Castors Help to Keep the Olympic Torch on the Move
The Olympic torch and flame is a symbol of the Olympic games and next May the torch will travel from Greece to United Kingdom to start a nationwide tour around the country. The torch will leave Lands End in Cornwall on May 19th, the day after it arrives from Greece, and begins a seventy day torch relay around the country. During those seventy days the torch will pass through towns and cities including Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool, Belfast, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, Oxford, Southampton and Dover. The route covers over eight thousand miles over every nation, country and region in the British Isles. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog) said the Olympic flame would come within a one-hour journey of 95% of people in the UK. A mammoth task by no means.
The origins of the Olympic torch lies in Ancient Greece where fire was kept burning throughout the duration of the Ancient Games. The fire was re introduced in 1928 in the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and has been retained as a symbol ever since. Prior to any Olympic games the torch is lit several months before the opening ceremony at the site of the ancient Olympics in Olympia, Greece. Although most of the time the torch is carried by runners, it has been transported by many different ways. Modern day Olympics rely on a vast array of castors and wheels to keep the torch on the move. In the past the torch has been transported by horse, by boat, by swimmers and by plane. When the torch touches our shores there will be a relay of runners carrying the torch in-between the locations. Behind the runners is a convoy of support vehicles, with trailers running on an array of castors and wheels. Without these support vehicles, running by the aid of castors and wheels, the torch route would be much smaller and less ambitious.
Overnight locations throughout the British Isles will hold Olympic parties, and such venues will encourage locals to celebrate the arrival of the Olympics. Outside catering vans on castors, and mobile catering units on wheels will provide drinks and catering for the Torch Party. Mobile stages on castors will help to celebrate the Olympic party and all the kit can be relocated on castors and wheels to the next venue. In the past it has become customary for previous athletes to carry the torch, and next year both athletes and respected inspirational local people will have the opportunity to carry the torch. This has been received as a tremendous opportunity for the local inspirational sporting characters. As well as runners the British Olympic Organising committee have recently announced unusual modes of transport of the torch will include zip wire and steam train, with even more unusual modes of transportation to be announced nearer the time. Castors and wheels are at the forefront supporting the torch bearer's route, and the hopes of the nation are that the 2012 Olympics are the best ones yet.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
A Review Of The 2010 Australian Grand Prix
A Review Of The 2010 Australian Grand Prix
The 2010 Australian Grand Prix was the second race of the F1 season and was held on March 28 in Melbourne, Australia at the famed Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. Before the Grand Prix became part of the World Championship circuit, drivers still raced courses at different venues throughout Australia. The race became permanent in 1985 and moved to Melbourne in 1996.
The qualifying round was held the day before the race itself and Sebastian Vettel, driving for Red Bull-Renault, won pole position with an impressive lap time of 1:23. Due to wet conditions during the remainder of the weekend, no driver during the race was able to beat this time.
Race day started off slowly. Due to rainy weather, the track was declared "wet" and drivers first had to change their tires before the racing started. With intermediate tires on their fast cars, the F1 drivers were having control problems from the onset. Eventual winner Jenson Button tangled up with Fernando Alonso in the first turn. Schumacher's car was also damaged in the incident.
Button would set the tone for the race nearly the entire way. With more accidents happening due to the tires, Jenson was the first to stop in at the pits and undergo a tire change. In a risky move that, depending on the track surface, could have gone badly, Jenson switched from intermediates to soft tires.
Once Button returned to the track, he seemed to have much more control over maneuvering, and other drivers started to stop in and have their tires replaced. The crash out of the gate caused Button some suffering as it put him far from the lead. However, being first to change tires helped him a lot and he gained ground up to second position, behind Sebastian Vettel.
A shock came when Vettel's car suffered a serious malfunction with the torque drive and Button was able to pick up the lead, which he kept for the rest of the race. The fastest lap of the race went to Mark Webber, who got around in 1:28 on lap 47, though at the end he came in at a mediocre 9th place.
As Jenson led the race, the drivers behind him were dueling for position in the latter laps. Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa struggled to make up ground, and Mark Webber, also vying for position, hit Hamilton in the rear and exploded his car's nose cone.
The only driver to even remotely close the gap with Button was Robert Kubica, with Button still winning by an impressive 12 seconds. Kubica, driving for Renault, finished second, beating Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, driving Ferraris.
The Australian Grand Prix is one of the longer tracks on the F1 circuit. Known as a street circuit race, the course is riddled with various turns and slopes. There are 58 laps around the long track, totaling around 191 miles (307 kilometers).
Racing legend Michael Schumacher has been one of the track's most notable racers and until this year, he was the track's last consecutive winner. He took center-stage with champagne on the podium in all three years 2000-02. In the races of 2010 and 2009, Jenson Button took all the glory as winner in both years.
The 2010 Australian Grand Prix was the second race of the F1 season and was held on March 28 in Melbourne, Australia at the famed Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. Before the Grand Prix became part of the World Championship circuit, drivers still raced courses at different venues throughout Australia. The race became permanent in 1985 and moved to Melbourne in 1996.
The qualifying round was held the day before the race itself and Sebastian Vettel, driving for Red Bull-Renault, won pole position with an impressive lap time of 1:23. Due to wet conditions during the remainder of the weekend, no driver during the race was able to beat this time.
Race day started off slowly. Due to rainy weather, the track was declared "wet" and drivers first had to change their tires before the racing started. With intermediate tires on their fast cars, the F1 drivers were having control problems from the onset. Eventual winner Jenson Button tangled up with Fernando Alonso in the first turn. Schumacher's car was also damaged in the incident.
Button would set the tone for the race nearly the entire way. With more accidents happening due to the tires, Jenson was the first to stop in at the pits and undergo a tire change. In a risky move that, depending on the track surface, could have gone badly, Jenson switched from intermediates to soft tires.
Once Button returned to the track, he seemed to have much more control over maneuvering, and other drivers started to stop in and have their tires replaced. The crash out of the gate caused Button some suffering as it put him far from the lead. However, being first to change tires helped him a lot and he gained ground up to second position, behind Sebastian Vettel.
A shock came when Vettel's car suffered a serious malfunction with the torque drive and Button was able to pick up the lead, which he kept for the rest of the race. The fastest lap of the race went to Mark Webber, who got around in 1:28 on lap 47, though at the end he came in at a mediocre 9th place.
As Jenson led the race, the drivers behind him were dueling for position in the latter laps. Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa struggled to make up ground, and Mark Webber, also vying for position, hit Hamilton in the rear and exploded his car's nose cone.
The only driver to even remotely close the gap with Button was Robert Kubica, with Button still winning by an impressive 12 seconds. Kubica, driving for Renault, finished second, beating Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, driving Ferraris.
The Australian Grand Prix is one of the longer tracks on the F1 circuit. Known as a street circuit race, the course is riddled with various turns and slopes. There are 58 laps around the long track, totaling around 191 miles (307 kilometers).
Racing legend Michael Schumacher has been one of the track's most notable racers and until this year, he was the track's last consecutive winner. He took center-stage with champagne on the podium in all three years 2000-02. In the races of 2010 and 2009, Jenson Button took all the glory as winner in both years.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Dale Earnhardt The Finale
Dale Earnhardt The Finale
In 2000, Earnhardt began looking like his old self. Many believed it was due to neck surgery he'd had to repair the injury he suffered at Talledega in '96. He won 2 of the most exciting races of that season. One was at Atlanta when he beat Bobby Labonte to the finish by.006 seconds, the other occurred at Talledega when Earnhardt gained 17 positions in 4 laps to take the victory. With these wins under his belt, Earnhardt climbed to 2cnd place in the point standings. But wrecks at Watkins Glen and Bristol, plus poor performances in a couple of other races would prevent him from gaining another title.
It was a beautiful day for racing, February 18, 2001. The first official race of the year, the 'Super Bowl' of NASCAR, the Daytona 500. Despite not winning the Twin 125 qualifying race he'd dominated for most of the '90's, Dale Earnhardt looked relaxed and confident before the start of the race. A spectacular wreck in which several cars were eliminated from competing occurred late in the race. After a red flag stop for track cleanup, the race continued with Dale Earnhardt, son Dale Jr., and his DEI teammate Micheal Waltrip in front. With 3 laps to go, it was Waltrip in the lead followed by Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Sr. Earnhardt Sr. had been fighting off Sterling Marlin's attempts to take the third position.
During the last lap, Earnhardt was racing three wide with Marlin and Kenny Schrader. For reasons unknown, Earnhardt's car suddenly dove down the track. The left rear quarter of Earnhardt's car made slight contact with Marlin's front bumper. The #3 car ran down off the track and onto the apron, then started to head back up the track. Earnhardt's car hit Schrader's car and Dale ran head long into the wall at 160 miles per hour. Compared to similar wrecks of that type, it didn't appear to anyone that it was that bad. Waltrip went on to win the race. EMT crews, along with Dale Jr. rushed to the crash scene. Earnhardt was taken to Halifax Medical Center by ambulance. Some hours later NASCAR president, Mike Helton announced Dale Earnhardt's death. Not just NASCAR, but the whole sports world was stunned. The once seemingly unbeatable Dale Earnhardt was gone.
But as a friend pointed out to me, he probably died right where it fitted him. Doing what he loved so much, and was so damn good at. Dale Earnhardt Jr. races still, and has some accomplishments under his belt. Dale Earnhardt Sr., he was competitive, stubborn, tough, to his friends and family, just a good 'ole boy from North Carolina, and he was a winner. He was all those things. I'd like to think when he got to heaven, Ralph Earnhardt was there to meet his son. With a handshake, a pat on the back, and a comment that went something like this, "Damn, boy, you did pretty good. I'm proud of ya."
In 2000, Earnhardt began looking like his old self. Many believed it was due to neck surgery he'd had to repair the injury he suffered at Talledega in '96. He won 2 of the most exciting races of that season. One was at Atlanta when he beat Bobby Labonte to the finish by.006 seconds, the other occurred at Talledega when Earnhardt gained 17 positions in 4 laps to take the victory. With these wins under his belt, Earnhardt climbed to 2cnd place in the point standings. But wrecks at Watkins Glen and Bristol, plus poor performances in a couple of other races would prevent him from gaining another title.
It was a beautiful day for racing, February 18, 2001. The first official race of the year, the 'Super Bowl' of NASCAR, the Daytona 500. Despite not winning the Twin 125 qualifying race he'd dominated for most of the '90's, Dale Earnhardt looked relaxed and confident before the start of the race. A spectacular wreck in which several cars were eliminated from competing occurred late in the race. After a red flag stop for track cleanup, the race continued with Dale Earnhardt, son Dale Jr., and his DEI teammate Micheal Waltrip in front. With 3 laps to go, it was Waltrip in the lead followed by Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Sr. Earnhardt Sr. had been fighting off Sterling Marlin's attempts to take the third position.
During the last lap, Earnhardt was racing three wide with Marlin and Kenny Schrader. For reasons unknown, Earnhardt's car suddenly dove down the track. The left rear quarter of Earnhardt's car made slight contact with Marlin's front bumper. The #3 car ran down off the track and onto the apron, then started to head back up the track. Earnhardt's car hit Schrader's car and Dale ran head long into the wall at 160 miles per hour. Compared to similar wrecks of that type, it didn't appear to anyone that it was that bad. Waltrip went on to win the race. EMT crews, along with Dale Jr. rushed to the crash scene. Earnhardt was taken to Halifax Medical Center by ambulance. Some hours later NASCAR president, Mike Helton announced Dale Earnhardt's death. Not just NASCAR, but the whole sports world was stunned. The once seemingly unbeatable Dale Earnhardt was gone.
But as a friend pointed out to me, he probably died right where it fitted him. Doing what he loved so much, and was so damn good at. Dale Earnhardt Jr. races still, and has some accomplishments under his belt. Dale Earnhardt Sr., he was competitive, stubborn, tough, to his friends and family, just a good 'ole boy from North Carolina, and he was a winner. He was all those things. I'd like to think when he got to heaven, Ralph Earnhardt was there to meet his son. With a handshake, a pat on the back, and a comment that went something like this, "Damn, boy, you did pretty good. I'm proud of ya."
Enzo Ferrari - Owner of Ferrari Motors
Enzo Ferrari - Owner of Ferrari Motors
Born in Emilia-Romagna, and raised in Modena, Italy, Enzo Ferrari grew up with tiny formal education but an intense desire to race vehicles. During World War I he used to be a mule-skinner in the Italian military. His grandfather, Alfredo, died in 1916 as a result of a widespread Italian flu outbreak. Enzo became sick himself and was therefore discharged from Italian service. On coming back home he discovered that the family firm had collapsed. Having no other job prospects he sought unsuccessfully to find work at Fiat and at last settled for a smaller automobile company called CMN redesigning used van bodies into small, passenger automobiles. He took up racing in 1919 on the CMN team, but had tiny 1st success.
He left CMN in 1920 to work at Alfa Romeo and racing their autos in local races he had more success. In 1923, racing in Ravenna, he bought the Prancing Horse badge which decorated the fuselage of Francesco Baracca's (Italy's leading ace of WWI) SPAD fighter, given from his ma, taken from the wreckage of the airplane after his confusing death. This icon would need to wait till plastered on a racing vehicle. In 1924 he won the Coppa Acerbo at Pescara. His successes in local races inspired Alfa to offer him an opportunity of much more celebrated competition and he was lauded by Mussolini. Ferrari turned this opportunity down and in a funk he did not race again until 1927 and even then his racing career was often over. He continued to work without delay for Alfa Romeo until 1929 before beginning Scuderia Ferrari as the racing team for Alfa.
Ferrari managed the development of the factory Alfa cars, and built up a gang of over forty drivers, including Giuseppe Campari and Tazio Nuvolari. Ferrari himself continued racing until the birth of his first child in 1932 (Alfredo Ferrari, known as Dino, who died in 1956).
The support of Alfa Romeo lasted until 1933 when finance restrictions made Alfa withdraw. Only at the intervention of Pirelli did Ferrari receive any automobiles at all. Despite the standard of the Scuderia drivers the company won few victories ( 1935 in Germany by Nuvolari was a notable exception). Auto Union and Mercedes controlled the era.
In 1937 Alfa took control of its racing efforts again, reducing Ferrari to Director of Sports under Alfa's engineering director. Ferrari shortly left, but a contract clause prohibited him from racing or planning for 4 years.
He set up Auto-Avio Costruzioni, a company supplying parts to other racing teams. But in the Mille Miglia of 1940 the company manufactured 2 automobiles cars to compete, driven by Alberto Ascari and Lotario Rangoni. During WW2 his firm was involved in war production and following bombing moved from Modena to Maranello. It wasn't until after World War II that Ferrari tried to shed his nazi reputation and make autos bearing his name, founding today's Ferrari S.p. A. In 1945.
The 1st open-wheeled race was in Turin in 1948 and the 1st victory came later in the year in Lago di Garda. Ferrari participated in the Formula 1 World Championship since its introduction in 1950 but the 1st victory was not until the UK Grand Prix of 1951. The first championship came in 1952-53, when the Formula One season was raced with Formula 2 autos. The company also sold production sports cars to to finance the racing endeavours not only in Grand Prix but also in events like the Mille Miglia and Le Mans. Indeed plenty of the firm's greatest victories came at Le Mans ( fourteen victories, including six in a row 1960-65 ) instead of in Grand Prix, actually the company was more concerned there than in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s regardless of the successes of Juan-Manuel Fangio ( 1956 ), Mike Hawthorn ( 1958 ), Phil Hill (1961) and John Surtees ( 1964 ).
In the 1960s the issues of reduced demand and insufficient financing forced Ferrari to allow Fiat to take a position in the company. Ford had tried to buy the firm in 1963 for US$18 million but had been declined. The company became joint-stock and Fiat took a tiny share in 1965 and then in 1969 they increased their holding to 50% of the company. (In 1988 Fiat's holding was increased to 90%).
Ferrari remained managing director until 1971. Despite stepping down he remained an influence over the firm till his death. The input of Fiat took some time to have effect. It was not till 1975 with Niki Lauda the firm won any championships with Niki Lauda that the talent of the driver and the the ability of the engine conquering the inadequacies of the chassis and aerodynamics. But after those successes and the promise of Jody Scheckter title and the corporation's Formula One championship hopes dropped into the doldrums. 1982 opened with a strong fell into the 126C2, world-class drivers, and promising results robust vehicle, the early races.
However, Gilles Villeneuve was finished in the 126C2 in May, and teammate Didier Pironi had his career cut short in a violent end over end flip on the foggy backstraight at Hockenheim in August. Pironi was leading the driver's flip on the time; he would lose the lead as he sat out the leftover races. The team would not see championship glory again during Ferrari's lifetime.
Enzo Ferrari died in Modena in 1988 at the age of 90 at the beginning of the dominance of the McLaren Honda combination. The sole race which McLaren did the start of the Italian Grand Prix - this was held just weeks after Enzo's death, and, suitably, the result was a 1-2 finish for Ferrari, with Gerhard Berger leading home Michele Alboreto. After Enzo's death, thee Scuderia Ferrari team has had further success, notably with Michael Schumacher from 1996-2005.
Made a Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1952, to add to his honours of Cavaliere and Commendatore in the 1920s, Enzo also received a number of honorary degrees, the Hammarskjld Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1962, the Columbus Prize in 1965, and the De Gasperi Award in 1987. In 1994, he was posthumously inducted into the Global Motorsports Hall of Fame. Enzo famously used purple ink in his fountain pen, though the reason posthumously inducted into this remains unclear.
After the passing of his child, Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari, Enzo wore sunglasses just about every day to laud his son.
Born in Emilia-Romagna, and raised in Modena, Italy, Enzo Ferrari grew up with tiny formal education but an intense desire to race vehicles. During World War I he used to be a mule-skinner in the Italian military. His grandfather, Alfredo, died in 1916 as a result of a widespread Italian flu outbreak. Enzo became sick himself and was therefore discharged from Italian service. On coming back home he discovered that the family firm had collapsed. Having no other job prospects he sought unsuccessfully to find work at Fiat and at last settled for a smaller automobile company called CMN redesigning used van bodies into small, passenger automobiles. He took up racing in 1919 on the CMN team, but had tiny 1st success.
He left CMN in 1920 to work at Alfa Romeo and racing their autos in local races he had more success. In 1923, racing in Ravenna, he bought the Prancing Horse badge which decorated the fuselage of Francesco Baracca's (Italy's leading ace of WWI) SPAD fighter, given from his ma, taken from the wreckage of the airplane after his confusing death. This icon would need to wait till plastered on a racing vehicle. In 1924 he won the Coppa Acerbo at Pescara. His successes in local races inspired Alfa to offer him an opportunity of much more celebrated competition and he was lauded by Mussolini. Ferrari turned this opportunity down and in a funk he did not race again until 1927 and even then his racing career was often over. He continued to work without delay for Alfa Romeo until 1929 before beginning Scuderia Ferrari as the racing team for Alfa.
Ferrari managed the development of the factory Alfa cars, and built up a gang of over forty drivers, including Giuseppe Campari and Tazio Nuvolari. Ferrari himself continued racing until the birth of his first child in 1932 (Alfredo Ferrari, known as Dino, who died in 1956).
The support of Alfa Romeo lasted until 1933 when finance restrictions made Alfa withdraw. Only at the intervention of Pirelli did Ferrari receive any automobiles at all. Despite the standard of the Scuderia drivers the company won few victories ( 1935 in Germany by Nuvolari was a notable exception). Auto Union and Mercedes controlled the era.
In 1937 Alfa took control of its racing efforts again, reducing Ferrari to Director of Sports under Alfa's engineering director. Ferrari shortly left, but a contract clause prohibited him from racing or planning for 4 years.
He set up Auto-Avio Costruzioni, a company supplying parts to other racing teams. But in the Mille Miglia of 1940 the company manufactured 2 automobiles cars to compete, driven by Alberto Ascari and Lotario Rangoni. During WW2 his firm was involved in war production and following bombing moved from Modena to Maranello. It wasn't until after World War II that Ferrari tried to shed his nazi reputation and make autos bearing his name, founding today's Ferrari S.p. A. In 1945.
The 1st open-wheeled race was in Turin in 1948 and the 1st victory came later in the year in Lago di Garda. Ferrari participated in the Formula 1 World Championship since its introduction in 1950 but the 1st victory was not until the UK Grand Prix of 1951. The first championship came in 1952-53, when the Formula One season was raced with Formula 2 autos. The company also sold production sports cars to to finance the racing endeavours not only in Grand Prix but also in events like the Mille Miglia and Le Mans. Indeed plenty of the firm's greatest victories came at Le Mans ( fourteen victories, including six in a row 1960-65 ) instead of in Grand Prix, actually the company was more concerned there than in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s regardless of the successes of Juan-Manuel Fangio ( 1956 ), Mike Hawthorn ( 1958 ), Phil Hill (1961) and John Surtees ( 1964 ).
In the 1960s the issues of reduced demand and insufficient financing forced Ferrari to allow Fiat to take a position in the company. Ford had tried to buy the firm in 1963 for US$18 million but had been declined. The company became joint-stock and Fiat took a tiny share in 1965 and then in 1969 they increased their holding to 50% of the company. (In 1988 Fiat's holding was increased to 90%).
Ferrari remained managing director until 1971. Despite stepping down he remained an influence over the firm till his death. The input of Fiat took some time to have effect. It was not till 1975 with Niki Lauda the firm won any championships with Niki Lauda that the talent of the driver and the the ability of the engine conquering the inadequacies of the chassis and aerodynamics. But after those successes and the promise of Jody Scheckter title and the corporation's Formula One championship hopes dropped into the doldrums. 1982 opened with a strong fell into the 126C2, world-class drivers, and promising results robust vehicle, the early races.
However, Gilles Villeneuve was finished in the 126C2 in May, and teammate Didier Pironi had his career cut short in a violent end over end flip on the foggy backstraight at Hockenheim in August. Pironi was leading the driver's flip on the time; he would lose the lead as he sat out the leftover races. The team would not see championship glory again during Ferrari's lifetime.
Enzo Ferrari died in Modena in 1988 at the age of 90 at the beginning of the dominance of the McLaren Honda combination. The sole race which McLaren did the start of the Italian Grand Prix - this was held just weeks after Enzo's death, and, suitably, the result was a 1-2 finish for Ferrari, with Gerhard Berger leading home Michele Alboreto. After Enzo's death, thee Scuderia Ferrari team has had further success, notably with Michael Schumacher from 1996-2005.
Made a Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1952, to add to his honours of Cavaliere and Commendatore in the 1920s, Enzo also received a number of honorary degrees, the Hammarskjld Cavaliere del Lavoro in 1962, the Columbus Prize in 1965, and the De Gasperi Award in 1987. In 1994, he was posthumously inducted into the Global Motorsports Hall of Fame. Enzo famously used purple ink in his fountain pen, though the reason posthumously inducted into this remains unclear.
After the passing of his child, Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari, Enzo wore sunglasses just about every day to laud his son.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Classic Chevy - 1970 Monte Carlo
Classic Chevy - 1970 Monte Carlo
A classic Chevy in the traditional sense will indeed cover a lot of bases. But there is a favored classic Chevy of yesteryear that is worth remembering and that was the introduction of the 1970 Monte Carlo.
The 1970 Monte Carlo was the brain child of Elliot M Estes (Pete) the car was to be Chevrolet's counterpart to the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix. Pontiac had great success with the Grand Prix Pontiac in 1969 and Chevrolet wanted to take advantage of that success.
Chevrolet's stylist in the 70's Dave Holls borrowed from the Cadillac Eldorado and Chevrolet Chevelle, they produced the muscular looking Classic Chevy Monte Carlo. What came out of this design was a two-door coupe with a classic style that has lasted 6 generations and due to make a reappearance in 2012. Although it's stats are not likely to impress as much as the 70's but the reviews are giving the 3.4L V6 2012 model a buildup.
The 70's Classic Chevy design was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through its entire history. It has outlived many competitors that were either discontinued or changed into either a four-door sedans or smaller sport coupes.
The base model weighed in at 3460 lbs, about 200 lbs. more than a 2-door Chevelle with the shorter 112-inch wheelbase. Monte Carlos were equipped with more luxury options than your typical Chevelle, such as air conditioning (yes, in 1970, air conditioning was considered a luxury option, unlike today!), power windows, and other items that increased the vehicle weight. Fender skirts were also a popular option.
The best were the first four generations (70-72, 73-77, 78-80 and 81-88) all were rear wheel drive V8 powered coupes. The all had separate chassis and body construction of the traditional full size cars.
My all time favorite was the 1971 model year. There was not much in changes from the first year. In the SS model got European symbol knobs and the steering wheel got four spokes and a raised hood ornament.
The classic Chevy body style made use of the GM's G-body also used on the Grand Prix. So instead of just making more passenger space on the Chevrolet model they added a splice between the firewall and the front wheels. This is what created the unique Monte Carlo classic look. The classic long hood turned out to be very popular.
Base power included the 350 Turbo-Fire small block V8 with 250 hp with a 2 barrel carburetor. By today's standards 334 ft lbs of torque at only 2800 rpm was exciting. Some of the standard options included disk brakes in the front. Most of us old guys love the simulated wood trim patterned after the Rolls Royce.
An option available on my 71 added a four-barrel carburetor pushing the 350 to output 300 hp. Both the small block and big block 400 cubic inch engines were offered. The big block version rated at 330 hp was actually the 396 at 402 cubic inch slightly larger displacement.
The most power came in the Monte Carlo SS 454 at 360 hp with 500 ft lbs of torque. The option was only an extra $420 for 7.4 L made for quite a fast car. Standard was the heavy-duty suspension and 3.31 rear gear with load leveling suspension. The badge of honor was "SS 454" for the option package with a turbo hydramatic-transmission. Only 3,823 wore the badge of honor "SS-454" and those cars are highly sought after today by enthusiasts and collectors.
A classic Chevy in the traditional sense will indeed cover a lot of bases. But there is a favored classic Chevy of yesteryear that is worth remembering and that was the introduction of the 1970 Monte Carlo.
The 1970 Monte Carlo was the brain child of Elliot M Estes (Pete) the car was to be Chevrolet's counterpart to the 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix. Pontiac had great success with the Grand Prix Pontiac in 1969 and Chevrolet wanted to take advantage of that success.
Chevrolet's stylist in the 70's Dave Holls borrowed from the Cadillac Eldorado and Chevrolet Chevelle, they produced the muscular looking Classic Chevy Monte Carlo. What came out of this design was a two-door coupe with a classic style that has lasted 6 generations and due to make a reappearance in 2012. Although it's stats are not likely to impress as much as the 70's but the reviews are giving the 3.4L V6 2012 model a buildup.
The 70's Classic Chevy design was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through its entire history. It has outlived many competitors that were either discontinued or changed into either a four-door sedans or smaller sport coupes.
The base model weighed in at 3460 lbs, about 200 lbs. more than a 2-door Chevelle with the shorter 112-inch wheelbase. Monte Carlos were equipped with more luxury options than your typical Chevelle, such as air conditioning (yes, in 1970, air conditioning was considered a luxury option, unlike today!), power windows, and other items that increased the vehicle weight. Fender skirts were also a popular option.
The best were the first four generations (70-72, 73-77, 78-80 and 81-88) all were rear wheel drive V8 powered coupes. The all had separate chassis and body construction of the traditional full size cars.
My all time favorite was the 1971 model year. There was not much in changes from the first year. In the SS model got European symbol knobs and the steering wheel got four spokes and a raised hood ornament.
The classic Chevy body style made use of the GM's G-body also used on the Grand Prix. So instead of just making more passenger space on the Chevrolet model they added a splice between the firewall and the front wheels. This is what created the unique Monte Carlo classic look. The classic long hood turned out to be very popular.
Base power included the 350 Turbo-Fire small block V8 with 250 hp with a 2 barrel carburetor. By today's standards 334 ft lbs of torque at only 2800 rpm was exciting. Some of the standard options included disk brakes in the front. Most of us old guys love the simulated wood trim patterned after the Rolls Royce.
An option available on my 71 added a four-barrel carburetor pushing the 350 to output 300 hp. Both the small block and big block 400 cubic inch engines were offered. The big block version rated at 330 hp was actually the 396 at 402 cubic inch slightly larger displacement.
The most power came in the Monte Carlo SS 454 at 360 hp with 500 ft lbs of torque. The option was only an extra $420 for 7.4 L made for quite a fast car. Standard was the heavy-duty suspension and 3.31 rear gear with load leveling suspension. The badge of honor was "SS 454" for the option package with a turbo hydramatic-transmission. Only 3,823 wore the badge of honor "SS-454" and those cars are highly sought after today by enthusiasts and collectors.
Choosing the Best Yacht Lighting
Choosing the Best Yacht Lighting
The Grand Prix is over for another year. As you sit down for supper in Monaco's harbour, darkness falls and you appreciate your wonderful yacht lighting installation. Whether it's for decoration or practical illumination, the correct choice of yacht lights makes every night aboard a more enjoyable experience.
Navigating the massive choice of marine lighting
With so many types of onboard lighting and potential suppliers, finding your way around the market can seem daunting. There's yacht interior lighting for staterooms, crew accommodation and other parts of the vessel; then there's exterior illumination, ranging from discreet lighting for the decks, to 'through hull' underwater lighting or helipad lighting. Whether you specify everything yourself or draw on the expertise of your hull builder, a designer who specialises in lighting for boats, or a specialist lighting supplier, it pays to understand what's available.
Exterior yacht lights
Exterior lighting ranges from practical floodlights to decorative lighting that makes al fresco dining so enjoyable. From unobtrusive recessed lights to the latest LED marine lighting and underwater lights, properly designed and installed exterior lighting helps you get the most out of life afloat when the sun sets. And of course, the correct external lighting, such as recessed courtesy lights and companionway lighting has important practical benefits too.
Designer interior lighting for yachts
Designer interior lighting sets the mood in every stateroom. Just as you carefully plan the lighting in your homes, so you can create perfect bespoke ambiance in different parts of your yacht. Whether you plan your lighting, then commission the lighting installation through your yacht management team, or you appoint a specialist designer interior lighting expert, the result will reflect your personality and give you years of pleasure.
Getting advice on interior and exterior yacht lighting
So how do you set about getting the ideas and information you need to make the right lighting decision? Whether you're planning a minor upgrade or commissioning a 130m yacht, you'll need ideas and inspiration.
The Grand Prix is over for another year. As you sit down for supper in Monaco's harbour, darkness falls and you appreciate your wonderful yacht lighting installation. Whether it's for decoration or practical illumination, the correct choice of yacht lights makes every night aboard a more enjoyable experience.
Navigating the massive choice of marine lighting
With so many types of onboard lighting and potential suppliers, finding your way around the market can seem daunting. There's yacht interior lighting for staterooms, crew accommodation and other parts of the vessel; then there's exterior illumination, ranging from discreet lighting for the decks, to 'through hull' underwater lighting or helipad lighting. Whether you specify everything yourself or draw on the expertise of your hull builder, a designer who specialises in lighting for boats, or a specialist lighting supplier, it pays to understand what's available.
Exterior yacht lights
Exterior lighting ranges from practical floodlights to decorative lighting that makes al fresco dining so enjoyable. From unobtrusive recessed lights to the latest LED marine lighting and underwater lights, properly designed and installed exterior lighting helps you get the most out of life afloat when the sun sets. And of course, the correct external lighting, such as recessed courtesy lights and companionway lighting has important practical benefits too.
Designer interior lighting for yachts
Designer interior lighting sets the mood in every stateroom. Just as you carefully plan the lighting in your homes, so you can create perfect bespoke ambiance in different parts of your yacht. Whether you plan your lighting, then commission the lighting installation through your yacht management team, or you appoint a specialist designer interior lighting expert, the result will reflect your personality and give you years of pleasure.
Getting advice on interior and exterior yacht lighting
So how do you set about getting the ideas and information you need to make the right lighting decision? Whether you're planning a minor upgrade or commissioning a 130m yacht, you'll need ideas and inspiration.
Monday, April 16, 2012
F1 Motorsport Bahrain GP Called Off
F1 Motorsport Bahrain GP Called Off
The Bahrain GP became a part of the F1 racing calendar in 2004, and was supposed to kick off the 2011 Formula One season on March 13. The 2011 Formula One schedule included a record 20 races spread all across the globe. But due to the civil unrest in this gulf kingdom, the race has been called off. Though, organizers are hopeful that it is just a postponement and the race can be rescheduled for a later date, something that will undoubtedly be quite difficult given the packed F1 yearlong schedule. The last time an F1 race was canceled was the Pacific Grand Prix at Aida in Japan in 1995, which was due to an earthquake.
Final pre-season practice and testing was also scheduled in Bahrain in the first week of March, and obviously even that had to be canceled. All the teams will now remain in Spain at the Barcelona circuit. The Australian Grand Prix will now take over as the season-opener. Though this decision seemed inevitable, the Bahrain International Circuit made the formal announcement of the withdrawal on Monday. The statement read, "The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year's F1 Grand Prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialog". Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa had this to add, "At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialog for Bahrain. Although Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear "that a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain's to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula One race to a later date". Bernie Ecclestone, F1 boss had this to say from his side, "It is sad that Bahrain has had to withdraw from the race, we wish the whole nation well as they begin to heal their country. The hospitality and warmth of the people of Bahrain is a hallmark of the race there, as anyone who has been at a Bahrain Grand Prix will testify. We look forward to being back in Bahrain soon".
All the Formula One teams welcomed the decision and agreed that the organizers and respective authorities knew what they were doing. Now though the Bahrain GP has been called off, organizers, teams and fans alike, will only hope now that the internal problems of Bahrain will be sorted out sooner than later, and the Bahrain GP can be rescheduled to later date this year.
The Bahrain GP became a part of the F1 racing calendar in 2004, and was supposed to kick off the 2011 Formula One season on March 13. The 2011 Formula One schedule included a record 20 races spread all across the globe. But due to the civil unrest in this gulf kingdom, the race has been called off. Though, organizers are hopeful that it is just a postponement and the race can be rescheduled for a later date, something that will undoubtedly be quite difficult given the packed F1 yearlong schedule. The last time an F1 race was canceled was the Pacific Grand Prix at Aida in Japan in 1995, which was due to an earthquake.
Final pre-season practice and testing was also scheduled in Bahrain in the first week of March, and obviously even that had to be canceled. All the teams will now remain in Spain at the Barcelona circuit. The Australian Grand Prix will now take over as the season-opener. Though this decision seemed inevitable, the Bahrain International Circuit made the formal announcement of the withdrawal on Monday. The statement read, "The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year's F1 Grand Prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialog". Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa had this to add, "At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialog for Bahrain. Although Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear "that a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain's to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula One race to a later date". Bernie Ecclestone, F1 boss had this to say from his side, "It is sad that Bahrain has had to withdraw from the race, we wish the whole nation well as they begin to heal their country. The hospitality and warmth of the people of Bahrain is a hallmark of the race there, as anyone who has been at a Bahrain Grand Prix will testify. We look forward to being back in Bahrain soon".
All the Formula One teams welcomed the decision and agreed that the organizers and respective authorities knew what they were doing. Now though the Bahrain GP has been called off, organizers, teams and fans alike, will only hope now that the internal problems of Bahrain will be sorted out sooner than later, and the Bahrain GP can be rescheduled to later date this year.
Brief History of the Kentucky Derby
Brief History of the Kentucky Derby
One of the major horse breeding centers in America since late 18th century is Kentucky. The Bluegrass Region in Kentucky was famous for breeding superior racehorses. In 1872, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. had traveled to England to visit the famous Epsom Derby. He was immensely impressed by the facilities and the way the race was conducted. While touring Europe, Clark had also visited France and had an opportunity to witness the Grand Prix de Paris, in Paris.
Grand Prix de Paris and Epsom Derby were the greatest races held in Europe annually. On returning home, Col. Clark along with a few horse breeders organized a race in Louisville, Kentucky to raise money to build a race club outside the city limits. A racetrack equal to the European standards was built and this club was known as Louisville Jockey club. The relatives of Clark, Henry Churchill and John Churchill, granted the land for the racetrack. In 1937, this racetrack was renamed as "Churchill Downs".
Brief History of the Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is held annually on the first Saturday in the month of May in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is held for almost two weeks and is celebrated as a Kentucky Derby Festival.
Only the colts and gelding which were three-years of age were allowed to participate in the race. The colt and gelding were to carry 126 pounds while the fillies were to carry 121 pounds.
On May 17, 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was held in Churchill Downs. Fifteen horses had participated in this race and the estimated crowd of the first Kentucky Derby was 10,000 people.
The distance covered in the first Kentucky Derby was 1.5 miles similar to the Epsom Derby of England and Grand Prix de Paris. However, in 1896, the distance covered was increased to 2.25 miles. This is in practice to this date.
The inaugural Kentucky Derby was won by an African-American jockey Oliver Lewis. He rode astride the horse Aristides.
The Kentucky Derby was known as the "Run for the Roses". The reason is the winner is wrapped with a blanket of roses at the time of trophy presentation.
African-Americans played a significant role in the Kentucky Derby. Out of twenty-eight Kentucky races held between 1875 and 1902, African - American jockeys won fifteen races.
Alonzo Clayton also known as "Lonnies" became the youngest African-American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. The race was held on May 11, 1892.
In 1915, Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby and two years later in 1917, an English colt "Omar Khayyam" became the first foreign-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby.
The horse Apollo, aged two was the youngest horse ever to win the Kentucky Derby in 1882.
Women also played a significant and active role in history of the Kentucky Derby. Mrs. Laska Durnell was the first woman to nominate her horse Elwood in 1904. Elwood was a wined in the field of five. In 1942 Kentucky Derby, women owned the seven horses of the first eight finishers. There were women trainers who trained the horses for the Kentucky Derby. Four women have participated in the famed "Run for the Roses". The Kentucky Derby is one of the famous Grand Stake I held in the world.
One of the major horse breeding centers in America since late 18th century is Kentucky. The Bluegrass Region in Kentucky was famous for breeding superior racehorses. In 1872, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. had traveled to England to visit the famous Epsom Derby. He was immensely impressed by the facilities and the way the race was conducted. While touring Europe, Clark had also visited France and had an opportunity to witness the Grand Prix de Paris, in Paris.
Grand Prix de Paris and Epsom Derby were the greatest races held in Europe annually. On returning home, Col. Clark along with a few horse breeders organized a race in Louisville, Kentucky to raise money to build a race club outside the city limits. A racetrack equal to the European standards was built and this club was known as Louisville Jockey club. The relatives of Clark, Henry Churchill and John Churchill, granted the land for the racetrack. In 1937, this racetrack was renamed as "Churchill Downs".
Brief History of the Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is held annually on the first Saturday in the month of May in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is held for almost two weeks and is celebrated as a Kentucky Derby Festival.
Only the colts and gelding which were three-years of age were allowed to participate in the race. The colt and gelding were to carry 126 pounds while the fillies were to carry 121 pounds.
On May 17, 1875, the first Kentucky Derby was held in Churchill Downs. Fifteen horses had participated in this race and the estimated crowd of the first Kentucky Derby was 10,000 people.
The distance covered in the first Kentucky Derby was 1.5 miles similar to the Epsom Derby of England and Grand Prix de Paris. However, in 1896, the distance covered was increased to 2.25 miles. This is in practice to this date.
The inaugural Kentucky Derby was won by an African-American jockey Oliver Lewis. He rode astride the horse Aristides.
The Kentucky Derby was known as the "Run for the Roses". The reason is the winner is wrapped with a blanket of roses at the time of trophy presentation.
African-Americans played a significant role in the Kentucky Derby. Out of twenty-eight Kentucky races held between 1875 and 1902, African - American jockeys won fifteen races.
Alonzo Clayton also known as "Lonnies" became the youngest African-American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. The race was held on May 11, 1892.
In 1915, Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby and two years later in 1917, an English colt "Omar Khayyam" became the first foreign-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby.
The horse Apollo, aged two was the youngest horse ever to win the Kentucky Derby in 1882.
Women also played a significant and active role in history of the Kentucky Derby. Mrs. Laska Durnell was the first woman to nominate her horse Elwood in 1904. Elwood was a wined in the field of five. In 1942 Kentucky Derby, women owned the seven horses of the first eight finishers. There were women trainers who trained the horses for the Kentucky Derby. Four women have participated in the famed "Run for the Roses". The Kentucky Derby is one of the famous Grand Stake I held in the world.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Cashing in on Cashless in a Stadia Environment
Cashing in on Cashless in a Stadia Environment
The theme of this article is Football Clubs however the exact same benefits of cashless environment apply to other sporting venues including but not limited to racecourse, rugby club, motor racing circuit, basketball club, athletics club etc. In fact the German F1 Grand Prix in Nurnberg in 2009, the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa, the 2012 Olympics in London, 2014 basketball World Cup in Spain have plans for cashless facilities and in the case of the German F1Grand Prix have already implemented a cashless solution. To demonstrate this point Sandra Alzetta, Visa Europe Senior VP for consumer market development, said "the aim is for a cashless Olympic Games in London in 2012".
In recent times we have seen a surge in e-payments or what is now been termed cashless payments, but what is the cause of this gallop towards removing cash from some environments. Well that is simple.....costs savings, revenue generation and efficiencies.
There have been many types of organisations implement cashless something or other including Local Authorities, Government, Schools & Universities, Sports Arenas and more. All have realised significant benefits including modest revenue generation but moreover cost reductions and efficiency gains. In fact one local authority have seen 60% increase over all efficiencies by issuing and entitlement card rather than paper vouchers and cheques.
The potential for generating revenue in most sectors is, as previously mentioned, modest however not so within the stadia environment where the increase in revenue for a well planned and implemented scheme can be significant. So when that is added to the benefits of holding the deposited funds and having immediate access to the transactional data the attraction for football clubs is very clear. But is this just hype or are the financial benefits of cashless stadia truly a reality? They can be if the scheme is a closed scheme where the cashless solution operates only within the stadium and club shop, and where club is the custodian of the cashless scheme and the funds deposited within it. This type of scheme could be managed by the club directly or the club could appoint a specialist organisation to manage the scheme on their behalf whilst retaining the overall control.
This approach vastly improves a business case based on income and also gives the club a direct relationship with the supporter and autonomy over the day to day operation of the cashless scheme including the all important scheme rules, in particular the breakage rules. How the cashless scheme is perceived by the supporters will be the critical success factor in terms of customer experience for every Cashless Stadia scheme. So in the closed scheme operated by the club, the fans are truly supporting the club on many fronts not just from the terraces and with the right scheme rules the club is directly responsible for the relationship with the supporters.
If, however, the club outsource the whole cashless process to a third party then almost all of the financial benefits disappear along with the direct relationship with the supporter, but this does fit with a business case built around streamlining operations to just core functions. Control over the scheme operation and rules have also been passed to the third party supplier.
Also depending on the contract terms data sharing may also be less than ideal. Transactional data is extremely important for providing the club with the ability to dynamically create personalised promotions and offers to the supporters via CRM. If data is not available on demand then selling those surplus XXXL away shirt in April will be more of a blunderbuss rather than sniper approach.
On the face of it giving away all this control to a third party is not the best approach, correct? Well that depends on what the club actually have a set of requirements. If the clubs view is that they are in the business of playing football and achieving success on the pitch, and the operational cost of a cashless solution within their stadia is a necessary evil, then outsourcing the complete scheme is exactly the right thing to do. However if the aim is to be able to efficiently manage and nurture the relationship with the supporter whilst generating additional income from intelligent but uncomplicated use of the transactional data, then outsourcing the whole cashless scheme would be madness.
The decision to go cashless either completely or in just one section of a stadia is not an easy one to make and must be done after properly analysing the clubs overall objectives and other considerations such as the contractual arrangements with other suppliers such as caterers etc. Then and only then can and informed decision be made for a best fit solution and how it should be implemented to ensure the highest rate of customer delight and take up is achieved.
Cashless Stadia, what are the benefits?
Regardless of whether the clubs chooses to retain control of their cashless scheme or outsource to a third party what cannot be disputed are the common benefits.
No cash handling - there will be no cash transactions within the stadium on match days, no cashing up, no more security van collections,
Faster throughput - because a cashless transaction is up to can be 60% faster than cash and 3 times faster than a credit and debit transaction the queues at the catering kiosks move much more quickly.
Improved hygiene - as the catering staff will not be handling cash and only handling food this not only removes any related hygiene issues but also enables fewer staff deliver a faster more efficient service.
Free pricing - there is no reason to keep prices to round 50p or pound so this enables an item of 2.50 be increased to improve revenue or decreased which will improve customer experience and may lead to higher sales.
Improved data - the transaction data via the POS terminals can tell who bought what, when and where in the ground which can be used in personalised promotions when processed through CRM.
The specific benefits of either a closed scheme that the club operates directly or via a specialist organisation and those of a fully outsourced scheme should be carefully considered.
What to consider when choosing a cashless solution!
Some of the important things to consider when making a decision on a cashless solution are:-
oImpact on the customer
oCatering / caterers
oLegal requirements and FSA rules
oScheme rules around breakage (Poor scheme rules around refunds on lost, stolen or expired cards can even create the perception that the club, having introduced the cashless solution, is now taking advantage that the fact that the supporter is now a captive audience)
oSystems integration i.e. which systems. Point of Sale (POS), Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) as a minimum and also a Card Management System (CMS) for the more progressive multi-application smartcard schemes.
oBusiness model for predicting payback and forecasting revenues
oSpecific benefit of in sourced or outsourced scheme
oTransaction fees
oFinancial management
oOn going scheme management
oSponsorship
oData Requirements
oCustomer communications / Promotion of the scheme.
oSupplier selection
oFuture requirements for wider multi-application scheme
oTechnologies, contactless, barcode, dual interface for backwards compatibility maybe even NFC.
oFlow of Data, Cash
Watch out for that banana skin!
Technical - the danger is to get hung up on the technical details, and this could be fatal for the day to day scheme operations. Cashless solutions interfaced with a variety of other systems built with a wide range of technologies exits today in many different markets and industry sectors so whilst this may be new to sports stadia it is not for education, university campus, large business premises, theme parks etc. Basically the technology works so clubs should choose the suppliers and then let them do what they are being paid and are well qualified to do. That is not to say that suppliers should be given the requirements and left to get on with it as a consistent level of effective supplier management should be applied throughout the life of the implementation. If clubs focus too much on the technical side, whilst it wont be the first time, this will cause sight to be lost of the back office processes. This will undoubtedly result in messy and expensive manual workarounds once the scheme is in operation.
Data - another potential pit fall is data. What will be captured and why? What will / can be done with it once it is captured? What data will reside on the card, system, account? Moreover what data does the club currently have that will enable customer accounts to be set up and is it clean. No matter how hard any organisation may try a percentage of the existing data will be inaccurate. The important thing is to be prepared for that and have a good plan to avoid bad publicity especially around the deceased and those under the age of consent.
Legal and Regulatory - most important of all the potential banana skins is legislation and industry standards & regulations. In the UK the Financial Services Authority (FSA) should be consulted for advice on any cashless solution. They will almost certainly want to review the monitoring systems in place for schemes under the SeMIC rules and this can take up to 6 months to achieve certificated status. Their legal speak is often confusing so consider enlisting the help of and experienced consultant with a sound understanding of the FSA regulations and a good relationship with the FSA. This will help avoid delay and expense during the application process and prevent the risk of the scheme application failing or worse, allow a situation to arise that could cause the club to be liable for hefty financial penalties. Also be mindful of up coming regulations and legal changes such as the Payment Service Regulations of 2009 and the new e-Money Directive which comes in 2011.
In modern day Europe PrePaid debit cashless payment is the fastest growing payment method and the chart below demonstrates this. It is important to understands that the customers of football clubs are already using cashless prepaid as a payment method with other service providers, mobile phone top-ups, smart utility meters, parking, vending, public transport are just a few examples.
So... the of concept prepaid payment is not a new one for football supporters. The financial benefits to the club and the improvement in the customer experience can be very significant, not to mention the power that having the transaction data can give a club. The benefits and advantages of a carefully planned and implemented cashless solution in a football club are clear to see, and in most cases the implementation costs could be recouped inside 1 maybe 2 seasons. The longer it takes to make the decision the longer it will take to realise those benefits and advantages.
The theme of this article is Football Clubs however the exact same benefits of cashless environment apply to other sporting venues including but not limited to racecourse, rugby club, motor racing circuit, basketball club, athletics club etc. In fact the German F1 Grand Prix in Nurnberg in 2009, the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa, the 2012 Olympics in London, 2014 basketball World Cup in Spain have plans for cashless facilities and in the case of the German F1Grand Prix have already implemented a cashless solution. To demonstrate this point Sandra Alzetta, Visa Europe Senior VP for consumer market development, said "the aim is for a cashless Olympic Games in London in 2012".
In recent times we have seen a surge in e-payments or what is now been termed cashless payments, but what is the cause of this gallop towards removing cash from some environments. Well that is simple.....costs savings, revenue generation and efficiencies.
There have been many types of organisations implement cashless something or other including Local Authorities, Government, Schools & Universities, Sports Arenas and more. All have realised significant benefits including modest revenue generation but moreover cost reductions and efficiency gains. In fact one local authority have seen 60% increase over all efficiencies by issuing and entitlement card rather than paper vouchers and cheques.
The potential for generating revenue in most sectors is, as previously mentioned, modest however not so within the stadia environment where the increase in revenue for a well planned and implemented scheme can be significant. So when that is added to the benefits of holding the deposited funds and having immediate access to the transactional data the attraction for football clubs is very clear. But is this just hype or are the financial benefits of cashless stadia truly a reality? They can be if the scheme is a closed scheme where the cashless solution operates only within the stadium and club shop, and where club is the custodian of the cashless scheme and the funds deposited within it. This type of scheme could be managed by the club directly or the club could appoint a specialist organisation to manage the scheme on their behalf whilst retaining the overall control.
This approach vastly improves a business case based on income and also gives the club a direct relationship with the supporter and autonomy over the day to day operation of the cashless scheme including the all important scheme rules, in particular the breakage rules. How the cashless scheme is perceived by the supporters will be the critical success factor in terms of customer experience for every Cashless Stadia scheme. So in the closed scheme operated by the club, the fans are truly supporting the club on many fronts not just from the terraces and with the right scheme rules the club is directly responsible for the relationship with the supporters.
If, however, the club outsource the whole cashless process to a third party then almost all of the financial benefits disappear along with the direct relationship with the supporter, but this does fit with a business case built around streamlining operations to just core functions. Control over the scheme operation and rules have also been passed to the third party supplier.
Also depending on the contract terms data sharing may also be less than ideal. Transactional data is extremely important for providing the club with the ability to dynamically create personalised promotions and offers to the supporters via CRM. If data is not available on demand then selling those surplus XXXL away shirt in April will be more of a blunderbuss rather than sniper approach.
On the face of it giving away all this control to a third party is not the best approach, correct? Well that depends on what the club actually have a set of requirements. If the clubs view is that they are in the business of playing football and achieving success on the pitch, and the operational cost of a cashless solution within their stadia is a necessary evil, then outsourcing the complete scheme is exactly the right thing to do. However if the aim is to be able to efficiently manage and nurture the relationship with the supporter whilst generating additional income from intelligent but uncomplicated use of the transactional data, then outsourcing the whole cashless scheme would be madness.
The decision to go cashless either completely or in just one section of a stadia is not an easy one to make and must be done after properly analysing the clubs overall objectives and other considerations such as the contractual arrangements with other suppliers such as caterers etc. Then and only then can and informed decision be made for a best fit solution and how it should be implemented to ensure the highest rate of customer delight and take up is achieved.
Cashless Stadia, what are the benefits?
Regardless of whether the clubs chooses to retain control of their cashless scheme or outsource to a third party what cannot be disputed are the common benefits.
No cash handling - there will be no cash transactions within the stadium on match days, no cashing up, no more security van collections,
Faster throughput - because a cashless transaction is up to can be 60% faster than cash and 3 times faster than a credit and debit transaction the queues at the catering kiosks move much more quickly.
Improved hygiene - as the catering staff will not be handling cash and only handling food this not only removes any related hygiene issues but also enables fewer staff deliver a faster more efficient service.
Free pricing - there is no reason to keep prices to round 50p or pound so this enables an item of 2.50 be increased to improve revenue or decreased which will improve customer experience and may lead to higher sales.
Improved data - the transaction data via the POS terminals can tell who bought what, when and where in the ground which can be used in personalised promotions when processed through CRM.
The specific benefits of either a closed scheme that the club operates directly or via a specialist organisation and those of a fully outsourced scheme should be carefully considered.
What to consider when choosing a cashless solution!
Some of the important things to consider when making a decision on a cashless solution are:-
oImpact on the customer
oCatering / caterers
oLegal requirements and FSA rules
oScheme rules around breakage (Poor scheme rules around refunds on lost, stolen or expired cards can even create the perception that the club, having introduced the cashless solution, is now taking advantage that the fact that the supporter is now a captive audience)
oSystems integration i.e. which systems. Point of Sale (POS), Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) as a minimum and also a Card Management System (CMS) for the more progressive multi-application smartcard schemes.
oBusiness model for predicting payback and forecasting revenues
oSpecific benefit of in sourced or outsourced scheme
oTransaction fees
oFinancial management
oOn going scheme management
oSponsorship
oData Requirements
oCustomer communications / Promotion of the scheme.
oSupplier selection
oFuture requirements for wider multi-application scheme
oTechnologies, contactless, barcode, dual interface for backwards compatibility maybe even NFC.
oFlow of Data, Cash
Watch out for that banana skin!
Technical - the danger is to get hung up on the technical details, and this could be fatal for the day to day scheme operations. Cashless solutions interfaced with a variety of other systems built with a wide range of technologies exits today in many different markets and industry sectors so whilst this may be new to sports stadia it is not for education, university campus, large business premises, theme parks etc. Basically the technology works so clubs should choose the suppliers and then let them do what they are being paid and are well qualified to do. That is not to say that suppliers should be given the requirements and left to get on with it as a consistent level of effective supplier management should be applied throughout the life of the implementation. If clubs focus too much on the technical side, whilst it wont be the first time, this will cause sight to be lost of the back office processes. This will undoubtedly result in messy and expensive manual workarounds once the scheme is in operation.
Data - another potential pit fall is data. What will be captured and why? What will / can be done with it once it is captured? What data will reside on the card, system, account? Moreover what data does the club currently have that will enable customer accounts to be set up and is it clean. No matter how hard any organisation may try a percentage of the existing data will be inaccurate. The important thing is to be prepared for that and have a good plan to avoid bad publicity especially around the deceased and those under the age of consent.
Legal and Regulatory - most important of all the potential banana skins is legislation and industry standards & regulations. In the UK the Financial Services Authority (FSA) should be consulted for advice on any cashless solution. They will almost certainly want to review the monitoring systems in place for schemes under the SeMIC rules and this can take up to 6 months to achieve certificated status. Their legal speak is often confusing so consider enlisting the help of and experienced consultant with a sound understanding of the FSA regulations and a good relationship with the FSA. This will help avoid delay and expense during the application process and prevent the risk of the scheme application failing or worse, allow a situation to arise that could cause the club to be liable for hefty financial penalties. Also be mindful of up coming regulations and legal changes such as the Payment Service Regulations of 2009 and the new e-Money Directive which comes in 2011.
In modern day Europe PrePaid debit cashless payment is the fastest growing payment method and the chart below demonstrates this. It is important to understands that the customers of football clubs are already using cashless prepaid as a payment method with other service providers, mobile phone top-ups, smart utility meters, parking, vending, public transport are just a few examples.
So... the of concept prepaid payment is not a new one for football supporters. The financial benefits to the club and the improvement in the customer experience can be very significant, not to mention the power that having the transaction data can give a club. The benefits and advantages of a carefully planned and implemented cashless solution in a football club are clear to see, and in most cases the implementation costs could be recouped inside 1 maybe 2 seasons. The longer it takes to make the decision the longer it will take to realise those benefits and advantages.
Ernie Irvan's Biography
Ernie Irvan's Biography
Ernie was considered to be a hard charger on the race track, setting out to win the race from the start to the finish. Born on the 13th January 1959 in Salinas, California Virgil Earnest Irvan began racing karts at the age of nine. His father, Vic, acted as his crew and instilled in him the will to win.
At the age of fifteen Ernie won the California Championship and came second in his class at the National Kart Championship Race. His first race, at Stockton 99 Speedway, in stock car racing on asphalt saw him gain his first victory at the age of sixteen in a semi-main event. His love of racing was such that he raced every weekend at Madera and Stockton, winning many feature events, until, in 1982, he left Salinas, together with all of his belongings loaded in his pick-up truck and trailer and a small amount of cash and headed off to Charlotte in North Carolina.
Ernie supported himself by doing various jobs while still racing in the Late Model Series at Concord Speedway - he won two races in his first year and eleven the following year driving a Firebird. In 1987 Ernie made his debut in the Winston Cup Series at Richmond Fairgrounds Racing driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Unfortunately the car overheated and he finished 29th and won $860. 1988 saw Ernie make a bid for "Rookie of the Year" and driving Ulrich's #2 Kroger Chevrolets and Pontiacs he competed in twenty five of the twenty nine races in the Winston Cup Series only to lose out by a mere three points to Ken Bouchard, reputed to be the closest battle in NASCAR's history.
Success followed success - Ernie competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and had fifteen wins, 124 Top Tens and 22 pole positions, in the NASCAR Nationwide Series he had three wins, fifteen top tens and five pole positions and in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series he had no wins but eight top ten positions. August 1994 saw Ernie as the main contender for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship, trailing behind Dale Earnhardt by 27 points, when his hopes were dashed when he crashed at a practice session at Michigan. He was diagnosed with critical brain and lung injuries at St. Joseph's Hospital and given only a 10% chance of survival. Ernie fought for his life and early in September his condition was described as "fair" and he was taken off the ventilator. Shortly after he was transferred to the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation where he went through rehabilitation and strength building whilst keeping him focused on returning to Winston Cup racing. Just over one year after the crash he was deemed fit enough to compete again.
Ernie returned to NASCAR racing and again was set on winning, he gained two Top Ten positions in 1995 and gained twelve Top Five, sixteen Top Ten positions and led in fifteen of the thirty one events in 1996 with five Top Five finishes, thirteen Top Ten's and two Pole positions in 1997. On August the 20th, exactly five years after the accident that nearly claimed his life, Ernie again crashed at Michigan during a practise session.
On September the 3rd 1999 Ernie announced his retirement from driving at a press conference at Darlington South Carolina. During his relatively short career Ernie has been awarded numerous awards such as:- Daytona 500 Winner in 1991, Super Ford Magazine Driver of the Year in 1993, True Value Hard Charger in 1994, Mike Rich Memorial Award in 1994, Maxwell House Spirit Award in 1994 and 1995, "Winston Cup Scene" Top Story of the Year in 1995,Arete Award for Courage in Sports (Professional Division) in 1995, Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award in 1996, AP Parts Meet the Challenge Award in 1996, Named as one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998, Selected as a torchbearer for the 2002 Olympics in 2001, Inductee into the Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2002, Voted by MSNBC Top Ten Greatest Sport Comeback of All Time in 2002 and Inductee in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2005.
Now it seems that life has gone full circle, Ernie is crew chief for his son, Jared, on his quarter midget just as his father had done for him. Ernie now promotes a foundation that he formed called Race2safety to promote head injury awareness and to promote prevention of head injuries, especially among children.
Ernie was considered to be a hard charger on the race track, setting out to win the race from the start to the finish. Born on the 13th January 1959 in Salinas, California Virgil Earnest Irvan began racing karts at the age of nine. His father, Vic, acted as his crew and instilled in him the will to win.
At the age of fifteen Ernie won the California Championship and came second in his class at the National Kart Championship Race. His first race, at Stockton 99 Speedway, in stock car racing on asphalt saw him gain his first victory at the age of sixteen in a semi-main event. His love of racing was such that he raced every weekend at Madera and Stockton, winning many feature events, until, in 1982, he left Salinas, together with all of his belongings loaded in his pick-up truck and trailer and a small amount of cash and headed off to Charlotte in North Carolina.
Ernie supported himself by doing various jobs while still racing in the Late Model Series at Concord Speedway - he won two races in his first year and eleven the following year driving a Firebird. In 1987 Ernie made his debut in the Winston Cup Series at Richmond Fairgrounds Racing driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Unfortunately the car overheated and he finished 29th and won $860. 1988 saw Ernie make a bid for "Rookie of the Year" and driving Ulrich's #2 Kroger Chevrolets and Pontiacs he competed in twenty five of the twenty nine races in the Winston Cup Series only to lose out by a mere three points to Ken Bouchard, reputed to be the closest battle in NASCAR's history.
Success followed success - Ernie competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and had fifteen wins, 124 Top Tens and 22 pole positions, in the NASCAR Nationwide Series he had three wins, fifteen top tens and five pole positions and in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series he had no wins but eight top ten positions. August 1994 saw Ernie as the main contender for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship, trailing behind Dale Earnhardt by 27 points, when his hopes were dashed when he crashed at a practice session at Michigan. He was diagnosed with critical brain and lung injuries at St. Joseph's Hospital and given only a 10% chance of survival. Ernie fought for his life and early in September his condition was described as "fair" and he was taken off the ventilator. Shortly after he was transferred to the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation where he went through rehabilitation and strength building whilst keeping him focused on returning to Winston Cup racing. Just over one year after the crash he was deemed fit enough to compete again.
Ernie returned to NASCAR racing and again was set on winning, he gained two Top Ten positions in 1995 and gained twelve Top Five, sixteen Top Ten positions and led in fifteen of the thirty one events in 1996 with five Top Five finishes, thirteen Top Ten's and two Pole positions in 1997. On August the 20th, exactly five years after the accident that nearly claimed his life, Ernie again crashed at Michigan during a practise session.
On September the 3rd 1999 Ernie announced his retirement from driving at a press conference at Darlington South Carolina. During his relatively short career Ernie has been awarded numerous awards such as:- Daytona 500 Winner in 1991, Super Ford Magazine Driver of the Year in 1993, True Value Hard Charger in 1994, Mike Rich Memorial Award in 1994, Maxwell House Spirit Award in 1994 and 1995, "Winston Cup Scene" Top Story of the Year in 1995,Arete Award for Courage in Sports (Professional Division) in 1995, Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias Courage Award in 1996, AP Parts Meet the Challenge Award in 1996, Named as one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998, Selected as a torchbearer for the 2002 Olympics in 2001, Inductee into the Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2002, Voted by MSNBC Top Ten Greatest Sport Comeback of All Time in 2002 and Inductee in the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2005.
Now it seems that life has gone full circle, Ernie is crew chief for his son, Jared, on his quarter midget just as his father had done for him. Ernie now promotes a foundation that he formed called Race2safety to promote head injury awareness and to promote prevention of head injuries, especially among children.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Florida Major Auto Race Speedways
Florida Major Auto Race Speedways
Daytona International Speedway is home to one of America's greatest auto races, the Daytona 500. It's the biggest, richest race in America and annually kicks off the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. NASCAR was founded by William France Sr. and other race promoters at Daytona Beach, Florida in 1947. The premiere was held at the Daytona Beach Road Course. The original road course started on the pavement of highway A1A, parallel to the ocean in Ormand Beach, and went south to the end of the road, where the drivers accessed the beach and headed north again to the finish. The Daytona Speedway, which originally opened in 1959, has a 2.5-mile high banked asphalt oval and a 3.56-mile asphalt road course with 9 turns. The Daytona 500 Experience opened in 1996 as a highly-interactive multi-million-dollar entertainment facility designed to broaden the entertainment and educational experience of visitors and strengthen Daytona's status as a destination.
Homestead-Miami Speedway hosts the final races of the season in the IRL Indy Car Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series, and the Grand-Am Sports Car Series. The speedway was constructed to help Homestead rebound after the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew. Groundbreaking began August 24, 1993, exactly one year after the hurricane. It opened in November 1995 with a NASCAR Busch Series race and is considered to be one of the most beautiful race tracks in the country. In 2003, the track was reconfigured to produce steep variable banking and lights were installed for night racing. Its 1.5-mile high-banked asphalt oval and 2.1 mile paved road course with 14 turns make it an exciting track for drivers and spectators alike.
Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida is one of the oldest continuously-operating auto race tracks in the United States, hosting its first race in 1950. Sebring is one of the most famous classic race tracks in North American sports car racing, and the 12 Hours of Sebring is legendary in the sports car circuit. The raceway occupies a portion of Sebring Regional Airport, an active airport for private and commercial traffic that was originally built as a WWII Army Air Force training base. The first 12 Hours of Sebring was held in 1952, and grew into a major international race. In 1959, the racetrack hosted the first Formula One United States Grand Prix. The 3.7-mile asphalt/concrete road course with 17 turns was famous for its high-speed Turn 17, a long, bumpy, fast, right turn that can make or break a car's speed down the long straightaway.
The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IRL Indy Car Series race held in St. Petersburg and was the first non-oval event for the Indy Racing League. Andretti Green Promotions, the organization that owns and operates the event, signed a contract extension with the city of St. Petersburg through 2013, and city officials hope to extend it through 2014. The race is a 1.78-mile paved city street road course with 14 turns.
Palm Beach International Raceway, formerly Moroso Motorsports Park, is one of Florida's world-class road courses. Pending its FIA grade II certification, PBIR could be hosting many exciting race events, such as IRL, Indy Lights and Grand Am races. The 2-mile, 11-turn road course has a 3/5-mile straightaway and banked turns. Its 1/4-mile drag strip is built to INRA and NHRA specifications, and the 4/5-mile kart track with 11 turns lets you open it up on 3 long straightaways. Bring your own kart or rent one at the track. The track is open all year for year-round racing.
Florida is a great destination for racing fans and has all the excitement you'd expect in world-class auto racing. Plan your visit or make your move to Florida to be near all the action.
Daytona International Speedway is home to one of America's greatest auto races, the Daytona 500. It's the biggest, richest race in America and annually kicks off the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. NASCAR was founded by William France Sr. and other race promoters at Daytona Beach, Florida in 1947. The premiere was held at the Daytona Beach Road Course. The original road course started on the pavement of highway A1A, parallel to the ocean in Ormand Beach, and went south to the end of the road, where the drivers accessed the beach and headed north again to the finish. The Daytona Speedway, which originally opened in 1959, has a 2.5-mile high banked asphalt oval and a 3.56-mile asphalt road course with 9 turns. The Daytona 500 Experience opened in 1996 as a highly-interactive multi-million-dollar entertainment facility designed to broaden the entertainment and educational experience of visitors and strengthen Daytona's status as a destination.
Homestead-Miami Speedway hosts the final races of the season in the IRL Indy Car Series, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series, and the Grand-Am Sports Car Series. The speedway was constructed to help Homestead rebound after the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew. Groundbreaking began August 24, 1993, exactly one year after the hurricane. It opened in November 1995 with a NASCAR Busch Series race and is considered to be one of the most beautiful race tracks in the country. In 2003, the track was reconfigured to produce steep variable banking and lights were installed for night racing. Its 1.5-mile high-banked asphalt oval and 2.1 mile paved road course with 14 turns make it an exciting track for drivers and spectators alike.
Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida is one of the oldest continuously-operating auto race tracks in the United States, hosting its first race in 1950. Sebring is one of the most famous classic race tracks in North American sports car racing, and the 12 Hours of Sebring is legendary in the sports car circuit. The raceway occupies a portion of Sebring Regional Airport, an active airport for private and commercial traffic that was originally built as a WWII Army Air Force training base. The first 12 Hours of Sebring was held in 1952, and grew into a major international race. In 1959, the racetrack hosted the first Formula One United States Grand Prix. The 3.7-mile asphalt/concrete road course with 17 turns was famous for its high-speed Turn 17, a long, bumpy, fast, right turn that can make or break a car's speed down the long straightaway.
The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IRL Indy Car Series race held in St. Petersburg and was the first non-oval event for the Indy Racing League. Andretti Green Promotions, the organization that owns and operates the event, signed a contract extension with the city of St. Petersburg through 2013, and city officials hope to extend it through 2014. The race is a 1.78-mile paved city street road course with 14 turns.
Palm Beach International Raceway, formerly Moroso Motorsports Park, is one of Florida's world-class road courses. Pending its FIA grade II certification, PBIR could be hosting many exciting race events, such as IRL, Indy Lights and Grand Am races. The 2-mile, 11-turn road course has a 3/5-mile straightaway and banked turns. Its 1/4-mile drag strip is built to INRA and NHRA specifications, and the 4/5-mile kart track with 11 turns lets you open it up on 3 long straightaways. Bring your own kart or rent one at the track. The track is open all year for year-round racing.
Florida is a great destination for racing fans and has all the excitement you'd expect in world-class auto racing. Plan your visit or make your move to Florida to be near all the action.
Entertainment Ideas For Events and Corporate Dinners - Ideas To Consider for After Dinner
Entertainment Ideas For Events and Corporate Dinners - Ideas To Consider for After Dinner
Specialist corporate dinner entertainment event organisers should be able to appreciate how important it is to you that your evening entertainment event runs smoothly and with maximum attention to detail. They should included some suggestions for event-types that you may want to consider. Remember, consider your guests. What suits one type of guest may not suit another type of guest.
To make your awards dinner or evening event a success, you need good quality and effective solutions. Your guests will probably be giving up their evenings to attend your event, so be sure to make sure it's a success and get the feedback you deserve. You may be a corporate client who is looking for a slick, professionally well managed evening event. If you are not sure which corporate entertainment ideas are right for your evening then do the research or contact a professional event team organiser and explore your options. And if your guests are of mixed ages and different interests you should find an organisation that is very experienced and has some great entertainment that appeals to all types of people.
If you are rewarding your team, showing appreciation to your most valued clients or planning the perfect Christmas party it should always be a professionally put-together evening that wows your guests to the last.
After dinner entertainment ideas for events - here are some novel ideas for you to explore if you are considering a celebration event:
Interactive Entertainment:
Wii Olympics And Wii Wimbledon
More and more people are exploring this option - you could even do it at home for free, or in your own workplace. This event can be used in many different scenarios from indoor team building to after dinner fun at corporate dinners and evening event ideas.
Xbox Kinect Olympic Games Night
This brings a new dimension to evening entertainment ideas, this brand new team event will amaze your guests as you become the controller in what is always a very energetic activity!
Quiz Nights
Always a great choice to fill in the gaps between meals. A corporate quiz is always fully interactive with the use of wireless answering gadgets and giant projector screens.
Game Shows
Audience participation is what this should be all about, if you want some light hearted entertainment to keep your guests amused throughout and after dinner then this is a cracking idea!
F1 Simulator
Simulators can be hired from professional events organisers and will always get your guests' hearts racing!
Fun Casino Hire
The perfect addition to any corporate dinner, product launch or client entertainment when looking for something a little more sophisticated.
Giant Pub Games
Bring the fun and laughter to your after dinner spare time by using a giant indoor pub style games. Perfect for any team based activity after or before dinner.
Scalextric Grand Prix Evenings
The children's toy that you never grow out of. Great for breaking the ice and adding some competition to your evening.
Virtual Horse Race Evenings
This is very popular these days - you don't need to go to the races - and you don't even need to gamble if you're using funny-money!
Arcade Games
If you need something to keep people entertained throughout the evening whilst the disco is playing on till the early hours then why not consider full size arcade games. Many companies now offer the chance to hire an entire suite of these machines for you to play with.
Specialist corporate dinner entertainment event organisers should be able to appreciate how important it is to you that your evening entertainment event runs smoothly and with maximum attention to detail. They should included some suggestions for event-types that you may want to consider. Remember, consider your guests. What suits one type of guest may not suit another type of guest.
To make your awards dinner or evening event a success, you need good quality and effective solutions. Your guests will probably be giving up their evenings to attend your event, so be sure to make sure it's a success and get the feedback you deserve. You may be a corporate client who is looking for a slick, professionally well managed evening event. If you are not sure which corporate entertainment ideas are right for your evening then do the research or contact a professional event team organiser and explore your options. And if your guests are of mixed ages and different interests you should find an organisation that is very experienced and has some great entertainment that appeals to all types of people.
If you are rewarding your team, showing appreciation to your most valued clients or planning the perfect Christmas party it should always be a professionally put-together evening that wows your guests to the last.
After dinner entertainment ideas for events - here are some novel ideas for you to explore if you are considering a celebration event:
Interactive Entertainment:
Wii Olympics And Wii Wimbledon
More and more people are exploring this option - you could even do it at home for free, or in your own workplace. This event can be used in many different scenarios from indoor team building to after dinner fun at corporate dinners and evening event ideas.
Xbox Kinect Olympic Games Night
This brings a new dimension to evening entertainment ideas, this brand new team event will amaze your guests as you become the controller in what is always a very energetic activity!
Quiz Nights
Always a great choice to fill in the gaps between meals. A corporate quiz is always fully interactive with the use of wireless answering gadgets and giant projector screens.
Game Shows
Audience participation is what this should be all about, if you want some light hearted entertainment to keep your guests amused throughout and after dinner then this is a cracking idea!
F1 Simulator
Simulators can be hired from professional events organisers and will always get your guests' hearts racing!
Fun Casino Hire
The perfect addition to any corporate dinner, product launch or client entertainment when looking for something a little more sophisticated.
Giant Pub Games
Bring the fun and laughter to your after dinner spare time by using a giant indoor pub style games. Perfect for any team based activity after or before dinner.
Scalextric Grand Prix Evenings
The children's toy that you never grow out of. Great for breaking the ice and adding some competition to your evening.
Virtual Horse Race Evenings
This is very popular these days - you don't need to go to the races - and you don't even need to gamble if you're using funny-money!
Arcade Games
If you need something to keep people entertained throughout the evening whilst the disco is playing on till the early hours then why not consider full size arcade games. Many companies now offer the chance to hire an entire suite of these machines for you to play with.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Cars 2 Tokyo Spinout Track Set - Get Ready To Race!
Cars 2 Tokyo Spinout Track Set - Get Ready To Race!
Lookout! He's gonna crash! And that is exactly what happens in the Cars 2 Tokyo Spinout track set that is based on the upcoming movie Cars 2. And just in case you've been off planet for any length of time, the sequel to the original box office hit Cars, is due out in theaters in just a little over a month from now. Go ahead and mark the date June 24th on your calendar because that is the day your kids will start bugging you to take them to see it!
And most likely they've been bugging you about all the new Disney toy releases, like the Tokyo Spinout track set. Now if they haven't been making suggestions here and there, like maybe offering to mow the lawn or do dishes for a month, make you sure you give them a hug when they get home today, treat them to a pizza and inquire if they talk to anybody at school because Cars 2 and everything that surrounds it has been one of the most talked about and anticipated events of summer 2011.
With the release of this cool track set, we are now starting to see the Disney merchandising machine crank its engine up and shift into drive. Over the next few months, before the movie and as the movie makes its run at the box office, we will be treated to over 300 new products from Disney that have a direct tie in with the movie itself. And the Tokyo track is just one of those.
So let's take a quick peak at the Tokyo Spinout track set and see what it's all about shall we? The first thing that you need to know is that the racing set is taken from the part in the movie when the World Grand Prix moves to Japan to continue the racing series to see who is the fastest car in the world. Not to give anything away from the movie, but you'll see why this racing set is named the way it is.
What you get when with this toy is a launching style race set where you get to launch 2 cars at one time and see who comes out the winner. What makes the racing set unique is that only one car will make it through the perilous raceway! Will it be yours or your opponents?
Included with the Tokyo Spinout track set is a special edition Lightning McQueen race car to get your child racing in no time flat. Assembly of the set is quick and easy so it won't take long before you hear the laughter when your child launches his car and gets to racing!
Lookout! He's gonna crash! And that is exactly what happens in the Cars 2 Tokyo Spinout track set that is based on the upcoming movie Cars 2. And just in case you've been off planet for any length of time, the sequel to the original box office hit Cars, is due out in theaters in just a little over a month from now. Go ahead and mark the date June 24th on your calendar because that is the day your kids will start bugging you to take them to see it!
And most likely they've been bugging you about all the new Disney toy releases, like the Tokyo Spinout track set. Now if they haven't been making suggestions here and there, like maybe offering to mow the lawn or do dishes for a month, make you sure you give them a hug when they get home today, treat them to a pizza and inquire if they talk to anybody at school because Cars 2 and everything that surrounds it has been one of the most talked about and anticipated events of summer 2011.
With the release of this cool track set, we are now starting to see the Disney merchandising machine crank its engine up and shift into drive. Over the next few months, before the movie and as the movie makes its run at the box office, we will be treated to over 300 new products from Disney that have a direct tie in with the movie itself. And the Tokyo track is just one of those.
So let's take a quick peak at the Tokyo Spinout track set and see what it's all about shall we? The first thing that you need to know is that the racing set is taken from the part in the movie when the World Grand Prix moves to Japan to continue the racing series to see who is the fastest car in the world. Not to give anything away from the movie, but you'll see why this racing set is named the way it is.
What you get when with this toy is a launching style race set where you get to launch 2 cars at one time and see who comes out the winner. What makes the racing set unique is that only one car will make it through the perilous raceway! Will it be yours or your opponents?
Included with the Tokyo Spinout track set is a special edition Lightning McQueen race car to get your child racing in no time flat. Assembly of the set is quick and easy so it won't take long before you hear the laughter when your child launches his car and gets to racing!
Car Hire in Germany - The Nurburgring
Car Hire in Germany - The Nurburgring
The Eifel mountain region in Germany is a great place to go for a holiday, but why not hire a car and travel to one of the most famous racetracks in the world: The Nurburgring?
The Nurburgring is located 43 miles south of Cologne and 75 miles northwest of Frankfurt. Situated in the Eifel Mountains and built around the town of Nurburg and its medieval castle, the track was originally opened in 1927 as a showcase for German engineering and driving talent. Over eighty years later, the 'Ring is still regarded as the most challenging purpose-built racetrack in the world. At roughly thirteen miles long and boasting corners of every type, the track will severely test even the most experienced racing driver.
When originally built, the Nurburgring consisted of a North loop (Nordschleife), a South loop (Sudschleife) and a start/finish area linking the two with pits and grandstands. Although the southern loop is now derelict and the start finish area is now part of the short Grand Prix circuit currently used for F1 and Touring car races, the Nordschleife still exists and you can drive it!
Despite being a racetrack, the Nordschleife is classed as a one way toll road, allowing anyone to drive it for a fee. However beware, this track is incredibly demanding and will bite hard if you do not drive within your limits. Also ensure that you check the official website for track opening times as the 'ring is used regularly for manufacturer test sessions and driver training.
Before you go on the trip do some preparation by learning the track on a console or PC game. There are several games which have fairly accurate reproductions of the 'ring, including Gran Turismo 4. When you are at the circuit, you can pay to be driven around it on a 'Ring Taxi' to allow you to familiarise yourself with the many challenges the Nordschleife offers.
If you want a break from driving (and it is advised that you do so), there are many things to see and do at the 'ring. The Schloss Nurburg is a 12th century castle that over looks the start/finish area of the circuit and is an ideal attraction for non-drivers. This year sees the opening of the Warsteiner event complex, Nurburgring arena, four-star hotel and shopping mall, close to the start/finish area of the Grand Prix track.
Car hire in Germany - Driving the track
It is not advisable to take your road-going hire car onto the Nordschleife, as car rental companies have now become savvy to such use of their vehicles. Some companies will give you a hefty fine for doing so and one company in particular will ban you for life. To assist them in preserving their cars, GPS tracking is sometimes used and locals are employed to spot them in the Nurburgring car park. If you have driven a hire car from the airport, do not leave it there!
Instead of breaking their cars, you can find several local German car hire firms that provide cars specifically for driving on the 'ring. For more information on these companies and more general information about the circuit, visit Ben Lovejoy's website.
The Eifel mountain region in Germany is a great place to go for a holiday, but why not hire a car and travel to one of the most famous racetracks in the world: The Nurburgring?
The Nurburgring is located 43 miles south of Cologne and 75 miles northwest of Frankfurt. Situated in the Eifel Mountains and built around the town of Nurburg and its medieval castle, the track was originally opened in 1927 as a showcase for German engineering and driving talent. Over eighty years later, the 'Ring is still regarded as the most challenging purpose-built racetrack in the world. At roughly thirteen miles long and boasting corners of every type, the track will severely test even the most experienced racing driver.
When originally built, the Nurburgring consisted of a North loop (Nordschleife), a South loop (Sudschleife) and a start/finish area linking the two with pits and grandstands. Although the southern loop is now derelict and the start finish area is now part of the short Grand Prix circuit currently used for F1 and Touring car races, the Nordschleife still exists and you can drive it!
Despite being a racetrack, the Nordschleife is classed as a one way toll road, allowing anyone to drive it for a fee. However beware, this track is incredibly demanding and will bite hard if you do not drive within your limits. Also ensure that you check the official website for track opening times as the 'ring is used regularly for manufacturer test sessions and driver training.
Before you go on the trip do some preparation by learning the track on a console or PC game. There are several games which have fairly accurate reproductions of the 'ring, including Gran Turismo 4. When you are at the circuit, you can pay to be driven around it on a 'Ring Taxi' to allow you to familiarise yourself with the many challenges the Nordschleife offers.
If you want a break from driving (and it is advised that you do so), there are many things to see and do at the 'ring. The Schloss Nurburg is a 12th century castle that over looks the start/finish area of the circuit and is an ideal attraction for non-drivers. This year sees the opening of the Warsteiner event complex, Nurburgring arena, four-star hotel and shopping mall, close to the start/finish area of the Grand Prix track.
Car hire in Germany - Driving the track
It is not advisable to take your road-going hire car onto the Nordschleife, as car rental companies have now become savvy to such use of their vehicles. Some companies will give you a hefty fine for doing so and one company in particular will ban you for life. To assist them in preserving their cars, GPS tracking is sometimes used and locals are employed to spot them in the Nurburgring car park. If you have driven a hire car from the airport, do not leave it there!
Instead of breaking their cars, you can find several local German car hire firms that provide cars specifically for driving on the 'ring. For more information on these companies and more general information about the circuit, visit Ben Lovejoy's website.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Driving Experiences - An Opportunity That Every Person Want To Avail
Driving Experiences - An Opportunity That Every Person Want To Avail
Every man has some adventurous nature; however in cases this characteristic become severe and in some cases remains normal. People, who have lots of excitement in their behavior, always want to do something new and thrilling. Actually, they do not want only admiration from people around them; their actual aim behind finding some adventurous activity is nothing, but sake of their extreme natural desire. Driving experiences are the no doubt, the best examples of such highly excited and thrilling activities, which adventurous mind people want to avail at any cost. In fact, a man who is not driver cannot imagine the level of enthusiasm and pleasure, which a driver feels while driving.
It is not compulsory always those only professional drivers can enjoy the thrilling driving experiences alone. If, you are driving your car in routine life, you can also feel that same pleasure and thrill, which only professional drivers feel. Today, a large number of options are available in different countries of the world, which offer wonderful driving experience not only to professionals but to non-experienced as well. You have often heard the names of various car racing competitions and if you have ever watched any one, you will surely like to do that just because of truly amazing thrill behind any car racing. In this regard, Formula One car racing, super car racing and rally car racing are the most significant events.
If we talk about Formula One car racing, then you can also get the chance to drive this single seat racing car. Among all other driving experiences, this option could be the best for you if you really want to drive fast, but alone as well. Don't worry at all, you can not only get the tuition from well-experienced instructors, but can get the knowledge about rules of driving Formula One car and tricks to avoid accidents. If you will search on internet, you will find a lot of options, most probably in your own area, which provide you the chance of driving Formula one car even at very economical price range. If you are thinking about presenting a gift to your loved one, who is crazy about doing some adventurous task, you can offer him the driving experience of Formula One car.
Super car racing involves driving experiences of some internationally recognized fastest cars like Ferraris, Aston Martins and Porsches. You will never forget the peak of excitement and adventure, once you will drive any one car among these. Another startling opportunity in car racing is rally car racing. This type of car racing is much different than all other types of racing. In this game, you remain not only just on the same surface always. It means, your track could be muddy, carpeted road, and zigzag track as well just in a single drive. This is undoubtedly, a flawless option of driving cars and you will always remember this amazing experience during your whole life.
Every man has some adventurous nature; however in cases this characteristic become severe and in some cases remains normal. People, who have lots of excitement in their behavior, always want to do something new and thrilling. Actually, they do not want only admiration from people around them; their actual aim behind finding some adventurous activity is nothing, but sake of their extreme natural desire. Driving experiences are the no doubt, the best examples of such highly excited and thrilling activities, which adventurous mind people want to avail at any cost. In fact, a man who is not driver cannot imagine the level of enthusiasm and pleasure, which a driver feels while driving.
It is not compulsory always those only professional drivers can enjoy the thrilling driving experiences alone. If, you are driving your car in routine life, you can also feel that same pleasure and thrill, which only professional drivers feel. Today, a large number of options are available in different countries of the world, which offer wonderful driving experience not only to professionals but to non-experienced as well. You have often heard the names of various car racing competitions and if you have ever watched any one, you will surely like to do that just because of truly amazing thrill behind any car racing. In this regard, Formula One car racing, super car racing and rally car racing are the most significant events.
If we talk about Formula One car racing, then you can also get the chance to drive this single seat racing car. Among all other driving experiences, this option could be the best for you if you really want to drive fast, but alone as well. Don't worry at all, you can not only get the tuition from well-experienced instructors, but can get the knowledge about rules of driving Formula One car and tricks to avoid accidents. If you will search on internet, you will find a lot of options, most probably in your own area, which provide you the chance of driving Formula one car even at very economical price range. If you are thinking about presenting a gift to your loved one, who is crazy about doing some adventurous task, you can offer him the driving experience of Formula One car.
Super car racing involves driving experiences of some internationally recognized fastest cars like Ferraris, Aston Martins and Porsches. You will never forget the peak of excitement and adventure, once you will drive any one car among these. Another startling opportunity in car racing is rally car racing. This type of car racing is much different than all other types of racing. In this game, you remain not only just on the same surface always. It means, your track could be muddy, carpeted road, and zigzag track as well just in a single drive. This is undoubtedly, a flawless option of driving cars and you will always remember this amazing experience during your whole life.
Corvette Indy Pace Car Replica
Corvette Indy Pace Car Replica
not only marked the 45th birthday for the great American icon that is the Corvette, but it also meant another year that the Corvette would be chosen to pace the field at the Indianapolis 500. This would be the fourth time that the Corvette would earn such an honor and that meant once again the good folks at GM would be putting together a replica as a limited edition and what they produced has become one of the most sought after Corvettes that there is.
The 1998 Corvette pace car replica was almost identical to the actual pace car that leads the field on race day at the 500. In fact the only differences with the replica and the real thing was the strobe lights, the roll bar, and the on board fire extinguishing system that the real pace car had and the replica didn't.
Besides those small differences the replica and the actual pace cars were identical. This was a claim that none of the other previous replicas could make. Add to that the fact that there were only 1,158 in total that were built (only the 1995 replica was less with 527) and you begin to realize why this Corvette pace car replica is so special.
The limited edition Corvette was decked out to the nines with yellow wheels, a beautiful yellow and black interior, and it sported a wild flag logo design all over. These were the main features that were responsible for adding an extra $2,800 to the price tag of the 1998 ragtop Corvette that was already basing at $44,900. However with the limited number that would end up being produced it was well worth the extra few grand.
The paint was made up of a brilliant combination of blue and purple and was officially called "Radar Blue." As would be assumed it was the only color available for the replica (hence the word replica).
As you would expect, the replica pace cars would share the same features performance wise as the stock Corvette convertibles did. That meant an all aluminum LS1 V-8 engine to power the replica pace car with 345 horsepower and a six speed transmission that was made available for the year. Also featured for the year were anti-lock brakes and a handling stability system which would keep most Vette owners out of trouble in the turns.
This replica featured plenty of get up and goes as well. The replica ragtop Corvette was capable of doing 0 miles per hour to 60 miles per hour in around five seconds making it one fast and good looking vehicle.
While the Corvette would go on to pace the field at the Indianapolis many times more and will likely do so moving forward, there is little doubt that the 1998 Corvette pace car replica will hold a special place in the hearts of all who belong to the Corvette Nation. Others may come and go, but this Vette will always remain special.
not only marked the 45th birthday for the great American icon that is the Corvette, but it also meant another year that the Corvette would be chosen to pace the field at the Indianapolis 500. This would be the fourth time that the Corvette would earn such an honor and that meant once again the good folks at GM would be putting together a replica as a limited edition and what they produced has become one of the most sought after Corvettes that there is.
The 1998 Corvette pace car replica was almost identical to the actual pace car that leads the field on race day at the 500. In fact the only differences with the replica and the real thing was the strobe lights, the roll bar, and the on board fire extinguishing system that the real pace car had and the replica didn't.
Besides those small differences the replica and the actual pace cars were identical. This was a claim that none of the other previous replicas could make. Add to that the fact that there were only 1,158 in total that were built (only the 1995 replica was less with 527) and you begin to realize why this Corvette pace car replica is so special.
The limited edition Corvette was decked out to the nines with yellow wheels, a beautiful yellow and black interior, and it sported a wild flag logo design all over. These were the main features that were responsible for adding an extra $2,800 to the price tag of the 1998 ragtop Corvette that was already basing at $44,900. However with the limited number that would end up being produced it was well worth the extra few grand.
The paint was made up of a brilliant combination of blue and purple and was officially called "Radar Blue." As would be assumed it was the only color available for the replica (hence the word replica).
As you would expect, the replica pace cars would share the same features performance wise as the stock Corvette convertibles did. That meant an all aluminum LS1 V-8 engine to power the replica pace car with 345 horsepower and a six speed transmission that was made available for the year. Also featured for the year were anti-lock brakes and a handling stability system which would keep most Vette owners out of trouble in the turns.
This replica featured plenty of get up and goes as well. The replica ragtop Corvette was capable of doing 0 miles per hour to 60 miles per hour in around five seconds making it one fast and good looking vehicle.
While the Corvette would go on to pace the field at the Indianapolis many times more and will likely do so moving forward, there is little doubt that the 1998 Corvette pace car replica will hold a special place in the hearts of all who belong to the Corvette Nation. Others may come and go, but this Vette will always remain special.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
A Short Biography on Nigel Mansell
A Short Biography on Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell was born August 8, 1953 in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire. He spent most of his childhood and early adult years in Hall Green, Birmingham. When he was just 15 years old, he began to get a feel for racing in karting. He took a part-time job as an engineer, but never lost the ambition and drive to race, which ended up costing him the majority of his income when he began to compete in the British Formula Ford 1600 competition in the 1970s.
Mansell won his first-ever race at Mellory Park in 1976. In one short year, Mansell had the opportunity to win his first championship, after winning 32 of the 42 races he participated in. In a horrible accident, Mansell broke his back and most thought his racing days were over before they ever really got started. In a miraculous turnaround, Nigel returned to claim his championship against medical advice.
Mansell and his wife sold their property in 1979 to pay for their Formula 3 races with the March team. The March wasn't anything impressive, but Mansell's performance still attracted the attention of Lotus Formula 1 boss Colin Chapman. Chapman was convinced of Mansell's talents, and invited him to test a Formula 1 car.
However, shortly before the meeting was to take place, Mansell broke a vertebra in his neck after a collision on the track. Chapman was in doubt, but Mansell ensured him that he'd be ready to race. Mansell signed a test-driver contract with Lotus in 1980, and was hoping to get the second seat alongside Mario Andretti, who was competing in his last season with Lotus. In August of that year, Mansell was given the chance to prove his talent, but mechanical failures thwarted multiple attempts.
Eventually, Mansell proved his worth and was given a full-time driving contract with Lotus. His first race was a success, followed by many more. Chapman and Mansell became close friends and Mansell seemed to fit right in with his teammates. The car ran well, and the team enjoyed modest success, but they never made any headway.
In 1982, Chapman passed away and Mansell had to wait until 1985 before Frank Williams came along and gave him a competitive card and the second seat alongside Keke Rosberg. The 85 season started out poorly for Mansell who wouldn't enjoy his first win until the 1985 European Grand Prix.
In the years to follow, Mansell would cement his position as one of the best Formula 1 drivers in the sport. In 14 seasons, Mansell ran 191 races, won 31, 59 podium finishes; earned pole position 32 times, has 30 separate fastest lap records, earned 480 points, and won the coveted F1 Title.
A born racecar driver, Mansell proves that determination can prevail in the end. A life marred with injury, repeatedly forced into success. Nigel Mansell is often called the "King."
Nigel Ernest James Mansell was born August 8, 1953 in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire. He spent most of his childhood and early adult years in Hall Green, Birmingham. When he was just 15 years old, he began to get a feel for racing in karting. He took a part-time job as an engineer, but never lost the ambition and drive to race, which ended up costing him the majority of his income when he began to compete in the British Formula Ford 1600 competition in the 1970s.
Mansell won his first-ever race at Mellory Park in 1976. In one short year, Mansell had the opportunity to win his first championship, after winning 32 of the 42 races he participated in. In a horrible accident, Mansell broke his back and most thought his racing days were over before they ever really got started. In a miraculous turnaround, Nigel returned to claim his championship against medical advice.
Mansell and his wife sold their property in 1979 to pay for their Formula 3 races with the March team. The March wasn't anything impressive, but Mansell's performance still attracted the attention of Lotus Formula 1 boss Colin Chapman. Chapman was convinced of Mansell's talents, and invited him to test a Formula 1 car.
However, shortly before the meeting was to take place, Mansell broke a vertebra in his neck after a collision on the track. Chapman was in doubt, but Mansell ensured him that he'd be ready to race. Mansell signed a test-driver contract with Lotus in 1980, and was hoping to get the second seat alongside Mario Andretti, who was competing in his last season with Lotus. In August of that year, Mansell was given the chance to prove his talent, but mechanical failures thwarted multiple attempts.
Eventually, Mansell proved his worth and was given a full-time driving contract with Lotus. His first race was a success, followed by many more. Chapman and Mansell became close friends and Mansell seemed to fit right in with his teammates. The car ran well, and the team enjoyed modest success, but they never made any headway.
In 1982, Chapman passed away and Mansell had to wait until 1985 before Frank Williams came along and gave him a competitive card and the second seat alongside Keke Rosberg. The 85 season started out poorly for Mansell who wouldn't enjoy his first win until the 1985 European Grand Prix.
In the years to follow, Mansell would cement his position as one of the best Formula 1 drivers in the sport. In 14 seasons, Mansell ran 191 races, won 31, 59 podium finishes; earned pole position 32 times, has 30 separate fastest lap records, earned 480 points, and won the coveted F1 Title.
A born racecar driver, Mansell proves that determination can prevail in the end. A life marred with injury, repeatedly forced into success. Nigel Mansell is often called the "King."
Alpinestars Motocross Glove Range for 2012
Alpinestars Motocross Glove Range for 2012
For 2012, Alpinestars are releasing new version of the Racer Glove, Charger Glove and Techstar Glove while the Neo Moto stays the same for this year.
Alpinestars' Racer Glove features a stylish design constructed with vented stretch mesh that keeps your hands cool while you ride. Pre-curved fingers and gussets on top of the fingers afford a comfortable fit. The Racer Glove has the usual slip on cuff design for a snug easy fit, the pre-curved fingers are aimed at reducing fatigue while riding distance events or Enduro style rides. The foam padding has stayed the same this year offering the same protection against impacts and flying debris. One of the most popular features on this years Alpinestars Racer glove are the silicone strips on the first two fingers offering gear feel and grip on the levers.
Alpinestars Charger Gloves. The Rugged one in the range aimed even more so at the Enduro or Green lane riders. The rugged multi fabric construction is for an optimal balance of weight, protection and durability. They also have vented stretch mesh to keep your hands cool in the hottest environments. The palm of the Alpinestar Charger Glove is made from Clarino and is resistant to abrasion where it's needed the most. The first two finger ends have silicone strips like the Racer glove but are much thicker on the Charger Glove.
Alpinestars Techstar Gloves. Another rugged Motocross Glove from Alpinestars, these are the top spec Motocross Race glove. Highly durable with vented Spandura mesh, 3D TPR protector on the back of the hands, pre curved Lycra knuckle flex points for eliminating palm bunching. Like the Alpinestars Charge glove these also have the Clarino palm but added to that if covers the thumb also, much increasing the life of the gloves. As well as silicone grip strips on the first two fingers the Techstar Glove also has silicone on the palm making these the top spec glove in the range.
Alpinestars Neo Pro Gloves feature neoprene insulation and high grip design, the Neo-Pro is perfect for driving or working in harsh weather conditions and the glove of choice for the Green lane or day out in the hills riders. The glove is a repeat of last years, but why change a good thing? Spec includes:- Neoprene top and wrist cuff, palm constructed of Clarino synthetic leather with silicon full palm print for maximum grip, anatomical palm side-seam for precise fit and sensitivity, printed logos to prevent thread puncture holes and elastic and Velcro wrist closure for a personalized fit and greater protection.
For 2012, Alpinestars are releasing new version of the Racer Glove, Charger Glove and Techstar Glove while the Neo Moto stays the same for this year.
Alpinestars' Racer Glove features a stylish design constructed with vented stretch mesh that keeps your hands cool while you ride. Pre-curved fingers and gussets on top of the fingers afford a comfortable fit. The Racer Glove has the usual slip on cuff design for a snug easy fit, the pre-curved fingers are aimed at reducing fatigue while riding distance events or Enduro style rides. The foam padding has stayed the same this year offering the same protection against impacts and flying debris. One of the most popular features on this years Alpinestars Racer glove are the silicone strips on the first two fingers offering gear feel and grip on the levers.
Alpinestars Charger Gloves. The Rugged one in the range aimed even more so at the Enduro or Green lane riders. The rugged multi fabric construction is for an optimal balance of weight, protection and durability. They also have vented stretch mesh to keep your hands cool in the hottest environments. The palm of the Alpinestar Charger Glove is made from Clarino and is resistant to abrasion where it's needed the most. The first two finger ends have silicone strips like the Racer glove but are much thicker on the Charger Glove.
Alpinestars Techstar Gloves. Another rugged Motocross Glove from Alpinestars, these are the top spec Motocross Race glove. Highly durable with vented Spandura mesh, 3D TPR protector on the back of the hands, pre curved Lycra knuckle flex points for eliminating palm bunching. Like the Alpinestars Charge glove these also have the Clarino palm but added to that if covers the thumb also, much increasing the life of the gloves. As well as silicone grip strips on the first two fingers the Techstar Glove also has silicone on the palm making these the top spec glove in the range.
Alpinestars Neo Pro Gloves feature neoprene insulation and high grip design, the Neo-Pro is perfect for driving or working in harsh weather conditions and the glove of choice for the Green lane or day out in the hills riders. The glove is a repeat of last years, but why change a good thing? Spec includes:- Neoprene top and wrist cuff, palm constructed of Clarino synthetic leather with silicon full palm print for maximum grip, anatomical palm side-seam for precise fit and sensitivity, printed logos to prevent thread puncture holes and elastic and Velcro wrist closure for a personalized fit and greater protection.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
PC Racing Games That Molded PC Racing Games of Today
PC Racing Games That Molded PC Racing Games of Today
PC racing games are one of one the most famous genres on video game. They have also been one of the capital profit generators for most game developers. PC racing games has tremendously evolved since the time they were developed. From cartoonish graphics to realistic driving simulators, PC racing games of today would have never been successful without the games that started it all.
We have come up with a list of 5 games that helped made outstanding PC racing games what they are today. You might be familiar with some of them since some of these are part of a franchise.
Need for Speed 3: Hot Pursuit - It is the third addition to the Need for Speed series. It is packed with a lot of police pursuits which serves a major aspect of its game play. Need for Speed 3: Hot Pursuit focuses on using exotic sports cars however it features new races that takes place in locations that are within North America. It also includes different climates and varied settings. Additionally, the police Ai that you can play with in the game have been improved in terms of using new tactics to stop the player.
Grand Prix 4 - Grand Prix 4 serves as a seasonal and graphical update of Grand Prix 3 which was released in the year 2000. The game has retained the legendary physics engine over the years, but it has been introduced in the market at a far less welcoming time than its other 3 predecessors. Grand Prix 4 has also been in a stiff completion with other PC racing games from other developers.
Race Driver: GRID - Using similar engines as DIRT, this game is pretty good for kids. However, it's pretty difficult to play considering that its career mode is likely to serve you with pleasure and frustration. Additional things have also been added to the game such as a full-scale replica of Le Mans. This really helps make this game one of the most outstanding PC racing games of all time.
NASCAR Racing 2003 Season - It is unfortunate that EA has acquired exclusive license from NASCAR after NASCAR Racing 2003 Season was released. The game served as the last bastion for fans of NASCAR. NASCAR Racing 2003 Season gives NASCAR fans an outstanding gaming experience like no other can provide.
GTR 2 - FIA GT Racing Game - Since its initial release in September of 2006, GTR 2 has already received widespread recognition. The game portrays the 2003 and 2004 FIA GT championship series.
The game offers players with different game modes such as driving school, time trials, 24hr races, practice, single races and championships. However, unlike its previous version the game offers its users with less ability to make custom championships and unlockable championships.
Another major installation to the series is the addition of the driving school in the game. The driving school teaches the player with different racing techniques. It also allows users to practice them as well.
The 24 hour race shows new lively night and day cycles as well. The transformation from night and day is very steady and seamless unlike the initial version where the race had to be disrupted for a while until the new environment is loaded.
PC racing games not only limit vehicles to cars but also motorcycles. There are a lot of fancy motorcycle games that you might also enjoy like Motocross Madness 2, MotoGP 2 and 08, Motocross Mania and Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box. But always remember, that without the pioneering games that started everything, the games of today would have never been what it is today.
PC racing games are one of one the most famous genres on video game. They have also been one of the capital profit generators for most game developers. PC racing games has tremendously evolved since the time they were developed. From cartoonish graphics to realistic driving simulators, PC racing games of today would have never been successful without the games that started it all.
We have come up with a list of 5 games that helped made outstanding PC racing games what they are today. You might be familiar with some of them since some of these are part of a franchise.
Need for Speed 3: Hot Pursuit - It is the third addition to the Need for Speed series. It is packed with a lot of police pursuits which serves a major aspect of its game play. Need for Speed 3: Hot Pursuit focuses on using exotic sports cars however it features new races that takes place in locations that are within North America. It also includes different climates and varied settings. Additionally, the police Ai that you can play with in the game have been improved in terms of using new tactics to stop the player.
Grand Prix 4 - Grand Prix 4 serves as a seasonal and graphical update of Grand Prix 3 which was released in the year 2000. The game has retained the legendary physics engine over the years, but it has been introduced in the market at a far less welcoming time than its other 3 predecessors. Grand Prix 4 has also been in a stiff completion with other PC racing games from other developers.
Race Driver: GRID - Using similar engines as DIRT, this game is pretty good for kids. However, it's pretty difficult to play considering that its career mode is likely to serve you with pleasure and frustration. Additional things have also been added to the game such as a full-scale replica of Le Mans. This really helps make this game one of the most outstanding PC racing games of all time.
NASCAR Racing 2003 Season - It is unfortunate that EA has acquired exclusive license from NASCAR after NASCAR Racing 2003 Season was released. The game served as the last bastion for fans of NASCAR. NASCAR Racing 2003 Season gives NASCAR fans an outstanding gaming experience like no other can provide.
GTR 2 - FIA GT Racing Game - Since its initial release in September of 2006, GTR 2 has already received widespread recognition. The game portrays the 2003 and 2004 FIA GT championship series.
The game offers players with different game modes such as driving school, time trials, 24hr races, practice, single races and championships. However, unlike its previous version the game offers its users with less ability to make custom championships and unlockable championships.
Another major installation to the series is the addition of the driving school in the game. The driving school teaches the player with different racing techniques. It also allows users to practice them as well.
The 24 hour race shows new lively night and day cycles as well. The transformation from night and day is very steady and seamless unlike the initial version where the race had to be disrupted for a while until the new environment is loaded.
PC racing games not only limit vehicles to cars but also motorcycles. There are a lot of fancy motorcycle games that you might also enjoy like Motocross Madness 2, MotoGP 2 and 08, Motocross Mania and Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box. But always remember, that without the pioneering games that started everything, the games of today would have never been what it is today.
History of Diecast Car Models
History of Diecast Car Models
Building a spectacular compilation or using the collectables as toys was not the initial purpose for die-cast car models. Models were made for marketing purposes. To plan for new cars, manufacturers would make scale and full-sized replicas of the real vehicles. Clay or wood was used for some of these models. In others, the material that the real vehicles were made from, was sometimes the same as that which the replicas were made from. Another purpose for the die-cast cars was to add realism to train sets.
During the first 30 years of the 20th Century, car models were made from basic slush cast plaster and iron. The 20 years following, cars, trucks, and military replicas were formed from tin and pressed steel, better quality materials. After World War II models made in different kinds of alloys became prevalent.
Europe became the place where these alloys established an enormous presence. In the United States, there was a demand for plastic cars, but not so much for the die-cast metal cars, as they were rudimentary in form. Japan became privy to the tin and pressed steel models by the 1950s. The nation continued its production during the 1960s. When the 1970s creeped around, Japan was producing die-cast cars. The chief producers of die-cast metal cars presently, include China and countries from southeast Asia.
The size of the models depended on the particular niche companies were attracting. Because railroad layouts already established a basic universal scale, before World War II, car and truck models from Europe had to conform to that size in order to be included in the display. Additionally, in order to appeal to children some companies concentrated on small scaled replicas.
Precision was the name of the game for European model vehicles, featuring the complexities of doors, trunks, and hoods opening up. This occurred because in Europe the labor market increased after the war. Consequently, there was a greater pool of laborers available to manufacturer the vehicles. In contrast, in America, the labor force was not as large, therefore, the replicas were made from simple cast iron or plastic, and consisted of very few parts.
In Europe, the doors, trunks, axles, wheels, and hoods were all separate parts in the manufacturing process. In the United States, all of these items would be included in one large, unimpressive piece. However, after some time, American automotive dealerships were in need of promoting their new arrivals, so the models became more sophisticated. This complexity was aided by technological advances. Additionally, adults have become more interested in collecting the models since the 1980s, therefore manufacturers have been producing less toy-like renditions. Today because of the high cost of production, moving parts are becoming less prevalent.
Licensing arrangements have been made between the real car manufacturers and the manufacturers of the die-cast models. There was a time back in the 1950s and 1960s such agreements were not necessary because the real car manufacturers welcomed the popularity of the models because they provided free advertising. This is not the case anymore, as the real car manufacturers seek legal ways to protect the originality of their vehicles.
Building a spectacular compilation or using the collectables as toys was not the initial purpose for die-cast car models. Models were made for marketing purposes. To plan for new cars, manufacturers would make scale and full-sized replicas of the real vehicles. Clay or wood was used for some of these models. In others, the material that the real vehicles were made from, was sometimes the same as that which the replicas were made from. Another purpose for the die-cast cars was to add realism to train sets.
During the first 30 years of the 20th Century, car models were made from basic slush cast plaster and iron. The 20 years following, cars, trucks, and military replicas were formed from tin and pressed steel, better quality materials. After World War II models made in different kinds of alloys became prevalent.
Europe became the place where these alloys established an enormous presence. In the United States, there was a demand for plastic cars, but not so much for the die-cast metal cars, as they were rudimentary in form. Japan became privy to the tin and pressed steel models by the 1950s. The nation continued its production during the 1960s. When the 1970s creeped around, Japan was producing die-cast cars. The chief producers of die-cast metal cars presently, include China and countries from southeast Asia.
The size of the models depended on the particular niche companies were attracting. Because railroad layouts already established a basic universal scale, before World War II, car and truck models from Europe had to conform to that size in order to be included in the display. Additionally, in order to appeal to children some companies concentrated on small scaled replicas.
Precision was the name of the game for European model vehicles, featuring the complexities of doors, trunks, and hoods opening up. This occurred because in Europe the labor market increased after the war. Consequently, there was a greater pool of laborers available to manufacturer the vehicles. In contrast, in America, the labor force was not as large, therefore, the replicas were made from simple cast iron or plastic, and consisted of very few parts.
In Europe, the doors, trunks, axles, wheels, and hoods were all separate parts in the manufacturing process. In the United States, all of these items would be included in one large, unimpressive piece. However, after some time, American automotive dealerships were in need of promoting their new arrivals, so the models became more sophisticated. This complexity was aided by technological advances. Additionally, adults have become more interested in collecting the models since the 1980s, therefore manufacturers have been producing less toy-like renditions. Today because of the high cost of production, moving parts are becoming less prevalent.
Licensing arrangements have been made between the real car manufacturers and the manufacturers of the die-cast models. There was a time back in the 1950s and 1960s such agreements were not necessary because the real car manufacturers welcomed the popularity of the models because they provided free advertising. This is not the case anymore, as the real car manufacturers seek legal ways to protect the originality of their vehicles.
Monday, April 9, 2012
NASCAR Movies; Will Hollywood Ever Get It Right
NASCAR Movies; Will Hollywood Ever Get It Right
So I read a statistic that claims 1 in 3 Americans are NASCAR fans, that equates to over 100 million people. Are we to believe that a full third of the American population do not deserve the making of a true quality NASCAR Movie? Now when I say true, what I mean is a movie that reflects the reality of the sport, not fantasy. Great stories have drama, suspense, anticipation, characters, a beginning and an end. Can anyone argue that all of these elements are not part of every NASCAR race? All 36 of them! And this doesn't even consider the story lines that build from the first race at Daytona to the final race at Miami/Homestead.
Over the years, Hollywood has tried in vane to create the definitive NASCAR movie (Red Line 7000, Stroker Ace and The Last American Hero to mention a few). So far, only "Days of Thunder" in my opinion even registers. To quantify my measurement system on a 1 to 10 scale (with 10 being the highest), "Days of Thunder" is a definite 1. Yes I agree it is good entertainment and has some big names, but the actual racing and apparent driving skills are all Hollywood. By this scale, name any other NASCAR movie you've ever seen and it would rate in the negative numbers. I'm saying they don't even qualify for a rating, clearly, nobody has hit the bulls eye as far as NASCAR Movies go.
This brings me to the reason I started writing this article today. "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby". This is like rubbing salt into an open wound. Yes, I totally get that this is a comedy about a fictitious NASCAR driver; it has to be, Will Ferrell "stars" in and co-wrote the story. In the new book; The Un-Official NASCAR Fan Guide this movie is referred to by its working title; High, Wide and Handsome, an equally stupid name. I can't help but feel that movies like this make NASCAR, its stars and fans look dumb. Quite frankly, I'm surprised NASCAR approved this film after making huge efforts to broaden its fan base into areas other than the American South East.
Having not seen the movie yet, I can only guess that it pokes fun at the sport, it's Southern heritage, red neck, beer drinking fans and a few choice names (the lead character played by Ferrell goes by the name of Ricky Bobby, need I say more?). Somebody needs to put the front bumper to Ferrell, wake him up and inform him it's 2006. I'm also pretty sure that Ferrell's character will be an egotistical, self serving, self centered creep. This isn't really a stretch; he plays the same character in almost every movie he's made, maybe he's not even acting! For those of you new-to-the-sport, here's a little inside scoop, real NASCAR drivers and the entire NASCAR "family" are all very generous and caring people, the polar opposite to Ricky Bobby. NASCAR drivers and their families support financially, countless charities and charity events. Many drivers (Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kyle Petty) even have their own charity foundations.
In the movie Ricky and his best friend Cal Naughton Jr. (they just had to get a Junior in there) apparently gang up against the French rookie (Ricky's teammate) to win races and presumably the championship. Again this makes me wonder, is this a message NASCAR wanted to send when they waved the green flag to make this movie? I'm not sure, but doesn't this border on discrimination? I was under the impression NASCAR had a diversity program in place to attract people from anywhere and from all walks of life. In recent years NASCAR has had woman, Japanese, Canadians, Mexicans and African American drivers. So why allow this into the movie? Does NASCAR think this is good comedy? Or, is NASCAR trying to make a political statement, because Americans are dissatisfied with the way France has conducted itself in regard to the war in Iraq?
Another thing that confuses me; is NASCAR suggesting that ganging up on your opponent by taking them out of the race is okay? If this movie truly represents NASCAR, the boys will be hauled into the big white NASCAR trailer after the race, where fines and suspensions will be handed out. Not!
My last issue with this movie is its name. "Talladega Nights". Is this supposed to be a variation of the movie entitled "Boogie Nights"? If you've seen that movie, you know it's not what you could call a family type movie. But isn't NASCAR meant to be a family sport? Did NASCAR want this kind of association? NASCAR fines drivers for using fowl language during team radio communication if the networks happen to catch it during a broadcast. So why would NASCAR allow their sport to be loosely associated with a movie that borders on pornography? The decision makers should have stayed with the original name! At the very least, an official should be madly waving a stop sign at the exit of pit road!
Don't get me wrong people, I'm not without humor. I like a good comedy movie as much as the next guy. This really stems from the fact that NASCAR is important to my family and myself. Maybe I'm over reacting or over sensitive, or just being protective of a sport I love?
Finally, let me say this; there have been some great movies made about almost every sport known to man (Remember the Titans, Field of Dreams, Chariots of Fire, Hoosiers, Bend it Like Beckham, Raging Bull, Grand Prix and this is just scratching the surface). Those movies were memorable, well written, had "real" stars, they were dramatic, intense, and successful at the box office. So why is it with all the writing, acting and production talent in Hollywood, we still don't have a great NASCAR movie? Are 100 million NASCAR fans not deserving of a movie in the same league as those others?
So I read a statistic that claims 1 in 3 Americans are NASCAR fans, that equates to over 100 million people. Are we to believe that a full third of the American population do not deserve the making of a true quality NASCAR Movie? Now when I say true, what I mean is a movie that reflects the reality of the sport, not fantasy. Great stories have drama, suspense, anticipation, characters, a beginning and an end. Can anyone argue that all of these elements are not part of every NASCAR race? All 36 of them! And this doesn't even consider the story lines that build from the first race at Daytona to the final race at Miami/Homestead.
Over the years, Hollywood has tried in vane to create the definitive NASCAR movie (Red Line 7000, Stroker Ace and The Last American Hero to mention a few). So far, only "Days of Thunder" in my opinion even registers. To quantify my measurement system on a 1 to 10 scale (with 10 being the highest), "Days of Thunder" is a definite 1. Yes I agree it is good entertainment and has some big names, but the actual racing and apparent driving skills are all Hollywood. By this scale, name any other NASCAR movie you've ever seen and it would rate in the negative numbers. I'm saying they don't even qualify for a rating, clearly, nobody has hit the bulls eye as far as NASCAR Movies go.
This brings me to the reason I started writing this article today. "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby". This is like rubbing salt into an open wound. Yes, I totally get that this is a comedy about a fictitious NASCAR driver; it has to be, Will Ferrell "stars" in and co-wrote the story. In the new book; The Un-Official NASCAR Fan Guide this movie is referred to by its working title; High, Wide and Handsome, an equally stupid name. I can't help but feel that movies like this make NASCAR, its stars and fans look dumb. Quite frankly, I'm surprised NASCAR approved this film after making huge efforts to broaden its fan base into areas other than the American South East.
Having not seen the movie yet, I can only guess that it pokes fun at the sport, it's Southern heritage, red neck, beer drinking fans and a few choice names (the lead character played by Ferrell goes by the name of Ricky Bobby, need I say more?). Somebody needs to put the front bumper to Ferrell, wake him up and inform him it's 2006. I'm also pretty sure that Ferrell's character will be an egotistical, self serving, self centered creep. This isn't really a stretch; he plays the same character in almost every movie he's made, maybe he's not even acting! For those of you new-to-the-sport, here's a little inside scoop, real NASCAR drivers and the entire NASCAR "family" are all very generous and caring people, the polar opposite to Ricky Bobby. NASCAR drivers and their families support financially, countless charities and charity events. Many drivers (Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kyle Petty) even have their own charity foundations.
In the movie Ricky and his best friend Cal Naughton Jr. (they just had to get a Junior in there) apparently gang up against the French rookie (Ricky's teammate) to win races and presumably the championship. Again this makes me wonder, is this a message NASCAR wanted to send when they waved the green flag to make this movie? I'm not sure, but doesn't this border on discrimination? I was under the impression NASCAR had a diversity program in place to attract people from anywhere and from all walks of life. In recent years NASCAR has had woman, Japanese, Canadians, Mexicans and African American drivers. So why allow this into the movie? Does NASCAR think this is good comedy? Or, is NASCAR trying to make a political statement, because Americans are dissatisfied with the way France has conducted itself in regard to the war in Iraq?
Another thing that confuses me; is NASCAR suggesting that ganging up on your opponent by taking them out of the race is okay? If this movie truly represents NASCAR, the boys will be hauled into the big white NASCAR trailer after the race, where fines and suspensions will be handed out. Not!
My last issue with this movie is its name. "Talladega Nights". Is this supposed to be a variation of the movie entitled "Boogie Nights"? If you've seen that movie, you know it's not what you could call a family type movie. But isn't NASCAR meant to be a family sport? Did NASCAR want this kind of association? NASCAR fines drivers for using fowl language during team radio communication if the networks happen to catch it during a broadcast. So why would NASCAR allow their sport to be loosely associated with a movie that borders on pornography? The decision makers should have stayed with the original name! At the very least, an official should be madly waving a stop sign at the exit of pit road!
Don't get me wrong people, I'm not without humor. I like a good comedy movie as much as the next guy. This really stems from the fact that NASCAR is important to my family and myself. Maybe I'm over reacting or over sensitive, or just being protective of a sport I love?
Finally, let me say this; there have been some great movies made about almost every sport known to man (Remember the Titans, Field of Dreams, Chariots of Fire, Hoosiers, Bend it Like Beckham, Raging Bull, Grand Prix and this is just scratching the surface). Those movies were memorable, well written, had "real" stars, they were dramatic, intense, and successful at the box office. So why is it with all the writing, acting and production talent in Hollywood, we still don't have a great NASCAR movie? Are 100 million NASCAR fans not deserving of a movie in the same league as those others?
Planning Your Child's Birthday Party Get a Limo Hire Company to Do it For You!
Planning Your Child's Birthday Party Get a Limo Hire Company to Do it For You!
If you are planning your children's birthday there is no better way to do it than by hiring a limousine! The party packages available online is expansive; gone are the days of boring stretch white vehicles; now you can hire out pink limos, cars off the TV and luxurious stretch Hummers as seen on many music videos.
The majority of vehicles come fully equipped with all the entertainment necessities including CD, DVD players and karaoke machines; with a few extra gadgets thrown in for that that extra wow factor such as in-car smoke machines, dance floors, disco and strobe lights available in many models. Many limo hire companies also offer balloons, soft drinks, sweets and crisps inside the car to keep your kiddies happy for the duration of their journey- however if you request anything else to be included companies tend to be very accommodating.
Of all the models seen on the road the most impressive for children has to be the Mystery Machine van, as seen in Scooby Doo, which comes complete with your own Scooby Doo chauffeur with in-car treats including a PS2 and customized leather interiors. This is a brilliant twist on the traditional limo hire and is guaranteed to be good fun for both children and adults alike; the chauffeur can drive you to any destination you choose and will even stop for photos.
Other children party favorites available include a High School Musical stretch SUV, a WWE bus, an American School Bus or a genuine American Grand Prix limo complete with a supercharged engine; although the most popular with girls has to be the pink limo hire, letting them have a taste of the celebrity lifestyle!
There are several benefits to hiring a limo for your child's birthday; firstly depending on how long you rent it for- it can be a brilliant venue for a party, allowing you to offload the rug rats onto a professional company, saving you hours of preparation and cleaning up. If you don't want to use the limo itself to host the party in then Hummer limo hire is perfect for transporting groups to a venue or even just for a drive about the city- either way hiring a limo, Hummer or bus is the perfect way to surprise any child giving them a birthday they will never forget with minimal stress for yourself.
If you are planning your children's birthday there is no better way to do it than by hiring a limousine! The party packages available online is expansive; gone are the days of boring stretch white vehicles; now you can hire out pink limos, cars off the TV and luxurious stretch Hummers as seen on many music videos.
The majority of vehicles come fully equipped with all the entertainment necessities including CD, DVD players and karaoke machines; with a few extra gadgets thrown in for that that extra wow factor such as in-car smoke machines, dance floors, disco and strobe lights available in many models. Many limo hire companies also offer balloons, soft drinks, sweets and crisps inside the car to keep your kiddies happy for the duration of their journey- however if you request anything else to be included companies tend to be very accommodating.
Of all the models seen on the road the most impressive for children has to be the Mystery Machine van, as seen in Scooby Doo, which comes complete with your own Scooby Doo chauffeur with in-car treats including a PS2 and customized leather interiors. This is a brilliant twist on the traditional limo hire and is guaranteed to be good fun for both children and adults alike; the chauffeur can drive you to any destination you choose and will even stop for photos.
Other children party favorites available include a High School Musical stretch SUV, a WWE bus, an American School Bus or a genuine American Grand Prix limo complete with a supercharged engine; although the most popular with girls has to be the pink limo hire, letting them have a taste of the celebrity lifestyle!
There are several benefits to hiring a limo for your child's birthday; firstly depending on how long you rent it for- it can be a brilliant venue for a party, allowing you to offload the rug rats onto a professional company, saving you hours of preparation and cleaning up. If you don't want to use the limo itself to host the party in then Hummer limo hire is perfect for transporting groups to a venue or even just for a drive about the city- either way hiring a limo, Hummer or bus is the perfect way to surprise any child giving them a birthday they will never forget with minimal stress for yourself.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Rally Driving Is a High You Will Never Forget!
Rally Driving Is a High You Will Never Forget!
It seems like it must be a part of the human nature to have a desire to live somewhat on the edge, taking risks that get your juices flowing, and that means taking those risks with a redundancy of safety equipment for a back up, just to be on the safe side. Rally driving is all about the thrills and the experience of danger because even though the art of high speed driving puts the driver at risk they feel that need to experience their ability to make fast decisions.
Racing Is More Than Simply Accelerating
Stomping down on the gas pedal is fun! Hitting the gas makes that little automobile spin the tyres and squeal out rapidly like you never can on city streets. Each driver is determined to be first from the starting line all the way to the finish line but that mechanical bullet must be kept under control to keep the race safe for all who participate. So the brake pedal is equally important as well as the clutch. There are times a driver needs to slow down, like when approaching a curve, and braking may not be necessary. Down shifting usually slows a car enough to make it through a curve without losing traction and going into a spin. By anticipating upcoming curves and slowing by letting off the gas and downshifting as you approach those curves, you maintain control of your vehicle without losing much momentum or speed. By proper use of the foot brake you can feel whether or not you still have control of your vehicle and as long as you do slow just enough to maneuver the turn without losing your control or traction, the race may be yours! Always remember that keeping control will not lose you time but sliding all over the track definitely will.
Driving by the "Seat of Your Pants" Only Gets You a Little Behind
It is important to anticipate your next move when driving at high speeds. You need to remember that fast reflexes and common sense make a driver a winner. Now is the time to make quick decisions well before they're needed. If possible, drive the track so you may become familiar with locations of the curves and also the idiosyncrasies of that particular rally track. This will enable you to better anticipate your next move before it comes up. It can be an absolute blast to drive a rally type race and if you are the competitive type you will be basically competing against yourself for that perfect time, which may be one second faster than your previous race. It's always challenging to test your reflexes and timing. Just have fun and relax, but not too much.
It seems like it must be a part of the human nature to have a desire to live somewhat on the edge, taking risks that get your juices flowing, and that means taking those risks with a redundancy of safety equipment for a back up, just to be on the safe side. Rally driving is all about the thrills and the experience of danger because even though the art of high speed driving puts the driver at risk they feel that need to experience their ability to make fast decisions.
Racing Is More Than Simply Accelerating
Stomping down on the gas pedal is fun! Hitting the gas makes that little automobile spin the tyres and squeal out rapidly like you never can on city streets. Each driver is determined to be first from the starting line all the way to the finish line but that mechanical bullet must be kept under control to keep the race safe for all who participate. So the brake pedal is equally important as well as the clutch. There are times a driver needs to slow down, like when approaching a curve, and braking may not be necessary. Down shifting usually slows a car enough to make it through a curve without losing traction and going into a spin. By anticipating upcoming curves and slowing by letting off the gas and downshifting as you approach those curves, you maintain control of your vehicle without losing much momentum or speed. By proper use of the foot brake you can feel whether or not you still have control of your vehicle and as long as you do slow just enough to maneuver the turn without losing your control or traction, the race may be yours! Always remember that keeping control will not lose you time but sliding all over the track definitely will.
Driving by the "Seat of Your Pants" Only Gets You a Little Behind
It is important to anticipate your next move when driving at high speeds. You need to remember that fast reflexes and common sense make a driver a winner. Now is the time to make quick decisions well before they're needed. If possible, drive the track so you may become familiar with locations of the curves and also the idiosyncrasies of that particular rally track. This will enable you to better anticipate your next move before it comes up. It can be an absolute blast to drive a rally type race and if you are the competitive type you will be basically competing against yourself for that perfect time, which may be one second faster than your previous race. It's always challenging to test your reflexes and timing. Just have fun and relax, but not too much.
Future of Formula One Races in India Is Bright
Future of Formula One Races in India Is Bright
F1 race in Noida has gained a huge attention of the sports enthusiasts, which was held at the official inauguration of India's first Formula One track. This track is located at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida which is nearly 60 km from the centre of Delhi.
The 80 year old Jaiprakash Gaur, who is the founder of Jaypee Group of Companies owns this track and has the right to hold F1 races on it. He said on the aforementioned occasion, "This (the Grand Prix of India) will erase the shame of the Commonwealth Games," "This is about putting India on the world map."
This track was compared with former American President John F. Kennedy's effort of sending men to the moon, by Manoj Gaur who is CEO and MD of Jaiprakash Associated Ltd. He said, "It was not just about a person standing on the moon, it was about all the other things that were developed to get the man there." The Jaypee group tried its best to pull the journalists to every stop of the track in order to give it enough exposure. Sprawling media center, medical center with compact operating theatre, burns treatment center etc. are some of the specialties of this track. On the other hand, twists and turns of the tracks are also well-documented. The elevation changes which are woven through the entire circuit will set the track apart from the others which are made till date. F1's parent body Federation Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA) had set some new regulations some time ago which were also kept in mind while making this track.
Narain Karthikeyan who is Hispania Racing Team's Indian driver said, "It's absolutely world class, no question about it." He leaned over the track for a test drive in a sporty Mercedes stock car. Readiness of the track was showed by Indian origin Swiss Formula One driver Neel Jani driving F1 car around the track of newly-inaugurated Buddh International Circuit ahead of the Indian Grand Prix in Greater Noida. Some part of the track is still incomplete where construction workers are adding the finishing touches.
"In an Indian wedding, even though the big arrangements are over, little bits of work always remain, and here we are talking of 24 brides (the 24 cars in the race), so of course we will have to work till the last minute," finally said by Jaiprakash. F1 race images are worth seeing by the readers, which (images) are telling about the future of Formula One races in India.
F1 race in Noida has gained a huge attention of the sports enthusiasts, which was held at the official inauguration of India's first Formula One track. This track is located at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida which is nearly 60 km from the centre of Delhi.
The 80 year old Jaiprakash Gaur, who is the founder of Jaypee Group of Companies owns this track and has the right to hold F1 races on it. He said on the aforementioned occasion, "This (the Grand Prix of India) will erase the shame of the Commonwealth Games," "This is about putting India on the world map."
This track was compared with former American President John F. Kennedy's effort of sending men to the moon, by Manoj Gaur who is CEO and MD of Jaiprakash Associated Ltd. He said, "It was not just about a person standing on the moon, it was about all the other things that were developed to get the man there." The Jaypee group tried its best to pull the journalists to every stop of the track in order to give it enough exposure. Sprawling media center, medical center with compact operating theatre, burns treatment center etc. are some of the specialties of this track. On the other hand, twists and turns of the tracks are also well-documented. The elevation changes which are woven through the entire circuit will set the track apart from the others which are made till date. F1's parent body Federation Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA) had set some new regulations some time ago which were also kept in mind while making this track.
Narain Karthikeyan who is Hispania Racing Team's Indian driver said, "It's absolutely world class, no question about it." He leaned over the track for a test drive in a sporty Mercedes stock car. Readiness of the track was showed by Indian origin Swiss Formula One driver Neel Jani driving F1 car around the track of newly-inaugurated Buddh International Circuit ahead of the Indian Grand Prix in Greater Noida. Some part of the track is still incomplete where construction workers are adding the finishing touches.
"In an Indian wedding, even though the big arrangements are over, little bits of work always remain, and here we are talking of 24 brides (the 24 cars in the race), so of course we will have to work till the last minute," finally said by Jaiprakash. F1 race images are worth seeing by the readers, which (images) are telling about the future of Formula One races in India.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
How Charismatic Leaders Become Influential Within Companies
How Charismatic Leaders Become Influential Within Companies
The charismatic leadership model is fundamentally the only leadership model where the leader's sheer personality, tenacity, and vision garner respect, adulation, and power. There are a few ways that charismatic leaders become influential within companies.
1. Possess a larger vision past the current company. When the late engineer John DeLorean designed the Pontiac GTO, Firebird, and Grand Prix for General Motors, it was almost certain that he would one day have to form his own company. The ego and drive for self-determination by charismatic leaders assures that they will become contentious with the managers of the organization. Later DeLorean would form the DeLorean Motor Company, maker of the DeLorean DMC-12 sports car. By having a compelling vision and marketable skills, these leaders are able to wield power inside and outside of a company. The fact that charismatic leaders have talents that can be leveraged for optimal positioning allows them to gain influence within a company until he is either forced out or leaves the company on his own.
2. Recruit and attract disciples within a company. Employees who admire a charismatic leader's personality and ambition will emulate his style as well as jockey for roles on projects led by the leader. Through these disciples or supporters within the company, these leaders create internal networks that facilitate the acquisition and distribution of information. Such information allows the charismatic leader to be knowledgeable about upcoming threats and opportunities. Because these leaders are agile and mobile when exploiting opportunities, they can determine if an opportunity allows them to play a larger role within a company or leave to set up operations elsewhere. In this vein, supporters might be inclined to leave with the charismatic leader causing a potential drought of skilled workers within a company.
3. Create innovative initiatives and are great self-promoters. The keys to exploiting a great idea include the creation and implementation of a marketing plan. Through formalized communication structures like internal memos and newsletters or informal communication structures like disciples and supporters, charismatic leaders are able to self-promote within a company. Often this marketing strategy complements the overall goals of the company, which allows the charismatic leader to maintain influence.
Charismatic leaders create personal systems within an overarching corporate structure to gain influence as well as execute plans. These leaders' ability to see the gaps within an organization, thus allowing innovation, creates the perception of indispensability. The converts of this brand of leadership feel a sense of attachment and significance and are willing to invest their resources to be a part of a vision larger than themselves. As long as the leader's vision aligns with the corporate mission, there is synergy. However, when the two are not aligned, the charismatic leader is fired or leaves the company to facilitate his vision elsewhere.
The charismatic leadership model is fundamentally the only leadership model where the leader's sheer personality, tenacity, and vision garner respect, adulation, and power. There are a few ways that charismatic leaders become influential within companies.
1. Possess a larger vision past the current company. When the late engineer John DeLorean designed the Pontiac GTO, Firebird, and Grand Prix for General Motors, it was almost certain that he would one day have to form his own company. The ego and drive for self-determination by charismatic leaders assures that they will become contentious with the managers of the organization. Later DeLorean would form the DeLorean Motor Company, maker of the DeLorean DMC-12 sports car. By having a compelling vision and marketable skills, these leaders are able to wield power inside and outside of a company. The fact that charismatic leaders have talents that can be leveraged for optimal positioning allows them to gain influence within a company until he is either forced out or leaves the company on his own.
2. Recruit and attract disciples within a company. Employees who admire a charismatic leader's personality and ambition will emulate his style as well as jockey for roles on projects led by the leader. Through these disciples or supporters within the company, these leaders create internal networks that facilitate the acquisition and distribution of information. Such information allows the charismatic leader to be knowledgeable about upcoming threats and opportunities. Because these leaders are agile and mobile when exploiting opportunities, they can determine if an opportunity allows them to play a larger role within a company or leave to set up operations elsewhere. In this vein, supporters might be inclined to leave with the charismatic leader causing a potential drought of skilled workers within a company.
3. Create innovative initiatives and are great self-promoters. The keys to exploiting a great idea include the creation and implementation of a marketing plan. Through formalized communication structures like internal memos and newsletters or informal communication structures like disciples and supporters, charismatic leaders are able to self-promote within a company. Often this marketing strategy complements the overall goals of the company, which allows the charismatic leader to maintain influence.
Charismatic leaders create personal systems within an overarching corporate structure to gain influence as well as execute plans. These leaders' ability to see the gaps within an organization, thus allowing innovation, creates the perception of indispensability. The converts of this brand of leadership feel a sense of attachment and significance and are willing to invest their resources to be a part of a vision larger than themselves. As long as the leader's vision aligns with the corporate mission, there is synergy. However, when the two are not aligned, the charismatic leader is fired or leaves the company to facilitate his vision elsewhere.
Most Popular Places to Visit on Holidays to Singapore
Most Popular Places to Visit on Holidays to Singapore
Utterly cosmopolitan, clean and a melting pot of diverse culture, Singapore entraps one and all. A visit to the magnificent city-state leaves one with cherished memories. The experience of unparalleled sightseeing, bewildering shopping and intoxicating nightlife make holidays to Singapore, a heady mix of ecstasy and satiety.
Be it budget-friendly vacations or luxury Singapore holidays, the island offers exuberance to one and all. Home to lush Botanic Gardens, thrilling Singapore Cable Car and legendary Sentosa Island, Singapore enamours the hearts of millions of holidaymakers. Besides, the city-state is also popular for its colourful places like Chinatown, Marina Bay, Little India and Clarke Quay.
Little India
Little India has its own inimitable grace. The beautiful enclave offers the perfect opportunity to delve into the sense of India. The sight of inviting fortune-tellers at the alleys, garlands of jasmine at flower vendor's pushcarts and the aroma of pungent spices are some of the intriguing things one can experience at Little India. Little India boasts a number of Hindu temples and one of the popular holy places is the Veeramakaliamman Temple, a temple devoted to a goddess Kali. The grandeur of the area can be easily explored on foot or SMRT Link, a shuttle bus service plied by public transport operator.
Chinatown
The traditional Chinese quarters of Chinatown are decidedly a big treat to visitors. It is a colourful precinct that flaunts the magic of past and charm of present. The unique aura of the place is a smorgasbord of fascinating Chinese culture seeping out from textile stores, Chinese restaurants, modish bars and traditional hawker stalls. Chinatown is divided into four districts - Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Paso. The Smith and Pagoda Streets are couple of very delightful precincts within Chinatown that attract tourists. The place is a complete attraction in itself and is infused with temples, art galleries and heritage centres. Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Chinatown Heritage Centre and Jamae Mosque are some of the great spots to hit when in Chinatown.
Marina Bay
Incredibly alluring and full of world-beating attractions, Marina Bay shows on itineraries of most travellers on holidays to Singapore. The spectacle of Marina Bay Sands Casino, Singapore F1 Grand Prix, Singapore Flyer and Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay makes for an unforgettable experience. For catching the picturesque views, take a river-boat tour and make a visit to Art Science Museum for feasting the eye on renowned collections of the museum.
Clarke Quay
As the sun sets, the Clarke Quay starts pulsating with excitement. This riverside destination is an ultimate place for night-time revelry. Thriving with glitzy restaurants, chic cafes and classy clubs, Clarke Quay veritably sets the mood right. Pub crawling, carousing and enjoying are some of the great activities to do here. The area shines with scores of spectacular attractions including G-Max Reverse Buggy, Asian Civilizations Museum and Statues of Sir Stamford Raffles. Besides, be sure to bag some exclusive souvenirs and other items from its prolific shopping centres like Liang Court Great World City and Riverside Point.
Orchard Road
Second to none destination for relishing the flavour of shopping in Singapore, Orchard Road is flanked by myriads of local and international shopping outlets, ritzy hotels, refined restaurants and small though elegant boutiques. The place is always throbbing with some or other amusing activity and offers plenty of opportunities to bask in its exhilarating offerings. DFS Galleria Scottswalk, ION Orchard, Mandarin Gallery and Paragon Shopping Centre are great places for grabbing exquisite brands while Far East Plaza and Tanglin Shopping Centre are apt for buying souvenirs.
Utterly cosmopolitan, clean and a melting pot of diverse culture, Singapore entraps one and all. A visit to the magnificent city-state leaves one with cherished memories. The experience of unparalleled sightseeing, bewildering shopping and intoxicating nightlife make holidays to Singapore, a heady mix of ecstasy and satiety.
Be it budget-friendly vacations or luxury Singapore holidays, the island offers exuberance to one and all. Home to lush Botanic Gardens, thrilling Singapore Cable Car and legendary Sentosa Island, Singapore enamours the hearts of millions of holidaymakers. Besides, the city-state is also popular for its colourful places like Chinatown, Marina Bay, Little India and Clarke Quay.
Little India
Little India has its own inimitable grace. The beautiful enclave offers the perfect opportunity to delve into the sense of India. The sight of inviting fortune-tellers at the alleys, garlands of jasmine at flower vendor's pushcarts and the aroma of pungent spices are some of the intriguing things one can experience at Little India. Little India boasts a number of Hindu temples and one of the popular holy places is the Veeramakaliamman Temple, a temple devoted to a goddess Kali. The grandeur of the area can be easily explored on foot or SMRT Link, a shuttle bus service plied by public transport operator.
Chinatown
The traditional Chinese quarters of Chinatown are decidedly a big treat to visitors. It is a colourful precinct that flaunts the magic of past and charm of present. The unique aura of the place is a smorgasbord of fascinating Chinese culture seeping out from textile stores, Chinese restaurants, modish bars and traditional hawker stalls. Chinatown is divided into four districts - Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Paso. The Smith and Pagoda Streets are couple of very delightful precincts within Chinatown that attract tourists. The place is a complete attraction in itself and is infused with temples, art galleries and heritage centres. Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Chinatown Heritage Centre and Jamae Mosque are some of the great spots to hit when in Chinatown.
Marina Bay
Incredibly alluring and full of world-beating attractions, Marina Bay shows on itineraries of most travellers on holidays to Singapore. The spectacle of Marina Bay Sands Casino, Singapore F1 Grand Prix, Singapore Flyer and Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay makes for an unforgettable experience. For catching the picturesque views, take a river-boat tour and make a visit to Art Science Museum for feasting the eye on renowned collections of the museum.
Clarke Quay
As the sun sets, the Clarke Quay starts pulsating with excitement. This riverside destination is an ultimate place for night-time revelry. Thriving with glitzy restaurants, chic cafes and classy clubs, Clarke Quay veritably sets the mood right. Pub crawling, carousing and enjoying are some of the great activities to do here. The area shines with scores of spectacular attractions including G-Max Reverse Buggy, Asian Civilizations Museum and Statues of Sir Stamford Raffles. Besides, be sure to bag some exclusive souvenirs and other items from its prolific shopping centres like Liang Court Great World City and Riverside Point.
Orchard Road
Second to none destination for relishing the flavour of shopping in Singapore, Orchard Road is flanked by myriads of local and international shopping outlets, ritzy hotels, refined restaurants and small though elegant boutiques. The place is always throbbing with some or other amusing activity and offers plenty of opportunities to bask in its exhilarating offerings. DFS Galleria Scottswalk, ION Orchard, Mandarin Gallery and Paragon Shopping Centre are great places for grabbing exquisite brands while Far East Plaza and Tanglin Shopping Centre are apt for buying souvenirs.
Friday, April 6, 2012
New Strategy to Link Sponsors With Race Teams - The Developed-Driver Program
New Strategy to Link Sponsors With Race Teams - The Developed-Driver Program
Most weekends from March through November, thousands of "semi-pro" race teams spend countless hours and carefully counted dollars to roll their race car onto the starting grid. During the week, besides their day jobs and the night job of repairing and preparing the car for the next race, someone on the team has a third job...chasing money to put the car on the track each week.
In fact, an article at newsobserver.com is titled: Kenny Wallace wearies of NASCAR costs, money chase. In it, the veteran driver observes; "I'm exhausted trying to find money...Every sponsor you see on my car right now I've got by myself, and I'm exhausted."
So if a veteran with good name recognition and the visibility of being featured on The Speed Channel can't just sit back and review sponsor offers, how can a weekend warrior ever expect to?
Obviously, they can't. Generally they don't just sit back, but unfortunately even constant outreach to potential sponsors rarely even results in a callback. Most entrants in the regional Late Model Touring Series that feature a combination of veteran long term participants and "young guns" who have graduated from a "ladder" of developmental classes. Many of them started racing go karts or Bandeleros at age 5 or 6. And among them there are plenty that could race wheel to wheel with NASCAR's best if they got the chance.
Getting that chance is what The Developed-Driver Program is all about.
Think about what the emerging motorsports sponsor faces
In 1935 community leaders in Daytona recruited Bill France, Sr. to try and stage an event that would replace the annual land speed record attempts at Speedweek. Those teams had abandoned the hard-packed sand for Bonneville's saltflats. Besides planning, organizing and promoting the event, France had to raise the prize money to attract racers to the event.
France's solution was to solicit prizes from area merchants. The ranged from a bottle of rum for each lap leader to a credit at a used car lot. The idea of businesses supporting racing in return for exposure to the audience was born and more formal sponsorships were soon to follow.
As racing events proliferated after the end of WWII, racers began to paint business names on the car in exchange for something of value. In the 1950s and 60s, most sponsors were auto-related businesses. But then, in 1972, R.J. Reynolds bought the naming rights to NASCAR's premier series. The Winston Cup Series and the era of corporate sponsorship began.
Perhaps the earliest and certainly most iconic example appeared when Richard Petty's light-blue #43 car added the red and white of the STP logo. And beyond the car, STP developed an integrated graphic image with driver and crew uniforms, the team's hauler and the logo appearing everywhere Petty went.
In the four decades since, consumer products like M&Ms and Budweiser; retailers like Best Buy, The Home Depot and Lowes; corporate communicators like UPS, FedEx and DuPont sponsorship and even the US Army have made major budget commitments to motorsports marketing.
From the competitors' side, ever since sponsorship took hold in the 1970s, it's next to impossible to run races without corporate backing. Morgan-McClure Motorsports, one of NASCAR's pioneers, had to disband its Sprint Cup team for the 2008 season when it lost its sponsor, State Water Heaters.
Sponsors have a dilemma as well. As NASCAR has grown to be the #2 rated sport in programming behind the NFL, the premier positions on the front running cars have become "beachfront property". The traditional paths to getting exposure at the Sprint Cup level require tremendous upfront commitments with no guarantee of any return at all...sort of a multi-million dollar "dice roll".
Imagine the strategic planning session at a Fortune 1000 headquarters. A marketing executive presents a proposal to spend $500,000 to decorate a NASCAR Sprint Cup car with a shiny logo graphic for just one 4-hour event. Then another exec lays out a program that extends over an entire year, encompasses multiple markets nationwide, puts the company's graphic image on track at 15-20 events, builds a fan following and creates the environment for unlimited promotions.
The ROI on the half-million is almost no contest.
The missing link: The Developed-Driver Program
The simple dilemma of motorsports marketing is that:
While the entire Fortune 1000 are candidates to benefit from adding sponsorship to their marketing mix, most simply never consider any of the typical routes in; and,
At the same time, the weekly race teams that are could be perfect candidates to give them a new approach have limited tools and talent to connect with them.
The "Missing Link" is a connection between the emerging motorsports marketing plan and the available qualified potential next star driver...The Developed Driver Program. It offers a path that takes vision and commitment and, most importantly permits proportionate investment to measured returns.
In fact, if a company wants to be in NASCAR with a successful motorsports marketing investment, it's another version of ROI-Racing Opportunity Impact.
This ROI is based in The Developed-Driver Program. While it takes a vision and commitment that most short term management thinking can't cope with, it permits proportional investment to measured returns. If you ultimately want to be in NASCAR with a solid continuity marketing presence, The Developed-Driver Program offers an approach that matches your other R&D initiatives.
All of the major NASCAR teams have driver development initiatives. Now a sports marketing department can emulate them without over-investing. It's done by building an exclusive "Developed-Driver". In it a new sponsor commits to a young, lower level driver who provides a good fit with their market and company.
The unique character of stock car racing at every level is that to compete at all the small team has to possess all of the resources, knowledge and expertise that the big teams have...just in smaller doses. So the only three things that a sponsor needs to bring to the party are company knowledge, training in media savvy and money to move the team progressively through the "developmental" race series.
A Developed-Driver progression might be from a regional "late model" touring series, to a few ARCA starts to a full season in the NASCAR K&N series, to the NASCAR Camping World Series and on to Nationwide and ultimately the Sprint Cup Series.The measured investment means the emerging sponsor can test motorsports marketing all along the way. The graphics package on the K&N or ARCA equipment will be just as impressive as on a Sprint Cup participant.
Most importantly, there's the chance to learn early whether the driver can be groomed into an effective company spokesman. Or how the team can grow and handle new levels and competitive challenges. And the right Developed-Driver candidate will build a large fan base that grows with his progress. Finally, can the driver and team move toward top 10 or better finishes as it develops.
The great advantage of The Developed-Driver Program is that at any point on the road to NASCAR the resource requirement can be paced to the on track progress. At a measurable point the Racing Opportunity Investment ("ROI") crosses the business Return On Investment and the sponsorship initiative is ready to step up to the next level.
So where do you start? The Developed Driver Group ("DDG") has been formed to match interested marketing organizations with qualified drivers.
The most famous words in ROI..."marketers start your analysis"
This is an emerging, grassroots initiative and structured as a "dating" service.
DDG will apply a set of minimal but structured criteria to place a driver and team on our Starting Grid.
Prospective sponsors join the DDG Victory Circle at no cost or obligation via a simple application and profile process.
It's an old racing adage that to pass you have to go where the competitors "aren't". The same thing applies to changing the race sponsor's ROI equation versus the traditional motorsports marketing strategies. The Developed-Driver Program just may be the fast lane.
Most weekends from March through November, thousands of "semi-pro" race teams spend countless hours and carefully counted dollars to roll their race car onto the starting grid. During the week, besides their day jobs and the night job of repairing and preparing the car for the next race, someone on the team has a third job...chasing money to put the car on the track each week.
In fact, an article at newsobserver.com is titled: Kenny Wallace wearies of NASCAR costs, money chase. In it, the veteran driver observes; "I'm exhausted trying to find money...Every sponsor you see on my car right now I've got by myself, and I'm exhausted."
So if a veteran with good name recognition and the visibility of being featured on The Speed Channel can't just sit back and review sponsor offers, how can a weekend warrior ever expect to?
Obviously, they can't. Generally they don't just sit back, but unfortunately even constant outreach to potential sponsors rarely even results in a callback. Most entrants in the regional Late Model Touring Series that feature a combination of veteran long term participants and "young guns" who have graduated from a "ladder" of developmental classes. Many of them started racing go karts or Bandeleros at age 5 or 6. And among them there are plenty that could race wheel to wheel with NASCAR's best if they got the chance.
Getting that chance is what The Developed-Driver Program is all about.
Think about what the emerging motorsports sponsor faces
In 1935 community leaders in Daytona recruited Bill France, Sr. to try and stage an event that would replace the annual land speed record attempts at Speedweek. Those teams had abandoned the hard-packed sand for Bonneville's saltflats. Besides planning, organizing and promoting the event, France had to raise the prize money to attract racers to the event.
France's solution was to solicit prizes from area merchants. The ranged from a bottle of rum for each lap leader to a credit at a used car lot. The idea of businesses supporting racing in return for exposure to the audience was born and more formal sponsorships were soon to follow.
As racing events proliferated after the end of WWII, racers began to paint business names on the car in exchange for something of value. In the 1950s and 60s, most sponsors were auto-related businesses. But then, in 1972, R.J. Reynolds bought the naming rights to NASCAR's premier series. The Winston Cup Series and the era of corporate sponsorship began.
Perhaps the earliest and certainly most iconic example appeared when Richard Petty's light-blue #43 car added the red and white of the STP logo. And beyond the car, STP developed an integrated graphic image with driver and crew uniforms, the team's hauler and the logo appearing everywhere Petty went.
In the four decades since, consumer products like M&Ms and Budweiser; retailers like Best Buy, The Home Depot and Lowes; corporate communicators like UPS, FedEx and DuPont sponsorship and even the US Army have made major budget commitments to motorsports marketing.
From the competitors' side, ever since sponsorship took hold in the 1970s, it's next to impossible to run races without corporate backing. Morgan-McClure Motorsports, one of NASCAR's pioneers, had to disband its Sprint Cup team for the 2008 season when it lost its sponsor, State Water Heaters.
Sponsors have a dilemma as well. As NASCAR has grown to be the #2 rated sport in programming behind the NFL, the premier positions on the front running cars have become "beachfront property". The traditional paths to getting exposure at the Sprint Cup level require tremendous upfront commitments with no guarantee of any return at all...sort of a multi-million dollar "dice roll".
Imagine the strategic planning session at a Fortune 1000 headquarters. A marketing executive presents a proposal to spend $500,000 to decorate a NASCAR Sprint Cup car with a shiny logo graphic for just one 4-hour event. Then another exec lays out a program that extends over an entire year, encompasses multiple markets nationwide, puts the company's graphic image on track at 15-20 events, builds a fan following and creates the environment for unlimited promotions.
The ROI on the half-million is almost no contest.
The missing link: The Developed-Driver Program
The simple dilemma of motorsports marketing is that:
While the entire Fortune 1000 are candidates to benefit from adding sponsorship to their marketing mix, most simply never consider any of the typical routes in; and,
At the same time, the weekly race teams that are could be perfect candidates to give them a new approach have limited tools and talent to connect with them.
The "Missing Link" is a connection between the emerging motorsports marketing plan and the available qualified potential next star driver...The Developed Driver Program. It offers a path that takes vision and commitment and, most importantly permits proportionate investment to measured returns.
In fact, if a company wants to be in NASCAR with a successful motorsports marketing investment, it's another version of ROI-Racing Opportunity Impact.
This ROI is based in The Developed-Driver Program. While it takes a vision and commitment that most short term management thinking can't cope with, it permits proportional investment to measured returns. If you ultimately want to be in NASCAR with a solid continuity marketing presence, The Developed-Driver Program offers an approach that matches your other R&D initiatives.
All of the major NASCAR teams have driver development initiatives. Now a sports marketing department can emulate them without over-investing. It's done by building an exclusive "Developed-Driver". In it a new sponsor commits to a young, lower level driver who provides a good fit with their market and company.
The unique character of stock car racing at every level is that to compete at all the small team has to possess all of the resources, knowledge and expertise that the big teams have...just in smaller doses. So the only three things that a sponsor needs to bring to the party are company knowledge, training in media savvy and money to move the team progressively through the "developmental" race series.
A Developed-Driver progression might be from a regional "late model" touring series, to a few ARCA starts to a full season in the NASCAR K&N series, to the NASCAR Camping World Series and on to Nationwide and ultimately the Sprint Cup Series.The measured investment means the emerging sponsor can test motorsports marketing all along the way. The graphics package on the K&N or ARCA equipment will be just as impressive as on a Sprint Cup participant.
Most importantly, there's the chance to learn early whether the driver can be groomed into an effective company spokesman. Or how the team can grow and handle new levels and competitive challenges. And the right Developed-Driver candidate will build a large fan base that grows with his progress. Finally, can the driver and team move toward top 10 or better finishes as it develops.
The great advantage of The Developed-Driver Program is that at any point on the road to NASCAR the resource requirement can be paced to the on track progress. At a measurable point the Racing Opportunity Investment ("ROI") crosses the business Return On Investment and the sponsorship initiative is ready to step up to the next level.
So where do you start? The Developed Driver Group ("DDG") has been formed to match interested marketing organizations with qualified drivers.
The most famous words in ROI..."marketers start your analysis"
This is an emerging, grassroots initiative and structured as a "dating" service.
DDG will apply a set of minimal but structured criteria to place a driver and team on our Starting Grid.
Prospective sponsors join the DDG Victory Circle at no cost or obligation via a simple application and profile process.
It's an old racing adage that to pass you have to go where the competitors "aren't". The same thing applies to changing the race sponsor's ROI equation versus the traditional motorsports marketing strategies. The Developed-Driver Program just may be the fast lane.
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