The Best & Worst of 2012

As the season is almost over I thought I'd do a best & worst list of 2012. Just a bit of fun in case lawyers are reading this....

The Best of 2012....

Meeting Donington FIA Trucks, June 30/July1. Surprised myself when I thought about it. Motor Racing should be a spectacle and I have to say that the big rigs were fantastic over the weekend. All the support races were very good aswell.

Race Until 4.30 pm on Sunday 4th November I was going to say both Pick Up races on the Rockingham Oval on August 19th but I'm going with the Walter Hayes Final. A sense of drama rarely felt watching motor racing  these days.

Circuit Cadwell Park. I only went the once on May 27 for a 750MC meeting but wish it was 50 miles nearer to home. A fantastic track that retains some of the reasons for watching motor racing in the first place.Hardly any catch fencing and fantastic viewing. That it's owned by MSV is a bonus so it is in immaculate condition.

Weather Cadwell Park May 27. 2012 has been one of the wettest years in the UK ever. On this day it didn't rain, it was warm and the sun was out. Enough said!

Programme Classic Touring Car Racing Club Mallory Park July 29. An excellent A4 size, full colour programme produced by a club who run only 1 meeting a year for £3. Other clubs please take note. Special mention to the MSVR programme when I went to Silverstone on May 13. It contained almost too much information-a spotters guide to Monoposto was the highlight!

Organiser MSVR. No question that the racing arm of Jonathan Palmer's empire is the best organiser of racing in the UK now. The vast majority of their championship/series portfolio have consistently big grids and produce good racing. Meetings are well run too. You could argue that they probably have the most money behind them but they get the job done. All meetings are publicised well with entries and timetable info easily available on their website.

Championship/Series British GT. I saw the championship 3 times at Rockingham, Silverstone & Donington and all 3 races were very good. Big grids with varying types of machinery with evenly matched drivers meant that racing was close. The championship was only decided in the dying embers of a dramatic final race at Donington in September with Daniele Perfetti & Michael Caine winning the title in the Motorbase Porsche 997 GT3 having started the race lying 5th in the points!

Commentator David Addison. Still the best by a long long way. He doesn't waffle, has excellent delivery and knows his stuff. Special mention to Dave Goddard. I've heard him at Incarace oval meetings in the past and he has been one of many good new commentators that I've heard this season. He was co-commentator at Rockingham on August 19 with Brian Jones and there was a night and day difference in style and accuracy of commentary.

Decision The very early start I made to Silverstone on Grand Prix Friday July 6th! Looking back I can count my lucky stars that I left the house ridiculously early that day and arrived before the chaotic scenes at the circuit started to develop.



The Worst of 2012

Meeting Donington Le Mans Series July 14/15. Looking back this was the meeting that started my wane of enthusiasm later in the season. I simply should not have gone. It was a shame as it was a decent race at the front of the 13 car field but along with some dire support races it was easily the worst of 2012. What disappoints me still is Donington's lack of remorse for putting the meeting on. Expensive ticket prices, paddock access £10 extra and all for a series that curtailed it's year directly after the race.

Race Donington FIA GT1 September 30. Nothing comes close this year and it's probably the most shambolic race I've ever seen in all my years of spectating! How only 12 cars produced one of the most ill disciplined motor races ever is beyond me. The FIA GT1 series was on the F3/GT finale at Donington as a very late addition and, as with the Le Mans Series, Donington was it's last ever round. 2 separate massive crashes at Hollywood not only highlighted the championship's tawdry end but also Donington's lack of run-off at that particular spot. Also 2 races were lost at the end of the meeting and made the British Formula 3 final round end in darkness. A total shambles....

Circuit Silverstone GP. The 3.66 mile "Arena" GP circuit is simply unsuitable for spectating at,other than a Grand Prix, unless Silverstone realises that it must open more grandstands. One of the best viewing spots is the Becketts stand where if you position yourself correctly, you can see Copse, Stowe, and the new Arena section aswell. The problem is that it hardly ever gets opened!

Weather Silverstone GP Friday July 6. An appalling day in the wettest Summer of all time. No let up in rain until it was time to go home at 6.00pm when the sun came out! There is something about Silverstone and weather. The Walter Hayes Sunday morning was very bad but at least you could sit in the car. Special mention aswell to the localised rain at Luffield  which caused 8 cars to pile off during the Formula Renault 3.5 race in August. I was at Club corner where it was dry!

Programme Donington Le Mans Series (Again..) The £5 I spent on this should have been used to better effect. A spectacularly bad effort with some howlers hidden amongst its many pages. The best being a list of Caterham Academy drivers, where they live, who they're entered by and even the fact they're all 1600cc. Wouldn't have minded knowing what number they were though Mr Editor....At least there was list of entrants, unlike the SPEED Euroseries that had no entry info at all.

Organiser BARC. Sad to say that but one wonders what the future holds for BARC and BRSCC for that matter. Along with the BRDC they buttoned up British motor sport for many years as organisers. Living on past glories will only get you so far though and they are guilty of running too many meetings with thin grids and few races. Mallory Park has been the scene of many poor BARC meetings in the past few years with 6/7 races only, often with enormously long lunch breaks to pad out the day.

Championship/Series UK Formula Ford. There were 7 EcoBoost Formula Fords at Donington for their final round on September 30. My first ever meeting was at Donington in 1989 where there were 33 Formula Fords. Enough Said.

Commentator Andrew Wilkins/Brian Jones. Bad commentary can ruin a meeting. It is a blessing to have a tannoy that doesn't work sometimes. The fact that Andrew Wilkins has announced his "retirement" from commentating is one of the best bits of news I've heard in a while. His performance at Donington for the Morgan Sports Car Club meeting on June 4th had to be heard to be believed at times. Brian Jones' efforts at Rockingham on June 10 & August 19 were poor especially on a circuit where there are no excuses for not seeing anything..

Decision Buying tickets in advance. In a bid to save a few pennies buying a ticket in advance can be a good idea, but in 2013 I must stop doing this. Several meetings this year I went to having bought well in advance only to witness a poor meeting. The LMS at Donington being a prime example! Also not wearing my thermal underwear at Silverstone on November 3rd.......