That was 2011...in sport

THE world of sport has had to deal with a lot of aspects in 2011.  We said goodbye to some stars at their prime and other legends who had made their mark.  There were shocks, sensational returns to form and superstars who had years to remember.  Sport has seen some vintage moments in 2011, though for some – they would rather forget it ever existed.

BACKSEAT: Nadal has had to watch Djokovic take over in tennis

     The tennis year has been dominated by Serbian, Novak Djokovic.  Djokovic had an incredible season, which saw him rise to the top of the ATP rankings and win three of the four Grand Slams (Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open).  He became only the sixth individual in history to win three Grand Slams in a single year, only losing six matches in his season.  He also took control of the ATP tour, winning six events.  Rafael Nadal had to play second fiddle this year, but he was beaten in two finals by Djokovic at the Grand Slams and took his traditional title at Roland Garros.  This meant that for the first time since 2002, Roger Federer went through a season without a Grand Slam title.  Despite this, the Swiss Master still showed flashes of his best with an epic semi-final success over Djokovic at the French Open and winning the season finale ATP finals in London.  Andy Murray’s ATP season was inconsistent, littered with several early exits.  However, he did win the Aegon Championships at Queen’s and strung together his best ever Grand Slam season.  Murray reached three semi-finals and was a gallant runner-up to Djokovic in Australia.  However, he needs to raise his game otherwise he will be left behind by the three masters of the men’s game.  In the ladies singles, there were four different Grand Slam winners.  Kim Clistjers took the honours in Australia, before injury wrecked her season.  China made its breakthrough in the major honours, when Na Li overcame Francesca Schiavone to win the French Open.  At Wimbledon, the relatively unknown Petra Kvitova got the better of a rejuvenated Maria Sharapova to become the first Czech since Jana Novotna in 1998 to win the main prize.  Sam Stosur continued the run of maiden winners, when she was too powerful for Serena Williams at the US Open in Flushing Meadows.  However, this year belonged to Novak Djokovic.  

     Rugby union’s greatest showpiece took place in New Zealand during the autumn and produced a fairytale story.  New Zealand had suffered a devastating year, with the earthquake in Christchurch and the River Pike mining tragedy.  However, despite not being the greatest All Blacks side to ever take part in a World Cup, they were able to produce what many haven’t; win the Webb Ellis Trophy.  They beat France in a close final 8-7, allowing inspirational captain Richie McCaw to lift the coveted prize, their first success since the inaugural tournament in 1987.  Defending champions South Africa disappointed, but were unlucky to bow out to Australia 11-9 in the quarter-finals.  The 2011 tournament was a mixed bag for the Home Nations.  Scotland bowed out at the group stages after failing to score tries in three of their four pool matches.  Ireland shook the tournament up with a shock and deserved win over Australia in the pool stages, but came up short in the quarter-finals against Wales, who were the story of the tournament.  Warren Gatland’s young side came so close to defeating South Africa on the opening weekend and played some fantastic rugby en route to a heartbreaking semi-final defeat at the hands of the improving French.  Wales cause was not helped by the controversial red card of Captain Sam Warburton.  England’s 2011 year was a disaster.  It started well with success in the RBS Six Nations.  Even that was tempered by losing a chance at the Grand Slam in Dublin on the final weekend.  At the world cup, off-field antics got in the way of their playing performances.  They laboured to wins over Argentina, Georgia and Scotland and eventually, it was old enemy France who got the better of England in convincing fashion in the last eight.  The fallout has continued since returning from Down Under, with The Times publishing media leaks of confidential reports, Martin Johnson quitting as team manager and Johnny Wilkinson announcing his retirement from international rugby.  So, it was a year to forget for English rugby, but one that New Zealand will hail a new golden generation.

CHANGE: Long Run won both the King George VI and Cheltenham Gold Cup

     There has been a changing of the guard in horse racing, as Long Run has taken jump racing to another level.  He won the delayed King George VI at Kempton in January and then held off Denman to succeed in a thrilling Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.  Sam Wahey-Cohen nearly completed a unique double in the John Smith’s Grand National.  The amateur jockey was pipped into second place by Jason Maguire’s ride, Ballabriggs.  It was another triumph for the McCain dynasty, with Donald McCain training the winning horse in humid conditions at Aintree.  His father Ginger was there to witness it, but it would turn out to be his last attendance at the National.  He sadly passed away from cancer in September, two days before his 81^st birthday.  On the flat, the 4-1 second favourite Pour Moi won the Epsom Derby in June whilst Frankel was named Horse of the Year after stretching an unbeaten run to nine, which included success in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Royal Ascot.  The main storm in horse racing has come through an amended ruling on the whip system.  Leading jockeys included AP McCoy threatened to go on strike which brought the sport on a potential collision course with the authorities.  After some tough negotiating, the rules have been changed so jockeys can use the whip seven times in flat races and eight times over jumps.  Although the jockeys still weren’t delighted with the tweaks, they decided to agree reluctantly and carry on competing.  The year ended with Paul Nicholls announcement that Denman was to be retired after injury.  Despite a recent brilliant win at Newbury, his stablemate Kauto Star might also be bowing out soon after a year of fluctuating form.

SHOCK: Usain Bolt false starts in Daegu and is disqualified in 100m

     Daegu in South Korea was the setting for the IAAF World Athletics Championships during August and September.  With it came the biggest shock of the sporting year.  World record holder and defending champion Usain Bolt unbelievably false started in the final of the men’s 100m.  As he tore his vest off his torso, Bolt could only watch his training partner Yohan Blake collecting the gold medal.  In true Bolt fashion, he bounced back to win the 200m, and be part of the Jamaican team that broke a world record in the 4x100m relay.  It was a mixed championship for Great Britain, with the biggest success coming from Dai Greene, who won the men’s 400m hurdles and from Mo Farah.  Farah was pipped into second place by Ibrahim Jeilan in the 10,000m, but went one better in the 5,000m.  Pre-event favourites in the men’s triple jump and women’s heptathlon, Phillips Idowu and Jessica Ennis had to settle for silver, despite season bests and points records.  There was also a bronze for Andy Turner in the men’s 110m hurdles after Cuba’s Dayron Robles was disqualified for an infringement and Hannah England took a surprising and sensational silver medal in the women’s 1500m.  In all, the championships were a major success with London just a year away.  Next year’s Olympic host had more reason to celebrate when it was awarded the 2017 World Championships in November.

     By its high standards, football has had a quiet year, but that doesn’t mean nothing happened.  Manchester United made history by finally breaking Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles.  A 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers in May secured another Premiership title for Sir Alex Ferguson.  Their noisy neighbours, Manchester City currently lead the new title battle by two points and stunned United in October, with an amazing 6-1 derby victory at Old Trafford.  City also ended their long drought for silverware by beating Stoke City 1-0 at Wembley to win the FA Cup.  Birmingham City ended up as the surprising winners of the Carling Cup, with Obafemi Martins last minute winner meaning Arsenal went through another year without silverware.  Sadly, this wouldn’t have a happy ending, as Birmingham got relegated from the Premiership, along with Blackpool and West Ham United.  QPR and Norwich City returned to the top flight and a 4-2 success over Reading in the Championship play-off final meant Swansea City became the first Welsh club to reach the Premiership promise land.  Like Arsenal, Chelsea went trophy less, wasted £50million on Liverpool’s wantaway striker Fernando Torres and then sacked Carlo Ancelotti.  He has been replaced by Andre Vilas-Boas, who led FC Porto to Europa League glory in Dublin in May.  Arsenal sold Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona in the summer and it was the Catalan side who stole the football limelight.  They cantered to La Liga success again, won the FIFA World Club Championship in Japan recently and produced an exhibition masterclass at Wembley to beat Manchester United 3-1 in the UEFA Champions League final.  On the international scene, England qualified for Euro 2012 and went through the calendar year unbeaten.  The Republic of Ireland will also be at the major European party next summer.

TRAGIC: Simoncelli and Wheldon's deaths rocked motorsport

     MotoGP was meant to be saluting Casey Stoner for an incredible season, in which the Australian and his Repsol Honda team blitzed the opposition.  Stoner won 11 races and clinched the title in his homeland of Australia.  A week later, the sport was rocked by the tragic accident in Malaysia that robbed motorcycling of one of its brightest stars.  Marco Simoncelli crashed on the second lap and was struck by Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi.  He died an hour afterwards from his injuries and his death sent shockwaves through motorsport.  Simoncelli’s flair will be missed in the paddock in 2012 and it came just a week after a dreadful pile-up at the IndyCar season finale in Las Vegas.  The 15-car crash claimed the life of British driver Dan Wheldon, who was only competing in his third event of the season.  Wheldon had won the Indianapolis 500 in sensational fashion earlier in the year.  Las Vegas may have lost its race next season, but it won’t bring Dan back.  Dario Franchitti’s third successive championship was made academic.  In Formula One, Sebastian Vettel was in a class of his own, winning 11 races, taking a record breaking 15 pole positions in a season and winning a second world championship.  In a year full of vintage races and countless overtaking, Sebastian stormed to success with a third place finish in Suzuka, Japan in October meaning he became the youngest back-to-back champion.  Britain’s Jenson Button won three events, including a sensational last lap triumph from the back In Canada and he was the runner-up in the final positions.  Fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton had a troubled year, which included a high-profile split from his girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger and many on-track altercations with Felipe Massa.  However, he won in China, Germany and Abu Dhabi to remind everyone of his capabilities.  Sadly though, 2011 will be remembered for tragedy rather than records in motorsport.

     In other sport, British golfers came of age in 2011.  Luke Donald became the world and European no.1, whilst there was an emotional and popular success for Darren Clarke at The Open Championship.  Having thrown away the US Masters at Augusta in April, Rory McIlroy produced a breathtaking display to win the US Open in June.  It was his first major and certainly won’t be his last.  Following their winter success in the Ashes, England’s cricketers had a summer to remember, recording a whitewash summer over Sri Lanka and India and establishing themselves as the no.1 ranked test team.  However, their performance at the Cricket World Cup was less impressive, which included shock defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh in the pool stages.  India won the trophy, beating Sri Lanka in a one-sided final.  For once, Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor was usurped in the PDC World Darts Championships, being knocked out in the quarter-finals.  Adrian Lewis won the tournament, beating Gary Anderson 7-5 in the final.  Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in February to take the honours in Superbowl XLV.  Australian Cadel Evans became the first Wallaby to win the Tour de France since the war, but the headlines were made by Mark Cavendish.  The Brit won the most overall stages and ended up winning the prestigious green jersey at the end.  Boxing has had better years, which saw David Haye lose his World Heavyweight title to Vladimir Klitcshko, then retire from the sport and Amir Khan recently lose his titles in controversial circumstances to Lamont Peterson.  Lastly, John Higgins bounced back from a match-fixing scandal to win his fourth World Snooker championship, defeating Judd Trump 18-15 in a thrilling final.

     Sport has had its moments of controversy and surprise, its moments of triumph and tragedy and its moments where you will remember where you were.  2012 includes the Olympics in London and the European Football Championships in Poland/Ukraine, so it promises just as much as 2011 ended up delivering.                 

Famous faces no longer with us in 2011. . .

ONE month to go until the start of a new year, but whilst a load of us our getting ready to celebrate the Christmas cheer, some famous faces are no longer with us.  Here is my tribute to some of those who sadly will not be around during the festive season. . .

Gary Mason (British boxer) Died on 6 January, aged 48

Gary Mason was the British heavyweight champion in 1989 and one lost once, to Lennox Lewis in 38 professional fights.  He was part of a golden generation of British boxers around in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  He sadly was involved in a cycling collision with a van in South London on January 6, aged just 48 years of age.

Nat Lofthouse (Footballer) Died on 15 January, aged 85

One of Bolton Wanderers greatest ever players passed away in January, Nat Lofthouse.  He won 33 England caps between 1950 and 1958, scoring 30 goals and playing in the 1950 World Cup.  For club, he scored a staggering 255 goals for Bolton, captaining the team to success in the 1958 FA Cup final against Manchester United. 

Elizabeth Taylor (Movie actress) Died on 23 March, aged 79

It was a glittering movie career that made Elizabeth Taylor a star on the big screen.  She died from heart failure after a short illness in March.  Elizabeth won two Oscars for Best Actress and played a leading role in ‘Cleopatra,’ ‘Father of the Bride,’ and ‘Lassie Come Home,’ amongst other movies.  Her private life was also well documented; marrying eight times to seven separate husbands, but it is the movie memories that will remain with many.

Seve Ballesteros (European Golfer) Died on 7 May, aged 54

The game of golf was left rocked by the death of one of its most charismatic competitors in Seve Ballesteros.  Seve had a lengthy battle against illness over the past three years, but like all the time on the golf course, he took the battle to the bitter end.  Sadly, the brain cancer he had been diagnosed with was terminal.  He won the Open championship three times, was successful twice at the US Masters and captained Europe to Ryder Cup glory in his native homeland in 1997.  There is no doubt that he was a legend in golf and will always be one of the greats of the game.

Roy Skelton (Actor) Died on 8 June, aged 79

The name doesn’t stand out in the acting world, but Roy Skelton’s voice certainly did.  He had a showbiz career that spanned 53 years, with his last in February 2008, voicing two characters in the first episode of BBC series Ashes to Ashes.  Roy’s impact on television was as providing the voices of Zippy and George on the kids programme Rainbow from the early 1970s until 1992.  He passed away quietly in his home after suffering a stroke.

Betty Ford (First Lady) Died on 8 July, aged 93

Betty Ford was the first lady when Gerald Ford was president of the United States between 1973 and 1976.  She was a passionate individual, who devoted her time to raising awareness to issues such as abortion, equal pay and feminism.  She won the Congressional Gold Medal in 1998 for her hard work and became co-founder of the Betty Ford Centre in California in 1982, holding the role as president for 23 years.  Ill health in later years sadly took its toll on Betty, but she brought the role of being the president’s wife into prominence throughout the 1970s. 

Amy Winehouse (Singer) Died on 23 July, aged 27

The media has had plenty of field days in recent years, documenting the private life of Amy Winehouse all over the tabloid newspapers.  However, she did have a powerful and passionate voice, as was proven by hit songs such as ‘Rehab.’  She was found dead in her London flat in July, aged just 27 years old.

Janey Cutler (Singer) Died on 24 August, aged 82

Janey Cutler is another face whose career got a revelation in her later years of life.  She was one of the stars of the 2010 series of ITV’s summer reality hit, Britain’s Got Talent.  Despite some concern over her health, Janey finished a creditable ninth in the final, won by gymnast act Spelbound.  She then went on to perform on the BGT live tour and got to achieve her dream of singing infront of millions.

Ginger McCain (Horse Racing trainer) Died on 19 September, aged 80

Aintree will be missing something next year and that will be Ginger McCain’s presence.  Ginger lost his battle with cancer in September, just two days before his 81^st birthday.  He is one of the most successful trainers of all-time in horse racing and despite never winning at Cheltenham, formed a formidable partnership with Red Rum, as the greatest horse to have ever lived won three Grand Nationals in 1973, 1974 and 1977.  He took a fourth triumph with Amberleigh House in 2004 and this year, the dynasty continued in the McCain family, as his son trained Ballabriggs to glory in 2011.

Steve Jobs (Founder of Apple) Died on 5 October, aged 56

The world lost a genius in early October, when the founder of Apple, Steve Jobs passed away after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.  Jobs was responsible for reviving Apple’s fortunes and spearheaded major technological change, such as the iPad, iPhone and iPod.  Apple will move on and continue, but the world will struggle to find another technological genius.

Dan Wheldon (Double Indy 500 winner) Died on 16 October, aged 33

Two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon was tragically killed in a massive 15-car pile-up during the IndyCar season finale in Las Vegas.  He was only competing as part of an incentive set by organisers to pass every car in the field and win a massive jackpot prize.  Having struggled to find a breakthrough in Europe, Dan moved to America in 1999 and had great success, winning the IndyCar title in 2005 and the prestigious Indy 500 race twice, most recently back in May.  He leaves behind a great legacy for both American and British motorsport.

Marco Simoncelli (MotoGP rider) Died on 23 October, aged 23

Marco Simoncelli had everything going for him as a MotoGP star of the future.  He had taken one pole position and two podiums this season for the Gresini Honda team and his flair and style on the bike meant life was never dull when Simoncelli was around.  He was killed at the penultimate event of the season in Malaysia, when he crashed and was struck by two fellow competitors.  The MotoGP paddock will be a poorer place next season without Simoncelli around.

Sir Jimmy Saville (DJ & Actor) Died on 29 October, aged 84

Television presenter, media personality and a massive fundraiser for many charities, Sir Jimmy Saville will be best known for being a long-standing host on Top of the Pops and for his own BBC television show Jim’ll Fix It.  He had been recently treated in hospital for pneumonia before his death.  Sir Jimmy though has left plenty of catchphrases and moments that people will never forget.

Joe Frazier (Former Heavyweight Boxing Champion) Died on 7 November, aged 67

Liver cancer may have claimed the life of Joe Frazier, but the memories will always remain of a glittering boxing career.  He won 27 fights in his career, only being beaten by two of the greats, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman along the way.  Joe was a true fighter to the end.

Gary Speed (Welsh football manager) Died on 27 November, aged 42

Gary Speed had a great football career and had a potential brilliant career as a manager ahead of him.  He was transforming the fortunes around of the Welsh national team and is still the leading outfield Welsh player to win international caps.  He played for Leeds United, Everton and Newcastle United amongst other clubs, winning the First Division championship in 1992.  Gary was found hanged in his home, just 24 hours after a positive appearance on the BBC’s Football Focus show.

An odd and tricky week

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

I FEEL at the end of this week to be in a far more positive frame of mind about events, but even I have to admit, it has been an odd week for many of us.  It’s seen its fair share of sad events, which affected me and also brought tragedy on the University of Northampton.  I think this week has reminded everyone of the real perspectives in life because at the end of the day, no-one knows what is around the corner.

       Having believed that last week and the start of my third and final Uni year had been a blip extended into Monday.  It really shouldn’t have, but it did and again, I only have myself to blame.  I was buzzing last weekend, until I heard the tragic news of the crash in America that claimed the life of British racing driver Dan Wheldon in Las Vegas.  I didn’t take it well at all and seeing the accident really shook me up.  Throughout Monday, the crash video on YouTube kept replaying through my head and I lost my focus of the bigger picture, which was bad.  I’ve seen a tribute programme that Sky Sports did last night to the Brit, who won the prestigious Indy 500 event twice, which is a unique achievement.  He touched many people’s lives in motorsport and he will leave a legacy through that community and his many fans that have been saddened by his loss.  So, why did it affect me so much?  Basically, I’ve never witnessed death in motorsport, which as people who know me, is a passion of mine.  Throw in the fact that he was British and grew up in the tiny village of Emberton, within my hometown of Milton Keynes and that made me worse.  Now if that makes me an odd person; for me to love my hometown and British motorsport, then I’m sorry, but that’s who I am and whoever doesn’t like it, I don’t care.  In these instances, I’m a private person, couldn’t really share my thoughts on this sort of thing and that wasn’t a good thing.  As the week has gone on, I’ve felt better and more within myself, but I just didn’t feel like buzzing or smiling my face off on Monday.  I didn’t feel like it, no point faking it in my view.  In spite of that, I should have shown more motivation and belief in myself on Monday and had to have a serious think about myself that evening.  I wasn’t coming across well and it was time to refocus my energy and effort – no more excuses.

      For me, the rest of the week has ended up being far more positive.  A lot of my journalism course buddies are beginning to take stock of the fact that Twitter is turning into such a useful source for communication and keeping up-to-date with the news.  I got a BlackBerry last week (whilst all the signal problems were occurring) and can’t keep myself away from Twitter.  I will now aim to use this far more often than Facebook, especially for professional standards.  Note to self; no good moaning on Twitter now, just in case you get a famous journalist following you!  Maybe my tweet on Scottish poet Robert Browning in midweek wasn’t my smartest move, but there you go!

      I also feel that I made a significant breakthrough with my dissertation this week.  Although things had been going well, they had stalled in the past fortnight and I was in desperate need of gaining more research and academic references from books.  As a course, we have been strictly told to not rely on the internet, as it isn’t a preferable source.  The tutors are expecting between 10-15 books to be used in bibliographies come marking time and I only had six.  It wasn’t looking great, especially as books cost a load of money, which is always a commodity in this day and age.  I went to the Uni library in midweek and found far more useful information and books that I could have imagined.  Not only do I feel that I have saved a fair bit of money, which might have turned into a complete waste, but I feel that I have now made significant progress to begin typing up my first chapter next week, which is encouraging.

PARTNERSHIP: Me and Farida both know what it takes

      The post-group meeting from the Silverstone trip went fairly well too, despite my dismal mood on Monday.  Ideas have been drawn up for all three aspects that my group has to do now and I’d say we are in a strong position with at least two of the practical elements now.  The TV side of things isn’t looking fantastic as I write this, but that has the element to be changed, especially when you have the best journalist on the course that will always give 100 per cent and is working incredibly hard full stop.  No, I am not talking about myself here, I’m talking about Farida.  I don’t say much about friends on here, in case it embarrasses them, but this is what I will say about Farida.  She is committed to the cause, dedicated to her profession and has done so many work placements in the past two years; she has taken so much from them.  I’ve never seen anyone who I’ve gone through the education ladder as motivated and driven as her and I know that she is going places in journalism.  Plus, she is such a caring, trusting and respectful individual too.  In third year, I am slowly coming around to the belief like those Coca Cola adverts of ‘Eat football, sleep football, and drink Coca Cola!’  My motto for this is ‘Live journalism, breath journalism, succeeding at journalism!’  I know Farida is already doing this and I’m lucky to have met someone like her who you can have a laugh with and share information, but can motivate and drive anyone to do even more.  Oh and for all fellow journalists out there, follow her on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/FaridaZeynalova, it’s a great feed for her emotions! 

      However, whilst some of us go from strength to strength, others have opportunities taken away from them.  I started this blog talking about an incident that affected me, so I’ll finish mentioning about the tragic events of the early hours of Wednesday morning.  I’m sure a lot of you have seen the news reports of the crush at the Lava: Ignite nightclub in Northampton which claimed the life of 22-year old student Nabila Nanfuka.  Nabila was a third year student at the University of Northampton, studying Leisure & Tourism.  I personally didn’t know her; I know some on our course did.  These sorts of incidents just show how life can be so precious to us and remind us of the cruel twists of fate that can just happen, when you don’t expect them to.  RIP Nabila and thoughts go out to her family and friends at what must be a very difficult time for them.  I know there was an emotional memorial service on one of the campuses yesterday and I do hope the University will do something to mark Nabila’s time of studying here.  She shouldn’t be forgotten by anyone who is currently studying at the University of Northampton.

      It’s been an odd week, full of ups and downs, satisfaction and vindication, fate and tragedy.  What will October’s final week bring; who’s to say, but hopefully a quieter week for everyone after this week’s dramas.  For me, this involves a flying visit home to Milton Keynes and I can’t wait!

Thank you for reading!

RIP Dan Wheldon and Nabila Nanfuka

A reminder of motorsport's dangers

IT SAYS it on all the paddock passes and race tickets, motorsport is dangerous.  It’s a fact of life and nothing can be done about that to remove the risk element away.  However, when the unthinkable happens, it still gives the community both a massive shock and a chilling reminder of the dangers in competing at the highest level.  Dan Wheldon’s tragic death in Sunday’s IndyCar finale has not only sent a worldwide feel of loss and remorse, but raised questions about the safety of motorsport in general and what can be done to prevent these sorts of accidents from happening more frequently.

THE SAFETY OF INDYCAR RACING

WRECK: The Las Vegas circuit was too tight for so many cars

INDYCAR’s safety record is good, but not great.  Both Gonzalo Rodriguez and Greg Moore were killed within six weeks of events in 1999.  Paul Dana was the last driver to lose his life at an IndyCar event, five years ago.  Open-wheel racing has always carried significant risks and will continue to do so.  As Mark Blundell summed it up yesterday, the events of Sunday were a ‘recipe for disaster.’  Cars going side-by-side at 220mph has a real fear of danger if something goes wrong.  Plus, it doesn’t have to be driver error; mechanical failure in these cars is still possible in this day and age.  There is no doubt that IndyCar has worked extremely hard with safety organisations to improve its track record, which frankly, was diabolical in the 1990s.  Plus, there are a lot of dedicated marshals and medical facilities are better than ever before.  However, the risks will always remain and in the light of the recent events at the weekend, more has to be done to make the cars stronger to absorb the impacts of a big accident.  1979 Formula One world champion, Jody Scheckter has told BBC that he wants his son, Tomas to quit because it is too dangerous.  Scheckter Jnr was involved in the 15-car pile-up in Las Vegas and Jody said “It is the most dangerous form of motor racing at the moment.  Hopefully this will knock some sense into him and realise there is more to life.  It really isn’t worth it.”

CIRCUITS IN THE US; THE DANGERS

THE officials at the Las Vegas circuit should be prepared for some serious stick over the coming weeks.  The circuit is far too narrow for these types of cars to go racing.  Principally, this track has been used mainly for NASCAR racing, not open-wheel combat.  Drivers raised their concerns during testing for the event, including the defending champion, Dario Franchitti.  If they did this and the track officials ignored their requests for more safety considerations or even to cancel the event, they are going to be in a whole lot of hot water.  A prime example will be Formula One’s fateful trip to Indianapolis in 2005.  Michelin failed to bring suitable tyres to the Brickyard, which saw a farcical six-car race take place.  Two weeks later, Max Mosley said on the Official 2005 F1 DVD; “You can’t just build a chicane at the team’s request, because if an accident happens, an American judge wouldn’t care about the safety consequences.  It is unfortunate what happened, but we couldn’t allow it to happen.”  It is unlikely, but if Franchitti can prove his comments were valid through transcripts or audio recordings, then this tragedy could have been prevented.  I don’t know the full implications of American law, but the Las Vegas track officials could be facing some tough and testing questions from higher forces should this happen.  Although oval racing is popular in the States, maybe it is time to restrict this form of racing to the classic Indianapolis 500.  The risks of racing on ovals are far greater than both street and road circuits.  The thrill may disappear, but at the safety of the championship’s future integrity, it might be the safest option, if not the most plausible option.

WILL IT HAPPEN IN FORMULA ONE?

SAFE: The FIA has done immense work in the safety department

DEATH in Formula One is possible.  It has happened before and without wanting to sound callous, it will probably happen again at some stage.  However, it has now been 17 years since that horrific weekend at Imola, when both Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna were killed.  The last fatality at any Grand Prix event was Marshal Graham Beveridge; killed by flying debris from a serious crash at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.  The introduction of the HANS (Head and Neck Safety) system in 2003 has restricted the potential possibility for fatal neck and head injuries.  Ironically, the HANS device came in after successful testing in American racing.  Professor Sid Watkins, Dr. Gary Hartstein and the FIA can take immense satisfaction for the work they have done in recent years.  Who can forget Robert Kubica’s aeroplane shunt in the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, which would have probably been a fatal shunt ten years earlier, saw Kubica only suffer a sprained ankle and that is down to HANS and the vigorous safety cells and crash tests each car has to pass in pre-season.  1993 IndyCar champion Nigel Mansell praised Formula One’s safety record and told BBC Radio 5 Live, that IndyCars could learn from the premier competition in motorsport; “In Indy racing, there is simply nowhere to go.  When an accident happens, you are into the wall in a split second.  This is why Formula 1 does an exemplary job.  The tarmac runs off so the driver has time to decelerate the car.”

THE COCKPITS: SHOULD THEY BE CLOSED?

NO IS the simple answer to this.  Dan Wheldon’s death will understandably trigger this debate again, which was raised in 2009 when Henry Surtees died in an F2 race at Brands Hatch after being struck by debris, then Felipe Massa received life-threatening injuries in a similar, freakish incident during qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.  There is talk of a canopy being installed around the driver and yes, it would be better for a safety issue.  However, there is no guarantee of this being the breakthrough to prevent incidents like those that have happened in the past.  Remember, it was the impact with the wall and the resultant fire that was Dan Wheldon’s downfall on Sunday, not a result of the flying debris.  Like I’ve said, motorsport is dangerous, but I think a real element would be taken away if the cockpits became closed within the driver area.  It isn’t a regular occurrence and any action like this would be seen by me as a desperate action.  IndyCar need to look at better racetracks, safer barriers at these tracks and the structure strength of the cars, rather than changing cockpit levels.

HOW IT HAS AFFECTED ME?

PEOPLE who know me will understand the love of motor racing I have.  I don’t follow American racing, but of course, I want the Brits to do really well in any motorsport they take part in.  First indication of potential trouble came when I saw Jonathan Legard’s status on Twitter, about a big IndyCar accident.  Curious, I checked out YouTube to see how big it was and I wished I hadn’t.  When I saw the crash, it felt like my heart stopped beating and you don’t want to hear the words that muttered out of my mouth when I witnessed it online for the first time.  When I saw another of Legard’s tweets in the evening, which said that Dan Wheldon’s condition was serious, with no word on injuries, I knew the situation looked very bleak and sadly, the news came through just before midnight of his death.

      Yesterday, I kept seeing the crash on news broadcasts and I felt there was no need for that, especially for Dan’s devastated family.  In this situation, I would stick to images and videos of the wrecked cars and driver reactions.  It made me sick watching it everytime.  All day at Uni yesterday, it was a talking point with a lot of the journalism students and I just didn’t want to be there.  It was on my mind all day and maybe some will say; ‘Why does it affect you?’  Well it does and I can’t help that.  I had to show the crash to one of my friend’s yesterday afternoon and seeing it again made me feel like, well rubbish in the politest term possible.  As Dan was British, plus he grew up in my hometown of Milton Keynes, it made it even worse to think about.  Thankfully, I don’t remember Ayrton Senna’s death vividly, so this is the first real motorsport tragedy I have seen and it puts perspectives into life.  We still have the basics, can move around and look forward to a potential promising future.  I won’t stop watching motor racing, such as Formula One, but I will certainly appreciate the risks far more than I did and actually, I will probably feel more different when watching the next event on TV because I fully understand the risks and consequences of what might happen if it goes horribly wrong.

Motorsport is dangerous and Sunday’s tragedy in Las Vegas is a reminder for everyone; drivers, fans, marshals, racing organisations etc to not take anything for granted.  It is a wake-up for the whole community and safety must continue to advance in all forms, so these sorts of tragedies such as Dan Wheldon’s accident can be prevented more in future.

Dan Wheldon – 22 June 1978 – 17 October 2011, RIP

British ace killed in horrific IndyCar pile-up

TRIBUTES have been pouring in all day throughout the world of motorsport for the British racing driver, Dan Wheldon.  Wheldon, 33, was killed last night following a horrific pile-up at the season ending Indy 300 event in Las Vegas.  The 2005 IndyCar champion was competing in the final event of the season from the back of the grid in a promotion by the race organisers, for the chance to win a $5million dollar jackpot.  His chances of achieving this incentive and ultimately his life, ended tragically on the 13^th lap.

     With a staggering field of 34 cars on the tight circuit, trouble always looked like it might occur, but surely not in the circumstances that ended up claiming the talents of one of the most prestigious names in motorsport.  The accident began when JR Hildebrand and Wade Cunningham touched tyres at approximately 220mph.  From that point on, a chain reaction developed.  Wheldon, who had made up ten positions already from the back, drove over the top of the slowing Paul Tracy.  He had no chance as his Dallara chassis somersaulted into the air and hit the catch fencing, catching fire on impact.  The race was immediately red-flagged, with debris and flames everywhere.  Championship contender Will Power was also involved in the accident and spent the night in hospital under observation, as did two other drivers involved in the smash. 

     Wheldon was treated by paramedics at the scene of the carnage.  He was airlifted to hospital, with his wife and two young sons by his side.  Two hours later, IndyCar chief executive officer Randy Bernard confirmed the devastating news to the worldwide media;

“IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today.  IndyCar, its teams and drivers has decided to end the race.”

SHOCK: Dario Franchitti is consoled after hearing the tragic news 

     The remaining drivers got back in their cars and drove around the circuit in a five lap salute to their fellow and fallen colleague.  Dario Franchitti was in tears as he got out of his Chip Ganassi cockpit, but not in winning a third successive championship, just in shock at the loss of one of his greatest friends on the race circuit.  Danica Patrick, racing in her final event before switching to the NASCAR series next season, described the scene to ESPN;

     “It was just like a movie scene.  There was debris everywhere.  The whole track was covered, you could just smell the smoke, there was a chunk of fire that we were driving around and you just see cars scattered everywhere.”

      Brazilian driver Tony Kanaan, who qualified on pole position for this fateful event, spoke of his emotions to US TV channel Speed;

     “I’ve lost one of my best friends, one of my greatest team-mates and I don’t know what else to say.”

Team owner Chip Ganassi summed up the feelings of the IndyCar paddock;

     “We are all going to miss him, a little bit of IndyCar racing died today.”

     Dan Wheldon grew up from a tiny village in Emberton, Milton Keynes.  He rose through the junior formulae in the United Kingdom, racing against the likes of F1 stars, Jenson Button and Mark Webber.  In 1999, with his chances of reaching Formula One looking slim, he made the move to America on a permanent basis.  He went onto have massive success in the championship, winning 16 events, the 2005 IndyCar title and two Indianapolis 500 events.  His first triumph in 2005 at the Brickyard made him the first Briton to win the prestigious event for 40 years.  He poignantly won the event again on the final corner this year.  Yesterday’s event was just his third of the season, having lost his drive at Panther Racing at the start of the campaign.  He looked set to return as Patrick’s replacement in the GoDaddy.com squad for next season.

      Lewis Hamilton, fresh off the back of a strong second placed finish at yesterday’s F1 Korean Grand Prix has led the worldwide shock and sadness;

     “Dan was a racer I’d followed throughout my career, as I often followed in his footsteps as we climbed the motorsport ladder in the UK.  This is a tragic loss at such a young age.  He was an extremely talented driver.  My heart goes out to his family and friends during this extremely difficult time.”

     Outside the family home in Buckinghamshire, Dan’s devastated father, Clive read out an emotional statement.

     “The family would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming outpouring of sympathy.  Daniel was born to be a racer and left us doing what he loved to do.  He was a true champion and a gentleman on and off the track.  Words cannot describe how much our family will miss him.”

      Questions now begin to turn to the safety of the IndyCar series in America.  It is the first death in the championship since Paul Dana was killed in a practice accident for the 2006 season opener in Miami.  Its former rival in American open-wheel racing, CART, suffered two deaths in the 1999 season, whilst this was also the championship that saw the inspirational Alex Zanardi lose both of his legs a decade ago.  Drivers, including Franchitti questioned the narrowness of the Las Vegas track in testing, as it is mainly used as a circuit for NASCAR racing.  It is understood that a number of drivers were incredibly nervous about the amount of cars on the grid yesterday, at such fast speeds.  Mark Blundell, former ITV F1 pundit and IndyCar driver told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the speeds and use of circuits need to be controlled far more in future.

     “I do think, having driven these cars for five years and having won races on ovals, the speeds are far greater than Formula One cars and when you are only a couple of inches away from each other, side-by-side at 220mph, when things go wrong, they go wrong in a big way.  These sorts of cars shouldn’t be running on such narrow circuits.  We’ve seen today a 15-car pile-up, wiping out 40 per cent of the grid and we’ve seen a fatality.  That’s just not acceptable.”

BBC Sport expert Jonathan Legard told the news channel that the grid was just far too packed. 

     “The racetrack itself was shorter than usual, there were more cars than ever before and therefore, there were the ingredients there for something to go wrong and so it proved.”

Dan Wheldon: 22 June 1978 - 17 October 2011

     Although he never quite made it to Formula One, Dan Wheldon’s success in America means he will go down as one of the greatest ever drivers that Britain has ever produced.  He was much loved by his family and friends and well-respected within the whole motorsport community.  His loss isn’t just going to be felt by the IndyCar fraternity, but by the whole of the sport as it attempts to recover from one of its most blackest days in recent memory.

Dan Wheldon – 22 June 1978 – 17 October 2011, RIP

Mike's Miraculous Escape

On Sunday night, a British racing driver literally cheated with death in America’s most famous car battle.  Mike Conway, a former GP2 driver, who resides in Kent, suffered a huge smash on the penultimate lap of the Indianapolis 500 at the Brickyard.

As the video above shows, Conway clipped the back of Brazilian driver, Ryan Hunter-Reay and was launched into the air.  Shockingly, his car ended up catapulting into the catch-fencing on the left-hand side of the track, his car disintegrating into pieces across the road.  The scattered debris saw several spectators dive for cover, some suffering minor injuries, whilst other drivers such as three-time winner Helio Castroneves saw their cars damaged in the smash.  Hunter-Reay was also incredibly lucky to escape any injury, as large pieces of Conway’s car threatened to do some severe damage to his well-being.  This was a chilling reminder of the threats that carbon fibre can do in open-wheel cockpit racing following Felipe Massa’s serious life-threatening shunt in qualifying for last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix and the death of talented F2 racer, Henry Surtees. 

Paramedics were on the scene very quickly, with Conway conscious, but clearly in a lot of pain.  Amazingly, despite the destruction of his car in many small pieces, his only main injury was a broken leg.  The smash is by far, the biggest I have witnessed in IndyCars since the tragic death of Canadian driver Greg Moore at the CART finale in California, 1999.  Other drivers such as Bruno Junqueira, Memo Gidley, Alessandro Zanardi and Kenny Brack have had horrific shunts in recent years, yet walked away with their lives.  This once again highlights the fact of safety in racing events in America and the massive steps that have been taken for these accidents to take place, but prevent the fatal loss of some talented stars.  The work of Professor Sid Watkins and particularly, from the official American racing doctor, Dr. Steve Olvey needs to take a large slice of the credit.  Without their advances in medical technology and the assistance they have given the officials and designers, we would be talking about death in far more cases in American racing.

Conway’s crash overshadowed a historic result in Sunday’s showpiece event, which saw a British 1-2-3.  Following Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button’s McLaren 1-2 at Sunday’s Formula One Turkish Grand Prix, Scot Dario Franchitti, reigning Indy Racing League champion won his second Indianapolis 500 for Chip Ganassi.  Dan Wheldon, from Milton Keynes was 2nd for Panther Racing.  Wheldon was catching Franchitti rapidly before the crash, as Dario had been struggling to get to the finish, due to a fuel conservation problem.  Youngster Alex Lloyd rounded the all-British podium, with Castroneves, chasing a 4^th victory at Indy, winding up a frustrating 9^th, after stalling in the pits during a caution flag interval.

However, this race will be fully remembered for Mike’s Miraculous Escape.