It’s a big one… Our 100th podcast here at Motor Sport and it’s the first one in partnership with Mercedes-Benz. It was also our first podcast al fresco in the British summer sun.
Derek Warwick was on his usual fantastic form and we cover everything from knicking his Dad’s engines in Superstox to his Uncle Stan flying aeroplanes under Tower Bridge (yes, really). We also find time to talk about sports cars, Formula 1 and young British driving talent.
Alastair Caldwell tells good stories. A lot of good stories. Whether it’s about how he got into the sport or what it was like looking after James Hunt the night before the Canadian Grand Prix they are always entertaining and they usually end with a michevous cackle.
For this Royal Automobile Club Talk Show we focused solely on 1976 – the year that James Hunt won the title. It was an incredible year in Formula 1 with everything from terrible accidents to race disqualifications. “I remember when we were on our way back from Japan,” Alastair told me after we stopped recording, “and we all said to each other: There’s no point in taking this to Hollywood, no one would believe what happened.” Over 30 years later Rush, the Hollywood film centered around 1976, was made.
The Club is celebrating that world championship year all through 2016 and only two weeks ago hosted a dinner with John Hogan, Freddie and Tom Hunt and James’ two sisters and brother.
We hope you enjoy Alastair’s view on the season which put Formula 1 on the global TV map.
The reward for an early start for the podcast team was an hour-long chat with David Richards, chairman of Prodrive.
A winner in the World Rally Championship as co-driver, he and Prodrive have gone on to feature at the top of all four-wheeled motor sport. He gives his views on the state of modern Formula 1 and WRC, Colin McRae, Jenson Button and Jacques Villeneuve. Plus modern GT racing’s appeal, and he answers your many, many questions.
Last night’s Motor Sport Hall of Fame kicked off with a panel discussion on motor sport’s great rivalries.
Hosted by TV presenter Jennie Gow the stars included five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell, nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, two-time Le Mans class winner Darren Turner, former Formula 1 driver and team owner Jackie Oliver, Motor Sport writer and former Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley and editor Damien Smith.
Being the month of May we sat down with Sir Stirling Moss to talk Monaco and the Mille Miglia. Moss famously won the latter in 1955 with Motor Sport’s continental correspondent Denis Jenkinson aboard the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. In Monaco he also enjoyed great success with Grand Prix wins in 1956, 1960 and 1961. His last win there, when he held off the faster Ferraris behind him, is widely considered one of his greatest races of all time.
We also take readers’ questions which cover Moss’ greastest corners, his retirement from racing and much more.
Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, Williams in the 1980s, Frank Williams, Patrick Head, the state of modern F1, the problem with overtaking, Toyota, Jarno Trulli, Juan Pablo Montoya, Alain Prost… There is not much we don’t cover in this podcast with Frank Dernie. Suffice to say that we are already organising part 2.
If you’re a Nigel Mansell fan, make sure you’re sitting down…
John Surtees has a lot of fans. That much is clear from how many questions and good wishes were submitted when we announced we were recording a podcast with him.
He’s also amazingly sprightly and his memory is far better than mine. At the end of the podcast below I fired a completely random question to him about racing around the streets of Madrid in the late 1950s and within a matter of seconds he was into a story about the crowds and Francisco Franco sitting in a dangerous place. Astonishing.
We talk through the 2016 Motor Sport Hall of Fame shortlist (below) and John gives his view on who he’d like to see victorious in each category. What’s more, we take as many questions as possible.
The shortlist, as voted for by you, is: Formula 1 – Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth, Gilles Villeneuve, Professor Sid Watkins, Sports cars – Derek Bell, Brian Redman, Pedro Rodríguez, Motorcycling – Joey Dunlop, Mike Hailwood, Valentino Rossi, Rallying – Richard Burns, Sébastien Loeb, Hannu Mikkola, US racing – Dan Gurney, AJ Foyt, Roger Penske.
Here’s what Il Grande John had to say…
40 minutes with the 23-time Isle of Man TT winner before he was awarded the Segrave Trophy.
The first in a new series – we look back at the 2008 and 2009 Formula 1 seasons when Honda pulled out of the sport. Ross Brawn and Nick Fry, after trying to find a buyer, decided to purchase the team themselves. What followed was one of the most remarkable seasons in Grand Prix history. Here is the full story.
Simon Arron, Damien Smith, Mark Hughes and Rob Widdows are joined by Williams’ Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds to review testing and preview the 2016 Formula 1 season.
