Motor Sport Magazine Podcast

Most of you will know Simon Taylor as the man behind Motor Sport's 'Lunch With' series – one that has included 125 lunch-based interviews with the sport's biggest names. He first sat down for 'Lunch With' in June 2006. The subject was Max Mosley and the pair ate at the Café de Paris where the then-president of the FIA ate "a tiny lobster mousse, green salad, still water and an espresso". As the issues rolled on Simon had lunch with a huge array of names from Tyler Alexander to Alex Wurz via Ross Brawn, Richard Petty, Ron Dennis and the late Chris Amon.  After 10 years of lunches Simon has decided to call it a day (he'll still write for Motor Sport, but he's stepping down from Lunch With) and to honour what Damien Smith describes as "the greatest series of interviews in motor sport publishing" we decided to sit the man himself down for a bite to eat. Want to know what all these big names were like to interview? Enjoy.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Damon Hill discusses his Formula 1 World Championship win, 20 years on, plus modern F1 and much more.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's a big one... Our 100th podcast here at Motor Sport and it's the first one in partnership with Mercedes-Benz. It was also our first podcast al fresco in the British summer sun.  Derek Warwick was on his usual fantastic form and we cover everything from knicking his Dad's engines in Superstox to his Uncle Stan flying aeroplanes under Tower Bridge (yes, really). We also find time to talk about sports cars, Formula 1 and young British driving talent.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Alastair Caldwell tells good stories. A lot of good stories. Whether it's about how he got into the sport or what it was like looking after James Hunt the night before the Canadian Grand Prix they are always entertaining and they usually end with a michevous cackle.  For this Royal Automobile Club Talk Show we focused solely on 1976 – the year that James Hunt won the title. It was an incredible year in Formula 1 with everything from terrible accidents to race disqualifications. "I remember when we were on our way back from Japan," Alastair told me after we stopped recording, "and we all said to each other: There's no point in taking this to Hollywood, no one would believe what happened." Over 30 years later Rush, the Hollywood film centered around 1976, was made.  The Club is celebrating that world championship year all through 2016 and only two weeks ago hosted a dinner with John Hogan, Freddie and Tom Hunt and James' two sisters and brother. We hope you enjoy Alastair's view on the season which...

Having accepted his Hall of Fame award Valentino Rossi chats to Mat Oxley about his favourite bike, the competition at the moment and why he is "f**ked" if it gets any tougher.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The reward for an early start for the podcast team was an hour-long chat with David Richards, chairman of Prodrive. A winner in the World Rally Championship as co-driver, he and Prodrive have gone on to feature at the top of all four-wheeled motor sport. He gives his views on the state of modern Formula 1 and WRC, Colin McRae, Jenson Button and Jacques Villeneuve. Plus modern GT racing's appeal, and he answers your many, many questions.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last night's Motor Sport Hall of Fame kicked off with a panel discussion on motor sport's great rivalries. The stars included five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell, nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, two-time Le Mans class winner Darren Turner, former Formula 1 driver and team owner Jackie Oliver, Motor Sport writer and former Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley and editor Damien Smith.  To download the podcast please visit our Soundcloud page. You can also subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Being the month of May we sat down with Sir Stirling Moss to talk Monaco and the Mille Miglia. Moss famously won the latter in 1955 with Motor Sport's continental correspondent Denis Jenkinson aboard the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. In Monaco he also enjoyed great success with Grand Prix wins in 1956, 1960 and 1961. His last win there, when he held off the faster Ferraris behind him, is widely considered one of his greatest races of all time.  We also take readers' questions which cover Moss' greastest corners, his retirement from racing and much more.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, Williams in the 1980s, Frank Williams, Patrick Head, the state of modern F1, the problems with overtaking, Toyota, Jarno Trulli... There is not much we don't cover in this podcast with Frank Dernie.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

John Surtees has a lot of fans. That much is clear from how many questions and good wishes were submitted when we announced we were recording a podcast with him. He's also amazingly sprightly and his memory is far better than mine. At the end of the podcast below I fired a completely random question to him about racing around the streets of Madrid in the late 1950s and within a matter of seconds he was into a story about the crowds and Francisco Franco sitting in a dangerous place. Astonishing. We talk through the 2016 Motor Sport Hall of Fame shortlist (below) and John gives his view on who he'd like to see victorious in each category. What's more, we take as many questions as possible. The shortlist, as voted for by you, is: Formula 1 – Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth, Gilles Villeneuve, Professor Sid Watkins, Sports cars – Derek Bell, Brian Redman, Pedro Rodríguez, Motorcycling – Joey Dunlop, Mike Hailwood, Valentino Rossi, Rallying – Richard Burns, Sébastien Loeb, Hannu Mikkola, US racing – Dan...

I first met McGuinness at the Isle of Man TT in 2011. I was on the island to write a colour piece about the week’s racing and the big characters and John was top of the interview list. Having organised the trip at the last minute the only hire car left on the island was a pink soft-top Nissan Micra. I decided to take my ‘bike helmet and hitch lifts. It was because of a particularly mad Frenchman – who had given me a lift from my campsite to the paddock that morning on his (very fast) BMW tourer – that I knocked on John’s motorhome door with slightly shaky hands. John opened the door, invited me in and offered me a ‘cuppa’. Being relatively new to road racing it seemed odd that one of its most successful counterparts was happy to be making tea. Formula 1 this was not. What followed was a fascinating 45 minutes chatting about the TT course and what makes it so special. By the end of it I had to keep reminding myself who McGuinness was such was his normality. To be fair, most road racers I have met are...

The first in a new series – we look back at the 2008 and 2009 Formula 1 seasons when Honda pulled out of the sport. Ross Brawn and Nick Fry, after trying to find a buyer, decided to purchase the team themselves. What followed was one of the most remarkable seasons in Grand Prix history. Here is the full story.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Simon Arron, Damien Smith, Mark Hughes and Rob Widdows are joined by Williams' Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds to review testing and preview the 2016 Formula 1 season.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This weekend at Race Retro Damien Smith sat down with 1996 Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill and head of Williams Heritage Jonathan Williams. The first half is dedicated to Damon's racing career with questions from you, the Motor Sport readers, while the second part looks at the cars which brought Damon so much success.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lord Hesketh, Stirling Moss, Denis Jenkinson, John Watson, Gunnar Nilsson, Carlos Reutemann, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Jody Scheckter and David Purley.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ex-McLaren team manager Alastair Caldwell joins us for our second podcast of 2016. We look back at how he got his foot in the door at the now-Woking-based outfit, his memories of Bruce McLaren, the 1976 World Championship with James Hunt and which driver impressed him the most. You will also hear about our request for stories from anyone who was at Brands Hatch in 1976 for the British Grand Prix. In the July issue of the magazine we're looking back at that day and, instead of giving you the (well-told) story from the paddock, we want to hear from you. Were you there? Did you throw cans on the track? What are your memories? Do please use #Brands76 on social media to share your stories. Alternatively, you can leave a comment below or email editorial@motorsportmagazine.com.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The first podcast of 2016 is here. We persuaded four-time Indycar champion and three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti to come down from Scotland for it and, after answering readers' questions, we launched the shortlist for the final 2016 Hall of Fame category: US racing. We talk about Jim Clark, Franchitti's most satisfying race win, his perfect car for driving the north coast of Scotland and even Ganassi's 'secret' tunnel used for aero testing... In the second half the team decides the shortlist for the US racing category. As always, let us know what you think and thank you very much for sending in so many questions.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Formula 1 season review podcast is here! We welcome back Williams' chief technical officer Pat Symonds for a discussion of the year's events, themes and challenges.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The fourth Hall of Fame category is here. This month we turn to motorcycling and its greatest names. To help us narrow all the names down to a short list of 12 we brought in Mat Oxley and ex-MotoGP rider Jeremy McWilliams. We run through two-wheeled stars from Valentino Rossi to the cheeky Londoner Barry Sheene. As Rob says in the introduction this one's for all you racers. As always, let us know what you think.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was 5am and due to a computer failure the queue for check-in at Gatwick airport snaked out of the terminal door. Because of all the audio equipment needed to record a Motor Sport podcast there was no way I could proceed with hand luggage only. Having tried for a few years to secure Nigel Mansell as a podcast guest it looked like I was going to miss the flight to Jersey and the first proper chance... This was going to be a tough one to explain to editor Damien. Amazingly – with a little queue jumping – I made the flight and The Mansell Collection in St Helier, Jersey by 10am. The 1992 World Champion was there already, finishing another interview and within 15 minutes of arriving the tape is rolling. The next hour is spent talking about his rise to Formula 1, his memories of Colin Chapman, his stint in Indycar, the touring car outings and his thoughts on the likes of Senna, Piquet, Prost and Keke Rosberg.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.