623 replies to this topic

[Slurp1955]

Great stuff, and the snake has garnered a few column inches in the UK too....

[Alan Cox]

Slurp1955, on Oct 22 2010, 17:51, said:

Great stuff, and the snake has garnered a few column inches in the UK too....

See this report from the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail...e.html?ITO=1490

I note the following interesting quote: "The city has now seen 800 hookers moved off the streets for Bernie Ecclestone". Have I misunderstood? Shurely shome mishtake

[kayemod]

Alan Cox, on Oct 22 2010, 18:30, said:

I note the following interesting quote: "The city has now seen 800 hookers moved off the streets for Bernie Ecclestone". Have I misunderstood? Shurely shome mishtake

If there's even a soupçon of truth in that, I can't see the old chap making it as far as his 80st birthday next Thursday.

[Ross Stonefeld]

They've been shipped out of the area apparently, part of the weekend's gentrification.

[LittleChris]

Is Max with Bernie this weekend then ?

[Vitesse2]

Excellent as usual, Simon. From what I've seen on TV so far, this looks - invasive concrete barriers aside - to be a better than normal Tilkedrome. Any thoughts you'd care to share?

Oh - and on first impressions I thought this was made of lolly sticks!

[Lee Nicolle]

Simon Arron, on Oct 22 2010, 16:00, said:

The title-chasing quintet...


...although one of them was distraught that his features were mostly obscured in the previous photograph.


F1 takes off in Korea: the second free practice session was in progress when this was taken...


"Hello, my name's Felipe Massa."


Mercedes bends: note the extreme loads on Schuey's right rear. The grandstands might not yet be habitable, but it's worth the wait because Yeongam is a fantastic place at which to appreciate the racing car as an art form.


The same corner - the romantically labelled Turn 16 - viewed from the front. Rubens' front left gets a slightly easier time than Schuey's right rear.


Message on one of the local hotels: more accurately, it's not far short of a brothel. Rooms are available for hire by the hour and most minibars contain condoms, handcuffs etc etc. The drivers and team principals are staying somewhere nice, but the rest of us are in something like this...


Lewis Hamilton passes the footbridge that opened this morning, even though it is not properly finished.


Sébastien Buemi prepares to qualify his Toro Rosso about 15th.


Simply red. Seems to be going quite fast, so it's unlikely to be Massa.


Sunset behind the paddock. They plan to turn this area into a fully fledged marina within 12 months.

s
Sakon Yamamoto was eventually able to restart after spinning at Turn 16...


...but subsequently found the pit lane entry quite tricky.


Parting shot...

No wonder Shumacher is not doing any good, maybe they Merceded should buy a new tyre guage. That looks like it has about 15lb

[Tony Matthews]

Lee Nicolle, on Oct 22 2010, 23:29, said:

That looks like it has about 15lb

Sounds about right!

[Simon Arron]

Vitesse2, on Oct 22 2010, 22:41, said:

From what I've seen on TV so far, this looks - invasive concrete barriers aside - to be a better than normal Tilkedrome. Any thoughts you'd care to share?

The invasive concrete gives the impression of a street circuit, which is what this should eventually become - in parts, at least. They just have to build a city. Presently, a few foundations are starting to take shape.

Yes, it has the feel of a potentially great racetrack. Each of the three sectors is quite different and the cars' body language has, so far, been lovely to behold. The low-grip asphalt is a partial factor, but not the only one. It's just a pity that the venue is more than three hours from Seoul by train...

[Ross Stonefeld]

Im enjoying it a lot more on Saturday than Friday. Now that it has 'gripped up' it looks like a proper race track. There are some seriously quick S bends in the middle of the lap. But on Friday when it was low grip and poor setups it was stop-N-go and awful.

[Simon Arron]

A few more before the start. Oh, and I've just shaken the South Korean prime minister's hand. He opted to walk through the media room, for some reason...

Thoughtful.


Promotional.


Aggressive.


Even more aggressive.


Er, slow, so far.


Precise.


Happy.


Long-suffering man in rubbish car.


And, finally, very wet. More rain is expected before kick-off, too.

[philhitchings]

Great stuff as always. Looking forward to the grid girls too

[Paul Hurdsfield]

philhitchings, on Oct 24 2010, 13:07, said:

Great stuff as always. Looking forward to the grid girls too

Ooh yes, they looked very tasty on the telly

[Thundersports]

I reckon there was a conspiracy in stopping the race and keeping the safety car out for so long; to finish putting up advertising hoardings!

[kayemod]

philhitchings, on Oct 24 2010, 13:07, said:

Great stuff as always. Looking forward to the grid girls too

Just a thong at twilight...

[Simon Arron]

Last few from Korea, posted via free on-train wifi en route to Seoul (Network Rail take note)...

The unluckiest Fawlty Towers fan in Heidelberg.




Wonder what odds you'd have got on Felipe Massa driving a consistent race in the wet...




"I've just remembered what I'm supposed to do..."




"Where have they hidden the braking point for Turn One?"




Summary of a weekend.

Edited by Simon Arron, 25 October 2010 - 07:13.

[Stephen W]

Simon Arron, on Oct 25 2010, 08:11, said:

Summary of a weekend.

I am sure Button would have gone a lot better with proper footwear!

[Tony Matthews]

Stephen W, on Oct 25 2010, 10:52, said:

I am sure Button would have gone a lot better with proper footwear!

[sterling49]

Great photos Simon, I am beginning to understand why my son spent so long in Seoul.....................

Edited by sterling49, 25 October 2010 - 10:31.

[philhitchings]

Stephen W

[Rob Ryder]

Simon Arron, on Oct 24 2010, 06:02, said:

Oh, and I've just shaken the South Korean prime minister's hand. He opted to walk through the media room, for some reason...

Nice photo of the occasion on Sutton
Rob

[Simon Arron]

No sign of the Brazilian PM as yet, but I have seen the following...

Vitaly Petrov was here...


Malaysian Racing Green.


"A 1m 14.470s? Nico Hülkenberg?"


World title hopes possibly beyond repair.


World title hopes possibly still intact.


The king of Spain.


Jarno shared my disappointment when Altrincham threw away a two-goal lead against Bath City.


The wider world's title favourite.


"Of course I'm going to qualify on pole..."

[Ross Stonefeld]

For anyone interested I recommend a trip to http://news.bbc.co.u...one/9163844.stm to see the onboard of Hulkenberg's lap without commentary. The fella drives that car properly hard, which was the key to his lap(s) as it kept the tires in the ideal temperature range where others were a bit on the chilled side.

My favourite is the opposite lock moment on entry to one of the fastest corners on the track, done so quickly you don't see it so much as notice the blur.

[philhitchings]

It was a good lap, made better without commentary methinks (Sorry simon, you can have you thread back now )

[Robin Fairservice]

philhitchings, on Nov 7 2010, 01:17, said:

It was a good lap, made better without commentary methinks (Sorry simon, you can have you thread back now )

We are not allowed to see it on this side of the pond!

[Phil Rainford]

Simon Arron, on Nov 6 2010, 19:10, said:

The wider world's title favourite.

But not his team's favourite ......from what I witnessed this afternoon on TV


PAR

[Gatmo]

Are you saying that Vet Bull are favouring one jockey over t'other, Phil?

[Phil Rainford]

Gatmo, on Nov 7 2010, 20:28, said:

Are you saying that Vet Bull are favouring one jockey over t'other, Phil?

Ummmmmmmmmm.......YES!!!!


PAR

[Ross Stonefeld]

I think emotionally they do, and that has put them in a position where they have made some strange calls this year, but I think yesterday was a case of non-team orders.

[Stephen W]

Ross Stonefeld, on Nov 8 2010, 06:25, said:

I think emotionally they do, and that has put them in a position where they have made some strange calls this year, but I think yesterday was a case of non-team orders.

I'm not sure emotion has anything to do with it. I personally think that it is all to do with Nationality.

[alansart]

Stephen W, on Nov 8 2010, 09:27, said:

I'm not sure emotion has anything to do with it. I personally think that it is all to do with Nationality.

Perhaps his previous experience of promoting drink products doesn't fit in with Red Bulls marketing policy

[Simon Arron]

Sorry for the spectacularly slow updates this weekend - contributory factors include a) unfavourable time zone putting too much of a premium on work, b) falling asleep in the bar on Saturday night instead of editing pix and c) generally rubbish performance on my part. Here are a few more...

The Autodromo José Carlos Pace nestles adjacent to...


...one of Brazil's poorer suburbs (this was taken about 50 metres from where Jenson Button's driver rammed assorted traffic out of the way to foil an attempted armed robbery last Saturday and, no, I wasn't on foot when I took it)...






...but it's a wonderful place to watch racing cars...


...and, obviously, owls.




Herr product.


Hair product.


"I did it my way..."

[SEdward]

The Autodromo José Carlos Pace nestles adjacent to...

Is that supposed to be Carlos Pace? It doesn't resemble him in the slightest!

Edward

[Simon Arron]

SEdward, on Nov 8 2010, 14:37, said:

Is that supposed to be Carlos Pace? It doesn't resemble him in the slightest!

Yes it is - and no, it doesn't. A vague resemblance is discernible if you stand close enough and the light is shining in a certain direction, but you'll have to take my word for it. Meanwhile...



Kind of blue: Kamui Kobayashi.


From Russia, not much love.




Jenson explains the pressures of fame and misfortune.


Nico Hülkenberg tells Martin Brundle how he plans to lead for the first five seconds.




Moist opportunities: Robert Kubica and Rubens Barrichello.

[Phil Rainford]

Sorry to be a tyre bore

Do you know the significance of the green marking on the wets?

PAR

[Gary C]

my last visit to Interlagos (eight long years ago...) : http://www.users.glo..._pace/index.htm

[philhitchings]

Simon I'd suggest tilting the Petrov pic so that the windows are vertical. That way you'd also have him climbing which would make a better image IMO

[Simon Arron]

Phil Rainford, on Nov 9 2010, 19:38, said:

Do you know the significance of the green marking on the wets?

The wets have a green central stripe to distinguish them from the intermediates, in the same way that the dry options have a green bead to distinguish them from the primes. It's a visual clue for an audience that is nowadays baffled by the absence of clear racing numbers, identifiable helmet designs etc. Bring back crash helmets with a JODY motif, I say...

[Phil Rainford]

I thank you

Always liked plain white Bell Star, peak and dark visor ...... Frank Hopper?

PAR

[Simon Arron]

@Phil Hitchings

Edited during the flight to Dubai...

[philhitchings]

thanks simon . I think it works as well especially with the downward tilt of the head

[Simon Arron]

Not sure what time it is, which hemisphere I'm in or why my recently acquired (used) Tamron 28-300 is soft at both ends of the spectrum (and all points in-between), but here are a few starters for the weekend (taken with the Sigma 100-300 - the Tamron is going back whence it came)...

Lada backs Vitaly Petrov and sports car manufacturer Marussia is entering grand prix racing as a major stakeholder in Virgin. Anybody want to place a bet on when the first Zil F1 car might appear?


Stare case. Fact: Australia has not had an F1 world champion since The Vapors were in the top 40 with Turning Japanese...


...and he was still running Brabham.


Rubens Barrichello, aged 14.


The only driver guaranteed to be starting from the Klien side of the track.


Yas Marina sunset.

[Phil Rainford]

Simon Arron, on Nov 11 2010, 19:03, said:

Stare case. Fact: Australia has not had an F1 world champion since The Vapors were in the top 40 with Turning Japanese...

Saw them support The Jam .........which is not that much of a surprise as they were discovered by Bruce Foxton playing in a London pub

Meanwhile back to the motor racing


PAR

Edited by Phil Rainford, 11 November 2010 - 19:16.

[philhitchings]

That sunset is one of the things I'm looking forward to seeing on race day. Last year looked so wonderful as the light started to fade.

[Stephen W]

Big thank you to Simon who I understand spent a total of 16 hours in the UK between Grand prix this week!

[Mallory Dan]

Phil Rainford, on Nov 11 2010, 20:15, said:

Saw them support The Jam .........which is not that much of a surprise as they were discovered by Bruce Foxton playing in a London pub

Meanwhile back to the motor racing


PAR

I saw the Piranhas support the Jam that same year. Tom Hark...

[bradbury west]

Mallory Dan, on Nov 12 2010, 12:11, said:

I saw the Piranhas support the Jam that same year. Tom Hark...

So, how many of us are now whistling that tune?...................It is almost compulsive and never ends.
Roger Lund

[David McKinney]

Some of prefer the original 1959 version by Elias and his Zig Zag Jive Flutes

[sterling49]

David McKinney, on Nov 12 2010, 16:46, said:

Some of prefer the original 1959 version by Elias and his Zig Zag Jive Flutes

Blimey David........we had this record and it used to be played on Sunday evenings, on the Gramophone, anyone remember these? The whole family used to listen to music......together

[David McKinney]

That's the one, Sterl