on air diary...
Japanese Excitement and Back to Work!
posted by Lee McKenzie on 23/08/2010
I cannot believe it is that time of year already. The summer break is over and we are ready for the final charge of the F1 season! I always love going to Spa, as many of you know, it’s my favourite circuit on the calendar. I love the atmosphere, the history and just the excitement and racing that the Belgian Grand Prix always throws up.
I am also pretty excited because Jake Humphrey will be handing over the reins to me for the Japanese Grand Prix at the beginning of October! Whilst Jake is off presenting the Commonwealth Games I will be hosting the F1 with the usual suspects David and Eddie!
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British Grand Prix Fever
posted by Lee McKenzie on 05/07/2010
You have got to let the Brits have something to cheer about... The football was a shambles for England, Andy Murray played extremely well but could not deliver at Wimbledon so it is a good job that we have the British Grand Prix this week – surely that can give us all something to raise our spirits.
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LEE v MSC! Getting ready to take on Schumacher!
posted by Lee McKenzie on 29/06/2010
This week I cannot wait to get filming on my weekend “off”. A couple of months ago I was asked if I would like to take part in a Reining Competition against Michael Schumacher at the family ranch in Switzerland.
Until a few weeks ago I must admit I didn’t know what reining was. Now I do, the physio does and everyone at the BBC does too! Think of it like world rally on horse back! I will put a link to a youtube video at the end of this feature.
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LET'S START AT THE END ...
posted by Lee McKenzie on 18/05/2010
As I said to Michael Schumacher before he received his penalty “Let’s start at the end and not at the beginning”.
After 78 laps, 4 safety cars and some pretty major crashes - the Monaco Grand Prix came down to the final corner. Was Alonso caught napping and Schumacher back to his wily old ways or was he simply breaking the rules? Either way the 4th Steward, Damon Hill has been receiving HATE mail ever since! I love the bit in the interview when Michael says “Damon is a good guy”!
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Badminton Horse Trials for the bravest...F1 for the fastest
posted by Lee McKenzie on 03/05/2010
When I go to Wimbledon I think ‘I wish I was a good tennis player’, when I go to Monaco I think ‘I’d love to drive quickly’ but despite having ridden all my life, when I get to Badminton Horse Trials I think ‘thank god I was never good enough to compete here’!
The fences are massive, the horses expensive and the riders are some of the bravest people you will come across in sport. No wonder Badminton is the most attended sporting event in Europe and the second in the world, after the Indy 500.
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F1 v The Volcano!
posted by Lee McKenzie on 19/04/2010
It would take an unbelievable race to stop everyone talking about volcanic ash. Thankfully, it happened and travel chaos was forgotten about, at least for a couple of hours!
The man who was on cloud nine and not just under a cloud was Jenson Button. Two victories in four races and now leading the championship: would you have put your money on that at the start of the season?
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3 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
posted by Lee McKenzie on 06/04/2010
Three is the number of choice in Formula One: three races and three different winners. And this weekend in Malaysia that same number kept cropping up – it was third time lucky for Sebastian Vettel.
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Let in Rain, Let it Rain, Let it Rain....
posted by Lee McKenzie on 31/03/2010
Jet-lag = annoying. Losing my voice = annoying for me, a relief to my colleagues! One dull F1 race and one cracking F1 race – I think that sums up the past couple of weeks really!
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EVERYTHING IS NEW!
posted by Lee McKenzie on 10/03/2010
New drivers, new teams and new season; it really is a new era for Formula One. Whilst the new teams being a mixture of sentimentality, showbiz and slight concern, the new drivers bring a mixture of pound signs and promise!
Some of you will only know me from F1 and might not realise that I have been working in many series of motorsport for the last 6 years. In fact I still try to get to as much as I can throughout the year. It gives me a chance to catch and glimpse and get to know the F1 drivers of the future. This year there are a flood of new faces in paddock and I am proud to say I have worked with them ALL before. So here are my thoughts about how they will fare.
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Minus 14, Polar Bears and Tigers...in Scotland!
posted by Lee McKenzie on 22/02/2010
Tigers, Polar bears and temperatures as low as minus 14 all contributed to an absolutely amazing few days filming in the north of Scotland last week.
I absolutely love presenting on BBC Scotland’s outdoor country show Landward – it is very rewarding and the variety of stories covered means there is always something for everyone in the programme.
After my horse power section last year, in the next series I will be presenting from the Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore where I get up close, worryingly close, to Amur tigers and Mercedes the Polar bear!
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