Nervousness, anticipation, excitement. All feelings felt by everyone from drivers, team personnel, media, promoters through to the fans themselves as Formula One is about to commence another bumper season at Melbourne's stunning, lakeside street circuit at Albert Park. 
    Never more so than this year as this will be the first time the new era F1 cars have run in anger. The regulation changes this year are extensive and has effectively meant that this year's chariots are designed from scratch, rather than evolutions of previous year's cars. We covered the changes before (see Archives Aug. 2013), but in short - 1.6 litre V6 Turbos with extensive Energy Recovery Systems, single exhaust with no bodywork behind, fuel capacity and fuel flow limits, 8 forward gears, lower rear beam wing outlawed, and lower noses brandishing narrower front wings. All designed to reduce downforce and promote fuel efficiency. With some teams, including world champions Red Bull, struggling at pre-season Winter testing from problems ranging from hydraulic leaks, electrical failures, and most notably, cooling issues, the focus at Albert Park will be on reliability. Any brave souls want to tip a winner?
    In the past in our Australian F1 GP previews we've suggested some great spots to visit in Melbourne, plus outlined some excellent vantage points to watch F1 cars around Albert Park. This year we thought we'd try something different. 
    A lot of people ask us how we deal with photographing motorsport through the safety catch fencing at street circuits? Quite often, "the fence is in focus and distracts you from the action", they say. "Do you use manual focus", they ask?
    Whilst we take great pride in our photos and no exposure you see on formulafrontrow.com is edited whatsoever, we certainly don't profess to be professionals. We simply love motorsport and sharing our photos, as an incentive to you to attend events of your choice. 
    Bear in mind the tips we share are tailored to punters utilising d-SLR cameras. If you're using a point-and-shoot or a (ahem) camera phone, well, err, good luck. 
    Although the auto modes and scene preset modes work quite well on a d-SLR, it doesn't give you much control over how you want the shot to look. We shoot in Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or full Manual Mode. For motorsport, we predominantly shoot in Shutter Priority. Remember a fast shutter speed (typically 1/640s or faster) will freeze the motion and blur the background, and a slow shutter speed (typically 1/500s or slower) will blur the motion and give the illusion of speed.
    Now, let's deal with fence. Here's one technique we hope you find helpful. Have your camera's focus set to Auto. More importantly, have the focus mode set to 3-D Tracking. When the shutter release button is pressed halfway, have it set so that it only locks the exposure, not the focus as well. Therefore, you can exploit the number of focus points your camera possesses when you pan the camera. When ready to shoot, meter the light. You do this by simply pointing your camera in the direction you want to shoot to get a reading on your display. Next, adjust your shutter to your desired speed. Now, the tricky bit. Through the viewfinder, line up your shot through one of the holes on the fence on a piece of circuit that you know the racing will pass over and press the shutter release button halfway. At the appropriate time, simply fire the shutter and the 3-D Tracking will keep the racing in focus, especially useful if you choose to pan. Voila! Happy hunting.
    Any motorsport photography tips to share? Let us know at: [email protected] or simply leave a comment. Maybe you'd like to let us know how Aussie Daniel Ricciardo will fare in his home GP on debut for champions Red Bull Racing?
    Melbourne, here we come....

    Regular friends and visitors that frequent this site will no doubt know that we quite often harp on about the importance of brand exposure and TV coverage to promote various forms of motorsport. You would also be aware as to how much we love our open wheelers, especially Formula 3. This year F3 has the potential to reach a greater number of punters.
    In 2014, not only will Formula 3 be supporting V8 Supercars at their massive season opener at Adelaide's Clipsal 500 and the Sky City Triple Crown at Darwin's Hidden Valley, but they've managed to join the support bill at Sydney Olympic Park for the season finale Sydney 500. Will V8 Supercar fans be impressed with Australia's premier wings and slicks race cars? We think so. Will Channel 7 include F3 as part of its V8 coverage? Or at the very least offer it on 7Mate? We hope so. TV coverage is still the most effective means of enticing more fans through the gates than any other multimedia medium. 2013 series champion Tim Macrow's impressive showing on the recent series of Channel 7's V8 Supercar Showdown certainly raised traditional tin-top fans' awareness of F3. 
    Formula 3 will also be headlining the increasingly popular Bathurst Motor Festival held at Mt Panorama over the Easter long weekend. All other rounds form part of the Shannons Nationals, run at circuits great for wings and slicks racing like Sandown, QLD Raceway, Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park. The Shannons Nationals rounds are guaranteed TV coverage through SBS's excellent weekly Speedweek programme.
    Whilst F3 will undoubtedly reach greater numbers through the V8 Supercar events, we still can't help but wonder why it's been so many years since F3 has supported Formula One at the Australian Grand Prix? Don't forget F3 is a world wide category. Australia's fastest open wheelers supporting the pinnacle of motorsport. 120,000 trackside on raceday, world wide TV coverage coupled with extensive online coverage. What better brand exposure can you get? Still trying to figure out though why we see amateurs in a so-called Celebrity Challenge on the support programme when paying good dollars to attend the F1 GP should guarantee punters enjoy professional drivers racing in that country's premier categories on the support bill? Anyway....


    Having just attended the Bathurst 12 Hour for the first time, we strongly suggest you pencil it in for next year. Congratulations to the Maranello Motorsport Team for winning a thrilling race. A fantastic event at an iconic circuit. 
    
    Attended the Official V8 Supercar Test Day at Sydney Motorsport Park yesterday. The GRM Volvo S60 looks like a tidy piece of kit and what a sound. Can you imagine the season opening Clipsal 500 in Adelaide is just two weeks away? 
    
    Cheers....    
    
    

    

    2014 has arrived and a new season of motorsport has dawned. The batteries are charged and the Nikons clean, so we thought we'd give a plug to some of our favourite upcoming events. 
    The season kicks off February 7-9th at the mighty Mt Panorama circuit in Bathurst for the Bathurst 12 Hour GT Race. Exotic marques like McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Audi, Lamborghini, Porsche, all compete in a field of 44 cars over 6 classes with teams from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, China, Japan, UK and a big German contingent making this a true international event. Not to mention Radical Australia Cup is making it's Bathurst debut on the support card.
    February 15th sees V8 Supercars descend on Sydney Motorsport Park for the Official Launch and Test Day. Free to all punters and a great family picnic day out in a more relaxed atmosphere.
    March 13-16th is the big one; the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne. New generation F1's first raced in Oz....yeah!
    April 13th sees the best Moto X riders in the land compete at the MX Nationals at Macarthur District Motorcycle Complex at Appin. 
    The Easter weekend of April 18-20th means a return to Mt Panorama for the Bathurst Motor Festival featuring Australia's fastest race cars, Formula 3.
    Sydney Dragway hosts the Nitro Champs on May 2-4th featuring all the ANDRA classes including Top Fuel and Top Doorslammer.
    Trundling down the NSW south coast to Nowra on June 22nd and later to Wollongong on August 17th to catch the East Coast MX Series is well worth the time as this Moto X series is on the rise.
    Shannons Nationals attack Sydney Motorsport Park over two different events. July 11-13th features Radical Aust. Cup, the new Aust. Sports Racer Series and the Aust. Manufacturers 4 Hour. The season ending meet on 1st-2nd November features V8 Touring Cars, Kerrick Sports Sedans, Radicals and Formula 3.
    Sydney Motorsport Park also hosts a V8 Supercar championship round on August 22-24th for the SMP 400, with Porsche Carrera Cup as part of the supports.
    As per usual, SMP will also host the very popular Muscle Car Masters over the Father's Day weekend of 6-7th September. Big banger metal heaven.
    V8 Supercars will once again wind the season up with the Sydney 500 at the narrow, concrete lined Sydney Olympic Park on December 5-7th.
    So, as formulafrontrow.com is about to celebrate its 2nd birthday, these are the events we are planning on attending for starters in 2014. We urge you to grab your camera and head out to one. But hey, if you can't make it, we hope you enjoy the images we post. Drop us a line at: [email protected] or leave us a comment. Let us know what events you plan on attending, or what other events we'd be interested in attending.
    See you at the Bathurst 12 Hour. Cheers....
    

    From 2015 V8 Supercars will return to Network 10, who, along with Foxtel and Fox Sports, have secured the TV broadcasting and digital rights until 2020. Network 10 will logically claim to be the "Home Of Motorsport" once again, as their V8 Supercar coverage coupled with Moto GP and Formula One renders the other networks almost devoid of major national and international motorsport events. 
    Since 2007 The Seven Network have been the provider of our free-to-air V8 Supercar fix and they have certainly raised the bar during their tenure to enhance the home viewer experience. Will Network 10 be able to improve  on the existing V8 Supercar coverage? Should they lure expert commentators Neil Crompton and  Mark Larkham to call the action? After all, their combined knowledge and experience of Australia's premier motorsport category is exceedingly vast. What aspects of the sport would you like to see more in-depth coverage or analysis of? TV audiences' expectations will undoubtedly be high.
    One question we'd like answered though. A big selling point for the Fox people was the fact that V8 Supercars will be broadcast in High Definition on their pay TV channels. Will free-to-air Network 10 also offer HD? By the time 2015 comes around, analogue TV in Australia will be history (it already is in the majority of the country) meaning everyone who watches TV either has a compatible set-top box or digital TV. Therefore, will Network 10 utilise Channel One, consequently providing HD for the free-to-air punter? Let us know what you think. Send formulafrontrow.com an email at: [email protected] or simply leave a comment. It does however leave the door open for other networks to cover other national categories. Will the other networks follow SBS's excellent lead and provide more comprehensive coverage of national categories such as Aust. GT, F3, ANDRA, or Shannons Nationals? 

    Happy New Year to all our friends and followers. Roll on 2014....
     

    The motorsport off-season seems to be constantly shrinking in terms of time. Our heart rates have only just resumed normal service from last weekend's Sydney 500, when it's just dawned on us that it's a mere matter of weeks before V8 Supercars explode into 2014 with the Official Test Day at Sydney Motorsport Park. One driver who will be greatly missed from full time V8 Supercar duties next year however, is Walkinshaw Racing's Russell Ingall.
    The karting prodigy won the 1990 Australian Formula Ford Championship before taking himself off to Europe a couple of times. In 1993, driving for the Van Dieman team, he won a record that still stands of 13 wins from 16 races to become British Formula Ford Champion including the prestigious events of the Formula Ford Festival and World Cup at Brands Hatch. Ingall also won the 1995 British Formula Renault Championship and also competed in Japanese F3 and German F3. A lack of funding saw him return to Australia and embark on a full time V8 Supercar drive from 1996 after previously dipping his toe in a couple of times for the enduros. 18 seasons later and Russell Ingall has amassed 27 wins, 40 podiums, 2 Bathurst 1000 wins, series runner-up four times, and V8 Supercar champion in 2005. His pace is ever present as evidenced by his 4th place at this year's Clipsal 500 at Adelaide, his stunning podium at the Gold Coast 600 and stubborn drive into the top ten last weekend. Street circuits are obviously to his liking.
    Russell Ingall fans fear not though. He's not retiring from motorsport. No doubt he'll make an exciting addition to any V8 Supercar team as co-driver for the endurance season, plus he still harbours overseas ambitions such as Nascar and Le Mans 24 Hour. Jim Richards and John Bowe's careers have flourished since retiring from V8 Supercars. Russell Ingall's will too.
    Let us know your favourite or infamous Ingall moment. Who could ever forget his stouches with Mark Skaife? He certainly didn't mind putting his car up on two wheels around the concrete canyon last weekend. Crowd pleasing and feisty as ever. Leave formulafrontrow.com a comment or email us at: [email protected]. Can't help but wonder if we'll see him driving something exotic at the Bathurst 12 Hour....

    Merry Christmas to all our friends and loyal followers. Season's Greetings.
    

    V8 Supercars are about to wind up a thoroughly thrilling and entertaining 2013 season with their final event around the tight concrete lined Sydney Olympic Park street circuit that will stage the Sydney 500.
    With two gruelling 250km races still to contend and 300 points on offer, we have a situation where four drivers can claim the 2013 title. Recent series benchmark Jamie Whincup takes a slender 20 point lead over Red Bull Racing Australia team mate Craig Lowndes, with FPR duo Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison an outside chance for the victory spoils.
    As the season reaches its dramatic conclusion, we'd simply like to know; who will win? A retirement in one of the last two races could prove disastrous for one of the title protagonists. We must admit our sentimental favourite is Craig Lowndes. Formula Ford champ, Formula Brabham champ, International F3000, three V8 series championships, five time Bathurst winner. He's done it all. Leave a comment letting us know who you think will win and why or contact us at: [email protected]. See you at the Sydney 500.

    Congratulations once again to Mark Webber for a marvellous F1 career. 215 starts, 9 wins, 42 podiums, 13 pole positions, 19 fastest laps. Stunning! Best of luck spearheading Porsche's World Endurance Championship campaign. Seems he's also contemplating teaming up with Eric Bana for an assault on the Bathurst 12 Hour GT race. Awesome....

    

    2014 heralds a new era in Formula One racing with the introduction of 1.6 litre V6 turbocharged engines amidst a host of other technical changes. However, another change that is ongoing year after year concerns driver signings and movements between teams.
    Intriguingly exciting is Ferrari's announcement of their signing of Kimi Raikkonen to partner Fernando Alonso in 2014. Two world champs in a couple of Prancing Horses? The exciting part takes care of itself. The intriguing part however, is a little more complex. Does anyone find it ironic that the very man hired to replace an outgoing Michael Schumacher wins a driver's championship in his first year with the team, only to have his contract paid out of his last year to accommodate Alonso's arrival, to now be rehired to partner Alonso? There's a definite statement there though. Arguably since the early 90's after Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell were team mates, Ferrari have always employed a clear #1 and #2 driver. It certainly served them well during Schumi's heyday, but they've not won a driver's championship since Kimi's in 2007 and a constructor's championship since 2008. Now, by placing two world champions in their cars, they obviously feel that this is the most effective way to mount a major assault on next year's championships.
    Another intriguing factor is how will Fernando Alonso react to having a top drawer winning driver as a team mate? Alonso has the ability to galvanise the team to achieve their potential, but only if he feels their unequivocal support. Apart from Alonso's tempestuous year at McLaren battling rookie Lewis Hamilton in 2007, he has always enjoyed the services of shall we say, a rather compliant team mate. One can anticipate that may not be the case next year.
    At formulafrontrow.com we love to speculate and throw an idea out there. Will two #1 drivers help Ferrari overhaul the Red Bull juggernaut and propel them to F1 glory? Perhaps two winning drivers may compromise the championship by taking points off each other? Will Kimi's arrival spur Fernando to greater heights, or will relationships be strained if Kimi starts outracing Fernando? Give us your opinion. Leave a comment or contact us at: [email protected]. No difference to Kimi though. Kimi will just be Kimi. 
    The first intriguing chapter of Ferrari circa 2014 takes place at Melbourne's Albert Park. Fantastico....

    V8 Supercars turns it on again. What a stonking race the 2013 Bathurst 1000 was. Well done to Mark Winterbottom, Steven Richards and Ford Performance Racing who prevailed at the end of 161 gruelling laps around Mt Panorama. Long suffering Ford fans must still be celebrating Ford's first win at The Mountain since 2008, and first factory backed win since 1977.
    Overall reliability of the new Car Of The Future was surely tested. The conditions were testing due to a howling wind which made the cars quite nervous across the top. Despite the teams' pre-race uncertainty, you'd have to say that COTF passed with flying colours.
    Another success story from the Bathurst 1000 has to be the stunning cameo from the #10 X-Box One Holden wild card entry piloted by DTM stars Andy Priaulx and Mattias Ekstrom. Their aggression and opportunistic overtaking was simply brilliant. The international drivers certainly add an interesting flavour.
    With the recent announcement of Le Mans winner and former F1 driver David Brabham joining Erebus Motorsport to partner Tim Slade in his Mercedes at this weekend's Gold Coast 600, do you like the injection of international drivers providing an unknown variable to the racing? Do you find it intriguing to see how they stack up against the regular V8 combatants? Do international drivers add to the spectacle? Whilst we like the concept of a mini endurance series contained within a championship series, at the same time we can't help but miss the annual big influx of internationals to the Gold Coast. Remember last year the Surfer's Paradise grid largely comprised F1 aces like Heidfeld, Villeneuve, Salo, Liuzzi and Bourdais. Let us know what you think. Send formulafrontrow.com an email at: [email protected] or simply leave a comment.
    Great to see Indy Car superstar and former F1 tester Ryan Briscoe back in a V8 Supercar competing in the Pirtek Endurance Cup alongside Russell Ingall. Brabham and Briscoe, throw in Porsche Carrera Cup star Craig Baird and Dutch sensation Jereon Bleekemolen - there's some international pedigree there. Cheers....

    With five Formula One races left to run in 2013, it's becoming apparent that Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel's acquisition of a fourth consecutive F1 driver's crown is a mere formality. With Vettel displaying demoralising dominance, comparisons to the only other F1 pilots since the championship's inception in 1950 to claim four consecutive titles have understandably been made. The great Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio won titles in 1951 and 1954-57. German ace Michael Schumacher won titles in 1994-95 and 2000-2004.
    Is it objective comparing drivers from different eras? Technology is different, rules and regulations are different, safety standards different, machinery vastly different.  
    Fangio achieved a feat that is still unsurpassed. That is, four consecutive titles with four different teams; Alfa, Mercedes, Ferrari and Maserati. "El Maestro's" drive in the 1957 German GP at the Nurburgring is still regarded as one of the best of all time. Squandering a 30sec. lead by virtue of a disastrous pit stop, he rejoined 50sec. behind the Ferraris of Peter Collins and Mike Hawthorn only to reel off fastest lap after fastest lap often carrying a higher gear through the majority of corners to take an emphatic victory. Stating after the race that he had never driven that fast in his life and probably wouldn't do it again, he was actually unable to sleep for the following 48 hours.
    Schumacher achieved utter dominance over his rivals and superiority over his team mates during his Ferrari tenure. Schumi holds countless records, but the one which outlines his exceptional performance is his clinching of the 2002 title just past the halfway point of the season at the French GP. This is still the earliest anyone has ever won the title.
    Now we have Sebastian Vettel on the verge of a fourth consecutive title joining the distinguished company of Fangio and Schumacher, and in the process becoming the youngest to do so.
    All three drivers are not impervious to controversy though. In Fangio's time if a lead driver retired, his team mate could hand over his car, and any points scored were shared between the two drivers. The most famous being in 1956 at the season ending Italian GP at Monza when team mate Peter Collins with 15 laps to go forfeited the race lead and a potential championship by handing over his Ferrari to Fangio. Whilst permitted in the rules, imagine that happening today? Schumi? Well what can you say? Contentious incidents occasionally blighted his greatness. A season deciding accident with Damon Hill after clouting the wall at Adelaide 1994; a nerfing of Jacques Villeneuve at Jerez 1997; team mate Rubens Barrichello slowing on the last lap to allow Schumi to overtake and win the Austrian GP 2002; parking his Ferrari on the racing line at Rascasse stopping qualifying and denying Fernando Alonso a chance at pole during the 2006 Monaco GP will all forever be remembered. Australian fans still haven't forgiven Vettel for taking out Mark Webber at Turkey 2010 or ignoring team orders to pass Webber and subsequently win this year's Malaysian GP (see Archives April 2013).
    Whilst it certainly is difficult to compare drivers from different eras, the common denominator is Formula One. Remember it's the pinnacle of motorsport, therefore the technology, safety, standards and machinery available is all relative. In other words, the best available at the time.
    With the lights about to go out on this weekend's Japanese GP, how do you think Sebastian Vettel will be remembered when he eventually retires from F1? Where does he sit amongst the great drivers of Formula One?We haven't even mentioned other illustrious F1 names like Ascari, Brabham, Clark, Hill, Fittipaldi, Andretti, Stewart, Lauda, Prost, Piquet, Senna. Let us know what you think. Send formulafrontrow.com an email at: [email protected] or simply leave a comment. Cheers....
    

    V8 Supercars have released the 2014 calendar whilst simultaneously announcing three specific race formats to determine the championship. The Pirtek Enduro Cup remains, encompassing the Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000 and Gold Coast 600 events. Gone is the 60/60 format with the remaining events being either SuperStreet or SuperSprint formats. V8 Supercars also bursts into prime time TV with a potential five events embracing twilight Saturday races. In fact, a first twilight race is scheduled for this year's Sydney 500 on the Saturday starting at 5.10pm.
    Which leads us to Sydney. Three events are slated for the harbour city in 2014, and Sydney punters must be rubbing their hands together in anticipation already. The immensely popular Official Test Day returns to Sydney Motorsport Park on Feb. 15th. A great day which allows the fans to get up close to the teams and cars, and grab a photo and a chat with the drivers. August 22-24 sees V8 Supercars return to Sydney Motorsport Park for a SuperSprint format event, whereas 2 x 100km races on Saturday and a 200km race on Sunday are contested. In what's rapidly becoming a tradition, the championship once again winds up with two gruelling 250km races around the tight confines of Sydney Olympic Park for the Sydney 500 on December 5-7. Not only do Sydneysiders have the good fortune of three events next year, but the Sydney 500's contract has been extended for a further three years with an option for a another two. Well done to the event organisers, V8 Supercars and the NSW Govt. for brokering a deal which perpetuates such a great event. Sydney punters will need a decent supply of earplugs in 2014.
    The 2013 Bathurst 1000 looms larger than Mt Panorama itself. It's the event win they all want on their CV. Let us know your tip and why for the Great Race. Will Mercedes or Nissan spring a surprise? Can FPR haul in the Holdens of Red Bull Racing Aust.? What about the vastly improving HRT who are definitely starting to compete back where they rightfully belong? Maybe Bathurst may crown a completely unexpected winner? Send us an email at: [email protected] or simply leave a comment. 1000km/161 laps around the intimidating Mt Panorama circuit? Who knows? We certainly don't. Enjoy the race. Cheers....