Thursday 15th October saw a host of British talent and London influencers, gather together for a Champagne reception and private screening hosted by IWC Schaffhausen.
Held in celebration of The British Film Institute, guests enjoyed a Champagne and canapé reception hosted at The Langham Hotel, before being escorted to the iconic Regent Street Cinema for a private screening of The Lobster – a London Film Festival featured BFI funded film, introduced exclusively on the night by Clare Stewart, Festival Director of the BFI London Film Festival.
The evening saw attendance from a host of rising British talent, including Fresh Meat’s Zawe Ashton, The Tudors’ Tamzin Merchant and Penny Dreadful’s Harry Treadaway – all seen enjoying Laurent Perrier Champagne in The Langham Hotel’s Palm Court before being led theatrically by lantern-light to the Regent Street Cinema. Fellow actor Sam Hoare was also overheard on the night expressing how much he had enjoyed this year’s London Film Festival – especially following the recent success of his wife, Romola Garai, in Suffragette.
Distributed by Picturehouse and released to the public on Friday 16th October, The Lobster features an all-star cast including Colin Farrell, Rachel Weiz, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw and Olivia Colman, and won the Jury Prize at the 68th Cannes Film Festival.
VIP attendees included: Zawe Ashton, Tamzin Merchant, Harry Treadaway, Charlotte Wiggins, Sam Rollinson, Lady Kinvara Balfour, Sabine Roemer, Sam Hoare and Sarah Ann Macklin
The guests dines on gravlax, honey-mustard dressing and pumpernickel, Scotch beef tartare, truffle and rocket, Cauliflower mousse, piquillo peppers and capers, Ticklemore sable, Crisp confit duck pancakes and cinnamon, Five spice pork belly and pickled cucumber, Cèpe arancini and parmesan cream, Crisp blue prawns with coconut and lime accompanied by Laurent Perrier Champagne and Moscow Mule cocktails
About IWC Schaffhausen & The British Film Institute
For the second year, IWC Schaffhausen is supporting the BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® as Official Time Partner. The 59th Edition of the Festival will run from 7th to 18th October 2015. A highlight in the UK’s cinematic calendar and a globally recognised event which draws some of the most celebrated talent from the film industry; the BFI London Film Festival previews a selection of the greatest offerings in film for the year ahead. The partnership with the BFI London Film Festival follows IWC Schaffhausen’s long tradition of supporting film-making projects – a tradition which is evidenced by its established partnerships with the Tribeca Film Festival, the Zurich Film Festival the Dubai International Film Festival and the Beijing International Film Festival, and which demonstrates IWC’s passion for film.
Last night, Thursday 1st October, saw the founders of Casamigos Tequila, Rande Gerber, George Clooney and Mike Meldman, host the official London launch of Casamigos Tequila and Cindy Crawford’s new book ‘Becoming’ at The Beaumont Hotel, Mayfair, London.
“Brought To You By Those Who Drink It”, the best-tasting, smoothest tequila was shared and enjoyed amongst friends of the founders, as well as leaders in British film, music, business, fashion, art and literature. The who’s who of London were hosted at The Beaumont Hotel in Mayfair for 250 guests in celebration of the launch of Casamigos Tequila in London and Cindy Crawford’s personal and professional evolution as one of the world’s most iconic supermodels.
Attendees observed never-before-published photographs from Cindy’s private collection and heard untold stories from the book, whilst enjoying a selection of bespoke cocktails created with the award-wining Casamigos Tequila, including the Casamigos Three Amigos, Casamigos Old Fashioned and Casamigos Sour.
Cindy Crawford dazzled in a black and white structured Victoria Beckham dress and was seen catching up with the fashion pack Giancarlo Giametti and Mario Testino, laughing about the good old days.
The great and the good from Hollywood’s finest directing pedigree were in attendance, including Joel Silver, Mike Figgis and Eric Fellner, all seen catching up with fellow director George Clooney, Mr Selfridge star Jeremy Piven and Downton Abby actor Allen Leech.
VIP attendees included: George Clooney, Rande Gerber, Michael Meldman, Cindy Crawford, Lewis Hamilton, Mario Testino, Giancarlo Giametti, Joel Silver, Laura Bailey & Eric Fellner, Allen Leech, Jeremy Piven, Noel Gallagher & Sara McDonald, Hermione Norris, David Furnish, Mike Figgis, Rosey Chan, Tamara Beckwith, Sir David Tang, Melissa Odabash, Amber Nuttell, Ali Spencer-Churchill, Plum Sykes, Jeremy King, Matthew Freud, Ben Elliot, Tim & Malin Jeffries.
The Casamigos Tequilas were flowing throughout the evening, with guests savouring the aromatic beverage served in delightful mixes, such as Casamigos Three Amigos, Casamigos Old Fashioned, Casamigos Sour and Casamigos Reposado on the Rocks.
The invited guests dined on mac & cheese bites, buttermilk fried chicken with Louisiana remoulade, grilled zucchini with ricotta, steak tartare on poliane bread, chocolate brownies, red velvet cakes and grilled cheese sandwiches.
About Casamigos Tequila…
Brought To You By Those Who Drink It. Privately owned by George Clooney and long-time friend, bar and restaurant mogul Rande Gerber, and Discovery Land Company CEO & founder Michael Meldman, tequila-filled nights with friends is how Casamigos was born. Launched in the UK in March 2015, these small batch, ultra-premium tequilas are made from the finest hand-selected 100% Blue Weber agaves grown in the rich red clay soil and cool climate of Mexico’s Jalisco Highlands for a minimum of seven years. Casamigos Blanco is crisp and clear, with subtle hints of vanilla and a smooth finish, Casamigos Reposado is smooth and clean with hints of caramel. Casamigos Añejo is aged 14 months and has a beautifully pure and refined complex aroma, with soft caramel and vanilla notes.
Casamigos is available in the United States, Bahamas, Canada, Hong Kong, and the UK, and has garnered the highest accolades from the spirit industry’s most well respected authority figures. Awards and ratings include the highest rated gold medals from Los Angeles International Spirits Competition, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, The Beverage Testing Institute, The New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, The Spirits of Mexico Tasting Competition and many more. Additionally, Casamigos was rated “Excellent, Highly Recommend” by The Ultimate Spirits Challenge, received the coveted 5 star rating from BevX Magazine, “A perfect tequila,” A rating, from Good Spirit News, named “Best Tequila in the World” by Men’s Journal magazine and Oprah Winfrey lists Casamigos as “The Smoothest, The Best.”
In the UK the brand can be found at top establishments like Nobu, Zuma, Groucho Club, Soho House, 5 Hertford St, 4 Seasons, The Wolseley, Chiltern Firehouse, Claridges, The Berkeley, The Connaught, Hyatt Regency, La Bodega Negra, El Nivel, Peyote and The Savoy.
Casamigos Tequila is available to purchase at Selfridges and online at www.selfridges.com from £62.99
About ‘BECOMING’…
BECOMING is a chronicle of American icon and supermodel Cindy Crawford’s life, in which she shares stories of her professional and personal evolution, accompanied by her most iconic images, as well as never-before-published photographs from her personal archive. Cindy Crawford looks back on a super-nova career and remarkable life. In the completely accessible, down-to-earth voice of the Midwestern girl she is, Cindy discusses the love-filled, small-town childhood that shaped both her legendary work ethos, and the professionalism for which she is so well-regarded in an often cut-throat and competitive business.
Forever on the lookout for the best beauty products, they must be effective, easy to use, smell good, give me a glowing complexion and an English Rose peachiness. It’s not too much to ask…
But it’s a skincare minefield out there. Which brand do you choose?
Spoilt for choice, it’s a wonder we ever manage to buy any at all!
I’ve been desperate to try the flagship skincare range from HyaLual® since rumours of its existence began to circulate, and during my recent trip to London Fashion Week, have been extravagantly spritzing myself with the products courtesy of my lovely friend, celebrity hairdresser, Steven Smith, an ambassador of the products.
It became apparent that the consistency of the products had a soothing, healing and moisturising effect on my skin with an uplifting quality that improved my mood, making it a welcome addition to the weekend’s beauty routine.
Since our lives are more hectic than ever and time is increasingly precious, urban life stresses our skin – the delicate barrier, and if you want to influence its internal structure and improve the outward appearance, you have to nourish it.
I fell in love with the pinnacle of the HyaLual® brand, the Daily DeLux…
Most of us tend to be guilty of taking the easy option when it comes to looking after our skin – we want a one-stop product that works for the day and night. By day, our skin is bombarded by the environment, attacked by sunlight, pollution and central heating, so we need a product that will protect and hydrate it, providing a barrier that will lock in moisture – but night-time is when our complexion gets to work repairing itself, we need a product that will give our skin the best chance to restore itself.
Institute HyaLual® Switzerland
is an Institute, operating in the field of
anti-age therapy
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HyaLual®’s pioneering research into the importance to maintaining moisture levels in the skin was pivotal in the development of their Natural Melt Water.
Aqualual® – is a unique cosmetic spray based on the
combination of melt water and hyaluronic acid.
Melt water has a biocompatible structure close to
cellular liquids and is able to hydrate
epidermis cells immediately.
Hyaluronic acid helps to keep natural moisture
into the skin cells.
WOW Mask – is the professional aqua gel mask for immediate visible results of skin restoration. It is based on an innovative technology and components to ensure that you feel and look younger after the very first use.
Benefits:
– Reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
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On Sunday 23rd August 2015, Casamigos Tequila Founders Rande Gerber, George Clooney and Mike Meldman, along with their wives Cindy Crawford and Amal Clooney, attended the official launch of Casamigos Tequila in Spain at UP!, Ibiza Sky Society, the rooftop bar at Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel.
“Brought To You By Those Who Drink It”, the best-tasting, smoothest tequila was shared and enjoyed with friends of the Founders and movers and shakers of Ibiza at UP!, Ibiza Sky Society magnificent rooftop at Ushuaia Ibiza Beach Hotel, flagship hotel of the Palladium Hotel Group.
The private event for 120 people saw guests enjoy Ushuaïa’s signature cocktails, the ‘Unexpected Casamigos’ and the ‘Espresso Casamigos’ as well as the founders favourite Casamigos Reposado on the rocks.
In true Ibiza style the founders kept it casual with linen shirts and jeans whilst the leading ladies dazzled, Amal Clooney in a magnificent gold metallic Vionnet dress and shoes by Dior, and Cindy Crawford in a Botegga Venetta black dress paired with Alaïa heels.
As the sun began to dip and the night began to cool, guests feasted on sumptuous canapés created by the hotel’s Head Chef as they watched the sun set over the mountains from the rooftop while listening to Balearic beats. Fire-breathers, acrobats and dancers wowed the founders and other guests, circling around the tables and providing mesmerizing entertainment for the night providing the perfect intro to the nights later festivities. Old friends Rande Gerber and James Blunt – a local Ibiza resident, caught up over a few tequilas whilst Cindy was ensconced in a fashion royalty conversation with Sam Knight and Mario Testino. Amal caught up with friend, another Ibiza resident, Charlotte Tilbury as they reunited after Charlotte did the make-up for Amal on her wedding day. Surround by their Ibiza House of Friends, at 10pm the party drew to a close and the group moved down to the VIP table to watch superstar DJ AVICII play his resident Sunday night set. Surrounded by Casmigos Tequila, the owners decided to open up their ‘House of Friends’ by sending all other VIP tables a bottle of the award winning Casamigos Tequila to enjoy the show.
The VIP attendees included:
George Clooney, Rande Gerber, Mike Meldman, Cindy Crawford, Amal Clooney,
James Blunt & Sophia Wellesley, Charlotte Tilbury, Mario Testino, Sam McKnight, Taio Cruz, Karmen Pedaru, Marpessa Hennik
The guests enjoyed cocktails
featuring the Casamigos brand:
‘Casamigos Espresso’
‘Unexpected Casamigos’
Casamigos Reposado on the Rocks
Chefs prepared accompaniments, showing their culinary skills using the elegant tequila…
* Grill loin rib marinated with tequila Casamigos Añejo
* Foie Mid-cuit over brioche and jelly tequila Casamigos Reposado
* Cube Lamb confit with tequila Casamigos Añejo, cinnamon and yuzu sauce
* Hamachi ceviche with lemongrass and white Tequila Casamigos · Passion fruit gazpacho with white tequila Casamigos foam
* Osmosis cherry rested white tequila Casamigos style, covered with sanguine orange snow
About Casamigos Tequila…
Brought To You By Those Who Drink It. Privately owned by George Clooney and longtime friend, bar and restaurant mogul Rande Gerber, and Discovery Land Company CEO & founder Michael Meldman, tequila-filled nights with friends is how Casamigos was born. Launched in the UK in March 2015, these small batch, ultra-premium tequilas are made from the finest hand-selected 100% Blue Weber agaves grown in the rich red clay soil and cool climate of Mexico’s Jalisco Highlands for a minimum of seven years. Casamigos Blanco is crisp and clear, with subtle hints of vanilla and a smooth finish, Casamigos Reposado is smooth and clean with hints of caramel. Casamigos Añejo is aged 14 months and has a beautifully pure and refined complex aroma, with soft caramel and vanilla notes.
Casamigos is available in the United States, Bahamas, Canada, Hong Kong, and the UK, and has garnered the highest accolades from the spirit industry’s most well respected authority figures. Awards and ratings include the highest rated gold medals from Los Angeles International Spirits Competition, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, The Beverage Testing Institute, The New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, The Spirits of Mexico Tasting Competition and many more. Additionally, Casamigos was rated “Excellent, Highly Recommend” by The Ultimate Spirits Challenge, received the coveted 5 star rating from BevX Magazine, “A perfect tequila,” A rating, from Good Spirit News, named “Best Tequila in the World” by Men’s Journal magazine and Oprah Winfrey lists Casamigos as “The Smoothest, The Best.”
In the UK the brand can be found at top establishments like Nobu, Zuma, Groucho Club, Soho House, 5 Hertford St, Chiltern Firehouse and the Maybourne Group, to name but a few.
Casamigos Tequila is available to purchase at Selfridges and online at www.selfridges.com from £62.99
About Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel…
Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel is a luxurious 417-room hotel comprised of two buildings: The Ushuaïa Club, featuring an amazing poolside stage, and The Ushuaïa Tower, offering breathtaking views of the Mediterranean. Ushuaïa is dedicated to providing the best outdoor entertainment venue coupled with a modern, cutting-edge hotel experience, designed for the discerning traveller seeking the fun and entertainment associated with Ibiza.
Bedrinks is a new brand of Zumos Naturales S.A., a company with over 45 years of history on the island of Ibiza that began by producing shakes, juices and soft drinks, and currently distributes some of the most important national and international beverage brands.
Casamigos is distributed exclusively in Spain by Bedrinks.
Eylure has joined forces with vlogger Fleur de Force to create a new lash collection, launching into Boots August 2015.
The Fleur de Force lashes by Eylure feature ‘stone-ground lash tips’, a brand new technology that softens the tip of each individual hair to create a much more natural look.
In keeping with Fleur’s brand profile the collection reflects her style and the packaging is decorated with her signature stars and pastel colour palette.
The collection comprises Fleur Loves (£5.25), a ¾ length lash adding definition to outer edge of the eye
Simply Fleur (£5.95), a subtle lightweight lash for daytime wear
Fleur & Fabulous (£5.25), a full yet lightweight lash to build up the glam factor
Couture Fleur (£6.95), knot-free individual lashes with tapered tips available in short, medium and long length.
The Fleur de Force Lashes by Eylure are available from August, prices start from £5.25 – £6.95 and the range is available exclusively at Boots stores nationwide and eylure.com.
Leroy Dawkins, editor of popular blog Diary of a Clotheshorse, US fashion Editor and celebrity Blogger at LaPalme Magazine today signed with the Grey model Agency.
Grey Model Agency is a niche agency that specialises with the representation of mature models.
Leroy will continue in his other roles as a top model judge in Europe, the Clotheshorse blog, editor at Laplame and freelance work as a stylist and DJ.
Britain’s Paul Bonhomme was crowned the winner of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship stop at the famous Ascot Racecourse on Sunday, flying brilliantly under pressure in the world’s fastest motorsport series.
Bonhomme’s final run was flawless and he stopped the clock in 1.06.416 seconds. Australia’s Matt Hall took second place in a time of 1:09.024 while Yoshihide Muroya got his first podium of the season with third.
With the hard-fought victory in the Final Four, Bonhomme picked up 12 points to widen his lead at the top of the Red Bull Air Race Championship to eight points (46) ahead of Hall (38 points) in second going into the final three races.
Reigning Red Bull Air Race World Champion Nigel Lamb of Britain, who last year finished second at the race over the historic Ascot Racecourse, finished back in 5th place, a result that destroyed his chances of defending his title.
It was the second time the Red Bull Air Race was staged in Ascot, just west of London, that has quickly become one of the most attractive air race locations in the world and a favourite of the pilots who relish taking off and landing on the lush green turf in front of the big crowd.
Austria’s Hannes Arch, who struggled in the training session and was last in Qualifying on Saturday, finished a disappointing eighth after winning the last two races in Budapest and Rovinj, Croatia.
Arch had a great run in the Round of 12, just beating Bonhomme, but Bonhomme was the “fastest loser” and advanced to the Round of 8.
Arch was unable to get his engine started before the Round of 8 and was forced to retire. “It’s frustrating if you can’t race but that’s life,” said Arch, who slipped to third overall with 30 points.
In the Red Bull Air Race, which is the official world championship of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world’s top pilots hit speeds of 370 km/h while enduring forces of up to 10G as they navigate as precisely as possible through a low-level slalom track marked by 25-metre high air-filled pylons.
The Red Bull Air Race World Championship moves to its next stop to Spielberg, Austria on September 5-6.
Results Ascot:
1. Paul Bonhomme (GBR), 2. Matt Hall (AUS), 3. Yoshihide Muroya (JPN), 4. Nicolas Ivanoff (FRA), 5. Nigel Lamb (GBR), 6. Peter Besenyei (HUN), 7. Martin Sonka (CZE), 8. Hannes Arch (AUT), 9. Michael Goulian (USA), 10. Matthias Dolderer (GER), 11. Juan Velarde (ESP), 12. Kirby Chambliss (USA), 13. Pete McLeod (CAN), 14. François Le Vot (FRA)
The Red Bull Air Race World Championship is an international series of races with the participation of at least eight pilots at each race. The objective is to navigate an aerial racetrack featuring air-filled pylons in the fastest possible time incurring as few penalties as possible.
Pilots can win World Championship points at each race and the pilot with the most points after the last race of the season becomes the Red Bull Air Race World Champion.
The Red Bull Air Race consists of the following flying sessions: Training, Qualifying, Round of 14, Round of 8, Final 4. In all sessions, only one pilot races in the track at a time.
TRAINING: Takes place on the days preceding Qualifying Day.
QUALIFYING: Takes place on Qualifying Day, the day before Race Day. It includes two mandatory qualifying sessions. Best time counts. Results of the qualifying session determine the order of racing on Race Day.
ROUND OF 14: Takes place on Race Day. This flying session is completed in head-to-head heats; the seven winners plus the fastest loser move forward to the Round of 8. The head-to-head pairings are based on the qualifying session results.
ROUND OF 8: Seven winners from the Round of 14, plus the fastest loser, race in head-to-head heats again. The four winning pilots advance to the Final 4. For the losing pilots, their time in the Round of 8 will determine 5th to 8th place race positions.
FINAL 4: Four fastest from the Round of 8 compete in the Final 4 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place race positions. The slowest winning pilot from the Round of 8 will fly first in the Final Four. They race individually and victory is based on the quickest time recorded for the session.
STARTING ORDER FOR FLYING SESSIONS
The starting order is the order in which the pilots will race in each flying session. The starting order for Training is defined by the results of the current Red Bull Air Race World Championship standing. The highest ranking pilot starts first, new pilots start at the end. If there is more than one new pilot, the starting order of these new pilots is determined by a draw.
The starting order for all sessions on Race Day is determined by the results in Qualifying. The order is reversed so that the slowest pilot from Qualifying starts first.
RACE WINNER
The winner is the pilot who is ranked number one in the final flying session.
RED BULL AIR RACE WORLD CHAMPION
The Red Bull Air Race World Champion is the pilot who achieves the highest aggregate score in the given Red Bull Air Race World Championship season.
The winner is crowned Red Bull Air Race World Champion at the last stop in the World Championship.
Red – outbound lap, Grey – return lap
The Ascot crowds were treated to breath-taking displays by an Apache Gunship – a four-blade, twin-turboshaft attack helicopter and a Chinook – a twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter, its primary role being troop movement, artillery placement and battlefield resupply.
One of the world’s leading paraglider aerobatics pilots, Pal Takats, took to the air, wowing the Ascot audience with a vast selection of tricks and stunts.
Pal is a Red Bull show regular and if you get a chance to see him in action… grab it!
The Breitling Wingwalkers, the world’s only formation wing-walking team, displayed astounding sequences of loops, rolls and turns whilst wingwalkers waved and performed handstands against 150mph wind pressure… even releasing themselves from their cradles and sitting on the wings whilst the aircraft were still in flight!
Behind the scenes…
During the media hangar walk, I spent some time with the Master Class pilots ahead of the race final…
PAUL BONHOMME…
I’ve just been talking to your team about conditions, is there a possibility we’ll see a couple of seconds disappearing from qualifying times achieved yesterday?
It could be, yes, I think the wind is forecast to get up a little bit but not as strong as yesterday, so it could be a bit faster.
I’m in my early 50’s and so are you, but when you think of sport at the highest level, it’s driven by youth, sport is dominated by youth and yet this is a high-level sport, there’s of factors to consider like G-force, how do you keep fit to withstand such impact?
I think, for this, the main fitness factor is not really the flying, although you do have to be fit for flying, but it’s the length of days and the other bits. Having said that, the G-force is the main physical drain on us, if you like, and for me, I just go for general fitness… cycling, I don’t run, I don’t think that’s good for my lower back, but cycling, a bit of walking, maybe a bit on the rowing machine. But you don’t have to be Charles Atlas, you don’t have to work out in the gym, but good general fitness.
And when you think of older sportsmen and women, typically, they excel in a less physical type of activity, but amazingly, the age range of the competitors in the Red Bull Air Race is higher than average and the physical impact is more intensive on the body, to say the least…
Yes, and a lot of people say “Why are there a load of old farts here?” (laughs) and I think the main reason is, you can’t learn to fly until you’re 16, 17 or 18 anyway and then if you look at the cost of flying, you’re not going to be able to get into this sort of machine until your late 20’s, probably, it depends on your circumstances. So that’s why you’ve got a more mature bunch here, whereas if you look at motor-racing, you can get in a go-kart when you’re three and by the time you’re 18, you’ve got 15 years of race experience so you’re good enough to go out and mess about in the big leagues.
Just touching on finances, we can see that the publicity surrounding the Red Bull Air Race is building, more media coverage, what does it cost to run a team like this for a year… ballpark?
Ballpark… it’s impossible to say, where do you start? When I bought my first aeroplane, somebody said to me “Whatever you do, don’t work out how much it costs an hour” and I think that’s a very wise thing. I suspect the same would go for horse-owners, if you actually sat down and worked out how much it cost to own a racehorse, you’d probably give up there and then.
Is it easier now to get sponsorship?
It is, it’s a major factor in this series that it needs more sponsors, for this sport to go forward, it needs sponsors to come in. There’s the Red Bull factor there, a lot of people, I think, think Red Bull is such a dominant brand, they’re going to get swamped by the Red Bull brand, so there’s all sorts of ideas being bandied around, whether any of them will ever happen or not, I’m not sure, but for certain, we do need more sponsors.
We covered the Monaco F1 Grand Prix and that was one of the questions that came up, their whole branding is perhaps not quite as it should be, it’s starting to lax in some way, people are starting to lose the momentum of F1, whereas we can see that Red Bull Air Race and the marketing machine is gradually building. So it’s quite a fine line in keeping that balance of building up a brand, building up a whole race image and not knocking it like, perhaps, is happening in F1.
Yes, it’s not easy, but the analogy that I use is it’s ‘starting a sport’… this is now twelve years old now, I reckon you need to be a bit like a new coffee shop, you need to put a sandwich board outside saying ‘cheap sponsorship this week – come on in’ get people in, get them interested, get them tickled and then when it’s built, then you say ‘look, this is actually costing us more than we’re charging you so we need to up the ante’. I don’t think that’s happening at the moment, I think the price is still a bit too high and I know if I was running it, I’d get a load of big people in and get them tickled, get their interest tickled and then, hopefully, it would take off.
So, yesterday, (qualifying), disappointing with the DNS (withdrawal due to technical issues), how are you feeling today, especially with the conditions… are they good for you or is it just a little bit too good?
No, actually, I’m feeling strong, I don’t know why but it’s just a good day today, no matter what happens.
Mentally, you’re in the right place.
Yes, I’m going in there and, to be honest, I’m not racing against Paul today, I’m racing against myself, so that’s a little bit my task. Also to not getting distracted too much by all the talking and everything. The only bitter thing for us is… and I’m talking for Paul and me, that we both know one of us two is not in the final because of this stupid system. And that’s frustrating because… just imagine, both of us are really fast out there and you can’t be in the final, that’s not cool, you know so I hope that the organisation thinks about that because it’s so hard to communicate, it should be raised now. Instead of asking the guys who are doing it, living it, the passion, you know, for the sport.
I asked Paul about his fitness regime… what’s yours?
Sport. I love sport, I’m living in Salzburg in Austria where it’s just the right place to do sport, you’ve got the mountains, the lakes, biking, mountain biking.
A lot of sportsmen, at a high level, aren’t just good at their specialised sport, if you talk to a F1 driver, some of them have turned round and said “Well, I was going to be a professional footballer, but I did this instead”… what would you have done had you not become a pilot?
Actually, I can’t tell you because I did already four different sports at a high level sponsored by Red Bull so I just go with the flow. This fits exactly to my age right now, you know, what I did before, I was base jumping, paragliding, I also did world tours all over the world and mountain climbing at the highest level. I think I am done now, after this, I could imagine to enjoy just living without the pressure of always trying to be the best. (Laughs).
So conditions good today for slicing a few seconds off the best times?
Oh my God, yes, I’m miles behind! I won qualification here last year and then went on to come second so yes, a big disappointment for you and me yesterday, way off the pace but yes, I can catch some of it, for sure, I’m sure of that but lots of work to do today. Conditions are maybe too good.
You think they’re too good?
It was all blustery last year so the track is very benign so everyone is going to be really quick.
Just looking at the track, it’s a superb venue, as opposed to previous UK venues, this is much, much better.
Oh, it’s unquestionable, yes, we did love Longleat, from a piloting perspective, we like Longleat because it was even more three-dimensional so you had everything that’s here but also sloping ground so you were up and down and in and out of trees, so that was nice, but flawed in many other respects. Here, you’ve got the start in front of the crowd and it’s very special and everything is lower so this is the best.
And also the team and hangar areas are closer to the track…
Yes, for sure, everything here is really, really good, it’s fantastic, this is one of the two good tracks of the season and the other one is Spielberg in Austria, which is similar because everything takes place in front of the crowd. There are two like that in America but they’re not so pretty, they’re not green and full of trees, they’re ‘concretey’ and full of rocks.
So a track like that from a pilot’s perspective?
It doesn’t make much difference from our perspective but it’s from an aesthetically-pleasing perspective.
I’ve been talking to Paul about the marketing and branding of the race. F1 has reached a peak and it’s now starting to wane, there needs to be a new injection of thought, new ideas coming to really vamp up the image. Whereas the Red Bull Air Race is raising its profile…
Yes, well I think it’s much easier with a new sport. The Air Race has been going since 2004… 2005 was when it really took off, I would say, but yes, I’ve been following the fortunes of F1, I guess they have much bigger challenges and it’s much more complicated. The advantage to having a high-profile sport will be that the appeal grows, then more money comes in and then you can do more. And they are probably more able to change, there are some things in F1 that are a lot simpler than ours, you think of the infrastructure and the challenges of the Red Bull Air Race, you’ve got to set up a track somewhere. But the good thing about that is, when you find the right location, you can take a track right into a location like this, so you’re not bound by having the track… but when you have that infrastructure of the track, everything is there once you get there, so the challenges, once you’re there, are much easier. That’s complicated but this is a sport with a different appeal, I think.
I’ve been talking to the other Master Class pilots about fitness regimes, especially when you’re an older competitor. The world of sport is normally dominated by youth, this appears to be an exception.
Well, two answers. The reason that everyone is older is that you can’t jump in an aeroplane aged six years old, so just as when watch a camera-ed up car going through Monaco and how close they’re putting it to hard obstacles, the fences, the kerbs, for me, it’s awesome. It commands such amazing respect but I do understand it, I understand it, it’s such a connection with the machine that actually, just like as we strap wings on our back, they’re just making their body mobile. And it’s the same with us, you have to be at a level where you don’t even spend one millisecond thinking about what you’re doing with the controls, you’ve just got the means to elevate your body into the air and then putting yourself through the lines. And in aviation, you can start at 18 and then the path is much more difficult. One of my sons is into go-karting and you can take a kid at five years old and you put them in a little go-kart and it’s very, very simple because there’s tracks everywhere, there are go-karts, it can be relatively inexpensive at first. And look at Verstappen (Formula One), he is 17 years old, but I get it, he’s done it since he was five, he’s got a father who is an ex-Formula One driver, so he’s got 12 years and many thousands of pounds. Because you can sit in a go-kart, in the wet and dry, night and day, and hone the skills to be able to have it as an extension of your body, whereas, in aviation, that takes until… I would say, actually, I don’t think you could do it before you’re 30 really, I know Pete McLeod came in at 25, but you just need that level of experience, that’s important. But secondly, you’ve got to keep fit, you’ve got to take great care of your back, your core and your neck, so that’s what I work on, and you need to be relatively aerobically-fit, but very G-fit and that comes with spending time in the cockpit. There’s no machine, other than a centrifuge, which is horrible, a centrifuge is not like an aeroplane at all because you’ve got all sorts of vestibular problems with the way the gimbals work so it’s not like flying an aeroplane. But you learn the technique of anti-G, of combating G, in an aeroplane and you need a lot of time and you need a lot of experience to make that reflex. But here, we have to focus really hard on it for gate number two because you’re not warmed up, you need to get the circulation going and that’s the first pull and it’s not the highest G, it’s only probably 8 or something. You’ve got to be ready for that one, that’s the one you think about a bit in this track but the rest is kind of pretty instinctive.
Celebrities in attendance included presenter, Charlie Webster, Lucy Watson and James Dunmore, Diana Vickers and Rannvijay Singh, along with Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Richard Jones
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Celebrities in attendance included presenter, Charlie Webster, Lucy Watson and James Dunmore, Diana Vickers and Rannvijay Singh, along with Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Richard Jones
