Category: Features

 

 

Two men. Two British motor racing legends who both died on this day, yet fourteen years apart.

John Surtees and Barry Sheene.

The former was born in 1934 and went on to become a world champion on both two and four wheels, the only racer to have ever done so. The latter was a double 500cc world champion and was the first British 125cc champion.

Their lives were completely separate, both different characters in their own right but held in high regard by racing fans for their achievements.

In 1951, a year after Barry Sheene was born, John Surtees was hitting the headlines after challenging Geoff Duke at Thruxton. It would be four years last that he would get his first factory ride on a Norton where he again challenged Duke and beat him on two occasions at Silverstone and Brands. Surtees was quickly becoming a name and attracting the attention of other factory teams. He joined MV Augusta.

Barry Sheene was still six years old and far away from the world of motorcycle racing.

Surtees earned the nickname figlio del vento, or son of the wind.

The following year he won the 500cc World Championship and gave MV Augusta their first title win in the senior class.

It was in 1960 that the motor racing world was taken by surprise at the switch from two wheels to four wheels as John Surtees entered the world of Formula One. He was 26 years of age and made his F1 debut for Lotus at Monaco. Barry Sheene was still only 10 years old and was eight years away from competitive racing.

 

After spending a few years driving for Reg Parnell, Surtees joined Ferrari in 1963 and would take the Formula One world title the following year. He walked away from Ferrari in 1966 after being left out of the team to drive at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The reason given was that the Ferrari team boss felt that Surtees was not fully fit after his horrific crash testing a Lola T70 sports car at the Mosport Circuit the previous year. He finished second that year to Jack Brabham, driving a Cooper-Maserati.

In 1966, with Barry Sheene just 16 years of age, Surtees signed for Honda and after some technical issues he went on to win the Italian Grand Prix.

In 1968 Barry Sheene was racing 125’s and 250’s, winning his first races at Brands Hatch before becoming the first British 125cc champion in 1970, the same year in which John Surtees set up his own racing team.

 

John Surtees retired from driving in 1972, the same year in which Barry Sheene was signed by Yamaha to ride in the 250cc World Championship. Although it was a works Yamaha, there was no factory team in the championship and Sheene, being the outspoken person that he was, would voice his opinion on this case.

Sheene suffered a broken collarbone and would not see action on the track again until the summer, at which time he did receive factory backing for his Yamaha. At John Surtees’ team, Mike Hailwood won the European Formula 2 Championship.

Sheene signed for Suzuki and won the Formula 750 championship for them in 1973.

As the 1970s rolled on and John Surtees set up a motorcycle shop and Honda dealership, bringing an end to his racing career, Barry Sheene was just getting started. However, a massive crash at Daytona in 1975 nearly finished Sheene’s racing adventure.

It was in 1976, twenty years after Surtees, in which Barry Sheene brought home the 500cc World Championship and then retained it the following season, partnered by Steve Parrish.

In what a lot of motorcycle racing fans call one of the greatest Grand Prix’s of all time, Sheene battled with Kenny Roberts at the 1979 British Grand Prix. The following season he would leave Suzuki and race on a privateer Yamaha. There would be no more titles for the fun loving Londoner. He would retire from the sport in 1984 taking up residence in Australia.

In contrast, John Surtees would still be involved in motorsport, becoming chairman for the A1 Grand Prix series.

In 1996 John Surtees was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall Of Fame. Barry Sheene died of cancer in 2002, a year after the FIM named him a Grand Prix Legend. He was awareded an MBE. In 2003 John Surtees would receive the same honour of being named a Grand Prix Legend by the FIM. He attained the honours of MBE, OBE and CBE.

To this day John Surtees is the only person to have ever won world championships on two and four wheels and Barry Sheene is the only British double world champion in the premier motorcycle racing class. Surtees also won 6 Isle Of Man TT races.

You could say that both men were worlds apart. The gentleman, soft persona of John Surtees against the cheeky, hard drinking and hard smoking Barry Sheene.

The two men share some things in common. They both have parts of Brands Hatch named after them, they were both 500c World Champions and sadly they both died on 10th March.

They were legends in their sports and loved by the fans for the way they raced and the emotion they put into their passion of racing.

I grew up learning about John Surtees and was completely captured by his story and what he had achieved long before I had been born. I grew up watching Barry Sheene hurtle his way fearlessly around the track, regardless of the many injuries he suffered.

In my eyes they were just two heroes who I admired. I never met Barry Sheene. I wish I had, he seemed like a fun person to be around. I did meet John Surtees on two occasions, he was such a lovely man with so much time for racing fans.

Both dearly missed by friends and family, the news of John Surtees death today and the anniversary of Barry Sheene’s passing tinged this day with sadness, but somewhere on a race circuit in the sky I’m sure Barry Sheene was sitting on the starting grid waiting for John Surtees to arrive so they could have that race they were never destined to have.

Two men with racing in their blood. One the son of the wind and the other a maverick, but both total legends in the eyes of any racing fan.

As a racing fan I’ll savour the past and thank both men for the enjoyment they gave me.

See you at the chequered flag.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

 

I was reading up on the accolades and memories of the brilliant Formula One journalist Alan Henry recently and a story he relayed about James Hunt.

Alan would tell the story of the time he was woken in his room by Hunt, who had with him at the time a female friend.

“Come on Hens, you need to surrender your bed, I have a guest.”

This was James Hunt, the man who allegedly bedded 5,000 women and had “Sex, The Breakfast Of Champions” sewn into his racing overalls. He was a fast driving, big drinking, fast living, cigarette smoking hero to the British racing fans. They loved him. He punched a marshal, well actually he punched two marshals.

There were others, the list is long, but the most notable apart from Hunt were Mike Hailwood, Innes Ireland, Sir Stirling Moss, Juan Manuel Fangio and the person who is regarded as the last of the playboy F1 drivers, Eddie Irvine. More recently Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen have been tagged ‘playboys’ in their early careers but never on the same platform as the other drivers mentioned before them.

In one way or another they were icons. They also had their critics, but they undoubtedly had their fans. Bernie Ecclestone is apparently a fan of the playboy lifestyle, a person who can show character to the fans. This is an area where I do agree with Bernie, for a change.

Lewis Hamilton.

I have to hold my hand up and say there were times when I would look at the television or read a news story and think to myself, ‘Lewis, what are you doing?’ – Then I would have to smile and think back to when I was growing up and no matter how much I had respect for people like Prost, Mansell, Schumacher, Lauda etc. they were a bit, well, too serious. The antics of drivers such as Berger, Irvine, Hunt, Fittipaldi, Raikkonen, Alesi etc. on the other hand made me smile.

My initial thoughts about Lewis Hamilton’s ‘reported’ lifestyle was quite probably…no definitely…my near 45 years of age kicking in. It is important to remind myself of that. Then I shake my head and smile.

Lewis Hamilton gets paid a lot of money to drive fast cars. He, like every other racer in the world, puts his life on the line in the name of motor racing. Who is any person or journalist to say he is behaving unprofessionally and inappropriately?

The reason I pose this question is because I do see a lot of hypocrisy in the way journalists report on Hamilton and his partying, lifestyle and what he does away from the racing. These are the same writers who will condemn Lewis in one article and the following week be praising James Hunt.

In the 1970’s Hunt slept with women, got drunk, visited casinos, bars, film premieres and went to parties. He is held up as a British hero. In the 2000’s Lewis Hamilton sleeps with women, gets drunk, visits casinos, bars, film premieres and goes to parties, yet he is held up as unprofessional and not a role model to the young fans who follow him.

Hypocritical. Utterly hypocritical.

The bottom line is, for years Formula One has been crying out for that ‘playboy’ world champion to come along and take the place of the more serious natured ones who followed. Hell…I’ve even grown to like the sarcastic, mischievous side of Sebastian Vettel recently. Lewis Hamilton is being that playboy Formula One driver. The shenanigans of the playboy racing drivers I have mentioned above make Lewis Hamilton look like a choirboy and just because he is involving himself with people who others do not like within the public eye, does that make him less of a world champion…no, sorry….a triple world champion? Of course it doesn’t.

Did the fact that Juan Manuel Fangio bedded women and James Hunt partied all night make them lesser world champions? No, of course not, because time and history has diluted those stories and they never had social media to contend with as drivers do now.

I was very young when Hunt was at the top of his game, but I can imagine my mum not being overly impressed with his antics, she would probably have called him a thug. Today I see on social media and in publications people and journalists calling Hamilton spoilt or irresponsible.

Total rubbish.

There are more men and women out there doing far more irresponsible things in their sport than Lewis Hamilton and simply by picking on the point that he may or may not have said this and may or may not have done that, is just simply a way of selling the news.

Formula One has been criticised in recent years, some of which rightly so. I don’t think it is constructive or warranted to criticise the drivers who take part.

As I said, there are other sports out there which are inhabited by far worse characters.

This comes to the question of my article. Has society grown tired of the F1 playboy?

I really don’t see how the answer can be a rousing yes when we’ve only really seen Hamilton in recent years choose the lifestyle that he has. I think it is more of a case that with social media playing such a big part in every walk of life, the microscopic details of a person’s life is picked up and then blasted around the world. People are influenced more by what they see and what they read instead of taking a step back and making a judgement for themselves. They also need to realise they are not Lewis Hamilton. They are not a racing driver.

Am I fan of everything Lewis Hamilton does? Not really. But I’m not Lewis Hamilton.

Am I fan of the famous people Lewis can be seen hanging with? Not all of them. But that’s up to Lewis Hamilton.

Am I fan of Lewis Hamilton the racing driver? I have other drivers currently on the grid who I favour more and others in history too, but I would still put Hamilton up there as one of the best I have seen in my 40+ years of watching Formula One.

You can’t ask for a playboy Formula One driver and then decide that what that particular person does with their life is not to your liking. You don’t drive a car at break-neck speed, risking your life on every piece of tarmac for the entertainment of others. You certainly aren’t in the position to criticise as to what a person chooses to do with their life outside of ‘their job’.

You are of course allowed to go back and worship James Hunt, Mike Hailwood, Sir Stirling Moss, Eddie Irvine, Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button, naturally because they are heroes.

But then that would be boring wouldn’t it?

All era’s have different tags. You could have been a cad or a bounder in the fifties, a rebel in the sixties, a hair-raiser in the seventies all the way up to a raver, a party animal or a gangster. Let’s just concentrate on the racing, shall we?

See You At The Chequered Flag.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing

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Every racing fan has an opinion and we are no different over here at Crew Towers, as you would expect.

Some of the ‘creative meetings’ where we discuss future articles descend into a banter filled cacophony of voices who confidently state their opinions.

We wanted to get the 2017 championship tips from the experts….but they weren’t available, so we asked the Pit Crew Online team to make their predictions instead.

Some writers contribute across multiple series, therefore you may see them predicting a whole host of categories.

CREW TOWERS TIPS – 2017

Richard Hindson – Facebook Media Editor

Twitter: @hindson369

F1 Prediction: A Red Bull Driver

“My F1 world champion prediction is a Red Bull Racing driver. It’s hard to choose between the two. Both showed real pace last season and proved they could race wheel to wheel with no contact. This season they will be at the front of the grid battling for the sports grandest prize. Who will come out on top may come down to reliability, like we saw in 2016.”

Mitch Oakley – BTCC Editor

Twitter: @Tocco_97

BTCC Prediciton: Gordon Shedden

“Based on the last two years, it’s very hard to look past the Honda of Gordon Shedden. The reigning champ will be looking to add another title to his collection. No doubt his teammate will be pushing close behind. Also never count out Turkington now he is back at WSR and of course Plato is always there-or-there abouts. Either way it should be a cracker!”

Matthew Pigg – Endurance Editor/Photographer

Twitter: @photopigg

LMP1-H Prediction: Porsche

LMP2 Prediction: Alpine

“Looking forwards to great competition in the WEC this year with the battle in LMP1-H between Porsche and Toyota. My hunch would be that Porsche will come out on top after the whole season, but hoping that Toyota get that Le Mans win after last year’s heart break. LMP2 looks like it’s going to be interesting with new cars and teams coming in, but too close to call as to who will win. A good bet would be Alpine to retain the crown. GTE Pro sees the return of Porsche with two cars going up against Ferrari, Ford and Aston Martin. It is going to be another close call and could easily go any of the team’s way and a lot of what happens with GTE will depend on what happens with balance of performance.”

Aaron Irwin – Virtual Editor

Twitter: @AaronIrwin7

Virtual GP Prediction: Michal Smidl

“We cover a series called Virtual GP and the simplest way I can describe it is F1 on a computer. There is one stand out favourite for the series and his name is Michal Smidl, he’s won the series twice and is the hot favourite. However he has challengers to his crown in Martin Stefanko and Jaroslav Honzik. In a series of fast and enjoyable racing, anyone can shine. It’s close and tense and it looks likely that Smidl will hold on to his crown, but he won’t have it all his own way.”

Rhea Morar – Deputy F1 Editor

Twitter: @RheaMorar

F1 Prediction: Red Bull

“Unbelievably I predict that the tough fight for the championship will be between the Sauber boys… who has the more perfect hair…. Ericsson or Wehrlein? Seriously though, look out for the Red Bull boys is all that I can predict right now.”

Victor Archakis – F1 Editor

Twitter: @FP_Passion

F1 Prediction: Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel

“My heart says Ferrari. My logic says Mercedes, but I can’t resist to my heart’s willing, hence I will pick Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel as 2017 champions!”

Tonia Attard – NASCAR Feature Writer

Twitter: @audilvrs7

NASCAR Prediction: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“With the checkered flag dropped on the Daytona 500, the start of the NASCAR season is officially underway. This year’s 500, with its new rules and regulations, proved to be exciting just as NASCAR hoped although maybe in the wrong way as a multitude of wrecks perforated the green flag laps. That being said clear indications of who may, or may not, be in contention for the Championship were given and as NASCAR editor it is my job to give them to you. First and foremost, Dale Earnhardt Jr. While this may not be the choice most people would go with, Junior was fast at Daytona. Fast like we haven’t seen him for a long time. He sat on pole for a while before Chase Elliot bumped him to his second place starting position. From there he had a strong run until an accident took him out of the running. Earnhardt has a strong motivation to drive hard as well. He has said that if he wins the Championship this year he will retire. He wants to go out on top. There is no more motivation like taking that last big leap of faith. Chase Elliot, Earnhardt’s teammate also looks promising for a Championship. Young and hungry but now more experienced. Bill Elliot’s son proudly carries on the family name and hopes to make a name for himself in NASCAR history.”

Kiko Giles – Crew On Two Editor

Twitter: @MotoGPKiko

MotoGP Prediction: Valentino Rossi

Moto2 Prediction: Franco Morbidelli

Moto3 Prediction: Fabio Di Giannantonio

WSBK Prediction: Chaz Davies

BSB Prediction: Luke Mossey

“MotoGP is fierce this year, with young hounds challenging the young – and old – established war horses. My money in 2017 is on Valentino Rossi. And before you all sigh and look away, there are some alternative reasons, apart from his ability to ride. He’s old, he’s getting on and it could be now or never for Rossi. But a new teammate will also spur him on. He enjoys a challenge and has re-invented himself for the last four seasons. The Michelins have a year under their belt so Valentino has a solid base-setting to work on. Cut the crashing, and bring home the bacon, on the podium at every round like he had potential last season and he’s your man in 2017 – not without stiff competition.

Moto2 sees four of the top eight in last season’s campaign move up, leaving the door open for many challenges and a break of what we have known. Franco Morbidelli is a rider who impressed me so much towards the end of last season. Having come so close in Australia in that finish with Tom Luthi, and having been in a titanic scrap in Valencia with MotoGP graduate and double champion Johann Zarco, Morbidelli must be favourite this season. It could be between him, Luthi and San Marino GP winner, Lorenzo Baldassarri.

Moto3 is anyone’s guess, but due to his sheer skill last season, Fabio Di Giannantionio definitely gets my backing. The rookie Italian came so close to winning at Mugello as well as Assen and his only retirement after his first point scoring ride was getting wiped out at Phillip Island. He is retained by the same team for 2017 and the Gresini Racing set up have some titles in their pocket from seasons gone by. Fabio will be up there, but that is only one prediction out of many that could possibly take the title.

In WSBK although Jonathan Rea has started with a double victory, Chaz Davies took his best points haulage from the first round of the season. The Welshman is my tip for a tilt at the title in 2017. His sensational form that ended 2016 (7 wins in 8 of the final races) was something that only Colin Edwards had done before. The Ducati is getting better and at last Davies looks like he may have a teammate that he can rely on for support in Marco Melandri. The 30-year-old will be on fire once we get to Europe, which is where Chaz is at his absolute finest.

British Superbikes sees additions galore in 2017. Davide Giugliano and Sylvain Guintoli amongst the most notable. Shane Byrne took his 5th title last season, as an out and out Shakey fan I want him to do the same – but I am not backing him and I’m not tipping Leon either. I believe the upset could come from his teammate. Luke Mossey is my stab for a title this season. The youngster – now with a full factory set up – put in some astounding results last year, and could be the one to be keep an eye on this season. However, BSB is BSB, and we know Shakey, Haslam, Ellison and the like will all be up there – it really is anyone’s guess.”

Viv Gillings – Photographer

Twitter: @viv_simmons

WEC GT Prediction: Ford

MotoGP Prediction: Ducati

“I am predicting with my heart not my head on the above series. I have always been a ‘Ford Bird’ and they are my prediction in the GT category for WEC and in MotoGP I am going with a Ducati rider, whether that is Jorge or Dovi. My predictions are purely heart fuelled as Ford and Ducati are my favourites. I will also be cheering on Chris Wheeler in the British Rally Championship.”

Tomasz Kubiak – WTCC & DTM Feature Writer

Twitter: @tomekkubiak

WTCC Prediction: Rob Huff

DTM Prediction: Mike Rockenfeller

“WTCC – The favourite to win the 2017 World Touring Car Championship should be Rob Huff. The Briton saw an opportunity in leaving the factory Honda team to join the privateer Münnich Motorsport and it is not as crazy as it sounds. The single-car operation will be focused around him and won’t have to worry about a manufacturers’ championship, dealing with rookie team mates (there’s one in both Honda and Volvo camps) or developing a car, as the Citroën is a fully finished and impressively quick machine. If factories will decide to go after drivers’ title, Tiago Monteiro and Nicky Catsburg would become the biggest treats.

DTM – Stopping BMW will be extremely difficult as the Bavarian brand won three drivers’ titles in five years since they returned to DTM. They are, however, yet to win in an odd year and if someone is in position to capitalise on that, it should be Audi. The Neuburg-based marque was the only one to keep all of their teams and will utilise the resources freed up by the unfortunate ending to their endurance racing programme. Watch out for Mike Rockenfeller but BMW’s Marco Wittmann and Mercedes-AMG’s Edoardo Mortara are good guesses as well.”

Jack Prentice – F1 Technical Editor

Twitter: @JPrentice8

F1 Prediction: Sebastian Vettel

“Predicting the Formula One season ahead of us right now is a bit like predicting when a comet will next hit the earth. The immense changes in technical regulations have the potential to shake the order up somewhat, but after the first round of testing it looks like the same three will be at the sharp end. That said, once again Ferrari look like they’ve taken the game to Mercedes while Red Bull still have some work to do. If Ferrari have upped their game, then it’s hard to look past a Vettel v Hamilton title scrap. How much fun would that be?”

James Matthews – Formula E Editor and Mercedes Feature Writer

Twitter: @James16Matthews

Formula E Prediction: Sebastien Buemi

“If anyone but Buemi and Renault come out on top this season, it could well be the upset of the year. With three wins from the opening three races, Buemi is driving at a level above the rest of the grid—at this rate, even his absence from New York won’t hurt his campaign for a second title.”

Warren Nel – Rally Editor

Twitter: @Warren_S_Nel

WRC Prediction: Sebastien Ogier

“I believe that Seb will become this year’s Champion. His main challengers will be Thierry Neuville, Kris Meeke and Jari-Matti Latvala. Hyundai have built a very good car. It’s certainly faster than the others! Citroën are a sleeping giant and are on the back-foot. The Toyota return has been remarkable with two podiums and a victory. I’m not sure if they can sustain a full fight all year, but they are the dark horses I believe, with a resurgent Jari-Matti Latvala. He’s definitely looking more relaxed behind the wheel. Next round is Rally Mexico! 9th to the 12th of March.”

Elliott York – Crew On Two Feature Writer

Twitter: @journoyork

MotoGP Prediction: Maverick Vinales

WSBK Prediction: Chaz Davies

BSB Prediction: Leon Haslam

“MotoGP – The 26th of March is a date that every MotoGP fan will welcome with open arms as Qatar kick starts what promises to be a stellar year of Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

For me, Vinales on the M1 Yamaha is going to take some stopping this year. You only have to look at testing to see how quick he is going to be, which is why he is my tip for the crown.

I’d love to see Rossi claim his 10th title, and I think he will be challenging the likes of Vinales and Marquez all the way, but I just see Maverick being the top gun in 2017.

WSBK – Phillip Island gave us an indicator of just how competitive this year is going to be in World Superbikes. Johnathan Rea laid down the gauntlet, however I think Chaz Davies can really take it to him this year and claim his maiden Superbike title. The Ducati looks like it is the complete package this year, and with the help of team mate Melandri, Davies can upset the Kawasaki party. If the Welshman can remain consistent on tracks that he doesn’t go well at (Phillip Island being a great example) then I think he’ll be in pole position to get his hands on the title.

BSB – It is hard to see past Leon Haslam and Shane Byrne again this year, which is why I’m backing the Kawasaki man to go one better in 2017. Leon now has a year’s experience under his belt after returning to BSB from World Superbikes which will give him a vast amount of confidence. It will be another titanic battle between the two, with other names such as James Ellison having an outside shot, but for me it’s Haslam who will take the title.”

Neil Simmons – Tin Top Editor & McLaren/Feature Writer

Twitter: @world_racing

F1 Prediction: Max Verstappen

WRX Prediction: Johan Kristoffersson

BTCC Prediction: Colin Turkington

IndyCar Prediction: Will Power

Indy500 Prediction: Josef Newgarden

WEC LMP1 Prediction: Porsche #1 (Lotterer, Tandy, Jani)

WEC LMP2 Prediction: Rebellion #31 (Prost, Senna, Canal)

WEC GTE-Pro Prediction: Ford #67 (Priaulx, Tincknell, Derani)

WEC GTE-Am Prediction: Aston Martin #98 (Lauda, Dalla Lana, Lamy)

MotoGP Prediction: Maverick Vinales

WSBK Prediction: Chaz Davies

BSB Prediction: Davide Giugliano

Isle Of Man TT: John McGuinness

“I cover a lot of racing here at The Crew, but I narrowed it down to my favourite series.

In Formula One I am looking back over the last couple of seasons and at the confidence of Red Bull and their young star going into 2017. I think it will be a closely contested season between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, but Max Verstappen gets my tip, just, ahead of Sebastian Vettel. One to watch on my list is Nico Hulkenberg, he could be the breath of fresh air that Renault need to lift their hopes of regular points.

World Rallycross is a difficult one. There is such a depth of talent in the field this year and although I think both Solberg and Ekstrom will be in the mix again, I am going with my ‘joker’ and tip Johan Kristoffersson for the title in the works Polo. Also watch out for Kevin “Round The Outside” Eriksson who I expect to cause a few upsets in the MJP Ford Fiesta.

In the BTCC my prediction changed recently. When thinking of this article I was looking at Mat Jackson in the Focus or Jason Plato in the Subaru. Then a certain Colin Turkington signed for West Surrey Racing and the former 2009 and 2014 champion is my tip in the BMW, though I expect the usual suspects to be sniffing around. Watch out for Ash Sutton in the Subaru, I like this lad.

Over in the good old USA, the IndyCar season is upon us and I really can’t see any other person than a Team Penske driver taking the title. However, I don’t think Simon Pagenaud will retain his title because I believe the 2017 championship will go to Will Power. I also think that Ryan Hunter-Reay will have a good season, but another prediction I will make concerns the Indy 500. My tip for the ‘big one’ goes to Josef Newgarden who steps into Team Penske, moving Montoya down to a more part-time driving role, and I think he could be the surprise name of the season, possibly even challenging Power for the title?

WEC – with four classes it is hard to get them all right, but I will try to have a punt on this. In the LMP1 class I can’t look at anything else other than the #1 Porsche of Lotterer, Tandy and Jani. I just think they have the quality to take this and I think they will win Le Mans. In LMP2 with names such as Prost and Senna in their cars with Canal also, I am going for the #31 Rebellion. In GTE-Pro, my heart says Aston Martin (as a lifelong fan) but I am going to predict a class championship win for the #67 Ford of Priaulx, Tincknell and Derani. In the Am category I am sticking with the #98 Aston Martin of Lauda, Dalla Lana and Lamy.

Bikes – some of you are aware that from time to time I step in to assist our Crew On Two editor Kiko Giles with some bike stuff, being a massive bike racing fan myself. I think that MotoGP will have a rocket put up its exhaust pipe and that Maverick Vinales will be crowned 2017 champion, though I expect Rossi and Marquez to be in the mix as always. My tip in WSBK for 2017 is the same man I tipped in 2016, Chaz Davies. I just think this is his year, be it that Jonathan Rea won the opening races. I think Chaz in the long run will come out on top and the Ducati is just getting better. In British Superbikes, which I have to say is my favourite bike racing series, although I am a massive Shakey Byrne fan and a lifelong Ducati fan, add to that I like Leon Haslam, I am predicting a 2017 title win for Davide Giugliano on the Tyco BMW. My one to watch is John ‘Hopper’ Hopkins back on the Ducati at Moto Rapido. For the Isle Of Man TT, I’m going to go for the old war horse John McGuinness to take the big one. I don’t think he’ll surpass Joey Dunlop’s tally this year, but I am tipping him to take the big race.“

Those are the predictions from Crew Towers for the forthcoming season. Who are your tips?

See you at the chequered flag.

Neil Simmons

Twitter: @world_racing