The Philips/Williams F1 Driving Academy winner’s day in photos
By Andy Darley
Monday, November 9th, 2009
After months of preparation and anticipation, it came down to this: one powerful car, one iconic race track and one amateur driver about to go where millions of fans would give their eye teeth to follow.
Except, as this photo gallery shows, there was far more to it than just one man and one machine.
An online game of speed and reflexes, a track assessment day and a series of simulator tests had whittled down the thousands of entrants to one winner and, far from standing alone, he was backed up by a full team from driver coaches to PR handlers.
When Rob Tarlton hit the track in his Williams FW29, he had built up to that moment in a Silverstone Lotus Exige and in a Raikkonen Robertson Racing F3 car.
He’d taken advice from F1 driver Kazuki Nakajima and Superleague pilot Jonathan Kennard.
And, for that morning, he’d been equipped, promoted, managed, interviewed, advised, briefed, debriefed, led around and followed about exactly as if he was the real deal and not a one-shot guest.
Here’s how it looked from the pitlane:
- Stuck behind a one-stopping Force India
- Raikkonen Robertson Racing provided the F3 car
- Just back from Abu Dhabi and no rest
- Kazuki Nakajima set a statistical benchmark
- Jonathan Kennard was the F3 driver coach
- The FW29 was the last traction control Williams
- Nakajima never raced in F1 with traction control
- One of Nakajima's last appearances for Williams
- F1 cars spend most of their downtime in bits
- Five laps await, after practice in the F3 car
- The RRR F3 car sits ready and waiting
- Winner Rob Tarlton takes his seat
- Preparing car and driver for action
- Pushing Tarlton out for his installation lap
- Sponsor Philips made the day happen
- Lap done, Tarlton returns to the garage
- 15 laps of the national circuit made a warm-up
- Manhandling the car back into its bay
- Hints and tips from Kennard
- The nine unsuccessful finalists watch the winner
- Off for another burst of laps in the F3 car
- Stars and Stripes on an F1 car
- Tarlton on the Silverstone pit straight
- A pause before going out for more
- Three laps disappears very fast indeed
- View from the bridge gantry
- Rob Tarlton meets the press
- The top three all lapped with Nakajima in this Lotus
- Rob's twin Tom was one of the 12 finallists
- So near but so far for runner-up Tom
- As ever with Williams, the Senna S comes first
- Putting the wheels on in readiness
- Kazuki Nakajima - a genuinely likeable guy
- Giorgio woz ere... but not in Formula One
- The Silverstone Lotus Exige
- How many champions have crossed this line..?
- Rob Tarlton: Formula One driver
- Seconds away from the moment of truth
- Will we see this helmet in F1 next year?
- Nothing to do now but wait
- Runner up watches as winner sets off
- Nakajima assesses Tarlton's progress
- Blitzing it down the Silverstone straight
- Keeping a consistent line past the pits
- And in a blink it was over...
- Debriefing and congratulations begin
- The prizewinner and the professional
- A congratulatory handshake
- The three winners, Nakajima and team
Related posts:
- The fan, the F1 car – and the experience of a lifetime
- Rob Tarlton’s F1 drive: what the experts thought
- Win a chance to drive a Williams F1 car – for real
- Q&A with Rob Tarlton
You are reading " Philips Driving Academy ." Read more from this series of articles:
- The fan, the F1 car - and the experience of a lifetime
- The Philips/Williams F1 Driving Academy winner's day in photos
- Rob Tarlton's F1 drive: what the experts thought
- Q&A with Rob Tarlton
Read more about Competitions, Jonathan Kennard, Kazuki Nakajima, Raikkonen Robertson, Rob Tarlton, Silverstone, Williams F1.
This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 11:30 pm and is filed under Competitions, F1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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Author: Andy Darley. Ex-journalist, fan of David Coulthard and anyone who ever drove or tested for Minardi and didn't say rude things about the team afterwards. Owns a Triumph Spitfire and hopes that, one day, it'll be on the road again. Andy has written 591 articles for us.
Nobody 
Fra 
Hi!
Where can I see the top ten qualifying times?
Would like to see, where I have been.
Thanks!