VROOM AT THE TOP: Toasting Button's win
I'm often asked if the F1 and Rally Champions receive trophies or medals recognising their achievements...and the answer is yes....but you're not invited!
The annual FIA Gala awards ceremony took place in Monaco on Friday evening and the major figures from the world of motorsport were there to see Jenson Button and Brawn pick up the FIA Formula One World Championship trophies.
Fans are not invited and it's not televised, but what I can tell you is, that unsurprisingly a lot of drinking goes on until the early hours from certain members of the motorsport fraternity.
Prokop gets drive
NEWLY CROWNED Junior World Rally Champion Martin Prokop will drive the all-new Ford Fiesta S2000 next season.
The 27-year-old Czech will tackle seven rounds of the new FIA WRC Cup and S-WRC, starting at the season's opening rally in Sweden.
Prokop and co-driver Jan Tománek plan to use next season as a platform to step up to the primary WRC in 2011.
There will be little time for Prokop to acclimatise himself to his new car as the team will receive the Fiesta S2000 next February - just a couple of weeks before Rally Sweden
"I decided to drive the Fiesta S2000 because it is a great, beautifully built car," said Prokop. "I like the way Ford organises its WRC campaign, as well as the fact it knows how to present its successes and effectively support its customer teams."
"Ford has a clear vision of helping young drivers to climb the rallying ladder. It will be possible to convert a Fiesta S2000 to a new specification WRC car for 2011, which is ideal for me. I want to go ever-further as a rally driver, therefore I find this possibility of a smooth transition to WRC very appealing," he added.
Prokop isn't shy in sharing his ambitions for the season: "It won't be about collecting experience. We have driven enough world rallies to have higher ambitions. The crucial point for us is to learn quickly how to work with the new car. If we manage that, I'm sure we will be able to maintain our level from 2009 in S2000 next year. And this means fighting for the podium in each rally."
More woes for Donington
DONINGTON PARK faced further woes this weekend after losing next year's British Superbikes race just days after it was announced Silverstone had signed a 17-year-deal to host the British GP.
The troubled Castle Donington track has been pulled from the BSK calendar after its parent company, Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, went into administration last month.
Under the new management the circuit has faced a series of blows; Donington Park has not only lost the F1 and MotoGP spots but also now the British Superbike championship.
Donington Park had occupied September 10 to 12 on the provisional British Superbikes calendar but With the track at the Leicestershire venue in an unusable state, and its operating companies in administration, Donington has been replaced by Croft .
Jonathan Palmer, chief executive of MSVR, the commercial and organisational rights holder of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship said; "It is very important for the teams, our broadcast and commercial partners and above all the fans that we prepare a calendar consisting of venues where there is no doubt about whether or not the event will actually take place."
Spies tell me that Jonathan Palmers Motorsport Vision, which owns Brands Hatch, Cadwell Park, Oulton Park, Snetterton and Bedford Autodrome, are in the running to take-over the doomed Donington circuit at a budget price.
Dream prize for Smith
RISING STAR Dean Smith capped off a stunning 2009 in perfect style by winning the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award and a dream prize of an F1 test drive.
The 21-year-old was named one of six finalists for the hugely prestigious award after becoming Formula Renault UK Champion with seven race victories and a total of 15 podium finishes.
"Winning this award is the culmination of an incredible year, to be nominated for a second time was a great feeling but to actually win such a prestigious accolade is unbelievable. Adding my name to the list of former winners is very special and, obviously, I can't wait to be able to test the F1 car - that really will be a dream come true," said Smith.
"It really has been an amazing year for me, everyone at Manor Competition worked so hard during the season to give me a fantastic car with which to fight for the championship - a massive thank you goes out to Tony (Shaw), Sarah (Shaw) and the rest of the team as, without them, I wouldn't have been in a position to win the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
"We knew it would be an incredibly tough challenge to win the Formula Renault title after missing the first two races, and without any testing either, but we all had the belief in our ability to get the job done. Now I'm looking forward to hopefully making the step up to the new GP3 Series although we do have a number of options to consider in Formula 3 too so we'll have to see what happens."
Mass launch
F1 TEAMS are in negotiations to host a mass launch of their 2010 challengers at Valencia ahead of the start of the season.
While the event has been agreed to in principle, the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) is yet to finalise the date and final shape of the launch, in a cost-cutting effort to replace the individual team events.
Source: VROOM AT THE TOP: Toasting Button's win
The annual FIA Gala awards ceremony took place in Monaco on Friday evening and the major figures from the world of motorsport were there to see Jenson Button and Brawn pick up the FIA Formula One World Championship trophies.
Fans are not invited and it's not televised, but what I can tell you is, that unsurprisingly a lot of drinking goes on until the early hours from certain members of the motorsport fraternity.
Prokop gets drive
NEWLY CROWNED Junior World Rally Champion Martin Prokop will drive the all-new Ford Fiesta S2000 next season.
The 27-year-old Czech will tackle seven rounds of the new FIA WRC Cup and S-WRC, starting at the season's opening rally in Sweden.
Prokop and co-driver Jan Tománek plan to use next season as a platform to step up to the primary WRC in 2011.
There will be little time for Prokop to acclimatise himself to his new car as the team will receive the Fiesta S2000 next February - just a couple of weeks before Rally Sweden
"I decided to drive the Fiesta S2000 because it is a great, beautifully built car," said Prokop. "I like the way Ford organises its WRC campaign, as well as the fact it knows how to present its successes and effectively support its customer teams."
"Ford has a clear vision of helping young drivers to climb the rallying ladder. It will be possible to convert a Fiesta S2000 to a new specification WRC car for 2011, which is ideal for me. I want to go ever-further as a rally driver, therefore I find this possibility of a smooth transition to WRC very appealing," he added.
Prokop isn't shy in sharing his ambitions for the season: "It won't be about collecting experience. We have driven enough world rallies to have higher ambitions. The crucial point for us is to learn quickly how to work with the new car. If we manage that, I'm sure we will be able to maintain our level from 2009 in S2000 next year. And this means fighting for the podium in each rally."
More woes for Donington
DONINGTON PARK faced further woes this weekend after losing next year's British Superbikes race just days after it was announced Silverstone had signed a 17-year-deal to host the British GP.
The troubled Castle Donington track has been pulled from the BSK calendar after its parent company, Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, went into administration last month.
Under the new management the circuit has faced a series of blows; Donington Park has not only lost the F1 and MotoGP spots but also now the British Superbike championship.
Donington Park had occupied September 10 to 12 on the provisional British Superbikes calendar but With the track at the Leicestershire venue in an unusable state, and its operating companies in administration, Donington has been replaced by Croft .
Jonathan Palmer, chief executive of MSVR, the commercial and organisational rights holder of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship said; "It is very important for the teams, our broadcast and commercial partners and above all the fans that we prepare a calendar consisting of venues where there is no doubt about whether or not the event will actually take place."
Spies tell me that Jonathan Palmers Motorsport Vision, which owns Brands Hatch, Cadwell Park, Oulton Park, Snetterton and Bedford Autodrome, are in the running to take-over the doomed Donington circuit at a budget price.
Dream prize for Smith
RISING STAR Dean Smith capped off a stunning 2009 in perfect style by winning the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award and a dream prize of an F1 test drive.
The 21-year-old was named one of six finalists for the hugely prestigious award after becoming Formula Renault UK Champion with seven race victories and a total of 15 podium finishes.
"Winning this award is the culmination of an incredible year, to be nominated for a second time was a great feeling but to actually win such a prestigious accolade is unbelievable. Adding my name to the list of former winners is very special and, obviously, I can't wait to be able to test the F1 car - that really will be a dream come true," said Smith.
"It really has been an amazing year for me, everyone at Manor Competition worked so hard during the season to give me a fantastic car with which to fight for the championship - a massive thank you goes out to Tony (Shaw), Sarah (Shaw) and the rest of the team as, without them, I wouldn't have been in a position to win the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.
"We knew it would be an incredibly tough challenge to win the Formula Renault title after missing the first two races, and without any testing either, but we all had the belief in our ability to get the job done. Now I'm looking forward to hopefully making the step up to the new GP3 Series although we do have a number of options to consider in Formula 3 too so we'll have to see what happens."
Mass launch
F1 TEAMS are in negotiations to host a mass launch of their 2010 challengers at Valencia ahead of the start of the season.
While the event has been agreed to in principle, the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) is yet to finalise the date and final shape of the launch, in a cost-cutting effort to replace the individual team events.
Source: VROOM AT THE TOP: Toasting Button's win
