Joe came to London to talk Formula 1 in February, and in part two of this special podcast the man returns to tackle more of Formula 1's difficult questions. A brief break gave attendees the chance to stretch their legs, before settling down for more insight from inside F1.
On the agenda in part two - Joe covers investing in the future of Formula 1 and self drive hill climbs, dangerous sports and keeping oneself young, plus art directors and the genius of Murray Walker. Finally the evening is wrapped up with a look at the mindset of a world champion and the motivation of a famous son.
On the 26th February, Joe Saward took to the stage at The Engine Group building in central London, to host his first ever "An Evening With..." event. Sidepodcast was there to capture all of the discussion and insight. Part one of this podcast covers the first half of the evening.
Topics of interest include - Joe's take on the current F1 field, the future of new teams and a classic case of Japanese bravery. Also on the agenda is the future of Formula 1 media coverage and where it all went wrong for the sport in the United States.
I like to judge the success of an evening by how long it takes one to recover, and given that Christine and I were still feeling the after effects of Friday's inaugural Evening with Joe on Monday, I'd consider it a blinding success.
Joe tackles Formula 1's big questions with a microphone and a glass of wine.
Friday 26th was a busy day for us. We arrived in London uncharacteristically early, which gave us plenty of time to look around the designated venue, The Engine Group, just off Oxford Street. It's a great place, in an ideal location and Joe had booked the entire upper floor for the evening, bar included.
Wifi was provided, which was a great boon for Christine who was planning to live blog the whole evening, providing text and picture updates throughout the night for those unable to attend.
Before the doors opened, a quick soundcheck revealed the only major headache of the day - the building offers a fully integrated audio/video system to feed satellite TV to various speakers and screens, but there was no means of obtaining a direct audio feed of Joe's talk.
Joe took his seat just after 7pm to an almost full house, and from that point the night turned into something of a blur. Questions came from the floor thick and fast, and Joe tackled each one with candour. Every question was a good one, every answer detailed, insightful and often humorous. Still the questions came.
Although the original plan was for a Q&A session followed by a meet and mingle, the never-ending quest for knowledge meant questions continued past the enforced break, and kept on coming until event organisers eventually shut the bar and threw us out... well almost. I have no idea how Joe managed to talk for a whole evening and make it feel like five minutes had passed, we all wanted more and the night came to a close far too soon.
If we had a complaint it was only that there wasn't quite enough time at the end of the evening to meet everyone present. Being in the company of so many dedicated and intelligent Formula 1 fans must be a very rare thing, and I wish we could've spoken to everyone and for longer.
Eventually we really did get thrown out, packed up our recording equipment and headed to the nearest pub for yet more F1 chat. Sometime around 3am, we found our way home.
If you didn't manage to make the inaugural Evening with Joe, you really missed out. There is a second event planned for March 29th in Melbourne, and further talks around the world throughout 2010. Don't miss them.
We did eventually manage to record the whole evening using a room mic, but we've ended up with something like 3+ hours of content, so it might take an extra day or two for the podcast to see the light of day. Lou was designated official photographer for the evening, so watch out for plenty more pictures coming soon as well.
In conclusion, I think Joe's onto a winning idea, and I'm hoping that more F1 journalists give some thought to reaching out and meeting fans. F1 may be becoming more open than ever this year, but it could do with getting a bit more personal too.
A big thank you to Joe for putting together a fabulous evening's entertainment, to everyone who came over and said "hi", and to those who bought us drinks. I wonder how we can get to Melbourne?
This is the live thread we promised for our trip to London for the Evening with Joe. It's not clear how much we'll be in contact, but it's useful to have a thread just in case. Having said that, I know Alex is taking multiple Apple devices. We can use this thread for the many, many, many pictures from him, and we'll try and get a word in sometimes as well.
Hopefully we can give you a little insight if you can't actually make it to London, and it might spur you on to snap up tickets to the next Evening with Joe event.
We'll be keeping an eye on the comments, so if you have any burning questions you'd like us to throw at Joe, we'll see if we can get them answered.
The event starts at 7pm, but no doubt Mr C will be live commenting the journey to London as I do the driving. We will see you in and around the comments!
Updated: Joe has posted an update from the venue. Just half an hour to go.
Updated: Some mobile pics (sorry the lighting is a bit iffy):
Sidepodcast is heading to our nation's capital tomorrow for the Evening with Joe that has been highly anticipated for many weeks now. We're going there both as fans and as crew, to record some audio and take some photos for a podcast to promote the event. In some ways it's sort of like An Aside with Joe Live.
We're running a competition at the moment to win a signed copy of Joe's book The Grand Prix Saboteurs, but if you're lucky enough to be attending, Joe will be selling and signing books at the event.
If you're planning on being there, please do let us know in the comments, and we'll do our best to match any new names to faces. Don't forget that part of the evening includes "a chance to talk informally on any subject you care to mention", so make sure you arrive armed with plenty of questions and your best speaking voice.
We'll also open up a thread for the Joe talk on Friday so that us and others can feed back what's happening to those unable to attend. We'll be recording audio during the main part of evening for a future podcast, although I don't think there are any plans to do anything in terms of video.
There's no F1 Debrief show this week, but we hope to have some Joe audio edited out for you over the weekend, so if you're attending the event tomorrow, you can relive it, and if you're not, you can catch up with some more of the man's thoughts.
On Friday 26 February, motor sport journalist Joe Saward will be hosting his first "Evening With..." event, in front of almost 100 Formula 1 fans in London. The two of us will be in attendance, recording discussions for a future podcast, but to mark the event, this week Sidepodcast is giving away an exclusive signed copy of Joe's book The Grand Prix Saboteurs.
We've discussed the book at length on the Aside with Joe series, but to give a refresher, it tells the most remarkable but true story of three motor racing stars of the '20s and '30s working together as British secret agents during World War II in Occupied France. It is a fantastic read, and we highly recommend it.
Joe spent 18 years researching the content, and when we caught up with him before Christmas he kindly agreed to sign a copy to give away here. We'll be running the competition for the next fortnight, and to enter you simply answer the question below, and submit your details. The competition is open to entrants of all ages, although we're assuming that the lucky few attending Friday's London meet-up will be happier to see the man in person - there are still a few tickets available, should you be at a loose end and in London on Friday evening.
All you have to do, to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize, is to answer the following very simple question:
Question: How many years of research is The Grand Prix Saboteurs story based upon?
Once you have your answer, submit your name, email address and answer using the form below.
To enter the competition, simply answer the question and complete the entry form published on the web site. By entering into the competition you agree to the terms and conditions stated herein and acknowledge that failure to comply with the rules may result in disqualification.
Only one entry per person is permitted. Multiple or incomplete entries will be deemed to be invalid.
Unless otherwise stated, entries must arrive no later than the published closing date for the competition. Entries received after this time will be allowed only at the discretion of Editors who may extend the closing date without prior notice.
Proof of emailing will not be accepted as proof of delivery and no responsibility can be accepted for entries lost, delayed, mislaid or for any technical failure or for any event which may cause the competition to be disrupted or corrupted.
Employees of Sidepodcast, their agents or members of their families are not allowed to enter any competition. Subject to that rule the Editors' decision as to eligibility will be final.
All entries, photographs, and other material submitted as part of a competition entry shall become the property and the copyright of Sidepodcast. Editors reserve the right to publish them in whole or in part or use them in any way they think fit without the permission of the entrant or payment for such use but subject always to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.
Unless otherwise stated, Sidepodcast accepts no responsibility for the return of entries, photographs or other personal effects or for loss or damage to such items. Under no circumstances does Sidepodcast accept responsibility for the safe return of any material or its return in an undamaged condition or any liability for loss of or damage to such material.
Except where it is expressly stated that the winner will be the first correct entry drawn from the total entries submitted, or that some other mechanism will be applied, all competition entries will be examined and the prize will be awarded to the entry the judges consider to be the best.
The Editors reserve the right to change the rules applicable to any competition or to void any competition at any time and for any reason. In the event that any competition is so voided, all entry fees will be returned. In particular, in the event of unforeseen circumstances the Editors reserve the right to offer alternative prizes of equal or greater value.
If the winner of a competition is unable to take up a prize for any reason Sidepodcast reserves the right to award it to an alternative winner, in which case the first winner chosen will not be eligible for any share of the prize whatsoever.
Failure to comply with any of these rules may result in the disqualification of the entry. Editors reserve the right to disqualify any entry at their absolute discretion.
Editors' decisions are final in all matters concerning a competition. It is a condition of entry to any competition that the entrant agrees to be bound by these rules whether they be published in the relevant online editions of the newspaper or not, and that the decisions of Editors and judges on any matter whatsoever arising out of or connected with the competition are final.
By entering the promotion participants will be deemed to have accepted and be bound by the terms and conditions which will be interpreted in accordance with English law and subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
Good luck to everyone. If you have any further questions, please let us know in the comments. You have two weeks in which to enter, and hopefully we'll be seeing a few of you in London.
Lotus F1 Racing unveiled their 2010 challenger at a launch ceremony held at the Royal Horticultural Hall, London on Friday evening. The covers came off the car, named the T127, after an emotional introduction from team owner Tony Fernandes.
Credit: Lotus F1 Racing
Credit: Lotus F1 Racing
Mike Gascoyne on the Lotus Cosworth T127:
"The last few months have been some of the most challenging of my career, but it's been a challenge the whole team and I have thrived on since we first started work on the car up in Norfolk. I'm delighted that we’ve reached this point, and now we have a beautiful car that gives us a great base to work from for the season ahead and a fighting chance of going racing in the right way, with a winning mentality. The hard part starts now, and I know everyone in the team and I are up for whatever lies ahead."
Credit: Lotus F1 Racing
The new chassis was run briefly on Wednesday when Fairuz Fauzy tested it at Silverstone, and is set to take part in next week's F1 test in Jerez on 17 February. The T127 is powered by a Cosworth Engine and will use an Xtrac gearbox.
For the first time in 2010, Joe joins us from France to cover all of the latest goings on in the world of F1. Topics of conversation include, bad liveries and naked cars, the fast and the furious, and troublesome pronunciation.
We cover what USF1 got right, why Renault F1 made a fine choice, and what in the world Stefan GP are up to. Joe also announces plans for a long awaited real life meet-up, talks long term research and what we might look forward to in forthcoming GP+ articles.
All of this and more, in a February edition of An Aside With Joe.
Last weekend we attended the first ever real life Sidepodparty, and it was a resounding success. The two of us gathered at Alex and Kat's house in London, along with Lou, Emily, Bassano, Pat, Chris and Fourstar, but we also managed to invite those who couldn't attend via a dedicated comment thread.
Additionally, we live streamed video from several cameras while a Skype conference call was set up to bring the farthest reaches of the globe into London to join the party.
Alex has spent the whole of this month entertaining us with the Giggle's Advent Calendar and he kindly invited us all to take part in one of the episodes. The finished product came out really well, and was a nice surprise to those who hadn't attended.
During the recording we did manage to sneak some behind-the-scenes footage of the recording in action (there really were a lot of cameras). Here's the reverse angle of the same scene:
It wasn't all work, work, work though. We managed to get through a fair amount of pizza, hot sausage rolls and some lovely cookies made by Lou's mum. There may have been a small quantity of alcohol consumed too. The house was a sight to behold at times, with up to six screens running live comments, including a rather large TV communicating via Wii-Wi-Fi.
It was without a doubt the geekiest party we have ever been to and it was brilliant. We must give special shout out to Pat for turning in an official Sidepodcast T-shirt. The message as annoyingly relevant today as the day it was introduced.
Credit: Christine Blachford
Pat W and Mr.C sporting Sidepodcast tees.
If you're interested in seeing more streaming party goodness, take a look at the following videos:
Alex Andronov guides us through his experience at a rather swanky event in London, where two veterans of motorsport were about to meet and share their memories with a select few.
After Sidepodcast announced the once in a lifetime chance to hear Murray Walker interview Sir Stirling Moss, I girded my bank account into action and booked my ticket.
The venue was to be the RAC - a members only club - in central London. A very swanky part of London. The dress code required a tie and so I got dressed up and headed to the venue. The RAC is a pretty swanky venue steeped in car history. They even have old cars just sitting in the lobby. I would like to tell you that I made copious notes about what this car was but sadly I got distracted by something else.
As I delicately supped at my glass of Champagne, I discreetly made a few comments on Sidepodcast just to let everyone know what was going on. After a while I decided to check if I could actually see Murray or Stirling. So I had to look away from my iPhone (other mobile doohickey devices are available) and look around the room.
Suddenly there they were. People were all being very polite and not approaching, they looked like they were in conversation with friends. But of course, let's face it, they were probably just in conversation with people who were more pushy than me. I tried to very subtly snap some pictures. It would appear that clandestine reconnaissance is not in my immediate future. For me subtle = shaky!
Slowly the room started filling up and I got chatting to a number of Formula 1 fans. I recommended that they all immediately check out the website of the greatest Formula 1 podcast in the world. The general consensus was that now they were here they would check out the talk, but they would check out the site afterwards.
While I had been chatting to these people the crowd had increased in size and a line had appeared for photos with Murray.
I passed my iPhone to a young guy who looked like he could deal with the modern technology.
There we had it. The key shot, bit blurry perhaps but it was proof nevertheless. I didn't get a chance to talk to the man himself because he was being distracted by the lady in the previous shot who had switched over to his other side. It didn't matter, I was happy!
I wondered about taking a few more photos (and even some video) while I waited for dinner.
Suddenly, we were whisked into a large dining room with lots of enormous round tables and plenty more new people to meet. I was sitting between a guy who didn't like Formula 1 anymore and a guy who was one of the James Bond stunt drivers. They were both very interesting to talk to. Dinner arrived.
I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. It seemed that there was some kind of rostrum ready for them to speak on. In all of the excitement I managed to spill gravy on my tie. The main attraction of the evening began with a short film talking about Sir Stirling's career, and after that Murray and Stirling took to the stage.
They started going when the microphones weren't working properly and so it was hard to work out exactly what was being said. Murray asked him how he got started in racing and he talked about his dad. Murray asked if Stirling had been pushed by his father and Stirling said that his dad was hard but fair. Put it this way, he said, if he had done something wrong he would get his mother to talk to his dad for him.
Then, thank goodness, they fixed the microphone and I managed to record the rest of the session. There were some absolute gems in the recording, and although the quality wasn't great, it was worth it.
With that, the mingling really got going. It was a great evening so thanks to Sidepodcast for the tip off and for all of the comments through the evening.
The two men are legends, and when you get a chance to listen to legends it isn't expensive, it's priceless.
Alex has very kindly passed the audio recording to us, and we will be releasing it as special podcast all of its own very soon.
