Race 20

Just a very brief post to make a comment on this weekend’s 2012 F1 Championship decider at Interlagos in Brazil.

Despite once believing I would never say such words… I hope that the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso does enough to pip Seb Vettel to the title. Of course the ideal situation would be for a Lewis Hamilton win with Alonso on the podium (far enough ahead of Vettel to win the title) as winning the race would really be a fairy tale ending for the McLaren man in his final race with the team.

It should be a fascinating race especially given the unpredictability of the weather – who can forget the 2008 race in which the weather played such a part in deciding the winner and ultimately the championship (won by Lewis through the last corner)!

To demonstrate my commitment to the sport and interest in the outcome, I shall be watching it live on TV despite the drastic time difference between Brunei and Brazil – I believe it starts at midnight in Brunei!

My reason for wanting to see an Alonso title victory is partly because I saw him win his first race of this season live at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia back in March but also because I think this year he has demonstrated that he is the best driver on track. Demonstrated by the way he has got so much out the car despite it starting (and remaining) behind the others in performance this season.

I will blog about my trip to Sepang back in March after the end of this season, and hopefully will be able to say I saw the eventual 2012 title winner win the race!

Who else is going to watch live? Who do you think will win the race? What do you think of the 2012 F1 season?

-PlaneSimple

 

Golfing in Brunei

Today is Monday of the week long half term holiday at school here in Brunei. Well needed rest and relaxation is helped by the knowledge that a long summer holiday is just round the corner after a short stint of four weeks once we go back to work. The end of a long year is finally in sight. This holiday we have decided to stay in Brunei rather than going away like we normally do. We thought it would be nice to have a few BBQ’s and socialise with friends after a busy time at work as well as make use of the Yacht Club relaxing by the pool.

I have also pencilled in a few games of golf before my annual membership expires at the end of the month. Today was the first game – and what a great way to start the holidays. Rather than writing a long post about golf here in Brunei, I thought I would just write a short amount and then provide you with a number of pictures to give you a flavour of what it is like out on the course here.

I got to the course (Pantai Mentiri Golf Club) just after 8am and planned to play this first game on my own this morning to help me get back into the swing of things. I rented a buggy (B$10 or £5) as although you can carry your clubs here the heat really drains you over 18 holes even early in the morning and I hoped I would be able to nip round and be home soon after 11.

Sure enough, it was fairly quiet and those that I did catch up waved me through. On the occasions I did get held up before getting waved through I managed to snap the following pictures.

View of the clubhouse from the fairway on the 4th

About to head down the 6th

View onto Brunei Bay by the tee box on the 6th

The bunker and the bay by the green on the 7th

View down the 8th fairway

Parked in the shade while waiting for the pair in front to finish off their putts

Palm trees line the fairway on the 8th

View over the water from the 9th tee back towards the club house

It was an enjoyable morning on the golf course yet I was surprised at how quickly I made it round all 18 holes. I was even home by 10.30! What a lovely start to the holiday.

If you want to know more about golfing in Brunei and live here, read about the ISB Golf Society that I run.

To watch or not to watch

Okay, so I am really trying to continue to contribute to the blog. Seeing this article made me remember I must post again before the weekend as promised in my last blog! Although time travel, as mentioned in the last post, would be useful for the conundrum that today’s post looks at, it is unfortunately not possible.

I have really enjoyed following the 2010 Formula 1 season. The battle for the title is so tight going into the last couple of races that really anything could happen – and as we know, in Formula 1, it usually does!

This weekend’s battle in Brazil is the penultimate race of the 2010 season. Unfortunately for viewers like myself, Brazil is 10 hours behind. So what? Well, it means that the 1400 local start time is midnight on Sunday night / Monday morning for me. That is just the start time as well, who knows what time it will finish given the fiasco we had in Korea a couple weeks ago! Unfortunately I need to be up for work at 0525 in the morning too.

Of courses, it could be worse / better…. I could be Joe Saward who this week travels from London to Dubai just to get to Brazil (there is logic in the madness though!). I should add that Joe’s blog is well worth visiting as it always contains great nuggets form the world of F1.

So, I’m bringing two polls to you this week. One on what I should do and the other on your opinions on what will happen in the championship standings after the next two races!

Enjoy the race whether you watch it or read about it! Do please let me know your thoughts on the season, race, teams and drivers.

PlaneSimple

Scalextric or Formula 1?

Since Sunday’s German Grand Prix in Hockenheim I have wanted to write a short post on my opinions of the fabricated result. However, I have been unsure of what to write and how much to write having read so many different columns, reports and blogs on the issue so far, many of which have addressed the issue in great depth. I decided, as stated in my original blog post, that it is better to write something than nothing if I am going to keep this blog going!

Let me start with the bottom line of the whole issue: Ferrari broke the rules. There are those who say that it happens all the way down the paddock and that fans are naive if they think this is the first time this has occurred under the new rules [ “39) THE RACE, 39.1 Team orders which interfere with a race result are prohibited.”]. The point has been made that ultimately this is a team sport not an individuals sport. All of these things may be true, but this does not mean that Ferrari did not break the rules.

Ferrari broke the rules and have been fined by the FIA for doing so. This in itself has created an interesting issue. When Ferrari pulled a similar stunt in Austria in 2002, the FIA fined them $500,000 for bringing the sport into disrepute and a further $500,000 suspended fine for improper conduct on the podium when Michael Schumacher pushed Rubens Barrichello (the driver who had yielded on the final lap on that occasion) onto the top step. The most alarming thing here is that this $1 million in fines was issued when article 39.1 was not in place, as it is now, and team orders were an accepted part of motor racing. It was that incident in Austria 8 years ago that lead to article 39.1 being introduced. Although I should add that the $100,000 fine imposed on Ferrari on Sunday is apparently the highest that the FIA can impose (presumably without it going to the World Motor Sport Council).

So the FIA have clearly stated, through the $100,000 fine, that Ferrari broke the rules. This creates a nasty situation for the upcoming World Motor Sport Council meeting that the FIA have referred Ferrari to for their actions. If the FIA have stated Ferrari are guilty and imposed a tenth of the fine they were given when it was technically allowed in the sport then surely Ferrari are going to be hit with much heavier sanctions when the Council consider the case.

As it stands, I believe that Ferrari should be very heavily penalised for their actions as they made a mockery of the rules.Poor Rob Smedley having to make the radio transmission to his driver

“OK, so, Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?”

He argued, as he had to being Ferarri through and through, that this was simply a message telling Massa that he needed to get a move on and speed up. His subsequent message following the manoeuvre was:

“Good lad. Just stick with him now. Sorry.”

He made a good Ferrari PR attempt to justify that second message saying he was merely sharing the furstrations that his driver had been passed by another car – a standard comment he might make following any car, not just his team mate, passing him.

It is not fair to criticise Smedley for making these comments despite the fact we know, and he knows, that the justifications given for those two statements are nonsense. If they were not nonsense, why would he have said “Good lad”?

Smedley loves Ferrari and had a job to do as an employee of them which included justifying something he found hard to do (although fundamentally did not probably object to in principle as he understands the way the sport works). He had to make a statement to suggest they were not team orders. Many professionals linked with F1 have made the point that Spedley should never have been put in this situation. It was more senior management or the chief engineer that should have spoken, privately, to Massa over the radio.

I do feel that Felipe Massa and Rob Smedley are perhaps the only two that really come out with any credibility from this whole saga. They were both put in an incredibly difficult position and handled it with the utmost professionalism. Good on them both for not throwing their toys out the pram as many would have and they could have.

So where do we go from here? All who work in the sport accept that this is part of the sport. The difficulty is that it is now illegal to make such calls on who wins. Had article 39.1 not been in place at the weekend, yes fans would have been a bit upset but it would have been legal – a case similar to Austria in 2002. So has article 39.1 really made a difference? Team orders, we are told, still take place regularly just more discretely – this does not make them right.

Since Sunday my view has shifted more and more towards removing article 39.1 – as voiced by many within the sport. I do think that teams should make such calls more discretely than last weekend and also in Austria in 2002 but not to try and fool us that it is taking place, just simply to not highlight it and make a mockery of the race. If fans know it happens but it happens with a bit of respect (as much as is possible) then I don’t think there would be such an out cry if it was not illegal. Perhaps it could be spiced up and made legal but only if the driver yielding was made to drive through the pit lane to do so! Or would this also be avoided by illegal moves like it is now? Let me know your thoughts on that one!

I can’t help but state my feeling that had it been McLaren who had pulled this stunt the penalty imposed would have been harsher and the team would have been greater scrutinised from the powers that be!I do think many can see the point Ferrari are trying to make when saying that it has all been blown out of proportion but I also don’t think they have or will get very much sympathy unless the WMSC hands down a huge penalty such as banning them from the championship! Ferrari should consider if what they did really has made life better for them and if they do think that it is acceptable to participate in the sport in that way then perhaps they should focus their efforts of entering the world of Scalextric competitions rather than Formula 1, the pinnacle of motor sport.

Although Ferrari management are to blame for the way it all played out, I do feel one individual that deserves any criticism thrown his way is Alonso. Remarkably he has said that winning the German Grand Prix at the weekend gave him “a great feeling”!! The attitude displayed over the past few years with Renault, McLaren and now Ferrari are not much short of a child sulking then growing into a bully. I do not believe that it is any coincidence that his name is associated with the big scandals in F1 over the past few years, namely; the planned crash of Nelson Piquet at the Singapore Grand Prix to allow Alonso to benefit from a safety car, the costly fines imposed on McLaren in the spygate saga in which he turned on his employer because he wasn’t getting his own way and now this situation in which he moaned over the radio about being held up behind Massa as he needed Ferrari to tell Massa to let him past because he couldn’t do it on his own. Alonso could learn a lot and become a greater sportsman, given his obvious talent, if he modelled himself on the grace shown by both Massa and Smedley.

What do you think? Should Ferrari be heavily penalised by the WMSC next month? Is Alonso the type of sportsman wanted in F1? Should Massa and Smedley have just said “no”? Is this all a complete over reaction by the fans and media? Would it have been the same if another team, say Red Bull or McLaren, had done the same? What could the law makers do to spice up legalising team orders?

Do let me know your thoughts and leave a comment please!

-PlaneSimple

T20’s Plenty

This afternoon I witnessed my first live Twenty20 cricket match at The County Ground in Derby. I enjoy getting to a game of cricket when possible and it was a great afternoon out with friends. I was intrigued to see what the game would be like as this format has really taken off since being introduced by the ECB in 2003 when the Surrey Lions beat the the Warwickshire Bears in the Twenty20 Cup final. This format even got caught up in worldwide banking headlines when Allen Stanford bank rolled million dollar games only to be found a fraud. It is also a game that has seen a huge amount of publicity and sponsorship through the annual series in India, the IPL – where many of the worlds cricketing stars strut their stuff!

Yorkshire Carnegie had nothing to play for as this was the 16th and final game for each team in the Northern Group of which only the top 4 teams would progress to the quarter final. The Derbyshire Falcons could theoretically progress although other results would have to go their way even if they won.

Our tickets had been purchased in advance along with a parking space. We arrived shortly before the 2:30 start and made our way to the temporary tiered seating stand brought in for the T20 games (I assume). We had a good view at a slightly finer than fine leg sort of angle.

Our view at The County Ground, Derby

The Falcons had won the toss and elected to bat first. They got off to a fairly solid start and we were able to wave our cardboard “4” signs courtesy of Friends Provident several times in the opening overs. We weren’t able to wave the “6” just yet though. I was aware of the spiced up atmosphere that the inventors had tried to create for T20 cricket before attending the game. I was not therefore surprised by the blast of music before each new bowler, each new over, each wicket and each boundary. The ‘Falconette’s’ dressed in swimming costume and Derbyshire Falcons t-shirt dancing at the boundary every time a player hit a four or six did not do much to enhance the atmosphere though!

The home side continued to make steady progress at just over 6 runs per over and looked well placed until they lost their first wicket for 41. Yorkshire were not field exceptionally well and one of their players was responsible for three miss-fields two of which resulted in boundaries which was disappointing although they did continue to take fairly regular wickets.

I had been looking forward to seeing Yorkshire’s young spin bowler Adil Rashid bowl as he is tipped by many to be a fine England player in years to come. He bowled well although the home batsmen went after him a bit which eventually did reward him with a wicket although he did go for 29 runs from his four allotted overs. He looked promising though and I have no doubt that he has a bright future.

Derbyshire were unable to capitalise on the below par  fielding though and the frustrations of the home crowd grew louder as the innings progressed. They ultimately finished on 137-7 although should have been able to set Yorkshire nearer the 150 mark for victory had they run with slightly more aggression.

The half-time interval came and went followed by Yorkshire beginning their innings with a four. Although they were a couple wickets down after the first quarter of their innings – with Gibbs being a bit of a disappointment – they were well placed and didn’t look overly troubled by the home sides bowling attack. Andrew Gale played a very good innings demonstrating the controlled aggression required to build a solid score in this format of the game. He, and the other Yorkshire batters, only really looked troubled towards the end of the innings when Charl Langeveldt bowled both aggressively and accurately. He was supported by Gary Ballance who scored a well constructed 48 in what was only his third T20 appearance.

It was a slight shame to see Gale depart soon after bringing up his half century – a more notable achievement in this format of the game than any other I feel. Clint McKay however rounded off the win for Yorkshire in style as the visitors required 7 runs from the final over. After running a single of the first ball, McKay lofted the next ball for six – just near where we were sitting – to win a match they always looked in control of.

All in all the experience was good. It was enjoyable spending the afternoon with friends while enjoying watching some cricket. The game wasn’t too long for those not so enthusiastic about cricket to lose interest. Despite not being quite as lively as I perhaps expected I do feel that those from the ECB who thought up this adapted version of a long standing game have achieved what they set out to do. Their were a large number of families at the game and cricket clearly now has a wider audience which is surely a good thing even if there are those purists who feel that this format is just not cricket!

-PlaneSimple

A bit of video to inspire teamwork….

This blog is a just a light-hearted one with a few videos for your enjoyment as I want to experiment to see if I can get this to work. Quite a bit has happened since my last post, notably England have qualified for the next round. My thoughts on that will come soon along with a few thoughts on the Americans (football and political!).

Here’s a great couple of videos which demonstrate the importance of teamwork. Hope they work and you can enjoy them both. Don’t forget to leave your comments. Oh, and use the feature I put on a few blogs ago at the side of the blog to sign up for email updates every time there’s a new post!

What a great insight into the drivers character. I like the comment on month December fo the calendar!

I don’t particularly agree with the way the BP one has summarised BP’s response to the oil disaster but it is quite amusing.

PlaneSimple

PS. Just checked the preview and I am delighted that displaying the video in the blog works!

Awful but not disaster

What a shocking performance England put in against Algeria. I should point out that I feel strongly that the performance and quality of football that teams put in does not really matter – especially at this stage of the World Cup. It’s the points and results that matter. However, England’s lack of goals, points and wins so far is a great disappointment and that was the problem with last nights game. Not how poorly they played but the fact they could not get 3 points from a team ranked 3oth in the world – especially if they are aiming to go far in this tournament.

The England team lacked the cutting edge required to do well at international level. Put aside for the moment the names of the players and who they play for. No player stood out last night as a player that causes excitement and the possibility of something happening every time they get the ball. Players need to put their hands up and take responsibility, demonstrating to the fans that they deserve their place in the national team. Players with big names (no I don’t mean like him!) and reputations have been given the opportunity to perform on this stage of world football to prove their names and reputations are worthy. A prime example of this is Lionel Messi. What a performance he put in for Argentina in their last game. Here is a player that really excites you every time he gets the ball; you feel he will create something and make things happen. It’s no wonder he is considered by many to be the best footballer in the world. This is what some of the England players such as Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard etc. need to do – demonstrate why they are highly thought of.

Rooney had what many believe to be his worst game for England last night. He didn’t seem to put in that extra bit of effort and enthusiasm that he normally does, which is often what makes him look like a great player rather than a good player. Is this because he is so conscious of being well behaved and avoiding confrontation and bookings as feared by many prior to the start of the World Cup?

Lampard has just come of the back of the best season of his career, scoring 34 goals from 59 games in the season 2009/10. This is a goals to games ratio better than many Champions League strikers have. Any thoughts on why his game was so poor last night? You can’t blame the distribution of the ball around him even though the quality of passing was terrible from England last night. Lampard is the type of player that creates opportunities for himself, which is why he scores so many goals from midfield.

Steven Gerrard is known for his ability to distribute the ball so well while being able to play a holding role when required or a positive attacking role. His passing was below par last night, he didn’t seem to play with the vision that usually enables him to pin point passes into spaces creating opportunities to attack for the team. A prime example of this last night, and one which sums up his performance in the game, was in the 68th minute (I think) when there were 4 England players in the box and 3 Algerians. He could have passed to any of the other 3 England players who looked in wonderful positions to just slot the ball home yet managed to send it straight to the defender.

So I’ve pointed out a number of negatives from the game. What went well last night or what can we view in a positive light? Firstly, credit to the Algerian team. They worked hard together as a team. Remained focused on the task in hand (can you tell I’m a teacher?) and seemed to treat it as a normal game of football in which they were required to just do the best they could. It’s important not to lose sight of their achievement of gaining a point off England. I thought Madjid Bougherra was one of the best players on the park last night and demonstrated the heart and commitment that a player should when playing for their country. Algeria also looked as though they were the team in control for much of the game. At one stage during the first half they had over 60% of the possession! They passed the ball round confidently doing their best to create an opening. Well done to them!

Although I don’t rate Emile Heskey as a quality England player, I do admire the fact that he really looked like he was trying hard and putting in some effort. Many may disagree but I thought he was one of the few England players that looked as though he knew the team would have to work hard to get a win, rather than just expecting it to happen. He still played poorly though, finding it hard to beat defenders and rarely managed to deliver a good ball into the middle of the box when he was out wide.

Also, a big positive from last night was the fact that the vuvuzelas were not as loud as previous games – at least from what I noticed watching on the TV! The ‘buzz’ coming from the TV was much less intrusive. It was the first game I really heard fans chanting – although perhaps that was as much to do with the passion England fans have when cheering on their team.

Talking of fans, I understand Rooney is unhappy England were booed so much at the end. Perhaps he should chanel his anger into scoring goals!

Despite how unhappy the England fans were, there is still no excuse for this and hopefully FIFA will act quickly to ensure the safety of players is not compromised in the remaining matches.

Now lets put all this into perspective. England will still qualify if they win their final match, regardless of other results. Germany are in as much, or even more, bother following their woeful result – made all the more worse given how superb they looked in their opening match. One interesting aspect is Germany and England would presumably wish to avoid each other in the next round and to do so must both finish up in the same position in their respective groups. Will that be 2nd?! And of course let’s not forget France who will need more than fortune to qualify for the next round.

So what do you think? Are the media and fans expecting too much from England? Are they over critical? Are England just warming up and getting the poor performances out the way? I’d appreciate your comments and thoughts at the bottom of the blog. I have seen a number of comments on facebook from Scottish fans wishing on England’s opposition – so to them I will simply say; better to play poorly in the tournament than not play in the World Cup Finals at all!

-PlaneSimple

Viva la vuvuzela!

So here we are, 14 games into the 2010 World Cup with the 15th game about to start. This may come back to bite me but I really feel Chile are going to be a decent team this WC. They’re young but they have been brought up together and are a close knit team who did well in ‘younger’ tournaments together. I watched the Slovakia v New Zealand game last night and although it wasn’t the most exciting match I was delighted to see New Zealand get the goal at the end even though Slovakia were probably the better team overall. It’s great to see “smaller” footballing nations come with enthusiasm for the sport and excited about the event and also get something out of it rather than be blown away. So good on them.

I’ve started to enjoy the competition more and more as it has gone on – especially since Astro have given me a temporary TV receiver box while they work out what is wrong with mine! It is a bit difficult with games beginning from 7.30 pm until 2.30 am here though! Thank goodness they have put on 5, yes five, channels for the World Cup and are always showing highlights or re-runs!

Now to the title of the blog…. Do they enhance the atmosphere? Are they immensely annoying? Should they be banned? Well, I’ll make no secret of the fact that I find them annoying in the games that I have watched so far. I don’t think it would have been good if FIFA had taken action though. I guess it is something that we’ll just have to put up with until July 11. If I can work out how to set up a poll on the blog I will do one regarding the vuvuzelas (or if someone tells me how!). Leave your comments and let me know what you think!

I’m currently sitting in third position in the prediction competition at work at the moment. Have had some good predictions so far and feel well placed to take the lead soon! Will keep you posted!

The blog posts have carried a significant sporting theme so far. Hopefully I will feel inspired to write one with some different thoughts soon.

For now though, let me know what you think of the World Cup so far. Any predictions? Who have you enjoyed watching so far?

-PlaneSimple

The greatest show on earth?

Right time for another blog post…. One thing I was going to mention in the last post was about the frequency of my blogging. In line with my blog having no particular topic or theme it will also be relaxed in how frequently it is updated. Sometimes I hope I will be able to blog a few times a week and on other occasions it might take a fortnight or so until you see a post again. Perhaps a reason some people avoid blogging is the pressure to continually update – so I’m not going to let that stop me and please don’t be put off if the blog is quiet for a few weeks – I’ll try not give up!!

So what is apparently known as the greatest show on earth is now under way. Not really an inspiring start given the results but early games can often be nervy. I’m not going to try and be impartial on this and make no secret that I will be following England who play their first game tonight. Nothing is ever certain in football but you would expect the quality and class of an experienced England team to shine through over the course of 90 minutes. Living in GMT +8 means that the game is on at 2.30 am here so I may not watch it live but record and watch it first thing when having breakfast. There are times when coffee and football go better than beer and football!

It is quite a sporting day actually as England take on Australia in the rugby, followed by the F1 Canadian Grand Prix qualifying then the England match. The F1 race this weekend should favour McLaren, given the long straights of the circuit but the Red Bulls did well in second practice yesterday and we may get a chaotic race with rain predicted. Would certainly spice the title challenge up a lot if the two McLaren drivers pick up a lot of points. Here’s hoping!

Continuing with the oil disaster from my last blog, it is good to see some high end discussions will take place. Hopefully Cameron will stand up for the many British private pension holders that get a hiding every time Obama opens his mouth. It is about time that a British PM stands up to the Americans and in future hopefully take them to task when appropriate. At first I had lukewarm feelings towards the new coalition government but the more time that passess I am starting to think they might be a good change. Certainly the more and more arrogant and scaremongering  tweets I read from the expected new Labour leader makes me hope they do a good job and keep Labour out for a while! Although one could argue it is all #nickcleggsfault !!

Talking of tweets, here’s a good one for all you F1 fans to follow, some are very funny and well thought out! A good note to end on.

So, which sporting events will you be following? Do you think that the World Cup is the greatest show on earth? Let me know what you think please!

PlaneSimple

Hello world!

Hi. Right, I’ve decided to start a blog! So what? There are about 75 million words on wordpress from today’s blogs alone! Well, that doesn’t matter. Last week I read a really good F1 blog on wordpress (I was going to link that but haven’t been able to find it since, bad start!) and also Martin Brundles excellent blog / column on the BBC Sport webiste. I thought hey, he’s said a lot of what I think.

Now, I’ve been tempted to start a blog for a while, but never been able to decide upon a topic. And, even though I liked a few blogs I read about the last F1 race and agreed with many points, I know that my blogs won’t be as well read and published as those!

As I thought about it I decided I’d be better off writing something even if once someone visited and read my blog they never returned (please come back!), than not write anything for anyone to read at all. So then I decided actually, what I write about really doesn’t matter.

I also read some good comments and blogs about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and one such blog that was the first time I saw a public comment echoing my thoughts – that the US are not squeaky clean and innocent in all this mess. Who guzzles ridiculous amounts of oil each day and demands for it to be so cheap?

So that is what helped me to decide to start a blog about whatever I want to talk about. Sometimes sport sometimes business, one week about interesting plane stories (yup, that’s where the name comes from!) and the next week about the difficulties my Maths class are having. Sometimes you’ll (hopefully) like what you’re reading and be interested by it and other weeks you may not relate to what I have to say. But hopefully, you’ll return quickly to read the next one and see if it is more your cup of tea.

So I leave you today with a light hearted story. If you are feeling grumpy, it’s worth taking a look.

PlaneSimple.