As we have now hit the halfway point of the year I thought it would be a good time to touch on the experiences I have had so far this season. Much like in 2021, I've been very lucky to cover championships all over Europe, travelling to some beautiful places and meeting incredible people. On top of this I've continued to broadcast Esports and run a couple of sim racing series as well.
Goodyear FIA European Truck Racing Championship
The 2022 truck racing season continues where it left off at Misano in Italy. Unfortunately, this time I was not on site however it was great to see everybody through the screen again and work with the awesome team at Wige Solutions.
For the second race meeting of the season I was lucky enough to be flying out to the Hungaroring in Budapest - one of my all time favourite circuits, that I had been itching to visit. Nothing quite beats seeing the trucks in person and getting to chat with everybody between the many sessions that they have across the weekend. It was blisteringly hot but fantastically enjoyable.
The third race meeting was held in Slovakia at the very unique Slovakiaring. I was working remotely but still enjoyed witnessing a lot of the technical challenges that the drivers and the teams had to face, without having to put up the 40-degree heat that they endured.
As I write this I am still in Budapest with the other European Championship that I cover, psyching myself up to head to the Nurburgring with the trucks in a few days. That is potentially one of my most anticipated event of the year.
Clio Cup 2022
Clio Cup has once again being very entertaining in the first half of 2022. I'll only be covering 6 race meetings this year so need to make sure that I make the most of each one when they come around because the championship is fantastic.
The season kicked off at Nogaro in southern France. It was a trip where I had a lot of things go wrong last year so it was nice to have a smooth plain-sailing journey and a long 5-day weekend there, especially as it was the Easter bank holiday.
A week later I flew to Spain to tick another circuit off my list - Jarama, just outside of Madrid. It's a very old-school circuit and the weather was very cold and wet throughout Friday and Saturday. Sunday was nice and more typically Spanish and the racing wasn't half bad either. I enjoyed it there and really look forward to heading back in October when the truck racing finishes its season there.
Next up was another legendary circuit that I was very grateful to revisit - Imola. The entire emilia-romagna region of Italy is absolutely beautiful and I love going there. The circuit has a real buzz about it and to finally see the Senna memorial up close was completely spine-chilling. Again, good racing was on the cards and the championship went semi-viral thanks to the sideways antics of Felice Jelmini.
Another brilliant Italian circuit a little bit further down the coast was the next venue - Misano! It's now become my most-visited European circuit and I would happily continue to keep going back there. Clio Cup Italy was as flamboyant as ever with Nicolas Milan - the only French driver on the circuit - taking a win on the Saturday.
Bringing things more up-to-date, I write this on the Monday after completing the Hungaroring race weekend. Again, another breathtakingly beautiful circuit and area that provides top-notch racing. My commentary friends Chris McCarthy, Adam Weller and George Morgan were also at the circuit covering their respective championships, and we've all had a real good laugh this weekend despite their flights getting cancelled this morning...
Sports 2000 championships
My beloved Locks4Vans Sports 2000 Championships have had a great season so far, which started at Donington Park in early April - quite easily the coldest race meeting I've ever attended - with a small amount of snow falling on the Saturday. The Pintos have enjoyed a couple of Pinto-only races so far this season and they have been incredible entertainment, which we will be getting more of in 2023 (yes!).
My good friend Josh law has been putting in some incredible performances to lead the championship with the usual big hitters up there with him.
Snetterton was another belter after I had missed Silverstone and Brands Hatch due to other commitments. The heat was incredible on the Friday but luckily I only had to endure it on the Saturday and Sunday, but the teams, drivers and cars all did an amazing job in what was remarkably "unbritish" weather.
They have just completed their Thruxton race weekend with my good friend Jack Werrell on commentary at the circuit. I'll be catching up with them at my local Oulton Park in August as they have a 1-day endurance event there. It's one of the race weekends I couldn't attend in 2021 so I'm super excited to see them on my doorstep.
On top of all of this I've been covering the usual Sim racing events, broadcasting commentating and running series as well which I will list below;
CDM Boremula 1 World Championship
Sim Racing Magazine GT4 Challenge
NEVO Sim Stickers Formula 3 Series
NEVO European Porsche Cup Series
NEVO British F4 Series
Porsche Club GB Sim Series
Each of them as entertaining as the last with great people filling all the slots on the grid. There are plans for more series to feature on my channel in the near future so keep your eyes out for those.
On a bit of a negative note, I have to say that air travel is currently a nightmare. I haven't been on one flight all year that's been on time, and a couple have cancelled on me so far. I've been very lucky not to have gotten stranded yet... I know it's not particularly down to one airport or airline, but it really hasn't been a pleasant experience in that regard. Most important thing is though, I'm safe, have great people behind me and will always find a way to push through any issues.
...anyway...
...that brings me (and hopefully you) up to date. Yes I may not have gone into much detail, but I just wanted to show how much I'd been up to, and give thanks to everyone who supports me in doing what I do. There's some cool stuff coming up, and I can't wait to share it with you all.
I hope you all have as good a second half of the year as I plan on having!
Here's some selfies of a guy that loves his job.
Much love x