Episode 65 – An Oddball Guy on the Podium Somewhere
- Length: 42:49
- Size: 38.6 MB
- File: episode65.mp3
- Enhanced: episode65.m4a
- Transcript: episode65.pdf
- Torrent: episode65.torrent
The shorter I want the show to be, the longer it gets, but there is so much to discuss, from Max to the race, from pit stops to marmots, it’s all in this Canadian GP wrap-up.
Intro
Please can we do a short show? Pretty please?
Good Week / Bad Week
A good week for teams, but also a bad week for teams. And what number is Rubens really on? Read Ollie’s Barrichello notes here.
News and Views
A little bit of an update on Max, and how the teams have reacted to his vote of confidence.
Feedback
The You Know You’re an F1 Fan game continues, and Scott tells us about his day out.
June 9th, 2008 at 23:45 #1 - F1Punter said:
Conspiracy theory? I was being mischievous
June 9th, 2008 at 23:47 #2 - me said:
ahh, okay it was a great conversation starter though.
btw: don’t forget to check out the enhanced podcast this week, christine went crazy with the pictures.
June 10th, 2008 at 00:01 #3 - Scott Woodwiss said:
Compare me to James Allen?! how dare you!
It seems every week you tend to find something to potentially embarrass me
Am I just that entertaining? 
Great work as always, enjoyed the show this week.
June 10th, 2008 at 00:07 #4 - me said:
scott, we just know you have a great sense of humour, we can stop if you really want us too.
i almost asked if you were the crash test dummy on the left or the right, but thought that might’ve been going a bit far, soz!
June 10th, 2008 at 00:47 #5 - Ollie said:
Commenting while listening…
Haha, I completely forgot that this was the race that Barrichello, by my math and opinion, was his record breaking event! *Duh*
Oddly, ADAC are still listed on the revamped official FIA website as members…
@Christine: Canada rules… (marmots adside)
@Me: Canada rules… (Massa and Ferrari and marshals)
@Canada resurfacing: Specialist my backside, they were blatently using No More Nails…
@Qualifying strategy: I think some drivers messed up over the whole surface issue. Some backed off more than they should of done etc…
@Casino Hairpin: It looked terrible on the cameras. Shocking for the premier motor sport series.
@Alonso’s Qualifying: Seriously. Bloody hell! What a qualifying lap! He knows how pull them out of the bag.
@Christine: Be careful, James Allen got into trouble with making comments about Kubica’s, erm, appearence.
??? I dunno, I’m a guy, what’s his lap time…
@Me: Hakkinen listened in the post-race conferences. He really did, I’m sure. As did, and I hate to say it, Schumacher. Michael that is.
@The Hamilton incident: It was Hamilton’s fault. Not much more to say. Stupid error. In my opinion, he wasn’t looking where he was going. Silly boy, silly boy. He’ll regret this race come season-end.
Podcast keeps cutting out despite internet connection looking strong. Tried reloading but and I get a dark grey bar indicating that it has totally pre-loaded, but cuts out at about 20 minutes or so. Will try again later…
June 10th, 2008 at 00:54 #6 - me said:
fair enough, i doth stand corrected.
apologies, we had this problem with the last video. (mt) don’t seem able to help out at the moment. will upload to amazon s3 now. seemed to fix the issue before.
June 10th, 2008 at 01:10 #7 - Ollie said:
Given the apparent commitment of current drivers, I don’t think you need to stand corrected. Just that in the past others did feel the need to inspect and listen, probably because they felt it necessary.
I’ll try and listen to final part later, but it was a good podcast for the first half, so I’m sure it was for he second. And as others have commented, it was probably an issue at my end rather than yours – apparently I melted a phone line cable on a light bulb over the weekend, which is not a good thing to do I hear!?
June 10th, 2008 at 01:13 #8 - me said:
we’ve been having ongoing issues with large files recently. have fired another request off to (mt) to see if they can help at all.
do either of these links work instead?
http://cdn.sidepodcast.com/weekly/episode65.mp3
http://cdn.sidepodcast.com/weekly/episode65.m4a
i guess that depends on what your goal was
June 10th, 2008 at 05:48 #9 - Dan Brunell said:
Great show as always.
Sorry, this might be a rant…
I just listened to the Checkered Flag podcast. Holly’s interview with Lewis was jaw dropping. She asked him flat out if he made a mistake and Hamilton said no. What gets me is they let him off light. Not only that David Croft was trying to explain away how the accident wasn’t Lewis’ fault.
When will the British press hold this guy accountable like they do with every other driver on the grid? Is their a unwritten rule you can’t take the guy to the cleaners? What the heck? Is it that if you say something bad about the guy you will lose your job? Heck I am over here in America and I can smell the foul stench of bias. Stop making excuses for the guy, stop openly cheer-leading for him, and do your jobs right. When he wins laud the guy. If he loses, criticize him. It’s that simple but be honest about what happened. Jeeze…
June 10th, 2008 at 05:55 #10 - me said:
yes, it’s called a meal ticket
life for a british f1 journo before lewis was a pretty tough business by all accounts, and since the guys arrival all is presumably much more cosy. i guess no-one wants to bite that hand, right?
June 10th, 2008 at 06:00 #11 - me said:
btw: is anyone going to claim the canadian gp pics added to:
http://drop.io/sidepodcast
they’re really rather good.
June 10th, 2008 at 09:12 #12 - Mattw said:
They certainly do. Have not seen the coverage in the British papers after Canada – but they were very scathing after his performance in Bahrain (for more scathing it has to be said, than with the other drivers in the grid)
You have to have a sense of perspective. The guy made a mistake and was 100% responsible. He was not alone in making that mistake, and Lewis’ reaction is not in the same league at Schumachers parking job at Monaco.
June 10th, 2008 at 09:55 #13 - Rich said:
Here are some more examples from PlanetF1
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3265_3668390,00.html
So Folks were these your conclusions from the Canadian Grandprix? If it was not for Sidepodcast, I would either think I was watching a different race or I imagined everything! Thanks Christine and ME for providing a much needed reality check in world of hysterical Hamilton hype!
June 10th, 2008 at 10:24 #14 - Scott Woodwiss said:
It’s alright, it’s just sometimes I look at things a little too seriously. I just noticed it, but don’t worry about it.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:03 #15 - Tom said:
I’ve decided that Kubica can no longer be known as Robert. From this day forth i will only refer to him as Bobby.
Ground hogs survived!
So do we think that piquet’s and alonsos brake problems are something to do with the wheel hubs? Or do they not effect cooling that much?
June 10th, 2008 at 11:09 #16 - my FA fantasy said:
Hamster now calls the safety car rule/red light silly. ALO is angry with everybody and everything. Some nervous days for F1 stars.
I have to say that was a stroke of genius if HAM chose Kimster and not KUB, his power to “ratiocinate” must be stronger than the Schum’s. Bravo, HAM! The Schum was quick to park his car in Monaco but you were even quicker to eliminate your closest championship rival.
June 10th, 2008 at 12:40 #17 - lou said:
Great podcast as always guys
You feel bad cause im betting you? lol I just used Christine’s info 
and my liking/support for drivers such as Button, Kova and Rosberg. I’m sure you will do better when you choose your drivers;) . Lol so Christine likes Kubica, and has dropped le seb. Do you still heart le seb and not support him, Christine? Christine you have not given him a fair trial, he has only been racing in f1 for 1/3 of the season. 
So no iheartkubica site in the future then 
bout that….erm…where is the enhanced podcast? It usually downloads via itunes automatically. But this week the podcast downloaded does not appear to be the enhanced one. There are no pictures
and no chapter breaks.
Im not sure if anyone mentioned this but when Alonso span a large cload of black break dust was released, im no engineer (so this is probably wrong) but could the build up of break dust damage the breaks or something?
They effect cooling don’t they? I’m sure that’s why Honda couldn’t make them work as the breaks kept overheating, so they solved that by making them only cover a small section of the wheel. Speaking of honda, were they allowed to have one car (Rubens) using the wheel bins, but the other (Jenson) not using them?
June 10th, 2008 at 12:59 #18 - lou said:
Hamilton has said that “This [the incedent] will make no difference.” Sorry, remind me how many pionts Kimi won the Championship by again? oh yeah 1, im sorry to rain on Lewis’s parade but it could very well make the difference I can see Kubica getting the title, if he continues to score good pionts each race. I think although they have excepted him as a title contender, he has a major advantage in that he is calm and he does not really have the fact he does not have a faster car works to his advantage. He is not going to get majorly frustrated and loose site of the task at hand or anything, like the others do. (Alonso is a prime example, and Lewis has done it too) Kubica will just sneak behind the Ferraris and Mclarens picking up any pionts they drop, and on Sunday he gained a nice stash of pionts that, i think, will come in very handy at the end of the season. However we are only 1/3 of the way through, plently of time.
June 10th, 2008 at 13:03 #19 - me said:
y’know i think we’re blaming the wrong person here.
it’s clearly all michael schumacher’s fault. if he hadn’t dominated quite so much and let david win a couple of times, british f1 wouldn’t have been in such a state when LH arrived on the scene.
tabloid hacks wouldn’t have been scrabbling to keep their jobs for 5 long years when no-one in the country gave a damn about the sport anymore and lewis wouldn’t have been see as such a breath of fresh air from the media types.
so it’s all schumi’s fault really. i blame him for everything
June 10th, 2008 at 13:10 #20 - lou said:
hehe Ultimate in talks to buy into Toro Rosso
Does that mean would could get ‘The Ultimate Toro Rosso’ on the grid come 2009! ahaha that would be brilliant, I can see it now…
‘and Vettel overtakes Sutil in The Ultimate Toro Rosso!’ aahaha
June 10th, 2008 at 13:15 #21 - me said:
whilst i appreciate the compliment, planet f1 isn’t exactly known for it’s quality of journalism, but i do get where you’re coming from with those quotes
i would guess, although i really have no clue, that they didn’t or couldn’t provide enough cooling to either the front or the back.
no doubt, those hubs didn’t help in the slightest because they partially cover the brake’s exhaust system (and i think that’s why ferrari chose not to run them).
most likely it’s a design flaw in the car, that means the team couldn’t provide a solution within scope of the rules. either that or they thought sato was driving, and that much dust was normal.
June 10th, 2008 at 13:23 #22 - me said:
i would be too. kubica is leading the championship by putting consistent results. that was alonso’s trademark wasn’t it?
in a semi-decent car, the guy would have a great shot at the title, just by virtue of being there when no-one else was.
wha?? oh good lord, that’s quite annoying given how much effort the girl went to.
fixed now. thanks for the heads-up.
did they do that? wow, didn’t spot it. there’s nothing in the rules against it it there? i think we looked into it when kimi ran a different rear wing to massa (lord knows when that was though).
June 10th, 2008 at 13:37 #23 - lou said:
Im sure they did, cause i noticed Rubens had them on at the start of the race, but then when i saw some footage of Jenson im sure he didn’t have them. Must be confusing for the pit crew, cause they have to remember to have the different guns don’t they?
oh yeah i remember, Bahrain wasn’t it? not sure.
June 10th, 2008 at 13:39 #24 - lou said:
no problem
am just re – downloading it now 
June 10th, 2008 at 13:44 #25 - Mattw said:
When Ferrari introduced the wheel covers, they said ‘No, it’s not a moveable aerodynamic device – it’s part of the brake cooling system. Honest’
or words to that effect
June 10th, 2008 at 13:49 #26 - me said:
true, but even for them, that was pushing the limits of honesty.
air to cool the brakes enters through ducts pointing forwards and excess heat is fed out through the rims.
blanking that rim with a solid cover can’t possibly aid cooling can it? and as lou pointed out above, the dust is trapped inside the rim, clogging up the system.
June 10th, 2008 at 15:05 #27 - Tom said:
which raises the qeustion why did renault and others use them?
June 10th, 2008 at 15:18 #28 - me said:
well, they do help with aero and airflow, by directing the brake exhaust under the floor and around the sidepods (at least that’s how i understand it).
i suppose once you’ve designed you car to expect that airflow, it’s not clever to suddenly take it away again. maybe ferrari had accounted for that in some way?
incidentally the red team didn’t run the bins until silverstone last year, so we have nothing to compare this against. i’m just making some broad assumptions
June 10th, 2008 at 15:33 #29 - lou said:
Well by the looks of it Honda have just kinda jumped on the band wagon with the wheel bins. They seem to have them just cause others do. I could be wrong…
and on the subject of wheel bins….Ferrari didn’t have their front wheel bins on saturday or sunday but did on friday…did they suspect they (the wheel bins) could cause problems during the race?
June 10th, 2008 at 15:40 #30 - Rich said:
Christine, you mention that Red Bull had no celebratory stunts for Coulthard’s podium finish (like the Team Principal jumping into the Med or swimming pool without his clothes on). Apparently, Peter Sauber will peroxide his hair as a promise he made in 2006 if BMW Sauber win a Grand Prix. Fortunately the 64 year old has rather little hair to bleach – nevertheless it is quite funny to think of Peter Sauber having more than a blond moment or two.
Source: http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/080609173322.shtml
June 10th, 2008 at 16:33 #31 - lou said:
‘Me’/Christine, I have just re-downloaded the podcast on itunes 2 times and it still doesn’t appear to be the enhanced one. Not sure if anyone else is having the smae problems. Sorry if this causes problems, just thought you should know.
June 10th, 2008 at 16:36 #32 - me said:
apologies lou, i have updated the feed though. hmm, i’ll look into it some more.
June 10th, 2008 at 16:39 #33 - lou said:
strange. I will have another go. Don’t worry
i just thought you should know 
June 10th, 2008 at 16:55 #34 - lou said:
Having had another go its still the same. No chapters or anything. It’s probably my computer though.
June 10th, 2008 at 16:58 #35 - Dan Brunell said:
From the Checkered Flag Podcast:
“Lewis:… you can’t even call it a racing incident What do you call it?
Holly: It just one of those mistakes.
Lewis: Well… I… again… I don’t call it one of those either.”
I rest my case…
June 10th, 2008 at 17:09 #36 - me said:
if it helps you can download it using the link at the top of this page and drop the file into itunes. the feed says it’s now pointing at the right place now though.
June 10th, 2008 at 17:12 #37 - me said:
i’m 50/50 on whether the guys been trained to avoid words like “mistake”, so that he doesn’t make front page news the next day with:
“Lewis admits mistake”
or whether he genuinely thinks he never makes such things.
either way, the hasn’t helped his media cause at all. i wonder what his cool image makes of it all?
June 10th, 2008 at 18:09 #38 - Alianora La Canta said:
I think McLaren needs to teach Lewis a media-friendly term for describing an error. It would make him more popular.
As for Lewis’ “cool image”, my guess is that it would find the thingamajig so uncool that anything happening thereafter would look positively sub-zero in comparison.
June 10th, 2008 at 18:10 #39 - Dan Brunell said:
One thing I tell people when I do media training is that you never, never ask a question of the media. If you make that mistake, be prepared to answer fully, factually, and honestly. Lewis certainly broke that rule.
I actually I would have respect for the guy if he did admit that he screwed up freely without being prodded. It might make him look fallible but at least it makes him more honest and sincere. After all… people forgive mistakes, they don’t forgive being lied to.
June 10th, 2008 at 19:05 #40 - Rich said:
The silly season has began, with rumours of Alonso eyeing Nick Heidfeld’s seat at BMW Sauber.
So Bobby K sounds cool on a hook-up with El Nano. I cannot imagine who Bobby K is referring to with reference to a person that thinks too much about their image and says things for marketing or wants to look cool? Please provide comments with your own interpretations of this cryptic text.
Would Alonso benefit with a move to BMW?
Although ME does not agree, I think Alonso has given up as a Team Player at Renault – in the last two races he has potentially thrown nine points (6th place @ Monaco and 3rd place @ Canada) out of window. I say potentially – the Renault brakes might not have stood the heat in Canada. Certainly he has been attacking Heidfeld as if he is a matador stalking and staking a sacrificial Red Bull. BMW-Sauber would have noticed since the Monaco attack meant construction of a new chassis for Canada. Alonso is attempting to show what he can do with the rubbish car in the hope that he does not have it next year (he would be crazy not to have negotiated the rumoured escape clause). Alonso is a clever little fella, he almost single-handedly ended the era of Schumacher induced F1 boredom with arguably inferior equipment. I am speculating but Ferrari simply do not seem to be quite as interested in his services as this son of Oviedo thinks they should be. Ferrari, being irritating content with their current driver line-up means BMW-Sauber is really the only other choice (since he well and truly blotted his copy books at the Woking factory). The big question is will Alonso want to drive with a team mate as fast, competitive and challenging as Bobby K? I suspect for Alonso, it would be much more appealing to have Mr Nice Guy Nick as a team mate, one he can dominate both on and off the track. Part of his negotiation will certainly include who he drives with. Finally driving for the Swiss-German outfit means he is closer to his Lake Geneva home and anyway a BMW company car is way cooler than the present Renault.
Would BMW Sauber be interested in Alonso’s services?
There is no question having the youngest Double World Champion as one of your drivers is a feather in your cap for a young team and represents huge marketing potential. The Hinwil concern will no doubt be cautious of repeating McLaren’s experience of employing two young and aggressive drivers. If Bobby K and Alonso could work together without squabbling it would be the making of a seriously competitive “dream duo” (one that could challenge for the constructors championship). A lower risk and lower return would be the Alonso and Nick pairing. Nick is on contract for 2009, while Bobby K’s contrat ends this year – but who cares they are not worth much. BMW-Sauber have two considerations, can they afford Alonso and a £25 million salary together with Bobby K who will be wanting rather more than this year, and will Bobby K wish to remain in the team. Given the doors to Maranello seem firmly closed for the 2009 season, Bobby K’s only real option, other that staying put, is to abandon reason and head for sunny Surrey. Equally McLaren must be eyeing the young Pole. Speed and consistency are merely his driving assets, the fact that he comes from one of the former eastern-block countries with their emerging economies and healthy population of close on 39 million people will represent healthy/new marketing/sponsorship opportunities. McLaren will not think twice of dumping the likeable but under-achieving Finn for this jewel. I have no doubt that while BMW-Sauber would be more cautious with the pairing of two such young racing studs, Mclaren will jump at the gamble.
The reality is Bobby K has until September to decide whether his fortunes rest with the Good German Doctor or the British Spin Doctor. Otherwise it really is to early to open season on driver line-ups for next year. In any event we need to find the first person to vacate their seat in the multiple musical chairs. My guess is it will be Kovi being shown the exit door, though the press are speculating on the quiet, little Teutonic guy.
June 10th, 2008 at 19:16 #41 - me said:
kubica said that? wow, the knives are really coming out this week aren’t they? ouch.
brilliant
if piquet outlasts any other driver on the grid i will be stunned.
btw: we’re subheading our comments now? i approve
June 10th, 2008 at 20:07 #42 - Dom said:
I’ve made a few comments about this already and don’t want to sound like I’m going on about it, but it seems to me that Lewis is treating the Media as if they are and always will be on his side. He seems to think they are dumber than they really are and doesn’t realise they can, and often do, misinterpret what he’s saying into something completely diffrent.
I can’t imagine Nick leaving BMW anytime soon, but its interesting to hear Robert’s (or bobby’s) opinions of Fernando. Didn’t really think they knew each other that well.
Hehe. I haven’t heard from Peter Sauber for so long. It would be interesting to know just how much input he has on BMW.
Also, I think it was Poppy that noticed this in the Live Comments. ITV have had to apologise after the Equality and Human Rights Commission have complained to Martin Brundle for his use of the word ‘Pikey’ during the grid walk. I can’t imagine why he would say that, but during live TV is just stupidity.
June 10th, 2008 at 20:27 #43 - Dan Brunell said:
I really don’t see BMW dropping Nick Heidfeld. He is 1) German, 2) hasn’t done too badly this season ((two podiums, finish in the top 10 in all but Monaco)) and finally 3) that team is extremely loyal to him. He has been with that team through thick and thin. I just don’t see them dropping him like that. That is not to say that Nick might leave on his own.
As for these “Alonso to Ferrari” or “Alonso to BMW” stories, I get the feeling they are just rumors of the exotic sort. I don’t see him making a move this year or next for the simple reason he has time on his hands and the best opportunity will come along. He doesn’t need to push anything. The market out their right now is rather bleak. Why risk the future for short term change?
As for who will take him. McLaren won’t take him back and I don’t see Ferrari throwing away Massa or Kimi for him. BMW I have discussed. Red Bull seems set on Vettel and Webber for their future. Williams can’t afford him. Any other team would be a step down from his current situation, well except for Honda, which might be the wild card. They would certainly push Rubens Barrichello out the door to get Alonso.
Again, the best thing Alonso can do is stay put at Renault and bring all he can… at least for one more year. He is currently in a no lose situation. If a driver falls out with Ferrari, he wins. If Lewis Hamilton slams a chair over Ron Dennis back and jump ship, he wins. If a driver leaves BMW, he wins. If Renault magically gets into contention, he wins. If Ross Brawn is able to turn around Honda, he could team up with Honda and make a Brawn/Alonso relationship work like the Brawn/Schumacher juggernaut. The world is his oyster.
June 10th, 2008 at 20:44 #44 - Steven Roy said:
On the subject of brake cooling duct extensions(hub caps). No-one with the slightest intelligence ever bought Ferrari’s explanation that they needed hub caps to cool the brakes because of the magic gas in their tyres. Apart from anything else they first introduced them on the rear wheels when anyone with a basic grasp of race car physics knows that the front brakes do the most work and generate the most heat.
The only person who apparently believed them was Max either through collusion or stupidity.
It has been obvious since the begining that these devices are purely aerodynamic and therefore entirely illegal. Porsche amongst others ran similar devices in sports cars in the 80s albeit without the pretense of cooling brakes. They are illegal because no aerodynamic device may be fitted to the unsprung part of the car. They are illegal because they are moving aerodynamic devices both as a result of suspension/wheel movement and steering and they are illegal because they are driver controlled aerodynamic devices because the driver steers them. I assume this last reason was why Ferrari introduced them on the rears first. Easier justification.
It has long been known that the airflow round the front wheels is to say the least problematic so cleaning it up is consequently advantageous. Although it has never been proven my belief has always been that they give a major advantage on turn in and transient aerodynamics have been one of the problem areas that aerodynamicists have been trying to sort out for some time.
Max has been harping on about making F1 research more road relevant so you have to ask why hub caps were ever allowed when there is plenty of justification for banning them. Now Ferrari have admitted that there is no ‘legal’ justification for them there can no longer be any reason however spurious to allow them and to allow teams to spend a fortune researching further tiny benefits.
I can imagine the outcry had McLaren come up with these devices and were now saying that they lied about their justification. Max would have a field day. Well Max, Ferrari have made you look really stupid – well even more stupid for allowing and defending their hub caps. Are you going to do anything about it or are you going to keep Ferrari International Assistance operating normally?
June 10th, 2008 at 20:48 #45 - Rich said:
Personally I think it would be sad for the team to drop Nick – he seems the loyal type.
I do actually agree with your analysis, my conclusion though is it is not actually Alonso or Kubica that is likely to be able to move unless a vacancy occurs, most likely at McLaren.
Will Kovi get it right? How much patience does McLaren have?
You have argued that Alonso’s best bet is Renault – but somehow I sense a desperation in the expression of his driving – not sure he has analysed it this way.
So you reckon Honda would boot Rubens out over Jenson. I think it is a close call and would feel sorry for either driver if it happened.
June 10th, 2008 at 20:54 #46 - MacLaren said:
On the subject of Max and his “issues”:
McLaren were fined $100 million for, among other things, bringing F1 into “disrespute” over Stepneygate.
By that metric, is $200 million to high a fee for Max to pay for his actions to F1’s standing?
June 10th, 2008 at 21:14 #47 - Rich said:
Considering that Nigel was an employee of Ferrari they should have got fined for bringing the sport into “disrepute”. Takes two to tango!
June 10th, 2008 at 22:30 #48 - Rich said:
Rosberg admits mistake
The French language La Presse newspaper, reports Nico as saying…
How completely different to Hamilton’s interpretation.
He goes on to say
No ifs and buts – accepted responsibility. Most people would agree that Rosberg’s mistake was more understandable he was following Hamilton quite closely . Nevertheless he did slow, just not enough, in contrast Hamilton went into Raikkonen at the full 80 km/h (his whole front end lifted up).
Source: http://www.f1complete.com/content/view/8919/1/
June 10th, 2008 at 22:42 #49 - MacLaren said:
Sorry about the extra ’s’. I type with a lisp.
June 11th, 2008 at 00:11 #50 - SteveintheUK said:
Hi All
Have only just got round to listening to this weeks show, I wish I could say it was due to having a life, but sadly more due to working on to many different projects at the same time, none of which required me to go online.
Anyway, first off, My 26 mile Charity Bikeathon Ride for Leukamia Research resulted in me actually doing 31 miles, 3 Pubs, 1 Pig Roast and a extra large ice cream in 2 hours 41 minutes. Yes I know some people can run 26 miles quicker than that but it was a really hilly course around Rugby, I never thought middle england had so many hills, one of which was 2.6 miles long and not fun at all. At least I beat the 12 year old girl and her dad who kept overtaking my on the uphill sections by a good 3 minutes. No I’m not joking, a 36 years old male nearly got beaten on a 31 mile bike ride by a 12 year old girl, it’s not giving me much confidence for my attempt at the London-Brighton next year. I’m just really glad that I lost 7.5kg over the last 8 weeks or I would have been way behind the 12 year old girl.
Also congrats to my friends, girlfriends work colleagues who completed the 50 mile course in only 2 hours 45 min. I think I have a lot more training to do over the next year.
Second, Fantasy Racers Team, I can’t believe I got 720 points in Canada? But Christine, isn’t the idea of having a team to pick your drivers at the start of the year and maybe make one or two minor changes during the year? and not to sack all your drivers and hire new ones just because people take the mickey out of you for doing so well at sandbagging? or did you not think you had sandbagged enough and wanted to switch to drivers you know would do so badly just to give the rest of us a changes? Oh and to make teams like ‘Racing4Last’ look bad for picking such a pointless name, if the original driver line up for ‘Racing4Last’ had scored points in the first 2 races they would be on 3419 points, with only one driver change. When you pick a driver line you should stick with them for the whole season, sorry Bourdais but you where just to bad this year, if team dropped drivers just because of poor results where would DC or Button be now?
Thirs, Massive, massive thanks to Lou for keeping me updated over the last 2 race weekend via Tweeter. Lou, I hope your exams and revision are still going to plan?
Fourth, \I really need to sleep now, so will have to come back to this, but Christine and ‘me’ Thanks again for another great show and race weekend, I had a quick look at some of the comments but with nearly 2,800 for the race weekend it’s going to take me some time. I hope to be around to help you break the 1,000 live comments for the next race.
PS, if any of the above doesn’t make sense, I’m sorry, typing this after my eyes and brain have already gone to sleep so haven’t been able to prove read it before posting, Sorry.
June 11th, 2008 at 00:28 #51 - lou said:
June 11th, 2008 at 09:43 #52 - Mattw said:
The Porsche solution, I blieve was simply to produce wheel rims that had a flat face, rather than an additional device fitting over wheel. At Le Mans, the Mulsanne stright was over 3.5 miles in those days. the Jaguar team even had body work pannels that covered the rear wheels.
The big issue for a driver, is not so much that Alonso is in the other car, but that he will isist on ‘number 1′ status.I cannot imagine that Kubica would be happy with that. Maybe he is so welcoming becase he is safe in the knowledge it won’t happen? Did he not say something in the post race press conference about “BMW should support me 100% now”?
If Alonso wants out of Renault, then I suspect he will need to drop his instance of being the sole number 1 driver in a team. Otherwise he has made his own bed, and must sleep in it.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:02 #53 - Rich said:
Yes for one of two possible reasons, first Alonso wants the same arrangement Michael Schumacher had of being the number 1 driver which BMW-Sauber is unlikely to accept or b) he is already negotiating a deal somewhere else.
He did say that and it raised my suspicions – is this to mean that he should be the number 1 driver? Since Nick was leading Robert in the points last year should not Nick have been made number 1 last year? I guess winning the first Grand Prix for the team might be some justification. Generally when drivers become very good they seem to demand that sort of treatment.
Now I have a bit of an admission, Kimi is world champion and yet I am not seeing him being given preferential treatment over Felipe at Ferrari. I cannot recall him demanding it either. To be honest he has not adversely commented on Felipe’s recent success either. So, if I am right, why does Kimi not expect it and Bobby K seems to expect it?
Alonso has number 1 status at Renault – like Michael Schumacher, he needs to build the team up the way Michael did with Ferrari to deserve such a privileged being maintained.
June 11th, 2008 at 13:39 #54 - me said:
you’re going to read all of them? wow, am impressed.
June 11th, 2008 at 14:18 #55 - Journeyer said:
Hey guys, not so sure where to post this, so I’ll do it here:
Ove Andersson passes away in a racing accident near his home in South Africa.
News on the grandprix.com website.
June 11th, 2008 at 14:22 #56 - me said:
cheers journeyer, that’s a heck of a write up from grandprix.com.
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns20456.html
did they miss anything? phew.
June 11th, 2008 at 14:26 #57 - Journeyer said:
Nope, that’s pretty much complete. Very detailed and exhaustive summary.
June 11th, 2008 at 15:09 #58 - my FA fantasy said:
Volvo makes dangerous cars and it’s an odd way to go.
June 11th, 2008 at 15:44 #59 - me said:
yet more on the man here:
http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft20457.html
i enjoyed reading that.
June 11th, 2008 at 16:00 #60 - lou said:
Hey guys! I’m not sure if you are all fans, but Top gear is back!
Starting the 22nd June for 6 weeks! I’m very excited, It’s gonna be great! hehe also i have just 1 exam left! 
yay!
June 11th, 2008 at 16:02 #61 - me said:
there’s trailer here too:
http://idents.tv/…ets-ready-for-its-11th-season/
one final good luck for ya then.
June 11th, 2008 at 16:07 #62 - lou said:
ehehe
I’m very happy it’s back, have been listening to ‘Gareth Jones on Speed’ and they had some interesting insider info. thanks.
Thanks ‘me’ and thanks to everyone on sidepodcast i would not have been able to keep up with the news and take enjoyable resbite from revision without ya
June 11th, 2008 at 16:52 #63 - my FA fantasy said:
The same. Rallying has always been somewhat dangerous, even modern WRC cars can’t guarantee drivers/co-drivers 100% safety.
I was a bit surprised to learn that Ove’s son works for Renault F1.
Top Gear is fun, it’s just that cars become more and more irrelevant in modern life. Gas stations in the place where I live are running out of fuel because of protests from the lorry drivers, had to spend an hour waiting in the queue today to fill up the tank. EU is falling apart I think. I personally don’t care about new cars, I’ll be driving my old Twingo until it falls apart.
June 11th, 2008 at 17:34 #64 - Scott Woodwiss said:
Can’t wait! I love watching those 3 arse about in cars for our entertainment
Reading about that big race, I’m starting to get an idea of what it might be. It’s in Japan, so – new Nissan GT-R vs Bullet Train?
Now THAT would be awesome
June 11th, 2008 at 17:47 #65 - lou said:
June 11th, 2008 at 17:55 #66 - me said:
am i the only one who’d just rather wait until it’s on before trying to find out what they’re up to this series?
doesn’t it ruin it, knowing?
as a favour to me, please don’t drop any spoilers for this series
and no, i don’t want to know who the stig is
June 11th, 2008 at 18:09 #67 - lou said:
i’m just interested. hehe they are not proper spoilers just kinda what things to expect. i didn’t go looking for it (just so you know) thats just one of the many many podcasts i listen too.
don’t worry. not more top gear talk on sidepodcast till the ep is shown on TV 
lol i don’t know who the stig is, and don’t want to
it would kinda spoil it. The mystery is enough for me. 
June 11th, 2008 at 18:11 #68 - me said:
appreciate it.
afterwards, much talk
June 11th, 2008 at 18:16 #69 - lou said:
I look forward to it. It’s going to be a busy day motoring wise. What with the french GP that day too
June 11th, 2008 at 18:28 #70 - Steven Roy said:
I agree with ‘me’. There are too many TV programs now where you know everything that is going to happen months before the event.
June 11th, 2008 at 19:48 #71 - Corey said:
I’m with you me I would rather wait until the 22nd to see what these jokers get up to.
So,
and me too
Another good podcast guys was so busy I hardly saw any free practice. Have to agree with Christine on Massa, I started the season expecting him to be garbage but I think he is the man to watch for the championship and it definitely didn’t hurt that he so calmly accepted the interview.
June 11th, 2008 at 20:06 #72 - Rich said:
You guys in the UK are so lucky with you TV!
June 11th, 2008 at 20:11 #73 - Rich said:
Agree with Lou – by the way good luck with your one remaining exam!
June 11th, 2008 at 20:23 #74 - lou said:
Thanks Rich
Im gonna be very happy tomorrow evening because i can actually read all the news articles. Properly catch up 
oh and in the next couple of days i can start properly writing for f1break! at last 
June 11th, 2008 at 20:36 #75 - lou said:
Corey, ‘me’, everyone out there in Sidepodcast land
As i said earlier
I will not drop any spoilers, promise (not that i know any really)
June 11th, 2008 at 20:37 #76 - Rich said:
Thanks Lou, look forward to reading some of your ideas. I think there is a lot of ideas here on Sidepodcast for inspiration.
June 11th, 2008 at 20:39 #77 - Rich said:
Bit cheeky here – is anyone going to record Top Gear?
June 11th, 2008 at 20:41 #78 - lou said:
Only on my sky box. I’m sure it will turn up on youtube. They always do. Failing that (not sure if you can get it outside the UK) but it will be on iplayer.
June 11th, 2008 at 21:22 #79 - Rich said:
Thanks Lou, Actually what I do is to try and re-construct from youtube exerts. Unfortunately iPlayer only works in the UK. I did watch it when I was able to use a UK proxy – but that has been closed down.
June 12th, 2008 at 02:15 #80 - me said:
interesting, i’ve never really thought about it much before, but i do like learning how things are created, but only after i’ve seen the final result.
i guess finding out what the TG boys are up to, would be like buying a dvd and listening to the directors commentary before you’ve seen the film.
June 12th, 2008 at 05:32 #81 - SteveintheUK said:
All the best for your final exam today Lou, I’m sure your do great.
Well not word for word, but I do try and have a quick look over them.
Sad passing of a great man but a great write up about his life by grandprix.com, at least he was still able to take part on motorsports at the age of 70, I hope I can still able to drive at that age.
but the directors commentary is the only reason why I buy a film on DVD, why else do people still buy DVD’s? don’t people just rent films or download them now days? or am I just a sad old man?
June 12th, 2008 at 06:03 #82 - me said:
completely agree, but it’s not the first thing you watch is it? especially if you’ve never seen the film before.
June 12th, 2008 at 09:19 #83 - Rich said:
Agreed, the key word is after!
June 12th, 2008 at 10:59 #84 - lou said:
Davidson makes testing return with Honda
yay Ant is back
June 12th, 2008 at 11:05 #85 - lou said:
Are they testing with Ant cause Wurz is doing Le Mans?
June 12th, 2008 at 12:42 #86 - my FA fantasy said:
It’s likely because of that. They needed a solid test driver. BBC motorsport website says Ant also took part in a straight-line test for Honda in Spain over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend last month.
Anyway, glad Ant is back in action.
June 13th, 2008 at 19:58 #87 - SteveintheUK said:
I’m sad to say that if I’m watching the film by myself then the first, and only, time I watch a film is with one of the audio commentary by either the director or producer turned on. I just have a really short attention spam so very rarely make it though the seconded viewing of a film, even when months or years later, but then I don’t have much time to watch films, the last film I watched on DVD was ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ and the Bond movie, ‘Casino Royale’, I guess I should really find some friends in the physical world to watch films with.
June 13th, 2008 at 20:04 #88 - Christine said:
Steve, I know what you mean, I haven’t watched a film in forever. You’re ahead of me because I haven’t seen any of Daniel Craig as Bond yet, though I want to.
I couldn’t watch the commentary of a film at the same time as watching it, though, I have a hard enough time concentrating enough to follow the plot.
The only time I think we’ve ever put the director’s commentary over the top of a film during the first (and only) viewing was Road to Perdition and that’s because it was SO dull.
June 13th, 2008 at 20:05 #89 - me said:
you’ve just shot my whole argument to pieces!
June 13th, 2008 at 20:24 #90 - Alianora La Canta said:
I’m struggling to remember the last time I sat down and watched a film from beginning to end (it was probably A Christmas Carol at Christmas on the TV), but I only have four films on DVD, and they’re a Disney multi-pack. I’ve also got the 2003 DVD of the Formula 1 World Championship, but that’s not a film and I’ve never watched it all the way through…
June 13th, 2008 at 20:34 #91 - Steven Roy said:
There seems to be a lot of attention deficit disorder round here. I can’t remeber the last film I saw.
June 13th, 2008 at 20:46 #92 - Alianora La Canta said:
The thing is, there are only a limited number of films I actually want to watch, plus I find films are better when I watch them with somebody else. My best friend at university loved films, so when we were at uni I watched a lot of films, including some I wouldn’t have considered seeing if I’d been on my own (and the occasional one neither of us would watch twice – Underground II and The Da Vinci Code spring to mind immediately!)
Usually, though, I go for the book rather than the film. And I now remember that the last film I watched at the cinema was Harry Potter 5 last July (though by the sounds of it there may be a family trip to see Indiana Jones soon – Mum is particularly keen).
June 18th, 2008 at 12:33 #93 - Every Now and Then I Fall Apart | Sidepodcast : Your Weekly F1 Podcast said:
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