OK, I’m back.

Apologies for the silence but it proved to be somewhat tricky to send dispatches from the Grande Festival de Classicos at Portimao, this being due to the internet service suffering from intermittent failures without any warning. We, that’s the man from Autosport and I, considered demanding our money back, but we’d had such a good time at this terrific historic event in Portugal that we struggled on in silence.

Thankfully we were able to file our stories on Sunday night. Otherwise the editor in London would not have been impressed. Suffice to say, this is one of the highlights of the historic calendar, along with Goodwood, Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. It is also a highlight for those who participate for two main reasons.

One, most racers like to play golf, and the Algarve coast appears to have more golf courses per square mile than anywhere else in the world. Two, the Portimao circuit is a modern classic. Designed by former bike and car racer Paulo Pinheiro, it is a spectacular challenge for drivers and a wonderful place to watch. There’s a full report in the next edition of the magazine but I do urge you to get to this event if you can.

All in all, quite a weekend for us racing fans. In the media centre at Portimao we could watch MotoGP in Australia, DTM in Germany and the Rally of Scotland – simultaneously on three separate screens… what a remarkable world we live in today.

And that’s not to mention all the football. Not a good weekend for my aforementioned colleague and I. He being a Liverpool fan and I being a Manchester United fan, it would have all been rather depressing had we not had to go outside and write about some great motor racing

There was much talk in the paddock about Mark Webber going to Ferrari next year and about how Valentino Rossi will struggle to get to grips with the Ducati. I’m not saying the former is true, and I’d be surprised by the latter, but both are good things to gossip about at the bar after a day’s racing.

Rumours are rumours until they come to pass. Back in reality, Skoda did another great job in Scotland with yet another win for the talented Juha Hanninen who’s had a fantastic year in the highly effective Fabia. Guy Wilks was fast too, but failed to get to the finish. Only nine cars got to the end of this extremely tough rally. And what about Casey Stoner? A much-needed boost for Ducati and certainly Mr Rossi will have taken note of Stoner’s pace. Not one of the greatest MotoGP events but nonetheless an interesting result, Stoner and Ducati having been much stronger in the last two races. And the win moves the Aussie into third in the championship with two races to go, just eight points ahead of you-know-who…

We move on this weekend to what will be a very intriguing Grand Prix in Korea. The fascination is partly because nobody’s been there before, so all the pre-race data will have come from simulators, and partly because it will be interesting to see just who works best under the mounting pressure. The wire is fast approaching and this season will go all the way. Now is the time to see who can handle what is a very tense situation. Will the Red Bulls get tangled up in internal strife and allow Fernando Alonso to come through? Will the McLarens come good just in time?

These and other questions will be answered by Sunday night. But we won’t have all the answers for another few weeks. Ah, the anticipation… just how racing should be, and has been all season long.

Back soon with more ramblings as winter lurks on the edges of autumn here in England. And it could be an interesting winter. Will F1 testing be restored? Possibly. Will F2 champion Dean Stoneman get a drive at Williams? Will Webber go to Ferrari? Will Michael Schumacher be sufficiently impressed with the new Pirellis and his new Mercedes-Benz?

I’m not making any predictions. Not yet, anyway.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

I try to avoid being on holiday during a Grand Prix weekend. That’s not always easy once the European season gets underway, as you will appreciate.

Looking at the diary in February I quickly came to realise that the summer was going to be busy, Motor Sport having put my name next to a most encouraging number of events, some of them Grands Prix. An early holiday, or no holiday, were the options.

The latter option did little to improve the atmosphere at home so here we are, in Corfu, and the Spanish GP in Barcelona is not exactly headline news in the local newspapers. The Greeks are a great deal more concerned with football than they are with motor racing. And it is Easter weekend – well, Holy Week to be precise – and access to British newspapers and broadcasting is, to say the least, limited.

Easter Sunday found us with friends in the mountain village of Skripero, slowly roasting a large lamb over an open fire, and easing into the day with an ouzo. To receive the race coverage on ITV requires the installation of a satellite dish the like of which you would expect to find atop GCHQ or some similar secretive government establishment. This is clearly not an option in an area of such outstanding natural beauty. And nor should it be. We therefore break away from the Easter celebrations to watch the Grand Prix unfold on Antenna, a Greek channel with, naturally, a Greek commentary.

As the Ferraris lead the field round lap after lap the commentator doesn’t sound very excited but there is much discussion amongst our international party about what might, or might not, happen over the duration of this first European encounter.

The Italians are pleased, but not surprised, to see the red cars out in front. The Americans want to know what Michael Schumacher is doing these days and why did he stop at the top of his game. (The Italians glance across at Kimi who, through the interference, appears to be cruising to victory). The Brits want to know if Lewis really has what it takes and whether he is truly as cool and charming as he appears? The Greeks, understandably, are more concerned with the lamb slowly turning on the spit.

I mention these things this week because distance delivers a little perspective upon the matter. If you have not seen practice or qualifying, and you do not understand the grid, the race somehow loses some of its intensity. If you have just recently joined the throng around a TV set in a café to watch a most enthralling football match, joining in the general hullabaloo, then the Grand Prix seems somehow not to bring you to the edge of your seat.

In the days following the race at Barcelona I have come to appreciate that there was some excitement, some intrigue, and possibly some measure of the margin that the red cars appear to have over the rest of the field. And it’s interesting how the team from Maranello has a following wherever you travel, in the same way that Manchester United clearly had plenty of support in the cafes of Corfu when they strode onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge last weekend.

The village of Arillas, from where I am writing, seems a world away from fast cars, let alone racing cars. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. I am tempted to start to believe that I could wean myself off the drug that got into my bloodstream all those years ago at Goodwood. But I know that such a process is not going to happen. As the grid forms up for the next one I know I will not wish I was here, whatever I may have written on post cards this week.

Incidentally, the internet connection through which you will have received this brief report is not so easy to find. So thanks Dimitris at Brouklis where I have perched to satisfy the terms of my contract. I guess that Jenks would have simply walked down to the post box by the sea and dropped his envelope in with fingers crossed. Those were the days.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Firstly, the news that the BBC has captured the TV contract for Grand Prix racing inspired the biggest response to any of my Motor Sport blogs so far this year. Thanks to everyone who contributed some intelligent and pertinent debate.

As I write this latest contribution to our platform for debate, I have half my mind on preparing to travel to Bahrain for the F1 Business Forum. The what? Do I hear some yawning out there? I hope not because it’s not as bad as it sounds. Yes, we all dread going to conferences, or ‘forums’, don’t we? Whatever job we may be doing. They are always held in some horrible hotel near Heathrow airport, or in some Holiday Inn in the middle of several unnavigable roundabouts, at least that’s the way it’s always been for me. Too much central heating, no air and piles of files and notepads, jugs of water and cheap ballpoint pens to take away and never use. And have you ever come away from a conference feeling a better person, better empowered to do your job? Probably not.

Anyway, in Bahrain next week – as the teams prepare for the third Grand Prix of the season – many of the F1 fat cats will be taking time to speak at the Motorsport Business Forum. I went to the last one in Monte Carlo at the end of last year and it was good, even very interesting. Max Mosley spoke about his master plan for Formula 1 and Jackie Stewart responded with some carefully worded criticism of the president of the FIA. All good stuff and nice to see someone, especially Stewart, putting the case for the opposition.

This time, in Bahrain, the FIA is not to the fore, except of course that it is running the Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit. This time the speakers will be, in the main, from the teams. The ‘keynote’ speech will be given by Ron Dennis (above), a man I have always much admired and whose life has been devoted to McLaren and the sport he loves. Ron is an enthusiast, a racer and – when he has to be – a politician. What he has to say will be worth hearing and – I hope – worth reporting in the next Motor Sport. Also on the panel of big cheeses will be Nick Fry from Honda, Christian Horner (below) from Red Bull Racing and David Richards (bottom) from Prodrive/Subaru/Aston Martin/You-name-it-he’s-involved-in-it. This man is a dynamo and let’s hope he succeeds in bringing his own team into Grand Prix racing despite the misgivings that others may have about customer cars. What about an Aston Martin F1 team? There is no doubt that Richards would make a terrific job of that – doing everything Jaguar should have done with its attempt.

The point of the forum in the desert is that the Gulf means business, the Gulf is awash with cash, and a consortium of Bahrain business folk already owns a big chunk of the McLaren Group. You may have seen the London taxis bearing the message: Bahrain – Making Financial Connections. What does this mean? I have no idea, but all will become clear next week in the course of the build-up to the Grand Prix. I will be talking to Messrs Dennis, Richards, Fry and Horner about the importance of this region, the significance of new finance in the sport and – oh, yes I nearly forgot – the racing itself, the season so far and all that stuff.

Many of you may be asleep by now, not caring much for the business of sport. Well, it is here to stay, it is how Manchester United can afford Ronaldo, it is how Tiger Woods earns squillions of dollars and it is how President Sarkozy gets to kick a football on the hallowed turf of the new Emirates stadium. Personally, I preferred Highbury, but that’s all irrelevant now. You can make your own judgement in next month’s magazine when I will attempt to penetrate the fog that so often seems to hang over the business of modern motor racing. You can be assured that one of the big men will say something of real interest. If not, there’s always the cars on the track in the sunshine outside.

I’ve got my pad, I’ve got my biros and I’m sure there will be some jugs of icy water. I just need to put my towel on a seat in the front row and make sure I’m close enough to hear between the lines.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

My Editor has asked me to approach my weekly blog in a different way. He’s the Boss, so I will. He wants me to be more controversial, nothing too extreme you understand, but just a bit more opinionated, perhaps. Also, he would like me to keep it shorter. So here goes.

My background is in commercial television so I am at least a little qualified to have a view on the news that the BBC is to renew its association with Grand Prix racing from 2009. On first hearing the news – I was not in bed at the time like my friend Murray Walker – I was not so very surprised. Not because I thought ITV was doing a bad job but because I knew the BBC was keen to get its hands on a major international sport at a time when almost all other sport seems to be slipping from its grasp. I was aware too, that ITV was determined to capture as much top line football as it could afford in the knowledge that the big European games are very popular with both advertisers and viewers alike. So, the news that the BBC had done a deal with Mr Ecclestone and that ITV had beaten its rivals to the best of the European football pretty much confirmed the rumours that have been swirling around in recent months.

I look forward, as most people do, to watching a Grand Prix without the tiresome interruption of mortgage and mobile phone advertising. I am not, however, convinced that the BBC, as it is today, will do a better job of the actual race coverage than ITV is already doing. I say this because – apart from their irritating obsession with Lewis Hamilton – I think ITV has done a generally excellent job of televising Grand Prix racing to the general public. Of course the real racing aficionado will never be entirely happy because he or she probably knows as much about the sport as those who front the programmes. The coverage is not primarily created for us real, long-time enthusiasts – it is designed to appeal to a far wider audience and this, I believe, it has succeeded in doing.

I simply wonder if the mooted ‘Top Gear’ approach to Grand Prix racing will work. The Clarkson/May/Hammond take on life does work for ‘Top Gear’ and its loyal audience. But the complex business of GP racing requires, in my view, a more studied approach. We get this on ITV from both Martin Brundle in the commentary box and Ted Kravitz (above) in the pits. Martin knows his stuff and delivers it in pithy and humorous style while Kravitz gives us the facts and figures we need. When he doesn’t know something, he finds the answer. Commentators are always in the firing line and I know from experience just how hard this job can be. James Allen may not have the populist appeal of Murray Walker but that is not the point any more. He, like us, is an enthusiast and his partnership with Martin Brundle may well be a safer bet than the rather more tabloid approach of Messrs Clarkson and Hammond, should that come to pass. Call me contrary, but I also think Louise Goodman does a great job behind the scenes. Tell me when she last missed getting hold of a driver just retired from a race.

I prefer Steve Rider on my football coverage but whatever he does in front of a camera, he’s totally professional. If I had to knock the ITV F1 show, I would only ask for less news on Hamilton and more news about the other 21 cars and drivers. Yes, I know Lewis is a remarkable new discovery – and a refreshingly raunchy racer – but even Manchester United is so much more than Cristiano Ronaldo.

But it’s a done deal, a deal that Mr Ecclestone finds to his liking. Let’s just hope the BBC brings something really special to the party apart from the largely unwanted “added value” of podcasts, mobile phone updates and Internet streaming. Most of us watch on telly. And I do know that throwing the ‘Top Gear’ format at Grand Prix motor racing will not be the answer.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

I was watching News at Ten this week and up popped Eddie Jordan, looking tanned, relaxed and rich. Wrapped in an expensive leather jacket, EJ was standing in a smart London street, talking about the extraordinary outbreak of racism at the Catalunya circuit near Barcelona. I could see by the caption that he was ‘live’ on the air and so I imagined that either something dreadful had happened or he had decided to come back to Grand Prix racing. The latter, I thought, was most unlikely and, turning up the volume, I heard him mention Thierry Henry. Had the man bought a football team, I wondered, spurred on by Flavio Briatore’s success in dragging Queens Park Rangers up the first division? (My bet is that QPR will be in the premier league very promptly). But no, it was about Spanish fans taunting Lewis Hamilton during testing at Catalunya.

What a very sad and dismal story this is. It reminded me of both Thierry Henry and Eric Cantona, Henry suffering at the hands of a racist referee and Cantona being taunted by racist fans while weaving his magic for the great Manchester United. (My bet is they will beat Arsenal to the Premiership title, and I hope they do). Both Henry and Cantona spoke eloquently about the problems of racism in sport, both Frenchmen having finally lost their tempers with ignorant spectators. Footballers, of course, are performing very close to their supporters, and their enemies, so it is more tempting to react on the spur of the moment.

Lewis Hamilton, by contrast, could only watch in despair from the pitlane as a small group of idiots in rude t-shirts set about ruining his day in Spain. I trust that Fernando Alonso, despite the tensions of last season with Lewis at McLaren, would not condone this kind of lunacy from his fellow Spaniards, even if they do claim to be his fans. Eddie Jordan suggested that the Spanish Grand Prix be cancelled, that the FIA remove the race from the calendar. No doubt the race will go ahead and anyway it is not the answer. As far as I am aware, Hamilton has experienced similar racism during his early karting days but never before in the rarified atmosphere of Formula One. And it has to be stamped out, now. Never must a handful of clowns be allowed to damage a sport that has a worldwide audience. Some might say the business has conspired to make a dent in its image. But racism is a whole different story.

Don’t cancel the Grand Prix. Find out who the idiots are and ban then from the circuit. Similar action has made a huge difference to the atmosphere in football stadiums.

But well done EJ, for coming on ‘live’ and calling for immediate action. Grand Prix racing needs a good, clean and positive year, especially for Hamilton and Alonso. Silly politics and resentment, of any kind, is – as they say on the catwalks – so very last year.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine