“As a competitor Jochen was exceptional in everything he drove – particularly Formula 2. When he came into F1 he was with Cooper, which at that time wasn’t a great car, but you could see he was exceptionally good and that he was destined to be a World Champion. As a bloke he was a decent guy, a very intelligent guy and a nice guy – pretty hard-nosed, pretty sharp and very Austrian. He was a guy with a very good sense of humour, too.

“I remember speaking to him on the Friday night before the race and that was the last time. I was on track when he crashed and not that far behind him. I remember Jackie Stewart running back to me in the pits and asking if I’d seen what had happened. It was a very sad and traumatic day, but in those days these things happened.

“The accident was at the highest possible speed on the straight approaching the Parabolica. But he definitely didn’t make a mistake. He was unlucky that his car went under the Armco and that he wasn’t wearing lap belts, but it was going to be a terrible accident anyway.

“As drivers back then we had an attitude a bit like fighter pilots in the last war: we knew it was dangerous, but it was never going to happen to you. If it happened to someone else you were upset, but if you thought about it too much you couldn’t do your job. That’s how it was.”

Anthony Rowlinson

Anthony Rowlinson is executive editor of The Red Bulletin

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

In the second part of our special Jochen Rindt tribute, we hear from three more of his rivals who were due to race against him at the fateful 1970 Italian Grand Prix, where the Austrian was killed in practice before becoming Formula 1’s only posthumous World Champion. Fifteen of the 26 drivers entered for that race survive, and we’ve spoken to all but one of them.

There are more recollections to come tomorrow, as we count down to this weekend’s Grand Prix at Monza.

Sir Jack Brabham

AUS, Motor Racing Developments

“Monza 1970 was a very sad weekend for me. I had become very close friends with Jochen and we had so many great races together.

“Jochen had a horrible car failure at the end of the straight and was killed through no fault of his own. I rated him very highly indeed as a driver and felt he was a wonderful competitor, and I always enjoyed racing with him. I would say also that he was a very good type of man, who became a bosom friend, and beyond that he was one of the best drivers of that period and captured the imagination of the racing public.

“Fatalities, unfortunately, were something we had to live with and we had to get on with the job at hand, but it was a very sad period altogether.”

John Surtees

GB, Team Surtees

“Jochen was my team-mate, of course, at Cooper. I’d seen him in Formula 2, where he had a number of good events. He came before me at Cooper-Maserati. He showed good pace and did a good race at Spa, where I watched him because his tyres were handling in the wet better then mine. And it was obvious he was talented.

“In terms of his World Championship… Well, at that time there were a number of drivers who, if they were in the right car at the right time, had the potential to become World Champion, and he was definitely one of those. When he went to Lotus, to work with Colin Chapman, then definitely he was one of those with World Champion potential. Jochen had the right degree of aggression and he was also someone who was able to come together with a car. Colin could put together a real driver’s car, and by the time Jochen went there he had the right amount of experience to be a potential champion. What happened was just tragic.

“I had had a major accident in 1966 that nearly killed me, due to a mechanical failure. And Jochen’s accident was probably caused by a mechanical failure too. That reawakened memories that there are things beyond your control at times, particularly in those days. It’s one of the facts of life. You have to recall why you are there and what you are there to do – a job that generally you love doing. There are moments when that love goes away, of course, but you have to cast that to one side once you get behind the wheel, without wishing to sound callous.”

Andrea de Adamich

IT, McLaren

“I first met Jochen at the Vallelunga Italian Formula 3 race in 1963. We were both beginners, although our career paths diverged after that. He was far faster than me in Formula 1 but I was very proud to beat him in the 1968 Temporada Argentina, when I had the Ferrari Dino Formula 2 car.

“By Monza 1970, the only reason he was not dominating rather than simply leading the championship was that his Lotus was fragile as well as fast. It’s a weekend that will remain imprinted on my memory. Just before Jochen crashed he had come out of the pits. It’s my belief that his belts weren’t done up properly after he left, and this is what caused him to slide under them, with the buckle crushing his neck. We’ll obviously never know, but I think that if his belts had been properly fastened then he could have survived the accident, although he would still have sustained severe leg injuries.

“I remember both him and his wife Nina with a lot of affection. They were cultured, educated and refined people – which is not something that you could always say about everyone in the paddock.”

Anthony Rowlinson

Anthony Rowlinson is executive editor of The Red Bulletin

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

This weekend’s Italian Grand Prix marks the 40th anniversary since the death of Jochen Rindt, who was killed at Monza in practice for the 1970 race. Having been that season’s dominant driver for Lotus – first in the 49B, then in the 72 – he came to Monza with 45 points and a 20-point lead over nearest rival Jack Brabham. It would be enough to confirm him as champion two races later when Ferrari’s Jacky Ickx, by then the only man who could overhaul Rindt, finished fourth at Watkins Glen. The three points he scored meant Rindt would remain out of reach and become Formula 1’s first posthumous World Champion.

He was also Austria’s first World Champion, and in his home country he remains feted to this day.

A hugely charismatic figure, Rindt was not, however, universally popular and some of his rivals, in particular, considered him aloof, even arrogant.

Fifteen of the 26 drivers entered for the 1970 Italian GP are still alive and to commemorate a majestic driver, cut down in his prime, we’ve spoken to all but one of them. Here are some of their recollections, with more to follow in the run-up to this weekend’s race at Monza.

Jackie Stewart

GB, Tyrrell

“By the time the race came around a lot of the immediate emotion had somewhat reduced. The day before had been very traumatic. Helen went to the hospital with Nina and that’s never a nice thing for a wife to do, to look after another wife.

“I think I finished second. I can’t remember where I was on the grid [he was fourth]. I went out and did quite a good qualifying after Jochen died. It’s in Winning is not Enough. Tried the March, went back to the Tyrrell, and then the March. As a racing driver, when the visor goes down and the lights go out, you have to get on with it. Driving a car, you are so totally consumed by what you are doing, you’re never allowed to be distracted. In that respect it was maybe it was one of the advantages I had: being able to block things out. I always tried to remove emotion and I was able to do that. I had won the championship the year before. From about halfway through ’68 I suddenly matured mentally and was able to manage everything better in my own head.

“That was a bad year, 1970. Bruce McLaren and Piers Courage were killed, and of course Jochen. It was quite difficult to deal with these things, because it’s not just at the track, and seeing the things I saw. It’s brought back to you the next week because of the funeral, and two months later there’s a memorial service. Monza was one of those circuits where we didn’t have a problem with safety. We’d refused to go to the Nürburgring and that was a big deal. Jochen was part of that with me.

“There’s always emotion involved at the start of the race. I was lucky enough to be able to remove most of it. I can’t remember much about it. To finish second in the March was a good result.”

And the Coke bottle-smashing incident after qualifying?

“I make no excuses for that. I’d been to Jochen. I’d been to him and come back to Nina, who had disappeared with Helen. Then Ken…

“Going back out was the right thing to do. The barrier had been fixed, but I suppose because of what I had seen when I went out I was in tears. But when I had the visor down that was when I did my qualifying time, which was the best lap I had ever done at Monza. I didn’t have a death wish. But as I came back in, my best friend John Lindsay handed me a Coca Cola. I took a drink and I will never forget I had it in my hand and I was so angry, I took the bottle and smashed it against the concrete wall that separated the pits from the track. That was my emotion. But not in the race. That’s what I remember.”

Jackie Oliver

GB, BRM

“I remember that most of us were staying the Hotel de Ville on the edge of the park. I had breakfast with Jochen’s wife and we went to the circuit together. We certainly all knew each other.

“Jochen had certain people he wanted to associate with and others he didn’t. He tended to be very self-centred, which isn’t unusual in a successful racing driver. I wouldn’t count him as a friend. He associated with people, I believe, who were as good as him and then he’d make a judgement on the others and didn’t give them space in his life.

“We raced together in Formula 2 the year before and then again in F1. Colin Chapman, Jochen’s boss at Lotus, saw Jochen as a replacement for Jim Clark, and he was probably right about that.

“It was a very dangerous period for motor racing. Lots of us were getting nailed. The cars were not as safe as they are now. They tended to catch light in a crash. No fuel bags. In that situation, it was a bit like being in the military, I imagine. There was no point in dwelling on it. If you were dwelling on it for too long, you weren’t doing a good job. You were better off doing something else.

“I didn’t dwell on it. I knew there were people dealing with the situation so I shut myself down. A few drivers were able to engage with the death of another driver, perhaps because they needed to immerse themselves. Certainly Jackie Stewart felt he had to be involved because he was pushing to get improved safety standards. But I just went my own way and thought ‘there’s another one of us gone and it will never happen to me.’

“No remorse. No sadness. No tears. As far as I was concerned Jochen was just gone. Looking back it was probably an inappropriate way to behave, but I suppose a number of others were exactly the same.”

Jacky Ickx

BE, Ferrari

“Not winning at Watkins Glen was such a release. How could you beat someone not able to defend his own chances? The fact that Jochen won the World Championship was the most perfect solution. As for me not having won, it doesn’t create any kind of sorrow at all. Now, when I think back, I feel so sad for all those around me – probably more talented than I was, and certainly more dedicated, who didn’t have that extra piece of luck that made you a survivor. That was the great thing about that era – survival.”

Anthony Rowlinson

Anthony Rowlinson is executive editor of The Red Bulletin

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Last night I had the great privilege of attending Norman Dewis’s 90th birthday party. Held at Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant, with C-types parked outside and the prototype D in the room, it was a fitting celebration of one of the most extraordinary figures ever to bless this industry.

Jaguar turned out the big guns, both the CEO and MD gladly giving up their evenings to acknowledge Norman’s incomparable contribution to Jaguar, a company at which he started working nigh on 60 years ago. With Sir Stirling he developed the disc brakes that would transform road and racing cars, he developed the D-type from scratch and, of course, was responsible for road cars such as the E-type and XJ saloon.

As for the star of the show, Norman is clearly built from a different material to the rest of us. This is man who not only survived multiple high speed accidents while testing and, famously, barrel-rolling the XJ13 prototype off the MIRA banking but, less well known but more remarkably still, life as a gunner in Blenheims during the war. And yet today he is undiminished, striding between his guests, eyes twinkling, stories of a lifetime on road and track pouring forth. Inevitably he was asked to pose behind the wheel of Jaguar’s own C-type which he gladly did, but the moment I enjoyed most was when some well meaning individual asked if Norman if he needed any help getting out. The nonagenarian Norman answered by departing the Jaguar like a cork from a champagne bottle.

Later on, after speeches and presentations from Jaguar and Jaguar car clubs, Norman took to the stage himself, working the room without notes, a man clearly as comfortable in his latter day role as roving Jaguar ambassador as he was during over 30 years as its chief test driver.

Every great car company needs a man like Norman. Ferrari had Dario Benuzzi, Lamborghini Valentino Balboni. But if you think of all Norman achieved in both the road and racing arenas – let’s not forget he was a works driver in the ’55 Le Mans as well – over such an extended period, I would contend he is the greatest of the lot, rivalled perhaps only by Mercedes’s Rudi Uhlenhaut.

And now, 25 years after he officially retired, Norman shows no sign of slowing down, his 2011 diary already filling up with lecture tours of America and Europe. If Norman ever felt fortunate to have found Jaguar all those years ago, it must be as nothing compared to how fortunate Jaguar must feel to have Norman today.

He ended his talk by offering a small slice of advice to anyone else in the room wishing to see their 90th birthday. We expected profundity, we got ‘keep breathing’. To gales of laughter and a standing ovation, Norman departed the stage.

Andrew Frankel

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Since becoming publisher of Motor Sport I’ve been asked on numerous occasions ‘do you have a strong knowledge of motor racing?’ The answer is no – that’s what the editorial team is for, surely? – although I do have a strong interest, passion and love of the sport.

Growing up through the 1970s and ’80s in a household with a father and brother that followed motor racing avidly, I either had to take an interest or opt out! My father worked in the tobacco industry and his employers were active sponsors of Formula 1 and other racing formulae, so we had many opportunities to attend races and visit circuits.

Most weekends in the late ’70s and early ’80s were spent at Donington Park, but until last weekend my only experience of a Grand Prix had been the 1987 British GP at Silverstone, where I saw Nigel Mansell overtake Nelson Piquet to win the race and then have to hitch a lift on a policeman’s motorbike on the slowing-down lap. A British win at a British circuit raised many emotions and a swell of support in the crowds saw us all clambering out of our seats, across the barriers and running behind Mansell back to the pits.

Fast-forward a frightening 23 years to my second trip to Silverstone, and last Friday I was invited by Virgin Racing to join the team in the paddock for practice – and what a fantastic day I had.

My first jaw-dropping moment came as I walked with my host through the gathering crowds at the entrance of the F1 paddock and turned right into an ‘avenue’ of team motorhomes – something akin to a Manhattan skyline, each block towering above me, shiny and bright, all perfectly aligned. How different from my previous GP visit when team trailers were literally that – Winnebago-style with picket fences to mark the boundaries, patio tables and chairs defining team territory.

On arrival at Virgin Racing’s motorhome, I met some key members of the team and their two drivers, Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi. All were very welcoming, putting me at ease straight away. This was to set the tone for the rest of the day.

I was given a tour of the garage, a visit to the pitwall and a review of the new GPS systems, and was shown the new nosecones that the team were to use in practise. As 10am drew nearer the tension in the garage rose – the swarm of mechanics dressed in black and red busied themselves around their respective cars, waiting for the OK to get them started.

I was given a pair of ear defenders and permitted to stay in the garage throughout the practice session – and I was rooted to the spot. It turned out that the ear defenders were linked to the team radios, providing a fabulous first-hand opportunity to witness the team dialogues and dynamics. I stood, watched and listened as two crews worked in synch on all aspects of preparing the cars and drivers for practice. When Glock’s car encountered problems and had to be stripped right back and seemingly re-built before he could sample the new-look Silverstone circuit the mechanics all worked together, keeping their cool, to ensure they maximised the time Glock had left in the first session. After lunch, I returned to the garage to watch the team at work – the relationships between chief mechanic, chief engineer, driver and the pitwall – an enlightening experience. Even the levels of cleanliness, the constant polishing of the garage floor and sweeping each time the cars were out was interesting to see – a new sponsorship opportunity for Mr Sheen maybe?

After a day out I often ask my daughter ‘which was your favourite bit?’ and she often replies ‘it was all so good, no bit was better than any other!’ Well, I will borrow her sentiments – it was a fantastic day. Thank you to Virgin Racing for their invitation and a wonderful opportunity to view the behind-the-scenes work of an F1 team.

Dafina Keys, Motor Sport‘s publisher and very good tea maker

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Red Bull Reporter is a nationwide search to find the best young music & culture, and sports writers, filmmakers, photographers and presenters, giving them the chance to use their skills and indulge their passions.

The most talented young media makers could be selected for one of our many exciting assignments – each designed to give them an amazing experience as a working member of the media – covering world-class sports, cutting-edge music and innovative culture events. What’s more, Red Bull events happen all over the world and we’ll be dispatching Red Bull Reporters out there to cover them!

Red Bull City Limits, which took place on Saturday March 20, brought Red Bull Racing’s car and crew to Belfast city centre. The driver? 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard. His mission: to show exactly what these machines are made of. Red Bull Reporter sent along selected writer Ben Croucher (who applied via www.redbullreporter.com) who got to attend the event and interview David Coulthard.

Below is the Q&A between Ben Croucher and David Coulthard.

If you fancy becoming a Red Bull Reporter there are plenty of new sports, music and culture related upcoming assignments all over the world you could be going to – just head to www.redbullreporter.com to sign up and start submitting…

Ben Croucher talks to David Coulthard at Red Bull City Limits

How much do you enjoy these showcase events in front of the fans?
I always enjoy events like these. As a kid I would have loved to have gone out and seen a Grand Prix car [at an event like this]. I saw a little boy who was three years old – he probably won’t remember today, but there’ll be a picture of him with a Grand Prix car and maybe he’ll be a future Grand Prix driver. So these events are great.

With more tracks being added to the Formula 1 calendar, how important is it to come to places like this to get fans interested in the sport?
I think it is important. It would be obvious to take it to Scotland with me being Scottish driver, but it’s great to be here [in Belfast]. We’ve had a great welcome so I’ve got no complaints.

How exhilarating is it to drive the car on the streets so close to all the barriers?
It’s a real adrenaline rush! It’s a big responsibility because it’s a big, fast, powerful car and this isn’t its typical terrain. It’s actually more difficult to drive it here on the streets than it is on the race track. You’ve got to deal with the bumps and be really careful.

You’ve been with Red Bull Racing since it started in 2005. How satisfying is it to see the progress the team has made in the last five seasons, and what do you put it down to?
It’s been great. [To go] from being a mid-grid team with highly motivated but under-funded people, to being a front-running team that’s highly motivated and well funded, [with people] who know that they have to be creative every single day they go to work. It’s fantastic.

Red Bull has brought some fantastic drivers through its junior team and European driver programme, with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Buemi making it into F1. How important is this to have fresh talent coming through and are you slightly jealous of the opportunity they’re getting?
I’m not jealous, no! While you’re feeling jealous, you’re actually missing out on making something happen. I’m old enough to look now and say that some of the younger drivers don’t know how difficult it was, but that’s just the reality of it. The route to Formula 1 is more mapped out than it was. Everybody gets opportunities in life, you’ve just got to take them.

Why did you decide to become a racing driver?
It was through my father. My dad was into racing and he bought me a kart when I was 11. I liked it and off I went.

What excites you most about this season?
Well, I was really excited before Bahrain, but it didn’t turn out to be the best of races. I’m optimistic that the FIA and the drivers will make some improvements and make the racing better.

If you could create a new rule for F1 and try to improve the racing, what would it be and why?
These are fast and sophisticated cars, but the only real mistake the driver can make now is by not going on the power early enough or braking too late. I think if you had a manual gearbox there’s another element. If the driver is under pressure or fatigued, that creates racing and becomes a skill. I tested a DTM recently with a manual box and it made me realise just how big the challenge is.

Did you have any pre-race routines as a driver? What about other drivers – are there crazy superstitions that you know of?
Some of them do – I don’t know what they are because I didn’t pay attention to them, but I always used to get in the car from the left. That was more of a comfort thing due to the seatbelts. When you’ve got two straps between your legs it becomes a bit of a comfort thing but other than that, no big superstitions.

This event here is called City Limits. When in your career have you reached your own limits as a driver, and how scary was it?
Probably in the rain around the streets of Monaco, or the Japanese Grand Prix when you’re driving into walls of spray. In the dry, you’re always on the limit but you always feel in control… until you crash!

You mentioned Monaco and Japan – are they two of your favourite circuits?
Yeah, Suzuka is a fantastic circuit and Monaco is the greatest challenge because there’s just no room for error.

Later on today, you’ll be performing some doughnuts in front of the crowd. Since retiring, is it nice to not have to constantly monitor your diet and do you enjoy the odd pastry or two?
(laughs) Well, my diet is a bit more relaxed than it was but I’ve actually lost weight because I don’t do so much strength work, but it’s fine. Life, if you’re lucky, is long and you have different things in different phases, so I’m into another phase of my life now.

To read Ben’s full write-up of the event please click here.

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