Red Boo Kid

Disclaimer: I am a die hard Ferrari fan so do not take the points in this post personally, its all tongue and cheek and my opinion as well as theory into the matter at hand.

This weekend saw one of my favourite rounds in the Formula One season, the Singapore Grand Prix. Besides it being another breathtaking street circuit, what makes it really unique is that the race takes place at night! Being in the electrical engineering industry, to see so many 1000 watts of light being sprayed onto a circuit to mimic daylight is extraordinary to say the least, I would hate to know the electricity bill for it though!

The race was eventually won by the German kid, Sebastian Vettel, he started on pole, made a good get away at the start and was a pretty straight forward race for him till the end. Now after the race, during the interviews he got a lot of boo's from the crowd, I personally hate people who boo at any sporting event, be it football, rugby or in this case, formula one. Why? It's childish, stupid and end of the day shows your level of intelligence of the sport. There's a few theories as to why the crowd were booing Vettel, the most obvious being that he is making the sport boring again, by winning all the damn time, many compare him to Schumacher in his era of dominance with Ferrari. 

That's a bullshit comparison for me, Schumacher was a legendary driver and has been included as on of the greats, sure Vettel seems to be on track to win his 4th driving championship title but is he great? I don't think so, he is good and has a great car, his closest rival Fernando Alonso, he is great but has a good car. That for me is the vital difference between the two this season. If the Spaniard was given a car with more pace, it could be a different scenario altogether. Getting back to the boo's, this wasn't the first race he has been booed on the podium, in fact it's been sort of a trend over the last few races. Seb even joked and said they have a bus for them that goes around to all the different races, like I said it most likely is down to the dominance of Vettel but I have another theory...

The boo's only start when he is on the podium and particularly when he is given the microphone to speak, that there is clear enough evidence for me. The bastard can't shut the fuck up! Seriously, they ask him one question and he rattles on like he is reciting the bible from front to back and back to front! He loves the sound of his own voice, don't believe me? Next time he is interviewed, be it a drivers briefing, after qualifying or after the race, they'll ask him a question and he'll go on and on and on. I'd hate to know what a normal conversation would be like with him, 'hey Seb, how ya doing?' - Seb: "Ya I'm good, its been a good day so far, woke up, brushed my teeth, went and made a stinky poo, showered, tried to comb my steel wool hair, then ate some breakfast, phoned Mark to tell him what a loser he is..." bla bla bla shut the hell up!

It's obvious to me the crowd hate hearing him go on and on in that mind numbing German accent of his, rambling on shit that no one gives a damn about! When Alonso's name is mentioned, they cheer because he is precise, to the point and tells everyone what they want to hear, let alone he is a the greatest driver in the current season. They love nothing more to see him on the podium and address them like they're meant to be spoken to in that flawless Spanish accent. Heck, they rather listen to an emotionless Kimi for 2 hours than hear that big headed kid utter his nonsense. The guy has got to realise that in getting to the the top there has to be some sort of humility that goes with it or in his case, you're not the only one on the podium that's going to speak!

Other than that, take nothing away from the guy, as much as I said he has a great car, which he does, he has to be a good driver to get it in that winning position. Time will tell if he will be a great driver and be included into F1's hall of fame. Many of you would have read this and think what an arrogant Ferrari fan to speak so highly of Alonso, firstly, yes I am arrogant but I want you to go back to last season and compare the RBR to the Ferrari, I'd say the Red Bull was at least 8 seconds faster than the Ferrari, it may not seem like much but in F1 is a shit load and for Alonso come so close to the title with such a slow car just shows you his quality.

Coming back to this weekends race, that Asstralian who nearly punched his chatter box partners lights out at the Malaysian GP had an engine problem on the last lap of the race which caused his car to burst into flames. Alonso being the saint and saviour he is gave Webber a ride back on his car to parc feme. It's been done loads of times in the past but for some reason FIA chose to reprimand both drivers for the stunt and Webber will serve a 10 place penalty at the next race. Fair enough Alonso could have stopped in a better place on the side but nothing serious came of it and I doubt we going to see these sorts of things happen often in a race. Sometimes the FIA need to take a chill pill. 

Red Bull X-Fighters: Pretoria

A couple of months ago my friend Kaptein Kai from Cape Town was down in Durbs and in true Durban fashion I took him out for a bunny chow. Whilst enjoyed the best fusion of curry and bread on offer, he mentioned to me that Red Bull X-Fighters has been confirmed for South Africa and we should go. Now being an Indian, majority of us are not into the "extreme sports", hell the most extreme thing you'd catch an Indian guy doing is wheel spins after he beat someone at the drags. Now I have been to a few Red Bull events in the past and to say they were pretty rad is an understatement, so I decided to dig up more info on this one.

Red Bull X-Fighters is a freestyle motocross stunt competition where competitors from all over the world face off in an area,, bullring or a venue that is similar. The venues chosen are ones that bring the crowd as close to the action as possible as there is some interaction with them, when they like what they see, they can wave a white flag. The first competition took place in 2001, Valencia, Spain at the bull fighting arena and the competition has made its way around the globe since then, travelling to countries such as Mexico, England, Brazil, USA, Poland, Australia and now they're coming to Pretoria! Now I know I said many Indians aren't into this type of sport, well I meant us local South African ones because the biggest recorded crowd at an X-Fighters event was 230,000 ....in Sri Lanka. Then again, one of the most used transport in the subcontinent is the motorbike, so it makes sense.

Coming back to the Pretoria leg, the event will be held on Saturday the 7th of September at the Union Buildings! They couldn't have chose a better venue if you ask me, just imagine the bikers free styling through the air with that landmark in the back, its going to be epic! It will be the last stop of the 2013 tour and tickets are on sale from Computicket now! So don't miss out on this amazing event!

Its a Passion...

Not many get the sport and to those that watch it, its more than a sport, its a passion. It is no doubt the worlds most glamorous sport but formula One racing has always been a favourite of mine, growing up watching the likes of Senna, Mansel and Hill then moved on to that all too familiar chiseled face of Michael Schumacher. Many complained that he made the sport boring by winning so often but for me, it just showed how good he was and what a good car he had.

This past Sunday saw the last race of the 2012 calendar which has been one of the most thrilling seasons to date and the race at Interlagos summed it up perfectly. It was lined with drama from start to finish! Sebastian Vettel held a 13 point lead in the title challenge heading into the race from Fernando Alonso and judging from his form from the past few races it was Vettel's to lose. Alonso ended the race in 2nd place but Vettel finished in 6th which was enough to see him clinch his 3rd title in succession. The German who had a shaky start which involved a collision managed to see himself home with enough points to pip Alonso by just 3 points to the title. Many say the better driver won but I beg to differ.

Vettel is a great driver and is poised to be one of the greats but was he really the best driver of the season? This may be biased coming from a Ferrari fan and an avid supporter but I think Fernando Alonso was the driver of the season. Why? Well Ferrari has a rich Formula One heritage but these past few seasons the car they produced just didn't seem good enough to compete with the other top teams. They were always the 3rd or 4th fastest team in free practice and the qualifying speeds were not the greatest even though they did make the top 10 on most occasions. Reliability on the other hand wasn't a problem for the team from Italy, which probably helped Alonso a lot during his title challenge this season.

He drove a mediocre care but he got the points and he was consistent bar the two incidents he had in Belgium and Japan, it could have been a very different story for him. The one thing that stood out for me from him was his determination, whilst others never thought it were possible, he always was focused that he could do it. Especially during the last few races of the calendar, when he finished on the podium in Abu Dhabi and Texas his focus was 100% and he showed his determination each time.

One can also say that Lewis Hamilton could have been champion again, he has had a lot of nasty luck this season from reliability issues to accidents. His seen it all and had to pay heavily, hopefully with his new team next year his fortune could change.

This season saw Kimi Raikkonen make his return but also saw a legend Michael Schumacher retire...again. Many questioned his return to F1, saying it just damaged his reputation but I beg to differ. He always drew attention and was the right ambassador for the new Mercedes team that was launched with his old boss Ross Brawn. Yes he never won a race in his return but he added his own elements to the races and we did see that old Schumi spark now and then. As for Kimi, the Fin is a classic, none more so than his comments over the radio during his win in Abu Dhabi and not forgetting his victory speech on the podium!

Its a long wait till it all starts again next year in Melbourne but we're left with lovely memories from this past season which will only make us crave for more. I hope it will be equally if not more exciting than the past season. Keep the Passion!

Red Bull Stratos

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If you follow me on twitter, you would have seen me go ape shit (excuse me for the lack of better words) over this. Why? because its probably one of the greatest human achievements we'll get to witness in our life time. One man, Flex Baumgartner is to go when no man has gone before as he attempts to break the sound barrier by jumping out of a capsule approximately 36 kilometers above ground level and free fall towards the ground.

Felix on his test jump

There are many risks involved here, one being the weather as wind has delayed the launch for 2 days now. Others include the capsule and balloon as it ascends with Felix to the desired height but one of the biggest risks is definitely when Felix opens that door at 36,000m above the ground. With the air pressure and temperature relatively unknown at that height, anything could happen. Then there's the jump itself, Felix will be free falling for 5 minutes 35 seconds or longer which will surpass the old record of 4 minutes and some change, there after he will deploy his parachute and begin a 10 minute descend to earth.

Click to view larger image

Many would be asking why are they're doing such a thing? What is the point and what are they're trying to prove? Well like most experiments, its all done in the name of science. From the special suit that Baumgartner will wear to the material that the balloon is made off, each item is specially designed for this very mission. Also he will be strapped and monitored during the jump to see what the human body experiences during this incredible feat.

LIVE STREAM

It will take the capsule about 3 hours to reach the desired height and only 15 minutes for Felix to be back on the ground, the numbers are astonishing and like many I hope this happens as it would be incredible to witness. For more you can visit the website: www.redbullstratos.com

Red Bull: #RedMonday

photo by @coaxel

This past Monday saw the launch of #RedMonday in South Africa which broke through the trends charts on Twitter before the events could start! The guest lists were limited and many had no idea what it was so let me bring you up to speed. Red Monday is essentially an international club culture concept event that has been created by the giant energy drink Red Bull. It has already taken off in Europe quite well and the guys at Red Bull SA are hoping it will be much the same.

photo by @Stormable

4 parties were held over 4 cities in South Africa, namely Joburg, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. I attended the Durban one which was held at Boulevard night club on Florida Rd. The party focused very much around the launch of the new Red Bull "Editions" which are the flavour variants of the popular energy drink. Currently there were just 2 options being original and sugar free but soon the 3 flavours will be hitting the stores.

Edition Blue (Blueberry), Edition Red (Cranberry) and Edition Silver (Lime) are the 3, and being a Red Bull event, there was plenty to go around for free! Add to that the guys from Skyy Vodka arranging a limited amount of bottles for free to the guests to sample the editions as mixers. Having sampled all 3 on the night, I have to say Edition Silver is my favourite and it was also the general agreement from most of the party goers that night.

Apart from standing around and drinking Red Bull, there was a party to be had! Red Bull's mobile DJ box was on hand with a list of top DJ's taking turns to spin the beats. The crowd and vibe was great and many familiar faces were spotted, one would never tell it was a Monday night in Durbs! People partied the night away with Red Bull providing the much needed energy to keep them going through to the early hours of Tuesday morning. Looking forward to the next #RedMonday

@Stormable and myself

Red Bull Nightshift 2012

This Saturday, 30th June 2012 see's Durbans North Beach play host to the Red Bull Night Shift. In what can be described as the most anticipated speciality event on the local surfing calendar, it see's 8 local and international surfers competiting against each other in a tow-at surfing demonstration. Durban can boast the best winter weather in SA and also plays host to another major surfing competition during this season, so its no surprise that the organisers chose the city to host this years event.

The event will feature local boy and surfing legend Jordy Smith who is looking forward to seeing the east coast massive turn out in their numbers to support the event.  The turn out at last years event held at Camps Bay was huge to say the least. The other surfers taking past in the competition are: the current ASP 4th ranked surfer Adriano De Souza, from Sao Paulo, Brazil and 26th ranked Kolohe Andino from San Clemente, California The South African contingent includes Rudy Palmboom, David Weare, Travis Logie Dan Redman and Ricky Basnett.

Jordy and co will be pulling off some ground breaking and innovative moves to wow the crowds under the flood flights. Last year saw some pretty outrageous moves which included a spectacular "Superman" by Jordy, so we can only expect more this year. The event will also feature live entertainment by some of the best local talent on offer, which are City Bowl Misers and Shadow Club, both of whom I've seen live and highly recommend.

I wonder if Jordy will bring along his model girlfriend Lyndall Jarvis? Wouldnt mind spotting her in the crowd, maybe convince her to be a Bucket Babe! Anyway, if you cant make the event, you can track proceedings on twitter using the hashtag #RBNightshift or you can join the event page on Facebook Nightshift.

Red Bull Nightshift is supported by O'Neill and Oakley. The event has been rated as an ASP Speciality Event.

 

Red Bull Manny Mania 2012

Its that time of the year again, Red Bull Manny Mania time. This year 15 of the countries top contestants will descend upon the skate park at Gateways Wavehouse to compete against each other for a spot in the finals in NYC. The 2012 edition of Red Bull Manny Mania will be the third installment of the contest locally.

Just a quick reminder to those who are not sure what the contest is about. The popular skateboard trick the ‘manual’ trick aka, the ‘manny’. A Manny is essentially a skateboarding 'wheelie' - a balancing act that is a must-do in any new skateboarder’s skill set but can be made extremely difficult with limitless combinations.

I attended last years event as was blown away by the talent we've got here in Durbs. Not an avid skateboarder myself I stood aside in awe from what I saw. Kids pulling off some of the most insane, fearless tricks on their boards. Not giving a damn if they could injure them self, just trying there best to impress the judges and in the end of it all, just having fun.


This year however, things are a bit different. Contestants were asked to submit video compalations of them self to Red Bull Manny Mania judges and from there they selected who would make it through to this weekends competition. The lucky 15 from around the country that were invited to this weekends event are:

2012 Red Bull Manny Mania Invitees:

Cape Town
Moses Adams
Uri Reuben
Wesley Schroeder
Shuaib Philander
Zuhandre Yslie
Dylan Vaughan

Durban
Khule Ngubane Nia
George Van Blerk
Dlamini Dlamini
Thalente Biyela

Johannesburg
Dada Marumo
Anthony de Mendoca
Michael Bervoets

Pretoria
Charl Steyn
JP Du Preez

 For more information, visit www.redbull.co.za/mannymania or www.facebook.com/redbullmannymania.

Red Bull Manny Mania

Skateboarding, I probably know as much about it as Julius Malema knows about woodwork. So I know a bit but not enough to pass an exam on it, let alone get on a board and bust a move. Then again I'm Indian so I suppose I can be excused as I'd probably do better at selling you one than skating, we Indians tend to go for the sports that cause the least amount of bodily harm ....like chess. The most I've ever done with a skateboard was sit on it and roll down the road then avoid crashing into tree's and on coming cars, I tried standing a few times but it ended badly on many occasions so I just stuck to sitting on them and leave the cool stuff to the professionals.


Red Bull as many of you know is the energy drink that gives you wings and they are also associated with many a cool extreme sporting event, from the famous box cart race to the cliff diving that takes place at red locations around the world and of course one cannot forget their recent dominance in the world Formula One. They also proudly host the global Manny Mania contest that takes place in 34 countries. South Africa being one of the participating countries is currently holding its national battle with events taking place around the country in June. So far Cape Town and J Bay hosted the Manny Mania events and the next stop is Durban, this Saturday the 18th of June at the Wave house in Gateway theatre of shopping.


Simon Stipcich - Photograph by Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull

 What is Manny Mania?

Being its 4th year of running, it all started off with a guy called Joey Brezinski and the basic trick performed by skateboarders, "the manual" which is a trick where the skater balances him/herself on either the back 2 or front 2 wheels of the board, there after performing various tricks from it such as rotations, flips, grinds and riding switches. I have it on good authority that only the best can do all of these consistently so in essence Manny Mania is an event made for those who have mastered these tricks and not for those who like me consider skating standing up a good enough trick. Joey felt that with the various skating competitions, none of the contestants focused on the manual and what tricks that could be worked from it, hence the inception of Manny Mania.

Joey Brezinski

The first Manny Mania event was held in 2007 at Venice beach in California, the event was rather small with some Pro's featuring in it, the format was an instant hit and when it moved onto New York that year the response was massive. 2008 saw the contest grow even more bigger with it attracting more pro's and even bigger crowds. In 2009 Manny Mania expanded from the shores of the USA to host the event in the UK where locals skaters embraced the contest with open arms thus prompting the organisers to expand the contest even further in 2010 with 7 countries notched in the calender including South Africa where the event was held at the Wave house in Durban. The winner of the SA leg last year was Simon Stipcich, who's prize included a trip to New York City to compete against fellow qualifiers from around the world for the single coveted spot in the pro invitational.

2011 see's 34 countries hosting qualifiers and South Africa having 4 qualifying events and then the finals that's hosted in Joburg.

Dates for the SA Events:

•  June 4: Son Skate Park - Stellenbosch
•  June 11: Element Skate Park - Jeffreys Bay
•  June 18: Wave House Skate Park, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Durban
•  June 25: Revolution Skate Park, Festival Mall, Kempton Park, Jhb
•  June 26: Finals, Revolution Skate Park, Kempton Park, Jhb

How to enter?

Be aged 14 (as of August 21, 2010) or older. Be a resident of the country in which the event is being held and are an amateur athlete.

If you match the above, grab your board and get your ass down to any of the events or send an email in advance to RSA-register@redbullmannymania.com with the following info:

1. Full given name
2. Date of birth
3. Email address
4. Contact numbers
5. City of event want to participate in.

Who to look out for?

Khule Nia - Photograph by Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull

Apart from last years winner Simon Pitcich, Khule Nia (pictured above, doing a nose manual at the Hilton) is among the favourites to scoop the Durban leg. Oh! and the hot Red Bull girls, I hear they might be on patrol this weekend, hence my services are needed...

If you're looking at taking part then its best you head the advice of Jean-Marc Johannes (a Red Bull sponsored skater from Cape Town)  and that is "PRACTICE"

If you cant make it to any of the events then you can follow all the live action on twitter by following @RedBullZA with the official event hashtag being #MannyMania.

Or for a complete list of global contests and updates, visit http://www.redbullmannymania.com/

Top Gear Festival 2011



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Im a week late in posting this but as they say "better late than never" right? I flew up to Joburg to see the 3 morons that get paid to do what every boy or grown man dream of doing, no not staring at hot girls the next best thing, man handling supercars around a race track or road. Its hard to believe what they actually do constitutes as a "job" for them, they dream up the most insane idea's for the show such as road trips across various continents with the most outlandish supercars or at times they race other modes of transport like trains, planes and boats. The 3 were down to present to us petrol head South Africans the greatest show they've ever done which is Top Gear Festival 2011. The show was held at the world famous Kyalami race track outside Joburg and they used the entire facility! So you know there was a shit load of walking to do!

Thunder Dome

After walking half the race track in sweltering heat, almost dying of heat stroke we eventually made it to the entrance of the 'Thunder Dome'. An area inside the track which was piratically an outdoor arena but of course Thunder Dome made it sound a lot cooler. It was here where we got to see the BBC's finest export since Mr Bean. The show itself I must say disappointed me a bit with it being too short, obviously I didnt expect them to re-create the ridiculous stuff they did on their TV show there but maybe an extra 20 minutes would have been nice. They spoke about their upcoming series 16 which already aired on British TV's and which we'll only see in 10 years time, they also show cased the cars they used. Jeremy opting for the Merc SLS AMG, Richard the 911 GT3 RS and Captain Slow the Ferrari 458 Italia. Each of them drove into the arena with their respective cars and in true Top Gear fashion promptly did hand brake turns to park them.



Jeremy, Richard & James

Seeing them was abit surreal but funny enough I wasnt star struck, I suppose its the way they make the show as if you were them, one of the guys so when you actually see them its like a long lost friend ... one that you cant just go up and speak to. The show was presented by none other than SA's F1 guru, Sasha Martinengo who at the end was one of the main highlights of the show with him bungee jumping in a car from a tower crane. Brave is not the word to use for him since he completed the act 10 times over the weekend.



Sasha Martinengo in car bungee

We were allowed a back stage tour once the show was complete and it was fun to see how things went down in the back ground and to learn of what they actually go through setting up an event like this and of course getting up, close and personal to the toys was quite nice as well.



Ferrari 458 Italia

The ticket being priced at R365 was a bit steep but I wasnt sure what to expect, it entitled me to an entire day experience at the track, from see the Ferrari owners club race their prized possessions around the track to Sabine Schmitz racing David Coulthard in the RB6! Even all the Shecktors were present to give us a blast from the past in the old F1 cars.

RB6 F1 Car

It truly was worth every cent if you're a petrol head like myself. The pit garages were stocked up with guys either presenting their product to the main importers of Ferrari & Maserati. Even the Franshoek Motor Museum had most of their cars on display, including the likes of the Enzo, F40 & original Bugatti Formula One car which was the first ever to win a race in Monaco.

Ferrari Enzo

The were stalls a plenty for you to buy Top Gear branded merchandise but the quality was terrible as I found out after purchasing a T-Shirt for R250, but I suppose its part of the fun? What wasnt very fun at all was the massive cloud burst that forced many undercover for a good few hours. The rain was relentless as I had to take cover in one of the tents show casing some motor manufacturers. Worked out well for me as I made good friends with the guys from Lexus Midrand who let me sit inside and play around with the Lexus ISF.

SL65 AMG Black Series

After waiting 3 hours for the rain to subside, which it didnt, one just had to brave it and luckily I did as I bumped into a good mate from twitter Dirk Vale. He was there with his mom, the famous Wesbank V8 race driver Clare Vale along with their transporter and goodies, being the Porsche 914 and a car built and designed by Bailey Cars for the LMP2 race at next years Le Mans.

Perana Z One

The bottom end of the pits was where the "Stigs garage" was, here you could find many beauties from the likes of RGM Motorsports M3 conversion to South Africa's very own supercar, the Perana Z! The Perana Z one as its known is the brain child of Jimmy Price of Hi-Tech Automotive in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The design of the car which is rather eye catching was done by the world famous Zagato designs in Milan but the car is manufactured 100% in High Tech's factory in South Africa.



Red Bull Racing Pit Garage

To end off, like I said earlier, the show was worth it if you love you cars and racing. If you just went to see the 3 of them, there is no doubt you left disappointed. If there is another one next year, I wouldnt mind making the trip again.