(Ben Johnston 2014)
Well, what can I say? Today has been an incredible day. As you all know I have been eagerly anticipating attending this years Autosport International Show at the NEC in Birmingham and today certainly lived up to and surpassed my expectations.
Let me set the scene for you. I arrived at the NEC shortly before the start of the show where I met up with a friend of mine. Our first stop when the show opened was to visit the exhibition dedicated to the career of the star of this year's show John Surtees (Pictured on the main Autosport stage). Surtees was extremely successful during the 60's and not just in four wheels but on two aswell.
To this day he remains the only racing driver to have won the championship on both two and four wheels. He is an extremely interesting character. He needs to be considered for a knighthood when you consider what he has done for motorsport both on and off the track. He has been instrumental in helping youngsters to get into motor racing with the help of the Henry Surtees Foundation which he formed following the death of his son in a racing accident a few years ago.
John Surtees was just one of many guests to grace the main stage today. Sky F1 commentary Martin Brundle spoke candidly about his time at ITV, BBC and Sky and is delighted that he has been able to continue to drive F1 cars and has confirmed that there is a special feature coming up this season with Sky.
(Ben Johnston 2014)
It was a big day for the Marussia F1 Team as the Banbury based squad used the Autosport Show to announce that Max Chilton will remain at the team this season. The team's chairman Graeme Lowdon was delighted to be able to announce to the the fans at the show that they will have the line up this season.
Graeme is a really nice guy, I literally bumped into him during the show...Ooops. I introduced myself to him and he said that it was really nice to meet me. That was just one of the highlights of my day.
(Ben Johnston- 2014)
It was absolutely fantastic to be able to get so close to the F1 cars and it was great to see every team was represented at the show.
The Live Action Arena was the highlight of my day at Autosport. David Croft and Pollyanna Woodward were MCing the event and interviewed former racing driver and 2013 LeMans 24 Hour winner Allan McNish and his former Audi team mate and nine time LeMan winner Tom Kristensen. During their time on stage the audience was invited to ask the pair questions.
I put my hand up and Pollyanna came up to me with the microphone which I WAS NOT expecting but I had a question prepared. I asked Allan "How do you think Mark Webber will get on in the World Endurance Championship?"
I was absolutely delighted firstly, that he answered the question but not only that it led to someone else asking another question. Allan believes that Mark is returning to his first love having driven in the World Endurance Championship before and although he had a successful F1 career it was just a sabbatical for Mark until such time that he felt was the right time to go.
It was interesting to see the Lotus E21 on the F1 Racing grid.
(Romain? No Kimi?) (Ben Johnston - 2014)
It wasn't just F1 car's on display we also had this:
(Ben Johnston - 2014 Renault Twizzy)
The show was absolutely brilliant and I can't wait to go again next year. I would recommend it to absolutely every motorsport or car fan. There is also plenty to do the show. You can test your reaction times and see if you have what it takes to be an F1 driver by trying out one of the simulators.
The also have an indoor go-kart track. I didn't do the go karting but it certainly looked like fun. As part of the entertainment in the Live Action Arena there were stunt riders doing jumps and flips which were absolutely incredible.
As for the transportation links. The NEC is in an ideal location. Birmingham International Airport is just a light rail journey away and indeed you pass through Birmingham train station in order to get to the NEC.
If you were at the show or are going to the show tomorrow, I would love to hear from you.
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