Motor Racing And Gallery Motor

Well, hopefully not Uruguay or France after that terrible, but predictable bore-draw last night.

I think the bookies have got it about right by making Spain the favourites- they are the most likely winners, but I also think that Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Serbia and Honduras could spring a few surprises along the way and that Holland should be in for a very good tournament. As for England: well, they have a great manager, but I’m not sure that they have enough genuinely world-class players in the squad to win it. Argentina are the complete opposite- they do have enough quality players to win the tournament, (including probably the best player in the world- Lionel Messi), but the doubts are about their manager, who prior to the World Cup hadn’t impressed with his selections or tactics.

Anyway, what do you reckon?

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While we celebrate the start today of the football World Cup in South Africa, (more on the World Cup later), let’s not forget that today is also the 55th anniversary of one of the worst sporting disasters of all time, one in which over 80 people lost their lives. Here’s my piece to mark the anniversary of the 1955 Le Mans disaster from the Daily Express.

RECKLESS BRITISH PLAYBOY BEHIND MOTOR RACING'S BIGGEST DISASTER
Neil Clark

It was the worst – and most ­horrific – disaster in the history of motor racing. On June 11, 1955, at the Le Mans 24-hour race, at least 83 spectators were killed and hundreds more injured when the burning remains of the Mercedes car driven by 49-year-old Frenchman Pierre Levegh, flew into the crowd­ following a terrible on-track collision. A 400-square-yard stretch of cheering ­people became a black, hysterical horror,” reported Time magazine.

The disaster stunned the world and led to some countries banning motor racing altogether. Fifty-five years on, questions remain as to who was to blame for the tragedy, as a BBC4 ­documentary relates.

Was it caused by Mercedes gambling on unproven new technologies? Was the death toll so high because there was a secret fuel additive in a hidden tank which caused Levegh’s car to explode? Was there an official cover-up on the causes of the crash by the French authorities? Or was it all to do with the recklessness of a devil-may-care British driver who had been told he had only a few years to live?

The backdrop to the disaster was intense rivalry between German and British motor-racing teams and their drivers. But the fierce competition had dire consequences for safety.

Motor racing in the Fifties was far more dangerous than today. Safety measures such as guard rails and tyre walls were non-existent. Drivers risked life and limb in every race. Just a fortnight before the Le Mans disaster Alberto Ascari, a dual world champion, had been killed at Monza in Italy. Only four days earlier he had ­narrowly escaped when his car tumbled into Monaco harbour. At Le Mans, six men had died in the race since it began in 1923.

But before 1955 spectators did not expect to be victims.
At the 1955 race more than 250,000 people eagerly awaited a battle between Mercedes, the dominant force in motor sport, and Jaguar, its British rival. Lead driver for Mercedes was Juan Manuel Fangio, the reigning world champion from Argentina, regarded as the greatest driver of all time.


Jaguar’s star was the dashing blond and ultra-patriotic 26-year-old Englishman Mike Hawthorn, a man known to hate all things German. It was said of Hawthorn that if he had been born 10 years earlier he would have been a Battle of Britain pilot. As it was he focused on beating German cars on the race track – calling his own cars “Merc eaters”. But unbeknown to his adoring ­public the Golden Boy was a sick man. In 1954 he’d had a ­kidney removed and was told he would be dead before he was 30. Hawthorn was determined to live his short life to the full. An exuberant character, he smoked and drank to excess, loved parties and piloted his own plane. But his favourite form of recreation was chasing and seducing Europe’s most beautiful women.

In 1953, after celebrating his victory in the French Grand Prix, Hawthorn spent the night in bed with a French girl. She became pregnant but the affair was kept secret and the girl, from a respectable background, was forced to live in a house at the end of her family’s garden until the baby was born. Hawthorn travelled to Paris after his lover had asked him for help and five years later gave his young son a ride in his car when he and his mother visited England.

Hawthorn was also a practical joker. Fellow driver Stirling Moss recalls an occasion when he was standing under a tree outside a pub when he thought it had started to rain. When he looked up he saw Hawthorn poised precariously in the tree, urinating on him.

On the racetrack Hawthorn played to win. He was accused by some of reckless driving and the events at Le Mans did little to dispel that reputation. Around two hours into the race Hawthorn began to slow for a pit stop. The braking caused the car behind him, an Austin Healey driven by British driver Lance Macklin, to pull into the middle of the track. Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes, travelling at 150mph, mounted the back of Macklin’s car and soared into the air. After hitting a mound it exploded and broke up, spraying red-hot shrapnel and debris into the crowd. Levegh was thrown from the car and killed on impact in front of his wife.

Eyewitness Jacques Grelley later said. “I was stepping over bodies – they were everywhere. I couldn’t talk for three hours.” His companion was decapitated with his binoculars still around his neck. As people lay dying, priests administered the last rites.

Incredibly the race continued because organisers believed a mass ­exodus would hinder rescuers. While Mercedes withdrew their drivers six hours later as a mark of respect, Hawthorn was instructed to continue and Jaguar claimed a ­hollow victory.

The European media were quick to blame the playboy British driver for what had happened. A fierce war of words broke out between ­Mercedes and Jaguar. ­Hawthorn protested his innocence. “In my judgment I allowed sufficient time for the driver of any following car to be aware of my intentions and for him to take such action as might be required without being of danger to others,” he said. He considered quitting the sport but the official inquiry exonerated him and said no single person could be held responsible.

The verdict was supported by Belgian racing driver and writer Paul Frere. “It is completely clear from the photographs ­Hawthorn did not make a sudden-brake-and-pull-sharp-right manoeuvre only a short distance from the pits, thereby endangering the cars near him.”

The tragedy could have been put down to many factors. Before the race Pierre Levegh had expressed ­concerns about the speed of the cars in the ­narrow pit straight.

Levegh’s car was made from a ­magnesium alloy which made it lighter and therefore faster but the downside was that it was highly inflammable. Also the car’s brakes were unreliable, a deadly combination.

For years rumours persisted that a secret fuel additive in a hidden extra fuel tank caused the car to explode when it hit the bank, though this has never been proved. The accident led to the imposition of new safety standards at Le Mans. Mercedes left Formula One at the end of the 1955 season, not to return for nearly 40 years.

Hawthorn recovered his appetite for the sport and in 1958 won a thrilling duel with Stirling Moss to become the first ever British Formula One world champion. Having reached the pinnacle of his profession he then decided to retire and planned to marry the model Jean Howarth.

There was no happy ending. But it was not his kidney disease that killed Hawthorne. On a wet morning in ­January 1959, his Jaguar spun off the A3 bypass near Guildford, Surrey, and hit a tree. He died in minutes.

Ironically, it may have been his fierce anti-German sentiment that killed him. A friend had been driving a ­Mercedes on the same stretch of road and Hawthorn, who couldn’t bear to see a German car get the better of his Jaguar “Merc eater”, decided to race against it. So the man whom many held responsible for the horrors of Le Mans, met his own tragic and untimely death less than four years later.

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"Do you want a world where consumerism reigns supreme? Or a world that allows for silence, intimacy, culture, privacy, family life as well as intellectual and spiritual life?"

Paris’s splendid Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, on why he wants big department stores in the French capital to stay shut on Sundays.

What a shame that he’s not the Mayor of London too.

Hat tip: The First Post.

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This gem from Victor Grossman in Berlin, appears in today's Morning Star:

News flash: The descendants of Long John Silver and Captain Flint have put in claims for damages.

As they pointed out, it was the passengers and crew of the ships captured who were the criminals since it was they who had beaten the men with knives and iron bars. It was necessary for the men to shoot and kill some of the attackers, acting in self-defence. To determine the facts they were willing to let a commission of impartial buccaneers decide.

Have I been dreaming after seeing a Johnny Depp film, or perhaps just watching the news?


Meanwhile, the UN Security Council prepares to vote on a US-backed plan for imposing swingeing new sanctions, not on serial international law breaking, nuclear-armed Israel, but on a Middle Eastern country which hasn’t attacked anyone and has no nuclear weapons. You really couldn’t make it up could you?

UDATE: Shamefully, the UN Security Council has just imposed fresh sanctions on Iran on account of its non-existent nuclear weapons programme. Bravo to Turkey and Brazil for voting against this nonsense.

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By Ghassan Hage,
(hat tip- Media Lens)

Long ago, I was made to understand that Palestine was not Palestine;
I was also informed that Palestinians were not Palestinians;
They also explained to me that ethnic cleansing was not ethnic cleansing.
And when naive old me saw freedom fighters
they patiently showed me that they were not freedom fighters,
and that resistance was not resistance.
And when, stupidly, I noticed arrogance, oppression and humiliation
they benevolently enlightened me so I can see that arrogance was not arrogance,
oppression was not oppression and humiliation was not humiliation.
I saw misery, racism, inhumanity and a concentration camp.
But they told me that they were experts in misery, racism, inhumanity
and concentrations camps and I have to take their word for it: this was not misery, racism, inhumanity and a concentrations camp.

Over the years they’ve taught me so many things:
invasion was not invasion, occupation was not occupation,
colonialism was not colonialism and apartheid was not apartheid…
They opened my simple mind to even more complex truths
that my poor brain could not on its own compute like:
‘having nuclear weapons’ was not ‘having nuclear weapons’,
‘not having weapons of mass destruction’ was ‘having weapons of mass destruction’.
And, democracy (in the Gaza strip) was not democracy.
Having second class citizens (in Israel) was democracy.

So you’ll excuse me if I am not surprised to learn today
that there were more things that I thought were evident that are not:
peace activists are not peace activists, piracy is not piracy,
the massacre of unarmed people is not the massacre of unarmed people.
I have such a limited brain and my ignorance is unlimited.
And they’re so fxxxing intelligent. Really.

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video: sir hughie.

How ironic, given the neoliberal passion for cutting the workforce.

But what a hugely impressive performance.

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See here:

And according to its supporters, Israel is defending ‘civilised’ values.

You can find details of today’s Stop the War march to the Israeli Embassy in London here. Do try to make it.

As Sarah Colborne, a survivor of the Freedom Flotilla massacre says: "We can't sit by and watch Israel violate international law every day".

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This piece of mine appears in the First Post.

Neil Clark: The egotistic culture of free market capitalism is to blame.

It's tempting to see Derrick Bird’s killing spree in Cumbria as 'just one of those things' - a freak, isolated event that has no real sociological cause. It's certainly a line taken by right-wing media commentators. "Terrible deeds like this happen every so often. Nothing could have been done to prevent it, little can be done to explain it," opines political blogger Iain Dale.

In fact, much can be done to explain it.

US-style killing sprees are a relatively recent phenomenon in Britain, occurring for the first time in Hungerford, Berkshire in 1987. We didn't have such occurrences in the 1940s, 50s, 60s, or 70s - and many countries in the world still don't experience such events. So where have we gone wrong?

The answer is that we've Americanised our economy, and consequently are paying a very high social cost.

You can read the whole article here:

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The British Racing and Sports Car Club makes its second visit of the season to Cadwell Park this weekend for an action-packed weekend of club racing action.

Included in the line-up on Saturday is the Porsche Club Championship, making its first appearance at the Lincolnshire circuit in four years.

Two races of 25 minutes in length will be held, with early championship leader Mark McAteer looking to stretch his advantage after two successful outings at Brands Hatch in early April.

But with Jeremy Clark and Marcus Carniel breathing down his neck in the championship standings, an interesting scrap at the front is likely.

Featuring on both days is the BRSCC alfashop Alfa Romeo Championship, with a race on each.

Expect to see a huge range in machinery from 1960s Giulias to the more modern 156s.

The Sports 2000 series for Le Mans-style sports prototypes also competes on both days with a wide variation in cars, including models from Lola, March and Van Diemen.

Adding further to the weekend's entertainment will be action from Ford Fiestas, Scottish Classic Sports and Saloons, Ford XR Challenge and the Ma5da MX5 Championship.

Tickets for the British Racing and Sports Car Club at Cadwell Park on 5/6 June are available from £10 for adults, with free entry for children ages 12 and under. For more information call 0870 950 9000 or click on the link below.

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It's the perfect way to celebrate the end of the school year. The Bullring, Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 3/8-mile asphalt oval, will host its annual School’s Out Party on Saturday night. Student admission is only $1.00. All students will receive a free bag of potato chips with every $1 hot dog purchase.

Fans are invited to listen to Area 108 (KVGS-FM 107.9) to win free tickets to this short-track racing spectacular.

Scheduled for Saturday night’s action-packed NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race card: MetroPCS Super Late Models, NASCAR Chargers, Legend Cars, Thunder Roadsters, Bandoleros, Bombers and ASA Speed Trucks. Gates open at 5 p.m. with racing at 6 p.m.

The Bullring’s concession stand offers a family-friendly dollar menu, featuring $1 hot dogs, $1 soda and $1 beer.

Listen to the announcers on 101.5 FM.

For more information, please call LVMS at (702) 644-4444 or visit www.LVMS.com. Follow LVMS on Facebook and Twitter.

Saturday, June 5*
5 p.m. – Spectator gates open.
5:15-5:45 p.m. – On-track autograph session.

6:05 p.m.
Bomber heat races (8 laps).
Charger heat races (10 laps).
Legend Cars Developmental feature (15 laps or 15 minutes).
Bandolero Bandit feature (12 laps or 12 minutes).
Bandolero Outlaw feature (12 laps or 12 minutes).

6:55 p.m. – National anthem.

7 p.m.
ASA Speed Truck Dash.
MetroPCS Super Late Model Dash.
Thunder Roadster feature (20 laps).
Bomber feature (25 laps).
Legend Cars feature (20 laps).
Charger feature (30 laps).
MetroPCS Super Late Model feature (40 laps).
ASA Speed Truck Series feature (75 laps).

*Schedule subject to change.

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Those of you who saw the Turkish Grand Prix on the weekend will recall the moment of disaster displayed above on lap 41 when the two Red Bull drivers Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber, in first and second at the time, collided, putting Vettel out of the race and demoting Webber behind the two McLarens.

Many believe that it was a 50-50, others that it was Webber or Vettels fault, but it was clearly just a racing incident, but also begs why the two were racing each other in the first place.

The two cars were first and second for Pete's sake. They had dominated the last two races and were running away from the rest in the constructor's championship. At this point of the race, had I been Christian Horner, I simply would not have let my drivers race wheel to wheel like that.

Of course, Hamilton and Button raced for the lead after these guys collided, but it crucially did not result in either dropping out of the race or losing position, and they made it a McLaren 1-2.

At this early stage of the season, team mates should not race each other. If they are fighting for the title towards the end then that is a different matter altogether, but there have only been 6 races.

Horner needs to get the drivers together now, make them vent any steam, and clear the air before Canada. The McLaren and Ferrari teams will both be strong there and Red Bull cannot afford to lose ground to them.

On another note, I was pleased to see the improvements the "B" class teams Lotus, Virgin and Hispania have made and look forward to the prospect of them picking up points towards the end of the season.

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Motorsport South Africa (MSA), the controlling body of all forms of motorsport in South Africa, has again embarked on a Greening campaign to plant trees at disadvantaged schools in Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal in celebration of World Environment Day on 5 June 2010. With financial assistance from the International Motorcycle Federation (FIM), trees were purchased from South Africa’s national greening organisation, Food & Trees for Africa (FTFA). The trees will be planted during the first week of June to promote greening, awareness of climate change, food security and to curb carbon dioxide pollution.




FTFA has distributed over 3,5 million trees, since its inception in 1990, and helped to set up over 2 500 organic food gardens for the poorest in South Africa.

In 1996, MSA became the first National Sports Federation in South Africa to adopt an Environmental Code and has a specialist Environmental Panel as part of their structure. Through this management structure MSA ensures that the highest environmental standards are met during the organisation and hosting of more than 1 200 motorsport events annually at all levels and it also promotes environmental education amongst all motorsport role players (approximately 16 000 competitors).

Francois Pretorius, Managing Director of MSA, says MSA has a responsibility to ensure that its activities do not negatively impact on the Environment and the planning and staging of environmentally-sound motorsport events is thus essential.

Marius Matthee, President of the MSA Environment Panel says MSA has proofed itself as being a reliable partner for environmental awareness and protection amongst all its stakeholders, but is also happy to be associated with Food & Trees for Africa and the youth of South Africa.

The actual tree planting event s highlight the benefits of trees and greening, thereby educating the youth on important environmental and climate change issues. Trees are integral to the quality of human life and the environment. When managed in a sustainable way they can continue to supply current and future generations with a wide range of essential ecological, social and economic goods and services.

MSA wishes competitors in all categories of motorsport enjoyment in their chosen sport, whilst caring for the environment at the same time. These commitments ensure that the environment, social and recreational values are maintained, whilst promoting sustainable motosport in South Africa for future generations. The trees will be planted at the Kharwastan Secondary School and the Specnova Special Needs School in KwaZulu Natal. Schools in Gauteng which will receive trees are: St Ives Primary School, Klipspruit West, Klipspruit West Senior Secondary, Tshedimosho Primary School.

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John Pilger writes:

Imagine someone on state benefits caught claiming £40,000 of taxpayers’ money in a second home scam. A prison sentence would almost certainly follow. David Laws, chief secretary to the Treasury, does the same and is described as follows:

“I have always admired his intelligence, his sense of public duty and his personal integrity” (Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister). “You are a good and honourable man. I am sure that throughout you have been motivated by wanting to protect your privacy rather than anything else.” (David Cameron, prime minister ). Laws is “a man of quite exceptional nobility” (Julian Glover, the Guardian). A “brilliant mind” (BBC).

The Oxbridge club and its associate members in politics and the media have tried to link Laws’s “error of judgement” and “naivety” to his “right to privacy” as a gay man, an irrelevance. The “brilliant mind” is a wealthy Cambridge-groomed investment banker and gilts trader devoted to the noble task of cutting the public services of mostly poor and honest people.

Also on the subject of the ‘talented’ Mr Laws, don’t miss this brilliant post by our good friend and regular commenter Olching.

UPDATE: Here's another very good piece on Laws from The First Post's Mole.

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Well, you wouldn’t think it possible that anyone who purports to be a civilised human being could defend the murder of at least 9 civilians travelling on a humanitarian aid ship in international waters, would you?

Think again.

As Mark Steel comments:
some defenders of Israel are so blind to what happens in front of them there's nothing at all they wouldn't jump to defend. Israel could blow up a cats home and within five minutes they'd be yelling "How do we know the cats weren't smuggling semtex in their fur for Hamas?"

Perhaps Mark has Melanie Phillips in mind. As Rod Liddle, Phillips’ fellow Spectator blogger, wrote today:

Is there anything Israel could do which would discomfort my colleague, Melanie Phillips (I mean other than behave peaceably towards Palestinians)? She has been defending, without giving so much as an inch, Israel’s attack upon the, uh, “peace flotilla”; all perfectly justifiable, the convoy was actually an Islamist terrorist attack, and so on and so on.

No Rod, I honestly don’t think that there is anything Israel could do which would discomfort Ms Phillips and her fellow hardcore Israel-firsters.

If, unlike the 'Israel is always right' brigade, you are appalled by Israel’s murderous act of piracy on the high seas, please consider lending your support to this petition, which over 260,000 people have signed since 1st June.

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