Santa Pod 'Flame and Thunder' Video and Gallery

Santa Pod's Flame and Thunder family event took place this weekend. Unfortunately rain stopped the jet-powered vehicles hitting the drag strip, but we still managed to capture some other fun entertainment including Terry Grant and Lee Bower's performing stunts on their car and bike, monster trucks crushing cars, drag strip action and some drifting.


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Marquez vs Rossi: Who Is The Greatest?

At the age of just 25 Marc Marquez clinched his seventh motorcycling world championship at the weekend. Five of those have been in the premier class – MotoGP – with the other two collected on his way through the ranks, at 125cc and Moto2 levels.

His ability as a rider is indisputable and, regardless of what happens during the rest of his career, he deserves to be regarded as one of the greats. But, is he already the greatest? MotoGP has enjoyed being able to put some superb riders on the grid in recent years. When you can win world titles whilst lining up against Rossi, Lorenzo, Pedrosa etc. you clearly have something a bit special about you, but how does Marquez’s record compare to his rivals at a similar age – especially the one often referred to as the G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time), Valentino Rossi.

Let’s compare the records of Lorenzo, Rossi and Marquez at the latter’s age:

Number of 125 Championship wins
Lorenzo: 0
Marquez: 1
Rossi: 1

Number of 250/Moto2 Championship wins
Lorenzo: 1
Marquez: 1
Rossi: 1

Number of MotoGP Championship wins
Lorenzo: 2
Marquez: 5
Rossi: 4

Number of races, wins (win percentage), podiums
Lorenzo: 179, 44 (24.6%), 98.
Marquez: 183, 69 (37.7%), 115.
Rossi: 124, 68 (54.8%), 101.

Fancy a wildcard? Casey Stoner at 25: 144, 30 (20.8%), 63.

Going back a bit further, Mick Doohan hadn’t won any of his five titles at the age of 25.

Marquez has set a number of impressive records. Not only did he take the premier class title in his rookie season, but he’s only failed to win it once in six attempts (in 2015 when he finished 3rd). He followed his debut season win by taking victory at the first ten races of 2014, setting a record in the process, on the way to defending his title. In amongst a plethora of other records is the one for highest number of pole positions. At 78 this already comfortably eclipses the 69 of the much older Lorenzo and Rossi (65).

Of course, Rossi is no stranger to setting records. Whilst he is 14 years Marquez’s senior, and the Spaniard has time on his side, it’s hard to see some of his stats being bettered unless Marquez can maintain Rossi’s extraordinary desire to compete for as long as possible. 376 race starts (at the time of writing) is a staggering number and is more than double Marquez’s, as is his number of podiums (at 232 to 115). Remaining competitive over such a long time is a testament to Rossi’s drive and professionalism. It’s hard to think of anyone else who’d be capable of stretching a race-winning career to almost 21 years (1996-2017).

But who is the better racer? Marquez has enjoyed remarkable consistency, especially in the premier class, where he’s been with the same team and the same engine capacity and stroke. Detractors are now saying that to really prove himself he should move to a lesser machine, away from the dominant Hondas. Whilst I don’t necessarily buy into that, it’s an argument which isn’t without merit.

It’s not an accusation which could be levelled at Rossi. He won his first three premier class titles at Honda and, unhappy that he wasn’t getting the credit he deserved, surprised many people by jumping ship to the unfancied Yamaha team. Not only did he become the first rider to win back-to-back races on different bikes, he also became the first one to win back-to-bike championships with different constructors. His move to Ducati seven years later, however, did not produce the same results. In two years with the Italian marque he managed just three podiums on a bike he simply could not gel with. The fact that his bitter rival, Casey Stoner, had done so well on it must have irked Rossi – even though the Aussie was seemingly the only person who could get results on it.

What Marquez is unlikely to have is the chance to prove is how versatile he could be on different engine configurations. Rossi entered MotoGP towards the end of two-stroke 500cc era, loved by many purists as an age of unforgiving, electronic aid free, bikes of monstrous ferocity. Rossi collected his first title on one and then several more as the sport struggled to settle on a configuration. Wins at 500cc, 800cc, 990cc and 1,000cc is a record unlikely to be beaten.

What Marquez has proven is his ability to ride on the very limit. The sheer number of times he’s rescued a bike when a crash seemed inevitable is amazing. He appears to be comfortable exploring the very edge of performance, toying with disaster, and coming out on top. Similarly, Rossi spent a good chunk of his career proving his ability to win when events conspired against him and ride around bike problems to great effect.

I’ve gone this far and haven’t mentioned the likes of Agostini who collected fifteen world titles – a number which will surely never be beaten. He also raced the highly dangerous Isle of Man TT, a road race which nowadays is generally avoided by the elite circuit racers. The sport has changed so much that I find is hard, if not impossible, to compare riders across these eras though.

So, is Marquez the greatest modern day circuit racer? Not quite for me. The sheer amount Rossi has achieved, over so long, has him in front in my mind. Having said that, if Marquez continues on his current trajectory then it’ll be difficult for anyone to argue when he finally decides to hang up his leathers.

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Taking A Motorglider Flight Over Silverstone

I recently had a day's worth of gliding lessons at Bicester Gliding Centre, in Oxfordshire. Afterwards I was offered the chance to go up in a motorglider. I'd never heard of such a thing and assumed it incorporated a small engine to maintain some altitude whilst otherwise operating like a glider. This one had a full-on engine and could even take off under its own power, which made me question the difference between it and a common-or-garden aeroplane. Apparently it's down to the wing length and its ability to glide, without power, if so desired.

Anyway, I shot some footage which you can find below. We flew over Silverstone racing circuit (while there were demos from the British Drift Championship taking place - look for the tyre smoke around Luffield) and Waddesdon Manor. I've edited those parts in together with the take off and landing.

If you enjoy the video (or even if you don't, to be honest), please hit like and subscribe. I have plans for many more.



My YouTube channel can be found from the video above or by clicking here. You'll find some old car videos, plus material I plan to release in the future. Like, Subscribe, Share! Thanks.

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Forza Horizon 4: A Mini Review (One Week In)

I’m a big fan of the Forza series of racing games, even more so after they finally managed to secure rights to the full Porsche range of cars and especially after Microsoft sorted it so that you could play on both Xbox and PC with a single licence and a synchronised career.

Having said that, I’ve often found the Horizon sub-series a little dull but, thankfully, not so in this iteration. I’m not going to write reams of game review, because it’s already been done to death all over the internet by people with far more experience than me. I will give you my highlighted thoughts after a week’s game play though.

For me, the biggest plus to this game is the variety of race types. If you play the Forza Motorsport series it can become quite jaded, racing the same tracks in the same event type, over and over again. No need to worry here as there are plenty of race types, events and locations, added alongside the usual open-world fare such as setting speed track records, long jump distance records, high drift scores, hunting down bonuses, searching for classic ‘barn find’ cars etc. Bespoke local radio stations (of the type made popular by games like GTA Vice City) maintain the story line immersion and the changing seasons help stop repetition.

Of course, in this game the open world environment is especially interesting as it’s set in Britain. London is conspicuous by its absence (though they obviously couldn’t do the whole country), but you do get Edinburgh as the game’s main built up urban area. For me it was interesting seeing the village of Broadway play a prominent part. It’s only 25 miles away from where I live, while the Uffington White Horse is roughly the same distance in the other direction. While it’s nice to feel local I have to take away some points for them getting the Broadway’s tower design wrong…

Anyone from another country playing the game could be conned into thinking the whole country looks like Yorkshire, with rolling fields and single track roads devoid of much traffic. But, who wants to play a game where you sit stationary, snagged in gridlocked traffic in Birmingham while rain hammers off the roof? For what it’s intended for, the environment works well.

The variety of cars is good and, although I found myself with a short-list of go-to favourites, you really need to mix it up in order to compete properly across the event types (with many of them restricting the vehicles which can be used). I tried a rally stage in a Lamborghini Aventador and, would you believe, it wasn’t really in its element.

Want something different? How about a 1958 Aston Martin DBR1? That one will set you back 10m credits – five times more than the Koenigsegg Agera RS. If you’re into classics there’s a whole host of ‘60s and ‘70s cars, especially from the likes of Chevrolet. A large roster from Ferrari is on display, although I note there’s no 812 Superfast so I expect that’ll find its way into a DLC car pack at some point. Speaking of car packs, there are 10 classic James Bond cars in one, if you’re so inclined. But if you’re looking for something really different then how about a Mercedes Unimog, a 1945 US Army jeep, or a Reliant “Del Boy” Supervan. You can even have the M12S Warthog from the Halo games

The cars’ main driving characteristics are ones which you might expect them to have and that makes it fun to try them out. Unsurprisingly, the 7.7 litre TVR Cerebra Speed 12 is a complete handful at low speeds and, while it can be rewarding, it’s a real struggle to keep it in a straight line. The aforementioned Aventador is one of my favourites to drive competitively, but it’s not all about supercars. The Escort RS Cosworth is great, as is the Cooper Works Mini. My current favourite though is the monstrous Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, because who doesn’t need 700bhp in an SUV? It smashes through everything in its path; on or off-road. I’m just glad I’m not picking up the repair bill in real life.

Moments before: "Ouch!"

It's very rewarding to win a good car in the prize spins because, I tell you, there are only so many sparkly mini skirts and leopard print shoes my avatar can wear.

Barn finds are hidden in... barns and their rough locations are announced as you progress. It's then down to you to hunt around to find them. My collection's coming on nicely.

This will not end well.

Because, why not?

Who doesn't love a classic 911 Turbo?

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Cruising Around Volcanoes In A Jeep Wrangler

I recently took two weeks holiday on the Spanish island of Fuerteventura and, since there's only so long you can sit in the sun drinking beer for, we decided to hire a car and go exploring. Given that there were five of us, I opted against hiring the recommended VW Polo. I used to have a Golf and I certainly wasn't going to try and cram three adults and two kids into its smaller sibling.

There were larger vehicles on offer (but I certainly didn't need a VW Transporter) and what caught my eye was the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Given that the Canary Islands are effectively a large group of volcanoes and that Fuerteventura only receives approx. 20 days of rain a year, it's pretty barren, rocky and quite mountainous. What better environment for a rugged 4x4?

Anyway, we grabbed a well-used (132,000kms on the clock) Wranger and, with me driving, set about covering 410 miles around the island. For reference, the island is only a maximum of 60 miles long and 18 miles wide. Initially, I had hoped for one of the V8 engined models (however unlikely that would be for a hire car), but one tank of fuel (65 Euros worth), isn't bad for the distance covered, considering load and time spent on dirt tracks and steep gradients.

What did I learn about the Jeep? Having never driven one before, here are my findings:

• Power: No, not really.
• Steering: Lacking in anything which could reliably be described as feedback.
• Suspension: Bouncy on smooth tarmac but not good enough to absorb the punishment dished out by the rutted dirt tracks in the south. Rattled out most of my fillings and made my two-year old boy very grumpy (although it stopped my daughter talking incessantly, so you should take positives where you can find them).
• Brakes: Well, it does have some brakes. I tested them once when I inadvertently reverted to UK driving and checked for traffic in the wrong direction at a roundabout. They stopped the car, so they have that in their favour at least.
• Equipment: Our, I suspect, slightly older model had no SatNav and radio reception was very poor, but I don't suspect that there's much that Jeep could do about being surrounded by dozens of mountains. Having the roof down was lovely though and the interior was less plasticity than I expected.
• Overall: Despite it being not very good in many areas, it was actually a fun car to drive in the environment. I wouldn't want one in the UK but, then again, I wouldn't have wanted to drive a VW Polo loaded down with five people up a volcano either.

The view north along the west coat, towards Cofete.

A road you don't want to meet oncoming traffic on. Believe me.

Lots of roads like this, up and down mountains, the main variety offered by the level of bumpiness.

Looking pretty good in its intended environment.

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