thatconsultantbloke

well done Lewis Hamilton

Posted on June 2, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

Tweeting may be a strange way of apologising for old fogies like me who like to do these things face to face, but Lewis Hamilton is a modern man and you can’t get more public in your apology than Tweeting it, so well done that man. We all make mistakes and can do and say things that we are not proud of, but to stand up and say sorry is the right thing to do.

As he said in one of the Tweets, onwards and upwards. Let’s hope the cards fall better for him in Canada.

Filed under: Drivers, F1 | Tagged: autoracing, F1, formula one, media, NASCAR, racecar | Leave a comment »

indy 500 round up 2011

Posted on May 29, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

So Dan Wheldon picks up a second Indy win after JR slaps the wall at the final corner. Not really the result I would have expected, but differing strategies contrived an unusual looking results table.

After all the fun of pole and carburation days,with quick people bumped, old rivals teaming up to get one of the latter into the race (imagine that it F1), the race unfolded with what looked like a fairy tale finish for Panther, but, running on fumes, the car got away from JR within sight of the flag and Dan picked up his own fairy tale result for Bryan Herta’s team. Quite reminiscent of Jack Brabham at Monaco back in 1970 is many ways with a last corner call on where to take a back marker.

The magic of Indy, still strong 100 years on.

Good also to see Tony pick up a good fourth; the guy deserves to still be full time in the series. As for the championship trail, all of the top guys finished poorly, so back to regular action soon at Fort Worth where, probably, normal service will resume.

Filed under: Circuits, Indycar | Tagged: autoracing, Indy500, Indycar, NASCAR, racecar | Leave a comment »

weekend round up – 16 May 2011 #NASCAR #DTM #Indy #NHRA

Posted on May 17, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

#NASCAR – Who else but Mark Martin could stay out on old tyres and hold off for around 35 laps of the Monster Mile all bar one of those who had stopped for two or four new ones? That was skill and experience at its best and a joy to watch. Another good run for the Digger to third and also a good top 5 for Brian Vickers as his comeback rolls on.

#DTM – Mike Rockenfeller wins Zandvoort for Audi as Bruno Spengler misses the pit call. I miss the GP from the Dutch Dunes. Not one of the great tracks maybe, but it was part of the F1 calendar that I grew up with.

#Indy – rain stopped play in Indiana as the 500 run up begins in earnest. Who will make up the field come Memorial Day? All the tension, excitement, relief and heartbreak coming up.

#NHRA – I don’t normally comment on events from the quarter mile, but whenever I am in the US I do like to watch the drama unfold. Drag racing has a format that fits well with TV and I am always impressed by the action. Watching the crews tear down and rebuild an engine after a run is pretty amazing as is the spectacle of the cars running after darkness falls. OK, in the top classes the race is over in less time that separates first and last on an F1 grid, but getting one of those beasts off the line and down the track takes some skill, and the terminal speeds leave F1 standing. Respect!

Filed under: Circuits, Drivers, F1, Indycar, NASCAR, Tin Tops | Tagged: autoracing, F1, Indy500, Indycar, motorsport, NASCAR, racecar | Leave a comment »

Virgin aims to ‘turn corner’ in Turkey

Posted on May 4, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

Well it would certainly help. Unless, of course, the Turkish event has been swapped for a drag race.

Good luck anyway boys, it’s good to have you on the grid.

Here’s the Autosport article on the John Booth interview that the headline refers to: Autosport.com

Filed under: Circuits, F1, Teams | Tagged: autoracing, F1, formula one, media, motorsport, racecar | Leave a comment »

where did all the Easter motor racing go?

Posted on April 23, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

When I was really getting into motorsport as a teenager the Easter break was a veritable treasure trove of racing here in the UK.

Take 1967 for example; Good Friday saw the F2 European championship circus at Snetterton and then they all trooped over to Silverstone and did it again on Easter Monday. Both events were also supported by the British Saloon Car and Sports Car Championships. In F2 Jochen Rindt beat Graham Hill in Norfolk and his own team mate Alan Rees at Silverstone, Jackie Oliver won both saloon car outings in Alan Brown’s Mustang and Paul Hawkins in his own GT40 beat Denny Hulme in Sid Taylor’s similar car on Friday with that result being reversed in Monday’s race.

All frantic activity, and there were club races up and down the country to choose from as well. We were spoiled for choice really, but now we don’t get any major racing over the holiday weekend at all. Shame really, but there you go. At least I have the memories of the Easter weekends that I was able to enjoy as a teenager.

If you’re interested to research some of the racing further, try these links:

British Sports Car Championship

1967 British Saloon Car Championship