2017 Archives

1st February 20173rd July 2017

A modern look for a classic track

Every racer has their favorite track, as does every fan—and indeed every journalist. Mine would be Phoenix. Phoenix International Raceway, otherwise known as PIR, is one of the most fun tracks NASCAR visits. Nestled into the foothills of the vast Arizona desert, the one mile oval produces some of the best racing the series has to offer.

Phoenix is a classic track. It hosts IndyCar, NASCAR, the sprints and midgets for the Copper Classic, along with a number of other series and races. The greats—Foyt, Andretti, Earnhardt—have charged down its low banks and battled against its walls. In the early days of the track Native Americans would watch the race sat on horseback in the surrounding hills, and you had to be careful walking in the infield because it was filled with rattlesnakes. It was a track with character, charm, and just a touch of the Wild West. There was no lifting at PIR—it was flat out racing, and it was incredible.

In recent years, the track had undergone scrutiny. The death of IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon brought mutterings of an out-dated track that were heard within several series’. However, the track continued to hold two NASCAR events annually and remained a fan favorite. Still it was a surprise when officials announced that the historic Speedway was going to undergo a major facelift—one that would carry the track into the future.

Included in the renovations will be a revamping of the infield that will include a fan zone and hospitality area. Seating will also be improved, including a new pedestrian tunnel, to give fans a more complete experience and the ability to see most all of the race from the infield or their seats. The plans also held what the officials referred to as “Canyons” which consist of elevators and escalators to increase the fan experience by giving them additional access to restroom facilities and the new expanded concessions located in a newly created midway area.

In addition, the start finish line will be moved to what is currently Turn 2 to accommodate the changes that are coming. The entire structure is going to get a make over, with increased safety features for drivers, teams, and fans.

Phoenix is one of those classic tracks. It has helped shaped the history of not only NASCAR, but IndyCar and other series’ as well. Andretti’s last win; dodging rattlesnakes in the infield while waiting for the Copper Classic to start; watching the entire field of stock cars wrap around the perfect oval—it has memories for me, and for many race fans, that comprise some of the fondest moments of our lives and helped fan the flames of our passion for racing.

To some it will be hard to see the classic track change, especially the moving of the start finish line—there is always something about that changing that particular aspect of a track that is unsettling. It is important we hang onto those memories and enjoy them, without forgetting that time marches on, and racing is always evolving. The renovations of PIR are moving it into the future—they are modernizing a classic—and in so doing preserving the past while embracing the future.

Tonia Attard

31st January 20171st August 2017

Weekend With……Chris Wheeler – Part 2

Part 2 – The Calm And The Storm

I gazed at Chris and Steve strapped tightly into their seats. I was standing about five feet from the car. It was ready. They were ready. The time had come to go back out for another stage.

Mike The Mechanic stood in front of the Fiesta, arms raised in the air and as I gazed through the window towards Chris I saw a different look in the eye of the young man who just five minutes previously had been sitting in the battle bus, laughing and relaxed. He now had a steely look in his eyes. He gazed down at the steering wheel and I saw a deep breath, the kind of inhale that said ‘I’m ready’. He looked up and there was a quick nod of the head. I moved my head and saw Steve, loving father and dependant co-driver glance across to his son, an equally determined stare in his eyes. The two men and the car were now one.

Mike waved them back and the satisfying grumble from the Fiesta engine signalled the start of another adventure on this day that spurned rain and teased with sun. I got the feeling it wasn’t just Chris and Steve who were eager to get back out on track, this blinding little Fiesta was also eager to rumble across the greasy surface, flick a back-end out round the turns and metaphorically wave to the adoring crowds. The time had come.

I watched Mike wave the car out, his eyes were everywhere and I asked Kirsty what he was actually looking for?

“Everything.” Kirsty replied. Seemed like a sensible answer to me. I nodded. “Guiding him out, making sure everything is fine on the car. Last second checks just before they go to make sure it’s all absolutely fine.”

Kirsty was talking to me but she was looking straight ahead at the car as too was Dawn. I’ve mentioned it before, but the focal point right now was the car, that gorgeous little Fiesta being reversed out from underneath the marquee by Chris. THAT, was what everybody was concentrating on.

Chris pulled away down the paddock and I saw his mum, Dawn, gazing off as they disappeared out of sight. I asked her how she was feeling.

“Alright,” replied Dawn straight away with a smile on her face, shielding her eyes from the sun. “Because I know there’s no pressure today. If this was the BRC, different matter to be honest.”

That last sentence from Dawn drew nods of agreement from Kirsty and Mike.

I comment on how relaxed Chris was before he got into the car and whilst being strapped in. Dawn nodded and I noticed her smile grew wider.

“Yes, oh he is.” Dawn replied. “He’s in his element. Been like it since he started when he was fourteen. Took him up the rally school and that was it. He was away.”

Right there, that moment as I looked Dawn in the eye, I could see the pride and the anticipation all mixed up into one ingredient of excitement. Those last comments made me realise on the spot how much it means to the family of a driver, as well as a the driver themselves. It is a collective passion.

We talk about how this local Brean Rally differs from a BRC rally, there is no time to relax because everything is, as Murray Walker would say, “Go-Go-Go!” Panic and petrified were two words I heard used standing there.

“From the second he goes until the second he comes back, there is no relaxing.” Kirsty said.

“You don’t see him from four to five hours.” Dawn stated.

“You’re trying to check times, make sure he’s come through a stage. If you can’t find his time, you’re thinking ‘what’s going on?’”

I’ve been round motor racing most of my life, whether it is with press writing, hospitality or organising events, but I had never had this moment where the driver (and co-driver on this occasion) had gone and the team were left back at base camp with, well, just their hopes and emotions. It was quite an emotional experience seeing the look in their eyes, the calm before a possible storm and the fact that when the car and driver were in the garage there were things to prepare, information to process and checks to be made. Yet, now, with that gone there was an ambience of disturbed calm. That is the only way I can describe it.

Dawn Checks Chris Is All Good As Mike Concentrates On Steve

I wanted to mention the Nicky Grist Rally and what happened with the horrific crash last year, not because I had a sadistic side that needed to know the details. I wanted to gauge what they felt like, his girlfriend and his mum. What was that like? How long did it take them to find out?

“Well, it was quite long,” replied Kirsty. “They’d been off for about forty-five minutes to an hour.” Dawn nodded and glanced down at the floor. “We didn’t actually find out directly. We found out because we saw on Facebook there had been a post saying a car had been off and that the rally had been stopped.”

I could see in Kirsty’s eyes as she spoke the re-enactment that they didn’t believe it was Chris. Not Chris? Surely?

“We thought, oh god!” Dawn exclaimed.

“We thought…oh, okay. We feel really bad for whoever that was.” I could sense that realisation of ‘that can’t happen to us’. “And then about ten minutes later, we realised Chris’s time had not come in.” Kirsty’s eyes changed. There was the realisation, right there being re-lived in front of me. I had no words. I just listened. “Five minutes after that we got a call from Yan (Griffiths – co-driver) saying we’ve had a massive accident. I’m on the way to the hospital, Chris has been cut out the car and is being airlifted to hospital” Kirsty’s lips curled and Dawn stared at the floor. For a moment I felt awful having asked the question. I could sense the anxiety. “It was quite long I suppose, but for us instant.”

I’m not a sensational writer, I never have been. I don’t like asking prying questions or wanting to know gory details of what happened. In Kirsty and Dawn’s company I felt relaxed and politely, softly, I asked what their reactions were to the phone call. If they didn’t want to answer then I was completely fine with that and would have moved on. They replied.

“Your heart sinks. You think the worst.” Dawn said.

“Terror!” Kirsty paused as she said that word and I felt a chill come over my body, because I could feel the emotion as she uttered the words. “Especially when you hear being cut out the car.” Kirsty smiled, a relieved smile I could tell.

“The plus side was Yan’s okay and we’re sure he would have said if there was something majorly wrong with Chris.” Dawn said. “Yans out the car, that’s good. Your mind is going a hundred miles an hour trying to think.”

If you need to read those last words again, please do. For me standing there it was a moment I will not forget. A mother and a girlfriend reliving the moment they found out their son and boyfriend had been cut out of a car after hitting a tree at about 100mph. I was left standing speechless and that doesn’t happen very often.

Yan had injuries to his vertebra, Chris had a blood clot on the knee, bruising of the chest and lower back pain. I would later find out that photographers would be snapping pictures of the car in the trees whilst Chris was still inside crying out in pain. My heart sank at that thought.

“They were both so lucky.” Kirsty said. “Honestly, we thought it was going to be so much worse. When we heard they had gone into a tree at 90-100mph, we thought oh god!”

“That is your worst nightmare.” Dawn continued. “It hits you.”

“It’s the thing we all hate about rallying.” Kirsty said.

I stood motionless, I had no reply. I did not even know where to begin from those words. I felt the emotion and the fear as they spoke to me. Viv shivered and shook her head. It was a very poignant and sombre moment.

Mike The Mechanic brought us all back to some semblance of reality when he asked if we were going to check out the next stage. We all shook ourselves and we were back in the room, so to speak.

I wanted to know more about the team. I asked Kirsty the role of everybody concerned as we walked down to the start.

“Steve, Chris’ dad. He’s team manager, does everything. Looks after Chris, the car. Looks after the team.” Kirsty pointed ahead to Dawn who was eagerly rushing down to the starting point to see her husband and son go out. “Dawn, Chris’ mum. She looks after Chris.” Kirsty paused. A perfect pause because let us face reality, mums look after their boys. End of. “She makes the tea, prepares the food, cleans the car and arranges all the hospitality.” Mike wasn’t with us as he had stayed behind to look after base camp. She pointed back towards the garage. “Mike, he’s the mechanic with Steve. He’s Steve second really. Mike cleans the car when he can but looks after the mechanical side of things.” Kirsty pointed to herself and in a coy manner looked down at the floor. “I’m Chris’s girlfriend. I do the PR, try and do all the admin when I can. I clean the car, do the food, the drink.” Kirsty looked up and shrugged her shoulders. “We muck in and do what we can.”

I Look On As Kirsty Has A Last Minute Chat With Chris

Through that whole introduction from Kirsty I could feel the friendly, family atmosphere which was this racing team. From the moment myself and Viv rocked up to the circuit and presented ourselves at their garage, it was there in abundance. So how did Yan Griffiths, Chris’s usual co-driver, fit into this equation?

“Facebook.” Dawn replied looking back as we walked by Chris’s car, Dawn giving thumbs up to her boys. “Chris put out for a co-driver, Yan replied and the rest is history.”

“Six years now.” Kirsty said.

“They did Nationals, that was the first big year. Won that.” Dawn said proudly. “2013 was the BRC Challenge. 2014 we went to BRC. 2015 BTRDA, won that.” Another smile. “And last year BRC3, won that.”

The mood had changed on the walk to the start line. We had gone from reminiscing about Chris’ crash to the achievements. It seemed a perfect curve of topic and one to end on as Chris and Steve edged forward to the start line. There had been a big hold-up due to a crash on track, Dawn had commented that an ambulance had gone out on circuit.

That is rallying. The calm. The storm. The calm and then the storm again.

My next question was a very important one.

Where can I get a cup of tea?

Part 3 of “Weekend With…..Chris Wheeler” will be published tomorrow. Chris comes back to the garage, we do his Quick 10 and his dad Steve educates me on a rally car.

Neil Simmons and Viv Gillings

Twitter: @world_racing

Photo Credits: © Viv Simmons

Twitter: @viv_simmons

31st January 20173rd July 2017

Hamburg pushing to replace threatened Brussels or Berlin ePrix

2015/2016 FIA Formula E Championship.
Berlin ePrix, Berlin, Germany.
Saturday 21 May 2016.
Lucas Di Grassi (BRA), ABT Audi Sport FE01
Photo: Zak Mauger/LAT/Formula E
ref: Digital Image _79P2578

The German city of Hamburg has emerged as a late contender to host a round of Formula E’s European leg later this year, as the 2016–17 calendar faces the chance of losing both the Brussels and Berlin ePrix.

This is according to Hamburg politician Dennis Thering, who in an interview with e-formel.de confirmed that a proposal for the Hamburg ePrix will be put to the local government on 15th February, and if successful will be followed by a formal application to the FIA to host the race.

Thering also spoke of two possible locations for the race—Hamburg’s business district, the City Nord, or the HafenCity beside the River Elbe: “The City Nord would definitely be [on the list] because there is quite a lot of business area and only a few residents.

“The HafenCity would, of course, be very attractive and definitely an option, but in the choice of locations we want to leave the city all freedoms.”

The news of Hamburg’s bid comes as Formula E is now faced with the possibility of losing two of its major European races. The maiden Brussels ePrix has been left in search of a new venue after local government vetoed the proposed Elisabeth Park circuit this week, following protests from citizens similar to those that caused the cancellation of London’s Battersea Park race.

Meanwhile, the Berlin ePrix has been placed under similar doubt by a request from Berlin mayor Michael Muller—prompted by objections from the city’s green party—to move the event from last year’s Alexanderplatz circuit. Discussions are currently underway for the ePrix to return to its season one setting at Templehof Airport, although the switch has yet to be confirmed.

With Formula E still keen to retain its twelve-round calendar despite the setbacks, Hamburg’s ePrix bid has become a credible alternative for either of the threatened races.

However, it is understood that the preferable option if Brussels is lost from the calendar is to stage the Berlin event as a double-header at Templehof, rather than fast-tracking an unsuitable new circuit elsewhere.

James Matthews, Formula E editor

30th January 20171st August 2017

Weekend With…..Chris Wheeler – Part 1

Chris Wheeler And His Co-Driver Father, Steve, Get Ready For Another Stage

Part One: Rallying, Presents And The Return Of Chris Wheeler.

I had no pre-conceived ideas as to how our weekend with feature was going to pan-out. I had a plan of what I wanted to achieve but was willing to go with the flow.

What I actually walked away with was a sense of humility, an overwhelming desire and passion to succeed. A determined, yet friendly attitude towards racing. These were the traits that Chris Wheeler and his team oozed. We were made to feel so welcome from the moment we arrived and I can genuinely say, with hand on heart that Chris, Kirsty, Steve, Dawn and Mike are some of the loveliest people I have met, inside and outside motor racing.

This is where the feature begins. A friendly welcome with Chris heading out on track for his first stage.

It had been a pleasant drive from our base in Sand Bay to Brean Sands. We parked up in the official rally car park, so the sign indicated and waited for the mini-bus.

As we stood there I could hear in the distance the revving, popping and hissing of rally cars. I felt my skin tingle and an excited buzz in the pit of my stomach. This was my paradise, my first racing event since WRX Lydden Hill last year. We were here and we were ready.

Chris And Steve Wait Patiently For The Start

As I mentioned, Chris was heading out on track. Kirsty, Chris’ girlfriend and all-round PR guru, had informed us that he would be in car number 59. We walked down the line of cars and Viv spotted Chris in his #59 car with Steve, his dad and co-driver. They were chatting and going over the last minute preparations whilst they waited in the long line of rally cars waiting to go out on track.

I sent a message to Kirsty and she informed us they were waiting down by the red marquee towards the start line with Chris’ mother Dawn. We met up and after the initial greetings Kirsty pointed beyond the golf club towards the flags and awnings on the far side of the paddock. I spotted the CWR (Chris Wheeler Rally) flag and so we let them get ready for the first stage and we wandered off to give the location a quick recce.

We arrived at the base-camp of Chris Wheeler Rallying, the hub of the team where everything is prepped, planned and pondered. The car was back in and the team were busy round the car.

The Team Hard At Work Preparing The Car For Another Run

I stepped back and watched them at work. Mike Yates (mechanic) and Steve, quick change from co-driver to body-work inspector, were busy checking the car over. Kirsty and Dawn were cleaning the car off whilst Chris fed back a few pieces of information.

It was a greasy surface and the rain previously had caused a few spills on circuit. The side of the Fiesta had dirt cascaded down the side. Kirsty and Dawn quickly wiped down the beautiful beast and within minutes it was spick-n-span, bright and shiny as though it had just arrived at the circuit. The team worked quickly and once I knew that the initial flurry had calmed down, I stepped forward to speak with Mike.

I asked Mike about the car, a Ford Fiesta MS1. He looks after the car along with Steve and told me that it had previously been a complete road car from M-Sport.

Mechanic, Mike Yates, Sees The Car In To Be Checked Over

“It was stripped back to the cages, all the bits were put on it.” Mike said and stepped back to gaze at the car. “This was pre-built with gravel suspension. Steve converted it to tarmac, the rides are completely different.” Mike continued.

I was interested to know how long it took to convert the car from gravel to tarmac and Mike told that it took around two days.

Chris had just completed his first run, I could see Steve walking round the car checking the arches, the wheels, the bodywork and bumpers like a caring soul. Making sure that this baby was fit to go again. I asked Mike what was being looked at.

“The wheels and tyre brushes are checked. The first thing we do is speak to Chris, any faults or any rattles we need to know about.” Mike pointed to Chris who was standing at the rear of the car. “We deal with the issues first and after that it’s preventative maintenance. Tightening nuts and bolts up.”

It became apparent straight away that Chris is key to this part of the process. If there is anything he is not happy about then Mike and Steve need to know straight away as they do not have long to get the car ready for the next stage.

“Brakes and tyre pressures are checked, usually around 6psi.” Mike pointed down to the tyres.

I wanted to touch on the subject of converting the car from gravel to tarmac. What were the main differences?

“Tarmac and gravel?” Mike asked with a wry smile. “Horrendous,” he chuckled in his jovial south-west accent. “After the first 18 mile stage this car looks ten years old. The sides are pebbled-dashed, takes all of the twenty minutes we’re given, even with four lads, to clean all the muck from underneath. Bolts are checked.” Mike shook his head and laughed. “Different ball game is gravel. A whole different ball game.”

Mike then nodded and happily told me his ultimate tarmac surface is the Isle of Man before moving the subject back to the Fiesta Chris was driving today.

“Roll cage into a standard Fiesta stiffens the shell up. Between events the helmets and hand devices are always taken off and put in the seats for safety. If you drop a helmet on the floor, it’s useless.”

I gazed inside the car and could see what Mike was talking about. Chris and Steve had placed their helmets on the cushioned racing seats. Chris sauntered over to joins us and I asked how he was feeling. I knew full well this was his first event since the crash and this was the first time I had properly spoken to him. He was smiling, I took this as a sign that he was well and extremely happy to be back racing.

Chris walked over at just the right time, with his lovely girlfriend Kirsty, as I had posed two questions to Mike who had tactfully and politely deflected towards Chris to answer. The first was about speed on the Fiesta.

Last Minute Words For Chris From Kirsty And Dawn

“Chris,” said Mike, professionally taking over the role of interviewer for the moment. “What top speed you getting out of this?” That was my first question.

“Top speed, I would say 110-115.” Chris replied nodding.

Mike moved round to the front of the car to make some final checks and I then moved onto my second question about the Citroen DS3, the car he would again be driving this season. When was this being delivered?

“Delivery on the DS3 should be within a month or two.” Chris replied. “We’ve got a livery guy on the case. First test will probably be on tarmac.”

“Because of the way it ended.” Kirsty continued. “We want to make sure the car is right.”

“Everything on the car had to be changed, because it took such an impact.” Chris said, nodding in agreement with Kirsty.

Kirsty would later show me the official camera footage from the crash as the DS3 came over the bridge, came down and then each frame showed the aftermath. To watch these frames was very humbling for me. To read about a crash such as this or even see one on television during a race is bad enough, but to watch each frame as Kirsty clicked through whilst the driver of that car was now standing next to me was quite an experience.

I was intrigued to know about the differences between the Fiesta Chris was driving today and the DS3.

“First of all, the gear box.” Chris said pointing towards the Fiesta as Steve and Mike made the last checks, Dawn standing in the background talking to Viv but also giving the car the once over. The car was the focal point of everything at the moment. “This is a five-speed, H-shift where the DS3 is a six speed flappy-paddle sequential, so that car (the DS3) changes in 0.01 seconds.” I was flabbergasted by this. 0.01 seconds!

Chris wandered round and was showing me inside the Fiesta now with feverish excitement and passion, you could feel the energy that he was back racing just oozing from him.

“All you see in the DS3 is the number on the counter in front of us change. We set for what surface we’re on, changes to the ECU to suit for how much power between gravel and asphalt. We have other modes on the DS3, which are S1 and S2. S2 is anti-lag which will only work in gears 4, 5 and 6. In S1 it is all gears and is extremely violent.”

Chris was showing me with feet and hand signals the reaction of the DS3 under braking.

“As we come under braking if the anti-lag goes off, it keeps the turbo spinning at god-knows how many rpm, so on the exit of the corner when I hit the throttle again, the turbo’s already in and you’re gone. So it just throws you out.” Chris gave me a demonstration of the effect with his hands mimicking a steering to give an example of the force. “Also, there is an extension for the hand-brake in the Fiesta, where the DS3 is hydraulic. When, say, we’re coming into a hairpin we literally just breathe on the hand-brake. Rear wheels will lock and we’ll just spin round, plant the throttle and we’re off.”

I was curious to know whether Chris had any preference on the surface he raced on, this thought had popped into my head after speaking with Mike The Mechanic, make your own song title jokes from here-on-in.

“I prefer tarmac in a way,” replied Chris. “Basically because of speed, it’s more exciting. You’re going that much faster when you’re coming up to tighter corners. It takes a bit more judgement. On gravel I find it very forgiving actually, because the gravel allows the car to slide round corners. It gives you a nice feeling, but on a whole I am fifty-fifty on surfaces. I don’t really mind what I drive.”

“As long as you’re driving and racing.” I replied with a smile. Chris smiled back, yes he was definitely ecstatic about being back. “How long before you go back out?” I asked.

Chris’ Co-Driver For The Brean Rally, His Father Steve

Chris glanced across at his dad, mechanic and co-driver, Steve.

“At 11.25. Coming up to four minutes past now so we’re going out soon.”

I wanted to let Chris get focused for the next stage, but it was at this point Chris and Kirsty presented myself and Viv with our presents.

“By the way, these are for you and Viv.” Chris said offering us two ‘Chris Wheeler Rallying’ hats with ‘BRC3 Champion’ logo sewn it.

Presents already and we’d only been here an hour.

A very warm and friendly welcome by the Chris Wheeler Rallying team.

This was going to be a great day.

Don’t miss Part Two of a “Weekend With…..Chris Wheeler” – where Chris takes my Quick 10, we talk more to Mike The Mechanic, Kirsty tries to dodge the camera and hands out crisps. I find out Dawn (his mum) loves World Rallycross and Steve (his dad) gives me a technical lesson on rally cars.

To be continued……….

Neil Simmons Twitter: @world_racing

Photo credits: © Viv Simmons Twitter: @viv_simmons

26th January 20173rd July 2017

Brean Blog Part 2: Prepping

This is how the prepping is going for the Brean Stages Rally this weekend.

Viv is at the cinema and I have just finished watching the qualifying for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

That’s how the prepping is going.

To be honest, there is not much I can prepare for, apart from making sure the equipment is ready and our clothes are packed. Okay, so neither of those two things have been done yet but they will be.

You can’t actually fully prepare for a weekend like this. It has been a while since I did a feature race weekend due to other commitments, but I still haven’t forgotten a piece of advice I was given a long time ago when I worked as a press officer. “Be prepared to not be prepared.”

Our plan is to drive down early tomorrow morning to our digs in Weston-Super-Mare and get ready for the weekend ahead. After that, well you just have to go with the flow. We would like to get there in time for the scrutineering, see the cars in full bloom, possibly meet up with Chris and Kirsty for a little chat and an intro to the article but nothing is set in stone.

I have just watched the Ford’s blitz the other GTLM cars in qualifying and take all three top spots and the Cadillac’s in the Prototype class look as if they still have more to deliver in the big race at the weekend, the Rolex 24. It may seem like a strange decision to some people, not staying at home to watch one of the biggest endurance races of the season, to instead visit a local rally on the other side of England.

The truth is, it was a very easy decision to make.

One of my big plans this year was to develop the “Weekend With…..” feature and spend time with racers, their teams, friends and family so that I can experience what it’s like to be right in there at the deep end surrounded by the smell of fuel, feeling the heat coming off the cars and soaking up the electric atmosphere. That was a very easy decision to make once Chris agreed we could come along and be a guest with his team.

As a motor racing fan and writer it is an absolute honour to be invited into the garage of a team to sample this experience, whatever level of racing it is, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The fact that my good lady is going to be there with me (as my photographer) to share the moment also makes it very special. There is something so exciting about the whole thing. The buzz, the not-knowing what is going to happen and having to think on your feet because as we all know motor racing can throw a few curve balls at us.

That is what is exciting me for this weekend, the unknown. I have no idea how the rally is going to pan out, how the weekend will develop and whether it will end in champagne or tears. All I know is that I am prepared to not be prepared and will be keeping a very open mind as to what can and can’t happen. I have a few set in stone ideas that I will develop over the weekend, but these will be worked around what actually happens to Chris over the event. I have a my “Quick 10” interview feature ready for him, I am planning on talking to everybody involved with Chris to get their emotions and thoughts down on paper and I will also be documenting the comeback from a very serious crash.

It’s exciting. It is mysterious. It is racing.

So, while Viv stares at the big screen putting her hand into a box of popcorn and I sit here typing up this blog entry whilst digesting what I just witnessed in the qualifying for the Rolex 24, my mind now casts to the weekend ahead and what will occur.

I am very much looking forward to the racing, the experience of being with Chris and his team but I am also looking forward to being away from the hum-drum of normal life and sharing my passion of writing about motor racing with my good lady.

It’s going to be a great weekend, best I start packing.

My next blog entry will be once we arrive in the West Country. I have a feeling it is going to be an amazing adventure.

Now, where’s the suitcase?

See you at the chequred flag.

Neil Simmons Twitter: @world_racing

Viv Gillings Twitter: @viv_simmons

26th January 20173rd July 2017

Bernard Charles Ecclestone, the Mr.F1

CHINESE GRAND PRIX F1/2012 – SHANGHAI 15/04/2012 – TRONCHETTI PROVERA AND BERNIE ECCLESTONE

“I’m proud of the business that I built over the past 40 years and all that I have achieved with Formula 1. I would like to thank all of the promoters, teams, sponsors and television companies that I have worked with.

“I’m very pleased that the business has been acquired by Liberty and that it intends to invest in the future of F1. I am sure that Chase will execute his role in a way that will benefit the sport.”

After 40 years in the sport, Bernie Ecclestone stepped down from his role as a chief executive in the Formula 1 Group and replaced by Chase Carey. Liberty Media signed former Mercedes and Ferrari chief, Ross Brawn, as motorsport managing director. Ross Brawn returns to Formula 1 after three years of absence.

Furthermore, the ex-ESPN executive Sean Bratches will be responsible for the commercial part of the sport.

Bernie Ecclestone played a significant role in the recognition of the sport and it was his decisions which boost the publicity of Formula 1. In the last few years, the British were not as famous as he used to be, and the fans were tired of his decisions and the ideas which he proposed in order to make the sport attractive.

How everything started

2014 Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix
Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil. 6th – 9th November 2014.
Bernie Ecclestone, CEO Formula 1 Management, Dr, Helmut Marko, Red Bull Racing, Portrait,
World Copyright: © Andrew Hone Photographer 2014.
Ref: _ONZ6565

Ecclestone’s enrolment with the motorsport started after the World War II, Bernie was driving in the Formula 3 series, but his career as a driver didn’t last for long. After his short career as a driver, he became Stuart Lewis-Evans manager but the British F1 driver died at the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix.

In the late 1960s, Bernie was the manager of the Austrian Jochen Rindt and a partial owner of Lotus Formula 2 team. Jochen was killed in a crash at the Italian Grand Prix, but he was awarded the championship after his death.

In 1971 Bernie made his first steps as an owner of an F1 team, the British had a talk with Ron Tauranac, the owner of the Brabham team and offered him £100k for the acquisition of the Brabham team. Tauranac accepted the deal and remained in the team as a designer. The Australian didn’t manage to work with Bernie and in 1972 decided to leave the team. Despite some positive results and podium finishes, Ecclestone had to wait until 1981 to celebrate his first Formula 1 title as a team owner. Nelson Piquet won the championship in 1981 and two years later, he became the first driver who won the F1 championship with a turbo-powered car.

During Ecclestone’s final season as an F1 team owner, Brabham scored only eight points. In 1987 made a deal with the Swiss businessman Joachim Luthi and sold Brabham for around $5m.

His role as a Formula 1 Executive

2014 Formula One Russian Grand Prix
Sochi Autodrom, Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. 9th-12th October 2014.
Marco Tronchetti Provera, CEO of Pirelli, Paul Hembery, Motorsport Director and Bernie Ecclestone, FOM CEO, Portrait,
World Copyright: © Andrew Hone Photographer 2014.
Ref: _ONY6818

Bernie Ecclestone had a bigger picture for Formula 1 in his mind, as long as he was Brabham’s team owner he also formed the Formula One Constructors Association (a.k.a FOCA). He transformed the F1 from a low publicity motorsport to one of the most competitive and expensive sports.

His basic idea was to increase F1’s exposure on television, at that time the television companies had signed deals with some circuits and even those deals were not permanent. Ecclestone, decided to change that and made deals with the companies and sold the Formula 1 TV rights as a package. Hence, by the 1980s, F1 had become a global sport and almost every race was shown live on TV. A key role in F1’s popularity growth played some famous drivers such as Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna.

In the late 1990s, Bernie Ecclestone made a deal with his friend Max Mosley, who at that time was the president of FIA. This deal led to huge profit for Bernie’s company as he took the control of Formula 1 rights from the teams.

Another deal which shocked the F1 community was in 2000 when Mosley sold F1’s commercial rights to Ecclestone until the end of 2110 for a one-off fee of $360m. This led to a domino, as a German TV company bought the rights to F1 but then collapsed and banks took the assets. Finally, in 2006 the German bank BayernLV sold its 47% stake in F1 to a company known as CVC Capital Partners.

For the last ten years, CVC had F1’s TV rights and Ecclestone was the chief executive of the company, hence no one could stop him as he was the one who was responsible for Formula 1 future.

Bernie Ecclestone was accused of bribery by the German authorities and forced to pay $100m to the German courts in order to buy his innocence.

In the last few years, Ecclestone’s publicity is decreasing, that is happening mainly because the British suggested some ideas which aimed to increase the popularity of F1.

In 2014 he suggested a double-points at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi and at the beginning of 2016 suggested to change the format of the qualification session. Finally, Ecclestone was criticized by the Formula 1 fans because he added countries such as Russia, Azerbaijan, and Bahrain in F1’s calendar which secured high fees for CVC.

Even if I personally didn’t like and agree with Bernie’s ideas in the past the past few years I have to admit that Formula 1 would not be the same without him, he raised the price of the product to $8bn.

A new era begins for Formula 1 as Liberty took control of the sport and we have to wait to see what Brawn, Carey and Bratches can do in order to improve the quality of the sport and bring the fans back to the circuits.

Victor Archakis

Twitter: @FP_Passion

26th January 201726th June 2017

Rallye Monte Carlo 2017 review! M-Sport and Seb win first time out!

It was a classic Monte Carlo. Sadly, it was marred on Thursday evening with the death of a spectator when Hayden Paddon lost control of his i20 in stage two. Hyundai took the decision to withdraw that car out of respect for the family and friends of the individual concerned.

The overnight leader was Thierry and Nicolas in their i20.

1 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul 15:01.1

2 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia +7.8

3 J. Hänninen K. Lindstrom +15.0

3 K. Meeke P. Nagle +15.8

4 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja +19.4

5 E. Evans D. Barritt +21.0

6 C. Breen S. Martin +25.4

7 D. Sordo M. Martí +26.6

8 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila +28.4

These were the thoughts of the drivers after the Thursday evening stages.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville said: “We have used today to really discover the car in competitive rally conditions for the first time. The stages here are tough, but we have had a decent start. We were probably running the car too soft and it was moving around quite a lot, but the times look encouraging nonetheless. We have more to come and areas where we need to improve, so that will be our focus on tomorrow’s stages.”

Dani Sordo said: “It’s still early days. Today, it was important to have a clean run through the opening stages. The feeling from the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC was actually better than expected; the car felt strong and fast. I enjoyed getting a taste for it now we are in full competitive mode even if the times were not so good. It’s going to be a long weekend, so we have to focus on learning about our new car and improving all the time.”

Hayden Paddon commented: “That wasn’t the start we wanted to this first rally of the season. We got caught out by some black ice near the end of the first stage. The car snapped sideways and, from there, we were just passengers. There wasn’t much damage to the car but I’m sorry for the team, who have all put in so much work to get here. I am incredibly saddened by today’s accident and my thoughts are with the family and friends of the person involved.”

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier said:

“It’s always tricky to start Rallye Monte-Carlo in the dark, but I think it’s been okay. I definitely took it on the safe side and could have gone faster for sure, but it’s just the first two stages. Tomorrow will be a very different day so we’ll discuss with the team and be sure to continue at our best.”

Ott Tänak said:

“It was very tricky out there this evening. The car feels really good, but we just need to find our rhythm. This is the very beginning, and we made it through which is good. Tomorrow will bring some more really challenging stages so we just have to stay focused and see what happens.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke

“It’s not how I imagine anyone wanted to start the season, with a stage cancelled because one of the competitors went off. SS2 was tricky, especially due to the gravel dragged onto the racing line by the first few cars. When you’re as cautious as I was, it ends up costing you quite a bit of time. We learned some new things about the car and overall, I’m fairly pleased with this first leg.”

Craig Breen

“I was pleasantly surprised when I learned my time at the end of SS2. I thought I would be a lot further behind the 2017 cars! It’s quite good fun, although it was difficult to read the road in some places. I’m pleased with my opening stage.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala

“The conditions were really tricky: it was damp, slippery and there was a lot of ice. I was very cautious on the ice, perhaps a bit too cautious, but I wanted to make sure that we got through it without a problem. We will make some set-up changes as the car is too low at the moment: we are touching the ground in places.”

Juho Hänninen

“It was not an easy start as we had to wait a long time to begin the stage and everything was cold: brakes and tyres and everything. But we did a good job and in the end, it was a nice stage time, even though we did not get the chance to drive the first stage at all. The car is definitely good, now it depends also on the driver.”

So, to the start of the first full day of the 2017 season. This were the stages that the crews were facing.

10.11am: SS3 – Agnière en Devoluy – Le Motty 1 (24.63km)

10.44am: SS4 – Asprès les Corps – Chaillol 1 (38.94km)

11.47am: SS5 – St Léger les Mélèzes – La Batie Neuve 1 (16.83km)

1.02pm: Service C (Gap – 33 mins)

2.28pm: SS6 – Agnière en Devoluy – Le Motty 2 (24.63km)

3.01pm: SS7 – Asprès les Corps – Chaillol 2 (38.94km)

4.04pm: SS8 – St Léger les Mélèzes – La Batie Neuve 2 (16.83km)

5.14pm: Flexi service D (Gap – 48 mins)

So, the first stage of the day saw drama, with Seb running wide and losing a huge 40 seconds or more after getting stuck in a ditch on the outside of a very slippery right-hander. Ott won the stage from overall leader Thierry and with Seb’s problem, he’d moved up to third. Also to benefit was Kris Meeke, who’d jumped up from fourth to second place. The icy conditions catching out some indeed!

1. Tanak 19:17,8 (76,6kph)

2. Neuville +0:01,6

3. Meeke +0:02,3

Stage four saw Kris sadly crash. On a left-hander, he understeered wide and hidden under a bush on the edge of the road was something very hard, as it broke the front right suspension, with the impact causing the car to spin round. A big shame, as Kris and Paul were starting to get into the groove.

1. Neuville – 25:41,9 (90,9kph)

2. Ogier +0:04,9

3. Tanak +0:08,0

Stage five saw Thierry continue to pull away from the M-Sport duo. No-one appeared to have the pace to live with him. Juho Hanninen, was in third place before this stage, but crashed into a tree on a very tight left-hander. He’d damaged the cooling systems on the car, so would retire at the end of the stage. This meant that after his earlier delays, Seb was up to third place, half a minute down on Ott.

1. Neuville – 11:22,2 (88,8kph)

2. Ogier +0:04,8

3. Tanak +0:05,9

Midday service at Gap provided a chance for everyone to eat and get their cars ready for the afternoon.

So, into the afternoon’s action with a repeat of the morning stages. Thierry picked up where he’d left off, with another stage victory and increasing his lead further over Ott in stage 6

Neuville 18:09,6 (81,4kph)

Tanak +0:06,5

Ogier +0:13,2

With the snow and ice starting to melt, it would even things up for Seb, who was the first car into the stage. He took his first stage win for M-Sport, with Ott second and Jari-Matti in third, Toyota’s first top three stage time in this return. Thierry was fourth, still with a very healthy 33 second lead over Ott. Craig Breen, in a previous generation DS3, couldn’t quite believe his eyes. He’d moved ahead of Dani into fifth place! Giantkilling driving, from the young Irishman.

1. Ogier 24:17,8 (96,2kph)

2. Tanak +0:14,9

3. Latvala +0:16,0

The last stage of the day, and Thierry was second. He’d been on form all day, never looking like cracking. Seb found some good speed and won the stage, finishing 19 seconds quicker than Ott, this moving him into second overall by just three tenths of a second! Dani found some good speed as well, moving back ahead of Craig, who was still driving very well.

1. Ogier 11:05,4 (91,1kph)

2. Neuville +0:07,6

3. Tanak +0:19,5

The overnight halt provided the teams with the opportunity to service the cars. Citroen and Toyota had some work to do with some damage as well.

This was the top ten after Friday’s stages.

1 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul 15:01.1

2 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia +45.1

3 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja +45.4

4 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila +2:09.7

5 D. Sordo M. Martí +2:57.8

6 C. Breen S. Martin +3:04.1

7 A. Mikkelsen A. Jaeger +5:50.8

8 E. Evans D. Barritt +8:12.1

9 P. Tidemand J. Andersson +8:22.4

10 J. Kopecky P. Dresler +8:38.2

Here’s the thoughts of the drivers then.

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville said: “I felt really comfortable with the car in this morning’s loop, even if there were a few settings we wanted to change at lunchtime service. We experienced some understeer in the tight corners, and it was a bit more slippery than we thought it would be. We started the afternoon well but in SS7 we found our pace notes to be set up more for ice and snow, when the terrain was, in fact, more slushy. We lost too much time there. Then, in the final stage, we were going well until an engine stall at a hairpin that cost us around ten seconds during the restart procedure. It was not the best end to the day but we have to be happy to lead this rally by such a margin. It’s never enough around Monte-Carlo, though, and we know that Seb and Ott will push us tomorrow. There’s a long way to go, so we’re not getting carried away.”

Dani Sordo said: “It’s very difficult for everyone out there, but we’ve lacked pace today. The stages are nice but it has been hard to know where the grip is, and where we can push. It seems to be a moving target, so we’ve not been able to build our confidence in the car on any of the stages. We have tried to be careful and to make sure we get through the day, which we have achieved. Our aim is to find some improvements on Saturday and to target a solid points finish on Sunday. We hope to catch Jari-Matti (Latvala) but the first goal is to not make any mistakes.”

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier (2nd) said:

“It’s been a tough day with some very difficult conditions which were made all the more challenging as the first car on the road. We had a moment this morning which certainly wasn’t the start that we were looking for, but things got better this afternoon.

“I wasn’t completely happy with the set-up over the opening loop, but we made some positive steps with that this afternoon. We still have some work to do to feel completely comfortable, but we are getting there step by step.

“We have had such a warm welcome into the team. Everyone is working extremely hard and we can see how much they want to succeed. We want to deliver that and a podium would be a really good start. For the moment, we’ll continue as we are and see what tomorrow brings.

Ott Tänak (3rd) said:

“It’s been a tricky day with some difficult conditions and, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t expecting to be in this position on this rally. Of course, the car felt really good in testing and we were quietly confident but you never really know until you’re out there competing against everyone else.

“We planned to come here and find a good, consistent rhythm and that is what we’ve done. The partnership with Martin is working really well and we’ve both felt really comfortable in the car.

“The car is handling almost exactly as I would like it to and we’re just enjoying every minute of it. There is a little work to do before we are 100 percent where we want to be, but this is a very good start.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala

“This was a very important day for us and we made the most of it. We had a couple of minor problems but we are still here at the end of the day and I am very happy with our progress. Conditions were extremely difficult, so just to stay on the road was a good achievement. But the car is improving all the time.”

Juho Hänninen

“In a downhill braking area on SS5 we just made a small mistake and lost the car on the ice, which put the car into a tree and damaged the suspension. Luckily the damage is not big and we will be able to start again tomorrow: thank you to our mechanics for a great job. That will be another very tricky day, so it will be important to make the right tyre choice in particular.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke

“The conditions were difficult, as is often the case in Monte-Carlo. Some corners were covered with a layer of sheet ice and it was difficult to judge the level of grip. I got caught out on a left-hand corner. The car drifted towards the outside and the right-hand side of the car hit a bank. With the front suspension arm broken, we couldn’t go any further. It was disappointing for me and for the team. This is obviously not the sort of start we were hoping to make. Clearly, we can no longer aim for a good result, but we’ll keep going tomorrow to try and learn more about the C3 WRC.”

Stephane Lefebvre

“We started our race in earnest today. I was struggling a little bit to get to grips with the car in these conditions, which I have never experienced before. As we completed more stages, we learned a lot. I now have to find a bit more consistency and speed to reduce the gap to the leading drivers. To do that, I think I need to make better use of the studded tyres.”

Craig Breen

“I’m pleased. To be honest, I didn’t think I would be so close to the 2017 cars! We lost fifth place after a minor off, but it doesn’t matter. I’ve never felt so confident at this rally and we set some good times in what were very tricky conditions. We’re eager to keep up our good form tomorrow.”

Day three then, and an early start for the teams!

7.17am: Start of day 3 and service E (Gap – 18 mins)

8.08am: SS9 – Lardier et Valenca – Oze 1 (31.17km)

8.58am: SS10 – La Batie Monseleon – Faye 1 (16.78km)

10.07am: Service F (Gap – 33 mins)

11.13am: SS11 – Lardier et Valenca – Oze 2 (31.17km)

12.08pm: SS12 – La Batie Monseleon – Faye 2 (16.78km)

1.17pm: Service G (Gap – 33 mins)

3.03pm: SS13 – Bayons – Bréziers 2 (25.49km)

4.23pm: Service H (Gap – 48 mins)

9.11pm: Parc ferme (Monaco)

Thierry would be looking to continue his good pace, whilst Seb and Ott were ready to pounce on any mistakes from the Belgian!

The start list looked like this; Evans, Breen, Sordo, Latvala, Tanak, Ogier, Neuville, Lefebvre, Hanninen, Meeke.

Well, Thierry didn’t disappoint. He won the first stage of the day and increased his lead a little. Craig was continuing to do well with fourth fastest time, even quicker than Ott and moving back ahead of Dani Sordo on the overall leaderboard by a couple of seconds.

1. Neuville 24:02,9 (77,8kph)

2. Ogier +0:02,6

3. Evans +0:05,8

Now, it was time for Elfyn Evans to make a statement and he won stage 10. Dani moved back ahead of Craig after producing a great time through the stage to put him third fastest, a few seconds slower than his rally leading teammate whose lead was now a minute! The rally went from bad to worse now for Kris. He suffered an ignition problem in the stage and had to stop. He got the car going again and completed the stage, knowing that there was a service break next which could be used to look into the problem.

1. Evans 9:15,2 (108,8kph)

2. Neuville +0:01,0

3. Sordo +0:05,4

Stage eleven now and Seb won his first stage in the Fiesta at last. Thierry was right in his wheel tracks though and kept the lead looking very healthy indeed. Dani was doing well too, now starting to pull away from Craig.

1. Ogier 22:53,0 (81,7kph)

2. Neuville +0:02,1

3. Latvala +0:14,4

Stage twelve saw the young welsh speed wizard Elfyn top the times again! Dani was also right up there, definitely finding his mojo and moving a little closer to Jari-Matti as well in the battle for fourth overall.

1. Evans 8:56,7 (112,6kph)

2. Ogier +0:07,4

3. Sordo +0:11,6

Unlucky for some, lucky for others, stage 13 lived up to its number! Thierry’s bid for his first WRC victory in Monte Carlo came off the rails… He went a little wide on a fast-left hander and broke his rear right suspension. His lead at the time to Seb was 51 seconds…. He stopped in the stage to see what could be done, did his best to patch it up, and completed the stage and ultimately losing half a minute. Of course, the demise of the Belgian meant that Seb was now leading with Ott in second place and the wily Jari-Matti now in third! Elfyn won the stage from Seb and Kris was third in his C3. Dani lost all the time that he had and then some, after he started getting problems with his powersteering. Losing over a minute, he dropped behind Craig into fifth place.

So, what a day! Well, the drama wasn’t over at all. Whilst driving back to Gap, Kris and Paul were involved in a road accident with a spectators’ car, with damaged the right rear suspension. They we’re out of the rally for good.

Saturday end of day top ten.

1. S.Ogier / J.Ingrassia 3:26:10.7

2. O.Tänak / M.Järveoja +47.1

3. J.M Latvala / M.Anttila +2:20.6

4. C.Breen / S.Martin +3:47.3

5. D.Sordo / M.Marti +4:03.2

6. E.Evans / D.Barritt +7:27.2

7. A.Mikkelsen / A.Jaeger +9:15.2

8. J.Kopecky / P.Dresler +12:34.4

9. B.Bouffier / D.Giraudet +14:41.9

10. P.Tidemand / J.Andersson +14:59.3

Thoughts of the drivers.

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier (1st) said:

“One month ago, we started a new project with M-Sport. We knew we had no time to prepare and we knew that it would be a big challenge to fight for the victory this weekend. But I felt some potential in the Fiesta and now, to be in the lead of our first event together at Rallye Monte-Carlo, it feels amazing.

“Of course, I’m sorry for Thierry as he was doing a great job, but that is the way this rally goes sometimes. The last 53 kilometres are going to feel very, very long. We’ve seen a lot of really tricky conditions and tomorrow won’t be any easier. We need to finish the job and it would be incredible to start this new chapter with a victory.”

Ott Tänak (2nd) said:

“It’s been a big challenge – the biggest I’ve ever had in Monte – but we’re in a really strong position and it feels good… it feels really good actually!

“We’ve put three tricky days behind us and we just have one more to go. Of course in Monte it’s never over until it’s over so we just need to keep focused and be smart.

“So far the performance has been good and the feeling inside the car has been really nice as well. All we need to do now is keep our fingers crossed and keep going.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala

“Honestly, I would never have expected to end up in this position before the final day of Monte-Carlo! We tried to keep a margin of safety all day in order not to have any problems because the stages were still very tricky and changeable. I just made a few changes to the settings and my driving style during the day to suit the different conditions. I enjoyed myself a lot, but now we have to stay concentrated in order to finish the rally well.”

Juho Hänninen

“It was a difficult day as it wasn’t so easy to get back into the rhythm after going off yesterday: I didn’t want to make another mistake. On the final stage I had the puncture less than one kilometre after the start. I’m not really sure what caused it but I lost the car in quite a fast corner and went into the ditch. Everything else is working fine, so we continue like this tomorrow.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke

“It was good to be back in the rally today. We spent the day learning. It was a bit difficult to get the confidence back and find the right pace in these conditions. The last stage was drier and we managed to find some decent speed. We gathered a lot of information, so we’ve now got some work to do to analyse all of that and make progress. Although I could no longer aim for a good overall result, I’m very disappointed not be able to contest the final leg. The Col de Turini is always one of the highlights of the season.”

Stephane Lefebvre

“Today was pretty tough, especially on the snow, where I struggled to feel confident. I constantly had the feeling that I was almost about to go off. I’d have loved to set a better time on SS13, but I stalled at the start of the stage and that cost me a few seconds. Tomorrow’s stages are more familiar and I hope the weather conditions will be a little milder!”

Craig Breen

“It’s been an incredible day for us. We had some really nice stage times in the morning on the snow and ice, but we couldn’t match the pace of the 2017 WRCs on tarmac. And now we find ourselves in fourth position: it’s surprising and fantastic! Well done to the team, the guys are working really hard and my ice-note crew are doing an amazing job. And now on to Monaco!”

Hyundai Motorsport

Dani Sordo said: “We had a much-improved morning compared to the struggles we faced on Friday. The conditions were better, and we were able to find more grip. I was generally a lot happier and more confident in the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. We still needed to work on the balance but we could set quicker stage times and move up the classification a bit. The afternoon loop continued this trend but then, in the final stage, we suddenly lost the power steering. We were very fortunate that nothing happened and we could make it to the end of the stage. We need to use the positive aspects from today to prepare for the final stages on Sunday – and hopefully to make up a position and score some Power Stage points.”

Thierry Neuville said: “We started this morning knowing that Sébastien would be pushing hard, so we responded to that confidently with a stage win. Our lead was up to one minute so we took a strategic decision at the start of the afternoon loop to play safe on tyre choice. We lost a bit of time but we were still in control. In the final stage, I felt comfortable. At the start of the stage, I played with the diffs to get into a good rhythm, and things felt fine. But we went wide into a third or fourth gear corner and there was a lot of gravel. We knew this from our gravel crew, but I must have been too quickly back on the throttle because the car went wide and we hit something like concrete. Immediately, we knew something had broken so we had to stop and fix it. It was a small mistake. I am very disappointed, more so for the team to be honest because they’ve worked so hard. We wanted to bring home the win for all of them but unfortunately, it’s not to be this time. The pace we have shown this weekend has been exceptional so let’s see what we can salvage on Sunday.”

The last day arrived, with M-Sport looking in a good position to score their first win in Monte Carlo since 2006 and their first victory since Wales Rally GB in 2012.

It wasn’t as early a start as day three, and Dani set about getting back ahead of Craig. He won stage 14 and closed to within eleven seconds. Jari-Matti had worked hard with his team and clearly found a sweet spot to so close to winning the stage. Seb increased his lead over Ott to nearly a minute.

1. Sordo 3:35,7 (91,8kph)

2. Latvala +0:01,1

3. Ogier +0:01,4

It had taken a long time, but finally Citroen had something to celebrate, with Stephane winning stage 15, after a gamble of running soft tyres all round. Dani had also set the second quickest time, to move back in front of Craig by a couple of seconds. Ott’s rally nearly fell apart though on this stage, with his engine lapsing onto 3 cylinders. Something had failed in the electronic management system and he lost a minute and a half in the stage. Now Jari-Matti was up to second overall and Ott was thirty seconds behind in third. News then came in that stage 16 had been cancelled as there were too many spectators’, that were not standing in the right places. The organisers weren’t taking any chances.

1. Lefebvre – 13:51,1 (92,5kph)

2. Sordo +0:01,5

3. Evans +0:13,5

So, there was just one stage left then, the Power Stage and with a tweak, the top five would now score points.

1. Neuville 14:14,4 (90,0kph)

2. LEFEBVRE +0:30,1

3. Hanninen +0:55,0

4. Evans +1:13,7

5. Sordo +1:42,8

Thierry got the consolation prize and took the stage victory and the 5 points that go with it. The drama was could Ott get his car to the line, as it still sounded horrible. There was the added aspect that it had started snowing up on the Col du Turini. Somehow, he squeezed every last ounce of performance from the car and got the car across the line to finish a fine third. He was sideways coming out of the last corner!

So, the news was that Seb had won and Jari-Matti had scored an incredible second place in the Yaris WRC! There were cheers and hugs in the M-Sport hub! They’d finally won after 5 years and also scored a fine third place.

It was also Seb’s fourth victory in a row, joining some special names for such a remarkable feat!

The final standings after a truly classic event.

Final Overall Classification – Rallye Monte-Carlo

1 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia 4:00:03.6

2 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila +2:15.0

3 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja +2:57.8

4 D. Sordo M. Martí +3:35.8

5 C. Breen S. Martin +3:47.8

6 E. Evans D. Barritt +6:45.0

7 A. Mikkelsen A. Jaeger +9:32.7

8 J. Kopecky P. Dresler +12:58.1

9 S. Lefebvre G. Moreau +14:43.8

10 B. Bouffier D. Giraudet +16:09.4

Here’s the thoughts of all the drivers then after an amazing but also sad rally.

M-Sport WRT

Sébastien Ogier (1st) said:

“Obviously, I feel really great. It always feels good to win at Rallye Monte-Carlo, but this year we had one of the most difficult challenges we have ever had. We had to contend with some really demanding conditions and also had a new car and a new team – it’s really incredible.

“We joined the team only a month ago, and have only had a couple of days in the car so far. Of course, we know that anything can happen at this event, but I really thought that we would be lacking the necessary preparation to challenge for victory this weekend.

“To be here now, on the top-step of the podium, I’m very happy and so happy for the whole team who really deserve this. We could never have won if they had not given us a good car, so congratulations to them.

“We still have some work to do, but we have started in the best possible way. I’m looking forward to the next events and there is nothing that does not allow me to be confident.”

Ott Tänak (3rd) said:

“It’s great to be here! For a moment, we didn’t know if we would make it, but the Ecoboost engine is clearly a very strong and at least we added a little spice to the final day.

“Of course, it’s a shame to have had the issue, but this is Monte-Carlo. We know it’s a tricky event and we have to be pleased with our performance.

“I was quite surprised to see how competitive we were. Normally I don’t enjoy challenging conditions but I felt quite comfortable in the car. We were quietly confident during testing, but you never know until you get into competition so all credit to the guys at M-Sport.

“We’ve got a great base car in the Fiesta WRC and also quite a bit that we can still improve. We had consistent speed this weekend and I think we are only going to get better as we continue to learn throughout the season.

“I must also say thanks and congratulations to my co-driver, Martin. This was one of the trickiest Rallye Monte-Carlo’s that we have ever seen and he did a really great job. He did his job so that I could concentrate on mine and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve in the coming events.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala

“I am so happy with the result, although I am sorry for Ott Tanak, who was second before he had a problem. If you had told me before the start of the rally that this is where we would finish, I would never have believed it. In fact, this equals my best-ever result on this rally. The last stages were very difficult, like the whole rally was in fact, and my main priority was to look after the tyres. On the final stage, there was some snow so it was hard to find the grip. It’s been an amazing rally, and it’s been fantastic to feel all the support of the fans in particular.”

Juho Hänninen

“Today I tried to be as careful as possible in order to be sure of us bringing two cars home on our first rally, which is a fantastic result: especially with one car on the podium. On the last stage, it was really difficult to see exactly where the snow and ice was. It’s a pity that we made a mistake on Friday as otherwise we had no problems and our pace was good. Considering my lack of experience, it was still a good result here for me and as a team we have learned a lot, which is the most important thing. We will try and keep improving now.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Dani Sordo said: “It has not been a good rally for us but there have been positive signs for the rest of the season. Today’s opening stages were really enjoyable. The stage win was good for the confidence and we were able to close the gap to Breen. There wasn’t much between us going into the Power Stage but the conditions were really terrible in the mountains. Unbelievable! All we could do was minimise the time loss and thankfully it was enough to hold onto fourth and to score some important Manufacturer points. The team has put in a lot of hard work on our new car and from the speed we showed this morning, it’s definitely competitive. We need to use all of the encouraging aspects of this weekend and look for a better weekend in Sweden.”

Thierry Neuville said: “We had to put the disappointment of Saturday afternoon behind us, and look to return to form. We definitely did that today. We wanted to push hard in the Power Stage and to pick up some points. When we could see, the snow was falling, we knew it would be tricky but thankfully we did enough. It’s a consolation for what we missed out on this weekend. I would like to say thanks to the whole team for a super job. The i20 Coupe WRC is fantastic to drive and offers us genuine promise for the season. We can leave Monte-Carlo in a positive frame of mind and confident in what we can achieve against strong opposition.”

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Stephane Lefebvre

“The rally finished a lot better than it started! It was a morale-boosting finish to the rally with two good times, including a stage win on the Col de Turini. We made the right call on tyre choice and I felt confident in conditions that I know well. At the same time, I didn’t want to take any risks because it was important to make sure we scored points for the team.”

Craig Breen

“The conditions were unbelievably difficult. I guess that’s why the Col de Turini has become such an iconic test! I did wonder whether or not to go with the snow tyres for the final test, but I kept the slicks and it became more and more difficult the further we went on the stage. But we managed to make it to the end and stay in the top five, which is a great result.”

D-Mack WRT

Elfyn Evans, DMACK WRC driver, said: “It’s a fantastic start to the season for us. We didn’t have a great day on Friday but Saturday’s performance more than made up for that and really raised some eyebrows. I was very happy with my driving and the feeling with the car and tyres was really positive. It was easy to work with Daniel again, everything gelled together right from the start.”

So, what an amazing event! Its tinged with sadness though after the death of the spectator on Thursday evening.

The championship tables look like this

Drivers

1 S. Ogier 25

2 J.M Latvala 18

3 O. Tanak 15

4 D. Sordo 13

5 C. Breen 10

6 E. Evans 10

7 A. Mikkelsen 6

8 S. Lefebvre 6

9 T. Neuville 5

10 J. Kopecky 4

11 J. Hänninen 3

12 B. Bouffier 1

Teams

1 M-Sport World Rally Team 40

2 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC 24

3 Hyundai Motorsport 20

4 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 10

Next rally up is Rally Sweden! What chance a second victory for M-Sport, but you can count on Hyundai and Citroen taking the fight to our early surprising championship leaders!

Warren Nel

26th January 20173rd July 2017

DTM – 2017 Line-Up Is Complete

Touring Cars

Mercedes-AMG is the last of the three Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters manufacturers to announce driver line-ups for the 2017 season, which means that all 18 names are now known.

As each brand will enter six cars this year instead of eight, Mercedes-AMG had to lay off some drivers.

The Stuttgart marque decided to keep only half of last year’s squad. Christian Vietoris, Maximilian Götz and Daniel Juncadella will therefore no longer be part of the DTM effort.

The team decided to keep Garry Paffett, Lucas Auer, Robert Wickens and Paul di Resta. Paffett and di Resta are both former series champions whilst Auer and Wickens have six victories and seven pole positions between them. They will be joined by last year’s runner-up and long-time Audi driver Edoardo Mortara, who will be the only driver to switch brands during the off season, and Maro Engel. The German driver will return to DTM for the first time since 2011 and at the moment is the only Mercedes-AMG driver who is yet to stand on the podium.

In order to reduce costs, all six Mercedes-AMG’s cars will be run by Team HWA this year.

BMW was the first brand to announce its 2017 line-up consisted of current champion Marco Wittmann, Timo Glock, Augusto Farfus, Bruno Spengler, Tom Blomqvist and Maxime Martin, whilst Mattias Ekström, Nico Müller, Jamie Green, René Rast, Mike Rockenfeller and Loïc Duval will form the Audi team.

The 2017 DTM season will start in Hockenheim on 6-7 May.

Tomasz Kubiak

26th January 20173rd July 2017

Michigami Replaces Huff

Former Super GT Champion Ryō Michigami will join the works Honda World Touring Car Team for the 2017 season, replacing Rob Huff.

Huff, the 2012 WTCC champion, announced his departure last week, as he will return to the privateer Münnich Motorsport team to drive an ex-factory Citroën for the first time in his career.

Despite the fact many long-time WTCC drivers are yet to confirm their return, Honda decided to give their seat to Michigami, whose TC1 experience is limited to the one-off appearance at last year’s Race of Japan. It will be 43-year old’s first full-time ride since 2014.

Michigami will race in the #34 Honda Civic alongside Tiago Monteiro and Norbert Michelisz in cars #18 and #5. All three drivers will conduct a series of testing ahead of the first round in Marrakesh at the beginning of April.

Ryo Michigami: “As a Japanese driver, I’m extremely proud to be given the opportunity to represent a Japanese manufacturer in a world championship.

I’m aware that this season will be a huge challenge for me, but I will use all the experience I have gained during my career in Japan and I am incredibly motivated to perform strongly across the season. I want to make this the pinnacle of my life in motorsport and together with Honda, JAS Motorsport, Tiago and Norbi, I will make the maximum effort possible to achieve this. I would also like to thank everybody in advance for their help and support in 2017.”

Tomasz Kubiak

25th January 20171st August 2017

Brean Blog Part 1: Sea Of Tranquility

Man-flu and thoughts.

Yes, that is the start of this article.

This weekend myself and Viv (for those Pit Crew readers she is not only my good lady but now my photographer) are spending the weekend at the Brean Rally with Chris Wheeler and his lovely lady Kirsty.

Now, I had always intended to write a blog on our three days in Brean and I wanted a special build-up, but that was somewhat rudely interrupted by that awful pandemic called man-flu. Yes, I can hear the good ladies of our lives now sighing and tutting at just the mere mention of that hypher-nated symptom.

Though scientific tests have proved it is real, I know this because Google (c) told me so.

I had been feeling rough the last few days (there goes that collected female sigh again) and today I went home early to continue dosing myself up with remedies (Is he still going on? Cry the ladies of our lives). Whilst sitting here feeling sorry for myself (Collected groan) I decided that fresh air was needed and seeing as the coastline is, say, two minutes walk from the door, I decided to liven myself up a bit, get some fresh air. (Man-up for crying-out-loud!).

I wandered down to the sea (full puffer-coat, hat, gloves….the works) and was met by the sound of the rippling waves splashing against the shore. This is where the blog takes a turn.

I stood and listened to that sound. I rolled my shoulders and watched the gulls and the birds swoop in to take advantage of the receding tide which now bore the rocks and pools it left behind. It was at this point my senses became used to my surroundings. I could no longer hear the splashing of the sea upon the shore, it was more of a calm hiss. The birds did not squawk, they sang. The sea was of glass, it was like it never moved really. I looked out beyond the shoreline and there was a mist covering the sea. In the distance I could hear the sound of a ship sounding its way through the unknown. Behind the mist was the horizon which I could not see and this is when my thoughts turned to the rally weekend.

When we first arrive at Brean there will be noise, just as there was when I walked to the seafront earlier, but then our senses will become accustomed to the sounds and we will relax. At the rally there is also a horizon which cannot be seen, by those competing. The one which none of us, whether driver, pit crew, fans, friends or family can see. The horizon of opportunity across the sea of tranquility.

This all sounds very idyllic and easy. It’s not. Beyond the hissing, calming waters are waves. Beyond the mist there are dangers. However, that is the adventure. What really does exist behind that mist?

When I decided to arrange this weekend with Chris in the garage at the Brean Rally, the initial idea was to document the story of a team at an event so that everybody could read and see (through Viv’s photographs) what it was like. That was the plan, but standing at the shoreline today looking out into the unknown made me re-evaluate the weekend ahead.

It’s not just going to be about the race weekend. This story has much more to it. The horrific crash Chris suffered last year, his comeback, the willing sacrifices of his friends and family, his loving lady standing by his side with support and utter enthusiasm. The will to succeed, the need to go on, the desire to be the best that you can be, even if you are unable to see beyond the mist.

It dawned on me right there and then as I gazed out across the glassy waters that this weekend is not just a ‘jolly’ to write a story or to watch drivers do things with cars we can only ever dream of. No, it is much more than that.

Myself and Viv are being invited along to share the dream of another person, to participate in a part of someone’s life and to experience their absolute desire. That, right there, is a privilege. So this blog has taken another turn, like the tide I watched earlier which revealed some unexpected images.

I forgot about my man-flu because I was mesmerised by the sea of tranquility and the unknown beyond.

This weekend is a special moment for Chris Wheeler and his loved ones. We are honoured that you have allowed us to share it with you.

Thank you.

See you at the dirty chequered flag.

Neil Simmons and Viv Gillings

Neils’s Twitter: @world_racing

Viv’s Twitter: @viv_simmons