Testing Times

While decorating at the weekend I took the chance to catch up on Peter Windsor's ever excellent Flying Lap podcast*. The discussion was centred around the recent test in Jerez, and re-triggered an idea I had been mulling a few weeks ago - the potential for F1 testing to return in-season, but in a way that brings some commercial benefit to the sport and engages the fans.

While at university in Northampton I used to work as a plate-waiter at Silverstone. Nearly dropping a plate of half-eaten bacon sandwiches on Felipe Massa is the nearest I've ever come to making a mark in the exclusive world of Formula 1. Table waiting was not my forte. I can't say I was dedicated to the job, and was clearly only there for the chance to get paid to glimpse F1 cars on track. I remember spending my lunch breaks watching the cars and wondering why the invited guests in the executive suites had bothered turning up when they so blatantly had no interest in the sport at all. It was also surprising see very few fans at the tests - I don't even know if the public were able to enter the circuit on the day. The pre-season tests in Spain always seem to attract a decent crowd for a non-competitive even however, as petrol-fume deprived fans get their first chance in months to see and hear the cars.

So, like Peter Windsor, I'm convinced there must be a way to attract paying fans to test events if they feel they are getting something from the event, with the income generated going towards the cost of putting the cars on track. After all, the only reason in-season testing is banned is through a voluntary agreement between the teams to save money. So, my idea is to hold a three day test, with teams mandated to run a combination of at least one race driver and a young driver (plus other drivers if the team chose). On each day of the test the vast proportion of track time will be given over to testing, but each day will also include a competitive element in order to give something to the fans who cough up to attend. These would be (in my blue-sky vision) - Day 1, a one lap sprint with each car getting three timed laps to try to set the day's fastest time. Day 2, a short race in non-F1 cars featuring F1 drivers. Day 3, a half-hour race featuring the team's young drivers.

In addition to the F1 test and competition, the event would also feature F1 displays off-track, alternative track displays from other motorsports, and plenty of off-track activities such as pit stop challenges and simulators. The teams would also be mandated to put on a range of activities to interact with the fans - competitions for garage access, driver signing sessions etc. In short there would be plenty going on during the event, but with time for the teams to get plenty of testing laps in. The events could even be held as a short series, with 3 to 5 events at European circuits (or further afield if the costs allowed) throughout the year.

The benefits to the teams would primarily come from the gate receipts, but they would also get increased merchandise sales, and it would reintroduce the chance to offer corporate events for sponsors and/or paying guests - the famous prawn-sandwich brigade I served so badly in the early 2000s! Young drivers would also get the chance to gain some experience at driving (and potentially racing) F1 cars in a less pressured environment than a World Championship Grand Prix. F1 can have an image as an aloof sport, removed from its fans, and test days like this could begin to change this perception too.

No doubt some (or all!) aspects of this are a touch pie-in-the-sky. The costs involved in running F1 cars may well mean any such event would need to draw a huge income in order to be viable. A race for young drivers in particular could be an expensive proposition if any collisions occurred, as I'm reliably informed carbon fibre is not cheap! But even if the teams don't break even, the events could be structured in a way that at least mitigates the costs enough to justify holding in-season testing again.

I also suspect FOM may have reservations about such events, potentially feeling they dilute the value of the main Grand Prix, but this is just my hunch.  The sport's management seems to keep such a tight rein on anything F1 related that getting the idea past Bernie may be the biggest barrier, especially if there was to be any competition involved. These elements aren't essential however (though I do believe they would help draw fans), and don't need to necessarily involve F1 cars. Potentially national race series could be brought in with a few club races interspersed through the day with F1 stars as guest drivers. That also would benefit the sport beyond F1, while still providing an extra element for paying spectators.**

Would you attend a 'test' that was arranged like this? If you would how much would you be prepared to pay to go along? I think there would be thousands of fans across the country, especially families, who would love to attend a Grand Prix but simply can't afford it and would be interested in an event like this. I know I'd pay to come to one or more days of such an event (and that's on top of attending the Grand Prix!).

If you were designing a way of bringing back testing in a way that generated some commercial benefits for the teams how would you do it? If anyone out there has any ideas put them in the comments below or Tweet them to me via @ChrisPageNG. If we get some suggestions together I'll see about firing them off at some of the teams or FOTA to see what feedback they have. In recent years there have been free events in the UK featuring the Brawn GP team, McLaren and Red Bull, all drawing big crowds. I'm sure the teams didn't put these on out of the goodness of their hearts, so there must be a way that paying events can be made to work for all concerned. It would certainly be interesting to hear the reasons why this might not be possible from those involved in the sport.

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*I was listening to Episode 56 of the Flying Lap, 'Looking Back at the Jerez Test' (from about 22:30). You can access this as a video and sign up to receive The Flying Lap from all RSS and Podcast feeds, including iTunes and I heartily recommend it for insight from a great range of people from within F1, including the great drivers and team representatives as well as those behind the scenes and from the F1 community (for example the excellent ScarbsF1 for technical insight and Keith Collantine from F1 Fanatic).

** I would pay many, many pounds to watch F1 stars racing a grid full of classic Minis. And to forcing Mika Häkkinen to come and play too. Hell, scrap the rest of the idea, I just want this to happen!

Animal F1 (Or How I Learned to Stop Moaning and love the Nose)

After 4 days of testing in Jerez, we've now seen the majority of the 2012 cars, and at least one of our pre-season questions has now been answered. Yes, indeed the bulk of this years cars look much as we feared, developing the kind of looks only a mother could love.

As was predicted by those in the technical know all but one of the 2012 cars has developed a rough hump (quiet at the back!) at the top of the nose after a regulation change to minimise the risk of the high noses of previous years leading to airborne crashes or to the nose intruding into the cockpit area. The great blogs by ScarbsF1 and Badger GP explain to the reasons why the step in the nose appears (essentially equal parts Safety Regulation + Team Intransigence = Ugly F1!).

There have been rumblings about the effect the ugly cars will have on F1, most notably from Paul Hembery of Pirelli, who has expressed concern that the new designs may put people off tuning in to watch the races. I respect Paul's opinion, and he seems to be pretty spot on with a lot of his views on F1, but I'm not sure I agree on this one. I don't think non-F1 advocates or casual fans will particularly even notice the change in the cars, much less be made less likely to be converted by the wonky-noses. Its generally only the more hardcore of us that really have any firm opinion on what a beautiful F1 car looks like. And conventional wisdom says the last truly good looking F1 cars are from the mid-90s, and F1 has attracted a decent mix of hardcore and casual fans since then! The people who may be put off are us hardcore fans, but what we really care about is the quality of the racing. If the new cars put on a good show this year, we'll be in no danger of changing channels.

None of which should suggest I actually like the new cars. I don't. They look wrong. I think that because the change has come from a safety perspective (combined with the teams feeling unable to reduce the area around the front suspension) it makes an intrusive dent in the 'natural' flow of the design. The same issue made the look of the 1996 cars look odd too, with safety changes leaving the cockpit sides looking like they featured pre-deployed airbags. Eventually however, a better solution was found and the padding bedded into the designs more. Let's hope after seeing the 2012 cars the FIA and the teams can sit down and find a more elegant solution for future years! Not for the casual fan though, but for me - they are goning to hurt my eyes at 6am for the early race starts!

Some of the cars with wonky-nose-syndrome look better than others. Red Bull have at least had the grace to make theirs a vent so it looks like it was supposed to be there. I was glad to read in Mark Hughes' Autosport column that I'm not the only one cynical about Adrian Newey's assertion the vent is just for driver cooling! On the Lotus the nose-wobble gives the JPS-style gold stripes an extra few curves to look gorgeous on, which is never an entirely bad thing.

The car that really does look like it was beaten with an ugly stick is, sadly, the new Ferrari. But for me the worst part is that gaping mouth at the front of it, making it look like a Basking Shark sweeping the race track for Plankton. Maybe it's after some of those bugs from the Silverstone race last year. Can you fuel a car on bugs?!

All the talk of ugly cars this year has lead to some other inevitable comparisons to other ugly F1 cars. Some of these I agree with, but for some I think its a bit harsh. Beuty is in the eye of the beholder after all! You can have a look at some sets at these links and see which you think are ugly sisters, and which you have a secret crush on!
- Badger F1 Top 5 Ugly F1 - Personally I love Damon's '92 Brabham!
- Axis of Oversteer Flickr Gallery - the Eiffelland car gets my nod here, just for that wing mirror!
- Bleacher report Gallery - plenty to argue over here!

I do have to give a shout in favour of one car that always gets dragged up in discussions of ugly f1 cars - the Williams FW26. It seems most people hated this car, and I've always felt a lone voice in favour of the design, which I thought looked aggressive and purposeful. The results just didn't come for the FW23 until they switched the 'Walrus' nose for a more conventional and bland layout, which annoyingly went on to win a Grand Prix, meaning the detractors were proved right. I hate it when that happens!

Anyway, it gives me another excuse for an F1 / animal lookalike to add to the Platypus and Shark above. If anyone else has any other animal impersonators they want to share either add them to the comments or tweet them to @chrispageng and I'll share them, around! Cars or drivers, but don't be too mean folks!

Picture credits for the images above:
- Platypus
- Ferrari 2012
- Basking Shark
- Williams FW26
- Walrus

Highway to Hell?

In Autumn 2011 the BBC ran a short series looking at threats to the country's National Parks. One of these looked at the conflicts caused by off-road vehicle users driving on 'green lanes' for recreational driving. It's no longer available on iPlayer, but the programme's web page is still up, with some information and clips.

Green Laning involves navigating roads which are know as 'Byways Open to All Traffic' (BOAT). These are usually unpaved roads, looking more like a Bridleway or even a footpath, but which are legally open to all road users. Getting a 4x4 or trial bike down these can be a challenge, which makes Green Laning a popular activity for owners of off-road cars and bikes. Fairly predictably however not everyone loves the idea of cars navigating these lanes, with campaigners saying the practise damages the environment and endangers the safety of other users of the lanes.

The issue first came to my notice when it was featured on Countryfile (OK, so Sunday night telly isn't just about Top Gear for me, live with it!), which featured a pretty one-sided debate weighing down heavily on the side of Green Laning's detractors. The National Parks programme, based in my beloved Peak District, was much more even handed - but no side came out of it smelling like roses. Like the stuff you use to help your roses grow perhaps! The anti-Green Laners were a bunch of classic Middle England NIMBYs, determined to stop the use of the lanes for any activity not endorsed by their good selves (picking berries to make sloe gin = good; anything with an engine = bad). The Green Laners started out trying to engage, but after getting the full force of people's angry they instead fell back to resting on the legality of their hobby. Relying on what are fairly antiquated laws that were never intended to allow Land Rovers on country lanes just didn't seem like a particularly safe strategy. In fairness to the National Park Authority they were stuck in the middle doing what seemed a good job of dispassionately taking each reported issue on a case-by-case basis and trying to find solutions. This inevitably led to both sides deriding the authority as ineffectual and biased to the opposite camp.

What bothered me most about the programme though was the desire among Green Laning's opponents to see it stamped out in its entirity. The Peak District Green Lanes Alliance (PDGLA) campaign group seems, for example, to indicate that it accepts a blanket ban isn't possible - but it lists its primary aim as being to, 'campaign for the exclusion of mechanically propelled vehicles, driven or ridden for pleasure (‘offroading’), from the green lanes of, primarily, the Peak District.'

Now, I may write this blog as a motorsport fan, but that isn't where my interests end. I walk most weekends, especially in the Peak District. If you met me on a walk you'd think I'm very much the stereotypical rambler - big boots, map case, flask of tea, bobble hat, vaguely-lost-but-refusing-to-admit-it, that kinda thing. Last year alone I spent many fine weekends walking in the Peaks, from Matlock in the south up to Castleton and Edale. I've been known to mountain bike too - but this really is too much like hard work for me, so I stick to the walking. So I'm certainly not simply a petrol-head demanding the natural environment be turned into a vehicular-playground. I'd lose as much from that as anyone. In all my walks however I have only come across Green Laners once. It was a group of trial bikers, on a lane at Dirtlow Rake near Castleton. I wouldn't say the group went out of their way to doth their helmets to us - but they certainly didn't cause my group of walkers any more hassle than a group of mountain bikers or horse-riders would have.

In many countries National Parks are almost pristine and untouched landscapes, sheltered from human contact and often greatly restricted. In the UK our parks are a more human environment, with towns and villages, and a much wider recreational use. They have huge natural beauty sure - but people are also a key part of their charm. We also dedicate more of our land to our parks than the vast majority of other European countries - not bad for a 'crowded' little island. Visitors are encouraged and the environments are there to be enjoyed by us all. And that's where the campaigns against Green Laning are, in my opinion, at their most dangerous. If one group of users is banned from accessing National Parks (or any environment) a precedent is set that can then be used against others too.


Erosion is a concern in all popular recreational environments - walkers and cyclists cause huge erosion to the Peak District (see this photo of Peak District erosion too). Who is to say these groups won't be the next to get restricted? On the recently reopened sections of the Monsal Trail there have been complaints about cyclists riding without consideration for other users. Again, if one user group is banned, who is to say more can't be in the long term? I'd be surprised if many farmers and landowners aren't keeping an eye on this issue too. If 4x4s can be banned for causing erosion, why not walkers for damaging crops and fields or threatening livestock? We are living in times when our ability to access the countryside for our leisure is being extended ever more, with Open Access areas, new footpaths and better facilities for all groups. We should be celebrating this and finding ways we can work together to ensure this trend continues for many years to come.

All the above may sound like a monologue against those who don't like Green Laning. It isn't intended to be. The groups involved do have many valid concerns which deserve to be heard. My issue isn't with the fact that different groups have concerns, but only that the way to rectify these concerns is to involve the Green Laning community rather than seek to ban it. I hope the Green Laning community does find ways to engage with such groups to find ways of working together where possible.

This spur to write this blog came from a link I spotted to a consultation currently being run by Derbyshire County Council (which covers most of the Peak District), which is gathering feedback on their new Policy for the Management of Motorised Vehicle use in the Countryside. To my eye this looks like a good effort at balancing the use of the countryside for all the different groups that wish to have access, with reasonable provisions for monitoring different routes to assess damage being caused. The coucil has a survey which is available for anyone to complete to give their views on the proposed policy. I would encourage anyone with an interest in this problem to fill it in (it takes 5 minutes at most) and help contribute to a lasting solution.

Eastwood Stages, Mallory Park

The BMMC held their annual marshal training days at Donington Park last weekend, Iand since attending I've been looking forward to getting back out on the banks again this year. I only did two events last year, but caught the bug, and getting the orange overalls out on Sunday got me in the mood for the year to come. This despite me busting the zip open on them trying to squeeze my carcass in after lunch!

It's a while until the circuit racing season starts, but this weekend I'll be marshaling on my first rally, the Eastwood Stages at Mallory Park. I've been to the rallies in Sherwood Forest a few times but never to a single venue rally, so I'm quite excited about getting down there and getting involved. Thankfully rally marshaling doesn't need the orange overalls either so I have some time to get the zip fixed (my pride will take longer to heal)! With this being a single-venue rally, there should also be more chances to be involved on the stages - without dragging myself across half of England to keep up!

The event has over 40 cars confirmed, including classic Escorts (it wouldn't be a rally without classic Escorts), Evos, Imprezas, and an RS2000. But most exciting for me is the Metro 6R4 taking part, which is the hot favorite to take the victory. I've seen static 6R4s at displays before, but never seen one of the snarling little beasts in action before, relying on You Tube video like the one here.

Who could possibly pass up the chance to see one of these tearing up the tarmac?!

The Eastwood Stages is open to punters, with the first car off at 9.30. Its only £5 per car entry - so fill a car up and its only a quid each. You really can't say fairer than that! If you've never been to Mallory Park I can wholeheartedly recommend it. The place is the very definition of small but perfectly formed, with a great view of a large proportion of the track from most of the banks. The cafe is open and the paddock is free to access.

A little bit of Track Action!

Last year when buying a new car I wanted to buy something that allowed me to have just a bit of fun in it. It also needed to be reasonably sensible on a size and practicality front too. So, I ended up with a 2001 Vauxhall Astra 1.8. I've loved driving it since. It is hardly a 'fast' car, but is quick enough to have a wee bit of fun in. One thing I wanted was a car I could do a track day in without it being too embarrassingly slow.

I've never been on a track day before, and the thought of doing a full day was quite scary. What if I cooked my brakes? What if I stacked it? What if I was a mobile road block and hated it? However, I saw an advert on the Rockingham website for a 'track taster session'. This is basically a half hour on track while everyone on the full day is having a lunch break. It was £30, and so I thought I'd have a crack.

The session was on Saturday, and I was full of trepidation - especially when the road conditions on the M1 made me think I'd taken a wrong turn into a car wash! When I got to Rockingham we had some time on the race simulators before getting a briefing and getting out on track. I was pretty nervous, especially when learning we were on the ISSC circuit which includes Turn 1 of the Rockingham Oval. Sitting in the pit lane before going out the banking loomed up at me - it looked a damn sight more intimidating than it did when I've spectated and marshaled at Rockingham! The guys running the session were friendly however, and gave a thorough briefing, explaining the track and conditions and so, after 3 laps behind a pace car, we were let loose on the circuit.

I'd let the other three cars go ahead of me, still worried was I that I'd just be a mobile chicane to everyone. But I needn't have worried so much. It was pretty nerve-racking at first being on a proper track (especially that banking!), but pretty soon I started to feel more confident and enjoyed feeling the car moving about underneath me instead of feeling threatened by it. I was keeping up with the Porsche in front, which was pretty pleasing. The poor Astra didn't have the grunt in a straight line to really catch up to pass though! Just as well really considering I'd started enjoying it so much that I put the car into a lazy half spin in the Pif Paf corner. The guys from the circuit had told us Rockingham is like ice when damp, and they weren't wrong. I struggled for traction in all the corners, although Pif Paf was the one corner they said we wouldn't struggle on. It's typical of me to then spin the car in it!

The point really of this story though is that soon the value of a shorter (and lower cost) session really came home to me. Shortly after the spin, about 15/20 minutes into our 30 minutes of track time (which included the paced laps) a warning light came on in the car. With only 10 minutes left I didn't really car to stop and come in. I did slow down a little though, not pushing quite as much. If that had happened on a full track day, I think it would have freaked me enough to do very limited running. This is especially true when I rely on the car for getting to work and other things too (the sensible part of my purchasing decision). As it was, I was able to enjoy my session, tested myself on a slippy track, and didn't have to worry about wasting my money for only part of a day - or worry about breaking my car!

All in all, I thought the 'taster' day was great fun, and good value for money. I just wish more circuits did shorter sessions like this. The only other place I've really seen it is at the PPC Magazine 'In the Park' event at Mallory Park, where you can book 15 minute track slots for £20. You have to pay entry to the event too (£15), but its a good day out, where you can enjoy the track displays, the off-track action and have a bit of a blast getting your car out on a racing, without worrying about needing new brakes and tyres (or worse!) afterwards and only £35 lighter (well, £45 if you do the Autotest too, which you really should!). I'll definitely be trying to get along to Mallory Park for PPC's event and getting myself out on track again now I've got a bit of a taste for it! No doubt I'll get along to do another half-hour at Rockingham too. I just wish more circuits offered similar ways of getting on circuit without making it a £100 plus 'all or nothing' choice! I can't think, for example, of a better day out than half an hour out on track at Donington Park followed by lunch and a trip round the museum. Hint hint!

(The light, by the way, went off of its own accord after I stopped for a sandwich on the way home. I think the poor thing just wasn't used to being chucked around!)

Still no nearer a decision!

A couple of days ago BBC announced their new line up for the F1 coverage in 2012, and while there were few surprises in there it is a strong team. I like Ben Edwards a great deal. He has a broad knowledge of motorsport, including F1, and has a strong reputation in the sport. I don't think he'll miss many tricks, and I can see him gelling pretty well with DC too. I love Eddie Jordan (mentioning my love of Jordan GP and therefore Eddie will probably be a recurring theme in my posts!). He speaks his mind, and, while not always on the mark he always entertains. He's definitely good value to have on the box. And then there is James Allen on the radio coverage. James still comes in for a lot of criticism for his commentary. He had the thankless job of replacing Murray Walker, and for the first couple of seasons went too far down the line of trying to replicate him, with forced over-excitement at the starts especially . But I grew to really enjoy James and Martin Brundle together and am glad we'll get a chance to hear him again. Maybe after the time away people will be able to give him a fair hearing. recieved

Despite the BBC having a good team however, I expected the fact that Sky had all the races live and a commentary dream-team in David Croft and Brundle to make it an easy choice to fling a few fivers a month in their direction. I'm finding it a harder choice to make though at the moment.

I don't mind paying extra for my F1 coverage. I'm not happy about it, and I'm still not sure its right for the sport. But at the end of the day I love F1 and, like fans of other sports, it seems I have to accept a charge to see the whole lot live. However, the ongoing indecision about having the coverage on Virgin is really disheartening, and not a great sign about how the two companies may work together. They have past history of stupid decisions, punishing their collective viewers, so I'm really not putting it past them doing it again. And I really can't leave Virgin. My house is so far from Skys' transmitter (or whatever the tecnical-mabob is!) that their sales have told me the best broadband I'll get is 1mb. 1mb! I get over 10mb on Virgin on a cheap package! So I'd have to split my services, having Sky for the telly and Virgin for the web. That adds even more cost as you lose the package deal - and I'm not sure I'm prepared to put up with that extra cost.

Secondly, I feel Sky are missing a real trick if they fail to include more motorsport than F1 - and all the signs are so far they may do just that. They could move their Indycar coverage to the F1 channel, bring in GP2 and GP3 (which rumour would have you believe is virtually free once you have F1), and you have a top quality motorsport channel starting to develop. The addition of a wider variety of motorsport really would be a key factor in deciding whether to sign up.

Then, if you add in the fact the Beeb have a quality team lined up for the coverage they do have, and maybe I should give the extended highlights a go and spend the money I save on an evening's karting every month?

What does everyone else think they will do?

Donington Collection Visit #MGPdonny

For the past few months I've been 'intending' to start this blog. As with much in life however I've been struggling to find the effort required to move from 'intending' to 'doing'. But the events of the last weekend have inspired me to jump in and have a crack and see where it goes - as often doing things you intend to do but haven't yet done can be a rewarding experience!

As I live only 30 short minutes away from Donington Park, I've always 'intended ' (that word again) to visit the Donington Collection of Grand Prix cars, but somehow I've never quite gotten round to it. But on Friday night, at literally the 11th hour, I noticed vague posts on Twitter where people I follow were telling others to 'enjoy their day at the Donny Collection'. Hating missing out I made quick enquiries as to what was going on and found out another blogger (Garry Marshall at MarshalGP) had organised a trip to the collection, with a track walk too with a £2 saving on the ticket price too! So I shoe-horned my way into the event and headed to Donington on Saturday morning.

As soon as we were in the museum, I realised what a fool I'd been not making the effort before. It's like stumbling into the worlds best garage, with rows and rows of classic Grand Prix machinery lined up - and each a cracker! Most era's of Grand Prix history are represented, from the flaming-spitting brutes of the pre-war years right through to the intricately designed cars of 2008 (I didn't see any cars from the years after the reg changes 'smoothing' out the cars and adding big front wings). Many people say they don't like the cars from the mid-00s due to having too many flutes and funnels and attachments. I must admit though I love seeing them, and the intricate details they employ to shepard the air to the right places. I can't say I like them more than the cars from other eras, but I certainly don't like them less, so it was great to see the 2007 McLaren and the 2008 Red Bull.

I've always loved the old footage of Donington from the 1930s (see the You Tube Video above!), so it was a particular pleasure to see one of the famous Auto Unions, looking as gorgeous in the metal as it does in the newsreels (pic below!). Then there was the Cosworth 4 Wheel Drive test car from 1969 - so completely alien to the designs of any era that it looks like a prop from a Batman movie rather than a car that was ever intended to race in the World Championship (pic opposite)!

The F1 Twitterer @GrandPrixDiary recently had a shout out for recollections of ugly F1 nose designs, and plenty of the nominees were present and correct at the collection, inlcluding the Cosworth, the 1995 McLaren and the 'tea-tray' March 721. I must admit to having a fondness for the out-there design of the March and the Cosworth - but not so much the Macca, but then I don't think its even anyone at McLaren's favorite McLaren!

The absolute highlights for me however were all grouped within a few meters of each other in the Williams hall. First to mention were two of Damon Hill's car - the Brabham he just qualified for his first F1 start (Silverstone 1992) and, just opposite, the Williams I watched Damon race in the 1993 Donington Grand Prix when I was 12 years old. Senna's race winning car was sadly away at the Autosport show, but such was the sheer weight of cars on show I didn't miss it.

I started watching F1 as an 11 year old in 1991 and my first memory of the sport was seeing a Jordan 191 being lapped by two battling cars at the French GP, with all three side by side. The image seared itself (no doubt not entirely accurately) into my impressionable brain and a sporting obsession was born! I supported Jordan until they left the sport, and it was truly moving to see the car up close.As much as I supported Jordan as a team, Mansell really was my man - and I'll still fight any man who suggests he isn't a true Grand Prix legend! In only my 2nd year of watching Grand Prix Mansell took his title in the FW14b. So seeing these two cars together, within feet of each other really did leave me star-struck. I had to watch myself on the day for fear of sounding like a teenage fan at a Westlife concert (or whatever it is teenage fans get giddy about these days!).

If there is any criticism of the Donington Collection, it is that for the most part it is just that - a collection of cars. The changing designs and liveries are explained on the supporting information, but it would be good to see more groupings of cars to really show the evolution (you get quite a good effect in the McLaren and Williams halls where the cars are lined up) to explain F1's evolution from front-engined to rear-engined cars, through the various aerodynamic trends and regulation changes. A windtunnel model was tucked away between two of the cars - it would be great to see more made of this, in a recreated windtunnel maybe, to show how car design process works. The best example in the museum of how this might work is shown in the display of two of David Purley's LEC cars - one in good condition, and one obliterated by a crash in the 1977 British GP meeting. Its amazing to see the two side-by-side, leaving you marvelling at how anyone could ever survive the accident. It would be fantastic to see more displays that tell a story like this.

I'd personally also like to see more of the history of Donington itself. There are some boards giving some detail - but they are consumed by the ever encroaching collection, making them hard to give any attention. I suppose I should remember this is a Grand Prix Collection though, not the Story of Donington, but some of us are never satisfied! Its hard in any sense to feel any disappointment or criticism when you have the sheer amount of historic cars displayed that they do. I know I'm already planning my next visit when some of the cars are back from the Autosport show, and if you are a motorsport fan it really is essential viewing.

The Collection's most poignant exhibit brings together cars and items that belonged to Roger Williamson, who was tragically killed in the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix. David Purley (the amazing crash escapee from described above) earned the George Medal for his heroic efforts in trying to save Williamson. The scene is featured on the recent documentary Grand Prix: The Killer Years and is one of the saddest sights I've seen from F1's often dark history. Tom Wheatcroft, the engineer of Donington's 1970's rebirth, and enigmatic founder of the Collection, funded Williamson's career, and you can feel the personal sadness in the displays. There is a statue outside (right), which at first glance looks hidden away, dwarfed by the memorial to Senna and Fangio, but on discovering it is Williamson, and knowing the story, its more secluded site seems entirely appropriate and moving.

Thanks need to be passed on again to Gary Marshall for organising the day. There was a great turnout (around 35-40 people), and hopefully there will be plenty more gatherings in the future! There are alreday rumblings to that effect, so I suggest if you aren't already you follow @MarshallGP on Twitter! Its always fun to meet up with other people with a passion for motorsport, and new social-media sites like Twitter are making this ever easier - Viva la Future!

And, the moral of the story again is - don't 'intend' to do things - start 2012 off by doing some of them!

My photos from the day are below - my apologies for being as good with a camera as I am with words! Practice makes perfect...!