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TMR Game 2011 – Week 11

Hello and welcome to TMR Game Week 11.

This post accepts entries for these races:
– Sepang (F1);
– Barber Motorsport Park (IndyCar);
– Texas Motor Speedway (NASCAR Cup);

Housekeeping

Each week you pick 10 entries with a maximum of 7 of those coming from a single championship. You can have any mix of races from those listed in this post, and you don’t have to use all of them.

See this page for the game rules.

Email reminders will be sent on Thursdays or Fridays by either myself or Sebastian. Please leave a valid email address in the comment form. If you do not wish to receive reminders please let us know, otherwise we’ll assume we’re okay to send them. Also let us know (privately if you prefer) if you would like to use a different address to the one you use here. I may also use Twitter or other sites if I happen to see you there on Thursday or Friday.

The deadline for entries is Saturday morning at 6am GMT / 1am ET.

Continue reading “TMR Game 2011 – Week 11”

A Promising Season of MotoGP

Today’s MotoGP race at Jerez was the best I’d seen ages. After a year of so-so races which promised much but often failed to deliver, including the wet ones, this race was a return to old form – and dare I say even more dramatic than some Rossi-inspired classics we’ve seen in the past.

The race had everything. A damp slippery track; a legend starting in the middle of the field who immediately set about picking off 3 or 4 rivals per lap; a pair of World Champions riding off into the sunset in the early running, before being pulled in by the rookie on the privateer bike.. who subsequently fell off; the legend coming together with one of the past champs and only one surviving to continue, seemingly at the whim of the local marshals; nobody being able to hold on to 2nd or 3rd without finding some form of drama.

Amazing. You should watch this race. Make it a priority. Even if you aren’t usually a MotoGP fan: Watch This Race.

It is easy to claim the season will be a great one after a race like this when in fact it is an oddity, a one-off, but this time I think it is true. Obviously they won’t all be as dramatic as this one. They won’t be as boring as the races last year, either. We saw the potential in Qatar. Honda are the team to beat but they are beatable, Rossi and Ducati are coming together nicely, the Yamahas have a decent enough pace, and Simoncelli looks likely to mix it with the factory boys often.

We could see plenty of really good battles this season. Could MotoGP regain a lost crown and once more claim to have the best wheel-to-wheel action in the world? I think it can and will.

The Killer Years

I urge any fan of any branch of motorsport to watch this programme.

It will not be an easy watch, although it may be easier if you are accustomed to watching war documentaries with the detachment that brings.

It tells the story of Grand Prix racing, and racing generally, in the 1960s and 1970s and the attitudes that persisted at the time. It tells of the battle fought by Jackie Stewart and others to change the attitudes by all means necessary. The shock after Clark. And it shows the courage and bravery of these drivers to continue what they were doing as their peers were being killed off.

As Stewart says, “it was like the circuit owners were holding a pistol to our heads”.

It also tells of the immense bravery of David Purley and the stupidity and futility of those who either couldn’t or wouldn’t do anything to help Roger Williamson, and so many others through the years.

On a different note, aside from the valuable history lesson, it is also worth watching for the other period footage (most of which I had never seen before) and the contemporary interviews with ‘names’ from the time and notable racing historians such as David Tremayne.

If you are in the UK you can watch on the BBC iPlayer before Sunday by using this link:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00z8v18/Grand_Prix_The_Killer_Years/

If you are outside the UK or are reading this after Sunday, you can find the programme on YouTube in 4 chunks of 15 minutes: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4. I urge UK residents to please use the BBC video above – it registers a viewing with the BBC and will encourage them to air more motorsport documentaries.

Like any documentary it may have a few faults, things it misses for brevity.. but it is still worth a watch.

Do watch it.

TMR Game 2011 – Week 10

Hello and welcome to TMR Game Week 10.

This post accepts entries for these races:
– Jerez (MotoGP);
– Paul Ricard (Le Mans Series);
– Martinsville (NASCAR Cup);

Housekeeping

Thinking of joining in? If you place your first entry during the first 10 weeks of the game you will receive 80% of the lowest player’s score from any weeks you missed. That brings you into contention whilst applying a small penalty for lateness, the rest is up to you!

Each week you pick 10 entries with a maximum of 7 from a single championship. This is the first week of the season featuring more than one race, what will your strategy be, how will you split your picks between races? Remember for sportscars races to pick the car not the driver.

See this page for the game rules.

Email reminders will be sent on Thursdays or Fridays by either myself or Sebastian. Please leave a valid email address in the comment form. If you do not wish to receive reminders please let us know, otherwise we’ll assume we’re okay to send them. Also let us know (privately if you prefer) if you would like to use a different address to the one you use here.

The deadline for entries is Saturday morning at 6am GMT / 1am ET.

Continue reading “TMR Game 2011 – Week 10”