26 March 2011

Anything happens in Grand Prix racing, and it usually does

The above is a quote from the voice of Formula One, Murray Walker.  A man with infinitely more enthusiasm for the sport (a term use loosely) than I have, his quote to me seeming to be a total contradiction in how I viewed F1. For me the whole lack of appeal centred around the fact that nothing ever did happen. The driver in the fastest car would qualify in pole position and unless his car broke down he would then lead the rest of the field around the circuit for a couple of meaningless hours till the chequered flag would put me out of my misery.

Recent rule changes have made races slightly more competitive but still not enough to ignite a spark of interest in me. But now a rabbit has succeeded where Bernie Ecclestone and co. failed and got me, whilst maybe not planning my sleep schedule around races from the other side of the world, interested enough to now at least know the name of more than 3 current drivers .


The rabbit concerned is none other than the Grand Prix Bunny . I originally thought this was a training school for future lures at the greyhound track, it is in fact a website  designed and run  by a mate of mine which has put a degree of fun into F1. It is written with a humorous style and features pod-cast discussions with fans - not experts - talking in everyday language that non aficionados like myself can understand. In a sport dominated by billionaires, this website written by, and for, "normal" fans of the sport has got me interested enough to enter into  it's F1 Fantasy game. Hopefully this will give me a sustained interest throughout the summer. In the same way that a fantasy football team has got me interested in the welfare of Wigan's first team squad and the form of foreign imports I'd never previously heard of, words such as monocoque, KERS and shakedown are now entering my vocabulary. 

With the first race due to commence in less than 24 hours, by this time tomorrow I'll either find myself in a competitive season long attempt to try and beat the experts at their own game, or writing it off as a pointless exercise and looking for another summer sporting interest.  Now if only I could remember what my fantasy team selection was.

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