There’s something brilliantly wonderful and overwhelming about diving into a subject you don’t really know a lot about. I’ve done this a few times: with films, with music and most recently with sport – getting fully involved with tennis, and this month, jumping feet first into Formula E with a new podcast and everything. At first, it seems totally overwhelming. There’s so much you don’t know, an entire history that you’ve missed out on (not so much with Formula E, being just a baby motorsport series), and so many connections you’re going to miss. What you have to do is push that to one side, ignore all the voices telling you it’s too big a subject, it’s too late, you might as well just watch re-runs of The Big Bang Theory instead.

I have to say that it was a really fun couple of hours watching this but not because it was a particularly good film. The story was okay, although filled with plot holes and inconsistencies. It’s hard to get fully on board with these guys, because ultimately they’re hooligans, breaking the law constantly and putting themselves at risk before being horrified at the consequences.

This book, the first of three that he wrote, gives an insight into how the Professor got to his position, what kind of activities he got up to during his time in F1, as well as thoughts on various aspects of the sport from a position as a fan, and as a doctor. A big part of the book is detailing some of the huge accidents that Watkins dealt with, and the aftermath of such. Whether it was a tragic and fatal crash, such as Ratzenberger or Villeneuve, or one that the participant walked away from, Sid talks of them with the same clinical descriptions youíd expect from a doctor.

It’s probably prudent to separate the F1 fan and the film fan in me apart. As a follower of F1, I thought it did a good job of putting across the story to non-fans, and was a good attempt at being interesting to people who don’t give two hoots about the sport. Having said that, the racing scenes got a little repetitive and didn’t exactly inspire. F1 is complicated and it’s hard to tell the story of a season in just a few short sequences.

This book was recommended and loaned to me in physical format, meaning I’ve read it in gradual stages at work, as it was quite a hefty hardback and I didn’t want to lug it back and forth. The tale inside is an incredible one though, with great insight into the troubles that Nigel Mansell faced trying to get his career off the ground. From near bankruptcy, through some horrific injuries, and then the steady progress towards the F1 World Championship, it’s all documented in great detail, and honesty.

Mr C and I have watched this together on a previous occasion, but it was so long ago that I didn’t remember very much about it. We set this up as a Sidepodfilmclub, in which we watch with lots of lovely people around the world, all pressing play at the same time and live commenting the film. These are my notes from the process. We chose the film before the sad news about Tony Scott’s death, and it became a tribute to him as well as a regular film club night.

Matchett’s three books follow distinct paths - the first an entire year with a championship winning team and the third a look at how to put together a fast race car. This second book focuses on life as part of the pit crew. From getting the job, through winning and losing as a team, to desperately trying to get out, the book expands on its predecessor with more experiences from the F1 paddock.

Life in the Fast Lane guides us through one single year in the company of Steve Matchett as mechanic for the championship-winning Benetton team. There are plenty of highs and lows to be covered through the year, though, as 1994 was one of the most tragic and troublesome seasons Formula One has ever seen. Matchett covers all the difficulties surrounding Michael Schumacher and a black flag, he talks candidly about the refuelling flash fire that occurred on Jos Verstappen’s car, and briefly touches upon Ayrton Senna’s death. As Steve quite rightly says, that race in Imola was just too personal to go into too much detail.

For those of us that watched the 2007 season, we already know how this story ends, but Hamilton uses his journalistic skills to delve behind the headlines we might have already seen and find out what made those involved make some of the decisions they did. It’s a remarkably unbiased piece of writing, considering the high emotions and questionable actions detailed along the way, and there are no significant conclusions drawn at the end. That’s by no means a bad thing, the book simply gives the reader the tools to make their own judgement.

Bower was alongside Ecclestone as he meandered through the Monaco Grand Prix last year, and that is where the biography begins, following Bernie as he hobnobs with the rich and famous. It’s a jarring way to begin the story, a first chapter filled with assumed knowledge and irrelevant characters. As a glimpse of Bernie’s presumably hectic and celebrity filled life, it does the job, but as a reader, it is about as off putting as a first chapter can be.

On his Facebook page, Franck takes questions from his fans and answers them. I’m not sure how long it’s been going on, because I don’t like Facebook very much and I’m annoyed that it’s the only place FKM seems to exist anymore. However, in this month’s Q&A, there are some startling (to me) revelations! Give or take dodgy translations: How are your baby already? It’s not too hard to get away from him?

A great video of highlights from the race this weekend. Plenty of dramatic music, some Eau Rouge action, and even a Michelin Man or two. Fun Franck-spotting as well. I particularly like the helmet shot at the beginning of the race, and the champagne afterwards. I may have misjudged him, as it seems FKM was happier than I first thought. Yay!

After all that worry, Franck came second: Pos Class Drivers Team/Car Time 1 LMP1 Gene / Wurz / Davidson Peugeot 908 6:02:03.799 2 LMP1 Montagny / Sarrazin / Minassian Peugeot 908 + 42.965s 3 LMP1 Capello / Kristensen / McNish Audi R18 TDI + 1 lap I didn’t watch much, if any, of the race, but that seems rather incredible. From 50th to 2nd? Still, everyone said it was a long race, and I guess it must have been so.

So, this happened: Ortelli/Makowiecki Krohn/Jonsson Montagny/Sarrazin/Minassian Belicchi/Boullion Peugeot were trying to be tactical, leaving it late before attempting a flying lap. And then there was an accident and red flags and Sarrazin didn’t set a time. Boo. Just boo. People say it’s a long race and Franck is starting and he’ll overtake half the field on the first lap anyway, but still, it’s not as good as starting in the top five, is it?

Two practice sessions complete, with the results looking a bit like this. Practice 1 Pos Class Drivers Team/Car Time 1 LMP1 Capello / Kristensen / McNish Audi R18 TDI 2:03.844 2 LMP1 Bernhard / Dumas / Rockenfeller Audi R18 TDI 2:04.054 3 LMP1 Lamy / Bourdais / Pagenaud Peugeot 908 2:04.217 4 LMP1 Fassler / Lotterer / Treluyer Audi R18 TDI 2:05.329 5 LMP1 Montagny / Sarrazin / Minassian Peugeot 908 2:05.392 Practice 2 Pos Class Drivers Team/Car Time 1 LMP1 Fassler / Treluyer / Lotterer Audi R18 TDI 2:03.124 2 LMP1 Capello / Kristensen / McNish Audi R18 TDI 2:04.361 3 LMP1 Bernhard / Dumas / Rockenfeller Audi R18 TDI 2:04.405 4 LMP1 Lamy / Bourdais / Pagenaud Peugeot 908 2:05.472 5 LMP1 Lapierre / Duval / Panis ORECA Peugeot 2:06.962 6 LMP1 Gene / Wurz / Davidson Peugeot 908 2:07.150 7 LMP1 Amaral / Pla Quifel-ASM Zytek 2:07.543 8 LMP1 Montagny / Sarrazin / Minassian Peugeot 908 2:08.547 The second practice session came to an end when Pedro Lamy smashed up the other Peugeot. Boy am I glad that he’s not sharing with Franck this weekend. Although they were faster than FKM’s car in both practices, which isn’t so great.

Well, my goodness, it’s time for more racing, is it? The 1,000km of Spa takes place this weekend, with two practice sessions today. There’s another practice on Friday, plus qualifying, and then the race itself gets underway on Saturday. Franck is in the number 8 once again, and teamed up with Stéphane Sarrazin and Nicolas Minassian (phew, Lamy is in the other car!). Good luck Mr Montagny.

It’s quiet in Franck-land again. I did enjoy looking at Google News for any mentions and finding they’ve done this: I think every webpage should have a Franck quote at the top.

It was a long, old race. 12 hours, I suppose. The challenge from Audi fell by the wayside quite early on as a coming together between Marc Gene and Allan McNish, plus some reliability issues, meant they fell far down the order and had to make their way back up. Meanwhile, Montagny, Sarrazin and Lamy spent a good while leading the race, swapping between the other Peugeot and the Highcroft car, but a few mistakes cost them dearly. Lamy (who I am not a fan of anymore) spun after a pit stop left him with cold tyres (mini picture here), and then one of the last pit stops of the race took far too long.

Stephane Sarrazin did the business in qualifying for the 12 hours of Sebring, putting the Peugeot on pole position ahead of the race today. Talking about his day, Sarrazin said: We arrived here with new car and new rules so it was hard for us this week. We have been improving the balance of the car. Things were much better in qualifying than free practice because of the traffic. I did my lap without a mistake and it was very good.

I find it very tricky to follow the build-up to Sebring, so I will just leave it to Autosport to tell you how it is: Only one of the latest generation Peugeots ran today, but the Franck Montagny/Stephane Sarrazin/Pedro Lamy car set the quickest time of the opening day in the morning session with a 1m47.678s. Having said that, I am attempting to fire up the Factbyte Factbox (our live blog) for Sebring, so if you’re around this weekend - keep your eyes peeled.

It’s been officially confirmed that Franck will be the driver behind the wheel of the #8 Peugeot when the 12 Hours of Sebring race gets underway. Sharing duties with Stephane Sarrazin (who will be qualifying it) and Pedro Lamy (who will also be there), Frank will kick things off on the 19th March, which is not this Saturday but the one after. Technical director Bruno Famin reiterated what Peugeot have always said, that these races are always just a test for the real deal - Le Mans.

Franck!!! Taking part in a Peugeot press conference. And by taking part, I mean sitting looking a bit bored. Although he did get to speak for about ten seconds, so he was a bit less bored then. ♥

I’m rubbish at birthdays, okay? Many happy returns to Franck who turned 33 yesterday. I wonder what he did to celebrate, wherever he is hibernating away for the winter. The worrying news is that Franck’s website is no longer working for me. Anyone else? I mean, it’s not like it had been updated in forever anyway, but even so. At this rate, I will not only forget FKM’s birthday, but I’ll be forgetting about him too!

So, last time I was here, we discussed the Thursday test, in which Peugeot dominated. The weather turned against the drivers during Friday practice, and the first session saw Bourdais’ car on top again, with Franck and Sarrazin finishing slightly further down. 1 Team Peugeot Total – Peugeot 908 HDi FAP – 1:28.751 7 Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R15 TDI – 1:29.389 8 Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R15 TDI – 1:30.041 2 Team Peugeot Total – Peugeot 908 HDi FAP – 1:31.093 (FRANCK!) In the second session, the weather was worse, and you can see from the times that it was a slow lap.

Franck was out and about today, as he and teammate Stephane Sarrazin took to the track at Zhuhai for two test sessions. These are pre-practice sessions for the weekend, which seems a bit odd, but any testing time is good. The first session had Peugeot on top, but it was the other one, with Bourdais and Pagenaud. Franck’s car was third, with a pesky Audi splitting the two of them. In the second session, they improved and finished first, with Bourdais’ car in second place - a 1-2 finish for Peugeot. If the race could go like that too, I’d be happy.

Franck’s next assignment takes place at the beginning of November, when the LMP1 class of cars turn up at the Zhuhai International Circuit. The 7th November will see Franck partnered with Stephane Sarrazin, whilst a second Peugeot car will be fielded by Bourdais and Pagenaud. That’s still a couple of weeks away, of course, so while we’re waiting, here’s a photo gallery (on Facebook) of Franck at Petit Le Mans. Yum.

Another tiny quote from Mr M: We were the fastest on track again this year. We didn’t steal this. Same car, same team, same results - the only difference was the rain! Last year’s race clearly affected him more than it appeared!

Franck, along with Sarrazin and Lamy, won the 2010 Petit Le Mans yesterday. I didn’t watch it but all I’ve seen suggests it was a great race, interesting throughout, and it wasn’t until the final couple of hours that Peugeot seemed to have it in the bag. They took up two steps of the podium with Allan McNish for Audi in third. A snippet from the Autosport report: …the Audi R15 of Allan McNish/Dindo Capello/Tom Kristensen had a very real chance of winning, while the second 908 of Anthony Davidson/Marc Gene/Alex Wurz was waiting in the wings on the lead lap.But when Capello was briefly blinded when his balaclava slipped over his eyes, causing him to concede the lead to Montagny and then to pit out of sequence and thus drop off the lead lap, the cars fell perfectly into Peugeot’s hands.

Not a lot, but at least it is something: I want to win at least one race with the 908 this year! But I’m going to have to hurry, because there are only two races left! I would especially like to win Petit Le Mans because the atmosphere is so special. It’s unique, and I like that!

He has seemingly disappeared completely. Still no word on his official site, he’s not in the news for any rumours, and he’s definitely not participating in Superleague - Girondins de Bordeaux went and found another driver instead. Silly people. I miss him. He will be back though! He is on the entry list for Petit Le Mans, which takes place next week - the race itself on the 2nd October.

Ignore everything I said in the previous post about Superleague in Italy. Franck is not racing there this weekend. Supposedly the team withdrew because of financial difficulties. Probably a mixture of that and a rather annoyed FKM after the last race they did manage to attend. What a mess.

So, when you pick up a romance novel, you know exactly what you’re getting and they are not my kind of book. It being set in the beautiful motorsport paddocks made no difference to this whatsoever. Romance novels are silly, this we know. They are nothing like real life, people don’t ever talk to each other like that, and things like this don’t happen to regular people. Even so, to bring motorsport into the mix is interesting to me, so I read it. Oh dear.

Franck has seemingly disappeared off the face of the planet, and so it is left to other drivers to preview the upcoming Superleague Race. I’m assuming FKM is still driving in the series, although last we heard he was a little bit peeved at the entire thing - his team included. This weekend the gang head to Italy, the Adria International Raceway for Round 8 of the 2010 Superleague Formula Championship. The official preview suggests:

Quite a lot of people came to the conclusion that watching The Love Bug was like being on drugs for about 90 minutes. It was definitely a lot of fun but also quite confusing. There was a bear in the car at one point! It also went a bit too Wacky Races at points, which was a bit of a turnoff. I know green screening wasn’t great back then, but it was slightly offputting as well. Good film but not as epic as I’d hoped.

In the ongoing saga of Montagny versus Superleague, it looks as though our favourite Frenchman is still not happy, particularly after events at Brands Hatch this weekend. In this week’s Autosport magazine (available digitally here), they suggest that the team behind the football name Barazi-Epsilon gave priority to Tristan Gommendy when it came to pitstops. Franck said: We had good pace here, we were fast, but I think we gave away a podium finish at least. I like the series, I like the cars but I’m quite upset again with the team. I was screaming at them to let me pit, but it was a big mess and lack of communication.

As we established, Franck was back in the car for Girondins de Bordeaux for the Brands Hatch weekend, although we still don’t know where or why he went away for round 6. Maybe he just needed a rest. I didn’t get to see any of the action, apart from a few videos of the terrible crash for Chris van der Drift that overshadowed the entire day. It was an awful accident but he appears to have escaped with relatively minor injuries - a broken ankle and the like. Hope he recovers quickly.

I’m officially confused. Franck is back with Girondins de Bordeaux for the next Superleague round at Brands Hatch. But why did he go? Why is he back? Why did he have to come back on a weekend when I can’t watch it? So many questions.

There was no Franck Montagny at the Superleague race in Zolder this past weekend, and we aren’t the only ones who missed him. Firstly, the team finished 12th in the first race and 10th in the third (which sounds better but is actually only second to last). Meanwhile, there’s a post on the Superleague site today suggesting the team aren’t happy without him. Apologies for the rather dodgy Google translation:

Autosport is reporting that Franck Montagny won’t be driving for Girondins de Bordeaux at Zolder this weekend, and it reads as though his time with the team and with Superleague has come to an end. Bourdais left the sport just a couple of days ago, and he said: I’ve stopped for the moment and I’m not pointing fingers at anyone or anything, but I don’t see it getting any better. The team doesn’t have the time, the equipment or money to to compete against structured, experienced teams. We wanted to do well, but we were struggling along and breaking down every weekend. It’s frustrating.

The Superleague Formula is back in action this weekend, with the football themed cars taking to the track in Belgium at the Zolder circuit. A brief intro from the official site: The 2.492 mile, 10 turn circuit has remained a staple of the championship since its inception in 2008. Indeed, it is the only venue to have been included on the calendar throughout Superleague Formula’s brief history to date. Don’t rely on my knowledge of timings, but I think the first race starts at 9am BST on Sunday, and the second at midday. Live streaming will be available as ever.

Well, I didn’t see it because someone scheduled it the same time as the European GP, but it looks like Franck came second. The report from Superleague says: Earlier in race 2, Alvaro Parente claimed victory for FC Porto after holding off a late-race challenge from Bordeaux’s Franck Montagny. Parente led right from the start after both he and Montagny got past pole-sitter John Martin (Beijing Guoan FC) at the first corner. The Portuguese driver’s lead was up to 2.7 seconds as Montagny pitted for his compulsory stop and the Porto car rejoined from its stop two laps later ahead of the Frenchman, although a stunning lap from Montagny had closed the gap to less than a second.

Well it was nothing to write home about, was it? Franck started way down the grid, 16th. He stayed out longer than everyone else, which meant he was leading the race for a moment until he came into the pits. He wasn’t about to win the race, but he might have made up a few places. Unfortunately, there was a delay in the pitstop which meant he finished the race in 15th. As ever, the only good news is he starts the next race further up the grid. We’ll hope for better things then.

Before you even have a chance to think about taking a breather, Franck is back in action again this weekend. The Superleague Formula rocks up at the Nurburgring in Germany. The intro on the official site reads: Superleague Formula by Sonangol journeys from central Spain to western Germany this weekend for the football-themed championship’s fifth round of the season at the Nürburgring. Nestled in the spectacular Eifel Mountains alongside its formidable Nordschleife forbearer, the circuit returns to the calendar after hosting the second-ever Superleague Formula round in 2008.

So, I missed out on the first race, and tuned in just in time for the start of Race 2. By all accounts, the first race didn’t go so well. I know Franck started 12th, and he began the second race on the front row. With a reversed grid, that would suggest it wasn’t a result to write home about, and after further research, I learnt they had to retire with a mechanical issue. Boo.

With the Le Mans disaster still fresh in our minds, we must turn our attention to the next event for Franck - Superleage Formula at Jarama. This weekend, FKM will be back in the car for Girondins de Bordeaux, and for the first time, the official Superleague site will be offering Qualifying streaming on Saturday, as well as all the racing action on Sunday. More information can be found here (Facebook link).

A Q&A with the man himself. On not anticipating any problems: We were not really pushing, we were very focused on the targets, not on qualifying. We just focused on one point, which was the win. We were just so relaxed and peaceful working together. I could sleep very easily this week, and during the race too. I was just checking the lap times and everything we’d said before was done, no problem at all. It was just great.

The race isn’t over yet, but our dreams for a Montagny win really are. The #2 car was leading but… well, Autosport tell it best: Franck Montagny was on his out-lap from a scheduled fuel-stop when flames and smoke started pouring from the right side exhaust of his 908 at Tertre Rouge. He tried to get the car back to the pits, but was forced to park it up at the side of the Mulsanne straight. He has remained by the side of car, still hoping to find a way to get it back to the pits, but the failure looks terminal.

But our driver is not at the top. Sadly, I didn’t get to see any of qualifying either - who decided to put Le Mans on when I am just crazy busy? Still, according to the Autosport report on things: Stephane Sarrazin, who had taken the last three consecutive 24 Hours poles, was denied the opportunity to extend his streak when the final stint in the #2 car was given to Nicolas Minassian.

It’s always exciting when I find a Montagny mention on Autosport, as I usually go there in search of F1 news - and he is pretty hard to find in that section! However, they’re making a special Le Mans effort, and we have word from the great man himself. The word is: mega! During the transition between practice and qualifying, FKM speculated: I had 35 laps on the tyres, it’s not as good as a new set of tyres, and when there’s soft tyres and no fuel, it’s going to be mega.

Ah, it is that time of year again, the race we have all been waiting for. None of that silly Superleague stuff, we’re talking 24 Heures du Mans. We are hoping to live comment lots of the action over on Sidepodcast, and there will be threads popping up throughout the next few days so that we can keep an eye on everybody’s favourite Frenchman. (And probably a few other people as well.)