The Mini

This Mini is in the process of a rebuild after it could no longer take the pressure! The gearbox wasn't really built to withstand regular autotesting and the Diff tried to escape through the bottom of it!

Above: A mini meet at mallory, The afternoon sessions was described as 'damp' by the marshalls

Above: One of the benifts of adjustable suspension is that you can go circuit racing and rallying. This is in a quarry in deepest Derbyshire where the Sheffield and Hallam Motorsport club were kind enough to invite us to play.

Snowboarding & Ski-ing

Above: Chamonix and Saas Fee

I love to travel (Technically not true as I hate hanging about in airports) and much as I love all the places I've been to at more or less sea level, there is always somthing special about a mountain.

Do I prefer Snowboarding or Ski-ing? I love both, Boarding is best done with friends when you have nothing to do and all day to do it, but if you want to travel from Val Thoren along the 3 Valleys, have lunch and get back again before the lifts shut, it's Ski's every time.

F1

My passion for F1 is an extension of my passion for designing and building things combined with my appreciation for the value of teamwork and the idea that the team is greater than the sum of it's individual parts. For me a proper F1 team has to be a private concern, it has to be run for the purpose of winning, not just some global marketing excercise for a motor manufacturer. This means that I have a limited choice in who I support but I could not wish for a better organisation than Mclaren.

Ron Dennis's Mclaren organisation represents the pinnacle of everything I love about engineering from the cars to the building they are made in.

Above: The Mclaren Technology Centre and Ron Dennis. Designed by Norman Foster The MTC has more below ground than above, all of the waste heat from the wind tunnel is stored in the lake and the bolt heads are all designed to CEO Ron Dennis's specification because he doesn't like normal ones. Despite his change in role at Mclaren, Ron is still my role model, roll on the new Mclaren road cars. Although Gordon Murrays T25 project is currently looking quite interesting. So many things to be exited about.

Moto GP

Above: 'The Doctor', Valentino Rossi.

Moto GP is almost the opposite of F1,the teams are smaller and the bikes mainly factory built by manufacturer teams but come race day only one thing matters, the rider. Put you life on hold for an hour and watch the only motorsport that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat until the last corner of the last lap.

The most perfect piece of engineering design ever.

If in doubt, go to Duxford and FEEL one fly past.

Bit of a planespotter too I'm afraid and although the spitfire will always come first in my top 10 the remaining 9 would be difficult, SR-71 Blackbird or the stealth bomber? Mosquito or Harrier?Ever seen a Eurofighter Typhoon? It should fall out of the sky, clearly design genius.