Sidepodcast

Actually, the title may be a bit misleading. I’m not staying awake for 24 hours, not even for Franck. This thread is here for any Le Mans discussion, although it’s not aiming to replicate the Live Comment phenomenon of an F1 race weekend. If you spot anything interesting over the course of the 24 hours, then drop it in the comments and we can all try and stay informed.

So far, the online sources we’ve uncovered are:

Live Timing
Autosport Live
Radio Le Mans
Speed TV à la TVU Networks (look for Wheels under the Sports category)
Planet Le Mans 
Justin TV (Mac friendly)

We all know that I’m rooting for Mr Montagny in second position for Peugeot, and I’ll be on edge and snappy until it’s over.

It’s gonna be a great weekend at Sidepodcast HQ!

There have been plenty of battles at Sidepodcast Towers, from who is in charge of updating the RSS feeds, to whether things fall under good week or bad week. The most recent argument, however, is just how much Champ Car news is allowed on an F1 podcast.

I am not quite ready to let Mr Montagny go just yet, and if that means sacrificing some minutes on the show to talking about how great he is and how he deserves a drive, I’m all for it. You can imagine that my co-host is not so keen.

Deep down, I know he’s right, because our first love is Formula 1 and we don’t want to dilute Sidepodcast with other series - even if they do have sidepods. We still have so much to say on our chosen subject, it would be foolish to add yet more news to the mix.

So, the compromise: iheartfranck.com

Continue reading…

One of my favourite stories for a long time comes courtesy of Mr Ralf Schumacher. No surprises there, he is usually good for a laugh.

He tested for Force India this week, and let’s be honest, he made a bit of a hash of it. He had mechanical problems (admittedly not his fault), he crashed and almost hit a tyre wall (probably his fault) and ended up at the bottom of the time sheets.

So, what do you do if you are going for a job and you have a really bad interview? Or if you want something quite a lot but realise you’ve ruined any chance you ever had? You pretend that you never wanted it in the first place, of course.

“I don’t think I will be driving for Force India. I want to achieve something and I don’t think I can do that with Force India. I am going home now and we will see.”

Bless his heart. We understand Ralf, we really do.

There were a few complaints here at Sidepodcast Towers about there being a picture of Ralf on the site, so in the interest of being fair and unbiased, here’s another Force India tester.

Order is restored once more.

Show notes for Episode 42.

A few weeks away from the Formula 1 news means there is plenty to talk about this time around, including:

• Where will Alonso go?
• Who’s being mean to Franck?
• Can Kimi celebrate yet?

Theme music: Rich Reich, Keeping Up With The Race. Download the show transcript for full text.

I don’t know if any of you have ever tried recording a podcast when the rest of the country is celebrating Bonfire Night? It is not easy or fun.

To amuse myself whilst I wait for a break in the bangs, crackles and fizzes, I thought I would sign up for the JensonButton.com newsletter. What? Wait, what? Come on, don’t look at me like that.

Anyway, from one festive activity to another, apparently Jenson has come up with a brilliant idea for a competition:

“Seasons Greetings”. Yawn. “Happy Christmas!” Snore. If you’re anything like Jenson, chances are those tired old holiday cards you send and receive each year don’t get your engines revving.

Think you can do better? Jenson does, and he thought up a competition to give you the chance to be the designer of his official Christmas card this year.

Whether you scribble it freehand, paint it like Picasso or digitally design it, he wants to see it. Make a masterpiece to do Father Christmas proud, and you could have your work selected by JB himself!

You know that Jenson stayed awake all last night coming up with that one, don’t you?

Whilst I would usually turn my nose up at such patronising offers for activities - like I don’t have enough to do - these fireworks are driving me crazy, and a bit of soothing Photoshopping might work.

Do you think Jenson would mind his Christmas Card having Franck on the cover?