MAKING THE PICTURE CLEAR
The guest in the hot seat of the Motorsport News readers’ questions this week is Mark Webber, a man who’s been there and done that in Formula 1. Now, fans get to benefit from his opinions as one of the pundits on Channel 4’s coverage and he is a man generally acknowledged to provide a lot of straight-talking sense. So when he was asked about the idea of the new F1 Sprint qualifying format (a sprint race in normal language) by one of our readers, his opinions are worth listening to. He makes a point: explaining what the reasons and the purpose of the Sprint qualifying is to the viewers, and its importance in the overall scheme of a Formula 1 weekend, is something that skilful broadcasters are going to have to be able to do.
But he makes another point. Shorter events can sometimes throw up results that would not normally be seen in a longer race. A driver who is perhaps less talented is able to concentrate over a shorter period of time. They would, naturally, be caught out in a longer full-scale grand prix where the cream would rise to the top. But, the 65-mile format of the Saturday sprints might throw a few spanners in the works. It’s a fair point and one which is, in our view, another reason why Formula 1 has to be very careful that it doesn’t go down a slippery slope of artificial results that will take away the kudos of success in grand prix motor racing.
Talking of kudos, the Safari Rally name returns to the World Rally Championship later this month. Graham Lister looks at the event. Although it is a shadow of the mammoth event it used to be, the unique challenges of rallying on the African continent will be something that none of the top-flight drivers will have experienced before. It is an exciting chapter that is about to be reopened, and just the sort of challenge that anyone claiming to be the World Rally champion should have to tackle.
Elsewhere in MN this week, Paul Lawrence catches up with team boss and born-again racing driver Shaun Hollamby, who has taken to the circuits once more in his father’s old racer. Harry King also provides us with an insight into his new Porsche campaign and reflects on his experiences on the streets of Monaco recently.
• Due to the production deadlines of Motorsport News, the report from Oulton Park of the opening round of this year’s British Rally Championship and the latest Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship round, which concluded on Monday afternoon, is not included in this week’s MN. Full analysis of the events will be in next week’s edition.