World Touring Car Championship

Dear Friends and Family,

This weekend I was back at one of my favorite circuits in the world Brands Hatch for the British round of the World Touring Car Championship. Along with the WTCC, many of my colleagues from Palmer Sport were on display in the Formula Palmer Audi Championship. On top of all this racing action, BMW was kind enough to bring one of their 2006 Formula 1 machines for a demonstration lap that was driven by their touring car pilot Andy Priaulx.

Please enjoy the weekend from view through my photographs and the video of the F1 car taking paddock hill bend and druids. (turn the volume to maximum for most realistic effect)

Cheers

Michael

v10 Formula 1 engine through Paddock Hill bend! On the cars first (and only) flying lap he was about .5 seconds per lap quicker than the A1GP cars fastest time.

This guy on the right speaking with Jonathan Palmer is actually the stig from Top Gear.

This is one of my colleagues from PalmerSport, he is a South African guy named Armand. He is the master mechanic on our fleet of Clio Cup Racers which is possibly the toughest job in the entire outfit!!

This Seat EuroCup car has one of the coolest paint schemes I have seen!

William Zollo decided his FPA race was getting boring so he parked the car by us and joined us for a coke!

Talking to Teams

Dear Friends and Family,

The last few weeks have been very busy, and I have fallen behind in my writing. However do not thing for one second it is because I have slowed down, in fact, I can assure you it is just the opposite! I have been so busy I haven't had much time to transcribe what is going on.

For the last few weeks I have been meeting with teams from a couple of different racing categories which I want to get involved with. However because I feel each of the teams deserves their own mention, over the next few days I will go into detail about their operations and the key people responsible for making them such potent competitors.

For now I will briefly mention the categories which I am investingating for the 2009 championship season.

The first series is the British Formula Ford championship. This is a single-seater category which possibly carries an incredible heritage for launching the careers of many famous racing drivers over the past thirty plus years. The cars are relatively simple as well as relatively ugly. They use a steel tube frame chassis, a ford manufactured racing engine, slick racing tyres, and are known for NOT having any wings to generate downforce. In the world of single-seater racing this is a bit unusual but teaches drivers valuable lessons for setting up the racing car to maximize mechanical grip (as opposed to aerodynamic grip, which comes from the use of wings and other aerodynamic devices). Over the course of the years this championship has been a part of the careers of nearly all world-class racing drivers and while not as compulsary as kart racing, was still choosen by the likes of the Senna's and Schumachers of the world.

The second category I am researching is the British Formula Renault Championship. These cars are modeled in appearance after a modern Formula 1 car, simply staged down with less power and less technology. Over the past ten years this series has emerged as one of the most competitve proving grounds for drivers on the way to Formula 1. Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa, and Lewis Hamilton all did battle in Formula Renault only years before getting the call to go to Formula 1. When I raced in New Zealand in the Toyota Racing Series I actually drove the same chassis which is used in Formula Renault, however it simply utilized a Toyota powerplant. These cars are very fast and because they do use wings are notorious for taking to 'get up to speed' as a driver must get used to the downforce which is created in high speed corners allowing the driver to carry higher than would seem natural speeds through the corners.

Each of the teams I spoke with are championship contending teams and their drivers are all in a fighting position to win the championship. As I mentioned earlier, each of them deserves their own mention and I will write at more length about them over the next few days. However team teams I met with for Formula Ford are Jamun and Joe Tandy Racing, Fortec in the Formula Renault, and Carlin Motorsport who operates a number of different teams in everything from F3 to the World Series by Renault.

Although at the end of the day it is the driver who makes or breaks a race, the team is equally important in creating a platform for the driver to win on. Without the best team you are simply fighting for second place (or worse!). This is ever apparent in Formula 1 were teams like Ferrari and McLaren dominate but it can also be noticed in every other category down to kart racing.

I hope you are all enjoying a fantastic week and are looking forward to a fun weekend. I will heading to Brands Hatch on Sunday for the World Touring Car Championship where they will be doing a Formula 1 demonstration lap around the circuit.

All the best

Michael

Dinner with the wizard

Dear friends and family,

A few nights ago I met up again for dinner with racing coach extraordinare Rob Wilson. Rob has been staying very busy working with drivers from around the world none the least of which are with Formula 1 drivers from McLaren and Williams.

When speaking with Rob it is truly phenomenal his depth of knowledge and understand of the art and science of racing driver. I cannot say just the art or just the science of racing driver becuase he looks at racing driver in such a way that both are very much involved. Aside from his racing Rob is also a musician and one cannot help but make the comparison to the way he describes racing driving, because many times it relates to the tempo and harmony one would think of when describing music.

During our conversation Rob gave me a number of ideas to continue going forward and finding ways to get in racing seats. He also shared with me a number of ideas and philosophies on driving. It is simply phenomenal the level at which he breaks down the most simple acts in driving. When speaking with Rob he explains complex properties of a racing car in a simple way which makes you almost think you realized it on your own. In the end I believe my conversation with him is worth atleast .3 tenths of a second!

My next mission is to get on the track and start putting into practice some of the lessons he suggested!

Hope you are all doing well, I am looking forward to the week and hopefully by the end of the week will be closer to finding a sponsor!

Best regards

Michael

Getting into Formula 1

If you have ever been to a grand prix you will understand when I say it is near impossible to get into the paddock. I say near impossible because there are always the footballers (soccer players for the American's reading this), super models, and movie stars who find a way to get into the paddock. For the rest of us, there is simply no way to get in. The paddock, is maintained at the highest level of security. It would probably be easier to get into Fort Knox.

When you arrive on the scene you will notice there is an 8 foot tall fence lining the entire paddock. To the dismay of GP2 driver Bruno Senna, it was easier for a dog to find its way onto the circuit in the path of his car, than it would have been to get into the paddock. There are only a few entry portal's into the paddock and those are guarded by a team of no fewer than five gate officials and two police officers. Unlike other entry points a human does not read your credentials to make sure you can get in, on the contrary it is a mechanised system derived from the Starship enterprise which scans the barcode on your credentials. The wrong credentials and a red light comes on along with a buzzing sound to alert the security officials you need to be escorted somewhere. The proper credentials means a green light comes on and the turnsty unlocks allowing one human being to pass through.

Around this military style gate system are hordes of onlookers milling around to see if perhaps their hero Lewis Hamilton will come through or perhaps a glimpse of the FIA's very own villian Presidente Max Mosely. The only people who get in or out of the F1 paddock are those who are meant to be going in or out of the F1 paddock.

Around the entire fence lining the paddock is is a chain link fence which has guards standing at the critical intervals. Occasionally onlookers will peer through the fence and try to see what lies within the confines of the F1 statofortress. For those willing to peer over the fence they are met with glimmering colours of F1 teams in an incredible array of team and sponsor hospitality areas.

While the entire weekend at the Silverstone Grand Prix was truly a fantastic one, the only thing left for me to do was to get into the paddock (aside from of course racing an F1 car). I had no idea how I was going in and when I tried my British Racing Drivers Club pass the red light signalled I would not to be proceeding. A heck of a system which won't even permit the 'owners' of the ground the paddock is built on entrance!

After a chat with the security officer who then arrived on the scene it was made well clear the access gates were not my way in. Not to be detered I continued my single-minded mission to get in to F1. The process took quite some time but I recognized a weakness in the system. There was a way in and I was going to make use of it. Although I certainly will not reveal the weakness in the system otherwise it might be fixed by next years race! It has been an age old battle since the inception of motor racing cars between organizers and racers of who can get the better of the rules and this particular day would be mine.

As I climbed down from the fence the world of Formula 1 unfolded before me. The F1 paddock emerged as a 'whose who' of business and sport united in to one by the most amazing extravegence of money I have ever witnessed in my life. Apparently from an unseen crevass in the earth the McLaren, Ferrari, and other team's hospitality suites rose up (which most likely by happen chance were excactly the width of three or four lorries parked next to each other) and then grew to three levels in heigth. The construction of each building was different but the materials ranged from mirrored glass to space aged plastics as well as a number of composites of unobtanium (a technical term used to describe materials which can only be created in a workshop on the planet Uranus).

Inside the paddock were all the faces you are used to seeing on TV, but simply assume don't exist in real life. David Coulthard and Kazuki Nakajima were hanging about while Ferrari Star Felipe Massa was hidden deeper in the confines of the Ferrari hospitality area, certainly a complex I would not dare push my luck on any further. Outside in the main walkway Speed TV commentator Peter Windsor was in the middle of a broadcast. Once the tape had gone off I stopped by to have a quick chat and introduce myself. Shortly thereafter one of the green and greener clad Honda team members stopped by to have an intimate chat where by the look on Peter's face I am sure the ingredients of McDonald's secret sauce was revealed or perhaps an explination for Ruben's podium finish.

After a few more minutes of checking about I had to devise my exit, because just as the entrances are monitored the exits are monitored as well. I found a hardly guarded bridge which passed over the front straight as my escape points. With only a few guards manning the exit I waited until their attention was diverted and I made a hard line for the exit. By the time they looked up and saw me passing through the "I'm not messing around" look on my face quelled any questions I am quite sure!

So many people have told me it is impossible to get into Formula 1. I say, it might be not be easy, it certainly might not be a smooth path, but it is possible.

Wishing you all the best!

Michael

Inside Formula 1: British Grand Prix

Dear Friends and Family,

On Sunday morning I woke up bright and early, even before my alarm went off at 530AM, to get an early start towards Silverstone to see my first ever grand prix in person. Since I was a child I have been fascinated with Formula 1 and to now see my first grand prix in person I simply could not wait.

As I arrived at Silverstone at around 630 the traffic was already building up. With my trusty British Racing Driver's Club pass in hand I headed towards the infield. With plenty of time on my hand before the Formula 1 cars hit the track I started mozying around to see what was going on around the circuit.

The helicopter terminal was in full swing and I was told that there were over 900 helicopter take off's and landing on race day.

Near the paddock a few interesting cars were parked up apparently with special access none the least of which was a Bugatti Veyron, the 1,001 Horse Power road car capable of over 200 miles per hour. The ultra fast Mercedes safety car paled in comparison.

Around 9AM some of the support races started to kick off along with an onslaught of rain which didn't slow down until after the final race had concluded. With rain tyres fitted the Formula BMW, Porsche Super Cup, and GP2 cars headed to the track. While I was certainly keen to watch the GP2 race the rain dampened by interest in the other support races. As the morning carried on the British racing fans began turning up in full force despite the poor conditions. By noon Silverstone was bursting at the gills with avid racing fans, many of which were sporting the bright red the British McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team and their national hero Lewis Hamilton.

Just after lunch time the steady drone of support race engines was shoved to the side as the crack of the first Formula 1 engines came to life. As the cars were sent out on their reconassiance lap I headed for what I was told was the best viewing spot in all of Silverstone. The section of the course I staked out as my own was just between the fast right hand Stowe curve where the cars would then blast through vale and then into the left, right chicane and then right bend of Club.

While I could not see the start from my position when the cars got to my parts of the track the feeling which came from the cars and the fans on their feet was absolutely sensational. You must keep in mind I have been at the race track literally my entire life and to feel this kind of buzz at the racing track (while not in a car) was something truly phenomenal!

As the race got under weigh the rain only got heavier which would certainly make things tricky for the drivers. From last season since the regulation changes mandated the removal of the cars traction control systems. Too much, or too fast application of the throttle and the cars would be facing backwards faster than the drivers could say "I hate the rain." The first driver to fall victim to the appauling conditions from my vantage point was Adrian Sutil whose Force India car came unstuck as he attempted to overtake another driver. His car eventually came to rest only a few meters from my position and I had a chance to watch (and laugh) as the poor corner marshals dragged, pulled, and shoved his multi-million dollar car out of the gravel. No sooner had this happened than the car naturally caught on fire which had to be extinguished with fire bottles.

As the race progressed a clear leader emerged in the form of local hero Lewis Hamilton and his silver and red McLaren Mercedes. All the other's potential winners had fallen to some sort of mishap including Ferrari's Felipe Massa who started spinning around 1pm and didn't seem to stop until around 2.30pm. Honda's token Brazilian, Rubens Barrichello, however was making the drive of his life as he took his Honda to the front and managed to maintain a podium position to the end of the race. As the race wound down Hamilton's lead increased to over a minute, an unhead of advantage in today's world of Formula 1. With five laps to go the jumbo tron's covering the race began to broadcast "It is an offence to invade the circuit." Clearly the organizers thought a Britain's win at Silverstone would bring the fans excitement to a climax that the circuit barriers simply would not be able to handle. They were right! As Hamilton crossed the finish line the fans around the circuit went hysterical. Some headed towards the fence, others ran towards the start/finish line to see the post race celebration.

After the race I got into my own mischief, but I am going to have to write about that another time. The past week has been a whirwind, I have visited with a number of Formula Ford, Formnula Renault, and F3 teams, been at PalmerSport, and I have moved. As soon as I have a chance I will get a few more posts up.

I hope you are all doing well and since yesterday is my brothers birthday I just want to wish him a special happy birthday from England!

Michael

British Grand Prix Weekend: Saturday

Dear Friends and Family,

The grandest event of the year in British motorsport is the Formula 1 Grand Prix. The event takes place at Silverstone GP circuit and tickets are the most coveted of all the England sporting events. Along with being the biggest event in British sports it was also the first time I would see in person Formula 1 cars in full speed.

With only a few days before the British Grand Prix weekend I had no idea how I was going to get in. It wasn't a matter that I hadn't wanted to get it earlier, the simple matter is that tickets are rediculously expensive to buy tickets and beyond my means (the 'cheap' seats for qualifying were 89 British pounds which translated to roughly $180 USD race seats went up from there and the sky was the limit). As is in most things I knew there had to be another alternative to getting in!

As the week approached I had no idea what to do to get in, just that I must get in! I began asking around PalmerSport and I wasn't sure if I would have any luck. However as it turns out one of my colleagues knows a member of the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), the group who owns Silverstone. As a member of the BRDC everyone is allocated passes for guests but my friend's friend was not going to be using them. A few phone calls later and I had a proper BRDC credential good enough to get me to the infield. It's good to know people who have friends!

My British Grand Prix weekend started on Saturday morning when I headed to the track around 9AM. Qualifying wasn't until one O'Clock so I assumed that would be early enough to find parking, get myself to the infield, and find a good place to watch the action from. As is the case in any proper sporting event, the ammount of traffic was incredible and it took me an hour and a half to make the ten mile journey from my place in Northampton! However once I started to approach the circuit I could hear the Formula 1 cars on the track for their morning practice session. If you have never heard a modern formula 1 car engine, it simply cannot be compared with anything else that is not a formula 1 engine. The noise is a violently loud, effecient, scream which comes from the 2.4 litre v8 engines which turn upwards of 19,000 RPM. It was easy to discern what was on the track, even five miles away. Eventually, I arrived on site where I found my parking and made my way to the gates.

As I headed towards the infield I was relieved to find out my credentials were the 'real deal' and I could get to the infield without any questions while many others in the same line were being turned away. As I went in I began to see the immediate difference between Formula 1 and every single other form of motorsport which have events at Silverstone. Looking to the infield at which I had been to on many different occasions before I have never seen so much activities. In fact, the infield is a huge place, and it is rarely filled, or even near capacity. There is usually fields of free space. During Formula 1 weekend every remaining bit of space seemed to be put to effecient occupied from the various paddocks, to motorhome park, VIP hospitality areas and even a helicopter airport with four acting terminals to welcome guests! My initial plan to find a nice patch of grass to sit on and watch the cars from was starting to fill with water as I realized there weren't so many spots of grass left!

Some of the other cars that would be racing over the weekend were on track. Along with Formula 1 the GP2 series and Porsche Super Cup series would fill the remaining time slots on the track. GP2 is a series I want to compete in because it is considered the premiere feeder series for Formula 1. From the current Formula 1 grid there are three drivers who came from GP2 currently participating, so obviously that is where I want to be!

After watching some of the other cars race I gave my boss from PalmerSport a call because he would be around later during the day. When I finally caught him on the phone he was just arriving at the circuit with one of his racing friends who participates in the Formula Palmer Audi championship. As it turns out my boss and his friend were going to the VIP area and they just happened to have a spare ticket! Being at the right place at the right time is certainly worth something! I met up with them and my outlook on life changed from sitting on a nice patch of grass as formula 1 cars go by to sipping champagne and eating roast duck as formula 1 cars go by. I don't know what would be much better than that? Aside from of course driving a formula 1 car by as some other bloke eats roast duck and sips champagne. Given my circumstance, what fantastic luck!!!!

Soon after lunch the Formula 1 cars fired up again for the first round of qualifying. From my vantage point the cars came flying by through the first corner Copse which is a flat out right hand corner. They then pass immediately in front of me (from left to right) then they took the next section of corners which are some of the most fantastically named corners in motorsport: Maggotts and Beckets. I am not sure how they came up with those names, but the resulting corners were incredible. Maggotts and Beckets are a set of left, right, left, right curves which the F1 cars take absolutely flat. Apparently in anything else the drivers must lift, however in this one the change of direction was incredible. My boss looked over at me and asked "are you sure you want to do this?" The power and speed of the cars was truly on display here and during qualifying there is no point during the weekend when the cars would go faster.

By the end of qualifying Heikki Kovalienen of McLaren Mercedes had taken the pole position along with the shock of the day Australian Red Bull driver Mark Webber taking the second position. Kimi Raiikonen for Ferrari had taken third and the home town hero (and past PalmerSport employee) Lewis Hamilton had taken fourth in his McLaren.

By the end of the day I was completely amazed by the performance and excitement surrounding Formula 1. The cars were simply remarkable from the straight line speed, to the cornering ability, none the least of which was the noise! It is simply the most superb noise I have ever heard an engine make, by far. I am very grateful for my boss friend inviting me in to the VIP area, a real treat!

After Saturday I headed home completely excited for the race day. Pursuing Formula 1 is the right decision.

Best regards

Michael

Off to Silverstone

I am on my way to Silverstone for Formula 1 qualifying along with the GP2 race and Porsche Super Cup. Who would believe, it's raining in England!

I hope to return with some great stories and excellent photographs of racers sloshing around in the wet!

All the best

Michael

You never know who will turn up at Palmer Sport

Good day Everyone!

Today was an interesting day at PalmerSport! The program started as normal, nothing special to report, and I was assigned to instruct on the Caterham circuit. For me the Caterham circuit is a highly enjoyable, but very involved position. If you have never seen/driver a Caterham I will tell you they are hugely fun to drive. The car is built after a Lotus 7 with the engine way in the front and the driver/passenger being the only thing to put any weight on the rear tyres. Because of this weight balance the cars are constantly in a state of 'slideways' and it is very easy to control a four wheel drift with the cars. SUPER!

This being said, when many of our guests get behind the wheel it is a job and a half to keep them on the track! Sometimes their ability to fire the cars off the track exceeds our instructors talent to keeping them on the track! It is a classic Caterham move for the rear end of the cars to overtake the front end in a plume of smoke through the high speed corners.

Between the chaos on the Caterhman circuit I found myself out of the car in between sessions further explaining to one of my drivers how not to launch the car off the course. Occasionally my boss will drive by in his bright yellow Seat (a spanish manufactured sedan, not too different in appearance to a honda civic). He will often drive around on inspections of the different events to make sure everything is running smoothly and everyone is on task. On this particular day I had seen him by twice already which is normal, but when he came by the third time I was a bit suprised to see him so many times in the morning.

As the Seat drove by I looked up and noticed someone was riding in the passenger seat. I wasn't sure at first who it was but they looked familiar. On second look as the car came by I realized Honda/Super Aguri Formula 1 driver Takuma Sato was in the passenger seat looking out on our organized chaos.

Takuma Sato is a national hero in Japan as he is one of the few Japanese drivers to rise to the level of Formula 1 in motorsport. It is also suggested that the Super Aguri F1 team was created and supported by Honda simply to keep him in an F1 racing seat when he was sacked from the Honda works team.

Although Sato has a flair for running into the back of people on starts and firing his Honda powered machine off the circuit last year he became a hero to me. During the 2007 season he was driving for Super Aguri F1 a small operation which was running the Honda 2006 cars (which happened to be very fast). However, because the operation was so small and new no one expected them to do anything aside from field a car for Sato to keep riots from breaking out in Japan. However in Canada he put the follow pass on Championship leader Fernando Alonso for 6th place. It was a mega pass and I was hugely impressed that the Japanese driver could pass a McLaren!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwaicYzTlOE&NR=1

Now since he isn't driving in F1 and I saw him riding around at PalmerSport job security immeditely came to mind. However when I spoke with my boss later I found out that he is just going to be doing a special instructing session for some of his investors later in the year.

On a side note after work I went and played Football (known as Soccer in America) and scored 4 goals in the game! My colleagues were a bit shocked because it was my first time to play football, perhaps the 12 yeas of soccer I played might have benefited me a bit!

Hope you are all doing well, the British F1 grand prix is coming up this weekend and I am looking forward to bringing you all the buzz from the pit lane!

Cheers

Michael