By Phil Giles
February 5 2006

Well, we've just got back from a long day at Silverstone, attending the launch of Midlands first F1 challenger, the M16. A completely new car designed and built in house (and finished off in the garage) at Midlands base on Dadford Road just outside the Northamptonshire Circuit. I received my confirmation e-mail from the team yesterday giving instructions on how to get to the circuit (not that either Huw or I are any strangers to the place!) and where we needed to head when we got there. Registration for the event started at 8.30am with the launch scheduled to start an hour later at 9.30. We arrrived just before 9am and wandered across a busy paddock parking lot to the Brooklands Suite where the media and sponsors were gathering. As we ambled over to the suite, I couldn't help admitting to Huw that my stomach was turning with the nerves!

We climbed the stairs up to the first floor and through the doors into the suite, normally reserved for top flight sponsors deserving the best views of the final complex of bends before the start finish straight. The first person to pass me... Sporting Director Johnny Herbert.

Signing in, I seemed to become incredibly star struck. There's little (sort of) old me in a room with a number of personalities and race drivers, people I've worshiped every other Sunday for years. Tony Jardine compaired the day and interviewed the team members. They introduced us to Colin Kolles, James Key, Taigo, Christijan and then to the four test drivers who'll be running on the Friday test days at various Grand Prix.

The presentation moved outside where a M16 lay shrouded in a black cloth, next to a newly liveried Midland Transporter. Tiago and Christijan unveiled the car to rapturous applause from the gathered press and sponsors. Most if not all of the major players then spent the next hour talking to the various media outlets and TV crews. No mean feat considering it was really trying to snow. We recorded a temperature of minus 1 degree whilst sitting in the car and I'm sure my shutter finger was turning blue!

Back into the Brooklands suite for a warm up, a bit of grub and a can of new sponsors Rhino. (Rhino is a Midland version of the old EJ10 Energy drink). They must sell a lot of it cos there are logo's all over the car and the drivers race suits.

By about 1pm, most of the media had drifted away but rumours abounded that the car would be running a few laps of Silverstone's National Circuit which cuts directly in front of the Brooklands Suite. With one car and low temperatures, there were never gong to be any speed records set but watching the first lap, you would have believed that it was never going to set any records.

By the end of the afternoon however, Christijan was able to run a few multiple laps, the car looking stronger and stronger each time it flew past. It strange to hear a V8 engine after years of V10's wailing down the track. The first lap it almost took me by surprise when it came out of the pit lane to take to the circuit.

Christijan was clearly taking it easy on the first lap out. Makes sense. You don't want to thrash the car and have it break down on it's debut but there was definate improvement by the end of the day.

Frozen stiff by 4pm and it was time to leave the circuit. Loaded down with camera gear and press packs, we said our goodbye's to the circuit and headed home. A perfect day. All I need now is for Wales to beat England in the Rugby tomorrow and it will have been a perfect weekend!

I owe major thanks to all the staff at Midland who were so generous and helpful right through the day. And as Arnold Schwarzenegger said in True Lies, "How come Billionaires are always short?"