Picturesports Magazine
Silverstone for the HSCC & British GT Meetings The Forest of Sherwood for the Dukeries Rally
Issue 10 - June 2014
The Big Picture Peter Sugden & Andy Wolfe - Jaguar E-Type
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The Finished Article It’s Friday afternoon and I’m reflecting on the recent racing as I lay out this edition of the magazine. So much of the recent media coverage has been over the petulant behaviour of some of the F1 drivers. Even the arguments over exhaust noise have taken a back seat to the discussions over whether Rosberg did a “Schumacher” and sent his Mercedes up the escape road to bring out the yellow flags. The media talked the hind legs off the proverbial donkey and the radio messages F1 played during the Monaco race perpetuated the suggestion that Hamilton moans and whinges as soon as it doesn’t all go his own way. In short, no one talked about the actual racing. Yet despite there being no racing, the drivers acting like children and the broadcast media describing the events at a level of generality that borders on the mundane, Monaco was packed. There is a fever about the Monaco race that puts the superlative generation machine into overload, although you do have to wonder how much effort went into “Monaco Baby!” F1 “live” be it Monaco, Canada or any of the other tracks is 4 ~ www.picturesports.co.uk
Dave Ayres perhaps now more a mobile party where attendance and being seen is more important than the actual content of the races. For those of us that don’t attend, we can watch on TV and wonder what it would be like to be there.
varying levels of conviction. Yes, some were being driven respectfully around the corners and fast along the straights. Others had more vigour in their corner speed and some were demonstrating a level of faith in adhesion, and the drivers’ ability to catch the change of direction slide, all while getting back on the power even before the slide had stopped, that was enough to convert the most ardent nonbeliever.
Harsh words? Perhaps - and I should explain that I don’t decry the abilities of the TV commentators that talk in real time or the efforts of the engineers and designers that put such technological marvels Should sports and GT cars not on the grid. be to your taste, then there are However, when a commentator the Historic F3 cars (the “GP3” is required to inform the viewer of their day) and the ground that the last time this or that vibrating F5000 and 1970 happened was this many years vintage Formula Two cars. ago or a designer has to answer the question “will it go faster?”, No traction control, no power no fly-by-wire it is no longer about the racing steering, throttles just an abundance of – it is about staging an event. horsepower, tyres as wide as What has driven this line of they are round (almost) and the thinking was the Historic Sports drivers’ right foot. Car Club meeting at Silverstone, Being 40 years old has not the weekend before Monaco. improved the temperament It was a beautiful early summer of these cars. Whereas they day, and around lunchtime may benefit from modern I found myself at Vale – the manufacturing, the parts on the sequence of corners around the car are the same as they were entrance to the International when they were originally built. Pits – which isn’t the best time to be there for photos and so It therefore follows that the I was watching more of the owner drivers are unlikely to be racing than I normally get the totally committed to a corner; nonetheless, they are there to chance to. race, and race they do. For the next 15 minutes was enthrawled as I watched an array The afternoon sun pushes of different sports cars, none of the photographers round to them made after 1970, being Brooklands and Luffield and it hustled around the track with was from there that I captured
Richard Evans two wins in the Derek Bell Trophy races - Formula Atlantic March 79B.
most of the Derek Bell Trophy (F5000 et al) images. The braking zone into Brooklands is one of the popular overtaking points, much to the delight of the knowledgeable people who
had chosen the BRDC stand. Sit in the slipstream along the National straight and get just a little bit braver on the brakes than the other guy going in to the left hander.
Long braking zones, the rumbling growl of the engines, the unpredictable results, all for 10% of the cost of a F1 ticket. As my American colleague often says ... “You do the math�
Jeremy Wheatley had two excellent races in his Surtees TS15 with a second and a third Picturesports Ltd is registered in England No 7853003. Our registered office is 3-7 Watergate, Grantham Lincolnshire NG31 6NS. England. | Tel: +44 (0) 1476 347890 | Info@picturesports.co.uk | All images are (c) Picturesports.co.uk and not be used without permission. | The right of Picturesports to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright , Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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#52 Daryl Taylor Chevron B28 - Rear Tyre 6 ~ www.picturesports.co.uk
HSCC Silverstone
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#75 Robert Bemner and Andrew Sheperd in their AC Cobra. Through the high speed left-right of Vale on this page and holding on for the never ending Woodcote opposite.
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Above #56 Chris Clarkson and David Smithies in their Austin Healey 3000 and below #2 Franck Trouillard and Raphael Rondoni in the Lotus 11.
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Above #46 Colin and Helen Elstrop campagained their TVR Grantura Mk III and below #82 Frederick Wakeman and Andrew Hall - Jaguar E-Type
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Victory in the 60 minute GT and Sports Car Cup race went to #19 Ewan McIntyre and Mark Lewis in their Lotus 15
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#40 Steven Chaplin in his 1974 Lola T332 Forumla 5000, leaves the pit lane for Sunday practice.
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#22 Mark Dwyer in the Univac liveried 1978 March782
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#32 Jamie Brashaw in the 1979 March 793
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BritishGT Silverstone #24 Jim Geddie & Glynn Geddie United Autosports McLaren MP412C
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Racing of Allsorts British GT Silverstone: Big grid Successful single-seater racers causes controversy are also participating, including GP3 racewinner Alexander Sims There are many contrasts in and reigning British Formula motorsport, one of the most Ford champion Dan Cammish, glaring in recent years has been who utterly dominated that the differing fortunes of the series last year. British Formula 3 and British GT championships. However the large entry posed some problems and created It always used to be the case controversy at Silverstone. that F3 was very much the Several of the slower GT4 cars top dog and GT was just the either impeded or even hit the support. But with the world of faster GT3 machines, leading to single-seater racing being hit so calls for the grids to be split. heavily by the global financial downturn, British F3 is now a The frustrations of Andrew pale imitation of its former self. Howard/Jonny Adam (who lost the lead whilst negotiating Alain In this year’s series, some races Schlesinger) and Paul Bailey/ have seen just seven cars Andy Schulz (Oz Yusuf punted battling for a championship their Aston into retirement) are that in the past has launched understandable, but it is the the careers of drivers such same for everyone and some as Ayrton Senna and Rubens are just (un)luckier than others. Barrichello. Part of the skill of endurance Contrast this with the fortune racing is to successfully deal of British GT. There have been with slower cars and splitting record grid numbers in recent the large British GT field will years and an impressive sight not remove these – there will of 39 cars took to the track at always be cars to lap. Silverstone. It has become very much the headline event, as F3 Surely people cannot now be doesn’t even share the circuit moaning that the field is too with the sports cars at every big… round any more. Cyclists and motor racing It’s not just the sheer numbers that are impressive, there is a Among those forming the large line-up of top talent taking part. grid is a rather high-profile driver, who joined the series A plethora of former touring car for the 2014 season: Olympic drivers now compete, including cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy. Tom Onslow-Cole, Warren Hughes – and at Silverstone – So what is it with Olympic cyclists and motor racing? Both Paul O’Neill. Sir Chris and Jason Kenny have 20 ~ www.picturesports.co.uk
Stephen Lickorish
been competing in motorsport for a few seasons now but it was still a surprise when the knight of the realm was announced as racing in British GT. This is not a minor club series, it is one of the UK’s premier motor racing championships and was therefore a massive step-up for the legendary cyclist. It wasn’t just with a small team either, no Hoy races for the manufacturer-backed Nissan RJN team, sharing the GT-R with ace sports car driver Alex Buncombe. His season got off to a steady start with an eighth place in the opening Oulton Park race as the Olympic champion got to grips with the car – much different to the Radical he had raced before. Prior to Silverstone, that had been the highpoint of the pair’s season so far, as race two at Oulton and the Rockingham encounter both yielded 13th places, but at the so-called home of British motorsport the pair bagged their best result to date with seventh. A controversial race The race itself contained several controversial moments. Besides the backmarker incidents which enabled Michael Caine and Ahmad Al Harthy to claim the top spot, there were plenty of other talking points. One of these was the 0.5 second stop/go penalty that Tom Onslow-Cole picked up
#888 Derek Johnston & Luke Hines - BMW Z4 when he took over the Strata 21 Aston from Paul White, as their pit visit was fractionally too short.
Another former British Touring Car Championship driver was much more deserving of his penalty.
unfair and handed Kane a thirty second penalty that dropped him and Rembert Berg down to fourth.
I know rules are rules but we are talking about the time it takes to a blink an eye here and does such a small margin really make a difference? No.
In the closing stages, Bentley driver Steven Kane was catching Sims’ BMW Z4 hand-over-fist for the final podium place. With just a couple of minutes of the three hour enduro remaining, the Northern Irishman made a hopelessly optimistic move at Stowe and caused Sims to spin.
Other misdemeanours that contributed to an interesting race all-round included Phil Dryburgh bizarrely clashing with Matt Bell/Mark Patterson’s Audi when it was braking to enter the pits.
In my view it was an innocent mistake (realistically, if you were going to cheat you would want to gain a bit more than that!) that was harshly penalised.
There’s no denying it, large grids certainly make for actionThe stewards deemed the pass packed races.
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Above #29 Lathouras Alessandro & Pier Guidi - Ferrari 458 Italia. Below the surviving #17 Bentley Continental GT3 driven by Rembert Berg & Steven Kane.
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Above the BMW Z4 of Marco Attard & Alexander Sims . Below , looking as if it just came from the showroom, the #50 Aston Martin GT4 of Bolai Odunsi & Paul O’Neill
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#57 Brian MURPHY - Ginetta G20
#17 Vic COVEY - Ginetta G40
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#13 Will MOORE - Ginetta G40
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BARC Clubmans Championship . Above #79 Michael DAY in his Mallock MK26 Below #97 Daniel GIBSON in the Nemesis k11 proto exits the loop
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BARC Clubmans - Clockwise from top left ... #11 Mark CHARTERIS - Mallock MK20/21 who also set a new lap record of 2.07.969 for Class A cars #62 Chris PICKERING - Mallock Mk 27 EBX #60 John HUNTER - Mallock Mk16 #86 Richard GILMOUR - Mallock 18-25 #91 Marcus BICKNELL - Mallock Mk35 EB Proto
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The Big Picture2 VW Racing Cup #51 Simon Andrews - Golf GTi
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Nelson’s Column: Austria
Nelson Mason
“Austrian countryside, Austrian food, Austrian fans, more Austrian fans, and pugs and grid girls in Lederhosen. One drivers’ view of the revamped Austrian Grand Prix. I have only been through Austria once before, on a rapid drive from Switzerland to the Nurburgring. This visit was much more interesting. As usual I flew in from Canada to Milan, got my overtaxed Fiat 500 rental, maintained to the highest standard by Avis, and set out on tour. The first stop was at my simulator sponsor, SIMTECH, in Rodano where I worked on learning the Red Bull Ring. I’ve been the lead development driver for SIMTECH’s GP3 platform which is an honour and an excellent excuse to get back to Italy. SIMTECH’s able leader, Cristiano Giardino and I go back to the Italian F3 days when I lived above his race shop while testing for RC Motorsport. Good times. Following a couple of days ‘working’ on the simulator, it was time to make tracks for Red Bull Ring. I made my way to Malpensa Airport to pick up the hardest working and most underappreciated man in Motorsport, my Pops, who was making the trek with me. We set sail for Thalheim, Austria a mere 6.5 hours away. SatNav’s like boats, are female, and ours did not want to 32 ~ www.picturesports.co.uk
leave the fashion capital of Milan for the wasteland of tshirts and tifosi in Speilberg. Citing difficulty with “satellite reception” we were on our own for much of the journey, kind of like ‘the bad old days’, just using geographical knowledge to get us there. It amazes me the ground you can cover on the highways of Europe. The Fiat had a nasty vibration that went away above 140, so to bring the car home that’s what we did. The short wheelbase and Alpine wind sheer helped with driver alertness. It’s a bit of a ditch diver so you didn’t want to get behind on your steering. Turning north from Venezia, the drive through the Julian Alps on the A2 was simply spectacular. Tito, A man called Intrepid and the versatility of the Yugoslavians to the east to slow down the advance of the Axis. Ironically, this communion
of effort was by sects that have since set out to destroy each other. Taking in the gravity of the world around us my Dad regaled me with the history of the area and his time playing hockey here in the 70s. It reminded me of the Canadian Rockies, but better, since at the end of the road there is a race circuit. Despite our insults, the little Fiat, with all cargo accounted for, maintained a strong pace and completed the run in a tidy 5h30minutes. We arrived at our temporary residence Gasthof Widenschek, a guesthouse in the centre of a lumber yard, in a mountain valley, 15km from the circuit. Looking at the countryside, it’s really no surprise the Austrians can ski. From pizza to spaetzel, the food is always an interesting adventure on these trips. The best thing seemed to be a
turkey fillet, which is notable since, I don’t even like turkey and didn’t know they had fillets. Finally, Thursday arrives and we’re off to the circuit. Parked at the base of a mountain, like most everything in Austria, it is apparent Dr. Red Bull has done an outstanding job. The trick to renovating a classic circuit is not to “homogenize” the original character, and as you enter Red Bull Ring it evokes the memory of what went before, just in modern times. It gives the feeling you are showing up to a Grand Prix, set in the 70’s or 80’s. If you are not convinced, attempt a track walk, but bring your rapelling gear just in case. I doubt Mr. Tilke is a hiker. An encouraging part of the circuit restoration, was the maintenance of the views for all spectators and competitors. This is particularly important for the fans that are not in the grandstands, and those in the GP2/3 and Porsche Supercup paddock. Usually, the fencing is covered with adverts and hoardings so those who only
have a general admission ticket see very little. In Barcelona we had watched the other categories onlive stream on the computer. This seems inane when the cars are going by a few hundred meters away. In Austria, it was great to watch the big boys and all the other categories in action right behind the Hilmer trailer. The fact that there was plenty to see was very positive, especially since there were tens of thousands of fans on hand on Thursday, let alone the days when cars were on track. I cannot say enough about the Austrian fans. The nationalistic pride associated with having the Grand Prix back showed through. It’s special how much they love and appreciate the sport. The grandstands were transformed into monstrous Austrian flags, by the waving of the red and white colours of the country. On top of this, they had all the grid girls dressed in Lederhosen. There was even a Pug in the same uniform, which cracked me up.
several drivers get to race a video game against some fans, but also get to do an interview in the Fan Zone. There were several thousand fans there to listen to us discuss the world of GP3. It was a very positive experience. The respectful Austrians arrived early each day, and left once all on track activities were complete. Our early Sunday event ran in front of a sizable percentage of the F1 audience. Pretty much the best fans you could ask for and a real eye opener to what the sport means to them in its purest form. I am biased toward the Canadian GP in Montreal as the best event on the F1 schedule. But, I will say that Austria returned to the calendar with a vengeance. And despite the Double H (handling and horsepower) advantage that has all before them succumbing to the serene dominance of MB, the event itself was spectacular.
The fans were shown the respect they deserve by one of their own and they showed up in full force, and at the end of the day, spectators attract I was selected to compete in sponsors. This is the reality of the GP2 Game Zone, where our sport’s long term viability.
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Rainwoth Skoda Forest Rally
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Below #104 Allan McDowall and Gavin Heseltine swing the rear end to help slow the car for the 90 left at the bottom of the rise. Opposite #102 Jason Lepley and George Lepley also in a Ford RS1800 completes a similar manoeuvre. You do have to wonder what is going through the mind of the spectator walking down the middle of the track
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The Rainworth Skoda Forest Rally organised by the Dukeries Motor Club had a wide range of entries. The stalwart MK1 Ford Escort above of Des Moody and Ian Haynes. Below the Vauxhaul Chevette of Timo Kennish and Dan Chambers.
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Above 1966 MK2 Ford Cortina of Peter Quinton and John Pearson and below the Peugeot 205 of Simon Szubert and Andrew Wells - quite a mix of entries .
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The Big Picture3 #9 Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy Mitsubishi Evo 9
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Social Media: Linking what is missing
by Simon Asquith
Simon Asquith is the silent voice behind the social media presence of several racing drivers - helping them to stay connected with supporters, sponsors and race fans around the globe.
move up a series, be it Renault 2.0 or 3.5, GP3, GP2, EuroF3 or Formula 4, and you’re almost certain you’ll find the money or get offered a race seat, because who wouldn’t want to have you driving for them? ...right?
If you have ever thought that social media was harmless and inconsequential, then this is a column you need to read ...
Every driver who has made it to the upper formulas will tell you that it isn’t that easy. You can have one season be epic and the very next season find yourself struggling to find the finance or race seat.
So what is social media to a racing driver?
You could be the next Ayrton Senna or the next Nigel Mansell but without the presence to match your ability there is a strong chance you may go unnoticed.
So much more than a press release, social media is YOU interacting with supporters and providing a conduit for sponsors to communicate globally.
So you’ve just finished you’re latest championship, you won or placed well and there were some heated battles for points; what next? You know that you want to
One of the most important things in the driver’s arsenal is social media and when coupled with PR, the right social media presence will garner the attention you deserve.
Social media ensures that your name, your image and your persona are represented across a host of media platforms.
And what is PR? Public Relations is about developing an awareness about you and defining a value set that sponsors and supporters alike can associate with. Ever wondered why some people think driver X is the only one worth watching while others think he is a buffoon? That’s the power of PR. Yet, by its very nature, traditional PR is a slow-burning process. You may appear in the motorsport press through PR, yet as soon as that week’s magazine has been read, you are old news. The power of social media is to keep you and your career in the minds of your audience. PR and 40 ~ www.picturesports.co.uk
social media are both parts of the same toolkit, yet if you had to pick just one, I’d wager that you’d obtain a greater market presence through the effective use of social media. The depth, speed and coverage that can be extracted from active social media management is staggering. Need convincing? Just watch people. As soon as they stop to wait for anything, a high proportion of them will reach for a smartphone. Twitter. Google+. Facebook. Instagram. They are all a part of our day-to-day lives. How does this affect my race career? When you look at a racing driver, what are the main things you see? You see the talent, you see the person, the clothes, the boots, the helmet. What else do you see? You see the branding! Branding is sponsorship - the investment that someone has made with that racing driver or that team to allow them to race.
A marketing department looks at a driver and sees an advertising medium. They are now looking at how they can improve their market share through the opportunities the team and driver offer them. Facts and Figures.
“I can offer you 15 minutes on the television in front of 6 million people” or “I can offer you 15 minutes on the television in front of 6 million people and a constant flow of communication to an established base of supporters throughout the year.”
Last year, 6 million people tuned The wider the diversity of in to the GP3 across the whole followers your social media presence attracts, the more season. attractive you will be as a medium. A There were twenty-seven cars communication in each race and sixteen races diverse and stable social over eight weekends. On a media presence gives them typical weekend, any one driver the platform sponsors want to getting more than a couple of promote their brand. minutes on TV was a surprise. However, a word of caution To a sponsor this perhaps is called for. The very ability doesn’t look like a great to communicate that you are investment. However, if you offering investors can take have a strong media presence months to build and just away from the circuit, the seconds to lose. sponsor will be investing in not only your on-track coverage, The line between engaging but your social media presence commentary and divided opinion is a very thin one. But it brings as well. us back to the role of a Social Ask yourself, which of Media Manager, a person you the following is the better need to choose carefully - as they will, on occasion quite proposition: literally, be speaking for you. www.picturesports.co.uk ~ 41
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The Social Calendar
Free Stuff
Picturesport Magaine is free and will remain so. To know when a new issues comes online click here To view the image galleries that go with any
Image Viewer of the events below, just click on the event Socially Acceptable
To connect with us in the online world click on the logos
2 March
TVKC Winter Series
PFi,Lincolnshire
27-28 March
GP3 Official Test
Estoril, Portugal
5 April
TVKC Club Championship
PFi,Lincolnshire
10-11 April
GP3 Official Test
Jerez, Spain
16-17 April
GP3 Official Test
Barcelona, Spain
3-4 May
Donington Historic Festival
Donington Park
8-11 May
GP3 at the Spanish Grand Prix
Barcelona, Spain
18 May
Historic Sports Car Club (HSCC)
Silverstone, UK
1 June
British GT & Support Races
Silverstone, UK
7 June
Rainworth Forest Rally - Dukeries Motor Sherwood Pines Club
3-4 July
Formula E Official Test
Donington Park
5-6 July
British Grand Prix
Silverstone, UK
18-20 July
GT Open & F3 Open
Silverstone, UK
8-10 August
Classic Motorcycle Festival
Donington Park
28-31 August
CIK-FIA KF & KFJ Championship - Final PFi, Lincolnshire Round
13-14 September
Super One MSA
PFi, Lincolnshire
27-28 September
Super One Rotax
PFi, Lincolnshire
1 November
Britcar
Donington Park
23 November
Premier Rally organised by the Dukeries Sherwood Pines Motor Club
Picturesports Event Calendar 2015 1-12 June
Isle of Man TT Races
Isle of Man
Clcik to Connect
Picturesports Event Calendar 2014
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Picturesports Magazine
Picturesports Magazine showcases the work of ardent petrolheads :
Photographer ~ Dave Ayres Blogger ~ James Rowe Journalist ~ Stephen Lickorish Race Driver ~ Nelson Mason Social Media Wiz ~ Simon Asquith
All of the articles featured in the magazine are copyrighted to the original author and may not be reproduced without their express permissions. All of the images are copyright Picturesports and are available through the Picturesport web site. Picturesports Ltd 26 Thorneydene Gardens Grantham Lincolnshire England NG31 8UF Telephone +44 (0)1476 347890 44 ~ www.picturesports.co.uk