The AutoFocus Blog

Welcome to the AutoFocus Blog, current home of social media geek Laura Donaghy. Often found at racetracks or dancing around like nobody is watching. Gamer. Tweeter. Petrolhead

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It’s all gone a bit quiet.

Hi all,

You may have noticed that this tumblr has been very quiet as of late. That’s because AutoFocus has a new home (again.) I’ve decided to try and make AutoFocus into something worth reading, so it’s now got a dedicated website, Facebook, Twitter and Patreon!

I want to bring you more content, and eventually get other writers to join me in making AutoFocus something really special. 

I’d love it if you joined me over at the new home of AutoFocus. And if you’d be so kind as to tell your friends, that would be even better.

[theautofocusblog-blog]

Talking Hydrogen - Forze Q&A

Last month, I introduced you to the Forze VII – a hydrogen-powered LMP3 car built by a student team based in the Netherlands. Whilst I was writing that piece, the team were kind enough to answer my questions, and I’m now going to share their answers with you!

Photo: http://www.forze-delft.nl/media/

In order to answer my questions as well as possible, different team members took on various answers, and you can tell who answered what by their two-letter codes:

·        Mathieu Blanke, Acquisitions and Events Manager (MB)

·        Coen Lastdrager, former Chief of Vehicle Dynamics (CL)

·        Leo van der Eijk, Driver (LE)

·        Tinie Lam, former Marketing Manager (TL)

Enjoy!

 I know the group have been working on hydrogen projects for almost ten years, but why did you guys choose hydrogen?

MB: There are two main reasons for building hydrogen-powered vehicles instead of, for example, battery electric vehicles. The first reason is very straightforward and a result of the rise of a new competition called Formula Zero in 2008. This championship was the world's first race series using only hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles. Consequently, the team constructed fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). Secondly, a reason for the team to compete in the formula zero championship is the strong belief that battery electric vehicles are not the only solution for zero-emission transport. The team strongly believes that FCEVs are part of the sustainable automotive future. Therefore Forze Hydrogen Electric Racing focuses on the promotion of this technology by showing its potential.

 What was the reasoning behind using the LMP3 platform for Forze VII, and was there any particular reason for choosing the Adess?

CL: We choose the LMP3 for two reasons. The first one is that it makes sure our car complies with a large part of international racing regulations. The LMP3 chassis guarantees the safety of the driver because it is FIA homologated for international racing. The second reason is that an LMP3 chassis is a very good basis to build your own race car. It gives us a lot of design freedom since we can engineer our own subframe, drivetrain, suspension and bodywork around the monocoque. An LMP3 chassis is high tech and has a great performance potential to start with. The Adess monocoque is the most spacious of all the current LMP3 cars, which again gives us some design freedom to for example place a hydrogen tank inside the monocoque.

 Could you tell me a bit more about the technology in the car?

CL: The Forze is a Hydrogen electric race car, which means that we use Hydrogen as energy storage (instead of conventional batteries in electric cars). The Hydrogen is stored as a gas in very high-pressure tanks that go up to 700 bar. We let the hydrogen react with oxygen in our so-called fuel cell. During this reaction, an electric current occurs while the hydrogen and oxygen react together to form water.

This electric current is interesting for us since we can use that to power our electric motors and drive the car itself. So in basis, we have an electric car. However, our way of storing energy is way different from for example a Tesla, which just has its energy stored in batteries. Our way of energy storage means we can refuel like conventional cars since we have hydrogen gas stored in high-pressure tanks. With an efficient refuelling station, we can refill the tanks in approximately 15-20 minutes. For now, that is way faster than fully charging an electric car since that can take more than an hour.

What was the car like to drive? How does it compare to an ICE vehicle?

LE: First of all, it’s amazing to drive and I feel really honoured to be in the driver position. But I think your question is more about the physical/mental part instead of the spiritual (team) part.

Driving this car doesn’t differ much from other race cars, which are ICE vehicles. The team has managed to build a nice geometry and suspension on the car which is at least as professional as I was used to. So the longitudinal acceleration is, of course, comparable with other cars in our class, but the lateral acceleration (performance) is better and at least as good as the higher/faster classes. This is because of our packaging which results in a very low centre of gravity.

The main difference is the drivetrain. Normally in an ICE vehicle, you need to change gears, which is not the case in our concept. Therefore you can focus more on the driving part and more importantly, the car will be stable during downshifting. So this is a big pro, but of course, there are also some downsides of our concept (at the moment).

The buffer (accumulator) needs to be filled during braking, which we currently do with regenerative braking. The downside of this is that we only can regenerate with the rear wheels and therefore the braking distance is longer than our opponents. So to manage the regenerative braking distance and hydraulic braking distance in the right way, the driver needs his free mental workload (from gearshifting) to manage the energy level as good as possible.

Besides the driving differences, there are also some differences in power/torque. The electric motors do deliver a constant torque so the reaction on the throttle is, in any case, the same which is not the case for ICE vehicle. So I think, as a driver, that the car is more reliable on the throttle.

The conclusion is that a fuel cell electric powered car is like driving an electric vehicle with small differences between the ICE vehicles.

 How well has the car been received? There are always mixed reviews for non-ICE vehicles, particularly in racing (just look at Formula E) but what sort of feedback have you had for the Forze VII?

TL: We understand that we cannot satisfy every racing fan, but we did receive many compliments. It was amazing to see the many admiring reviews. Although we were competing in a regular race, with more than 90.000 spectators that love the smell of burned rubber, we felt certainly supported by the audience. They can relate to the fact that alternatives are needed and cheered for us. Also, the ‘regular’ platforms like Motorsport.com gave us positive feedback and wrote a story about us. We know we have not convinced the entire world yet, so there is more work to do! 

 What are the plans for the project in the future? Would the team consider something like a Garage 56 entry in the future? MB: During the coming year, the team will continue to promote hydrogen by building racecars. For me, it will be a dream to compete with a forze car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go before the team will be ready to compete at this legendary event. Therefore I think that it is very unlikely to see forze at this race but never say never. 

 When is Forze VII hitting the track again? MB: Again, I cannot give you a clear answer to this question. The foundation consists of students only. Even the board, which are people who stop studying for a year and voluntarily work on the project. Every year on the 1st of September the complete board changes, as the previous team has to continue their studies or start with a 'real' job and start earning money. Here you can find a link to my personal story after completing the Gamma Racing Day: http://www.forze-delft.nl/backstage-at-forze-during-gamma-racing-days/.

I hope this has given you a bit more insight into how the team works and about the hydrogen project itself. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the new Forze team develops the project, and hopefully, these two articles have given you something to think about!

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Gas-Powered

As you may have noticed, the motorsport (and indeed automotive) world seems to be moving at an alarmingly rapid rate towards an all-electric future. And whilst that's all fab and groovy and yay, we're going to save some polar bears, there are other options out there. In fact, there’s a group in the Netherlands who are working with a much more gaseous solution.

For the last 9 or so years, Forze Delft have been putting together teams of students to build increasingly complex hydrogen powered vehicles. But why hydrogen? “There are two main reasons for building hydrogen powered vehicles instead of, for example, battery electric vehicles,” explains acquisitions manager Mathieu Blanke. “The first reason is very straight forward and a result of the rise of a new competition called Formula Zero in 2008. This championship was the world's first race series using only hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles. Consequently, the team constructed fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Secondly, a reason for the team to compete in the Formula Zero championship is the strong belief that battery electric vehicles are not the only solution for zero emission transport. The team strongly believes that FCEVs are part of the sustainable automotive future. Therefore Forze Hydrogen Electric Racing focuses on the promotion of this technology by showing its potential.”

The team have progressed massively and earlier this month (August) they competed with their latest creation, the Forze VII, at the Gamma Race Days in Assen - the first hydrogen powered vehicle to race alongside traditional ICE vehicles. A fantastic achievement in itself, but when you consider that the Forze VII clocked up laptimes quick enough to place them 4th alongside their, lighter petrol powered brethren, things start to sound really promising.

Let’s take a look at the car itself. The Forze VII is based on a familiar prototype monocoque - the Adess LMP3. However, where the Adess would normally house a 450bhp Nissan engine, the Forze VII instead has two high pressure gas tanks and what’s known as an FC Stack, Fuel Cell Stack to give it its unabbreviated title. The FC Stack, manufactured by Ballard, produces 135bhp, and 258bhp of boost power. The boost power is generated by the fuel cell when cornering and braking - similar to a KERS system. This power is then temporarily stored in supercapacitors. When accelerating out of a corner the car has access to both the fuel cell and the stored power from the supercapacitors.

So how does that work? “By pumping hydrogen and oxygen into the fuel cell we generate electricity on board,” explains Mathieu. “Of course, there are many more components which facilitate this process, but in order to get a general idea about the concept of the technology behind the car these two components will suffice.”

One of the advantages of generating electricity by using hydrogen, (and one of the reasons that Forze Delft have opted to use the gas) is that the resulting power train is actually lighter than that of a battery powered electric vehicle. Add in the fact that you can refuel this car in the same way as you would do an ICE car, and you start to get a green machine that resembles the traditional beasts we know and love.

Of course it’s not all been sunshine and roses for the student squad. Like any race car, the Forze VII could be a fickle fiend, particularly when team ambassador Jan Lammers was about! From small challenges to disconnected driveshafts in testing, even to their baby refusing to start on its maiden formation lap, this team has rallied together through everything this project could throw at them and they’ve done brilliantly, especially considering this iteration of the team only started working together on September 1st last year. They’ve produced a car that not only looks the part, but ticks all the green boxes - its only exhaust product is water by the way (evidently it’s drinkable too!) In my opinion, these guys have made fuel cell vehicles look fantastic and a viable alternative to my beloved ICEs.

So what’s next for Forze Delft? At the moment this is unclear, as the team is made up of students, every year the whole group, board and all, changes. Mathieu tells me that over the coming year the team will continue to promote hydrogen by building race cars. It’s a dream of his to see a Forze car compete at the legendary race that is the Le Mans 24 Hours, but it’s seemingly a long way off. Never say never.

The new team is currently assembling and putting together their plans and goals for the next year, so perhaps we’ll learn more in the coming months. As for me? I hope these guys keep doing what they do for a long time. Hydrogen power is a really cool technology, and it’s time we acknowledged that a bit more.

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The Future's Bright, The Future's Electric. Apparently.

The motorsport world woke up this morning to the (not unexpected) news that Porsche are pulling out of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the end of this season in favour of Formula E. 

I’m fine. Really.

Following the news that the UK are joining France in the 'banning the sale of all new vehicles powered by internal combustion engines' it's hardly surprising that manufacturers are jumping ship to join the e-movement. Electric vehicles are clearly where we're headed but are they the answer?

Currently Formula E is the destination for manufacturers wanting to develop their zero-emission technology (and the green reputation that goes along with it.) The Electric GT season kicks off in November of this year, supposedly to inspire society as we enter the 'Age of Light'. But much like Formula E, the inaugural season has no outside manufacturer development - everyone will be using a modified Tesla P100DL.

It does look snazzy, but would be nice to see some more electric creations. Photo: Electric GT

Meanwhile back in hydrocarbon country, FIA WEC are on their way towards a massive regulations overhaul which focuses on 5 key areas, including adapting technology for road-going vehicles, technological diversity and, you guessed it, zero emission tech. The regs certainly make for an interesting read, but some of my highlights include:

Zero emissions and rapid recharging: a new road-going technology will be applied to racing, the plug-in hybrid. The cars will be given a rapid recharge at the same time as they are being refuelled.

Thanks to this, they must: 

Cover the first kilometre after each refuelling stop in full electric mode at a level of performance hitherto unequalled in motor racing and cross the finishing line in total electric autonomy (the details are being defined).

And:

Integration of biofuels: increase the integration of other types of more evolved fuels in close collaboration with the suppliers’ strategy. Introduction of new energies: in parallel, research work on new energies like hydrogen is continuing with the aim of introducing them at a later date.

Notice that the focus isn't all electric, don't put all your eggs in one basket and all that. But seriously, what about hydrogen? Or whatever zero emission tech we come up with now that the petrol-powered internal combustion engine is doomed? Electric power might be the 'in' technology right now, but there's still a lot to work out. Batteries, range, speeds, not to mention manufacturing, infrastructure and disposal of spent technology.  Perhaps that's where motorsport comes back in. 

Top level motorsport is already notoriously expensive, but maybe that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Why not have an event whose main purpose is to research and test the solutions for our future? Think the Shell Eco-Marathon but on a larger scale. We all know that research is going on to find alternatives to petrol and diesel. Whether it’s developing hydrogen fuel cells, highly efficient solar cells or creating catalysts to split water or produce hydrogen in situ, huge amounts of money are being spent on zero emission research. So why not bring it into the limelight? Make these scientific breakthroughs sexy or cool or whatever it is that draws you into your favourite sport. 

Motorsport and the automotive industry in general is in a state of flux and as a society need to be invested in whatever technology is going to be our future. While Formula E is improving each year, it's still got a long way to go before it reaches say 'Formula One Status.' Bringing in the big manufacturers will certainly make waves, but I can't help but wonder if focussing solely on electricity is just a little short-sighted. Perhaps it’s time we stopped being quite so ‘all or nothing’ in our thinking. 

In the meantime, thank you Porsche, your return to endurance racing was short but sweet. I wish you all the luck in your new e-ventures. 

Photo: Lou Johnson, WEC Prologue, Monza 2017

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As they say, a picture paints 1000 words.

Earlier today I saw a really cool concept shared on Twitter. Shea Serrano had a Getty photo of LeBron James’ clutch shot from Monday’s Cavaliers/Wizards NBA game. He then proceeded to break down the image and write exactly 1000 words about it (you can read his article here).

This is a hugely interesting concept, as not only do you get to analyse the image, but you have to really hone your writing skills to make the comment exactly 1000 words. So I thought I’d give it a go – mainly to challenge myself. For my piece, I’ve chosen a photo that makes me smile and should break down easily enough to write about.

Thanks to Spacesuit Media for letting me use this, you can find their website and more about them on my current clients page. Photo taken by Shiv Gohil at the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours - June 2016. 

Now I’m no journalist or professional writer, nor are my Photoshop skills anything to write home about, so this will probably be a bit rubbish, but I’ll give it a go! Here we go. 1000 words starting now:

The Man Himself

If you’re into motorsport, (or even if you’re not) you’ve most likely heard the Senna name. Be it Ayrton or Bruno, the iconic surname is branded into every racefan’s brain.

This motorsport moment features the latter Senna, Bruno. In 2016, he secured himself a seat in the FIA World Endurance Championship, racing with RGR Sport by Morand. Being a full season entry in WEC automatically gave the Mexican outfit a grid spot at one of the endurance calendar’s best loved races – the 24 Heures du Mans. So you can understand why he’s smiling. The Le Mans race is essentially a weeklong celebration of all things endurance racing and here you can see Bruno enjoying the driver’s parade which goes through the town of Le Mans itself. Armed with a Sharpie and ‘hero cards’, a driver is ready for any autograph or photo opportunity that comes their way – even if they’re dressed as silly English K-nig-hts.

The 84th running of the race was Bruno’s first time competing in a prototype since driving an Oreca in 2009. And while the rest of the world was busy focusing on the tragic end to Toyota’s epic race, the RGR squad were putting in a top-ten finish. Senna, alongside Filipe Alburquerque and Ricardo Gonzalez finished 15th overall but that’s 10th in class. You might say ‘that’s not that impressive’ but remember that the 24 hours is a tricky beast to tame, and though Bruno had previously driven Le Mans on three separate occasions he only managed to finish once. That 10th place is looking better now eh? Especially when you consider the sheer talent in the LMP2 field. 23 cars, over 60 drivers and 10 former Le Mans winners. As it happens, Signatech Alpine team found the perfect combination of talent, determination and luck and crossed the line first in class. Congrats to Nicolas Lapierre, Gustavo Menezes and Stephane Richelmi.

Knights of the Realm

This isn’t something you see every day. A bunch of grown men dressed in silly costumes? You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a student night out somewhere. It is however, just another day in Le Mans build-up week. Where nutters from all over the world (I am happy to count myself as one of them) come together to make up a weird and wonderful crowd.

There’s varying levels of commitment in this bunch – I am thoroughly impressed by the guy at the back who’s gone and got a helmet and everything. In contrast, his mate on the left who seemingly thought that nobody would notice if he just used the hood from his jacket. Come on man, you won’t be finding the holy grail looking like that. Though he does seem to have a strange, grey growth coming out of his shoulder – I got confused trying to work out whose sword that was. Don’t you just love the mind tricks that photos can play?

Let’s talk about the guy on the left for a minute. He might be taking his role a little too seriously. Everyone else looks happy and like they’re having fun. That guy looks like he’s stumbled straight out of an action movie via a Monty Python prop cupboard. It’s a very Vinnie Jones face. Does Vinnie like endurance racing? Has he ever been to Le Mans? Would someone go ask him please?

The Clearly Happy French(?) Man

When I say the words ‘Typical French Man’, what images spring to mind? If you said beret, striped shirt, red scarf and oodles of onions, clearly you’re not alone in your thinking. Whoever this man is, I applaud him for sticking to his French stereotype – it’s good for some amusement for the rest of us. The only thing he’s missing is a cigarette and maybe a twiddly moustache, but 10 out of 10 for effort.

The Manor flag sported by his largely obscured friend is a nice touch too. Well done to you if you spot him – I pretty much missed the guy completely. FYI it was a couple of onions that gave him away!

One Man Rebellion

Maybe he’s a Senna fan? Perhaps he missed the memo from his friends about being Knights? Or maybe he just wanted to get involved in the moment.

You can almost hear the noise he’s making just from his facial expression – that ‘wheeeyyyy’ sort of noise that has become synonymous with lads everywhere. This guy supports Rebellion and he’s going to do it in the manliest way he knows how. Go on my son.

‘I don’t know what’s going on but it looks hilarious’

I imagine myself having this face a lot.

That look when you see something utterly daft and you can’t help but smile (a smile mixed with a little bit of wtf, but a smile nonetheless.) And who wouldn’t chuckle at the scene occurring on this man’s right? A bunch of men dressed as knights posing with an incredibly smiley man in a onesie? It’s certainly enough to make me giggle.

Let’s take a step back…

For me, this image captures some of the many things about Le Mans that I love. The willingness of the stars to grant their fans wishes. The range of people brought together by a common passion. And just how silly it can all get. Nobody takes themselves too seriously – in the paddock or out of it.

If you’ve not made the journey to Le Mans (that’s also a good film by the way), do it. Seriously. Not only will you be treated to some spectacular racing, but you’ll become part of one of the best families out there. For the whole week, the area becomes a hub of happy, like-minded people – it’s like one big party. A party where you can meet your heroes and get up close to some of the most impressive machines in the racing world. Yeah, it’s pretty damn special.

Get yourself out there, and you’ll probably find yourself wearing a smile as big as Bruno’s.

Phew, that was tougher than I thought!

Thanks again to Spacesuit Media and Shiv for letting me use the image, to MotorsTV for sharing the LeBron James photo post and thanks to Shea Serrano for the original inspiration and format for this post! 

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Ah, the Internet.

We know it and we love it. Mostly at least.

These days, you can get all manner of things from the internet. From your daily sports digest to your weekly requirement of loo roll. From a valentines gift for your S.O. right the way to little booties for your pet pooch. And once you’ve received your goods and services, you can even take to the internet to voice how awesome it all is. The internet truly is a wonderful thing.

But as with most things, the internet has its moments. 

Earlier this week, one of my clients decided to launch their new product. These guys have been working hard on this for a good few years now and finally they were ready to tell people about it. It was set to be a great moment. Until it actually happened.

Now, we knew there would be some big things that people didn’t like about our new product, but we put in place ideas that we thought would help alleviate their grievances and we steeled ourselves for what may come. What we didn’t anticipate was the sheer level of negativity, bordering on abuse at times. And as someone who’s never gone through anything like this before - I found it actually quite hurtful. I honestly never thought anything I was associated with would be compared to Donald Trump, but there you go. 

I knew stress eating was thing, but this experience taught me about stress-making-yourself-look-awesome-so-you-can’t-hear-the-hate-over-your-fabulousness.

It’s very easy to be angry or upset at a company, celebrity, sports team etc. It’s even easier to then take that anger to the internet where you can hide behind your screen to vent at them. But how many people remember that there’s somebody on the other side. Somebody else sat behind a screen, just like yours, who has to sit and read all of that negativity. Do you stop and think about what your words could be doing to that person? 

This kind of attitude is all over the place. Normally I pride myself on being part of the motorsport community - I think we’re some of the loveliest people around. But then you get the people that boo drivers on the podium. So even the nicest communities have a few dark clouds. But maybe we can start to change that.

We all know that the internet is full of trolls. But it’s also full of people with genuine complaints. And sometimes, it’s hard to differentiate between the two. So do yourself a favour, next time you have a complaint about something, take a moment. 

Firstly, calm down. An angry, childish or abusive response is only going to upset someone and you’re likely either going to be burned (a la J.K. Rowling) or ignored. 

Think about the reason you’re complaining. Is it a genuine problem? Or are you perhaps blowing something out of proportion (we’re all guilty of that). 

And probably most importantly, read what you’re writing or think about what you’re about to say. Would you want to be on the receiving end of that? 

Try and be a better person, both online and in every day, real life. And always remember: please don’t feed the trolls.

[theautofocusblog-blog]

Hello 2017.

So here we are, mid January. New Year's Resolutions blown - or maybe they would be if I'd made any. I know myself too well! I mean for goodness sake, I haven't even written the Estoril blog I promised (we'll touch on that later). I'm sorry I'm so useless at this! 

Anyway, onto actual blog related things. 

Last week/weekend saw the Autosport International Show roll into Birmingham again. As a motorsport fan and petrolhead, I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that before 2017, I had never been to Autosport. A bit of a failure on my part, but I'm happy to report that I have now remedied that. Not only have I been to Autosport, I have been as trade! To be honest, this is more exciting to me than it probably should be, but oh well. 

Proof that I do do work. Yes I could just have been looking at Facebook... Thanks to the lovely Lou Johnson for the photo, you should check out her website: http://loujohnsonphoto.com/

Why am I telling you this? Well I came away from the NEC with a little victory and I feel that there's a life lesson or two in here somewhere. 

Don’t be afraid to talk to people.

Now this whole thing actually started back in October of last year, but the message still works. Granted I did have a mahoosive iPad as a conversation starter, but this victory came about because I had a conversation with someone (and became their personal live timing screen but that's besides the point.) Long story short, I apparently made a good impression, because a couple of months later here I am writing this daft blog post. So get out there and talk to people, even if they appear big, scary, important or all of the above, in the end they're just humans like you or I. It can't hurt to have too many connections. 

Passion Ignites Success

Okay, so this one isn't mine but I firmly believe in it. I heard these words spoken at Autosport by a truly inspirational woman - Nathalie McGloin. If you've not heard of her, go and look her up, I challenge you to not be impressed. Anyway, she did an interview on the Tech Talk stage, talking about what got her into motorsport and the fact that she's a Dare to be Different ambassador. It was a great talk, but the thing that resonated with me was 'Passion ignites success'. Now if you know me, you'll know that I am a freelance social media geek. But if you really know me, you'll know that I don't have any 'proper qualifications' for that role. Yup, no marketing degree or anything like that. I do have a degree but it's in Forensic and Investigative Chemistry to give it its full title. Completely unrelated. Though you know what I do have? Passion for what I do. And I have it in abundance. I've taught myself the skills I need to do the job I have now, but that's a bit hard to translate into a CV. 

But again, why am I rambling on about all of this? 

That victory I mentioned? I've been asked to help design and collaborate on a social media project with one of my favourite race teams. By one of the team principles. To be honest, I'm still freaking out a bit. But I strongly believe that the reason this has happened is partly down to the two 'lessons' I've been talking about. Engaging and talking to people, which has helped to convey my passion not only for what I do, but the sport I love too. 

Even if you take nothing else away from this, please believe me when I say, if you put in enough love and enough work then in all likelihood you can do what you want to do, regardless of what qualifications you have. Yes, you do have to have a degree for some things, but it's not necessarily the be all and end all. It’s never too late to try something new. 

Now I'll bring this to a close with a short mention of Estoril, and possibly the most useful tip I learned while I was out there for the ELMS. If you get invited to and awards dinner and it says the dress code is 'Casual', don't believe it. Always pack something to wear out in the evening, or else you might end up in a fancy venue, surrounded by your heroes looking a bit of an arse. 👍🏻

[theautofocusblog-blog]

My Latest Adventures Part 1

Pinch, punch, first of the… How on EARTH is it November?

Wow. October was mental for me and we’re almost at the end of 2016. What is happening?! I feel like the latter half of this year has been stuck on fast forward! Isn’t it funny how this tends to happen when you’ve got a load of super-cool and exciting stuff happening? It’s like life is saying, ‘yeah you have a good thing going, better make the most of it 'cuz it’ll be finished in about 60 seconds.’ Which I suppose in a way is a good thing; it really makes you think about what you are and have been doing.

So what have I been doing to make October so mad? Getting a life. No, seriously.

It’s been a bumper month as far as actually doing things goes, with the BTCC finale at Brands Hatch (and a much needed catch up with one of my partners in crime) followed by the launch of Prototype Cup and the final round of GT Cup (more on that later) all before flying to Portugal for a holiday come business trip. Plus a trip to Mercedes Benz World for an event with the lovely (and inspirational) ladies of Dare To Be Different. Oh and of course the compulsory Halloween celebrations!

So. Much. Stuff.

But the main reason I’m penning this garbage, is that I want to tell you about Prototype Cup, how cool it is, and how I’ve suddenly become involved

So what exactly is Prototype Cup? Well, Prototype Cup is Bute Motorsport’s brand new championship with its first full season starting in 2017. It will see grids of LMP3 cars compete in 1 hour races on some of Britain’s favourite circuits and give us Brits the chance to see Le Mans Prototype cars in person without the (albeit fun) commute to France. If you’re not sure what an LMP3 car is, here you go:

Pretty right? And that’s just one of them. There’s several manufacturers working on their own LMP3 cars, so the grid may comprise of more than just Ligiers - good news for the championship, not so good news for us lovers of the JSP3. But hey, where would we be without competition? The grid itself is still being finalised, but there are already teams from United Autosport (current ELMS LMP3 champions), West-tec, Mec-Tech (that’ll be fun for the commentators), Douglas Motorsports and a few more in the pipeline. I’m really expecting this to be a mega first season and hopefully a sign for a healthy prototype racing scene for the future. The series held its inaugural race at Snetterton in mid October with most viewers and reviewers calling it a success. If you want to read a proper weekend report, I’d suggest this one from Graham Goodwin: http://www.dailysportscar.com/2016/10/10/british-prototype-series-snetterton-weekend-report.html

But why am I blabbing on about this? Well I’ve been helping out with their social media. Following my adventures with GT Cup at Silverstone, I was asked if I’d like to come and work at Snett. Silly question really. During the course of the weekend, I set up their Instagram (you’ll have to excuse my phone photography, still waiting on some pro shots to use!) and tried to tweet as much as I could. I’d like to think I did a good job and a couple of really lovely comments suggest that I did so thanks for those. If there’s anything you’d like to see in the Prototype Cup social media, let me know and I’ll give your feedback to the powers that be!

Anyway, Snett was a success, both on and off the track. And for me, it yielded an interesting twist - it turned my holiday into somewhat of a business trip. But I think that’s a story for another post, this one is already rather lengthy! Stay tuned for part 2, featuring Estoril shenanigans and what this whole experience has taught me.

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A Foray into GT Cup

I’ve learned something very interesting over the last few weeks. As much as we don’t like ‘cold-emailing’ people asking for things, sometimes it really does work. Last weekend (10/11th September) I found myself on an impromptu visit to Silverstone as a result of one of these emails.

From an email on the Tuesday, via a phonecall on the Wednesday, to arriving at the circuit on the Saturday morning, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around what was going on - I’d been invited to help out with GT Cup, a British championship run by Bute Motorsport full of lovely things like this:

This was my first experience of running social media in a professional motorsport environment. Sure I’ve tweeted from race circuits lots of times, but that was usually as myself, not representing the championship! Though I quickly found myself helping out in more ways than I thought! Transcribing driver quotes, collecting timing sheets after sessions, sitting in race control live tweeting (the screens alone in there are overwhelming!) and surprisingly, manning a video camera. 

Yup. I spent most of a wet Saturday afternoon behind an expensive looking camera! I still can’t believe they trusted me with that to be honest. But if you catch any of the GT Cup TV programming, any sprint race shots of the start/finish/first corner were done by yours truly! Who would’ve thought?! 

Talking of GT Cup, if anyone is looking for a fun weekend out, I can recommend GT Cup. There may not have been many spectators, but those that did make the journey were treated to lovely cars, good racing, and a couple of demo laps from the United Autosports Ligier JSP3 which will be racing in GT Cup’s new sister championship next year - Prototype Cup.

So despite a rollercoaster ride of emotions including nerves, joy and just a little bit of minor fangirling, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with the guys in GT Cup! And if you take one thing away from this, make sure it’s about emails. You might be sitting there thinking ‘oh I don’t want to bother anyone’ or ‘they probably won’t reply to me.’ Ignore those thoughts. Send those emails! You never know who or what might come back to you!

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This is exciting. First event as media! Formula E testing going on here at Donington. The atmosphere is electric! (I couldn't resist the pun...)

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Apologies for Absence

Evidently, I’ve not written a blog since April. Same ol’ excuse - got swallowed up by life again!

Good news is, I’ve now got myself a new social media client - Scirra Ltd. Based in London, this little company built a game creation tool called Construct 2. They brought me on at the end of June, and I’m now in charge of their community, starting with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. There’s also forums, Instagram and Steam, but you know, baby steps! 

Adding Scirra to my Spacesuit Media and charity stuff means I’ve got a mini portfolio going now: 5 Twitter accounts, 3 Instagrams, 2 Facebook and a YouTube. Plus my own accounts. The iPad is really proving to be a good purchase now!

Things might start to get a bit more exciting on here as I have told myself (once again) to resume regular blog writing. Let’s see how long this one lasts eh?

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Let’s talk about Paris

It's been a busy couple of weekends. Following on from my adventures at Silverstone, I then flew out to Paris for their very first ePrix. Friday afternoon I boarded an easyJet flight to Charles de Gaulle for what I'd hoped would be an amazing weekend.

It all started well, the circuit looked great as we walked past and you could see the fan village from our apartment window. Friday night was spent atop the Eiffel Tower before an unusual Pizza Hut and bed. We set the alarms for early Saturday morning and were in the eVillage for the start of free practice.

Exploring the eVillage was fun, would have been good if there was a little more in there, but no complaints. Only DS Virgin Racing and Renault e.dams had stands as far as the teams went but it was good to see e.dams displaying their trophies for the home fans. There were a few food outlets and shops, including Tag Heuer watch shop and plenty of Scalextric (insert Formula E/Scalextric joke here) to keep everyone amused - I particularly liked the rebadged A1GP cars on the e.dams track! The best thing about the eVillage in my opinion? The fact that you could stand along the pit lane and see into the team garages, very cool. Unbeknownst to us at the time, the short period we spent in the eVillage would be the only time we spent there - we were never going to make it back for the podium.

We decided it would be best to head round to the viewing areas to watch FP2 and quali, after all, you don't go to a circuit to watch a TV screen right? Consulting the circuit guide was a little confusing - it looked like you had to leave the circuit to get from the eVillage to the public viewing areas, but that didn't seem right. Sadly, security weren't much help either. Thankfully, one of our group spoke French, but even then she struggled to get the necessary information from the security staff who seemed as in the dark as we were. I tried tweeting FIA Formula E, but got no response either. Eventually figuring out that yes, you do have to leave the circuit and come back in again, we started to head over to the public viewing areas. Easier said than done. The only signs were pointing back to the eVillage, and we did end up going to wrong way at one point. We soon found another security guy who just let us in (I don't think it was a proper gate) without checking our tickets, we probably could have got in for free!

Anyway, we found our way into the public viewing area and explored a little. Plenty of standing room, some food vans and a bridge to the inside of the circuit. Alas, only those blessed with a tabard or a pass could cross the bridge to the mystical land beyond - now makes sense as to why we had no option to buy a grandstand seat. So we retreated to a spot with a handy gap in the catch fencing and that became our space, for the next 7 or so hours.

When the cars were out on track, it was great. We could see a couple of corners, there was a big screen (albeit obscured somewhat by the catch fencing) and the crowds gathered creating a bit of an atmosphere. Sadly, that all vanished when track action stopped as people went off to fill time. We remained tied to that spot because if we left, we'd almost certainly never get as close to the track - kind of a big deal when you're short like me! Had we brought our own seating, that wouldn't have been a problem, but there's only so much cold Tarmac a girl can take. And sadly we couldn't take turns in taking refuge in the food zone as there was no seating there either! So as soon as the race was over, there was no podium celebration for us, we were straight out of the circuit and off to a restaurant for a well earned sit down/warm up.

It wasn't the day I'd expected. I'd had such high hopes for Paris, the circuit looked great and was set in such a beautiful setting but just like Battersea last year, the event was let down by the organisation. I've said before, I'm no event planner so I have no idea what is and isn't allowed but I do think it could have been so much better. Signs are the answer guys. If there had been signs telling us how to get to the viewing areas, that would have been a significant improvement. Or better yet, open a path through the middle of the circuit to connect the eVillage and the public viewing areas - and make it for everyone not just for VIPs. As a fan, I love mooching about a circuit or paddock, especially once a race has ended and I rarely stay in one place, but sadly that wasn't an option.

I am a huge fan of Formula E and I want to see it succeed. But when I've paid for a flight and a flat in Paris plus an entry ticket which if I played my cards right I probably didn't need, I want a better experience than what I could have had on my sofa. Especially when you consider the experience I had at Silverstone for WEC/ELMS the weekend before - open paddocks, pit walks etc. I know it's different in a street circuit/city setting, but the guys in Paris could take a leaf out of Silverstone's book. Plenty of signs, mega helpful circuit staff (some remembered us over the weekend) and a really detailed circuit map.

Just a quick comparison between the spoils from Paris (left) and Silverstone (right). I could have had LOTS more from Silverstone. And probably from Paris, had I been able to get to the eVillage more easily.

I would like to go to Battersea again but if the access to cars/drivers and the overall organisation is as poor as last year, then I don't think I want to be there unless I'm media or in hospitality. Not to mention the ticket pricing. Again no option for a grandstand in London as far as I can see (due to landscape reasons, again not an event organiser so I can't argue with that), and if you want to be on the start/finish straight, then your ticket will cost an extra £40 on top of a standing terrace ticket. Considering the same £40 got me a weekend ticket to Silverstone for the World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series with a roving grandstand seat, that seems a bit much. I could rant for a while about Battersea ticket prices, but that's a story for another day.

It's sad that the events feel like they're catered more for VIPs (I know they bring in money) and it's that kind of feeling that puts me off. Come on Formula E, you've got so much potential and so much more to give. Now is the time to prove me wrong. Give me a reason to keep coming to your races, otherwise I'll just stay home, on my comfy sofa with a nice glass of wine.

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Incoming blog about Formula E in Paris. I couldn’t not take a touristy shot!

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Exporting to Tumblr

Excuse the massive post dump. My website builder has removed the blogging tool I normally use and has replaced it with a new Tumblr widget. This means there’s now a new Autofocus Tumblr blog and I have to transfer ALL of my original posts here. Don’t want to lose any content!

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Snow place like Silverstone! (Excuse the pun)

Three championships, five classes and over ten hours of intense racing. Oh, and not forgetting the blizzard. It's safe to say, the ELMS/WEC weekend at Silverstone had it all.

Let's shake things up a bit, we'll start with Sunday's antics. By far the most glorious day of the weekend, the sunshine gave a brilliant backdrop to a fantastic 6 hour race. After a somewhat unexpected Saturday morning blizzard, the two Audis managed to secure pole and second on the grid - locking out the seemingly invincible Porsches.

Sadly it wasn't to be for the Joest team, or for half of the LMP1-H field it turns out. Between mechanical issues, an unfortunate crash and a disqualification for the #7 Audi, only two of the top 6 competitors ended up on the podium. Glad to see that the Rebellion team had some decent running, and great that they ended up 3rd & 4th overall. Impressive podium for the LMP2 category too - congrats to the RGR squad taking the win on their first outing in WEC. I was very happy to see the ESM guys take second, quite a nice birthday present for Razzle Dazzle!

It was a Ferrari day in GTE Pro, with the #71 crew of Bird and Rigon leading for most (if not all) of the 6 hours and the #51 AF Corse taking second place. Shame that the new Ford GTs didn't feature in the top three, but here's hoping they improve throughout the season.

Saturday was certainly an eventful day. April showers are one thing, but I don't think anyone was expecting April SNOW showers. Needless to say, the weather made it impossible to take to the track but after a bit of a reshuffle both in the atmosphere and in the running order, things eventually got under way.

I have to say, the 4 hour race was riveting. Yes, the LMP2 category was almost decided from the start with the G-Drive Jota running away to finish more than a minute and a half ahead of second place. Nevertheless, the rest of field provided plenty of entertainment before, during and even after the race! In LMGTE, JMW Motorsport had to wave goodbye to their victory as their car was excluded due to an issue with the front splitter whilst the #96 Aston Martin received a 4 minute time penalty from the stewards, dropping them into 3rd. Now LMP3 was what kept me on the edge of my seat - forgive me if I get a bit fangirl-y. It's been a while since I've been as supportive of a team as I am of United Autosports - it does help that they've got a great looking car and they've signed my favourite driver. Nevertheless, I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be such a supporter.

It may have been the #6 car of 360 Racing which took pole position in the LMP3 class, but when the green flag waved, the #2 car of United Autosports stormed into the lead of the pack. And that was the start of the emotional rollercoaster. The constant checking of the nearby tarmac to ensure that your car is still running, the sharp intake of breath whenever there's a yellow flag or full course yellow - hoping that it's not your team. After seeing the anxious faces in the pit garage, I can almost guarantee that there were plenty of us at the track and beyond with those same faces! But it's all worth it when your team crosses the line first, claiming a well deserved victory after 4 hours of intense racing. It actually surprised me how happy it made me to see my team (and my driver) take the win - I felt like I was sharing in the elation that I could see on the big TV screens, and that smile didn't leave my face for a long time.

So I want to say, many heartfelt congratulations to everyone at United Autosports on that well deserved 1-2 finish. And thank you. Thank you for reminding me how it feels to be such a big fan, and I look forward to supporting you throughout this season!

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Dabbling in Social Media Etiquette

Social media. It’s everywhere nowadays, people sharing their holiday photos, cat videos and whatever thoughts they deem worthy of the internet. But should we be sharing EVERYTHING? Does the world need to know every detail about what you’re doing? Perhaps not. I’m going to write a bit today about personal problems and how I think they should be handled when it comes to social media. I’ll give you a bit of background on why I’m writing this – my own personal life has taken a couple of heavy blows recently, and I wanted to share how I went about sharing my problems and how I plan to go about similar things in the future. Plus as far as I’m aware, very few people read this, so I don’t feel like one of those ‘share everything’ types!

Now I’m not looking for sympathy or anything, but very recently my grandmother died and my long term boyfriend broke up with me, both within the space of about a fortnight. Needless to say, I feel a tad broken and the first thought I had was that I wanted to declare to everyone how horrible I felt. Thankfully, I had the sensible voice in the back of my mind telling me that as someone who uses social media professionally, I would not be doing myself any favours by writing some long-winded, sob story about my life. Social media, whilst personal is something that your current and future employers will look through to get an idea of what you’re like. Think about it, would you want your boss to see you falling apart in the office? Not really, so why should they see you doing it on Facebook?

It is difficult - we all want to turn to social media because it’s the quickest way to tell a large amount of people about what is going on in our lives. But when you think about slagging someone off, or declaring your absolute misery, try looking at it a different way. Try and find that sensible voice in your head that says ‘this won’t help you’. Instead of writing something in depth and potentially regrettable, try to keep it short and sweet. Tell people what’s happening without going into all of the details. Always keep it PG-13 - a good rule I was told is the WALL-E rule:

“If it’s not safe for a Disney movie, it’s not safe for your Facebook page.”

Basically, if you post the bare minimum, your friends and family will come to you – then you can send them a private message being as emotional as you like! If someone breaks up with you, try saying something like “I’m no longer in a relationship, taking a break from Facebook”, if someone dies, a tasteful “RIP XXXX” will suffice; you get the idea. Nobody really wants to see their News Feed filled with ‘I hate this person’ or ‘I am so utterly miserable’ type messages, save those for private conversations. If you absolutely have to post something emotional, then I would strongly recommend using Twitter as your chosen medium. The lifetime of a tweet is much shorter than posts on other platforms and so it’ll disappear into the depths of the Twittersphere quite quickly. That doesn’t mean it won’t come back and haunt you, but it’ll be a much more short-lived complaint.

To be honest, the same could be said for other emotional posts – always think about whether people really need to know on a daily basis about how much you love this person, or how angry you are with your job situation. Just a couple of examples. So there you go - a quick run through of how I think personal problems should be handled on social media. Apologies to those of you who follow this blog for the motorsport content, I promise normal service will be resumed next time!

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A little something about me, and some F1 testing

Good grief, a few more days and February will be behind us. Only a short one this week, I’ve been a bit preoccupied with other things.

It’s been an interesting start to the week – F1 testing began in Barcelona, the first opportunity to see the 2016 combatants out in (sometimes mild) anger. Whilst testing times should be taken with a pinch of salt, it’s been nice to see that the top of the timesheets hasn’t been permanently taken up by Mercedes. What’s also been nice is seeing that the McLaren has some reliability – particularly from an engine which may not be the final iteration for testing. I won’t pretend to be the fountain of all knowledge for this F1 test, to be honest I’ve not really been keeping up, but the cars do look good despite the large amount of black, white and red.

This blog is going to be more of a personal update than anything else, because it’s quite an exciting one. Well, it is for me at least! I am now allowed to announce that I am the new Digital Media Editor for Current E. For those of you who don’t know, Current E run a magazine/website that posts articles and gorgeous photos all to do with Formula E. My role with them among other things is to help with social media – which just proves you can get a job with no ‘experience’! Either way, I’m really excited to be doing this as it means I’m actually working within motorsport and I get to spend my time on Instagram, Twitter etc. Pretty good deal if you ask me. So you never know, at some point in the future, you might be reading my drivel on someone else’s account! Though chances are, if it’s drivel I might get sacked… Nevertheless, with any luck, this blog might get more interesting – keep an eye out for stories of my future adventures.

My aim in life is to bring people closer to the things they love – in this case, using social media to bring people closer to motorsport. And on that note, I think I’ll sign off.