Welcome to another ‘week in motor sport’. There was plenty to talk about this week and I sat down with features editor Rob Widdows to mull over the Hungarian Grand Prix and the news of new deal with Formula 1, Sky and the BBC.

I am sorry that we’re back to our usual editing quality, but we’re in the process of finding a budget and hope to return to the professional format as soon as possible!

As always, let us know what you think about everything we discuss.

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Welcome to another ‘week in motor sport’. This week I talk to Damien Smith and Rob Widdows about the British Grand Prix as well as the contact between Will Power and Dario Franchitti in the Indycar race in Toronto.

There was so much to say about the Grand Prix at Silverstone that we have gone on a bit longer this month, so I’m afraid it is split into two parts.

We were very fortunate to be joined by Emagine Productions this week who filmed and edited the interview. We hope you enjoy it…

Part 1

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Part 2

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Motor Sport hosted a special evening in London on June 6 as a group of our enthusiastic readers joined us for a private viewing of the stunning new Ayrton Senna film.

We were honoured to be joined by the movie’s producer Manish Pandey and former McLaren team coordinator Jo Ramirez, the man who somehow managed to remain friends with both Senna and Alain Prost during their incendiary two years as team-mates in 1988-89.

This is the full, unedited, recording of the open discussion after the film which included Jo, Manish, our editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck and features editor Rob Widdows. We apologise for the sound – it was recorded live!

Do let us know your thoughts and keep checking the website for upcoming readers’ evenings. We’ll be doing plenty more.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

What a weekend of racing we’ve had! The action-packed Canadian Grand Prix, the unbelievably close Le Mans 24 Hours and of course, the MotoGP round at Silverstone.

This week I’m joined by Damien Smith and Rob Widdows who help me analyse as much racing as possible in 18 minutes!

As always, let us know your thoughts.

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This week Rob Widdows and I discuss the rescheduling of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Nick Wirth’s departure from Virgin Racing and also the driving standards in the British Touring Car Championship.

As always, let us know your thoughts and if you have a question for next week, just post it below.

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Another week, another ‘week in motor sport’. Today I ask Rob what he thought about the Spanish Grand Prix and whether or not it was a great Grand Prix. We also talk about Ferrari’s pace and how quickly McLaren have closed the gap to Red Bull.

This week I also ask Rob some questions that you, the viewers, sent in. We hope you enjoy it and as always, if you don’t agree with what we’re saying that let us know. There’s nothing like a debate on motor sport…

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Rob Widdows and I sit down again to discuss the latest news from the world of motor sport. CVC may be selling the rights to Formula 1, Rupert Murdoch and others may be buying them, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is threatening to form a breakaway series again and the Formula 1 teams want a larger slice of the action. What, if anything, is going on?

The week in motor sport

As well as putting Rob on the spot about the current political situation in F1, we chat about the forthcoming Spanish Grand Prix and the MotoGP race in France.

We hope you enjoy it. As always, let us know your thoughts.

Next week we will be taking ‘the question of the week’ on the show so anything you want to ask Rob (within reason) please post below…

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Nigel Roebuck, Damien Smith, Rob Widdows and Ed Foster discuss the Formula 1 season so far – the DRS, the KERS, the Pirelli tyres and whether or not it’s proper Grand Prix racing.

Motor Sport magazine audio podcast

We hope you enjoy it and of course, if you don’t agree with what we’re saying… let us know!

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Another dominant victory by Sebastian Vettel in Istanbul, but what does features editor Rob Widdows think about the Turkish Grand Prix? I also quiz him on the Spa 1000km race and Rally Sardegna where Mini scored an admirable sixth place finish.

As always, let us know your views.

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The third installment of our ‘week in motor sport’ series. This week Rob Widdows and Ed Foster discuss the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso penalties and Nick Heidfeld’s third place finish. They also preview the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend and look at the new WRC Mini as well as briefly touching on the IndyCar race at Barber Motorsports Park.

The week in motor sport

As always, do let us know what you think, and we hope you appreciate the better sound this week!

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These podcasts are coming pretty thick and fast at the moment, but we didn’t want to hang on to this one for too long, especially since Allan was on such good form.

On Tuesday March 29 when we recorded it he had spent the past nine hours in a film studio recording a three-minute clip for an Audi advert. When he made it to the Motor Sport offices we couldn’t believe he even wanted to do the podcast and we definitely didn’t think he would be as lively as he was. So thank you Allan!

As always, we hope you enjoy it – we certainly did – and do let us know what you think.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Well here we are, the March podcast! Dario Franchitti has not only won the IndyCar series three times and the Indianapolis 500 twice, but he is also a great podcast guest as we’re sure you’ll agree.

Many thanks to the Royal Automobile Club this month, who very kindly let us record the podcast in its Pall Mall HQ.

We hope you enjoy it and – as always – do let us know what you think.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Imagine if James Hunt was still around today, I mused to Martin Brundle at Daytona a few weeks ago. “Well, if he was I’d be out of a job!”, the BBC’s new lead commentator fired back.

The truth would probably be somewhat different. Hunt, who died of a heart attack at the age of just 45, would have struggled to hold on to a high-profile media role in the modern world. Richard Keys and Andy Gray would have had nothing on Master James! Had he lived, he’d have said something outrageous long ago and would probably have been handed his cards after a short and very nasty tabloid campaign against him. After this, I like to think he would have settled down into his new role as an outspoken, politically incorrect star columnist here at Motor Sport… and how refreshingly outspoken and irreverent those columns would have been. Such a shame he was taken from us all so early.

Hunt was a brilliant, instinctive broadcaster during his time sharing a mike with the long-suffering Murray Walker from 1980-93, in much the same way that he was a brilliant, instinctive racing driver. He shot from the hip and carried lasting prejudices (yes, poor Riccardo Patrese), and that attitude would not have sat well in this sensitive age. Can you imagine the froth that would have been generated on the web forums if Hunt was broadcasting today? They’d have loved him and lynched him.

For me, Hunt was all the greater because of his imperfections (He once turned me down for an autograph at a Brands Hatch Grand Prix because he was late for the celebrity race. Somehow, I didn’t mind  – because it was him. Even as a kid I was aware of his reputation for timing, so found the polite but firm ‘no’ and the mad rush he was in very amusing).

He took his racing intensely seriously, to the extreme of vomiting before the starts and so on, because he knew only too well how dangerous was his chosen vocation. But at the same time he refused to take life seriously away from the races – which is exactly why he agreed to pose for Patrick Lichfield’s cheeky photoshoot that adorns the cover of the April issue.

Nubile young ladies on the cover of Motor Sport? Sacrilege! Mr Tee (Motor Sport’s former proprietor) must be spinning… But if there is an image that sums up the man our writer Eoin Young struggled so hard to like, it’s this one. All that’s missing is a bottle of something strong and a fag in his mouth. Like James, we don’t like to take life too seriously here at Motor Sport, and we couldn’t resist. Especially as it highlights once again how different our world is today compared to the 1970s. Can you imagine Jenson Button taking part in such a photo shoot? (I can actually – but I don’t think McLaren, Vodafone etc would like it much! Imagine the airbrushing…)

Eoin was James’s original – and very reluctant – biographer. His personal impressions of a man who he came to know well, and eventually like a great deal, are fascinating. For those of us who only knew him as an image in photographs or as a voice on television, they are truly revealing. Incidentally, Eoin lives back in New Zealand these days and we were alarmed to hear this week of the dreadful earthquake that has devastated Christchurch. We were relieved to hear that Eoin was unhurt, although he has suffered damage to his property. From everyone at the magazine, and I’m sure all of you who read it, we send you our best wishes, Eoin.

James Hunt pops up again elsewhere in the April issue, his serious racing side highlighted within Rob Widdows’ entertaining Dispatches column on an eye-opening trip to Monaco with Hesketh Racing, and also within this month’s riveting Lunch with Murray Walker. Now, you won’t be surprised to read that Murray was typically eloquent when Simon Taylor met up with him recently. But even for Murray, this one is special. Despite suffering from a heavy bout of ’flu, he saved his best form for Motor Sport. I’ve never read a more frank and insightful piece on a man who is always a great interview.

We also look ahead to the forthcoming F1 season, with a bumper preview featuring Nigel Roebuck in discussion with Sir Jackie Stewart, a definitive explanation of the new rules – including those gimmicky moveable rear wings – and a study of the overtaking debate by former Renault technical boss Pat Symonds. Since we went to press, the Bahrain GP has been cancelled, of course, so we’re down to ‘only’ 19 races beginning in Australia on March 27. Within our issue, Jackie Stewart has some strong words on the circuits that F1 visits today and the changes that he believes are needed to inject a greater challenge into the sport. We quite agree.

You can also read our verdict on the new McLaren MP4-12C road car, find out more about Mini’s return to world rallying and catch up with comeback kings Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell during their impressive return to the cockpit at the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours.

Before I close, I should mention that our founder editor Bill Boddy celebrated his birthday this week. On February 22 WB turned 98 years old. His stories continue to file into our inbox for each issue and the magazine simply would not be the same without him. Happy birthday, WB, from all the team at Motor Sport.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Here we are… the first of our 2011 podcasts.

We made the journey to the McLaren Technology Centre yesterday and managed to distract Martin for well over an hour. We hope you enjoy it! As always, let us know what you think.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Steve Soper never used to be the friendliest of racing drivers. The first time I met him was at the Sebring 12 Hours in 1999, when he was racing a BMW V12 LM sports prototype for wealthy amateur Thomas Bscher. As first encounters go, it wasn’t the best.

As a child of the 1980s, Soper had always been a bit of a hero to me. Here was a Brit who’d been schooled in the rough-and-tumble world of British saloon car racing, taking on – and beating – the cream of Europe in the exotic DTM. We’re used to it these days, thanks to the likes of Gary Paffett and Paul di Resta, but Soper’s exploits abroad back then marked him out as special. Whenever he returned to the BTCC, as trouble-shooting team-mate to Tim Harvey in 1992 and full-time with the crack Schnitzer squad the following year, he carried an air of authority and intimidating quality. Everyone knew Soper was an A-list draw, the man they all wanted to beat.

He continued to carry some of that power into sports cars, but at Sebring in ’99 things had not gone well. The story goes that team manager Dave Price got on the radio to warn him of a full-course yellow, that someone had gone off. “I know,” said Steve. “It’s me.” He’d smacked the BMW into the concrete wall at the final corner.

Now, as Autosport’s race reporter I had to go and ask him what had happened, cursing that I hadn’t introduced myself before the race. I approached him with plenty of trepidation, only too aware of his prickly reputation – plus it’s never a good time to talk to a driver when they’ve just stuffed it.

“Steve,-I’m-Damien-Smith-from-Autosport,-glad-to-see-you’re-OK,-can-you-tell-me-what-happened-please?” I blurted. He didn’t even look at me. “I crashed,” he replied flatly, then turned on his heel and stalked away. Oh dear. So much for bringing the reader that exclusive one-on-one insight.

I told him about our unfortunate encounter recently when we met at a BMW dinner where the marque launched its new UK ‘Classic’ arm. “I’m sorry about that,” he said with a wry smile. “I wasn’t always the easiest of racing drivers to deal with.”

He’s different now. Today, he sells cars for BMW as a respected dealer, and he has definitely mellowed. You can still sense the old intensity below the surface, but he is engaging, friendly and clearly very relaxed with his legacy as one of the great touring car legends. He said he’d be happy to help if we had any feature ideas for the magazine – so we took him up on it!

At a cold and windy Brands Hatch in November, BMW helped us gather three classic racers from three very different eras: the modern 320Si which races in the World Touring Car Championship, a Bigazzi M3 from the heart of Soper-era DTM and a fabulously botoxed CSL ‘Batmobile’ from the 1970s. We then teamed Steve with Britain’s modern-day BMW tin-top hero, triple World Champion Andy Priaulx – who came straight off a plane from Macau – to join him for our test and compare notes.

As you can read in Gordon Cruickshank’s excellent story in the March issue, Soper and Priaulx have a bit of shared history and get on well. They thoroughly enjoyed swapping mounts for the day – and trying something completely different in the form of the Batmobile. So two genuine stars of the touring car world who together span over 30 years of frontline action, three of the finest Munich ‘road rockets’ and Britain’s best-loved race track: it’s a heady mix.

Elsewhere in the March issue, Adam Cooper pays tribute to another touring car ace, Tom Walkinshaw – who of course went on to greater acclaim as the man who made Jaguar a force once again at Le Mans, and helped Michael Schumacher to his first F1 world title at Benetton. Tom died of cancer in December and Adam’s profile of this complex man frames his career in perfect perspective.

Ed Foster meets Dany Bahar and Claudio Berro, the men behind the revolution currently taking place at Lotus; Simon Taylor has lunch with two-time Le Mans winner and, er, BMX World Champion Alex Wurz; Rob Widdows interviews veteran team boss Mike Earle; and I get to meet the charismatic – and eccentric – Italian hero of the 1970s, Arturo Merzario. Reuniting motor racing’s very own ‘Marlboro Man’ with the car he raced for Frank Williams in 1974 and ’75 was a real treat, if a little nerve-wracking…

Finally, if you usually skip over my Matters of Moment editorial (and I don’t blame you if you do!) you might miss the chance to enter a special competition. So allow me to tell you about it here. We’re offering five tickets (plus a guest each) to our exclusive Motor Sport Hall of Fame event, to be held at the Roundhouse in London on February 15. The evening is sure to be one to remember, so click here to answer a simple question and give yourself a chance of being there on the night. Hopefully, I’ll see you there!

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Where is the best place to chew the cud on the 2010 Grand Prix season? In the office? Too dull – naturally, it’s where we talk motor racing every day. A plush restaurant? That’s Simon Taylor’s territory, surely! So how about the local pub? Now that’s more like it!

The Chelsea Ram is Motor Sport’s regular watering hole, and the perfect place to blot out the realities of economic meltdown and a freezing British winter to concentrate on what really matters. And no, I don’t just mean beer.

To give our pub debate some structure – and thus ensure our natter was actually of some use for the magazine’s pages – we picked on the major themes of the season and began talking. You won’t be surprised to hear that editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck led the discussion and made the best stab at putting the season past into some sort of context, while Rob Widdows, Ed Foster and yours truly chipped in here and there. There are worse ways to spend a couple of hours and we enjoyed looking back at the past year in Formula 1, the result forming the backbone of the January issue, on sale now. Do let us know if you think the beer was talking too much!

Deserving World Champion Sebastian Vettel graces the cover, but the young German’s image will be vying for attention with a very special giveaway this month. We’ve compiled an audio CD of our podcast ‘chat shows’ that have been gaining a growing audience on our website over the past year, and it’s free with the January issue. The list of guests we have pulled in to join us in 2010 is a role call of the great and the good: Mario Andretti, Brian Redman, Damon Hill, Patrick Head, Christian Horner, Sir Stirling Moss, Tom Kristensen, Jochen Mass, Bobby Rahal, Martin Brundle, Emanuele Pirro and Richard Attwood all feature in this ‘best of’ compilation. Each time we pressed the record button, the stories flowed and all the guests got into the true spirit of things here at Motor Sport: in other words, saying exactly what they think on any given subject.

We hope the CD is an added bonus to complement another varied issue of the magazine. Other features this month include Simon Taylor’s lunch with David Hobbs – a man who drove a huge variety of great racing cars during a 30-year career on both sides of the pond; Eoin Young’s memories of meeting Jim Clark for the first time at the Wigram Trophy meeting of 1961; a fond recollection of the F1 team that raced in ‘British Racing Brown’ – the privateer heroes at Hexagon Racing; and a fascinating inside story on NASCAR from an old hand of F1.

I should also mention that we bid farewell to our special guest columnist this month. For the past year Bobby Rahal has brought us snapshots of his fascinating and varied life in racing, for which we thank him and wish him all the best for a successful 2011. Tune in next month to welcome our new guest columnist, who will bring his own unique perspective to our pages as we head into a new racing season.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Despite freezing cold weather and a tube strike, Pat Symonds made it to our Chelsea offices and spent a very interesting hour with us. Thankfully Pat is one of the few engineers in Formula 1 that can explain the staggering amount of technology in Formula 1 in layman’s terms and what he has to say about KERS, the new rules and Red Bull this year was fascinating. Not to mention what he had to say about Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna and Jean Alesi.

We hope you enjoy it. As always, do leave a comment – we’re always interested to know what everyone thinks. Good or bad!

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Welcome to another Motor Sport audio podcast. There was no avoiding the team orders scandal from Hockenheim, but we also have a look at the Formula 1 driving standards, the relationship between Vettel and Webber and whether it’s too late for Schumacher to start producing the results.

Anyway… enjoy and do let us know what you think. We’ll be back on air later this month or early next month with another guest so ‘stay tuned’.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Welcome to another Motor Sport audio podcast. This month we take a look at the first three races, the drivers, the teams and of course the racing.

One of our favourite parts of doing these podcasts is the variety of questions that we get sent in so if you haven’t yet done so, make sure you ask the team a question for next month by clicking here.

And because it features so much in this month’s recording… here’s that radiator…

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Welcome to our March podcast with 1996 Formula 1 World Champion and current BRDC president Damon Hill.

He played a big hand in securing the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and has an interesting perspective on Formula 1 at the moment, a perspective he’s not afraid to air.

Enjoy… We all certainly did.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Welcome to a very special Motor Sport audio podcast. This month we’re joined by Mario Andretti and Brian Redman – such a stellar line-up that we’ve had to cut it into two parts!

Part 2 will be online next week, but for the time being sit back and enjoy what one of the most talented racing drivers ever, has to say.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

The Lotus name returns to Formula 1 this year. Neither Tony Fernandes nor Mike Gascoyne are pretending this new team has any direct link to Colin Chapman’s great squad, but still the use of the Lotus badge is seen as controversial in some quarters. After all, the legacy is a huge one to live up to and anyone who goes racing under the auspices of “Britain’s Ferrari” (as Johnny Herbert so correctly describes the marque) accepts great responsibility.

We have our own reservations about the use of the name by an all-new squad, but would those most closely associated with Team Lotus feel the same? We asked Paul Fearnley to find out as part of our celebration of Lotus in F1, the centrepiece of the March issue of Motor Sport. The verdict? Well, read the magazine to find out!

As part of the Lotus special, editor-in-chief Nigel Roebuck recounts his personal memories of Team Lotus and explains why the team means so much to him. Meanwhile, lucky Andrew Frankel gets behind the wheel of the F1 car that first inspired him: Mario Andretti’s Type 79, the ‘wing’ car that stormed the 1978 World Championship. And Rob Widdows meets Fernandes and Gascoyne to hear about the revival of Lotus in F1.

From a personal point of view, this issue felt like a long time coming. In fact, it seemed as if it would never end! Hopefully that should come across when you read it (in a good way) because there is plenty between the covers.

Highlights include more from the 1970s, as dep ed Gordon Cruickshank witnesses a very cool reunion: Andy Rouse and the British Leyland Jaguar XJC tin-topper, the epitome of that romantic motor racing standard – the glorious failure! Then it’s that man Frankel again as we remember the Tour of Britain, which attracted stars from stage and track – plus the odd Radio 1 DJ…

Finally, I must mention Simon Taylor’s latest ‘Lunch with’ interview. He met March co-founder Robin Herd for what would prove to be an entertaining bout of reminiscence, but in a venue with a twist. You’ll find out what I mean on page 74.

The April issue is already well underway, and so far it’s coming together nicely. In fact, I’d better get back to it! In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the March edition and do let us know your thoughts on the return of Lotus to F1.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

Welcome to the first Motor Sport audio podcast of 2010. What does Nigel Roebuck really think about the return of Michael Schumacher and all the other news from the F1 paddock?

Next month we’re joined by 1978 Formula 1 World Champion Mario Andretti so make sure you ask him a question here!

Also make sure you give us your feedback below as it’s all very well us enjoying recording these, but if you don’t enjoy listening to them, then we aren’t doing a very good job…

If you don’t use iTunes then do use the following link: http://podcast.motorsportmagazine.co.uk/2010/01/January2010podcast.mp3

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

It is not always easy to judge the mood within the long grey corridors, and long white tunnels, of the McLaren Technology Centre. This quite extraordinary building, designed by Sir Norman Foster with a great deal of input from Ron Dennis, is eerily quiet, strangely still, despite the presence of nigh on a thousand people.

This week, however, I detected a note of controlled excitement, careful confidence as the gleaming grey and silver trucks rolled in from Monte Carlo. For one half of the team, at least, it had been a good weekend. A victory snatched from the briefly gaping jaws of defeat as Hamilton hit the barrier, happily near the pits, and scampered back to win. Lucky yes, and with a little help from mistakes by Ferrari (team and drivers) but sometimes you have to take your luck.

Smiling and chattering in the workshops at Woking then, a team on a high, energetically turning round the cars for Montreal.

I was there to see Neil Trundle and what a joy it was to spend a few hours in this man’s company. This year Neil celebrates forty years in motor racing, having started at Brands Hatch in 1968 with Alan Mann on the beautiful Ford FVL at the BOAC 500 meeting. This is the man who founded Rondel Racing with Ron Dennis back in 1971, the two having met when they were mechanics at Brabham. (His early days at Rondel will be the subject of a Mechanics Tale later this year).

1974 Belgian Grand Prix, Nivelles, Belgium. Tom Pryce (Token RJ02 Ford).

After running the Token F1 car and building the famous six-wheeler car for Ken Tyrrell he was re-united with Ron at Project 4 in 1977 and stayed on through the merger with McLaren to build MP4/1, the first carbon fibre Grand Prix car.

Then, in 1981, he left and started his own Formula 3 team, returning to McLaren in 1985 to fit out a new factory in Woking before becoming Chief Mechanic on the race team, looking after Senna and Prost.

What a career, what a life this man has had.

As we sit and chat in the ‘juice bar’ alongside the Fitness & Wellbeing Centre in the MTC we meander through the years, focusing on 1971 for the magazine, and then delving into a veritable treasure trove of motor racing stories.

A favourite of mine is the tale of Jack Brabham at Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix. Engine builder Repco had delivered new V8s but the pistons were far from perfect, they had burrs on them, and were touching the valves. So Jack got himself a chisel and stayed up all night chiselling the pistons to perfection before changing into his race overalls and going out to practice. Neil, like so many of the great mechanics, learnt his craft with Jack – a man who had little time for chat and a lot of time for just getting on with the job.

1968 Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort. Jack Brabham, Brabham BT26-Repco leads Jo Siffert, Lotus 49-Ford.

Luckily, Trundle now has some time to chat, and as we wander through the Grand Prix cars lined up along the ‘boulevard’ of the spectacular McLaren headquarters we pause beside the beauties raced by Senna and Prost, resting now on the highly polished tiles. He tells me there are now 650 people on the race team – that’s as big as Ferrari – and this is a good thing because we are going to see a titanic battle between the two teams as the year unfolds. He who develops fastest wins. Mistakes were made in Monaco, Raikkonen had one of his very ‘off’ weekends but the red cars will be back. There’s a long history of this – McLaren versus Ferrari – and this could be an absolutely vintage season.

Thanks Mr Trundle for a most enjoyable afternoon. This man has tales to tell to last us until the world runs out of paper. Watch this space.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

The night before the Formula One British Grand Prix, many of the drivers (Jarno Trulli, David Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella have been confirmed so far) will be attending the Grand Prix Ball at Stowe house, which is but “a gear change from Silverstone circuit”.

The annual event includes champagne reception, ‘gourmet’ dinner, F1 drivers, a charity auction, Belinda Carlisle, George Benson, Eddie & The Robbers featuring Eddie Jordan and special guests and DJs from around the world. One of the highlights in past years has been the ‘Dodgem car challenge’ where the general public share a dodgem with an F1 driver or celebrity and have to make sure the jug of water, which they are conveniently carrying, returns after play, as full as possible.

So why write a blog about all this? Well… in the world of Formula 1 it is nigh on impossible to get near the drivers. If you can catch Lewis Hamilton with a telescope you are doing pretty well.

This became all the more apparent on my trip to California Speedway a few months ago. The drivers walk through the pits (which is pretty much open to the public) and often stop for autographs and a chat. I must admit I loathe asking for autographs, you will no sooner see me running after a driver with a pen and paper than you would see me skipping through the paddock singing nursery rhymes.

Having said that, I would have no qualms about trying my best for an interview… This may sound contradictory but there we go, it is. While at Mugello for the Ferrari World Finals, my colleague Rob Widdows sent me off after the press conference to hunt down the Scuderia’s press officer Luca Cogliani. His parting words, as the conference was coming to an end, were “don’t give up, I don’t want to see you back here unless you have given him an issue of Motor Sport or you are being escorted.” Blimey.

So off I went, hidden in amongst the Ferrari ‘crew’, past the photographers, past the security guard who looked a little like the man off Hitman (the film) and eventually ended up in the private area. I lasted approximately 3 minutes before being shown the door and told to hoof it.

However, this is the beauty of the Grand Prix ball. Yes the tickets are quite expensive and yes you may well not even get a chance to ask Coulthard why he keeps crashing, but you may well be able to have a chat with one of the drivers without having to chase after them like a Jack Russell after a stick. Don’t buy tickets for this reason of course… go along for a very different night.

For more information go to www.gpball.co.uk

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

The new issue of Motor Sport, on sale now, is a very special one for all of us on the magazine. Producing each edition always has a ‘labour of love’ element to it, but that feeling was heightened as we worked towards deadline this time. And it was all down to the great man who graces the cover.

As I have written in Matters of Moment this month, Jim Clark died before I was born, but that hasn’t lessened the power of his influence over me. He remains an inspiration to racing fans around the world, from his home town of Duns in Scottish border country to the pilgrims who head to the Indianapolis 500 every year.

To mark the 40th anniversary of his passing, Nigel Roebuck offers a personal tribute to the man who was “everyone’s hero”, as Brian Redman puts it. Also, American writer Robin Miller looks back at Clark’s incredible impact on the Indy 500, speaking to Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, AJ Foyt and Parnelli Jones about how this quiet legend won over the tough Brickyard racers.

David Tremayne recounts that final, fateful day at Hockenheim, while Rob Widdows asks Lotus mechanic Jim Endruweit for the insider’s view of what Clark was like. It was a pleasure to put the pages together and we hope it is just as much a pleasure to read.

Back in the current world, we are enjoying the start of what looks set to be a fascinating Grand Prix season. The first race in Australia got a big thumbs up from everyone at the magazine, as you can read in the issue. The loss of driver aids has been a big gain for the sport.

And if you are a motorsportmagazine.co.uk regular, you will have spotted yet another addition to our coverage during the first couple of GPs. Our web maestro Ed Foster, who is one of Motor Sport’s three ‘bloggers’, has been writing frantically during GP weekends, from Friday through to Sunday, to offer his thoughts on the action. He’s also organised for practice times and race results to be added to these special blogs, so please do take the opportunity to read his words and add your own comments. We’d love to spark some conversations between fans on the site, with Ed’s GP coverage becoming a regular feature.

So enjoy our special Jim Clark issue – and keep logging on to motorsportmagazine.co.uk!

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine

The start of a new Grand Prix season is always a time for optimism. One tends to look forward to what lies ahead, not back on what has passed – which is just as well considering the events of 2007 in Formula 1.

But for all the sad controversy of the spy scandal, there was a lot to excite and inspire on track last season, and there’s the potential for more of the same this time around – hopefully without the off-track distractions.

In this month’s issue we focus on the F1 season with a bumper preview that includes profiles of all the teams and drivers. Meanwhile, Nigel Roebuck talks to Sir Jackie Stewart about what to expect, and as ever JYS is thought provoking and frank in his opinions. Stewart’s a signed-up fan of Lewis Hamilton, but that doesn’t mean he’s certain that the bright young star of last year is going to have everything his own way this time…

Aside from modern F1, there is plenty in this month’s issue to keep you entertained for the next month. Gordon Kirby’s exclusive Roger Penske interview on The Captain’s early career as a promising driver is not to be missed, and neither is Simon Taylor’s latest Lunch with… His guest this time? Alan Jones. Entertainment guaranteed, then.

Putting together Motor Sport every month is a joy, but sometimes there are tough decisions to make. Here’s an example.

When we heard Derek Bell planned to race in the Daytona 24 Hours one last time in what would be his final appearance in international motor sport we thought it was a ripe topic for a feature. So I commissioned Rob Widdows to speak to Derek after the race to talk through how it went and reminisce about his good times and bad times at ‘the other’ great 24-hour enduro.

Rob duly carried out the interview and filed an entertaining story in typically double-quick time. Unfortunately, the article had lost its relevance. Poor Derek had missed out on racing because the Riley-Pontiac he was supposed to drive retired early on. Deeply disappointing for the three-time Daytona winner – and a little bit frustrating for us. Without the ‘hook’ of the story, I couldn’t justify running it in the magazine.

But we’ve pieced it together from the cutting room floor for you to read online instead. It was too good to waste, after all.

I hope you enjoy Rob’s article – and this month’s magazine, too.

Motor Sport Magazine - The original motor racing magazine