Club Arnage

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00g82ff

Could be a load of tosh, but at 9pm (or 9.15 depending on where you look)  'The Real Italian Job: James Martin's Mille Miglia' is on BBC2 is on.

As long as he does not stop at every cafe and try to knock up a meal it may be a worth watching.

I don't think he got far enough to stop at many cafes  ;D

There's a man who learnt that you can't buy your way to wins in motorsport!

Good programme though.

The programme was interesting, but I feel it would have been a lot better hade he finished. Good insight into the rally and the cost of setting up such a trip, though the car was a little dear and I think he was lost in the euphoria of driving 'Italian' I am sure the other guys that he had a bet with were nowhere near the £850k that I think he eventually spent. Did anyone think of contacting the Maserati factory to see if they had a valve?

>Martini...

Disappointing program - I had expected better.

I won't be hurrying to go & spend money at his Deli in Winchester in order to cover his costs.

Guess this means more JM programs & appearences?

*yawns*

"Dissapointing" is to mild a word to discribe that pile of tosh that was put out as a program about the Mille Miglia. They kept going about it as a race, its not, its a three day retro run along the old race route. As for that James Martin, talk about doing it all for the wrong reasons, to make a car, that he new zilch about (and rushed the rebuild PPPPPP!!!) worth more money. Stick to your pots and pans making omlets mate. The program makers should have stuck to the guys in the Aston, Alfa and MG. They were having a great time. Tho I like the resigned look the young racer he was using as his navigator (great PR for her) gave, with just a hit of "you twat" thown in
 
Makes me what to do the Mille Miglia even more tho. The roads are stunning. I think I will have a FIAT 500 or Topolino, and take James's girlfriend as my navigator........... ;)

I may have misheard but im sure he said that the loud banging noise was the radiator! More money than sense springs to mind.

Meh - Just watched it and was somewhat disappointed for the same reasons as everyone else...

Who the hell can punt 850K on a whim?

Well put. What a load of shite that programme was. And that James bloke came across as a complete bell end. Kept on saying it was dream, blah, blah, blah, and then worries he won't be able to make any money when he sells the car. If it was his real dream he would have done it in any car that was eligible......not what his accountant says he can afford.

Really disapointing TV.

Nice car, shame about the Prat behind the wheel. the racing driver in the passenger seat should of drove.
I agree, good PR for her.

Good for the other finished, now choose the most expensive resturant in he world lads!

Just seen it and really enjoyed it. Yeh OK he's a prat but put  Italy, red cars and the Mille Miglia together and it was an ace prog.
I think I'll watch Chris Rea's La Passione yet again to round off the night !!

I'm a big fan of Chris Rea, reminds me of the holidays I had when my dad played it when I was a kid. Shame he has lost the 16CD Set I bought him for Xmas two years ago tho.

Mille Miglia was a good program but they should have used a British car or atleast followed the Yorkshire men around.

I thought the programme was a complete and utter load of tosh. What a waste of a beautiful car on an utter w**k*r who has more money that sense, "I'll have to talk to my accountant to see if I can afford it", what a fecking eejit , also what an utter waste of airime, it's a real shame that they didn't spend more time on the actual 'race', stunning cars and the beautiful scenery that the miglia covers, or even some of his mates who chose restaurants and bars to get them thought to the end, they certainly seemed more entertaining than him and his vacant 'model' girlfriend. Martin would be better off entering the Gumball along with all the secondhand car dealers, city boys and bell ends who enter that 'race', he'd fit in better.

Happy New Year everyone.

Bit of a shame the program was presented in the way that it was, but I was not expecting much to be honest

The over statement of the cars supposed value and the lie it was a race did neither Martin or the program justice.

More content on his choice of car and its history and the history of the race would have enhanced the program no end.

Quite why he chose, or had chosen for him, the co driver he did for example is a mystery to me, she may have been a very capable driver, but as she was reading the maps a navagator may have been more use?

What a load of cobblers, for the reasons that all have said - what a waste of a nice car on him...the noise sounded rather like a big or little end than a valve.  A little running in before the event would have helped, although for my money though, I really would have expected having paid that much for an engine rebuild, that having a working rev counter and oil pressure gauge would have been part of the deal, as they didn't appear to be working during the short time he was on the run.....

MG Mark
     

Bits were good, but not enough. Mostly disapointing

Could have shown more about the run. Instead of peoples ego's (can't wait to see his girl friends -book/pics  ::) )

If you look at this list of cars eligible for the run, he could have saved him a bob or two and gone in one of those.

http://www.1000miglia.eu/inglese/partecipare/informazioni/vetture_candidabili.html  (scroll down)

Love the list - eligible cars - 2CV, Rover P4 - 75, even Panard.

But if you had the money you could really go to town, but have the fun is just doing the run - who's got a MGA ?

Load of old crap on many levels.

JM on Saturday Kitchen = good

JM in a car = complete arse

That'll be me then.......

MG Mark

Ooh ooh take me with you, take me with you, I'm only small, I don't need much leg room so you could pack more stuff and I can read maps....go onnnnnnn pleeeeeease.... ;D

(actually I'm crap at map reading  :-[)

I'd love to go and watch the MM, I'd like to sit in one of those hilly sections and watch the world go by.....

Almost perfect - forgot the wine - Red or White?  ;D

It really requires a red and some pasta but I can't drink red so it'd have to be white and a nice seafood pasta made outside on the camping stove  ;D

I can cook... sounds like an adventure...

Just got up, not very well, at a party until 6.00 this morning, might have drunk toooooooo much. My wife has just told me she has made a prawn and salmon sandwich for me. better go and face it I suppose. Feel as rough as a bears ars....

Better start the year as you mean to go on I suppose.

Happy New Year to you all. Quite lucid considering....  why does excess alcohol have such a strange effect?
 
>Martini...

It sounds like fun doesn't it.....I've never been to Italy, I wonder how we'd go about putting something like that together?

Edited to add...http://www.1000miglia.eu/inglese/home.html   you've gotta love an event that starts with Mass  ;D

Love to take part in something a bit more sensible, like a 500 Abarth. ;D

But I seem to remember on the programme they said the entry fee was £8000. :o

Indeed following it is just as much fun.
I bought a book some years ago called Mille Miglia, 1000 miles for connoisseurs, which outlines the rally, the course and describes the 25 or so best hotels and restaurants to visit along the way.

When I've the budget and time that would be my ideal Italian holiday  ;)

http://www.mille-miglia.de/englisch/regionen/index.htm

(http://www.mille-miglia.de/gfx/regionen/karte.GIF)

We were thinking 2011, 2010 for the Classic and then a road trip for 2011, it looks like a fab trip  ;D

In my rattling diesel Saab  :-[

2 years to get anther silly/fun car.

What a great idea - from a small acorn   ;)

I think I might have to carry out a Full service of the 'Sixfire' and have a 'practice' sesion before I even think of it. But a 2ltr straight with straight thru's going through tunnels sounds like a MUST.

Nothing beats the sound of a 6.6 litre V8 in the Rouen tunnel  ;D

The repeat is on now... and I agree with all the other comments. Waste of a programme that could have been so good.... He's a twat! ???

Ok, so I'm going to disagree......Caught the repeat, thought the programme was ok.
It depends what you wanted out of it, but I enjoyed seeing his perspective on things.

The sense of achievement in getting a car to the finish of a rally is cracking, especially when you dont think the car should/would/could make it.....I did a banger rally in 2007 (bear with me here) and let me tell you it is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
And like the Brits on the MM, it's all about next pub/cafe/restaurant.
We did it with a load of £100 cars and £100 people (IYKWIM).......it'll be (nearly) the same for the £4m cars and upper class twits......you really DO want to finish, and you talk and bully and cajole your car to get there and pray every 10 minutes that it wont be your last.
Take the grille off going up Stelvio just to let that 'little bit extra cooling in'....
..... if you've never done a rally....prepared the car, broken down, been drunk, exceeded all expectations, had friends break down 40 mile out of Calais and hire a car to the finish in Prague, get lost, be late....and sound your airhorns in EVERY tunnel you go through.....have the German rozzers pull you for undertaking on the hard shoulder then take a picture of your car on their camera for the 'top trumps' back at the station later (and he did...one guy on the bike, pulled three of us check documents and then took photos!!) ...then I think you miss the point of it all.

I found the MM money spent obscene, but then I don't have any so  I would, but I shared his passion even if he was about £849,500 adrift of reality......but he can do it, and did, and it meant so much to him it hurt....and I saw the same thing on the banger rally...it's about getting to the end...no matter what you drive or how you do it. You want to do it....to the end.

I sympathise with some of the sentiments on here, but for the sheer enjoyment, to see a fellow petrolhead do what he wanted, what he dreamed of.......Hats Off!   

I see there is talk of doing the same route/ following the rally/race.......how many would follow it in a Ferrari if funds permitted?...........a £4m Ferrari if a lottery win permitted?......take part?

Come on, is there NO jealousy in these responses?

If I won the lottery I wouldn't do the race, but that's a personal choice...I don't think the night-times would be my sort of nights.....but I'd do the route in a classic of 'my' choice......maybe one that didn't qualify for the race.....but I have the passion to do it.
And James Martin, love him/loathe him, is no different to a lot of us on here.....just as much passion, love for motorsport/cars...but with a few more quid. 

Maybe I'll take the Capri (280) and do it!.......   


(Rant mode off)

Couldn't agree more with Dangermouse.

I thought that, as has been said, there were massive missed opportunities in following the event as it progressed without the chef, but then the blurb accompanying the program did say it was about James Martin's adventure - not specifically the race/rally - so we can't argue that it was 'mis-sold'
As for a waste of airtime - there are plenty of other channels available to you if that particular program isn't your cup of tea - do you feel compelled to write about all the drivel that is on the majority of those channels?

He had a desire to take part in a motorsport event, and followed that desire to the start of the rally. He also took us with him via the TV cameras - and I thank him for that - I had very little knowledge of the event before the program - and will now do research, beyond sitting in front of the goggle box hoping it will show me the complete Encyclopedia M/M in a mainstream program, to find out more. 

You could see the excitment in the eyes of the lad as he thought about buying his car, and subsequently whenever the event and driving was mentioned.
So he has/had the ability to spend well beyond my means, but I have felt the same excitment when I have been in the presence of great vehicles, let alone thinking about purchasing and racing one. 

I make, and plan to continue taking, the journey down to Le Mans every year (so far for the relatively short period of 4 years when compared to some on here) for the very same reasons that he took part and spent his  money.  I love motorsport, love the sounds, sights and smells of motorsports and for one I was pleased that at least and at last there was SOME coverage of such a truly amazing race/rally for us to watch. 

I hope that the fella makes the cash 'working his a*** off' to fix the car, and makes the journey and the finish line in the future- as it appeared he wished to complete the rally for personal and very emotional reasons, rather than the financial gains that some commentator/narrator mentioned he was making the journey for.

(again - Rant off)

No jealousy on my part......the reason I thought he was a c0ck was the way his character and attitude towards others came across in the programme. Now that might be down to the producers and editing, but at the end of the day he put his name to it.

At times he was demeaning to his co-driver, regardless if she was the right choice or not, he could have learnt a lot from her, especially with regard to vehicle / event preparation.

The engine failed with something like 200 miles since the rebuild......he only completed 120 stage miles.......so 80 miles run-in on an un-known engine. If the event was such a dream and passion of his, he would have known the amount of preparation that his peers and great drivers / teams have committed to in the past.

The comments about loosing money on the whole event, because he wanted to sell the car on at the end and make a profit. Again, if it was such a dream for him he could have done the event in a 'lesser' vehicle and not had the additional worry of money issues.

Yes, fair play he had the enthusiasm to spend his own money chasing his dream......but the way he came across on screen and his apparent tactic that spending money will see him through made him look a prat.

(my rant over  ;D)

I agree with AndyR here, as I have competed in UK championships. But I can also agree to a certain extent with Christopher as well.

The record of one mans journey to a dream was made. I wish they would make more of them. Anything is better than the consistant crap that is televised these days - BB, Get me out of here etc, etc. Utter crap.

Trouble is, there is limited 'viewer' recommendations to promote this type of genre.

Then next will undoubtably be the race to the South Pole with Ben Fogel. Haven't seen much of the Vandee Globe except on the 'net'. Also not much televised of the Paris-Dakar.

It's the Dakar (Argentina / Chile) this year.

I suggest you take a look at Eurosport.  It's on daily at 18:00, 22:00 and 0:15 for about 2 hours a day.

I've been following it avidly (as I have for the past 10 years) since start day on 3rd Jan.

Jerry of course theres not much coverage of the Paris-Dakar as it's not running >:D It's the "Dakar Rally" and it's Started in Argentina and running through the south of the country, heading over the Andes into Chile via the Atacarma dessert in the North before heading back over the Andes again and running back into Buenos Aires for the finish.

Plenty of coverage on Eurosport and also on Via the Dakar web site http://www.dakar.com/2009/DAK/LIVE/us/500/index.html  ;)