Category Archives: Brave New World

Straight, No Chaser

Breaking News

 

 

Le Castellet, Provence, was the venue yesterday for the next chapter in the long and glorious history of motorsport and Aston Martin. The Aston Martin AMR One broke cover and was seen in public for the first time.

Mind you you had to have sharp reflexes, as it covered only one installation lap before bolting back to the garage. Most of us missed this historic event.

Naturally, Our Special Correspondent, was on hand to capture the moment.

Voilà

 

Saluting The Royal Artillery

A grey February morning, a Friday in Esher, Surrey like any other. Except this Friday was different, we were going to have a parade.

For the past 135 years there has been a horse racing course in the town, Sandown Park. One of the traditional winter meetings is the Royal Artillery Gold Cup Day. The Royal Artillery Gold Cup has an unusual entry requirement. Only horses that are owned or leased by those who are serving, or have served, in the the Royal Artillery are eligible to compete.

There has been a feeling in the country at large that not enough recognition has been given to the Armed Forces who serve us bravely, whatever we think of the conflicts that they have been sent to. Overstretched by mendacious politicians, under equipped by a wasteful and bureaucratic procurement process, the military have paid the price for these shortcomings with their lives.

The citizens of a small town in Wiltshire, Wootten Bassett, gave an expression of respect for the sacrifices of the Armed Forces by their informal public mourning. This is held as hearses carrying the bodies of service men and women killed in Afghanistan and Iraq pass through the town after repatriation.

This has inspired others to find some means of showing their gratitude. Someone in Esher had the bright idea last year of organising a march in honour of members of the Royal Artillery just returned from a tour of duty in Helmand Province. It was popular, so yesterday saw a repeat performance. Those regiments that took part in the march included, The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery, The Royal Artillery Band, Marching troops from various Royal Artillery Regiments and the Royal Artillery Pipes & Drums.

The town turned out on the High Street to applaud the soldiers and wave Union Jacks. It was very understated, very British and very sincere. The beneficiary of collections made during the morning was the excellent Help for Heroes.

I took a camera along and recorded some of the parade:

I know it has nothing to do with motor cars, I do not care. My blog, my rules

John Brooks, February 2011

Because He Is Worth It

Stephane Ratel

Most of you will familiar with the authority on Sports Car and Endurance Racing, DailySportsCar.com

I suspect that you also know that it is subscription site.

What you may not know is that some current items are free to view. The huge archive is similarly available.

Today DSC runs a free piece that should be read by anyone with an interest in this side of the sport. Stephane Ratel, one of the saviours of endurance racing in the mid-90s and Chairman of SRO, gives an extensive interview.

Hot Stuff

He gives his verdict on the first year of the FIA GT1 World Championship and where he sees its future.

You can see it HERE

Do it now.

John Brooks, January 2011

In the Interest of Balance…………

Yea Right.

In fact there is no such interest but having plugged one great post at GrandPrix.com, it seems only fair to salute the other F1 site that I read regularly.

Mike Lawrence’s contributions to www.PitPass.com are also on the required reading list. Thoughtful, erudite and provoking, the posts are never dull. His latest musings on the coming change of engine regulations in Formula One gives background and depth not usually seen in these days of short attention spans.

Do yourself a favour, open something red and full bodied, settle down and feast at this table.

John Brooks, January 2011

Rollin’ and Tumblin’

It is said that one of the definitions of insanity is to repeat an action over and over again expecting a different result, sounds familiar. Some of us never learn.

I was at this blogging lark back in ’95 and ’96 before the term was coined, posting on the net what I thought passed for wisdom about the BPR Series. All that got me was banned from the final race in 1996 by Jürgen Barth. He had a point, don’t crap in your nest and I had a point, don’t bullshit those who can tell the direction of the wind. We are still on speaking terms.

Work In Progress?

The next net adventure was to get involved with the group that became DailySportsCar, then I got uninvolved.

Kerry Morse and I had the bright idea of setting up our own stall, SportsCarPros and due to the kindness of a real gentleman, Harald Mergard, we managed to blunder our way through for six years. An unlikely result given the chaotic manner that Kerry and I conduct ourselves. However we hit the target more often than we missed. Outraged of Weissach and Unhappy of Volusia were evidence that our aim was true.

The SCP mission statement, if it can be graced with that tag, went like this:

What the World needs now is……..another website about
sportscars……….Nah!

You can see why good ole Burt Bacharach rejected that line……showing the good
taste and judgement that bought him a string of classics and even showed him
the way to San Jose.

If such a musical titan rejected this plot line then why are Morse, the Cottons and I
plunging headlong down that particular ravine?

Because it’s there? Well, yes actually.
Sportscars and their competitive antics attracts the usual cast of obsessive,
compulsives who also chase locomotive engines and the life and times of Black
Sabbath……….so too their websites are a reflection of this.

What are we going to do that’s different?

Hmmm, it is probably easier to say what we are not going to do.

No race reports as events unfold, no forums, no competitions, no minute by
minute breaking news of events that rarely mean much, no endless photo
galleries of the same shot, badly taken…………

You get the picture, there is a broad canvas out there and we are going to splatter
our oils on it when we have something to say and not before then.

The site is unusual in that the main suspects are all working in the sport already
not peering from the outside trying to find a magic key to gain admittance and a
free media pass for lunch. We know the resource that we all have the greatest
shortage of, even more than money, is time……..so just this once we intend to use
this fact to govern our course……….we won’t say much but what we do say will be
worth listening to.

Viewed coldly there are only two things in the sportscar area of any worth……….Le
Mans and the people who labour away in the business……….saints, criminals,
lunatics, fantasists, good blokes, complete shits and people who make me laugh.
This procession of heroes and villains is the world that I now inhabit some 25-30
times a year.

There are worse places to be.

Our aims……. To stimulate mainly, to entertain usually and to annoy
occasionally………climb in for the ride

Of course the effort of keeping our cyber rooms tidy was too much for Morse and I after a few years, plus there was a bag of gold on offer from another blog. So for the recent past I have been toiling away trying to keep the faithful entertained but that too seems to have run its course, so I am back on the streets again.

The Start of a Beautiful Friendship

Ah yes the streets………….in fact I have been back to the tracks as well and will bring a few thoughts from the Dubai 24 Hours that took place last weekend.

The other good news for the readers is that I will have guest blogs from a wide variety of collaborators during the course of the year. Things will take a bit of time to get established, so please have some patience till the flavour of the blog gets set. Those of you who are familiar with my style will know what to expect, the rest of you have been warned.

Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride…………….

John Brooks, January 2011.