News that Brawn were not able to fund a new wage deal for champion Jenson button and keep him in the team has received mixed reactions from racing fans, not least British ones. It has been said that this would create a new super-team with the two most recent champions, and the first consecutive British champions for forty years, racing together at McLaren.

A few watched Button through his, shall we say, less successful years from 2006-2008 with Honda, and recognised the driver as one of the most consistent in the sport. Compare this to the champion of 2008, Lewis Hamilton, who won with the best car under him, who appears to drive with much more gusto and a little less regard for the rules (though this, of course, makes for an exciting championship, and even the naysayers couldn’t help but congratulate his win after it seemed the whole of the F1 governing body had been trying to sabotage his attempts). We wonder then, after the less than civilised rivalry between Hamilton and McLaren’s apparent first-driver Fernando Alonso in Lewis’ first year with the team, and, although always portrayed with a jovial front, the underlying competitiveness between team mates of three years Button and Rubens Barrichello (having driven alongside each other with Honda), who would McLaren put most of their efforts into? Although this appears a rhetorical question now, any motorsport fan knows that, when it comes down to making to tactical decisions of who, in the rain, comes in on an equal fuel tank to change tyres first, it suddenly become a lot more obvious who, in first and second place, should be overtaking who.

In the break between Formula One seasons it is undermyhelmet’s intention to bring you news stories about the sport, in a time when, much akin to football’s summer break, fans are left with not much to whet their appetite. There couldn’t have really been a better turn up for the books then, when we heard the news that old favourites of ours, Team Lotus, are to rejoin F1 for the 2010 season.



Lotus’ history is a full and long one. Having raced for forty years up until 1994’s Australian Grand Prix and dominated the ‘60s and ‘70s with drivers such as Stirling Moss (after whom the final model of the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was named in 2008, a car with a top speed of 217 mph), Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna, the good news came as a bolt out of the blue, and we wish them luck in next year’s championship. It could pan out to be one of the most interesting championships this century if the team come into it right, and with their experience and knowledge we expect them to have a start to the season to rival that of Brawn this year. A five-way championship between Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Brawn and Lotus would be one on which I would not place any bets.

The Formula One season has come to a close, and for the first time in 40 years, when Graham Hill took the trophy in ‘68 and Jackie Stewart in’69, we have a British champion for two consecutive years. Lewis Hamilton made himself the youngest Formula One champion last year at 23 years old in dramatic fashion, taking that title off arch-rival Fernando Alonso when, on the last corner of the championship, he overtook Timo Glock to take the fifth place that he needed.




Although with the new rules and regulations having come in at the start of this season we thought that it was going to be a rather static table, with new constructors Brawn running away with the championship, it was won by Jenson Button with no less flair. Although the rankings did stay rather static, Button began to lose his grip on the title which he looked sure to take half way through, and the Red Bull team of Vettel and Webber came as close as anyone has in a long time without taking the top two spots. The fight for second place went down to the wire, and F1’s most experienced and hard-done by racer, Rubens Barichello, lost out on second place to Sebastian Vettel.

Street Riding in the Rain at Under My Helmet

Riding in the rain can be very un-nerving to say the least. There are several things you need to consider that are very different than what you're used to while riding on dry pavement. Among them are traction, visibility, and of course, cars behind you. If you MUST ride in the rain, you will need to slow down and pay extra attention to your surroundings. You will need to be more [...] Read More


Riding in groups on the street at Under My Helmet

Riding in groups, whether on the street or in the dirt/sand, requires special attention and modified behavior. You not only need to look out for others in your group, but also for other groups or individuals. While group riding on the street, motorcycles should ride in a staggered formation, with the lead motorcycle on the left side of the lane, the next on the right side, then the left and so [...] Read More


Riding With Young Kids as the Only Adult at Under My Helmet

You've heard it before: Never ride an ATV alone. Never let your kids ride ATVs alone. It's a pretty standard safety practice. You riding an ATV alone is optional and a matter of common sense. With kids, it's the law. They have to be supervised when riding an ATV. For me, that usually means I'm riding with them, or they're riding in the yard with me outside watching them. It can [...] Read More


Rain Comes and Goes at Pretty Things

This morning the rain was so loud that it started me and of course it keeps looking like the weather is trying to decide to break out into sunshine or to go back to the rain. To be on the safe side I will go out in wellies today. I have errands to run and interviews with authors today for Kitten Lounge and I don't want to get caught! My [...] Read More


Talk About Singin' in the Rain at Pretty Things

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USA to Host 2 Rounds of MotoGP in 2008? at Under My Helmet

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MotoGP Update: 2nd US Event Closer at Under My Helmet

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F1 Car vs MotoGP Bike at Under My Helmet

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HighTex and the MotoGP at The Techwear Weblog

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Moto GP: In Stores Tomorrow at XboxSpace

Starting tomorrow you can pick up Moto GP at your local video game shop. If you haven't gotten a chance to play the game, I highly recommend downloading the demo on the marketplace. I thoroughly hate racing games (save burnout) but I found Moto GP to be pretty fun. Difficult, but fun nevertheless. You should have seen some of the spills I took. It's the only 360 game coming out this week, it [...] Read More