Steve Hindle

It is three years since I first visited Westfield’s Kingswinford factory; a trip that made such an impression that it would ultimately lead to me working there. Yet just over 12 months later, my faith was lost and exit swift.

The dust might have settled on the Buddh International Circuit but the celebrations of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix will doubtless have lasted long into the night. Before arriving in New Dehli, many in F1 had raised doubts as to whether the country and its new race track would be ready for a spectacle of this caliber.

Today registered another tragic loss in the world of motorsport. Marco Simoncelli was a remarkable motorbike racer; he was also a son and a lover.

But the loss of this prodigious talent has been overshadowed by the disdainful reaction of some within the online world. Numerous editors, bloggers and forum users rushed to upload links to video footage of the accident and photos of the reaction of Marco’s family & girlfriend. What purpose does this serve?

“How do you solve a problem like Maria?” ... A question that may not instantly be burning on the lips of every motorsport enthusiast, but one, all the same, that requires consideration.

The sign on the side of the truck is simple yet evocative – “The Power of Dreams” it reads.

I’d been looking forward to EcoVelocity, London’s Low-Carbon Motor Festival. The choice of venue, the now defunct Battersea Power Station, was inspiring. I could picture the decaying edifice, a symbol of the once might of its smouldering furnaces, now nothing but a fossil, left for generations to wonder over. And there, emerging from the ruins would be living incarnations of the new era; cars and bikes, powered by clean, renewable energy and travelling through air fit for all to breathe.

There are few sights as mesmerising as a convoy of iconic supercars growling their way through the streets of London. Thousands of horses straining to be unleashed, clutches smouldering in frustrated anticipation; “look” I heard a young boy shout excitedly to his father, “an Enzo”.

It was whilst watching Dragon’s Den on BBC TV the other evening that I started to wonder about the physical input (time, management, direction) given to those who successfully pitched their ideas. The financial element is, of course, clearly stated but as most of us know, any venture that is struggling to capitalise on its potential needs more than just hard cash and “association”. This was absolutely the case with the fancy dress business which was eventually taken-on by Duncan Bannatyne.

The golden heads of rapeseed flowers wallowed loftily next to a lush green Duxford meadow last Wednesday. A more fitting backdrop to the stunning livery of the new Team Lotus Caterham could surely never be found.