Contributors

Nigel Roebuck

Some racing drivers make unrewarding subjects for an interview, sticking resolutely to the party message. Robert Kubica, though, proved refreshingly frank when Nigel talked to him at Renault HQ in Oxfordshire. Apart from his droll line in repartee, you have to like a man who, when asked about the biggest perk of being an F1 pilot, replies “driving”. The interview begins on page 62.

Mat Oxley

MS has often carried ’bike tests in past years, and who better to give our view on a shock arrival among the superbikes than Mat, himself a TT winner. Given events in MotoGP this month, we’d bet he’s also preparing to update his acclaimed biog of two-wheel superstar Valentino Rossi. But Rossi isn’t his all-time hero: that’s Bill Hicks, the late US comedian. And he never even qualified in MotoGP.

Rob Widdows

Ever ingenious in his travel arrangements, Rob has found a clever way of attending a Grand Prix without leaving so much as a carbon toe-print. And no, it didn’t involve cycling all the way to Eastern Europe. It did involve coffee, patisserie and pain au chocolat, though. How do you measure your chocolate footprint? There are some in our office who need to know…

Matthew Howell

One of our team of superb photographers, the award-winning Matt was the lucky chap who got to shoot the GTO on our cover. That meant risking his neck by hanging out of a car tailgate to get the on-track shots – it’s not all glamour in publishing. Meanwhile, back home, Matt is inserting a Riley engine into a hot Ford Popular. No one has yet found out why.