My Motor Sport May

Once again I must apologise for not posting more regularly to this blog. Unfortunately the day job is becoming the evening and weekend job too it seems.

I have given myself a slap on the hand and written out "I must remember to post more regularly" one hundred times.

Well for me the season finally kicked off in earnest over the May Bank Holiday weekend when I attended my first event of the year, the BTCC at Brands Hatch. As you can tell from the picture of Andrew Jordan above, it was a bit of a damp day (understatement of 2010).

Being a die hard BTCC fan, even though I hadn't got around to pre-ordering my ticket online, I decided to go (despite the weather looking a bit iffy before I'd even set off from home).

Ever the eternal optimist, I kept telling myself "it's bound to clear up in a minute" and "the odd shower always livens up the racing".

Well I have to confess it was the wettest, most miserable day I've ever had in all the years I've been going to Brands Hatch. The weather just got worse and worse....

Whilst watching the first race half way up Hailwood Hill, the rain managed to penetrate not one, not two but four layers of clothing including a "waterproof" coat, a sweatshirt, a shirt and a tee shirt. My jeans became so waterlogged they stuck to my legs. My feet were squelching in water inside my boots. My hands went red and eventually numb.

When water started to get into my camera I finally had to admit defeat and decamped to the cosy (and by that time very full!), Hailwood Restaurant.

The first race was historically won by Tom Chilton in the LPG powered Ford Focus. A first LPG victory in the BTCC and Chilton/Ford's first BTCC win since Adam was a lad.

The rain got even worse so I decided to remain holed up in the Hailwood Restaurant and watch race two on the TV. This wasn't actually a complete disaster as there was a good atmosphere in the room with many of my fellow bedraggled racegoers all huddled around the one small TV screen.

It looked like Chilton would take a double victory in race two. Although he crossed the line in front of his team mate Tom Onslow-Cole, there was a subsequent technical issue with the car (something to do with the ride height) and Chilton's victory celebrations were cut short. Onslow-Cole was therefore accredited with the second Ford win of the day.

By the time race three came around later in the afternoon the weather had finally started to dry up a bit. Unfortunately, by this time, many people had already called it a day and were making their way home.

Race three victory was taken by Jackson in the Airwaves BMW who always seems to pull a result out of the bag at Brands Hatch. I was quite pleased with myself as he had been one of my predicted winners of the day. My other predicted winner (Plato) had a largely forgettable day.

After the excitement of the BTCC at Brands Hatch, I watched the mundane Spanish Grand Prix. I was absolutely gutted to see Lewis' car let go two laps from the end of the race and miss out on a podium finish. It was good to see Mark Webber take a well earned victory after all the years of poor luck he has endured.

The Monaco Grand Prix although predictable is still one of my favourites on the F1 calendar. Highlights for me were a back to back victory for Webber and seeing Schumacher up to his old tricks and getting penalised (for once).

The surprise for me has been how well Kubica is going in the Renault. I had a feeling pre-season that the Renault would be pretty mediocre but it seems to be a half decent car.

Most gutting moment was seeing Barichello crash out after being on course for some decent points. Apparently the accident was caused by a loose manhole cover being sucked up by the car's downforce. Something that will have to be looked into for future events.

Well hopefully you have enjoyed reading this post. If you have (or haven't for that matter!), please feel free to leave a comment. They are always welcome.

BTCC - Free Entry to Season Launch at Brands Hatch

A taste of the action from the BTCC at Brands last year!

The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship's season launch event will be held at Brands Hatch on Tuesday 23rd March.

This will double up as the official media launch and first official test of the year.

A three hour test session will start at 10 AM, followed by a one hour lunch break before further testing in the afternoon.

Now here's the really good news!

Entry to the season launch will be free of charge for spectators, who will also be able to watch the action from the "comfort" of the public grandstands.

I'll give you all three guesses who will be giving himself a day off on 23rd March!

If you have found this post of interest you will probably also enjoy....

Brands Hatch Track Guide

Race Report BTCC 2009 Opening Rounds - Brands Hatch

Superleague Formula Replaces A1 GP at Brands Hatch

I have just received my regular mailing from Motor Sport Vision, operators of Brands Hatch race circuit, stating that the A1 GP meeting that was pencilled in on the 2010 calendar has been replaced by the so called Superleague Formula.... (more about that later in this post)

The financial trials and tribulations of the A1 GP series are well documented and it does not surprise me one bit that they have been dropped from this year's race calendar.

Die hard fans of A1 GP cling to the hope that after a one year sabbatical, it will be resurrected phoenix like from the financial ashes.

I am not so sure myself given the size of their debts, their complex financial arrangements and the poor economic state of the world in general right now.

Personally I am sad to see it go having attended the very first ever A1 GP weekend at Brands Hatch back in 2005. It was one of the best supported meetings I have seen at Brands Hatch - the estimated attendence was I believe, 70000 plus and it brought back a sense of the glory days when the F1 British GP's were held at the track.



I have also attended all the subsequent A1 GP meetings at Brands Hatch including last year when Team Ireland won both the sprint and feature races tp lift the 2009 A1 GP Team Championship trophy for the first, and sadly almost certainly, last time.

Please read my post about the 2009 AI GP season finale here.

Now back to A1 GP's replacement on the Brands Hatch 2010 calendar. Superleague Formula will run three races over the weekend of 31st July/1st August using 750 BHP V12 engined cars.

It is not clear at this stage whether the cars will race on the Indy or GP circuit at Brands and no details have been published of the support programme so far.

Wheras A1 GP cars were in national colours, Superleague Formula cars are "affiliated" to world famous football teams such as Tottenham Hotspurs, Liverpool FC, AC Milan, Galatasaray, Corinthians, Atletico de Madrid etc.

I'm not sure how well this series will be supported. The organisers are gambling on the fact there will be enough football fans interested in motor sports and vice versa but in my experience footie fans and petrolheads are two completely different animals!

I had a trawl through the Superleague Formula web site this evening to see which drivers are involved. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a separate list of drivers on the site so it means you have to check each team page individually.

There are two former F1 drivers listed - Antonio "Pizza Man" Pizzonia (anyone remember him?) and Sebastian Bourdais, who in my opinion, should be given another shot at F1 instead of pottering about in this series...

There are a few A1 GP refugees too including Giorgio Pantano, Ho Pin Tung and John Martin.

As for the others, to be honest I'd never heard of any of them before!

The weekend adult on-line ticket price has been set at £ 29 (about £ 10 lower than for A1 GP) and I think curiousity will get the better of me.

If I can't have my annual fix of A1 GP, I suppose I'll have to make do with this new series instead.

If you have already been to a Superleague Formula meeting in previous years, please share your views by leaving a comment below....

You may also enjoy the following -

Brands Hatch Circuit Guide

F1 2010 Teams & Drivers Latest

Superleague Formula picture courtesy of jo3hug

FIA WTCC heads to Brands Hatch this weekend

The FIA WTCC heads to Brands Hatch this weekend (17th/18th/19th July).

Swine flu permitting (yes - junior appears to be down with it at the moment!), we will be in attendence again this year.

I will post some pictures of the action one day next week so keep watching this space.....

Going into Brands Hatch, the current driver's championship standings are as follows -

1. Yvan Muller - 80 points
2. Gabriele Tarquini - 66 points
3. Augusto Farfus - 65 points
4. Rickard Rydell - 46 points
5. Robert Huff - 43 points
6. Jörg Müller - 42 points
7. Andy Priaulx - 38 points
8. Jordi Gené - 32 points
9. Tiago Monteiro - 31 points
10. Sergio Hernández - 29 points

Here are a few more pictures taken last year to whet your appetite.....

Formula 2 kicks off at Valencia this weekend

After an absence of 25 years, the new FIA initiated Formula Two championship will kick off in Valencia this weekend (29th - 31st May).

In June 2008, the FIA announced that MotorSport Vision (MSV), operators of the world famous Brands Hatch circuit, had won the tender to supply chassis and engines for the 2009 Formula Two Championship.

The Championship will comprise of eight events in Europe between the months of May and November taking place at famous circuits including Valencia, Brands Hatch and Imola.

There will be two races per weekend - each will be 110km long (around 40 minutes) - with the second race to include a mandatory pit stop. Two 30-minute practice sessions and two 30-minute qualifying sessions will precede both races.

The cars have been designed and built by Williams Grand Prix Engineering and are powered by a 1.8L turbocharged Audi engine giving 400 BHP rising by a further 50 BHP when a boost button is deployed. The cars are expected to reach speeds in excess of 180 mph.

The Championship has been conceived by the FIA as a way for talented young drivers with a limited budget (season cost = £ 195,000) to race in a top level series and showcase their skills.

The international field consists of 25 drivers with an average age of only 21 years. Three sons of former F1 drivers are included in the line up - Henry Surtees (son of former F1 World Chamion John), Alex Brundle (son of BBC F1 commentator and former driver Martin) and Jolyon Palmer (son of MSV owner and former F1 driver Jonathan).

For more information about the Championship, please click here

Williams Taking an Interest in Adam Carroll

Following his triumph at the A1 GP at Brands Hatch last weekend and excellent performances for Team Ireland throughout the season, we hear rumours that Patrick Head of Williams F1 is taking a keen interest in Adam Carroll's career.

Maybe he will get a chance to test for Williams at some point next year - watch this space!

A1 GP Brands Hatch - Double Victory For Carroll Seals Title For Team Ireland

Adam Carroll converted his two Saturday pole positions and Brands Hatch lap record into two victories today at the same time clinching the A1 GP 08/09 Championship for Team Ireland.

In the morning sprint race, Carroll had initially lost the lead to Team Mexico's Salvador Duran off the start but was later able to regain the lead following his mandatory pit stop.

Narain Karthikeyan for Team India who had started from seventh on the grid made up ground to evenutally take second place. Duran took a well deserved third step of the podium.

Team New Zealand's Earl Bamber had a coming together with the Team Lebanon car at Paddock Hill Bend putting them both out of the race.

The final results of the sprint race were as follows -

1. Ireland (Adam Carroll), 16 laps

2. India (Narain Karthikeyan), +7.230s

3. Mexico (Salvador Duran), +12.340s

4. USA (JR Hildebrand), +12.689s

5. Portugal (Filipe Albuquerque), +13.018s

6. Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen), +13.783s

7. Australia (John Martin), +15.208s

8. Switzerland (Neel Jani), +22.220s

9. France (Nicolas Prost), +22.945s

10. Italy (Vitantonio Liuzzi), +27.062s

There was a lot of support for Team Ireland today at Brands Hatch and even the Red Devils showed their goodwill!

In the feature race, Carroll had it sown up from start to finish - a classic lights to flag victory.

Narain Karthikeyan of Team India and Frankie Cheng of Team China crashed off at Paddock Hill Bend at the start of the race.

Jeroen Bleekemolen of Team Netherlands, who had a very good weekend overall, finished the race in second place with Neel Jani of Team Switzerland in third.

Dan Clark for Team GB finished in seventh place after fending of Team Australia's John Martin for a large part of the race.

The final results for the feature race were as follows -

1. Ireland (Adam Carroll), 49 laps

2. Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen), +10.156s

3. Switzerland (Neel Jani), +13.564s

4. Monaco (Clivio Piccione), +14.293s

5. Portugal (Filipe Albuquerque), +16.484s

6. Mexico (Salvador Duran), +21.810s

7. Great Britain (Dan Clarke), +23.409s

8. Australia (John Martin), +24.493s

9. Italy (Vitantonio Liuzzi), + l lap

10. France (Nicolas Prost), + 1 lap

L2F junior had an enjoyable but very tiring day and looks forward to more A1 GP action at Brands Hatch in the new season!

A1 GP Brands Hatch - Team Ireland in the Box Seats - Double Pole & Lap Record for Carroll

Team Ireland have put themselves firmly in the box seats to win the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport title for the 08/09 season following today's qualifying session at Brands Hatch.

Adam Carroll smashed the Brands Hatch lap record to take pole for both the sprint and feature races which will be held on Sunday.

The new Ferrari powered A1 cars are 2-3 seconds per lap faster than the Lola-Zytek A1 cars used in previous seasons.

Team Mexico's Salvador Duran qualified second in the sprint race while Team Monaco put in an excellent performance to take that in the feature race

Team Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen continued his good form qualifying third for both the sprint and feature races despite having an eventfull morning practice session.

Shortly after having set the fastest practice time, he braked too late and went off at Druids. Being a good sport he assisted the marshalls with the recovery of his car - can you imagine an F1 driver doing that?

The top ten qualifying positions for each race are as follows -

Sprint Race qualifying result:

1. Ireland (Adam Carroll), 1m11.615s

2. Mexico (Salvador Duran), +0.038s

3. Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen), +0.377s

4. USA (JR Hildebrand), +0.379s

5. Portugal (Filipe Albuquerque), +0.425s

6. New Zealand (Earl Bamber), +0.493s

7. India (Narain Karthikeyan), +0.494s

8. Switzerland (Neel Jani), +0.597s

9. Indonesia (Satrio Hermanto), +1.043s

10. Australia (John Martin), +1.130s

Feature Race qualifying result:

1. Ireland (Adam Carroll), 1m10.902

2. Monaco (Clivio Piccione), +0.183s

3. Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen), +0.244s

4. Switzerland (Neel Jani), +0.436s

5. France (Nicolas Prost), +0.641s

6. New Zealand (Earl Bamber), +0.731s

7. Australia (John Martin), +1.028s

8. China (Congfu Cheng), +1.278s

9. Portugal (Filipe Albuquerque), +1.368s

10. India (Narain Karthikeyan), +1.495s

L2F will be at Brands Hatch for both races on Sunday together with Mrs L2F and L2F junior.

Team Netherlands Fastest in Second Practice at A1 GP Brands Hatch

The final Championship deciding round of the A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport is taking place at Brands Hatch this weekend.



Three countries - Ireland, Portgual and Switzerland are vying for the title honours which will only be finally decided after the feature race on Sunday afternoon.


The closing round of the season was due to have taken place in Mexico but had to be cancelled due to the swine flu epidemic.


L2F senior was at Brands Hatch today and can report that the new Ferrari powered cars are very impressive and sound great!



In the final Friday practice session, to the delight of the travelling Dutch fans, Team Netherlands topped the time sheets.


Their car was driven in that session by Jeroen Bleekemolen. The Team Ireland car piloted by Adam Carroll was second fastest followed by former Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan for Team India.


It will be interesting to see if Karthikeyan can replicate this performance again in qualifying for Sunday's race.

Last yearKarthikeyan snatched victory in the feature race at Brands Hatch.


Friday final practice session top ten positions and lap times -


1. Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen), 1m12.1002.

2. Ireland (Adam Carroll), +0.503s

3. India (Narain Karthikeyan), +0.584s

4. Monaco (Clivio Piccione), +0.698s

5. USA (JR Hildebrand), +0.698s

6. Portugal (Filipe Albuquerque), +0.703s

7. France (Nicolas Prost), +0.868s

8. New Zealand (Earl Bamber), +0.892s

9. Australia (John Martin), +1.192s

10. Switzerland (Neel Jani), +1.192s


Meanwhile, Team Great Britain who were off the pace all day could only manage eleventh fastest.

Hopefully they will be able to squeeze some extra performance from the car in time for Saturday's qualifying.

BTCC Brands Hatch - Matt Neal Takes Pole For Season Opener & Lap Record

Matt Neal has taken pole position in today's qualifying for the opening round of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.

At the same time he has broken the lap record set way back in April 2001 by Frenchman and Brands Hatch specialist Yvan Muller.

Neal pipped his team mate at VX Racing and current BTCC champion Fabrizio Giovanardi by two hundreds of a second.

Third place on the grid went to Airwaves BMW driver Rob Collard with fourth place spot taken by Team RAC's Colin Turkington. New VX Racing driver Andrew Jordan is in 5th and Jonathan Adam (on his BTCC debut) in an impressive sixth in the second Airwaves BMW.

The top ten rounds out as follows -

7th - Shedden (Team Dynamics - Honda Civic)

8th - Jelley (Team RAC - BMW)

9th - Plato (RML - Chevrolet Lacetti)

10th - Jones (Cartridge World - SEAT Leon)

The top ten are separated by only 0.754 secs so very close racing, as always, can be expected.

L2F's prediction - Race 1 winner - Giovanardi. Race 2 winner - Giovanardi ? Race 3 winner - Turkington

All will be revealed by tomorrow afternoon.

Jason Plato Competing at Brands Hatch This Weekend

Despite parting company with the SEAT works team at the end of last season and it looking like he would be without a drive, it appears that Jason Plato has sniffed out a new opening for himself in the BTCC.

Plato has been signed up by RML to drive a Chevrolet Lacetti at Brands Hatch this coming weekend. RML run the Chevrolet works team in the WTCC.

In recent seasons of the BTCC, the Chevrolet has trailed at the back of the pack. In the experienced hands of Plato it should fair a little better and he may benefit occasionally from the reverse grid.

L2F will be at the season opener at Brands Hatch this weekend and will let you know if he manages to nose his way towards the front or whether it's business as usual with the Chevy.

Welcome to the Lights 2 Flag Blog

A very warm welcome to the Lights 2 Flag blog.

This blog is written by a forty something motor sports fan who was brought up within earshot of the world famous Brands Hatch motor circuit in Kent, UK.

Over the coming months I hope you will enjoy reading my personal thoughts and observations on the unfolding 2009 motor racing season from Formula 1 to all the tin top action.

You are welcome to leave your comments and feedback at any time!