2012 Sporting Memories: Austrailian Grand Prix

Okay, so I could hardly miss out the curtain-raising race in the 2012 Formula One season, could I? Well, I haven't, and more so, it helps that the race was an absolute peach.
The opening race of any Motorsport series is of course, riddled with excitement, but non-more so than the Australian Grand Prix, the spiritual home of the sports opening race weekend. The 2012 edition was certainly worthy of that title, with a whole host of factors going into the race gripping audiences, teams, fans and drivers alike, and creating a sense of tension and anxiety in and around F1 that can only really be matched by the final, and normally title deciding race of the season.
Even tuning into the event on your TV, was interesting enough in itself, with the BBC and Sky going head-to-head for the first time in terms of broadcasting. For me, I decided to ride the waves of change and go with Sky's all-new coverage. I wasn't disappointed.
Back to the on-track antics, and a soon established pecking order to came to the fore, with McLaren leading the way. Red Bull, without the blown-diffuser as banned for 2012, struggled with their contender early-doors, but nothing compared to Ferrari, who's pre-season testing fears were confirmed at the first race, with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa finding themselves over 2.5 seconds off of the pace in Qualifying. Drama already.
Race day itself, summoned millions of U.K viewers to set their alarms for early-Sunday morning, in preparation for lights-out down under. With McLaren front-row, the end result looked ominous.It wasn't. Pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton found himself in second behind teammate Jenson Button after a poor get away, but clear of the rest of the competing field. At this point... ENTER Sebastian Vettel, who despite a evidently under developed car, was in third. Introduce and timely safety car period and a fortunately timed pit stop for the German amd yes, you've got it, Vettel's rub of green got him ahead of Hamilton's McLaren and into second. Come the end of the race however, neither the Red Bull of McLaren driver could do nothing about the victorious Button.
Somehow, Alonso dragged his pig-of-a-car to a fourth place finish, and in doing so would set the tone for a number of staggering drives in a genuinely poor car, for the rest of the season.
With DRS and KERS providing a whole host of overtaking moves throughout the field, the race left Martin Brundle and David Croft breathless in the Sky Sports commentary box, and myself very much awake and smiling in the early hours of an early Sunday morning back in the U.K.
A great race, and one that stood out for me looking back on a year of sport in 2012. Roll on F1 2013.

2012 Sporting Memories: Autosport International Show

As with the start of every calendar year, the Autosport International Show gets the wheels in motion for the up and coming Motorsport season. Held at the the N.E.C in Birmingham, race-series from across the world are represented and displayed across the worlds biggest Motorsport exhibition, and 2012 was no exception.
With literally hundreds of Stands, cars, bikes, and entertainment features on offer, it's certainly one of my most fond memories from the year, with the chance to meet McLaren-Mercedes driver Jenson Button and F1 commentary god Martin Brundle, only adding to the pleasure of the day. 
One of the greatest aspects to the show, is the sheer diversity in Motorsport on show, with Touring Cars to Stock Cars, and the World Rally Championship to British Superbikes. But at the centre of the show, was the Autosport Central Stage, showcasing a whole host of infamous names both from inside and outside the cockpit, but all from the world of Motorsport. Such examples from 2012 stand as: F1 stars Anthony Davidson (pictured) & Paul Di Resta, Sportscar legend Allan McNish,  and double BTCC champion Matt Neal.
One of the greatest highlights for me in 2012, was the Lotus stand (pictured top-right), which showcased some of the companies finest examples of machinery from across it's international involvement in Motorsport, from race-prepared Lotus Exige's all the way up to the brands flagship machine, it's Formula One car.
Without intending to be a PR agent for the show... I'd genuinely recommend the 2013 ASI show to anyone with even the vaguest whiff of interest in sport. Any sport. I know first hand how it helps bring new fans in, thanks to members of my own family coming away from the show with a newly lit passion for Motorsport!
But back to the task in hand, and as a vivid memory from 2012, I can safely say that the 2012 Autosport International Show was one of my personal highlights from the past year of sport.

2012 Sporting Memories

With 2012 drawing quickly to a festive end, I figured it would be an ideal time to look back on a year of sport, that to whoever it may concern, has been truly outstanding. Starting as of tomorrow (Monday 10th December), I will be counting down my top 10 favourite sporting highlights from 2012, by posting one of these highlights on TracksideOffside for the next ten days in the run up to Christmas. Stay tuned, festive and ready to discuss these highlights over the coming days!

Formula E. Electric Ecstasy or Sorry Silence?

Now that the majority of the Motorsport calendar for 2012 has come to a close, it's time for the sport to do one of two things; ease the foot off of the gas and get all festive, or pent-up and looking ahead to the future, and the return of the green light and chequered flag. Oh, and this can also involve getting festive.
I am doing the latter, and perhaps being too eager. For you see, it's not 2013 at the moment that im particularly excited about, but 2014, and the introduction of Formula E.
This new-for-2014 series is perhaps one of the most important Motorsport ventures of our generation, well mine at least, and could possibly help significantly shape the future of Motorsport around the world. The 'E', as maybe guessed, stands for electric (cue the booing over no noise, from me included). Yes, that word thats creeping into the automotive world like a Bull in China Shop. Not welcome, but there. So put two and two together, and  you've got it; a racing series  comprising of all-electric, single-seater machinery.
It's not the first attempt to launch a series based on similarly environment-friendly principles, but unlike previous failed efforts, the project has a severe amount of backing behind it, leaving failure as a practically  redundant option. The single most important aspect to Formula E, is it's FIA-granted License, which in itself grabs the attention of anyone with even a vague whiff of Motorsport knowledge.
Perhaps more interesting and insightful however, is the more hands-on features of the series. For example, McLaren have themselves agreed with series CEO Alejandro Agag, to supply the motor, transmission, and electronics, or in Queens English  the cars essentials. Speaking of cars, no-less than 42 of them have been ordered, with ex-Formula One and GP2 driver Lucas Di Grassi tasked with the vital job of testing and fine-tuning the radical new car.
So just why does this bode so significantly on Motorsport as a whole? Well the first key point to remember, is that FIA President Jean Todt has publicly expressed his wish for a greater influence of 'green technology' to be used not just in Formula One, but across the FIA spectrum. When you consider that Formula E's inaugural series in 2014 coincides with dramatic technical rule changes taking place in Formula One (new engines, more environmentally friendly aspects throughout the cars),  it could be judged that the new Formula could stand as a so-called 'guinea-pig' series for the next set of technical regulation changes after 2014 in the premier-class, which one would predict to be yet more 'green' focused.
McLaren's involvement stands in itself, as a significant indication of just how  seriously Formula E is being taken, with the Woking-based team seemingly chomping at the bit to move-in and begin development on electric-Motorsport solutions. Such development would surely benefit not only their Formula One outfit, but also the brands road car-division and overall reputation as industry-leaders when it comes to environmentally -aware technology. After all, their Formula E endeavour was announced only a matter of months after McLaren was officially confirmed as being carbon-neutral, in February 2012.
The creation of Formula E as a whole is clearly one fuelled by ambition, technological-advance and long-term focus for Motorsport as a whole, and despite the inevitable loss of the noise-aspect, should be at least welcomed cautiously by all. With the series already confirming events in Rome and Rio di Janeiro, aswell as promising a calendar filled only by street-races, Formula E certainly can be commended for being nothing short of promising and exciting, and certainly one to keep an eye on during it's 2013 pregnancy.

The Becks Factor

So after 6 years at L.A Galaxy, David Beckham yesterday waved goodbye to the MLS on the back of a second consecutive MLS Cup Final victory. 
Beckham's move to America back in 2007 was one shrouded in raised eyebrows and cynical reception, the money, the publicity, the influence from a celebrity wife... all overshadowed the heart of his move state-side, the football. 
Despite a shakey start to his time in L.A, with injury and a lacklustre string of performances, Beckham eventually began to up his game, seemingly after the immediate attention and intensity of the media spotlight on him dimmed. 
With the influence of the former England-Captain, Galaxy can now boast two Cup Final victories, three victorious league campaigns, and a whole host of minor competition wins. 
But above and beyond all, David Beckham's American endeavour has significantly enhanced the health of American soccer, a sport which alongside national sports such as Baseball, NASCAR, Basketball and American Football, has always struggled. The MLS League itself has inflated in size, with 12 teams becoming 19 teams due to the increased interest in the sport. Merchandise sales across the globe are up 231%, as is undoubtedly the profile of American soccer as a whole. After all, you don’t attract names such as Thierry Henry and Robbie Keane to a league on the other-side of the world, without an incentive and catalyst figure such as David Beckham and his role in North America. Well done Becks.