Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas from James Moy Photography.
We will be back in the New Year with more news, blogs, articles and photography from what promises to be a cracking 2011 F1 season.

Best wishes.
James Moy.

Safety car the winner

So we had a situation at the weekend where Korea had done a fantastic job to finish off their brand new circuit, the crowd had turned up en masse to watch their first ever F1 Grand Prix. 600 million people tuned in worldwide to watch one of the closest championship battles in the history of the sport and then at 3pm just as the start lights should go out, they decide that actually the race will not go ahead as planned.

Why? Because it was raining!

I have attended 100`s of GP`s over the years and have photographed many wetter ones than this, but for some reason we had to start the race behind the safety car. Then stop the race 4 laps later because the wet conditions were perceived to be dangerous. We then sat around for an hour whilst the rain still came down, until finally they paraded around behind the safety car yet again and eventually got the race going in fairly similar conditions to what we had at 3pm.


If the 24 most skilled drivers in the world cannot drive in the rain, then what a mad situation we have come to.

Ok other sports are occasionally affected by the weather. Cricket stops if it gets too dark, horse racers don`t like a frost. Footballers don`t like the snow. But come on, cars are designed to be driven in the wet. Drive to the conditions, grip and visibility that you have in front of you. And if this lot can`t negotiate the first corner then how do any of us get to the shops in a downpour?

The majority of the drivers drove to the grid on their intermediate tyres, and were then seen spinning and sliding all over the place. Well of course they were. They were gambling on the chance that they could get away with the inters, but arriving on the grid and deciding that actually they needed the full wets. But by then it was too late. The world tv audience and Charlie Whiting, the race director, had seen enough and the most exciting start to a race in a long time was going to be snatched from our hands at the last second.

I have great respect for Charlie. He is in a position where he has a huge burden on his shoulders to consider the safety, and his decision should be final. But the rest of the world wants to see a motor race and that has to be considered too.

And so after all the confusion we did have a race. And what a race it was. The action was thick and fast, there was overtaking galore, enough crashes and incidents to keep the crowd on their feet. Two of the championship contenders, Mark and Seb, failed to finish, turning the table on its head. So why oh why did we manage to have a race in the dark with no headlights, but we couldn`t have a race in the rain with no windscreen wipers?

Maybe the winners trophy should have been presented to the safety car?

Big in Japan

It's the fans that make the Japanese GP. Yes. Ok, the circuit is one of the most popular of the year, yes the un-predictable weather always throws up a few dramas but it`s the unique atmosphere of the Suzuka circuit that makes the Japanese GP weekend for me.

The fans arrive on the Thursday before the GP and fill the grandstands. We quite often see more fans on a Thursday in Suzuka than we see during the entire weekend at races such as Turkey and China.

And these are no ordinary fans.

It is a surreal experience being trackside as a photographer in Japan. The silence is eerie. We are so used to the fans being vocal, blowing air horns, shouting and screaming, but not in Japan.

In Australia the fans are drunk. In China they don`t understand it, in Bahrain they are so rich they don`t bother watching it, in Spain they shout and eat tapas, in Italy they are just simply passionate. The fans in Monaco are either asleep, drinking champagne or admiring bikini-clad women. The British fans are super keen and in their seats at 6am. The German fans are noisy, fat and usually half-naked. The Hungarians are either gorgeous or sunburnt. The Belgians are wet. The Brazilians are super passionate, bang drums and dance in the grandstands. The Turkish fans are quite simply not there.

But the Japanese are Bonkers!

They sit in the pouring rain, in silence, watching an empty track for hours on end. They dress up as horses, fairies, warriors and sumo wrestlers. They are super loyal to their favourite team and it is not uncommon to see fans wearing Jaguar, Arrows, BAR and Minardi merchandise from years gone by.
They enthusiastically wave their flags lap after lap each time Kamui drives past.

Let them close to their heroes and they simply break down in tears. Grown men shake and panic. Girls cry and scream.

There is an obsession for driver autographs. These normally reserved Japanese fans wait patiently outside the drivers hotel in hoards until they get a glimpse of their heroes. Then with black permanent marker pens in hand they mob the drivers for signatures.
As Bruno Senna arrived at the circuit on Sunday he raised his sleeve up to me with black marker pen all over him `Not bad, I only got done by 3 of them today`.

I remember a couple of years ago, for some reason, one fan was asking the drivers to sign their autograph on his face. Most drivers accepted the offer and scribbled all over this poor guys head. Rubens however decided that with the language barrier he could get away with writing various swear words all over this guys face, all of which are un-printable on this blog.

Quite simply bonkers!

Night Racing

I could get used to this, waking up in a comfortable bed at 2 o`clock in the afternoon, dragging myself to the pool for a hour or two and then a gentle stroll through Singapore`s leafy boulevards to work. Arriving at dusk just as the F1 Championship contenders battle it out at 200mph around the centre of this wonderful city. This is night racing and I like it.

Night racing suits me. I have always been slightly nocturnal, and not very good at getting up early in the mornings. This week I have been finishing my work at the circuit around 4am and then heading out to one of Singapores street markets for some food and a couple of beers. As I head to bed the rest of the city are sitting in traffic jams and squeezing onto the metro to get to work. I feel slightly guilty as I hang the do not disturb sign on my door and head off to bed.

To see F1 cars polished to within millimetres of their bare shells, glistening in the Singapore lights and the city skyline backdrop is truly stunning. Add to this a tricky, twisty and bumpy circuit that snakes it`s way around the landmarks of this iconic city passing offices, hotels, shops and restaurants and you have the ingredients for a fairly special evening. If you then consider that we arrived in Singapore with 5 drivers challenging for the 2010 championship then this looks like a classic.

Photographing at night brings with it a whole load of different options and interesting challenges. The use of light as always in photography is paramount, but with light in different colours, directions and strengths it really makes the photographers role an interesting one, and experimentation is key. Along with the technical element there is also the possibility available with all street circuits to shoot from elevated angles, buildings and ferris wheels. With glowing brake discs, flames and sparks coming from the cars you really are in a photographers dream.

Even at 10pm when the race finished I found myself wanting to carry on shooting. There are so many angles and photographs out there that I quite literally could have kept going all night.

That`s it for now though, as I have arrived back in the UK and it is way past my bedtime. I think?

'The 2010 Good Bloke Championship'

If there were a World Championship for nice blokes then Karun Chandock would be top of the table, with team-mate Bruno Senna following in a close second.
In fact you could just about turn the current F1 drivers championship table on it`s head and that would give you the `2010 Good Bloke Championship` standings.

Whether being a nice bloke relates to how quickly you drive I very much doubt, but there is certainly some correlation to the current crop of the drivers championship leaders loosing out to the other end of the paddock in personality stakes.

I first met and started working with Karun a few years ago and have always been very impressed at what a nice guy he is. He knows everyone, and I don`t just mean to say `hello` to in the paddock, he really knows them, he knows their name, their nickname, who they work for, their wives name, where they live and their phone number. It is not unknown for Karun to telephone me during a GP weekend and ask for my help or to see if I have a specific photo of him.

Karun realises that his position in F1 is fairly non-standard. He is there because he has the raw skill to compete with the best drivers in the World, but he is also there because he is Indian and he brings some much needed cash to a struggling team at the bottom end of the grid. Karun realises this and therefore has to make the very most of every second he is fortunate enough to be an F1 driver in a super competitive job role.
Karun manages his own sponsors, he organises garage visits and arranges photoshoots. He looks after his own PR and makes sure that at each GP the media have daily news to keep the 1 billion plus Indians up to date with his latest japery.
I have been with Karun at many autograph sessions this year and he is in his element. He is after all one of the biggest F1 fans I have ever met. He mingles with the paying public, throwing promotional caps into he crowd and talking with fellow F1 fans.
It is a great shame that Karun is currently missing out on a driving role at Hispania, but he understands the situation and is aware that if he wants his F1 career to continue further he basically has to shut up and wait to see what happens.

Karun was at the Hockenheim circuit last week, attending media events and interviews. He commentated for the BBC and was the usual role model for the team knowing fully well that the minute a cheque cleared Sakon Yamamoto was going to jump into his car.

This makes the Ferrari Team Order fiasco even more irrelevant.

Karun has been forced out of his drive by HRT team orders.

He has been ordered to sit on the sidelines until HRT feel that he can have his seat back. Hopefully this will be soon. Hopefully HRT will find the funding to allow their drivers to develop the car and arrive for the 2011 season on the right foot. Hopefully this will include Karun.

So as Fernando Alonso sat uncomfortably in the FIA post race press conference, having taken a fairly hollow win, avoiding journalists questions and arrogantly stamping his place as Ferrari team leader, maybe he should have given Karun a thought.

He drove back home to the UK on Saturday and was no doubt watching the race sat on his sofa in Brakley, with a curry on his lap, wondering if F1 is all that it is cracked up to be.

Love Hate Relationship

Things I love about the British GP:

The fact that I live 5 miles away. The atmosphere. The fact that everyone speaks English. The fact that I can sleep in my own bed. The Red Arrows. The beer. The staff in the media centre. The celebrity turnout. And very strangely this year, the weather.

Things I dislike about the British GP:

The circuit

Now this may seem like a flippant comment but it really is that bad. Don`t get me wrong, if you are a driver I`m sure it`s fantastic with its high speed corners and sweeping bends. As a fan it is pretty good too, with new facilities, good vantage points and a good atmosphere. But I am a photographer, and believe me this is the most difficult circuit that we visit to get a good selection of photos over the weekend.

The old shaped Silverstone was bad, but the new circuit layout has certainly shot to the top of the leader board of my least-favourite circuits to photograph.

It`s a shame as just about everything else about the place is spot on. I have had a lovely weekend. The weather has helped by being very un-English, the British fans are some of the best in the world and create a unique atmosphere especially as we have 2 World Champions at McLaren this year.

It has been wonderful having a houseful of friends and colleagues who have stayed during the week. We have partied, bbq`ed, eat well and generally had a very enjoyable weekend
Not even the World Cup Final managed to interrupt my Sunday.

Silverstone has done wonderfully well to host this years GP. Bearing in mind that we should really have been at Donington, and they were always a bit on the back foot getting ready for this years event. The circuit revisions have all been finished to a high standard and on time and the new pits and paddock building are looking good in time for next years GP.
But I just wish that this would also relate to the imagery that we aim to produce at each GP.

At every Grand Prix my aim is to produce imagery that not only shows the cars and drivers in the best possible way but also to portray a sense of the location of the race. In Melbourne we have the city skyline, In Bahrain the desert and palm trees, In Malaysia the stunning grandstand and the gravel traps painted in the colours of the Malaysian flag. In Montreal again a city backdrop and the St Lawrence River. Hungary, Belgium and Italy all have beautiful local colour and landscapes. Singapore and Abu Dhabi are quite literally stunning. Oh and Monaco you can just about fall over and take a beautiful photo.

So why, oh why at Silverstone do we have a featureless backdrop? Ok it`s a war time airfield and it doesn`t have the government funding enjoyed by other countries. But changes are happening at Silverstone. There are developments planned, let`s just hope that they think about the `Britishness` of the British GP and give us some photographic features in the future. Everything else is great, I just want to be able to take some nice pictures.

Fiestas and Football

The F1 paddock woke last Thursday morning with a fairly collective hangover. Everyone from catering staff to press officers to mechanics and fans had stumbled across one of Spain`s biggest parties, and my word do the Spanish know how to party!

In my experience impromptu parties are always the best. No amount of party planning has ever rivalled a random party that you just stumble across, and so was the case last Wednesday evening.

Earlier in the day we had met a Venezuelan guy in a bar, who was in Valencia for the San Juan festival and the fact that F1 was in town seemed to have been secondary in his mind when he travelled halfway around the world for one night of partying. He was shocked to find out that we knew nothing about the evenings impending party and very kindly suggested that we should join him, his friends and family.

Let me explain; `San Juan` is a Spanish festival to celebrate the summer solstice. The traditional festival has stretched along the coast from its conception in Alicante and is now Valencia`s biggest fiesta. The general idea is to sit on the rather impressive city centre beach, light a campfire, drink (lots), eat and then at midnight write a wish on a piece of paper, throw it in the fire, then run in the sea and jump over 12 waves. This in theory will make all your wishes come true.

It didn`t work, But was a nice idea.

Oh and I also failed to mention that while you re doing all these pagan rituals 1million other people are on the same beach as you, getting drunk, playing with fire and generally letting their hair down in true Spanish style.

These are some of the advantages to having a street race such as Valencia. Some of the more traditional circuits, whilst providing great racing and a genuine atmosphere, lack that certain something that comes from being based in the centre of a big city. Valencia has never produced a stunning race and may not do in the future, but for evening entertainment it ranks as highly as Melbourne, Montreal or Monaco.

I would love to say that not all of the weekend was based around alcohol consumption and partying, but I would be lying. There was of course the World Cup to watch.

Now being English, I will not dwell on this for too long, other than to say it was nice to see Vijay Mallya sitting in the same bar as us watching the Spain v Chile match.

Vijay, whose multimillion pound yacht was moored just a few hundred metres away in the circuit harbour, had obviously decided that he wanted to slum it for the evening and left the luxury of his boat to sit with the true Spanish fans and watch some football.
Quite how he ever has time to run his many businesses I have no idea? He seems to be constantly flying around the world to watch football, cricket and F1.

Talking of flying, I bet the Red Bull advertising gurus were rubbing their hands with glee as they watched Mark Webber spice up a fairly dull European GP with the first real sign that Red Bull really does give you wings!

NHL NBA MLB WWF WTF?

The Americans care about Formula One about as much as I care about Rounders or whatever the NBA is?

But as I sat in an Irish bar in Montreal last week watching the final of the Stanley Cup (Ice Hockey, for those of you that live outside North America) it didn`t matter if I had a clue what was going on or if I supported one of the teams. All I was doing was entertaining myself watching some sport and having a drink after work with friends.

The strange thing about this though, I was watching Canada`s national sport, on TV, in a bar full of Canadians and nobody gave a toss about the game. This I later learnt was because the final was between Chicago and Philadelphia. So because Canada was not represented in the final of their national game most viewers switched off. I personally know nothing about Ice Hockey, I don`t know the rules, I can`t name a single team or player, but I still found it interesting and as the team in orange hit the ball with their bats into the net to win the final I actually found the sport kept my attention and was entertaining.

Can this be the same with other sports? Is this the same with F1? Will F1 ever make it in North America?

This weekend proved it with Montreal putting on a fantastic show for F1`s return to the continent. F1 had missed Canada and Canada has missed F1. Street parties were bigger and louder than ever, grandstands were bigger and at full capacity all weekend. And F1 responded, as it should, by putting on a fantastic race for the enthusiastic and knowledgeable crowd.

So why is it a common belief that F1 will never make it in the USA? Are the Americans that different to the Canadians?

Football (or soccer, for those of you that live inside North America) is not regarded as a big sport in the US, but things are changing. The Football World Cup you may think will do little to change this, but as 17.1 million Americans tuned in to watch England v USA last week, things may be starting to turn.

South Africa has done a fantastic job of bringing Football, the world sport, to an audience in countries that traditionally do not follow the sport. There is an African feel to this World Cup and the multi cultural feel does go a long way to erase the hooligan atmosphere of previous clashes. Even the much-discussed Vuvuzelas add a certain African feel to the stadiums and TV audiences. Banning them would be a bit like hosting the Monaco Grand Prix with no champagne.

However, in the same way no Canadians were watching the Ice Hockey, will the Americans ignore F1 until they are represented with a race, a team or a driver? Well I personally think it will take all three and then some.

So we have an American GP in 2010. There is talk of a new deal to run an American team in 2010, all we need now is a driver. Easy!

Who Works Guides out now

The 2010 Who Works Guide Books are now on sale:

Visit: http://www.whoworksin.com/en/formula1.php

The 21st Edition of the definitive guides to all F1 drivers, teams, sponsors, photographers, press officers, marketing staff and media in Formula One racing.

The Who Works in Motorsport 2010 Guide covers 16 major series including F1, NASCAR, WRC, WTCC, FIA GT, GP2, Australian V8 Supercars, IndyCar, Le Mans Series, ALMS, Eurocup FR2.0, Formula Renault 3.5, Megane Trophy, F4 Eurocup 1.6, F3 Euroseries, Superleague Formula.

James Moy Photography proudly endorses the Who Works Guides.

Diamond Geeza

When I grew up I didn`t have a manager. I was born into a family like normal people with a mother and father and a sister and we sort of got along ok, we spent time together and enjoyed each other`s company. I learnt about life from them and they learnt bits from me. When I flew the nest and started living away from home I learnt more from friends, girlfriends and colleagues and many of life`s experiences along the way. I have survived, I am fairly normal.

Lewis Hamilton grew up and he had a manager, and he was his father. From the age of 10 he also had a boss, in the form of Ron Dennis, who sort of managed him too. He learnt from them, and he learnt from living a life embedded in motorsport.

Why any human feels that they need to be managed by another human I have no idea? Lewis is his own man, he can make his own decisions, and he should go down whichever path he chooses, like all other people fortunate enough to make their own choices in life. He doesn`t need a manager.

But he does need a Dad.

When I was about 13, my father sat me down and said in no uncertain terms `If you ever come into this house with an earring or a tattoo it will be the last time you come into this house` he was right. He didn`t want his teenage son exposed to what he believed to be vulgar body art and jewellery.

So as Lewis arrived at the Turkish GP with both ears pierced you have to wonder if the split with his father is starting to mould Lewis. Don`t get me wrong. I couldn`t care less if Lewis has his ears pierced, or if he has a tattoo. I don`t care what he wears or what he says. But he is employed by McLaren. A team with responsibilities and partners and sponsors and a worldwide media following. Not only does Lewis`s appearance influence his personal value, but also the value of him as an asset of McLaren and their sponsors.

I`m very surprised that he is happy to have his ears pierced in Los Angeles, arrive at the next F1 race a week later, stick a helmet on and go racing.
Surely this is painful, or in the least uncomfortable. The other issue here is that all jewellery worn by F1 drivers is banned by the governing body for safety reasons, but this seems to have been ignored in Lewis`s case.

What amazes me even more than this is that the teams are happy for their drivers to wear jewellery. When teams are spending millions to reduce the weight of the car. Shaving millimetres off bodywork, using low weight titanium parts and super alloys to save every milligramme of weight.
Why then are the drivers allowed to jump in the car with their earrings, bracelets and watches?

I`ll tell you why. Money. Money has more influence than any engineer at McLaren.
Every driver has a watch sponsor. And McLaren has a diamond sponsor. I bet that those small black studs in Lewis`s ears will suddenly turn into enormous diamonds when Steinmetz get their act together.

Money, money, money

If anyone tells you there`s a recession on at the moment then they are talking Bollocks. Believe me. Having spent a week in Monaco for the Grand Prix there is certainly money floating about here, and most of it is, quiet literally floating.

If you take a look around the Monaco Harbour every last inch is crammed with over-polished white fibreglass and gold. These are not just normal yachts, or even super yachts these are Mega yachts. The average price of which is somewhere between 140-200 Million US Dollars. If you then consider that Monaco harbour is home to around 50 of these mega yachts over the Grand Prix weekend then we are talking about 9 Billion Dollars of value just floating around in the harbour.

This 9 billion dollars is then providing the background for 24 drivers to race their priceless cars around for about 2 hours on a Sunday.
Between these 24 drivers their total wage bill for the year is around 120 Million Dollars.

If you add up the value of the cars parked outside the Monaco Casino it would still be a fairly substantial figure, never mind the money that is trading hands inside the casino. And that is just the cost of buying a drink.

And then the total running costs of all F1 teams each year is around 3 Billion dollars.
Money really is not an issue around here.

This is all very well especially as I believe that I had the best seat in the house during the race on Sunday. To watch F1 cars at speed around the narrow streets of Monaco is super impressive, especially from the close quarters that we are permitted as F1 photographers.
The super-wealthy on their yachts get a fairly poor view. Most of them give up and sit in their Jacuzzis watching the race on the tv. Most of the sponsors and shareholders watch from the F1 paddock club or a hotel balcony over the circuit. The die hard (and still fairly wealthy) fans watch from grandstands behind safety fencing.

But I have the best ticket in the place. I started my race at the iconic Lowes Hairpin (yes I know it`s not called that anymore and I don`t care) then into the tunnel, before catching the action at the Nouvell Chicane, I walked back past the gin palaces and stopped briefly at the swimming pool chicane and then positioned myself in time for a front row seat at the podium presentation.

It`s not all glitz and glamour in Monaco and it certainly isn`t the prettiest place on the planet.
You do feel that you have entered God`s waiting room and you have to be constantly aware of where you are treading so as to avoid the Chihuahua shit that is ever-present on every street corner.

But to be honest who cares?

For this one week each year rules don`t matter. You can spend as much money as you like, you can wear ridiculous fashions, you can hang out with even bigger egos than your own, you can be more exuberant and outrageous than anyone else. You can bathe in Veuve Clicquot, have caviar on your cornflakes, you can do whatever you like. It`s Monaco. And they are never going to create a new one!

Boats v Planes

Everyone has by now had a good laugh at my travel woes of the past few weeks. I arrived into the Barcelona paddock this week to endless witty comments, general mickey taking and a strange sense of achievement that we had actually won the prize for the best return journey home through the volcanic ash from the Chinese GP.

When I say `Best` I mean `Worst`. We all agreed that before leaving China in different directions we would have a prize for the best return journey and the dramas involved. Little did I know that I would win? The sad thing is, we decided that the prize for the winners would be a photographic print of Michael Schumacher donated by myself. Second prize would be an autographed Michael Schumacher print.

So anyway, having put up with a weeks piss-taking, I was looking forward to an easy couple of weeks travel to the Spanish GP and then heading to the best race of the year in Monaco. But no, look-out, here comes that bloody ash cloud again.

OK, so we are not in China, we can easily drive or take the train to Monaco, I have local currency to spend, I can even sort-of speak the language, it even looks like I am going to avoid jail this week. But why should I be subjected to these hassles?

Every time I even think about going near an airport nowadays some sort of drama happens. In the past few months, I have been delayed in London. Lost my luggage in Madrid. Had my flight cancelled in Shanghai. Had an engine blow up on take-off in Zurich. And as I now sit here in Spain, they are announcing that my airport is closed in Barcelona!
This is even before British Airways decides to go on strike!
They have just announced their next strike dates. They have handily planned it for the same days that everyone will fly to the Turkish GP and then the following fortnight, the Canadian GP. How very convenient!!

Now, in my opinion 2 members of the F1 paddock have it spot on.

Mike Gascoyne and Vijay Mallya are heading from this race to the next on their private yachts. This is far more sensible.
Nobody can delay a boat sailing. Nobody closes harbours because of a bit of ash. When you put your luggage on a boat and get to your destination, it is still there. Should your boat blow an engine on departure, you glide to a gentle halt in a harbour rather that falling out of the sky.

Boats have other advantages; You don`t have to queue to get on your own boat, you don`t have to sit next to a sweaty stranger on your own boat. You can take as much liquid as you like on your own boat. And you can even be trusted with a pair of scissors! You can eat when you like, sleep when you like and you certainly don`t need showing where the emergency exits are!

Think about it, boats are the way forward.

Volcano, Jails and Snoring

As I write this I am sitting in seat 1 A of business class bound for London and currently somewhere over northern Thailand. I have just enjoyed a lovely steak and now washing it down with a few beers. Sounds lovely doesn`t it?

If only the past week had gone so smoothly .....

So we had the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, not that I can remember it, I can`t even remember who won. This is not because the race was boring. Far from it, in fact there was action galore. But due to the fact that the minute the Icelandic volcano erupted the F1 paddock personel have thought of nothing more than `How the bloody hell are we going to get home?`

The race ended and all members of the F1 travelling circus turned their attention to booking flights home . Can I get a connecting flight from Shanghai to Bangkok? Does Lufthansa fly into Kuala Lumpur? Do I need a visa to transfer through Singapore? How long does it take to drive to Calais from Porto? Can I fit any more fake Rolex`s in my luggage? Have I got enough pants to last another week? And all other conceivable options.

As we woke on Monday the full extent of the situation dawned on us. We were stuck. All flights to the UK and most of Europe were cancelled.

Now, normally this would not be a problem. A few days extra away from home, staying in a nice hotel, time to explore the local area, time to get all of your work done before returning to the UK, maybe even a few boozy nights out with colleagues? But No, this was the Chinese Grand Prix, and it is not the place that you want to be stranded.

So we came up with a plan to get home; Our original airline offered us a date of the 6th May which was 16 days away and there was no way on this earth that I was staying in China for 16 days, I would rather crawl home!

So we decided upon Shanghai - Hanoi - Moscow - London. This would give the volcano time to calm down and in theory provide us somewhere nice to ride out the flight chaos ensuing in Europe.

This was all going swimmingly well until we arrived in Hanoi and Vietnamese immigration studied our visa documents to find that the visa office had actually incorrectly filled-out the forms. The authorities decided that we were illegally trying to enter Vietman and they told us that we were being sent back to China (where by now, we also did not have a current visa!) No end of discussions and pleading ensued until we were shown to what the officers called the `Transit Hotel`. The Transit Hotel turned out to be a prison. We were ushered in and shown where we were going to spend the night whilst they investigated our visas. We were to share this barren room with an armed guard for the night who had not expected our arrival and had consumed a few too many bottles of cheap red wine. Ok, he was hammered. And armed. And he snored!, It was not a fun 12 hours.

Our visas were processed the following day and we headed eagerly into Hanoi. What a place. The contrast from the grimy heavy air of Shanghai to an immigration cell, to the tropical holiday vibe of the Hanoi Old Town was very welcome.

Sadly our little trip had to come to a premature end due to an earlier flight being available and so as I now sit here, heading to London, consuming another beer, I look back at the rollercoaster of the past 72 hours.

I know one thing for sure, I thought the snoring from the armed guard 24 hours ago was bad, but the snoring from the guy in the seat behind me might just set the volcano off again!

Brand Loyalty - Malaysian GP 2010

If you don`t ride a scooter in Malaysia then you drive a Proton. They are everywhere. Every car you see, every car you rent, every car you have never dreamed of is a Proton.

This of course is good news, not only for Proton and the government, which are a majority shareholder, but also good news for country loyalty. The Malaysians love their Protons.
It is however bad news for the 3 million Proton owners in Malaysia who believe that the only option in car ownership is a Proton. Sure they are cheap, I suppose, they are even reliable, but I wouldn`t want to crash in one. Hell, I wouldn`t want to spend more than about 10 minutes in one!

The locals that buy these cars know no different. They are loyal to the brand. They like their Protons and they would like us foreigners to like their Protons.

I find it rather strange that as a brand it has such a loyal following. Most Malaysians I have met are young, ambitious individuals with style and are constantly looking to Europe for the next trend or fashion. But when it comes to loyalty in Malaysia the blue-chip companies have it sewn up.

Last weekend I watched Fairuz Fauzy, a young Malaysian F1 test driver, make his Formula One testing debut in front of his home fans. He was driving a Lotus, which is owned by Proton. The team is owned by Malaysia`s version of Richard Branson. This should be a sure fire Malaysian success story. But as Fairuz completed his first laps at the Malaysian circuit none of these loyal locals batted an eyelid. There were no cheers, no flag waving no screams from adoring females.

How far do you have to go to get a following from local Malaysians? This is a Malaysian team, owned by a Malaysian celebrity, with a Malaysian driver, driving a Formula One car, in Malaysia!

In complete contrast, when Nico Rosberg, a Finn, pretending to be a German, who lives in Monaco walked out on to the podium in 3rd place for Mercedes, a German car manufacturer, he received the biggest cheer of the weekend.

Why?
Not because they were wowed by Nicos driving skills. They were not impressed with his 3rd position either. They were not even fans of his European good-looks and they were certainly not fans of Mercedes. They cheered because of the slogan emblazoned across Nicos race overalls. PETRONAS The Malaysian state Oil Company. This, believe it or not, received the biggest cheer of the weekend.

Brand loyalty, it`s a funny old thing!

Strewth Mate - Australian GP

The Aussies go to work in shorts. That`s a good reason to hate them.

But to be honest, I have found a few more reasons over the course of this Australian GP weekend.

I used to live in Australia, and loved it. It was a laid back, warm, relaxed country with gorgeous, tanned, blue-eyed, blonde-haired people, using phrases such as cobber, ripper and fair dinkum. It was open and free and nobody gave a toss about anything!

Oh how things have changed... You can`t do or say anything now without being told how or where to do it by some jumped up whining Aussie in a yellow jacket.

This weekend I had a friend who was told he couldn`t walk down the street whilst listening to an i-pod in case he couldn` t hear the car that was about to run him over.


Also a colleague who was arrested for jogging around Albert Park - it's a bloody park! And there was a F1 driver who was charged by police for doing a wheel-spin at a Grand Prix!!!!

They are insane.

So Lewis Hamilton spun the wheels of his Mercedes on the road just outside the perimeter gates of the circuit.
So what?
He is a World Champion. He is one of the best blokes (to use your terminology) in the world at driving high powered cars.

The Aussies have for a long time had slogans directed at road safety. Who can forget "Drink and drive? You're a bloody idiot!" or the not so catchy "Slow down stupid" But their latest slogan sums the county up as a whole. Can you imagine any other countries' road safety officials using; "Don't be a Dickhead!" to reduce casualties on their roads.

Although Australia is safety obsessed, there are still some instances where they just don` t bat an eyelid.
Most of these involve man eating, poisonous animals.
You can happily fight with kangaroos, wrestle with crocodiles, sleep with snakes, surf with jellyfish or like I did, scuba dive with sharks. But hey if you want to cross a road, you need at least 6 people in high-vis jackets to help you. Crikey!

Walking The Amazon

Completely unrelated to Photography or Motorsport ' Walking The Amazon ' is a remarkable feat currently being undertaken by an old school mate of mine.

Ed Stafford is currently walking the length of the Amazon River, source to sea! Completely unaided and without support crew.

As I write this (18th March 2010) he has been walking for 715 days and still expects to have about another 6 months to go.

If Ed completes this mammoth walk he will be the first human being to do so. Whilst hopefully also generating huge amounts of money for charity.

Walking The Amazon has regular updates direct from Ed by satellite phone and has some incredible video fotage and photography from the trip so far.

If you can donate, sponsor, support or just spread the word it would be greatly appreciated.

Entertainment - Bahrain GP 2010

Its a funny thing entertainment. We need different amounts at different times in different circumstances, from different people, in different locations.

Let me give you an example; my flight out to the first F1 race in Bahrain was never going to be entertaining . How can a 7 hour plane journey from Gatwick, full of strange people, with a 2 hour stop over in Doha come anywhere near being considered as entertaining?

So as I walked onto the plane and was told I could sit anywhere I liked, as there are only 60 passengers flying on a plane capable of accommodating 295 people, this trip suddenly looked more entertaining.
I plonked myself into an emergency exit row, kicked off my shoes and pressed the Beer Button as the cabin crew call bell is becoming more commonly known.
My other colleagues decided that their idea of entertainment was slightly different to mine. One was entertained by watching a German film about terminal cancer whilst drinking 14 bottles of white wine. Another decided he would take the offer of free seating to position himself next to a pretty Canadian girl and spend the next 7 hours sticking his tongue down her throat.
The flight continued like this all the way to Doha and eventually Bahrain, where we all walked off the plane sideways and decided that yes Qatar Airways is indeed a 5 star airline.

This brings me on to what is now being slated as one of the most boring F1 races in history. For the record I do not agree. But as I am trying to explain, we all need entertaining in different ways. The Bahrain circuit do this fantastically. There is so much entertainment off track that actually watching some cars drive round in circles pails into insignificance with the entertainment activities including, watching a man stick his head inside a balloon, a Geordie escapologist wearing not much more than a yellow bow tie and a girl playing a violin whilst BMX bikers perform tricks above her head.

We have never had an entertaining race in Bahrain. New rules will not change that, new car and driver combinations will not either, nor will adding a few more corners to a circuit. Entertainment comes from being surprised when you do not expect to be, realising that something is fun when it is not supposed to be, or watching a man in lycra climb inside a big red plastic balloon.

Lets see what the Aussies can come up with in 2 weeks time.......

James Moy Shortlisted in SJA Photo Awards

Motorsport photographer James Moy has been short listed in the News Picture category for the Sports Journalists Associations British Sports Journalism awards for 2009, sponsored by UK Sport and Sky Bet.

This is the first time James has been selected in this highly prestigious competition, which is regarded in the industry as the pinnacle of all sports photography awards.

James image of Jenson Button winning his first Formula One World Championship shows the raw emotion and teamwork involved at the penultimate race of the year in Brazil.

The SJA awards will be presented at a gala dinner at the Brewery in London on March 8, and will be the culmination of a process that started back in late summer when many of the countrys leading sports journalists, past and present, were approached to be judges.

The shortlist of photographers in all categories:

Young Photographer
Andrew Boyers Action Images
Carl de Souza AFP
Julian Finney Getty Images
Scott Heavey Action Images
Andrew Matthews Press Association
Paul Thomas Freelance

News Picture
Andrew Couldridge Action Images
Mike Hewitt Getty Images
Eddie Keogh Freelance
James Moy Freelance
Lee Smith Action Images
Dave Rogers Getty Images

Specialist Portfolio
Steve Etherington Freelance
Laurence Griffiths Getty Images
Scott Heavey Action Images
Eddie Keogh Freelance
Toby Melville Reuters
Richard Washbrooke Camerasport

Portfolio
David Davies Press Association
Paul Gilham Getty Images
Scott Heavey Action Images
Tom Jenkins Guardian/Observer
Ian MacNichol Coloursport
Toby Melville Reuters

Picture
Henry Browne Action Images
Gareth Copley Press Association
Andrew Couldridge Action Images
Scott Heavey Action Images
Catherine Ivill AMA Sports Photo Agency
Hugh Routledge Freelance