Buzzin Motor Sport

It appears the mind games have already started in Formula 1 as Lewis Hamilton attempts to downplay the likelihood of Mercedes winning any races in the 2013 FIA F1 Season, suggesting that it would be good but the aim is to make top 10’s and go from there.

“Of course that’s our goal. But you’ve got to remember the car was more than a second off, sometimes two seconds off, last year and we’ve not caught two seconds up, and the new teams will have put another second on this year and we’ve not caught up three seconds. That’s just a fact.

“Hopefully by the end of the year we will have gained three seconds but definitely not at the beginning.”
But this year the Mercedes Team have one big difference – Lewis Hamilton.  There’s nothing he can do about improving the cars’ reliability but Hamilton is arguably the best F1 driver out there.  Hamilton was crowned F1 World Champion in 2008 and has an amazing record.  He’s one 21 races, enjoyed no less than 49 podium finishes and clocked up 12 fastest laps along the way.

The mind games started last month when former team-mate, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso predicted Lewis Hamilton would win races with Mercedes this season following his move from McLaren.  Something that three-time and current World Champion, Sebastian Vettel agrees with.

Personally, I believe Hamilton will make some podium finishes at the very least, and won’t be at all surprised if he sneaks a win or two over the course of the 2013 season which starts with the Australian Grand Prix on 17th March.  But with Vettel & Red Bull, Alonso & Ferrari, and Jenson Button & McLaren all chomping at the bit, I for one am getting really excited about this season’s FIA F1 calendar.

BMW Classic Cars @ Silverstone Classic

The organisers of this summer’s Silverstone Classic (26-28 July) are delighted to announce a new multi-dimensional partnership with BMW UK.

Now in its 23^rd year the Silverstone Classic is firmly established as the world’s biggest classic motor racing festival. The spectacular three-day event is staged at the famous Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire, birthplace of the FIA Formula One World Championship and home of the 2013 Santander Formula 1 British Grand Prix.

The three-day festival features the very best of historic racing covering more than eight decades of motor sport with more than 800 fabulous and exotic race cars competing as well as live music from classic rock bands and a wealth of family entertainment including free fun fair, retail outlets, a host of interactive activities and air displays, plus huge showcases of classic cars.

The far-reaching collaboration will provide significant benefits and attractions to all those attending the world’s biggest classic racing festival whether competitors, officials, celebrity VIPs, performing musicians or the ever-increasing numbers of enthusiastic show-goers.

Most prominently, perhaps, as well as being treated to a glittering display of the Bavarian manufacturer’s hottest current models and famous cars from its glorious heritage, for the first time all visitors will also be able to enjoy free gondola rides in the imposing BMW Eye.

Standing more than 40-metres tall, the BMW Eye will give vast panoramic views over both the dramatic racing action on famous Silverstone circuit and the dazzling display areas showcasing thousands and thousands of classic cars.

“The BMW Eye is going to add an amazing new aerial dimension to this summer’s Silverstone Classic,” explained Nick Wigley, Event Director. “Passengers will enjoy what’s sure to be a memorable ten minute flight with truly spectacular views over the entire Silverstone venue. What’s more, as part of our famous ‘access all areas’ policy, these fabulous flights will be available at no extra cost to ticket holders as well as trackside grandstand seating, entrance to the pits and paddocks, all the live music plus a host of other terrific attractions and experiences.”

For the second year in succession, BMW UK will also be the ‘Official VIP Courtesy Car’ at the Silverstone Classic. In this capacity it will be providing a courtesy car service for celebrities, guests, competitors and media attending the huge three-day festival plus a fleet of pace cars for deployment on the grand prix circuit throughout the packed race schedule.

Tickets for the 2013 Silverstone Classic must be purchased in advance. Prices for ‘Early Bird’ adult ticket prices start from just £30 (plus fees) with considerable savings on offer for festival-goers spending the entire action-packed weekend at Silverstone as well as special packages for car clubs. Full details are available on the official www.silverstoneclassic.com website.

Ayrton Senna – The Messiah of Motor Racing

In Ayrton Senna – The Messiah of Motor Racing, Formula One journalist Richard Craig paints a realistic portrait of the brilliant driver while debunking the myth that he was some kind of modern messiah.

Richard Craig tackles the ‘Senna myth’ head on, offering a more balanced portrait of Ayrton Senna using the dichotomy of his personality as a basis – Ayrton the man and Senna the driver.

Written in conjunction with former colleagues of the three-time world champion, this new biography includes personal testimonials from close friend and fellow driver Thierry Boutsen, veteran Formula One journalist Mike Doodson and F1 photographer Keith Sutton, who met Senna at the start of his racing career in 1981 and subsequently captured most of his career on camera (many of these images appear in this book).

This book takes a two-fold look at both Ayrton da Silva, the softly-spoken and introspective man, and Senna the aggressive, ruthless and brilliant driver – two distinct entities who often struggled to coexist peacefully together – and discusses why, of all the great drivers Formula One has nurtured, Senna still attracts the most fervent following.

Early in the book Craig writes:

“In 2010 veteran motorsport journalist Mike Doodson wrote, in Motor Sport: ‘One day, somebody will write a great, full-length biography of Ayrton Senna. Let’s hope it won’t take a couple of centuries for that someone to compile the balanced, well-informed assessment of the Brazilian’s 34-year life.’ What he was alluding to is the absolute, unyielding respect and sometimes borderline blandishment with which the Senna myth is treated.

‘I think (this phenomenon) is entirely to be expected,’ he told me. ‘When somebody is dead you can write about him in ways that you didn’t before. You can be more critical, or more fulsome about his qualities. There is some hagiography surrounding Senna because some people regarded him as superhuman, which clearly he wasn’t. They put that into words and it’s a bit embarrassing to read what they write.”

Ayrton Senna – The Messiah of Motor Racing aims to be exactly the ‘balanced, well-informed assessment’ to which Doodson alluded.

FREE TO ENTER COMPETITION

To win a copy of Ayrton Senna – The Messiah of Motor Racing simply answer the following question:

In which country was Ayrton Senna born?

Send your entries to comps@buzzinmedia.co.uk with “Ayrton Senna book” in the subject line (other subject lines will not be entered) with your full name, address & contact number.

This competition ends on 2 January 2012.

The editor will randomly choose 3 winners from the correct answers. The editor’s choice is final.

The editor’s choice is final.

The 2012 F1 season is drawing to a close, but if you are quick you can still bet on who will win this year’s World Championship. Will it be you young upstart Sebastian Vettel or the now very much older and wiser Fernando Alonso?

Clearly the bookmakers think that Vettel will take the crown, and are offering odds of 2/9 on him doing so with Alonso priced at 4/1, but make no mistake, Alonso is still in the game. He might not be as fast as Vettel, but he is considerably cooler than the somewhat temperamental Vettel who has been known to lose it when the going gets tough, as exemplified beautifully when he was cleanly overtaken by Lewis Hamilton in the US Grand Prix and cried his way to second place incorrectly complaining that Hamilton had not allowed him space.

Of course for F1 fans it is a long wait until the 2013 season gets underway, but if you are looking for some early bets then Vettel is prices at 11/8 to win the 2013 title. He is followed by Alonso at 11/4 and Jenson Button at 10/1. Kimi Räikkonen is fourth favourite and is priced at 12/1, which could be a value bet. He has been showing good form towards the latter part of this season and Lotus is a team that seems determined to take a championship win.

So, how do you intend to while away the hours until the first race of 2013? There is a great little motor racing video slot game called ‘Good to Go’ available in many casinos in the UK that could help you pass the time. With great sounds and graphics this high speed video slot is a real adrenaline raiser. It is a 5 reel 9 payline slot which has the potential to make you seriously wealthy; on the maximum bet you can win up to £50,000. There are wild symbols, scatters, bonus features and side games; a seriously good motor racing slot.

Sports fans witnessed an incredible San Marino Grand Prix last weekend as Dani Pedrosa fell off during the first lap and Jorge Lorenzo capitalised to open up a 38-point lead in the race for MotoGP title.

Pedrosa, who is now 5/1 with Ladbrokes to overturn Lorenzo before the season finishes in November, endured a nightmare as a problem with his bike saw him start from the back of the grid after a blistering qualifying performance saw him take pole position by 0.018 seconds. He then crashed out.

Edging out Lorenzo in qualifying handed Pedrosa the perfect chance to win his third successive race after triumphs in Indianapolis and the Czech Republic.

But the Spaniard could only watch on from the pit lane as his fellow countryman forged ahead in the championship race, extending his lead from 13 points up to 38 points.

Can Lorenzo now be stopped as he closes in on his second MotoGP title?

Pedrosa has certainly not given up just yet as with races in Japan, Malaysia, Australia and Spain to come.

The 26-year-old told BBC Sport: “Now the championship is obviously more uphill for me, but I will continue. “It’s not over for me.” On the MotoGP website he said: “We have done everything we could so far, the bike is working well and I’m riding well, too. ”

“So it’s not over for me; there are still 5 races to go and we will do our best.”

Hector Barbera has issued an apology for taking out Pedrosa in the first lap, saying: “I’m very disappointed, even more so because I took out Dani in the process and that was the last thing that I wanted to happen.

“It was my fault that he crashed out and I apologise profusely to him for that.
“I also apologise to my team that worked so hard this week.”

Only time will tell how significant Pedrosa’s crash with Barbera will be as all eyes now turn to Aragon at the end of the month.