RE: Lord Goes Racing
Wednesday 7th November 2007
Lord Goes Racing
Minister swaps missiles for motorsport
The government’s defence minister, Lord Drayson – Paul to his mates – has taken a leave of absence from his post to go racing instead.
He’s intending to take on Le Mans next year, and is heading to America to compete in some qualifying races.
This year, Drayson and co-driver Johnny Cocker piloted a bio-ethanol powered Aston DBRS9 run by Barwell Motorsport in the British GT championship, finishing as runners-up.
According to The Guardian, Grayson made a £2 million donation to the Labour Party, so buying a seat in the quickest car and hiring a very capable driver shouldn't prove too much of a burden.
Might be one to watch when the flag drops at Le Sarthe in June '08.
Discussion
Come on guys, please try to do a little bit of research before posting news stories like this. You've been running race reports from BGT all year, after all - most of which feature Drayson.
The 'qualifying races in America': are you saying he's aiming to enter ALMS next year? These aren't 'qualifying races', it's a bloody big championship. Gaining an automatic entry at LM is a job for teams, not drivers. The team then picks its drivers.
This reads like it was written by some gossip columnist from a tabloid, not by someone from a dedicated enthusiasts' site.
The 'qualifying races in America': are you saying he's aiming to enter ALMS next year? These aren't 'qualifying races', it's a bloody big championship. Gaining an automatic entry at LM is a job for teams, not drivers. The team then picks its drivers.
This reads like it was written by some gossip columnist from a tabloid, not by someone from a dedicated enthusiasts' site.
Ahonen said:
This reads like it was written by some gossip columnist from a tabloid, not by someone from a dedicated enthusiasts' site.
you mean like the BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7082833.stmAunty said:
The 47-year-old is resigning from his unpaid post to take part in a series of qualifying events in the United States.
A government spokesman said it was "a key step towards his eventual dream of success" in Le Mans.
Lord Drayson came second in the British GT championship this year, driving a "unique bio-ethanol-fuelled" car.
'Once-in-a-lifetime'
The American Le Mans series involves four different classes of car, with the winner of each class going on to take part in the main 24-hour race, in France.
<snip>
"I have the opportunity to race next year in the American Le Mans series in the US, a key step towards my eventual dream of success in the Le Mans 24-hours endurance race."
A government spokesman said it was "a key step towards his eventual dream of success" in Le Mans.
Lord Drayson came second in the British GT championship this year, driving a "unique bio-ethanol-fuelled" car.
'Once-in-a-lifetime'
The American Le Mans series involves four different classes of car, with the winner of each class going on to take part in the main 24-hour race, in France.
<snip>
"I have the opportunity to race next year in the American Le Mans series in the US, a key step towards my eventual dream of success in the Le Mans 24-hours endurance race."
lord summerisle said:
Ahonen said:
This reads like it was written by some gossip columnist from a tabloid, not by someone from a dedicated enthusiasts' site.
you mean like the BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7082833.stmAunty said:
The 47-year-old is resigning from his unpaid post to take part in a series of qualifying events in the United States.
A government spokesman said it was "a key step towards his eventual dream of success" in Le Mans.
Lord Drayson came second in the British GT championship this year, driving a "unique bio-ethanol-fuelled" car.
'Once-in-a-lifetime'
The American Le Mans series involves four different classes of car, with the winner of each class going on to take part in the main 24-hour race, in France.
<snip>
"I have the opportunity to race next year in the American Le Mans series in the US, a key step towards my eventual dream of success in the Le Mans 24-hours endurance race."
A government spokesman said it was "a key step towards his eventual dream of success" in Le Mans.
Lord Drayson came second in the British GT championship this year, driving a "unique bio-ethanol-fuelled" car.
'Once-in-a-lifetime'
The American Le Mans series involves four different classes of car, with the winner of each class going on to take part in the main 24-hour race, in France.
<snip>
"I have the opportunity to race next year in the American Le Mans series in the US, a key step towards my eventual dream of success in the Le Mans 24-hours endurance race."
It was on Autosport.com so the report is accurate. He will be driving in ALMS in 2008 and if successful that is one route to get a 24 Hr entry.
Let's start a Downing Street petition to make him Minister of Transport when he comes back :
Do you realise that a very high proportion of the politicians who have held that job ( and Gordon Brown ) don't even drive ?
Small wonder that motorists get such a raw deal.
Let's start a Downing Street petition to make him Minister of Transport when he comes back :
Do you realise that a very high proportion of the politicians who have held that job ( and Gordon Brown ) don't even drive ?
Small wonder that motorists get such a raw deal.
Still have trouble dealing with the number of protests raised by Lord Drayson's Barwell Motorsport team during the BGT this year.
So many teams became so fed up with continual protests. To me it was hardly surprising they resorted to protesting smaller and smaller things considering the frustrations they must have had, being such a well funded outfit and beaten by the Team RPM Vipers.
LB
So many teams became so fed up with continual protests. To me it was hardly surprising they resorted to protesting smaller and smaller things considering the frustrations they must have had, being such a well funded outfit and beaten by the Team RPM Vipers.
LB
Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff