RE: PH 2017: Person/Thing of the year
Tuesday 26th December 2017
Yesterday it was cars, today we move onto our second favourite commodity - people (or, at a push, things made by people). The last 12 months was full of 'em; here's the best for our money.
Sebastien Ogier
Tempting as it was to nominate that lovable nutcase Christian Gebhardt again, my person of the year this year has achieved something a little more significant than internet notoriety. There was a point in 2017 when it looked like Sebastien Ogier wouldn't even have a WRC drive; as it turned out he signed for M-Sport, a new team after so long with VW, and romped to another World Championship. Any questions that still lingered about his ability have been quashed; it's hard to imagine a year being more level than 2017, with all the teams having to adapt to the new rules at the same time, and yet still the Frenchman took another title in an extremely talented field. And if he was in the best car again, then consider that he beat teammate Ott Tanak by 41 points overall. Ogier is an incredible talent, one that still doesn't quite seem to attract the attention he deserves, so that's why he's my person of the year.
(Matt Bird)
Jonny Adam
This year our Le Mans activities meant we were more closely intertwined with a team than ever before. That that team happened to be Aston Martin Racing turned out to be a remarkable stroke of luck. Having taken several fortunate residents of the PistonHeads campsite along for some fascinating mid-race pit tours, and after enjoying the sight and sound of the Vantage GTE thundering its way around the circuit all race, we were even happier and prouder than we would have been when Jonny Adam came out of his duel with Jordan Taylor's Corvette on top. It was a fantastic end to what had already been a drama filled race, a perfect send off for the outgoing Vantage race car and, most of all, a truly remarkable bit of driving.
(Dafydd Wood)
Elon Musk
The man is truly a visionary, from changing the way people spend money online, to democratising space travel, all whilst disrupting the automotive industry with Tesla. Some PHers may scoff at the choice of a man who prides himself on furthering electric cars, but they're coming whether we like it or not. By pushing the boundaries with the Model S, the X, the 3 and now with Roadster 2.0, he has caused mainstream manufacturers to sit up, pay attention and take notes. I hope that the company can control its spending - said to be $8,000 a minute - deliver on its promises, and better the outlook for those of us who want to continue driving cars for fun, by making A-B drivers part of the autonomous revolution.
(Nikolai Attard)
Albert Biermann
Nominating a car here is, of course, cheating. But the i30N provides us with both the 'thing' and the person; namely Albert Biermann, the erstwhile Vice President of engineering at BMW M Automobiles - now Executive Vice President for Vehicle Testing and High Performance Development at Hyundai. Biermann is the man poached by the Korean manufacturing giant to help inject its cars with some of the dynamic zest that's previously been in conspicuously short supply. More than three decades at BMW has made him eminently well qualified for such a job: Biermann oversaw everything from the M3 E30 Touring car to the 1 Series M Coupe. But no amount of CV glitter accounts for the swiftness of his most recent success. Both the i30N and the Stinger GT have been triumphs; ultimately imperfect, yet plainly indulgent of keen drivers like no Hyundai/Kia product before them. "To be honest," he said, when asked about the business of tuning his new charges, "physics just don't change." No, they don't. But car companies do - and Biermann's arrival in Seoul suggests a bold, hot-blooded direction for the previously anemic manufacturer.
(Nic Cackett)
The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship
Formerly known as V8 Supercars, the VASC is still Australia's premier touring car championship, featuring V8-powered Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores going at it like they have through the ages, with Nissan Altimas putting in the occasional decent showing, too. The cars are fabulous - naturally-aspirated V8s of 600+hp, running through a sequential gearbox and a locked differential to the rear tyres. When I tell you that Jamie Whincup in a Commodore took his seventh title this season, don't think that it's a boring championship: Whincup only secured the title in the closing laps of the season's last race. In qualifying, it's typical for the top 25 to be separated by less than a second, there are always plenty of overtakes in the race, but high driving standards, and lots of respect. To subscribe from outside Australia and New Zealand costs about £25. The best £25 I spent all year.
(Matt Prior)
Peter Dumbreck/ Nio Nurburgring lap 'record'
Apparently there are some unreached tribes in the Amazon who have never met outsiders, but who are already thoroughly bored of Nurburgring lap record stories. Things are getting increasingly ridiculous as manufacturers try to parse out their own tiny slice of glory with increasingly desperate claims: to have the front-drive record, the fastest estate car, even Jaguar's recent boast - seemingly written by the corporate lawyers - that the XE Project 8 has recorded the "fastest ever time by a four-door sedan in production-intent specification."
PH 2017: Person/Thing of the year
It's Boxing Day. A time for your favourite people. Our list is short - but distinguished...
Tempting as it was to nominate that lovable nutcase Christian Gebhardt again, my person of the year this year has achieved something a little more significant than internet notoriety. There was a point in 2017 when it looked like Sebastien Ogier wouldn't even have a WRC drive; as it turned out he signed for M-Sport, a new team after so long with VW, and romped to another World Championship. Any questions that still lingered about his ability have been quashed; it's hard to imagine a year being more level than 2017, with all the teams having to adapt to the new rules at the same time, and yet still the Frenchman took another title in an extremely talented field. And if he was in the best car again, then consider that he beat teammate Ott Tanak by 41 points overall. Ogier is an incredible talent, one that still doesn't quite seem to attract the attention he deserves, so that's why he's my person of the year.
(Matt Bird)
This year our Le Mans activities meant we were more closely intertwined with a team than ever before. That that team happened to be Aston Martin Racing turned out to be a remarkable stroke of luck. Having taken several fortunate residents of the PistonHeads campsite along for some fascinating mid-race pit tours, and after enjoying the sight and sound of the Vantage GTE thundering its way around the circuit all race, we were even happier and prouder than we would have been when Jonny Adam came out of his duel with Jordan Taylor's Corvette on top. It was a fantastic end to what had already been a drama filled race, a perfect send off for the outgoing Vantage race car and, most of all, a truly remarkable bit of driving.
(Dafydd Wood)
The man is truly a visionary, from changing the way people spend money online, to democratising space travel, all whilst disrupting the automotive industry with Tesla. Some PHers may scoff at the choice of a man who prides himself on furthering electric cars, but they're coming whether we like it or not. By pushing the boundaries with the Model S, the X, the 3 and now with Roadster 2.0, he has caused mainstream manufacturers to sit up, pay attention and take notes. I hope that the company can control its spending - said to be $8,000 a minute - deliver on its promises, and better the outlook for those of us who want to continue driving cars for fun, by making A-B drivers part of the autonomous revolution.
(Nikolai Attard)
Nominating a car here is, of course, cheating. But the i30N provides us with both the 'thing' and the person; namely Albert Biermann, the erstwhile Vice President of engineering at BMW M Automobiles - now Executive Vice President for Vehicle Testing and High Performance Development at Hyundai. Biermann is the man poached by the Korean manufacturing giant to help inject its cars with some of the dynamic zest that's previously been in conspicuously short supply. More than three decades at BMW has made him eminently well qualified for such a job: Biermann oversaw everything from the M3 E30 Touring car to the 1 Series M Coupe. But no amount of CV glitter accounts for the swiftness of his most recent success. Both the i30N and the Stinger GT have been triumphs; ultimately imperfect, yet plainly indulgent of keen drivers like no Hyundai/Kia product before them. "To be honest," he said, when asked about the business of tuning his new charges, "physics just don't change." No, they don't. But car companies do - and Biermann's arrival in Seoul suggests a bold, hot-blooded direction for the previously anemic manufacturer.
(Nic Cackett)
Formerly known as V8 Supercars, the VASC is still Australia's premier touring car championship, featuring V8-powered Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores going at it like they have through the ages, with Nissan Altimas putting in the occasional decent showing, too. The cars are fabulous - naturally-aspirated V8s of 600+hp, running through a sequential gearbox and a locked differential to the rear tyres. When I tell you that Jamie Whincup in a Commodore took his seventh title this season, don't think that it's a boring championship: Whincup only secured the title in the closing laps of the season's last race. In qualifying, it's typical for the top 25 to be separated by less than a second, there are always plenty of overtakes in the race, but high driving standards, and lots of respect. To subscribe from outside Australia and New Zealand costs about £25. The best £25 I spent all year.
(Matt Prior)
Apparently there are some unreached tribes in the Amazon who have never met outsiders, but who are already thoroughly bored of Nurburgring lap record stories. Things are getting increasingly ridiculous as manufacturers try to parse out their own tiny slice of glory with increasingly desperate claims: to have the front-drive record, the fastest estate car, even Jaguar's recent boast - seemingly written by the corporate lawyers - that the XE Project 8 has recorded the "fastest ever time by a four-door sedan in production-intent specification."
Your first instinct is probably to put the time set by the Nio EP9 earlier in the year into the same category of slightly made-up speed records. But although it wasn't road legal, getting such a fast lap out of an electric car was a serious achievement, especially for the man in the driving seat - Scottish sportscar veteran and N24 regular Peter Dumbreck. Mr. D's raw speed has never been in doubt, but the commitment - and wrestling - involved in getting the hefty EP9 around its hot lap is deeply impressive. Even more so when you learn that the limiting factor of battery charge meant that each run was started with cold tyres and brakes...
(Mike Duff)
[Photos: LAT Photo]
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