on air diary...
DAVIS CUP TENNIS AND HORSE POWER ON TURF AND TRACK
posted by Lee McKenzie on 11/03/2009
F1 is about to consume my life but before it does, I have been lucky enough to go to plenty of top class sport around the UK, not to mention the final F1 test in Barcelona.
At the weekend I headed to Scotland to the Davis Cup Tennis to watch GB v Ukraine. And at the end of this week I am at one of my favourite events anywhere in the world, the Cheltenham Festival.
My Davis Cup experience was amusing and frustrating for various reasons! The fans that go to the tournament are not the usual tennis fans. It basically turns in to a noisy, red blue and white carnival! As I said after GB v Austria, it has an atmosphere like no other tennis event, which has both good points and well, not so good points!
When I got there I was relieved not to be sitting next to someone dressed up as a Beefeater or something - it was just a well-dressed elderly lady. I think it was after the 3rd blow to my face and head area by her inflatable clapping-things which drove me to move seats! All that did was give her a bigger wing-span and the OAP accidental violence continued until thankfully she burst them!
The absence of Andy Murray due to a virus did not slow the crowd down, just sadly the team and the lack of strength in depth was exposed. The games were enjoyable, some good rallies and full of drama but sadly the points could not be converted to wins and the tie slipped away.
It means GB faces a relegation play-off in September against Poland to keep them out of group 2. Andy Murray is a world class player but the Davis Cup is a team tournament and one man does not make a team - sadly
Cheltenham Gold Cup day will not have the same Denman/Kauto Star drama as last year. They are battling it out together again but it seems that Kauto has the edge. This time last year my money was firmly on Denman. This year I have jumped ship back to his stable mate and am smugly sitting on a King George/Gold Cup double at 8/1!
Cheltenham is always a wonderful occasion and is basically the Equestrian Olympics. If you have never been then you should really try and come before the end of the week.
F1 testing in Barcelona was great - I interviewed most of the drivers for pre-season features. The really nice thing was seeing the relief for Jenson Button and everyone involved at Brawn GP, the recently purchased Honda. Even more surprising was the pace of the car. Jenson was a very happy guy when I spoke to him on Tuesday and even had time to wish me well for the coming season; a real gent who’s talents deserve to be back on the grid.
That’s all for the moment but look back in a few days for the build up to the first F1 race.
Lee x
