Friday April 23rd, 2004
Motorhome Central
It was a welcome return of the motorhomes this weekend for the San Marino Grand Prix as Formula One returned to Europe after the trio of fly-away races to kick-start the 2004 season. The paddock, resplendent in colour thanks to the arrival of the temporary 'homes' of the 10 teams and two tyre manufacturers, was a hive of activity on Friday - and had one welcome new addition. While the Formula One teams are using the same motorhomes as last year, World Champion tyre supplier Bridgestone have splashed out on an all-new home, replacing their previously small canvas motorhome with a glass-windowed facility.
On Yer Bike
British journalist Simon Arron was presented with a Honda X8R scooter at Imola following his success in Honda's 2003 prediction competition. Arron, who works for Motorsport News, topped last year's standings with 999 points and was presented with the scooter by BAR-Honda driver Jenson Button ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix. Competition entrants had to predict the top four drivers and riders in Formula One, MotoGP and the IRL series, and Arron won by 90 points. "This ranks as my most spectacular motorsport trophy to date," Arron said.
PitStop Challenge
Atlas F1's David Cameron and Gary Emmerson's hopes of switching career to the pitlane were dashed on Thursday when they were categorically branded "losers" in the BAR-Honda PitStop Challenge. The pair, part of a nine-man UK team made up of out-of-shape journalists, were defeated by their Italian counterparts in the second heat of the challenge. With wheel nuts rolling down the pitlane, the UK team could only change all four wheels of BAR's Formula One car in 13.0 seconds, 1.5 seconds slower than the slick and quick Italians, who go through into the next round of the knock-out competition which began at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Published at 14:16:51 GMT
(03-11-2005): 
