Farnham Classic & Vintage Car Show 1st April 2012

Farnham 1st April 2012, a set on Flickr.

A great day to look at old cars... The Farnham Classic and Vintage Car Show and Autojumble organised by supporters of the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice... www.pth.org.uk

HELP for HEROES 4x4 EUROPEAN RALLY 2012

Fundraising has never looked so interesting!

2000 miles 4x4 driving across Europe... Starting with some of the roads and byways of Salisbury Plain, an overnight ferry crossing lands you deep in the history of the D-Day invasion and the liberation of Europe in 1944-5... Pegasus Bridge (and its excellent museum)... St-Marie du Pont.... Utah Beach.... St. Mere Eglise....

The route, taking in many significant locations of great historical interest including the 'Western Front' of WWI, takes the HELP for HEROES 4x4 EUROPEAN RALLY all the way to Adolf Hitler’s Alpine retreat at Berchtesgaden in the German Bavarian Alps.

Since it was first run in 2010, the award winning HELP for HEROES 4x4 EUROPEAN RALLY has raised well over £330,000 for the charity.

The third running of the rally will start on 16th June 2012 from Littlecote House Hotel, North Wiltshire. This 2000 mile family friendly non-speed touring assembly is a meander through 6 European countries over 12 days. With a maximum of 45 teams, it is a part military history tour (including War Graves cemeteries, historic sites, museums etc) and will include some fun challenges, off-road driving (on public roads as well as private land) and social elements. It is open to road-legal 4x4 vehicles. Serving and ex-military entries are welcome, as are civilians and families.

For information and further details please visit www.h4hrally.co.uk or contact the organisers via email info@h4hrally.co.ukor call them on (Tim) 07917 097374 / (Keith) 07766 712851.

HELP for HEROES 4x4 EUROPEAN RALLY thanks their partners; Jaguar Land Rover, o2, The AA, Brittany Ferries, DFDS Seaways, Skytag, Cambrian Fuel Card Services, The GGR Group, CWGC, DTS Terberg UK, Marshall Military Sales, Domino’s Pizza, Warner Leisure Hotels.

Automobilia at Bonhams "December Sale"

Useful Links:

Bonhams Auctioneers	www.Bonhams.com
Wings For Life UK	www.WingsForLife.com
Mercedes Benz World	www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk
Brooklands Museum	www.BrooklandsMuseum.com

Bologna Motor Show – December 2011

Think of Bologna and you’ll most likely think of a certain pasta dish regularly seen on dinner tables across the country.  But, aside from being famous for its wide ranging food and drink supplies, this city also plays host to pretty much every supercar manufacturer worthy of note.  Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Pagani can all call the city if not home, at least a significant neighbour.  Whilst run of the mill car production from the likes of Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia (and now Chrysler) is spread throughout Italy, Bologna is a city that lives and breathes the automotive exotic.

It’s apparent when you arrive at the airport.  Amongst the usual sight of bag shops, tourist tat stalls and purveyors of overpriced liquor, you will find a Ferrari store, opposite a Ducati store.  The beautiful city centre once featured the original Maserati factory, and the statue of Neptune in Piazza Maggiore, reminds us of this with his trident being held aloft – that same trident now featuring so proudly on the bootlid of every new Maserati car to come out of the Modena factory, up the road.

So it’s not surprising to learn that Italy’s national motor show is held every year in the Bologna Fiere district, to the north of the old city.  Whilst it’s not on the scale of the likes of Frankfurt, Geneva or Paris, the exhibition centre spans a very large area and, for this year, features an open air arena in the centre, with banks of stands filled with spectators viewing rallycross demonstrations.

In truth, this is not the reason for my attendance.  Previous trips to Bologna in search of some kind of romantic supercar ideal, have borne fruit – tours of the Lamborghini factory and museum, a one to one tour of the Pagani workshops with Mrs Pagani herself, along with a chance encounter with a certain Valentino Balboni out on a test drive in a Murcielago workhorse – these things have all convinced me that this region is the promised land when it comes to automotive excellence.

I’m here for the Italian supercars that still occupy a place in my heart, if no longer poster space on my bedroom wall.  I’m also armed with VIP passes, gained through a contact in London, for the Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati stands.  As far as I am concerned, the rest of the assembled motoring offerings are nothing more than window dressing.

It’s the 150th anniversary of Italy’s formal unification into something like the country we recognise today.  To celebrate, Maserati have starting producing a run of only 12 GranTurismo S ‘Limited Edition’ models.  The first of these is rotating slowly on the centre of the stand.  Finished in a beautiful shade of blue, with black wheels, these cars will only be sold in Italy.  It’s a beautiful car, although modifications barely go skin deep as the engine and transmission are unchanged.  It’s hard to get good photos in the low lighting conditions, but much harder to get a look inside.  With this beautiful car, comes a beautiful model.

Maserati GranTurismo S 'Limited Edition'

I’ve been to many motor shows, and the presence of a leggy model on press days is normal, but I’m here well into the show’s run.  This car, and every other car on the stand has a woman draped over it, and another sat inside it.  A request to move seems out of the question, as it seems every red blooded Italian male is expressing just as much interest in the girls as the cars.  I’m fortunate enough to be allowed onto the stand, whilst paying punters queue four of five deep to just photograph the cars, so I suppose it’s a privilege to be this close.  But, if I’m considered worthy enough to come through the barrier, surely it wouldn’t be too much to expect to get in, close the door and make car noises without an Italian girl staring at me?

No matter, I move on to snaffle some free cakes before taking a look at the Quattroporte on the stand.  This one, finished in Mafia staff car black, is hiding at the back of the display.  For most of the time, it doesn’t have a girl draped over it.  This is because, it’s likely to be the last show for this car, which is due to be replaced with two separate models next year.  It’s always been a favourite of mine, and to this day I consider it pretty much the best looking car on sale today.  It’s also been a great success for Maserati, and has had much to do with the company’s incredible ride from being an also ran on the cusp of death, to a manufacturer of significant renown.  Just take a trip around central London these days, and you’ll see Quattroportes everywhere.

Maserati Quattroporte

The GranTurismo is based on the Quattroporte – take a close look at one and you will see just how large they are.  Aside from the limited edition car still spinning in front of the starry-eyed locals, there’s also an example of a lightened racing version, the MC Stradale alongside more down to earth variants of the coupe and convertible.  To me, this car doesn’t work as a lightened, track day special – it seems to contradict the nature of this car, which is defined by it’s own moniker – and my attention wanders back to the delicious snacks on offer at the bar.

I go off in search of Ferrari.  I’m pleased to find a selection of Ferrari racing biased cars.  The latest Formula One car is proudly displayed, alongside trackday versions of the Enzo and 599.  These are nicely set out, in a large number of small ‘pens’ which enable circulation of the general populace, allowing them to pay homage to the local speciality.  It’s nice to see a breaking down of the normal barriers between ‘us’ and ‘them’ at this show, as Ferrari stands generally occupy a rarified space where it is usual to look, but forbidden, except for the chosen few, to touch.

My democratic feelings soon fade away when I discover that Ferrari has no formal display of road cars at this show.  I’ve travelled a long way for this spectacle and I’m quite shocked to find this out.  I’m not sure if I’m more disappointed about missing the chance to see the 458 Spyder, or another opportunity for snacks.  The quality of the latter is normally second to none.  I find a solitary 458 Coupe on show in a hall dedicated to posh cars with unofficial origins, which seems to have been installed as a sort of apology to those, like me, expecting the big supercar maufacturers, and the more exotic specialists, to have a presence here today.

It’s here that I realise that not only are Ferrari road cars missing, but so too are Lamborghini, and Pagani.  There’s a current model Aventador getting a lot of attention in one corner, opposite a middle aged Zonda C12S, but the sorry collection of cars presented here is no real consolation.  The situation is made worse by the presence of a toxic waste yellow coloured Bentley Continental Flying Spur in the same small hall.  I figure it means Bentley’s stand, normally well worth a look even for one so keen on Italian supercars, is not here either.  I am correct in my assumption.  Rolls Royce are missing too.

I take my pass to the information desk in the centre of the show to make sure I’ve not missed something obvious.  A brief conversation comprising shouty English and hand gestures, along with some name dropping brings forth a moment of joy – I’m told I will find Lamborghini upstairs, at the top of an escalator up which only those with a pass are allowed.  I’m presented with the pass and I ascend to find a display of Lamborghini branded furniture and carpets.  There are some free snacks here and, having duly abused my pass, I go back down to see if it’s possible to recover the day.

Things don’t improve rapidly.  It’s clear that not all of the major manufacturers consider this show worth their effort.  A conversation with a member of staff on the Audi stand leads me to understand that the last couple of years have seen fewer brands being on show.  Ferrari and Lamborghini, I am told, have not attended since 2009.  As I wander, I find that Toyota, the world’s largest and most profitable car company, do not have a display.  They’re not the only ones.

At the Frankfurt motor show this year, Mercedes Benz built a multi storey temple to the three pointed star.  It was more showpiece than showcase and the experience of a fifteen minute shuffle, shoulder to shoulder with sweaty Northern Europeans, left a lot to be desired.  I didn’t actually look at any cars, as I just wanted to get out into the fresh air.  At Bologna however, the stand was much more conventional.  On show were a couple of SLS’s, and the A-Class concept car that has been doing the rounds recently.  We were too early for the new SL, but in the more traditional setting of this show, it was nice to have a chance to try out the new SLK and ML Class.  The previous models had their gestation in the profit obsessed, troubled times following the ill-fated DaimlerChrysler merger experience, and these new models seem to be imbued with a feeling of quality that was never quite there  with the previous models.

Current Benz cars are doing much to invoke the glory days of the likes of the W124 E-Class, when drivers had the impression that their cars were hewn from solid rock and would last as long.  It’s clear in the design both externally and internally, that curves are out and bold, straight lines are back in, harking back to those days.  It makes me smile to see a G-Class being displayed on this stand.  If there is any model in the marque’s history which better sums up the principle of longevity better than this mother of all SUV’s, then I’m yet to see it.

This car is kept locked shut, but a flash of my special pass gets me in, or rather up.   I have to climb up on the running board to get in behind the wheel, before closing the driver’s door to revel in the experience.  Mercedes have done a lot to bring this car up to modern standards.  This model is a G500, a 5 litre V8 petrol with automatic transmission, satellite navigation, beautiful nappa leather and the latest multi function steering wheel.  But it’s clear the moment I close the door, that this car has history.  When the door is pulled shut, it emits a sound akin to the closing of an antique safe.  There’s none of the sound design of modern equivalents here – the door shut sounds good, because for all I know, these doors are actually fit to be used on a safe.

It should smell of musty leather and petrol in here, but it doesn’t.  It feels like the comfy pair of shoes you never want to throw away, but without the holes that let in water – it’s wonderfully familiar and gives me the feeling that this is a car that would last forever and survive anything that was thrown at it.  More than any other car today, I want one.  But then I realise that it’s on sale for Maserati money, and I head over to Land Rover to compare notes with the Defender, which must surely be the only other contender for the G-Class crown.  It too is locked, but nobody lets me in.  I peer through the window and only get to consider how these two compare for a few moments before moving on.

There’s not that much in the way of new product launches, or vehicles which haven’t already grabbed headlines.  I look with interest at some of the Chinese and Indian manufacturers on display, the former with brands I neither recognise nor care about.  No doubt this will change, but for now, I’ll pass on anything more than a cursory inspection of the RAV4/Vitara clones on show today.  VW are pushing their new up! at this event.  There are posters all over town for this new city car, and it’s the first chance I get to take a decent look at it.  I’ll assume they won’t be selling the ‘black up!’ version in the UK, nor the ‘white up!’ for fairly obvious reasons, but aside from these basic errors in nomenclature, the car passes muster.  It’s light years ahead of the sickly Fox and tinny Lupo models it succeeds, and had a great deal of the spirit that small cars should have apparent, just from sitting in the cabin.  It shouts ‘drive me hard’ at whilst I grip the lovely three spoke steering wheel.  I make a mental note to have a go in one when they go on sale in the UK, to compare to my own Fiat 500.

For old time’s sake, and to get my money’s worth  before the show ends, I head over to the Fiat/Lancia/Alfa Romeo area to go and prod the switches on the new Panda.  For Italians, this is a car which can not be ignored.  More often than not, this car is the choice of the cash strapped Italian, to be used as a dodgem around city streets and as a grand tourer, come the August holidays.  This new model doesn’t differ much visually from the model it replaces.  Some refinements in the design, particularly internally, bring it up to 2011 standards but the major change is under the bonnet.  It’s the second Fiat car to get the innovative TwinAir parallel twin motor, and the first without a turbocharger attached to it.

This engine is likely to feature heavily in the Fiat group product lineup over the next few years , and that’s no bad thing.  The environmental credentials of the parallel twin petrol engine are second to none, and it also makes the cars attached to it, fun to drive.  It’s full of character, and makes a great sound.  There’s a display area outside, where I watch various Fiat group cars so equipped get punted around.  I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the 875cc engine, and can almost imagine being in any Italian city in the 1960’s.

It’s funny how my journey through the show has gone from one extreme to another.  I note that I have gone from eating posh cakes and dodging catwalk models on the Maserati stand, to eating a KitKat, leaning against a barrier, watching Fiat Pandas drive around a small section of tarmac.  But this fairly sums up how things are right now.  Money is tight.  Italy is a country in financial straights, like much of the rest of Europe.  This sort of thing is more relevant than any supercar at the present time.

I decide not to go back in to the show as the sun sets.  I’ve seen what I need to, and I can’t stand another moment of the God awful hard house music being incessantly pumped out of every stand by a legion of Eurotrash DJ’s.  I’ve tired of the models draped over every car, from Maserati to Megane and the free cakes have run out.  I know that I should have researched before coming out here, but had I done that, I would have missed out on an experience that comparatively few of my countrymen and women get to see.

Any remaining doubts about the need for the trip dispel after a short taxi ride into the centre of Bologna.  Piazza Maggiore, complete with that statue of Neptune holding his trident, has been transformed into a warm coloured, winter wonderland.  I wander around the magnificent covered arcades and find a shop devoted to selling Fiat branded chocolates.  I ask you, where else in the world would such a thing be possible? 

Alex Wakefield

Wales Rally GB Video Highlights

Dan Wheldon. RIP

Tragic news this morning of the death of Dan Wheldon in a horrendous 15 car crash at the Las Vegas 300 Indy Car race.

The young Brit had chosen to pursue a career in the USA in Indy Cars and had won the prestigious Indy 500 twice, including this year.

He came to Goodwood Festival of Speed this year and charmed everyone who met him, a very likeable young man and a supremely talented racer, all in motor sport will miss him.

Our thoughts are with his family at this sorrowful time.

Graham Benge

Video selection from the Goodwood Revival

National MicroCar Rally 2011 Gallery

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Thanks to Phil Bradfield for the photos... You obviously had a really good day!

For more details of the rally, visit http://www.national-microcar-rally.co.uk/

Goodwood Revival 2011 Gallery

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Thanks to First Take Media's Staff Photographer Mike Jones for his efforts.

Spitfires in the skies of Goodwood....

Much awaited Spitfire display sends shivers down the spines of our team.... :-)

More from the Revival...

A glorious end to an amazing day of action on and off the Goodwood track...

Around the Revival - more sights from day two.

All photos by Mike Jones.

One of the numerous Spitfires at the Revival

Some sights from Friday at the Goodwood Revival 2011

First Take Media's intrepid snapper Mike Jones is well-known for sneaking his lens into the places others' cannot reach and as ever we kept him busy on the first day of the Revival weekend.

End of Friday at the Goodwood Revival

A few snaps from the Revival...

Good Morning From Goodwood!

Well, the weather gods are certainly smiling on us here at Goodwood this morning... Bright sunny weather currently gracing the circuit...

Our day has already begun with our first live radio pieces broadcast and several coffees drunk!

For those here early enough, there has already been a motocross parade and MG parade, and preparations are currently being made for the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy's "free practice"... 25 minutes of noise!!

Coverage of Goodwood Revival 2011

UKMotorTalk's coverage of the Goodwood Revival 2011 can be found right here over the long weekend of 16th - 18th September 2011.

Join us for some of the sights and sounds of this truly spectacular event... Over 100,000 people will attend over the three days, many dressing in the style of the era the event is based... The 1940s, 50s and 60s...

UKMotorTalk and the team from First Take Media will be on site from the early hours of Friday morning, until the sun goes down on Sunday evening.... providing radio coverage and bringing you closer to all the action...

For further information about coverage for YOUR radio station or website: contact@firsttakemedia.co.uk

The Next Generation Award

Are you a student in the UK...? Enjoying your nice long summer break..?

Perhaps your thoughts are turning to the end of your University education and the world of careers....? You know you've always fantasized about working in F1...!

Well perhaps now you can and with no less than the very best, McLaren F1.

But hurry there's only 10 more days!!!

McLaren are encouraging the next generation of F1 and automotive engineers by offering as a competition prize a period of work experience at their HQ.

McLaren Automotive is encouraging students to enter this "money can’t buy" competition and get their hands on priceless work experience within the car industry, as well as a £7,500 cash prize. The Next Generation Award is run and managed by Autocar and Courland Automotive Practice and McLaren Automotive has offered the unique opportunity for the winner to spend an exciting month at McLaren working with designers and engineers.

Dick Glover, McLaren Automotive’s Research Director, and previously Technical Director for the groundbreaking new high performance sports car the MP4-12C, will be sitting on the judging panel and said: “I’m really looking forward to judging the awards and am interested in seeing how students with a desire to work in the car industry adapt the brief to best suit their area of expertise. McLaren is a technologically advanced company so I will be looking for applicants who really think about pushing the boundaries of the automotive business. Manufacturing is key to the economic structure in the UK, and I am proud that McLaren is supporting this award.”

The Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award is a national competition to identify, support and develop top automotive talent of the future. Entrants from UK universities are invited to answer in 500 words a brief set by Autocar's Editor-in-chief, Steve Cropley, who commented: “We are delighted that McLaren is involved in the Autocar Courland Next Generation Award this year. Our lucky winner will have an amazing experience as part of the world of McLaren; it’s the stuff of dreams. For students, work experience is nowadays a vital step in the process of building a career. The McLaren opportunity will undoubtedly widen our winner's horizons."

Martin Bohling, Global Managing Partner, Courland Automotive Practice said: “We are encouraging all students from numerous courses to look to the automotive industry for their first step into the world of employment. The industry offers numerous and wide ranging opportunities for enthusiastic graduates – it’s innovative, inspiring and challenging. The industry is most definitely not just for the petrol head.”

The Brief: Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award entries should be no more than 500 words long and written in English. They should also include images or illustrations, if relevant, to answer the following brief:

"Using your area of expertise, write a 500-word proposal suggesting some improvement (be it an invention, a legislative change, a change to corporate policy or the adoption of a new convention) which you believe would be a worthwhile benefit to the automotive business, on a small or large scale."

Applicants ideas will be assessed on the following criteria:

The concept presented must be an original idea. We are ideally looking for something that is new or that builds on existing ideas. The concept might demonstrate lateral thinking, creativity and "thinking outside the box", bringing new approaches to old problems.

The winner will be able to communicate their idea in a clear manner, both verbally and via their written application (use of diagrams is encouraged). We are looking for individuals who are able to simplify complex problems, who can be concise and who are able to inspire their audience. Accuracy and clarity are key.

Each of 12 candidates who make the 'longlist' will be given the opportunity to attend one of three assessment days before the shortlist is produced. This stage is considered as part of the assessment process and allows each candidate to present their idea in person to a panel of assessment day judges - providing valuable interview experience and feedback.

No entries will be accepted after midnight on the 28th August 2011.

For further information on the Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award 2011 please visit http://nextgen.autocar.co.uk

Good Luck.

Arm-wrestling with Bernie

The truth is we'll never know the truth.

In the same way as we'll never know the complete hacking story we'll only ever hear part of why (and how) the Beeb lost/pulled out of/gave up F1, either fully or partly to share with Marvellous Murdoch's media empire, BSkyB.

I suspect the BBC decided that a cost cutting spectacular was needed to deflect attention from other more sensitive cuts taking place, reasoning that they were spending a lot of money on a small and predominantly male sport, they tried to get out of the contract 2 years early and then the wrath of Bernie fell upon them, prompting a plague of threatened litigation for breach of contract, and just when it seemed to the Beeb that they had more excrement colliding with more fans than anyone could ever want, Bernie threw them a lifeline - a compromise, a face-saver, and, throwing principles and good sense away they jumped at it..

As ever the losers are the fans, many - or indeed most of us - do not have, nay do not want Sky and all of its offerings.

Perhaps we should ask for a licence fee refund for a lesser service!

I guess the compromise reduces costs by covering the European races only and thus gives Sky time to gear up for a full takeover and cut us all out of F1 coverage.

Following the old adage, would you buy a used car from this man?

Here's a tip: never try arm wrestling with Bernie - you'll always lose (and probably your arm too).

Graham Benge

Notwork Rail.

If you caught the most recent episode of The Nation's Favourite Motoring Programme, you'll have seen Clarkson, Hammond & May attempt to re-write the rules of rail travel with their own..unique approach to public transport.

Richard & James' approach was to string together a collection of caravans (what else?) as a bijou set of carriages towed behind an ageing Audi S8 'loco' shod with rail wheels.

Jeremy on the other hand - and somewhat predictably - set off down the high-speed route by hitching a cutdown caravan body to a V12-engined Jaaaag XJS and treating Rail Express' Editor Murray Brown to a rail journey he's probably unlikely to forget in a hurry in the somewhat-optimistically named TGV12, the poor sod..

Anyway, we're based not a million miles away from the Top Gear track & occasionally we'll spot cars from the show being filmed around the locale or the production crew enjoying lunch in one of the awfully pleasant local boozers near Dunsfold, Surrey; and this morning, as we blearily trundled through the village of Compton on the way to the A3, we found ourselves behind a low-loader sporting a rather familiar red XJS convertible & a somewhat-modified & equally red caravan..





With a big spoiler on the back..

Whilst we'll never make the ranks of Hans Lehmann & his prototype-bagging cohorts we did manage to grab this snap as the latest addition to the TG range of glorious failures headed off to parts unknown, although judging from the direction it was heading it could be on its way to the Top Gear exhibition at Beaulieu, so keep your eyes peeled if you're planning a visit to the excellent National Motor Museum during the Summer holidays.

If you're in the UK (or can spoof IP addresses), you can still catch the latest edition of Top Gear on the BBC's iPlayer until the weekend, but be warned, it'll probably put you off rail travel for the foreseeable future..


Dave Wakefield

Photos of Goodwood Festival of Speed

A small selection of the photographs captured by Mike Jones and Gary Ledden at the Goodwood Festival of Speed has been added to our flickr photostream...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ukmotortalk/

Quite a bit of naming to be done, but feel free to add your own comments!

Goodwood from the air added as a taster.. ;-)

Onboard the Ferrari FF up the hill at Goodwood

FREE Le Mans Guide from Michelin

With Le Mans 24 hour race coming up this weekend, there are some of us who can go, and some of us who can't! However, a FREE guide to the spectacle from tyre manufacturer Michelin is available to ALL...

With interesting facts and figures, a handy track guide and historic highlights of the event, as well as some really great tips for both first timers and seasoned Le Mans visitors alike, I have just spent far too long flicking through its pages!!

To download the guide go to www.michelin.co.uk/lemansguide

Senna.

Even before the birth of my son & heir we weren't really big cinema-goers in our household & since his arrival on the scene 3 & a bit years ago neither his mother or I have crossed the threshold of a multiplex once.

With the cinematic release of the much-feted 'Senna' this month though, the balance was very much ready to be redressed and yesterday evening saw four of the UKMT team pile into the cosy confines of the Odeon in Richmond to pay tribute to the much-lamented Brazilian.

It can be assumed that anyone with even a passing interest in current(ish) Formula 1 will be aware of Ayrton Senna Da Silva as, whether or not they're old enough to have watched him race at the time - either in person or on television - his domination of the sport and his subsequent legacy have left an indelible mark on motor racing's premier league & his untimely departure from the ranks arguably still casts a long shadow seventeen years on.

So, I think it's true to say that we all approached this movie with mixed emotions.

Undoubtedly, as confirmed F1 fans of long-standing we were looking forward to re-living one of the most exciting eras for the sport, an era which seemed less bound up in the glossy & hugely stage-managed global entertainment package produced and ruthlessly administered by one Bernard Ecclestone Esq than it does today..

However, whilst looking forward to re-acquainting ourselves with the F1 of old - the wide wheels & big wings, the long departed names and venues (and in Ron Dennis & Adrian Newey's cases, hair) - there existed a leavening thought, a dread feeling that we all knew that this story could only have one ultimate conclusion, the tragic and violent death of its protagonist.

No IMDB plot-spoiler warnings required here..

Knowing that the film was building towards its inevitable finale though perhaps made us focus more on the 'here and now' elements of the movie; letting us linger on the youthful Ayrton Senna as he helped his father assemble the engine of his all-conquering go-kart in footage from one of many painstakingly-sourced home movies, or making us smile at the way he treated an awe-struck Japanese fan as if she was the only girl in the world that mattered to him as he kissed her goodbye.

These peeks around the curtain were liberally dotted throughout the film, revealing the very human, caring, God-fearing person that Ayrton (pronounced predominantly "Eye-airton" by most of the interviewees incidentally) undoubtedly was & they sat uncomfortably - and quite deliberately - with footage of Senna's other, darker, ruthless, driven persona.

As we watched his relationship with erstwhile team mate, and latterly Ferrari rival, Alain Prost turn from mutual respect to outright hostility via two major crashes in Suzuka & all points inbetween we were left wondering whether he genuinely believed that his God-given talent bestowed upon him a God-given right to force his way to the tops of the timesheets, regardless of who might be in his way..

Judging from the remarkable footage obtained from a couple of drivers' safety briefings of the time you could be forgiven for thinking that Jean-Marie Balestre, the controversial 'Grandee' FIA head honcho at the time of Senna's career, was certainly more in favour of the view from the Prost camp that Ayrton was a danger to himself & others as he professed a belief that God was helping with the driving.

The fact that both Prost & Balestre shared a nationality and not just a thick and at times inpenetrable accent was not lost on the film makers as they (archly, maybe?) presented footage of the head of the FIA playfully carousing with the French driver in a pit garage - one thing Jean-Marie's successor could probably quite safely not be accused of..

The film told of how Senna's third title & his patriotic celebration of his country had afforded him a legendary, fanatical following in Brazil - a country which at the time took very little pride in itself & was beset (as indeed it still is today) with searing poverty & deprivation.

His countrymen were starting to take pride in themselves as Senna traditionally celebrated his wins with a Brazilian flag held aloft on his slowing down laps.

Behind the scenes, Senna was making sizeable charitable donations to needy causes in his country & was beginning to put in place more formal arrangements in order to help more of the people who adored him.

Then came Imola.

Of course, the whole weekend had been a disaster from the outset when Rubens Barrichello's Jordan speared off the circuit in the Friday practice session, leaving him unconscious and requiring evacuation to the medical centre to where Senna fled to check on the condition of his countryman & protege. Barrichello fortunately escaped with a broken nose & injured arm but would take no further part in the fateful weekend's activities.

Then, as if Formula 1 - and Senna in particular - wasn't shaken up enough by Rubens' lucky escape, Simtek's (remember them?) likeable rookie driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed when his front wing failed at high speed at Villeneuve and he smashed into bare concrete, fracturing his skull.

Professor Sid Watkins, the long time FIA medical expert and Neurosurgeon recalled how he had taken Senna to one side as they stood near to where Ratzenberger had perished and tried to convince his friend - who was obviously in great distress - to give up Formula 1 & to join the Prof in retirement, fishing - a pastime of which both were fond.

Senna though, despite it all, said he couldn't & the regret in Prof. Watkins' disembodied voice was evident for all to hear..

The crash, when it came, made use of most of the footage we've all seen countless times.

The long-distance shot looking back from Villeneuve to Tamburello, the on-board footage from Senna's Williams & Schumacher's pursuing Bennetton all grimly familiar as they depicted the violent end of the life of one of, if not the most naturally-talented Grand Prix drivers of the modern era.

British F1 viewers were actually spared some of the more unpleasant & intrusive helicopter footage of the aftermath in 1994 as, coincidentally, the BBC were using their new Outside Broadcast truck at San Marino for the first time, so were able to cut away to something somewhat more palatable. In the film however, the unfolding disaster as medics raced to reach the lifeless body in what remained of his car was played out in excrutiating detail as we watched the ultimately futile attempts to resuscitate Senna.

Sid Watkins - who performed an emergency trachaeotomy at the trackside to get Senna breathing - recalled how even though he's a confirmed agnostic, he sensed his friend's soul leave his body with a sigh..

In case anybody watching this film was left in any doubt whatsoever as to the reverence & adulation that Brazil felt for Senna, footage of the return of his body to his homeland & scenes of his funeral should have soon helped convince them of his almost regal status in the troubled nation.

Hysterical outpourings of grief as Ayrton's body was conveyed first by fire engine and then by the strength of his family & F1 drivers past & present to his final resting place only served to show that the world had suffered a devastating loss with the nation of Brazil feeling the passing of their favourite son most keenly of all.

You're reminded at the end of the film that whilst Senna may have died at such a tragically young age, his legacy is still very important - in particular through the work of the Ayrton Senna Institute which, administered by Senna's sister Viviane, continues to help the underprivileged in Brazil.

As a footnote to this caption, it's noted that Alain Prost is one of the Foundation's trustees..

I believe that the one overwhelming feeling that one comes away with after watching 'Senna' is a feeling of regret, a deep sadness that someone so talented & charismatic was taken long before his time.

Whilst, perhaps, he was starting to reach the latter years of his career, Senna was evidently still on top of his game - witness his pole position in his final race in what were very trying conditions for him personally.

Had Williams managed to get to grips with the deficiencies of the FW16 sooner, what sort of a battle might we have seen between the old stager & the young pretender to his throne?

Obviously we'll never know.

One positive we can draw from Senna's death though is the fact that safety in Grand Prix racing is now a world away from how it was in that torrid 1994 season. Drivers today stand a far greater chance of walking away from crashes which, back in the days of low cockpit sides & truncated nose cones, would almost certainly have killed them or at best crippled them for life.

Whilst Senna's accident was freakish - as one commentator put it: 'his luck just ran out' - we have thankfully been spared a repeat of a driver fatality for 17 years.

And for that, we must be grateful.


'Senna' is in cinemas nationwide now, rated 12A (UK)




David Wakefield

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This is the full unedited interview from which more "radio friendly" pieces were cut for our broadcast clients.

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