I always said I’d save my first Goodwood Festival of Speed experience for when I was a) booked to present the TV show, and/or b) asked to drive up the hillclimb.

Well, ITV4 haven’t come calling yet (although I did have a missed call this morning – might have to call that back?!), but Shell V Power did; asking me to join them in trying out the Toyota Mirai on the hillclimb track as part of the Telegraph’s Moving Motorshow.

Everything you read about motoring points towards electric vehicles (EVs) as the future, and sure enough we’re starting to see some vehicles make production, which seem to make sense in that context.

But Hydrogen is not a power source I’ve really looked into, so drving a hydrogen powered car up the famous Goodwood hill was always going to be an eye-opener. I just wasn’t expecting it to open my eyes in so many ways.

Whereas Prius means ‘to come before’, Mirai means ‘future’, and given that this car brings together all of Toyota’s investment, innovation and knowledge in one futuristic package, that’s quite fitting.

The hydrogen fuel cell in the Mirai uses pressurised hydrogen gas to create a chemical reaction with oxygen, which is converted into electrical energy and powers the batteries.

The technology is still in its infancy in real terms, but when you can expect a range of 300 miles, a fill-up time and cost comparable to a petrol vehicle, and components which don’t deteriorate (aside from the fuel tank needing replacing every 20 years as it comes under pressurised container legislation), the £66,000 price tag starts to make sense.

It makes even more sense when you step inside, too. With the level of kit you’d expect from a range-topping Japanese car, and the profile of a family saloon car (albeit with some ‘Marmite’ space-age styling), Toyota have created a car we can all identify with. A car which answers the big question: “when can we realistically expect to see these cars hitting the roads?”

The answer to that question, by the way, is ‘now’.

Actually, hydrogen cars are not new, in fact the very first one was invented in 1806, and Japan and America have both been building their infrastructures since 2014. With only 8 hydrogen filling stations currently in the UK, we’re taking a bit of time to catch up. But Toyota has given us a reason to do just that with the Mirai.

Crucially for me, being a petrolhead, is that with a 0-60 ‘sprint’ time of 9 seconds, and some impressive ‘in gear’ performance, together with a taught chassis belying the weight of the car’s technology, the Mirai made for a surprisingly fun, and sporty experience on the hillclimb.

We’re undeniably early in the development of hydrogen technology for widespread use in production cars. But if the Mirai is anything to go by, I’ll be on the phone to Shell and Toyota for another go on the track when we get further down the line.

You can read more on the Mirai at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed, HERE. And to see what else I got up to at the event on my #VPowerBlog, click HERE.

Here’s my video blog from my Goodwood Mirai experience – warning, contains unscripted Woodford! Enjoy…

I always had a personal rule in mind when it came to Goodwood Festival of Speed. I have been dying to go for years, and have had a number of invites in the past few years.

However, I always said I wanted my first time at the event to be either presenting, or invited to drive. So when Shell V Power got in touch and asked if I wanted to drive the exciting new hydrogen powered Toyota Mirai on the track as part of their promotions during the ‘Moving Motorshow’ it seemed to tick a box.

Shell were looking for motoring bloggers to attend the show as their guests, and produce content on social media. So, as you’ve come to expect, there will be plenty of live and produced content on here, and on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

For now, here’s a photo of the car I’ll be driving…and blogging from at Goodwood – shiny or what?!

After what has been a hugely successful, and action packed inaugural season, last night saw me host the very first Motorsport News Circuit Rally Championship Awards ceremony.

The night was characterised by the incredible attention to detail we’ve seen all season from Darren Spann and the rest of his Bolton-Le-Moors Motor Club organising team.

Late last year when the Championship kicked off with the Neil Howard Memorial Rally at Oulton Park, people were wondering two things;

Could a local motor club really pull off a high profile championship, and could race tracks provide the spectacle needed for true rally fans, as well as the casual observers?

I’m delighted to say it’s been a resounding YES on both counts, and if anything the championship has introduced the sport to new fans. Which is always good.

Myself and the rest of the Special Stage Team have been there to bring the series to television, and having won my first rally with Graham Coffey – together with proposing to my now wife, Victoria – at the Neil Howard Rally in 2012, the Championship and the people behind it are very special to me.

It’s no secret that the sport of rallying is in a difficult position right now, and that rally as we know it is changing. Race tracks could well end up being the only remotely affordable way to go clubman rallying.

If that is the case, with the effort, experience and passion of Darren and his team, the support of backers like Michelin, Coronado Controls, Motorsport News and MSVR, and the imagination of the race tracks in creating a varied challenge for drivers, the future of this part of the sport is in very good hands.

I’ll leave you with my video blog walk round from the ball room at Oulton Park, together with our Special Stage film, ‘New Gladiators’.

I’m delighted to be able to bring you the news that I’ve been booked to host the Formula Student event, which takes place next month at the home of British motor racing, Silverstone Circuit.

Formula Student, which takes place between 14th and 17th July 2016, sees university engineering teams from across the world pitching their brains, and their motor racing genius against each other in a four day international competitive event.

It’s a concept that I’ve always been fascinated by on seeing the machines on display at the Autosport International show when I’ve been filming there previously.

More than anything because some of the technology and thinking on display rivals the very best we see anywhere in motorsport – even Formula One!

So to say I’m delighted to be teaming up with GKN Engineering (engineering partner of Formula Student, and incidentally the company behind the highly acclaimed new 4wd transmission which features on the latest Focus RS), would be an understatement.

In doing so, I’ll also be working with High Viz Media in bringing the four day event to life…live! The plan is to pack the four days full of live content, drawing interactive social media activity in and showing the world what Formula Student is all about.

Joining me to present the coverage will be fellow motorsport presenter, Alexandra Legouix, who you may recognise from World Touring Car coverage, among other shows.

The challenge for Alexandra and I will be to learn the event, the people, the focus of the organisers, and draw out the stories which make up such a high profile, diverse event, and do it live for you all to see. I’ll draw on my experience of presenting live grid walks in the motor racing TV shows I produce, and live programmes on BT Sport for World Rally Championship round, Wales Rally GB. Honestly – I can’t wait to get started.

I’ll bring you more details of the event, and where you can watch the content we’ll be producing soon. In the meantime, you can read more about the live stream, HERE.

Having always been a big fan of Fords, and having raced and rallied plenty of them in my time, I’ve always had a good relationship with my local Ford dealer, and most importantly the people who work there.

So when I was asked to host the launch of the new Ford Store, one of only a handful of locations throughout the UK handed the prestigious role of selling the marque’s ‘special’ vehicles (namely Mustang and Focus RS), as part of a radio promotion with KCFM, you couldn’t get me there quick enough.

Not only was I joined in the impressive new showroom by a host of very special vehicles, from an evocative 1916 Ford Model T to the fire-breathing Ford GT supercar, I was also honoured to be introducing two heavyweights in the UK motor industry.

Managing Director and Chairman of Ford Motor Company UK, Andy Barratt joined Pendragon Group’s Chief Operating Officer, Martin Casha in unveiling the flagship Ford Store, and I was delighted to discover that they both have local stories. Pendragon, in fact has its roots right here in my home town of Hull. Which is very inspiring.

The motor industry is very cut-throat, and I’m looking forward to seeing Ford’s ‘unlearn’ marketing campaign run through to their culture, allowing them to slow things down a little, and let Ford’s heritage and sporting pedigree shine through.
There are some massive opportunities for exploiting content and engagement which companies like Ford, and Pendragon should be leading on. If their respective bosses are anything to go by, they’ve certainly got the vision right at the top, so it’s surely only a matter of time. Read my LOCO Magazine column, HERE to see more of my thoughts on car dealer marketing and engagement.

It certainly looks like they’re going the right way about it, and Evans Halshaw’s considerable investment in the Hull site shows real vision – there’s a big following for the brand round here, and I an in no doubt whatsoever that we will see more and more Mustangs and RS models on East Yorkshire roads as a result of this exciting move.

I’ll leave you with my gallery of photos from the event, and also a quick video blog I produced to give you a snap shot of the new Ford Store, together with Evans Halshaw’s own video from the event.

A huge congratulations and good luck to Steve Spicer, Dealer Principal and the rest of the team in Hull. Thanks for asking me to be involved!

With new Top Gear well and truly under way, I was contacted by my local BBC radio station to talk about the rebooted motoring show.

After the support I received from people and organisations in my local area when I sent in my Top Gear audition, I’m delighted to be the ‘go-to’ petrolhead for leading local broadcasters like James Hoggarth.

Listen back to the broadcast as I talk about the hype, the format, the future and the dream of Top Gear, on BBC Radio Humberside…

It dawns on me around every 1 and a half days, that the roads are now all but completely devoid of anything interesting.

I even got excited when a rusty two-tone Austin Maestro pulled up on the next pump a couple of weeks ago.

So my latest motoring column in lifestyle mag, LOCO is all about getting out and driving. I’m lucky that I get to spend a lot of time driving incredible roads on the way to filming locations for race and rally TV shows, and I’ve also been lucky enough to drive some iconic cars on them.

But you don’t need epic, awesome or even remotely great roads and cars to enjoy driving. If you haven’t ever taken the long way home, or chased the sunset when it felt right to do so, then you haven’t yet experienced motoring nirvana. And it’s true; you might never do so.

But, I hope my article inspires you to get out and drive. Or at the very least, I hope it discourages any dark thoughts you may have had about buying a Toyota Picnic: Not cool.

READ LOCO MAGAZINE HERE

1000 subscribers may not sound like a lot, and as some of the comments on my films suggest, perhaps I should have more.

But, I’ve never focused on subscribers because as far as I’m concerned I want people to watch my films and I have a few outlets to allow them to do just that.

But, I really do appreciate all the support, so here’s a quick thank you to each and every one of you…

Subscribe HERE

I spent a day in a television studio in London last week, and you’ll be able to see exactly what I got up to when a brand new motoring show lands on Channel 5 this summer.

Ok, so the channel gave away that it’s not Top Gear (yet!), but I’m very excited to be appearing in a new eight part series called ‘The Cars That Made Britain’, alongside big names in motoring such as Jodie Kidd.

With show themes from ‘the demise of British Leyland’, to ‘cars of the future’, the series showcases the very best motoring stories to come from this country, and it features some of my favourite classic cars of all time.

From the Delorean, to the Sunbeam Alpine and Triumph Dolomite Sprint, spending the day talking cars in front of the cameras goes down as a good day in the office for me, and I can’t wait for the series to kick off.

I’ll be sure to update you on here, and on my social media channels as soon as I know more about the series timings, but for now – thanks for all the support!

If you’ve read my previous Loco Magazine blog posts, you’ll know the mag is putting a focus on motoring by asking me to write a monthly column. Well they’ve taken this to a whole new level for May’s issue.

Not only have I written my usual motoring column, which this month focuses on the approach I believe car dealers should take to engaging with the motoring public. But I’ve also written a special feature on historic motor racing.

‘The future of motor racing is history’ is an in-depth look at the new Race TV show I’ll be hosting on Sky channel, Motors TV. As well as my take on historic motorsport, the article features some great behind-the-scenes photos from the first TV show, which airs on 21st May.

To read my latest motoring column, in lifestyle magazine Loco Magazine, CLICK HERE.