F1 Fanatic

This is actually one I’m interested in, so I’ll give it a shot.

Webber-Kovalainen crash in Valencia last year. Webber made a somersault, landing upside-down and hitting the barrier at very high speed, and Kovalainen had a high speed crash into the wall. I feared Webber broke his legs or had some other bad injury, so it was a great relief to see him walk away unhurt.

Sergio Perez at Monaco for me.

He slammed very hard into the tyre wall, impacting massively after also hitting the barrier in the run down to the chicane. His incident also could have seriously hurt his head, because he was actually facing the horrible sight of the wall as he travelled there. I was completely amazed that he wasn’t hurt, that was quite incredible. Never could I have imagined that two races later could he have produced a great drive to seventh in Silverstone.

Now he looks set for a great future, but I was seriously worried when I saw that crash.

Kubica’s one for sure though it was very clear soon that Webber was OK but I waited some 1 hour for some good news on Robert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4mVqcRYFto

V8Supercars is good for the crashes..

While Kubica’s 2007 crash is probably the most stunning crash of the modern ‘safer’ F1 era, I don’t think it’s the best somebody has walked away from in the 60-odd years of F1.

Back in the the 70s F1 was a lot more dangerous, and even as late as the 1976 it was quite plausible For a driver’s first major crash to be his last.

The 1976 German GP was on the green hell Nordshlefe track at the Nürburgring. Austrian Niki Lauda was leading the championship in his Ferrari, and early on he took a left hander but lost grip and control instantly veered right and snaked before sliding 180 degrees as the car slammed into the crash barrier.

Lauda’s Ferrari, now facing backwards on contact with the barrier, disintegrated down it’s left hand side, and the fuel tank burst open, causing the fuel which poured out of the ruptured tank to ignite.

Furthermore, another car taking the left hand corner at race speed smashed into Lauda’s now flame engulfed Ferrari, and punted it down the track. Lauda’s helmet failed in this crash so for him to survive to high speed impacts, and a fireball is unbelievable especially with a faulty helmet – add to this the fact it occurred in a period of time when safety was not paramount, and it is a miracle he survived, let alone took the championship to the last race and lost out by a single point to James Hunt.

The emotional side to this story and crash helps it to be the best crash of all time, the way the drivers helped him out of the car, and helped wave the other cars to slow down, add to the drama. And his decision to pit in the final race when the weather got too bad, even though it cost him the 1976 title, showed a human side to an F1 driver that people didn’t expect.

2 slams.
A huge fireball.
Faulty helmet.
Poor overall safety in that period of time.

Google “Niki Lauda near fatal crash video” and watch the first video. He should not have survived that, not in the 70s, never mind near winning the title!!

The greatest ever car manufacturer has to be the Peel Engineering Company, the makers of the world’s smallest production car the Peel P50. Not only was owning the car almost cheaper than walking, it was also Manx which makes it inherently awesome. Here’s Jeremy Clarkson taking it for a test drive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJfSS0ZXYdo

They also produced a sport version called the Trident using a massive 99cc engine and like F1 cars of the day it had no reverse gear. The engine was in fact so powerful it has been alleged that the designs were stolen by Lola as they prepared for their 1997 F1 entry, which could explain their mesmerising pace on debut. I think we’ll all agree that they’re the greatest car company of all time, certainly better than those upstarts in Maranello.

This is a hard one for me as I support drivers over teams.

My ‘favourite’ motorsport team that I support would probably be Garry Rogers Motorsport in the V8 Supercars. The team would be the V8 Supercars equivalent of Sauber and acts as a breeding ground for young talent. Many of the top drivers in the category started out at GRM. The team is quite an ‘underdog’ in the category and it is only fairly recently that they have started competing for race wins on a semi regular basis.

I also quite like both of the teams drivers, Lee Holdsworth and Michael Caruso. Both are fairly young and are still learning the ropes although they can both put in spectacular drives.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting both Lee and Michael at the Clipsal 500 last year and they would have to be some of the nicest and friendliest drivers in the paddock. They were more than happy to sign autographs and had conversations with people while doing so. Garry Rogers, the team principal, is always up for a laugh and is quite often seen in the paddock wearing all kinds of fancy dress.

They may not be the top team or the most successful but I like them..