31/12/2004
NEWS STORY
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Ahead of the busiest season in the history of Formula One, I would like to take advantage of the current lull to wish everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year, I should also like to give thanks to a few 'special friends'.
Top of the list is my wife, Gillian, without whose help and encouragement Pitpass wouldn't have happened. At the end of 2003, we had a clear cut decision to make - we could either borrow money and rebuild the site from scratch, or call it a day and close down, for the 'old' Pitpass, despite its quality content, was wholly unreliable and very much user unfriendly.
Deep down, I wanted to continue with Pitpass, for I was, and remain, convinced that in time it would begin to pay its way, and hopefully even show a profit. However, the final decision rested with her, and she never hesitated, "go for it," she said. We found the money, and by the start of the 2004 season the 'all new' user friendly, wholly reliable Pitpass was on-line - and judging by the complimentary e-mails, not to mention the dramatic increase in traffic, the changes have been well received.
So thank you Gillian.
Sincere thanks also to Chris Berry and Phil Gunhouse at SysExcel, who built the site, and Ewan Smith (Wangbar) who designed it.
Although Chris & Phil's brief was merely to rebuild Pitpass, they have performed way beyond the call of duty. In addition to continually tweaking the site, forever adding little extras, they have also been on hand whenever I experienced serious computer problems - talking me through various processes, attempting to calm me down and working tirelessly to keep the site going. Readers may not have been aware of these problems - for in many ways Pitpass is like a swan, serene on the surface, but below the waterline those little (unseen) legs are pumping furiously away - that on several occasions this year, I have suffered major computer failures that led to me working on all manner of old and borrowed PCs. Thanks guys. Thanks also to my good friend Cliff Wilsher who also helped out during several moments of crisis.
Next I wish to thank the rest of the Pitpass team, the guys that contribute the features that (hopefully) keep you entertained throughout the year, and get you thinking about various aspects of the sport. Sadly, one or two of our contributors have not been in a position to produce quite as much material in 2004, as in recent years, but hopefully they will be back on-form in the months ahead.
Therefore I wish to thank Mike Lawrence, not merely for his excellent work, but also for his friendship and his support. If it wasn't for his Arsenal delusions, he'd be perfect. Thanks also to Geoff Collins, Thomson Philips, Michael Clark, Rob Margeit, Glen Crompton, Don Capps and Bob Campbell.
Also, a special big thank you to Bob Constanduros, who no matter how busy, or insane, things get during the course of a Grand Prix weekend, will always keep me fully up to speed, and fully informed, especially when it comes to paddock gossip.
Another much valued member of the Pitpass team is John Marsh of Redzone Images. I know that many of you are very impressed with his work, as am I. Like me, John, has faced an uphill struggle over the last couple of years, hopefully we are both turning the corner - I look forward to working with him for many years to come. Only can we have a few less bloody Jenson Button pics in 2005, John?
Although we do occasionally give the teams a hard time, I would like to think that we enjoy a good relationship with all of them. Sadly, some of the teams are woeful when it comes to responding to our questions and requests, which are, for the most part, merely to help us report the facts (truth), but it would be wrong to name them here. At the same time, there are a number of Press Officers in the paddock who will fall over themselves to help us, especially when it comes to publishing the truth and putting the record straight. I will not embarrass these people, or their teams, by naming them, they know who they are - and hopefully understand that despite the odd savaging, we have nothing but respect for them and what they do, often in the worst possible circumstances.
May I also take the time to thank Richard Woods at the FIA, and everyone at both Bridgestone and Michelin.
Although I am not (personally) a great fan of forums, I fully appreciate that fans like to air and share their views. Sadly, we get the occasional weirdo, intent on causing mayhem, but thanks to our excellent team of moderators, our forum, for the most part, is a fairly sensible, friendly place. Therefore, special thanks to Carol, Sandy, Francis, Shant, Sean, Dave and Randy.
Despite Pitpass' professional look, feel and content, please don't assume that we are rolling in dosh, we run the site on a (worn) shoestring. That said, we continue, onwards and slightly upwards.
Therefore a big thanks to Kenneth McLeod's Grand Prix Adventures, Phil Kerr's McLaren Motorsport, Dale LaFollette's Vintage Motor Photo, Ewan Smith (again) at 1st Name Tees and Roald Tichelaar at GPTicketservice, for their support. It is largely thanks to these people that Pitpass is able to continue - therefore please show your support by visiting their sites, and hopefully using their services. Using our sponsors/advertisers services will help Pitpass, and (hopefully) eventually attract new sponsors and advertisers.
As we look ahead to 2005, we think not only of a very busy Formula One season, but also the inaugural A1 Grand Prix season.
I would like to think that we have played a small part in getting the idea of A1 GP across to the people, and hope that we can continue to do so. Having met Sheikh Maktoum on a number of occasions, and enjoyed regular telephone conversations, I can assure you that A1 will succeed, not merely due to his undoubted business skills, and the team he has built around him, but also due to his tremendous passion and sheer determination to make it work. Nine months ago, when the series was unveiled in Dubai, there was much scepticism and many raised eyebrows within the F1 paddock. With 13 teams on board, and the first race just nine months away, people are realizing that A1 Grand Prix means business.
Therefore we wish Sheikh Maktoum and his team the very best of luck with the endeavour, and look forward to proving the cynics wrong.
Finally, I want to thank you our readers - the people who proved that my faith in Pitpass, and that of my wife, was justified. In September, our busiest month, we had 101,000 unique users, reading 2.4m pages, while even in December, in the middle of the off-season, over 78,000 unique users have logged into the site.
For our part, we will do our best to bring you the facts, the gossip and the fun, as quickly and professionally as possible. As a fully independent site we do not have to cow-tow to anyone, be it team owners, sponsors, the FIA or Bernie. Consequently, we will continue to try and provide you with the sort of F1 website that you want. We won't always get it right, but rest assured, we'll try.
Therefore my biggest thank you goes out to you, our readers. I look forward to welcoming you and your friend to Pitpass in 2005 and beyond.
Finally, as we all look ahead to a new year and (hopefully) a great new season of racing, I am reminded of the words of the legendary Bob Paisley, manager of Liverpool Football Club between 1974 and 1983. He once commented that many people regarded football as "a matter of life and death". "That's wrong," he argued, "it's more important than that".
By the same token, many often believe that Formula One is the most important thing in the universe, and all around the world fans are counting off the days until Melbourne.
However, in light of the events in South East Asia last weekend, we are reminded that Formula One, like all other sport, music, movies, celebrity and just about everything else, doesn't really mean a thing.
The images that we have witnessed on our television screens, the pictures of pain and despair have surely affected us all. To watch our fellow man suffer such anguish, and to be so utterly powerless to help, is horrendous.
Therefore, may I dare to ask that you make some sort of effort to help the various aid agencies that are attempting to bring relief to the many millions of people whose lives have been destroyed.
It would be wrong of me to ask you to give and not lead by example. Therefore I am going to auction off a number of items - from my own personal collection - needless to say they are all 100% genuine.
We are currently setting up a charity auction, in association with Oxfam, on Ebay on which a number of items will be auctioned in a bid to raise money for the victims of the Tsunamis. These will mainly be race programmes and models signed by various F1 people including Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and Jacques Villeneuve. I think there's even one with Max Mosley and Ken Tyrrell's signature in there.
If any of the teams want to contribute something, please feel free. This isn't about scoring 'brownie points' or attracting publicity, it's about giving some much needed help to people who desperately need it. We talk endlessly of the vast sums of money in F1, let's give a little where it's really needed. And let's do it now.
On that note, I'll sign off and wish you all a very, very happy New Year.
Watch out for details of the auction.