Motorsport News: Between the Lines

Life holds many mysteries for me. Does water really twirl down the plughole in the other direction in New Zealand? Who invented chips? What was Damon Hill thinking when he tried to go down the inside of Michael Schumacher at Adelaide in 1994? Is that relief in my girlfriend's eyes when she says goodbye as I head out of the front door?

But, right here and now, I'm trying to work out how I became a rally champion last season. Yes, you read that right, I, Jim Holder, am the Formula 1000 Novice driving champion of 2005. Behind those spectacles and that scruffy hair is a title winner. Next month I'll be getting the silverware with which to bore everyone for ever more.

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea I was even in the title fight. I only did three events in the ten-round series and I ended one of them halfway around the first stage with my co-driver hanging above me from his seatbelts. He wasn't very happy because his foot hurt. I wasn't very happy because I'd trashed my second Micra in less than 12 months. My co-driver's foot recovered, my car didn't.

This wasn't the driving of a champion. But as things turned out, it seems very few people decided to enter my class in the championship, and those that did were almost as accident prone as me.

Between you and me, and strictly not for the eyes of any world championship team managers who happen to be reading, I think I might be the least deserving champion of last season.

Here at Motorsport News, we like a good story, and having no obvious talent beyond knowing that you are enjoying yourself while you are taking part in motorsport is all you need to feature in this paper.

That's right, you don't have to be telling the world that this year is your year to be Formula One champion, that you are confident of winning at the weekend or even get slagged off by Eddie Irvine to feature (although if 'Irv' wants to slag me off, I'd be quite honoured). You just have to be interesting.

I always reckon that the person with the second-best story to tell from almost every event is the person who finished last. It might not be the same tale of joy that the winner can regale you with, but it's a fair bet that whoever trundles in at the back of the field had some sort of mechanical malady, coming together or nightmare from hell that people will want to hear about. Bad news can be good news, you see?

You might have bought your car from a mate down the pub for £25 (I wish) or off Malcolm Wilson for the best part of £300,000 (yes, I'm jealous Mr Perez); a teenager or septuagenarian; be spending all night, every night preparing and re-preparing a car that breaks down every weekend, or you might be about to embark on your first or last event - if it's new, then it's news, and we want to hear about it.

It's a pretty simple formula for getting in touch. The phone number is printed in the box at the bottom left of the of the opposite page, or if you're shy then you can email in.

But don't dilly-dally: put me out of my misery and steal my 'least deserving champion' tag, or let us know what makes your 2006 that bit special.

It's got to be better than reading about my haphazard antics at the wheel of a one-litre Micra.

Click here to email Jim Holder