2011 Autosport International Show Review - Back to its best

AFTER last year’s disappointing and lacklustre affair, the Autosport International Show returned to its action-packed and breathtaking best.  The exhibition, held at the newly renamed LG Arena (the NEC) in Birmingham on 15 – 16 January produced plenty of thrills and spills, that would whet the appetite of anyone motor racing fan.  I went to experience the event on Saturday, and came away delighted with the whole day.

CHAMPION: Lewis Hamilton's winning 2008 car was on show

First stop was the exhibition of world championship winning cars by the McLaren Formula One team.  From the early days of Bruce McLaren, all the cars were shown to the public in stunning detail.  Amongst them were the first winning world championship car, driven by Emerson Fittipaldi in 1974, the beasts that were designed which saw Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost dominant the late 80’s, all the way through to Lewis Hamilton’s world championship winning car in 2008.  The public were allowed to get fairly close and personal to these monsters, and all credit has to go to McLaren for allowing fans to experience the intensity of what a winning Grand Prix racing car looks like.

SEXY: Lotus Renault's new F1 challenger looks stunning

McLaren may be a championship frontrunner for the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship, but it will take something special to overhaul Renault for the title of F1’s sexiest car of the year.  With official backing from Lotus, the cracking black and gold colour, synonymous with the Lotus team in the 1980’s is back for the new season.  It will be driven by Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov, and although it wasn’t the official launch, Lotus Renault showed off its new model, which looks stunning and breathtaking.  As this was a new car, access was limited – but the breathtaking pictures suggest that it will be one to watch – in many different ways.  In Kubica’s talented hands, I predict it will be a winner too.

DEMONSTRATION: The Virgin Racing pitwall was a starring spectacle

Last year’s dismal Autosport show was lifted by the appearance of the Formula One world champion, Jenson Button.  This year, motorsport stars were few and far between.  BBC F1’s anchorman Jake Humphrey and new main commentator Martin Brundle were in attendance.  Martin was quick to deny the media reports of a personality clash with Jonathan Legard, which led to Legard’s departure from the BBC team in midweek.  BTCC champion Jason Plato, 1979 world champion Jody Scheckter and sportscar aces Tom Kristensten and Allan McNish were the other picks.  Virgin Racing also allowed fans the chance to sit on their pitwall, play with some of the technical buttons and experience what the engineers go through during an everyday F1 race weekend.  I spoke to an employee from the team, who gave me a lot of useful information.  I asked him the validity of the pitwall, which he confirmed; “After the show, we will take down the wall, change the electrics and give the screens a dust and then, it is off to Valencia for the first pre-season test in three weeks time.”

SPONSORED: Fifth Gear put on a great show at the Live Action Arena

Plato went onto present the action from the Live Action Arena.  Sponsored by Channel Five, it was a show for those who are fans of Fifth Gear.  Plato was alongside the boring, useless Tiff Needell, with the glamour girl Vicky Butler-Henderson setting a series of challenges for the male stars to compete in.  In the show I went to, which I got front row seats for!  Needell got the better of Plato 2-1 in the challenges, but that sounded like a fluke, as people had been telling me that Plato had thrashed him all day.  This proved why Jason Plato stars on the British Touring Car circuit and why Tiff Needell is only a clueless TV presenter.  Sadly, he is nowhere near the class of Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.  Nevertheless, the banter between the pair was well worth the entrance fee.  Once they disappeared, the crowd were treated to stunts from Terry Grant, and three-wheel racing from the likes of ‘Walliams,’ ‘McLauren’ and ‘Red Ball!’  By far, it was the best live action arena experience I’ve ever had.

LETDOWN: The F1 Racing Grid was the main disappointment

In previous years, there has been a lot of content at the LG Arena, but a lot of half-hearted attempts from manufacturers.  This year, the only main letdown was the F1 Racing Grid.  The cars of Ferrari, Sauber and Hispania were missing, making in half incomplete and by being sealed off, it made the exhibit very difficult for fans to take photographs of.  The F1 Racing Grid has been a dismal letdown for many years now, and I don’t think it will meet the highs of cars hanging from the walls, like they did in 2007.  Maybe they should do like the World Rally Championship, and scrap this display, because it isn’t getting any better.

That aside, it was a great day and a great event.  Last year, I left feeling very short changed and disappointed.  This year, it was totally value for money and a great experience.  I will be back in 2012 to visit again, but first – here’s to a classic motorsport season in 2011! 

© HappyDude88 2011 (All pictures and text is copyrighted under the name of HappyDude88 2011)

Paul-Henri Cahier - A Photograpic F1 Passion

This post was created on January 27th at http://happydude88.livejournal.com/

Paul-Henri Cahier is a famous Formula 1 photographer and has been in a Grand Prix business for over forty years. His established, colourful and stunning images have graced the sport, winning over a number of fans for how close he can really get to the glamorous cars.

Cahier was born in Paris on November 7th 1952 and was the son of Bernard Cahier, who himself was a well-known and respected photographer in the black-and-white era. It was clear from an early age that Paul-Henri wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. This was probably helped by the contacts and friends that Bernard had established in the form of Grand Prix world champions such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Sir Stirling Moss and Graham Hill.

When he was 13, Bernard gave Paul-Henri one of his cameras, so he could start his apprenticeship as a Formula 1 photographer. His advice to his son was “Just Do It!”

By 1967, Paul-Henri Cahier’s photos were being published in numerous magazines across the globe, but it wasn’t until the 1980’s that he decided to go professional as a photographer. At this time, he settled down into a relationship with Japanese wife, Tami. They have been together for over 25 years. Throughout his era, Cahier has captured some of the most dramatic shots in Formula 1 racing and has contributed to a variety of magazines – including in the UK – Top Gear, Autosport and F1 Racing. He has photographed on black-and-white and colour cameras with shots which really have captured the imagination of one of sport’s greatest pinnacles.

Between 1991 and 2008, Paul-Henri Cahier has published 8 books, with a variety of stunning photography, alongside some quality Journalistic writing. His latest book, about Formula 1: The Pits won ‘Best Book of the Year.’ He also won ‘Best Picture of the Year’ in 2008. His numerous exhibitions have also won fame and prestige around the highly respected Grand Prix paddock. Cahier has hosted 10 exhibtions on certain F1 photography between 1984-2009, with a variety of venues, from Tokyo and Monte Carlo, to Paris and Singapore. Cahier was a very close friend of the late Brazilian, Ayrton Senna. Senna, three-times a world champion allowed Cahier to get very close to his activities, both on and off track. When Senna was prematurely killed while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Cahier was devastated to lose a close friend, but determined to put on an art of work that would make the Senna family proud. He did this with the ‘Ayrton Senna’ gallery in Tokyo – opened at the beginning of 1995. It won many plaudits from spectactors and other photographers within the Grand Prix industry.

Cahier was the chief photographer for the traditional Autocourse motorsport annual at the end of each motorsport season between 1992-2002. Cahier has also worked closely with his father on the now defunct World Sportscar Championship, and is regular visitor to one of the jewels of the crown in motorsport, the Le Mans 24 Hours. One former who wasn’t so graceful was Kimi Raikkonen. Cahier was pushed to the ground by Raikkonen moments before the start of the 2008 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, whilst the Frenchman was trying to get a close-up shot of the quiet Flying Finn.

Paul-Henri Cahier has been a stunning leader in Grand Prix photography and is still going strong – fourty-three years after making his initial breakthrough. Expect more amazing top-quality photos from Cahier throughout the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.