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James Allen looks forward to 2012
Wednesday 11 January 2012, written by James Allen
I'm looking forward to 2012 more than any year for a while, for a number of reasons. First this is a really interesting time in our sport with changes in the way it's covered on TV in the UK, a fascinating political and business game being played out involving the teams, the governing body and Bernie Ecclestone's organisation over the next step for the sport beyond 2012.
It's likely that we will see some interesting changes in the next 12-18 months to the sport, the way it is run and particularly the way that fans around the world can access it. This is all serving to make the sport bigger and to generate a wider reach.
I'm also excited on a personal level because I have signed to become the F1 correspondent for BBC Radio 5 Live, which is a wide ranging remit, including commentary at races and providing insight to the main BBC stations when there is a big F1 story. This will sit well alongside all my online activities with jamesallenonf1.com.
It should also be a good year for the Trust as it is our 25th anniversary. The Trust was founded by Sir Jackie in 1987 and has done some great work since then in getting the lives of some former F1 mechanics back on track after illness or setbacks.
The next meeting of the GP Mechanics Trust is set for February 1 and I look forward to joining my fellow Trustees to consider the celebrations for the Trust's Silver Anniversary and to a year of more meaningful work by the Trust.
Red Bull Team Manager on the value of the Trust – see video here
“We have regular team meetings and when Sir Jackie spoke to the team managers, I fed it back to the guys and I asked them to register because while I understand there are around 220 mechanics registered with the Trust, there must be thousands who haven’t signed up and I hope that they will...Ramirez remembers Senna
“He always had this aura surrounding him. He was just so special, so electric and his personality was superb. If you were in the F1 paddock, you could see Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost or whoever walking around but when you saw Senna it was like ‘wow, it’s Ayrton Senna’. People just loved him because he had this charisma. He was so loved in Brazil. There’s no doubt that if he was alive now, he would have been president of Brazil or another similarly important role. He always wanted to help people and his country. Those who were close to him learnt a lot about him. He was a very special person.”
A SPECIAL MAN
“I was working for Emerson Fittipaldi and we were testing at Silverstone. We were both in the motorhome having a coffee when Ayrton, who was racing in Formula Ford which supported F1 at the time, came up and said hello to Emerson. He introduced Senna to me and when he left, Emerson said: ‘Watch this guy, he’s going to become one of the greatest ever in the sport.’ That was how much Emerson thought of him. He was brilliant from the moment he first started driving the car and I was really hoping that one say he would join us - and sure enough, he joined us in 1988.”
SPEED DEMON
“I will always remember the time when we were at Spa and Senna was about a second quicker than McLaren team-mate Prost in qualifying. Senna used to get really intense for qualifying and would almost be in a trance-like state. After the session, he had to sit in the corner of the truck to calm down before speaking to anymore. And at Spa, he was in the transporter when me and Alain. Alain was looking at the telemetry and say ‘he’s bloody quick’ and as he said that, Senna winked at me with the biggest smile on his face. For him, he was happy to beat Prost who was number one at the time. Prost realised how unbelievable Senna was. It was incredible how he could stretch out so much speed in just one qualifying lap.”
"New phase for the Trust" says James Allen
Friday 13 May 11 by James Allen
It’s great that we have the new website up and running now, signalling a new phase for the Trust and its role in Formula 1 motor racing.
I have been a trustee for a good few years and really enjoy working alongside Sir Jackie and the other trustees– some legendary names from the world of F1.
Senna screening - what a night!
Thursday 4 May, 2011
I was one of many people who would have loved to have been at the first UK screening of the Senna movie last night, but couldn't make it. I hear it was a brilliant night, there was great buzz around the auditorium and the film itself was a real tear jerker.
A huge thank you must go to to everyone who bought tickets, to Tag Heuer for their support and last but not least, to our trustee James Allen, for making this all happen.