JustBritish

In front of nearly 100,000 fans on a dark overcast day, Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull RB5 stormed to an easy win at the historic Silverstone circuit for Formula One’s 2009 British Grand Prix. The race proved once and for all that mighty Brawn GP can be beaten, and that the F1 championship fight is likely to tighten before a winner is declared.

The British victory was Vettel’s second of the season – he also won the rainy Chinese Grand Prix – and third of his F1 career. It was also the German’s first career win under dry conditions. All three of his wins have come from Pole position. Vettel also scored the hat-trick: Pole, fastest lap, and the win.

For the Red Bull F1 team, it was their second win of the season, and their second in the team’s five year 80-race history. It was also the team’s second one-two finish of the season as Mark Webber got by Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello on the first round of pitstops, and easily pulled away once the Brazilian was behind. Both Red Bull drivers turned down the revs on the engines to save them. Had it been 2005 and one-race engines, the pair likely would have lapped the field.

They were that good.

“This is a dream come true, this is a dream come true,” Vettel said of his straightforward cruise to victory. “It’s never easy, you have to stay focused and keep your eyes open all of the time. I had to push during the first stint, I was able to push, push, push, more and more. “

See the full story at Paddock Talk!

It is only three weeks away — the biggest celebration of the 50 years of the Mini/MINI — MINI East Meets West. The Phil Wicks Driving Academy will hold an event at Brainerd International Raceway on Saturday and Sunday, June 27-28. The days will consist of driving academy — all makes and models of cars — with instruction in classroom and on-track for Novice, Intermediate, and Expert; North American Can/Am Challenge races (classic Minis); Vintage car races — all makes and models; and North American MINI Cooper Challenge Time Trials. There will be a dutch treat banquet and awards presentation in the clubhouse at Brainerd on Saturday evening. All are invited to attend.

Fees for the driving academy are $300 for one day, $500 for two days. And there will be lunch-time touring laps for non-participants for a fee of $25 per car. Racers’ fees are $300 for the weekend.

So go to the website now for registration information and send it in soon to ensure your spot on this great weekend.

Phil Wicks Driving Academy
North American MINI Cooper Challenge
www.minidriving.com
803-699-4691
314-330-6449

One man… stripped of everything he owns and challenged to just buy British…

Join award-winning television comedian Dom Joly on an epic road trip around Britain in an attempt to fill his house from top to bottom with British-made products in the brand new series Made In Britain.

As part of this unique experiment, Dom will have his family home turned upside down and stripped of everything he owns that’s not made in the UK. He’s then challenged to go on a remarkable shopping trip, travelling the length and breadth of the country to try and replace all his foreign goods with British-made products.

Before the inspectors arrive, Dom’s quaint country cottage in the Cotswolds is a safe haven for foreign merchandise: the Italian coffee machine, a television manufactured in Japan and pants made in Taiwan. In no time at all the Joly family home isn’t looking quite so jolly anymore. In their bid to find out what’s British and what’s not, the experts have banished two thirds of everything they’ve looked at including his bed, laptop and, controversially, his wife’s cosmetics, and Dom is left with little more than his Savile Row suit, a pair of muddy Wellington boots and a lengthy shopping list for his trip.
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