As for the rest of you, the 2011 racing season looks set to be an interesting one from Seb Vettel's defence of his F1 title, Valentino Rossi's transfer to Ducati, Tin tops being bashed in BTCC, German Touring Car spilling out of Germany once more and the Roman Emperor defending his title in World Superbikes.

I for one, am looking forward to it and I'll try and post a few of my thoughts on each championship soon.

                          

Interviewing the Ringmaster

The official Formula 1 website has a very interesting interview with Bernie Ecclestone  to coincide with his 80th birthday at the end of the month. Highlights include his views on the way teams suppress their drivers personalities and a World War Two encounter with a German fighter plane. The Guardian have also interviewed him and you can find it here.

Massa and the Alonso question

James Allen looks into the Ferrari team orders situation and how Philipe Massa has faired so far this season.

F1 expansion

F1 Journo Joe Saward ruminates on the arguments for F1 expansion into non-traditional countries. Should traditional venues keep their slots, just because they are great racetracks? Personally, I hope so!

The professional view

This column by the nail-hard 1987 500cc World Champion Wayne Gardner never fails to be insightful. Read up about his views on last weekends Australian Grand Prix and his chat with Casey Stoner about his reasons for moving teams.

Moto3 generates manufacturer interest?

As part of it's continuous attempts to devalue the Motorcycle World Championship and it's different classes, Dorna will have the 125cc bikes consigned to history at the end of next year. In it's place will be the Moto3 class, obviously a two wheeled version of Formula 3. The MotoMatters website takes a look at the manufacturer interest surrounding this new class. Bring back the side-cars, I say.

                          

Sportscars

Nigel Mansell will be racing at the Silverstone 100kms on the 11th September. He will once again be driving with his sons Leo and Greg. Let's hope that 'Red 5' doesn't have another crash like he had at Le Mans. Audi driver Allan McNish will be at the sharp end of things along with Andy Wallace. Ex-F1 drivers Giancarlo Fischella and Anthony Davidson will also be taking part, with the latter racing for title contenders Peugeot.

125cc

Mark Marquez is now running away with the 125cc World Championship. The 17 year old Derbi rider has won five races on the trot and not even a dislocated shoulder suffered in a practice accident at Brno could stop him from scoring a seventh place finish. Taking a leaf out of, well, a great many champions of the past, the Spaniard took the points as he had no chance of finishing at the sharp end. Definitely a rider to keep an eye on.

Nicolas Terol and Pol Espargo are playing catch-up with 'Our Bradley' Smith in perpetual fourth.

Moto2

Despite my worries, Moto2 has proved to be a very entertaining spectacle this year. In complete contrast to the MotoGP grid, the sight of all those bikes flying into the first corner gives the impression that you're going to see a real race, not a show procession of a small number of bikes. Unfortunately due to the intensive and expenditure heavy 800cc formula in MotoGP, only the big boys can play, meaning that privateers without factory connections and big current accounts can't get a place on the grid.

Tony Elias and the Gresini team are leading the championship after their win at Brno. However, they are going to have to watch themselves as the team were caught red-handed testing out of regulations at Misano. According to the rules, no team is allowed to test at a track that hasn't hosted a Grand Prix so far this season. Naughty boys!

For your viewing pleasure...

A Dutch international race from 1981 at Hengelo. The track is a good example of the road tracks that the Dutch used (and still sometimes use) at the time. Houses, trees and ditches all line the track, which despite it's flat nature (hey, it is in Holland!), looks fast and challenging. From doing a bit of research, I found out that this track is still used for the Dutch Superbike championship. Look out for the Dutch Grand Prix stars of the 70's/80's Wil Hartog, Boet Van Dulmen and 'Jumping' Jack Middelburg in the film.

                          

WSBK

It looks increasingly like the Roman Emperor, Max Biaggi, is about to take his first World Superbike title to add to his four 250cc World Championship's and numerous MotoGP victories. He has just signed on with Aprilia for another two years, much to the joy of the Italian race fan, enamoured with the sight of the Italian racer on an Italian bike with an Italian sponsor.

However, Max couldn't stop the highly rated Cal Crutchlow from taking two wins at the Silverstone round of the World Superbike Championship on Sunday. Clinching pole position on Saturday, Crutchlow also set the lap record on the revised Silverstone track.

Unfortunately, the World Supersport race was marred by this horrendous accident:

Championship leader Eugene Laverty accidentally triggered this accident by clipping Joan Lascorz. The rider was quite badly injured but should make a full recovery.

Caterham's

Reigning champ Jon Walker won the last round at Rockingham, winning both races by a healthy margin. If you're interested in taking part in the Caterham academy series next year, click here for the Caterham site.

British Sooooper Bike

Sorry, just doing my Jamie Whitham impression there. The championship really should be called British Northern Bikes, in my opinion. The current championship leader is Worx Crescent Suzuki rider, Tommy Hill, with Josh Brookes and Riuchi Kiyonari following up behind him. Kiyonari won the last round at Snetterton, with the next race being held on the mighty Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit this weekend. If you've got Eurosport, be sure to tune in!

Unfortunately, former Superbike World Champion, Neil Hodgson, has had to retire from the series and racing all together through injury.

Formula 3

Britain's traditional breeding ground for new talent is currently being led by Carlin driver, Jean-Eric Vergne, who took a hat-trick of wins from the last round at Spa-Franchorchamps (yes, I'm confused too). Brits Oli Webb and James Calado are second and third. Alex Brundle, son of former F1 driver/current F1 commentator, Martin Brundle is sixteenth.

The next round will be held at Thruxton this weekend. Get ready for some wheel banging and strops from boys who've only ever played with their toys.

And finally...

Just look at what happened in this Formula Superleague race at Brand Hatch last weekend. In a situation eerily similar to the Schumacher incident, driver Chris Van Der Drift was injured in a very serious accident at Demon's Drop. The New Zealander is expected to make a full recovery, but the incident highlights just how dangerous (and copied) Schumacher's style of ruthless driving can be...

                          

The incident does appear to be one of those flukes of racing nature that could happen anywhere and at any time. It was lucky that the car did not hit the either the marshals or the ambulance van. Fortunately no one, including the driver, was badly injured.

                          

MotoGP

No Japanese Grand Prix due to health and safety. Oh, and a bloody huge volcano.

World Superbike

The only major motor-sporting event this weekend. The latest of round WSBK is being held at the 'Cathedral of racing', 'de circuit van Drenthe', at Assen. Well, it would be if they re-instated the other half of the track, so it resembles it's pre-1984 layout. It's nothing more than a glorified national club track now. Oh well, let's hope that Leon Haslam keeps up his great form and takes a win (or two).

F1

You'll be pleased to know that the teams got their equipment back. I know I am. The intrusion of real life must have been a nasty shock for them. On the other hand, Jake Humphrey's tale of how he got back to England from China is rather entertaining.

We now get to look forward to a truly boring race at Barcelona, what joy! I went there in 2003 and stood with some red clad Germans who air-horned every time Schumacher passed us. No one overtook, no one tried to race, and the F3000 event was the most tedious piece of motorsport 'competition' I have ever seen (only the Seat vans race was any good).  Next week promises to be no different.

On a lighter note...

Two of the British F3 grid girls went for a spin around Silverstone and you can see how they got on here.

                          

Don't blame the aerodynamics

The accomplished F1 designer Frank Dernie put this very authoritative counter-argument forward on James Allen's website, rubbishing that aerodynamics are not racings bogey man.  He also gives some very interesting alternatives, including the reintroduction of manual gearboxes, to make overtaking possible.

Making sense while others lose their heads

F1 Journo Stuart Codling offers this amusing take on the fuss and bother started by Sunday's Grand Prix.

Rossi sends a warning shot

Italy's favourite son sends a warning shot to his rivals with a very dominant performance in testing It seems that Ducati are worried.  Hopefully their rider won't disappear halfway through the season again...

Troubled Hungarian track loses Grand Prix

It seems that the Balatonring was doomed right from the start. Thanks to continued construction problems, the MotoGP it was supposed to host this September has been taken away from them. The round will instead be run at the Motorland Aragon track in Spain. That gives that country a total of four Grand Prix this year. Come on Dorna, give someone else a chance... 

                          

Jensen signs for McLaren

Now, I have no clue as to whether JB (F1 people love calling people by their initials, don't they?) was pushed or if Mr Brawn asked him to stay, but felt Woking would offer him more. However, I do have a feeling that 2010 will be an even more important season for Frome's favourite son. The bottom line is that he has to be able to take Hamilton on his home ground.

Some have being billing this next season as 'Senna vs Prost', but I would say it was more of a case of "Mansell vs Fittipaldi". Hamilton is extremely fast, fights hard and loves the extravagant overtaking manoeuvre (plus a taste for the dramatic); whereas Button (one of the most decisive overtakers around), tends to be quick without making mistakes, but has little political side to him at all, unlike the great Frenchman. These traits are surely more in common with a certain moustachioed midlander and a 70's Brazilian sensation, don't you think?

Raikkonen quits F1 for WRC

The 2007 World Champion has gone off to do a 'Stirling' and take part in whatever type of motor sport that damn well takes his fancy. The Finn will be taking part in the 2010 World Rally Championship, driving for Citroen. Good luck to him! I for one would like to see F1 drivers taking part at Le Mans, Grand Prix Bike riders racing at the North West 200, or even just racing in more than one class. OR may be if they all just race some Bedford vans, we'd see more overtaking!

British Grand Prix saved!

Yes, sanity has made a guest appearance in F1 and helped secure the British Grand Prix for the next sixteen years. Don't expect it to hang around for long though, as sanity only plays a brief footnote in the history of F1. No doubt the F1 powers that be are annoyed that they have to go to a windswept airfield in Northamptonshire for the race, instead of an air-conditioned Tilkedrome, but hard cheese.

As usual, Bernie and CVC will get their cut, so no one should be too unhappy. The only real losers in this affair is Donington and the Wheatcroft family. The circuit is currently in an unusable state thanks to the uncompleted work carried out on it by the Donington Ventures Holding Company. At the same time of the Grand Prix deal, the circuit owner Tom Wheatcroft, passed away. Let's hope Donington gets back on it's feet soon.

                          

Formula 1

• The fledgling USF1 team that is to enter F1 next season have announced that they have the backing of Youtube. What this will mean to Bernie's practice of having F1 footage removed from the website as a breach of copyright, will remain to be seen.
• Nelson Piquet Jr has been replaced by Roman Grosjean for the rest of the season. The Brazilian has launched a broadside against Renault boss Flavio Briatore, saying that he has no clue about racing. This is something that Briatore has been accused of before, having been nicknamed "the T-shirt salesman" in the early years of his involvement in the sport.
• For this weekends race, the Valencia street track has been modified, with the pit lane exit revised and walls moved back from the track on some corners. The pit lane exit did appear to be downright dangerous last year, so any improvement will be welcome, however moving walls from street circuits surely removes the challenge of this type track. Martin Brundle won't be pleased (The BBC commentator has been very critical of the changes to the Monaco circuit, which he feels has made it easier).

MotoGP

• Casey Stoner will miss out the next two Grand Prix as he continues treatment in Australia for the mysterious illness that has dogged him this season.
• Jorge Lorenzo's future still appears up in the air, with rumours appearing daily on the net concerning Ducati's overtures to the Mallorcan. It seems that the Italian team is worried that Casey Stoner's recovery could be long and they will need another top-line replacement. However, Lorenzo should be aware of the Desmosedici's career damaging reputation, as only Stoner has so far got to grips with it's handling characteristics.
• Despite his embarrassing accident while trying a wheelie on the slowing down lap at Brno, Alvaro Bautista will step up to the MotoGP class next year with Suzuki in place of Chris Vermulen.

DTM

• Four cars have been sealed for examination by the German Motorsport Authority in order be used as reference for the DTM development freeze. These cars will then be used to enforce the freeze for the next year and a half, before the technical regulations change in 2011.

Sportscars

• 1992 Formula 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell will be taking part in the Silverstone 1000kms in the Team LNT's Ginetta-Zytek LMP1 prototype next month. He will be one of three drivers, comprising himself, his son Greg and team owner Lawrence Tomlinson.