The controversy surrounding the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix looks set to run into the winter break. Is that such a bad thing for the sport, though?

There’s already a lot of talk over whether or not Nico Rosberg deserves the 2016 Formula One World Championship. But a title victory is a product of circumstance; a story of consistency, not a flash point of form, or a moment of brilliance.

So it’s a pretty irrelevant debate. The real question – and one which will be asked many times between now and the start of the new season in 2017 – is whether the controversy surrounding Hamilton’s unsuccessful attempt to retain the title on track at the Yas Marina Circuit is good for the sport. Or not.

The paddock is seemingly divided over Lewis’ attempt to slow his teammate enough in the closing laps, for him to be swallowed up by a hungry chasing Ferrari and Red Bull. And it’s not just the pundits sticking in their oars – other drivers, team bosses and celebrity hanger-ons are all having their say.

I’m none of the above; I’m a blogger. So if you’re reading this you might just care what I think. So here it is; I love it.

I love the controversy, I loved the spectacle of the last four laps, clung to the edge of my seat, I love the almost certain intrigue that will follow the Mercedes team into next year, and I love that Hamilton is emulating his hero – Senna – to a level none of us really expected.

As a motorsport fan, I find myself forever defending the sport to colleagues, friends and acquaintances, but it’s much easier to mount a defence after they’ve just spent five minutes discussing the latest drama with you. After all, at that point they too are part of the hype.

Motorsport – and sport in general – has become very clinical and PR-driven. We rarely see emotion or desire in quite the way we’ve come to expect from Hamilton, and while at times his behaviour is questionable, the global stardom he has attracted can only in a small way be attributed to the way he drives a racing car.

In Lewis Hamilton, we have someone who can truly divide and inspire, and in those last four laps, we have a story which might just keep Formula One on an agenda or two as we head into the winter; a typically quiet time for motorsport.

As for who should have won the title. Well if it’s personalities we’re voting for, I vote Button.

Oh, right.

The wait is over – Clarkson, Hammond and May’s new online home for motoring content is open, and this is your official invite to ‘play cars’.

I’ve been exploring the online content platform for a couple of weeks, building my Tribe – “Playing Cars” – and generally getting a feel for the site.

While The Grand Tour wows a global motoring audience, this is surely a retirement plan for the ‘terrible trio’, and with some big motoring media names in the mix, it’s guaranteed to change the face of online motoring media.

Drive Tribes officially opens to the public at http://www.drivetribe.com on Sunday 20th November 2016, so make sure you join the site early, and be part of this exciting – and yet unknown – adventure.

You can now join me, and check out my Drive Tribe HERE.

No new TV series has ever had so much weight on its shoulders. But did the big budget opening episode of The Grand Tour inspire us as it needed to do?

Everyone remembers those Monday morning photocopier chats in the office. You know – the ones that went along the lines of: “Did you see Top Gear last night?”

As an avid Top Gear watcher and dreamer, I was quite happy to have those conversations during the last series of ‘New Top Gear’ (as it has now become known). It seems though, that not everyone felt the same, and at times it was just me and the Canon.

The one thing The Grand Tour had to do, above all others, was inspire those chats again. And not just for die-hard petrolheads. Looking at the noise on social media; it has.

I watched – apparently like most people except Piers Morgan – with a tear in my eye as Clarkson re-enacted the moment he handed his gun and badge in at the BBC, and made his way out of England, and out of the media storm which succeeded in captivating a divided public at the time.

The produces relied on radio headlines to tell the underlying story; that what the UK lacked in vision, the USA made up for in cubic inches. And providing the soundtrack? The Hot House Flowers; a band which I’ve played on my radio show for years and wondered where they fitted. I now know.

I could go on, but I’ll just tell you the two things you want to know – my verdict, and what this means for ‘real’ Top Gear.

1: The Grand Tour has everything we love about Clarkson, Hammond and May in bucket loads. It has cars, bollocks (literally), more cars, and a format we know, love and feel completely comfortable with. It delivers what it needs to, but will probably need to evolve to become something a bit different by the time we get to 36 episodes in.

2: Top Gear is bigger than Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. It really is. We might not like that they left in the manner they did, but it’s time we accepted it, and applauded the BBC for keeping the home fires burning, in the face of what must be deathly silences behind closed doors at the corporation. Let’s afford Le Blanc, Harris and Reid the open minds they deserve, as they try to build something really special out of the ashes.

The Grand Tour is brilliant. Stunning, spectacular and 100% worth your money subscribing to Amazon Prime. And the best case scenario is that ‘new’ Top Gear gives GT a run for its money, so we have two great car shows to watch, and more excuses to hang around the photocopier on a Monday morning.

Oh, and I’d still like to be a Top Gear presenter, please. [Insert smiley of choice]

At a time when normally we’re putting away the rally TV cameras for a well-earned break over the winter months, for the second time myself and the Special Stage team are gearing up for another exciting Motorsport News winter series.

Last year’s Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship, organised by Bolton Le-Moors Motor Club, was a thrilling spectacle that went down to a final round showdown.

The 2016/17 title fight kicked off in fitting dramatic fashion with last weekend’s Neil Howard Memorial Rally at Oulton Park, and we were there to begin the TV series.

You can watch the first TV show on Motors TV, and online at the Special Stage YouTube channel, and indeed on our new app, on 18th November.

It’s so exciting to be signed to present this exciting championship in its second year, and I’m looking forward to having you on that journey with me once again.

For the latest updates, follow on Twitter and you’ll be the first to know how the fight unfolds.

For now, here’s a some rally poetry to paint the picture of the championship…

Regular visitors to my motoring blog will know that I’m passionate about local motoring. It’s a passion that has led me to host local motoring events, produce films locally, and write a series of columns for a local lifestyle magazine on the subject.

My latest project has been to establish a new style of motoring content for car dealers, and so far my work with Infiniti Retail Group, Trenton Motors and DM Keith has given me a good feel for how car dealers – and their customers – work.

Traditionally, car dealers have done their engaging on the tiled floor of the showroom, so to create a truly linked-up experience online – in the ‘new dealership’ – is an ongoing challenge. It’s not so much that the car dealer model has been slow to change; indeed more of a reflection on how fast our consumer habits have moved on.
Speaking to Vauxhall Motors Chairman and Managing Director, Rory Harvey at the recent Evans Halshaw Vauxhall dealership launch, it’s clear that motor manufacturers are now aware of this power, and knowledge held by the consumer.

With access to seemingly never-ending information before we even consider setting foot in the physical dealership, it’s not only car enthusiasts who know their spec lists and market valuations when they arrive to talk to a salesman.

Despite this, the need for real people behind, and in front of any motoring brand is greater than ever. And that is the focus of my latest film, produced in partnership with Wayne Goldring, a rally TV producer I’ve worked with for a number of years.

Our vision was to bring a new approach to car dealer launch video content; taking what we know about producing engaging television; making the people – and the car – the stars of the show.

After all, why not start talking to motorists long before they’re looking to buy a car. People are passionate about their cars, and for the most part, car dealers are missing out on the opportunity to leverage this passion. For now, at least, Evans Halshaw is ahead of this curve.

READ more about my work at the launch of Evans Halshaw Vauxhall, Leeds.

My #CarFilms journey has been a real adventure so far, and I’ve really enjoyed sharing that adventure with you on this motoring blog, so thank you for all your support.

The story spans seven decades, with over 30 reviews, films and features. I’ve focused on the experience of motoring; the parts of the story that inspire people like you, and me to get out and drive.

But I also hope there’s enough oily stuff in there to keep the diehard petrolheads among us, entertained.

I’m working on a number of exciting short and long term motoring projects, and can’t wait to share these with you. But for now, kick back and have a browse through the story so far, on my Car Films channel.

Thanks for the support, the cars, the coffees and the views.

You may have noticed that a lot of my recent motoring media projects have been on behalf of motor trade organisations. It’s no coincidence; it’s an area that I feel has a lot of scope.

What I’m talking about is real-world, on-the-ground content, that wears the heart of the brand, event or organisation it reflects, on its sleeve.

Don’t worry if this is all a bit poetic for you, it’s actually a really logical idea, and one which is aimed at directly supporting car dealers, events, brands and manufacturers with one of their biggest challenges; engagement.

You may have read on this blog previously about my thoughts on car dealers engaging with motorists and ‘real people’ all the time, not just when they want to buy a car. Interesting, entertaining and engaging content – audio and visual – is not just for those brands at the top of the tree with their big budgets and their London marketing agencies.

If your project is a car dealer, a specialist motoring service provider, a car event or a motoring-associated brand, then my project might be just what you’re looking for.

Let’s talk ideas; let’s talk cars.

Friday 14th October will go down as one of the best days of my motoring media career, and actually my entire life. I attended Clarkson’s new show, The Grand Tour in the studio audience, and I was blown away.

I never got the chance to be part of the studio audience when Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May ruled the roost at the BBC, on Top Gear. So I had no idea what to expect in Whitby for the filming of the sixth episode in the upcoming Amazon Prime motoring show.

I attended as a guest of fellow motoring journalist, Graham King who I’ve worked with on some exciting motoring projects previously. You can see how Graham and I spent our time waiting for the show to begin, below.

As you might expect, I made sure I played a role in the filming, so you’ll be able to watch me challenged by Clarkson to find Hammond in an Audi TT (harder than it sounds!) during what I think will be episode six.

The famous threesome were on top form, at home behind the camera chatting to the 300+ studio guests, just as they were on camera filming for the show. Clarkson’s claims that they “have no f******g idea what they are doing” were clearly unfounded – they have in fact found their niche in the market, and continue to exploit it, in a completely inimitable way.

The whole experience was eye-opening, and reassuring – I can tell you wholeheartedly that I still believe those three motoring stars have the three best jobs in the world. My big dream lives on.

The Grand Tour launches on 18th November on Amazon Prime, and it is set to explode with the best bits of ‘old Top Gear’ put together in a show that – if the filming was anything to go by – will have you smiling from ear-to-ear and celebrating unashamed commercialism.

Look out for my first appearance on TV alongside Clarkson!

Don’t worry, it’s not me having an identity crisis, but the car I drove for my latest film appears to have had the odd one over the last 26 years.

I’m talking about the Ford Escort XR3i – a car that spent its entire production life confused as to where it fitted in, in Ford’s range of family cars and hot hatches.

Pitched against the Golf GTI, the XR3i seemed doomed from the start, and even more so as it shared brochure space with the RS Turbo.

As a classic car, of course these stories make a car more interesting, and I then turn up and shoot the story. It’s worth capturing!

Here’s my latest film trailer – full feature coming soon. You’ll be able to watch it first, HERE.

In 1984, Stig Blomqvist won the World Rally Championship, just as I was making my entrance into the world. 

32 years after the original Stig helped to launch Audi’s assault on Group B, and the wider rally story, I caught up with the Swedish rally legend for a very special TV feature.

Stig wasn’t back in the Yorkshire forests to make up any numbers, and while his rally was cut short, the legend well and truly continues.

Watch the original Stig in action, thanks to the Special Stage TV Show…