Motor sports: formula one/rally racing in UK/Britain/England

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Motor sports in the UK


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INTRODUCTION

A brief guide to motor sports in the UK.

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MOTOR RACING

British Grand Prix, Silverstone

Racing driver

The annual international Formula 1 competition is popular in the UK. The winner of the the drivers' championships in recent years were:
2008: Lewis Hamilton (UK)
2009: Jenson Button (UK)
2010: Sebastian Vettel (Germany)

The 2011 races will be as follows:

Number	Grand Prix	Location	Date
1	Bahrain	Sakhir	13 March 2011
2	Australian	Melbourne	27 March 2011
3	Malaysian	Kuala Lumpur	10 April 2011
4	Chinese	Shanghai	17 April 2011
5	Turkish	Istanbul	8 May 2011
6	Spanish	Barcelona	22 May 2011
7	Monaco	Monte Carlo	29 May 2011
8	Canadian	Montreal	12 June 2011
9	European	Valencia	26 June 2011
10	British	Silverstone	10 July 2011
11	German	Nürburgring	24 July 2011
12	Hungarian	Budapest	31 July 2011
13	Belgian	Spa-Francorchamps	28 August 2011
14	Italian	Monza	11 September 2011
15	Singapore	Singapore	25 September 2011
16	Japanese	Suzuka	9 October 2011
17	Korean	Yeongam	16 October 2011
18	Indian	Greater Noida	30 October 2011
19	Abu Dhabi	Yas Marina	13 November 2011
20	Brazilian	São Paulo	27 November 2011

There is a qualification session on the day before each Grand Prix. The drivers try to complete a lap in the fastest time, and this determines the order in which they start on the grid.

The top eight finishers in each Grand Prix score points according to the following scale:
1st: 10 points ; 2nd: 8 points ; 3rd: 6 points ; 4th: 5 points ; 5th: 4 points ; 6th: 3 points ; 7th: 2 points ; 8th: 1 point
The driver with the highest number of points at the end of the season wins the drivers' championship.
Similarly, the construction team with the most points wins the constructors' championship.

The British Grand Prix takes place in the summer at Silverstone race track (in Northamptonshire, about 1 hour from London by car). The location is shown on this map. For details of the race calendar at Silverstone this year, see: http://www.silverstone-circuit.co.uk.

For up-to-date grand prix news, see:
BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/formula1
ITV: http://www.itv.com/f1

For further information about the sport, see: http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/understanding_the_sport

Lewis Hamilton: My Story
(British Formula 1 driver)
Author: Lewis Hamilton
Publisher: HarperSport
Date: November 2007

Lewis Hamilton - Life In The Fast Lane (DVD)
Studio: Warner Music Entertainment
Date: October 2007

Vocabulary

If English is not your first language, here is some vocabulary which may help you to understand a grand prix race on television:

general: formula one (F1), drivers' championship, constructors' championship, track, straight, turn, corner, a hairpin bend, lap number
the race: front row of the starting grid, to be in pole position/on pole, to have a good/bad getaway, to go through, to let through, to pass, to overtake, to make a move, to gain a place, to impede, to be on someone's tail, to close the gap, to close in on, to catch, to cut across, to lead, to be back in contention, to run wide, to be in someone's slipstream, to fall back, to spin, to crash, to retire from the race, to lap someone, to pass the chequered flag, to stand on the podium
the car: pit crew, to make a pit stop, mechanics, engineers, garage, nose, back, rear, wing, inside, outside, cockpit, gearbox, gears, hydaulics, engine, throttle, tyres [soft tyres, intermediate tyres, full/extreme wet weather tyres], traction, grip
problems: a lock-up, engine cut-out, burst tyre, collision, suspension failure, safety car, debris, to spin off

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RALLY RACING

See: http://www.britishrallying.com

(c) Wales Tourist Board. All rights reserved

Network Q Rally

LINKS

London-Brighton veteran car run: Ideas/Album/VeteranCarRun
Sport in the UK: Life/Sport
Monthly guide to events in the UK: Ideas/Events

Home page: Home

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