Sidepodcast

It's Tougher than You Think

Already it seems like a very long time ago, but in fact just last weekend, prior to the start of the Singapore Grand Prix we were Tremayning.

The goal with this particular challenge was to rant in a needlessly angry way about some mundane subject or other, whilst dressed completely in black. As we did with the Champagne Challenge, for convenience and posterity here are all the entrants, arranged from best to worst as decreed by Christine.

Scott

The winning Tremaynism was Scott, who had the difficult task of going first. His rant involved the rather peculiar decision by Bridgestone to run their option tyres with a pink stripe during a recent test.

A worthy F1 winner.

Alex

The sentiment within Alex's rant is probably something that will remain with us forever, after the man picked the FIA's recent bizarre attitude to penalising certain drivers as his rant of choice.

Best quote of the year.

Shaun

Shaun took Tramayning to a whole new level when he broke free of the Formula 1 shackles and laid waste to the UK's traffic problems. He may have inadvertently found a solution to the problem of the Trulli-train while he was at it.

Don't drive angry.

Me

My own attempt was nothing less than shameful, given ranting about inane subjects is what I've spent the best part of two years doing. I did make an effort with a black t-shirt in the hope that no-one else would and that would save me.

That's the lot. Interestingly no entrants from the female Sidepodcast fraternity in this instance. I can only assume that wearing black and moaning about trivial things is something that men do best?

Episode 54 - Don't Mention Fuel Burn Again

• Length: 27:55 
• Size: 25.8 MB 
• File: episode54.mp3 
• Enhanced: episode54.m4a 
• Transcript: episode54.pdf 
• Torrent: episode54.torrent 

Our build up to the 2008 season continues - we've looked at the drivers and the teams, now it's time to look at the regulation changes for this year.

Intro

Taking advice from the comments of this post, I'm tempted to withhold his show notes.

Good Week / Bad Week

Williams get a much needed cash boost and Super Aguri say they'll be there, whilst Ron Dennis and Silverstone both get some bad press.

News and Views

McLaren have some unwelcome visitors to their factory and the resulting fall out just drags the espionage affair ever onward. We catch up with testing news, Vettel in a Red Bull, electronic flags and all the talk about Hamilton. Team Williams have two interesting tidbits about their drivers past, present and future.

Regulations

Taking a closer look at the technical and sporting regulation changes for 2008, including the engine freeze, four-race gearbox and qualifying tweaks.

Feedback

We asked for your Australia predictions and we certainly got them. There's still room to send more in though, so check here for more information. Some excellent emails from Joel (meeting lots of drivers), Shashank (about the 2010 India GP), Andrew (F1 Merchandise in Tesco?) and Rhodders (Jackie Stewart interview).

Housekeeping

Loads of people signing up to the Sidepodcast league on FantasyRacers.com - if you haven't yet, now's your chance to join in the fun. Sidepodcast Diaries are back on YouTube, and F1 Minute turns 100!

Now I'm Telling You What To Say

We all like to make predictions, don’t we? I know I do, and I love to find out what other people think too.

Before the 2008 Formula 1 season gets underway, I really want to hear your predictions for the finishing order of the first race. I’m so keen, in fact, that I’m trying to make it really easy for you.

As mentioned on this week's show, we have a free voicemail facility idly awaiting your call and I've even written you a script. It goes something like this:

Hi, I'm... [your name] and my predictions for the top three finishers in Australia are:

• 3rd place... [driver name]
• 2nd place... [driver name]
• 1st place... [driver name]

So all you have to do is figure out who it'll be!

Here's one I made earlier:

We'd really like to get enough messages to play a good selection on the podcast. Think about it, it only takes a few seconds and you'll make my day. Also, if you have a blog or website you want to promote, this is the perfect opportunity to get a free plug in.

Should you be worried about calling in, don’t be. It’s voicemail, which means if you mess it up, you can do it as many times as you like. We’re not going to play any mistakes on air, we’re not that mean.

So, call in now:

Skype username: Sidepodcast
Phone number: 0121 28 87225

It's the first race of the year, you've probably been thinking about it since Brazil, you only have pre-season testing and your gut feeling to go on. Tell the world what you're thinking.