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Buoyant Hamilton surprised to win

July 26th, 2009 | No Comments

Lewis Hamilton insisted that he and McLaren were surprised at being able to record their first win of a challenging season at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Leading 2009 teams Brawn GP and Red Bull had left the world champion and his British team struggling to compete but recent upgrades are now paying off.

"We didn’t expect to win this weekend," Hamilton, 24, told BBC Sport.

"We have caught up quite a bit but we didn’t think we had the pace to win. It’s incredibly special."

McLaren – second in the 2008 constructors’ championship – started the season with a car that often left Hamilton bemoaning its lack of downforce as he struggled to finish in the points in most races.

But a new front wing, diffuser and engine cover, introduced at the last race in Germany, have improved the car’s pace by about 0.8 seconds a lap.

ANDREW BENSON BLOG

"Hamilton’s victory was the 10th in his Formula 1 career, but it has to be right up there as one of the sweetest"

Hamilton, who qualified in fourth, maximised that improved performance with a smooth drive to clinch the 10th grand prix win of his career – and his first podium finish of this season – ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Mark Webber at the Hungaroring.

"It’s a huge turnaround," he admitted. "But we said at the beginning of the season that if anyone can do this, it’s us.

"If we had this car at the beginning of season we would be winning. We always said we were six months behind the top guys.

"I hope the guys back at the factory get a good break these next few weeks. It was only a race ago, when we were in Germany, that I first had a little bit of excitement about the car."

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the English driver, who used his Kers energy storage and power-boost system to challenge Renault’s pole-sitter Fernando Alonso and the Red Bull cars from the start, refused to get carried away.

"We need to take as much as we can from this weekend and continue pushing," he stated.

"We have some work to do to be able to beat these guys on a regular basis but it is one huge leap for us.

"Clearly, we’ve got a good car and we’ve made some serious improvements but even though we had a fantastic car today it could have gone either way.

"Everything fell into place today. We hope we can compete for more podiums but we still have work to do."

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said the team would have a further upgrade package ready for the next race – the European Grand Prix in Valencia on 23 August – and that they expected to be able to compete at the front again.

"I think we’re going to be strong there," he added. "But we have to improve our high-speed performance to be strong in Spa. So we have to keep pushing.

"But, for the team, it is a great reward for a lot of hard work.

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"Lewis had the fastest car today, and without challenge cruised to the win with minimum fuss – a mature drive indeed…"

EL NANDO

"It has been a very difficult year. We don’t like not winning and we want to win some more.

"We have been out of the championship hunt. But we can have a big impact on the championship now because we can take points from anyone and we want to go out and win some races.

"Today we were clearly dominant. From lap 20 Lewis was saying, ‘shout me the lap time you want me to do and I’ll do it, this is easy’. He was in great form – and that happens when you’re in the groove."</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Hamilton returns to winning ways

July 26th, 2009 | No Comments

• Hamilton scores first victory since October
• Raikkonen faces steward inquiry over crash

Lewis Hamilton produced a faultless display in Hungary to claim his and McLaren’s first grand prix victory of the season, ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Mark Webber.

The reigning formula one world champion began the race in fourth place on the grid, but made a superb passing move on Webber to take second place after five laps, before the leader Fernando Alonso went into the pits after claiming pole position with a light fuel load.

Alonso was forced out of the race shortly after his pit stop, when a problem with his right front tyre saw it fly off the Renault and bounce down the track. It was a worrying moment in the race, thoughts of Henry Surtees’ tragic death and Felipe Massa’s accident on Saturday inevitably coming to mind.

But Hamilton, who assumed the race lead when Alonso pitted, maintained his composure to produce the kind of race that have made him one of the most respected drivers on the grid.

There were few threats from other competitors, and he crossed the finish line 70 laps later with Raikkonen and Webber taking second and third positions.

A naturally delighted Hamilton said: “It’s an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels such a long time away and given the struggles for my team. But I’m so proud of them. They’ve never given up, which is so rare to see in a large group of people.

“We didn’t expect to win this weekend. Naturally we’ve caught up, but we didn’t think we had the pace, so it’s very special to win this one.”

Raikkonen could yet be stripped of second following a first-corner collision with Sebastian Vettel that is to be investigated by the stewards.

Webber closed the gap to Jenson Button at the top of the driver’s standings to 18.5 points. The world championship leader had his worst result of the season in the Brawn GP car, finishing in seventh place.

Result

1 Lewis Hamilton

2 Kimi Räikkönen +11.5 secs

3 Mark Webber +16.8 secs

4 Nico Rosberg +26.9 secs

5 Heikki Kovalainen +34.3 secs

6 Timo Glock +35.2 secs

7 Jenson Button +55.0 secs

8 Jarno Trulli +68.1 secs

9 Kazuki Nakajima +68.7 secs

10 Rubens Barrichello +69.2 secs

Overall standings

1) Jenson Button 70

2) Mark Webber 51.5

3) Sebastian Vettel 47

4) Rubens Barrichello 44

5) Nico Rosberg 25.5

6) Jarno Trulli 22.5

7) Felipe Massa 22

8) Lewis Hamilton 19

9) Kimi Räikkönen 18

10) Timo Glock 16

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Hamilton grabs first win of 2009

July 26th, 2009 | No Comments

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton during the Hungarian Grand Prix

By Andrew Benson
BBC Sport at the Hungaroring

Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix to take his first victory since October last year and complete a remarkable turnaround for McLaren.

The Englishman took the lead after pole-sitter Fernando Alonso’s Renault made an early pit stop and dominated ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber was third with Jenson Button down in seventh.

The Australian replaces team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who retired, in second place in the world championship, cutting Button’s lead to 18.5 points.

Vettel, who suffered a front suspension failure while running eighth on lap 27 of 70, slips to 23 points behind the Englishman with seven races remaining and a maximum of 70 points available.

Nico Rosberg was fourth for Williams ahead of Hamilton’s team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, Toyota’s Timo Glock, Button and the second Toyota of Jarno Trulli.

Red Bull, who dominated the last two races in Britain and Germany, put in a surprisingly uncompetitive performance but they were in much better shape than Button.

The Englishman qualified eighth, but was starting on a heavy fuel load and was optimistic he would have a strong race. Instead, he was unable to make any impression on the cars at the front.

For the first time this season, that meant McLaren, whose form here confirmed that the revised aerodynamics they introduced in Germany two weeks ago have transformed the car.

McLaren started the season with an uncompetitive car, struggling in most races to even get into the points. Hamilton, the reigning world champion, had not even managed to finish on the podium until winning this race.

But a new front wing, diffuser and engine cover introduced at the last race have improved the car’s pace by about 0.8 seconds a lap

Hamilton qualified fourth, but used his Kers energy storage and power-boost system to challenge the leaders at the start.

Alonso got a good start from pole position and retained first place but Hamilton briefly got up into second place at the first corner before being repassed by Webber.

The Red Bull was expected to be the strongest car in the race but, while Alonso initially built a small gap, Webber found himself under pressure from Hamilton, who passed him on lap five and proceeded to pull away and close on the Renault.

Alonso, who had planned to do a three-stop strategy in contrast to the two stops of most of the rest of the field, pulled in for his pit stop on lap 11.

He was released a fraction too early before the right front wheel was fully attached and it parted company with the car part way around the lap and was forced to retire with the consequent damage and a fuel pump problem.

By the time all the front-runners had done their stops, Hamilton had a six-second lead over Raikkonen and he was able to control the race from the front.

Webber slipped behind Raikkonen after a problem with a front wheel at his pit stop and he was also passed by Toyota’s Timo Glock as he rejoined.

Red Bull chose the opposite tyre strategy from the other front-running teams, running the harder of the two tyre options for the first two stints of the race before switching to the softer for the final stint.

Whatever the reason, the Red Bulls lacked their recent pace but Webber drove consistently well to the final podium position and make it a good race for him from a championship point of view.

By contrast, his team-mate Vettel had a disastrous weekend, making a poor start from second on the grid and running eighth in the early laps.

He was running behind Rosberg when he suffered a front suspension failure on lap 27 and was forced to retire.

Toyota, both of whose drivers qualified outside the top 10, used a long first stint to put themselves in contention for the minor points places.

Button finally showed some pace in the closing laps once the track was coated in rubber and he was back on the softer tyres after using the harder ones in the middle stint.

That lifted him to seventh from eighth, but he will still be concerned at a third consecutive uncompetitive race.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Massa suffers skull fracture in crash

July 26th, 2009 | No Comments

• Massa flown to hospital for immediate surgery above left eye
• Fernando Alonso on pole following timing system failure

Felipe Massa was airlifted to a Budapest hospital with a skull fracture as the result of an injury received during qualifying for today’s Hungarian grand prix. The Brazilian was knocked unconscious when a spring, which had become detached from the rear suspension of Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn, struck Massa on the head as he reached 175mph on one of the fastest sections of the Hungaroring.

The Ferrari cut the inside of the left-hand bend that followed soon after, ran straight across a run-off area and embedded itself in a quadruple-layer tyre barrier. The qualifying session was stopped as Massa was removed to the track’s medical centre and stabilised before being flown to hospital, where he successfully underwent emergency surgery. The hospital released a statement last night saying Massa’s condition is serious but stable, adding that surgeons expect him to be awoken this morning after being kept sedated on a respirator overnight.

The spring, weighing around 700 grammes, had somehow penetrated the top of his visor and injured Massa above the left eye, perilously close to the cornea. The accident came six days after 18-year-old Henry Surtees died of injuries received when he was struck on the head by an errant wheel in another freak accident during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch.

The Brawn team is trying to understand why a standard suspension part, which had previously given no trouble, should suddenly come adrift. The Brawn of Barrichello’s team-mate, Jenson Button, received a thorough check, the delay preventing the leader of the championship from completing as many laps as he would have liked when the final part of qualifying, Q3, resumed. As this crucial phase of the weekend neared its conclusion, qualifying descended to farce when the electronic timing systems failed.

The nine remaining drivers in Q3 climbed from their cars without knowing who had won pole. Each driver had his individual lap time showing on the cockpit display and it was only by comparing times that Fernando Alonso began to realise he had qualified on pole position for the first time in almost two years. “This was a really stressful qualifying,” said the Renault driver. “There was a yellow flag towards the end of Q1 and, at that stage, I was 15th fastest and in danger of not making it [among the fastest 15] to Q2.

“When the track was clear, I had just one lap to do a time without making mistakes and I managed it. Then, at the end, the timing was not working. I asked other drivers what time they had done in order to get a reference and when everyone was saying times which were slower than mine, I started to get excited.”

Mark Webber did not think he had done enough. The winner of the previous grand prix in Germany was heading for a shower when told he would be joining his Red Bull team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, in the press conference for the fastest three qualifiers. “I made a mistake at Turn 2, so I knew Sebastian was faster,” said Webber. “But I thought I hadn’t been quick enough. I had no idea who was on pole. So congratulations to Fernando; that makes it three Renault-engined cars at the front. And Seb and I are in a position to capitalise on the Brawns not doing so well.”

The problem with Barrichello’s car consigned the Brazilian to the 13th fastest time, five places behind Button. It was not the performance Brawn had hoped for after introducing development parts that should have combined with the tight, twisting circuit to return the championship leaders to the front after disappointing races at the Nürburgring and Silverstone.

“I missed most of Q3,” said Button. “We had a failure at the back of Rubens’s car, so we changed my car and put a new part on. That took time and meant I missed my first run. I therefore had more fuel on board than I should have done when doing my time at the end of the session. Eighth is not great and I’m starting on the dirty side of the track.”

Button is hoping that Lewis Hamilton, fourth fastest, will use the Kers performance boost on the McLaren to overtake the Red Bulls on the downhill run to the first corner. There could also be unintentional assistance from Alonso, who is not expecting to win after qualifying with a very light load of fuel.

“It’s always nice to start from pole, especially here because overtaking is difficult,” said Alonso. “Also, this circuit is special for me because I won my first grand prix here in 2003. But, to be honest, our aim is to get on to the podium for the first time this season.” Rather than thinking about Alonso, Vettel is more concerned about the immediate challenge from behind, not only from Hamilton and the fifth-place Williams of Nico Rosberg, but Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren and the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, both of which have the Kers energy retention system.

“It’s been a bit of a struggle, so it’s a bit of a surprise to be on the front row,” said Vettel. “The main thing is that we are ahead of the Brawns. The biggest threat is right behind us and it’s a question of whether they will pass us on the right or the left on the run to the first corner.”

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My space

July 25th, 2009 | No Comments

The millionaire businessman shows us the home office where he turns into Goldfinger

When I’m in my chair I feel like Goldfinger or one of the other Bond villains. Under my desk there’s a secret switch on the right which can raise my monitor out of the top. I also have cats like Mini-Me in Austin Powers, but mine are two Persians called Coco and Bella (short for Tinkerbell); Coco was here first and gets very territorial of this area. She’s a very snooty cat.

My wife is an artist, and we’ve got quite a nice set-up. She paints in her studio to the left of this space. When I’m buying art with her, I tend not to negotiate. She’s very passionate about her field and says: “For God’s sake darling, artists need a living, too.”

When we first bought the house this room was my gym. I bought a treadmill and after three years I still hadn’t removed the Harrods price tag. I used to hang my jacket on the arms instead and I don’t think we ever actually turned it on.

We’ve lived here in St John’s Wood for 15 years now. We moved from Winchmore Hill, where we had a slightly larger house, because we needed to move closer to town so that my daughters, Hannah and Gemma, could go to City of London School for Girls. They are both now in their final years at university (they are only 11 months apart).

Hannah is quite interested in private equity, because she’s very financially astute. Gemma is more artistic. What tends to happen at the weekend is if I have bits and pieces to do, they will be in here on the sofas opposite my desk, doing their homework on their laptops.

My executive assistant shares my office at Hamilton Bradshaw in Mayfair, but I can normally do two or three meetings from here before I leave. I’m very protective of the rest of the house though. That’s strictly for family business only.

• The Real Deal: My Story, from Brick Lane to Dragons’ Den, by James Caan, is published by Virgin books at £18.99. Dragons’ Den is on Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC2.

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Massa crashes in qualifying race

July 25th, 2009 | No Comments

• Alonso takes pole with Red Bull duo second and third
• Button qualifies in eighth with Hamilton fourth

Felipe Massa is to undergo surgery following his accident in today’s Hungarian grand prix qualifying.

Although word emerged after a chaotic session that Massa was “okay” after being airlifted to a nearby Budapest hospital, Ferrari later confirmed the Brazilian would need an operation.

A statement read: “After the accident during the qualifying session, Felipe was airlifted to the AEK hospital in Budapest. Felipe was conscious at the arrival of the hospital, and his general conditions remain stable.

“Following a complete medical examination, it emerged he had suffered a cut on his forehead, bone damage to his skull and a brain concussion. These conditions need to be operated on after which he will remain under observation in intensive care.”

A Ferrari official confirmed the Brazilian “was hit by something on the helmet, losing control of the car” in the closing stages of the middle 15-minute session. Both team principal Stefano Domenicali and team spokesperson Luca Colajanni later confirmed Massa was out of the event.

The 28-year-old was struck by a piece of debris deposited by Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP.

Replays showed a part of the car coming off the Brawn and bouncing along the same area of the Hungaroring track where the drama began for Massa. Massa later caught the debris, on one of his hot laps, which then bounced up, striking his helmet and knocking him unconscious. Massa’s feet must have relaxed at that point, one on the throttle as on-screen graphics showed it remained open, the other on the brake as there were skid marks across the considerable run-off area before he ploughed nose first into a tyre barrier. The fact Massa made no attempt to turn out of the impact appeared to underline the fact he was not conscious as he hurtled into the tyres.

With Massa stricken in the car, photographs later emerged showing a fist-sized dent in his helmet, and with his visor up, there was a large cut over a blackened left eye. Massa was soon attended to by trackside medics before being taken to the circuit’s medical centre, then to hospital for further examination 22 minutes after his crash.

To add to the drama, the timing screens went black towards the end of the top-10 shootout, throwing everybody into confusion as not even the drivers had a clue as to who had taken pole. After several minutes, it finally came through that Fernando Alonso for Renault had taken pole, followed by the Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, with Lewis Hamilton fourth for McLaren.

It was the double world champion’s first pole since the Italian Grand Prix in 2007, and the 18th of his career. Explaining the chaos at the end, Alonso said: “We were chatting amongst ourselves in parc ferme trying to find out what happened. It was a fantastic effort from the team. We put in some new parts at the Nurburging [German Grand Prix], and we’ve showed we have made a step forward.”

Behind world champion Hamilton will be Williams’ Nico Rosberg, the second McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, with championship leader Jenson Button down in eighth. The heat of Budapest was meant to aid Button’s cause after the cool of Britain and Germany had led to Red Bull one-twos in the last two races. But not even the sunshine could come to Button’s aid, and his 21-point lead in the title race threatens to be eroded further at the Hungaroring.

Behind Button are Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima, with Massa 10th as he naturally took no part in the closing 10 minutes, however, he will be in a position to race tomorrow.

In the 15-minute Q2, the biggest loser was Rubens Barrichello, with the Brazilian failing to make it into the top 10 for the first time this season due to the part that broke off his car.

The 37-year-old will start a miserable 13th, with that failure potentially wrecking his championship chances, which could now prompt Brawn into putting all their eggs into Button’s basket.

Although rookie Jaime Alguersuari became the youngest to take part in a Formula One qualifying session, there was no fairytale for the 19-year-old. Alguersuari had run faultlessly through three practice sessions, at least proving he was anything but “a danger” as suggested by triple world champion Niki Lauda.

In qualifying, however, Alguersuari was undermined by an electrical fault that forced him to pull his Toro Rosso off track in the final sector. Come the conclusion of the 20-minute period, Alguersuari sat at the bottom of the timesheets, in many respects where he was expected to finish even if his car had not let him down.

Grid positions after qualifying

1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1min 21.569secs, 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:21.607, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:21.741, 4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:21.839, 5 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:21.890, 6 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:22.095, 7 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:22.468, 8 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:22.511, 9 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:22.835, 10 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:21.002, 11 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:21.082, 12 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:21.222, 13 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:21.242, 14 Nelson Piquet Jr. (Bra) Renault 1:21.389, 15 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:21.738, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:21.807, 17 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:21.868, 18 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:21.901, 19 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:22.359. Not racing: 10 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari No time

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Alonso grabs shock Hungary pole

July 25th, 2009 | No Comments

HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
Venue: Hungaroring Dates: 24-26 July 2009 Coverage: Live coverage of Friday’s practice sessions, Saturday qualifying and Sunday’s race – which starts at 1300 BST – across BBC TV, radio and online platforms.Find full listings here

Lewis Hamilton leads the way in Saturday's final practice session for the Hungary Grand Prix

By Sean Chaney

Lewis Hamilton put in some scorching laps late on in Saturday’s final session to continue McLaren’s dominance in Hungarian Grand Prix practice.

Hamilton’s fastest lap of of one minute 21.009 was 0.399 seconds quicker than BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld in second.

Williams’ Nico Rosberg set the third fastest time ahead of Hamilton’s McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.

Brawn’s Jenson Button was 17th as his Red Bull title rivals Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were ninth and 10th.

More to follow</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Gods, monkeys and beguiling Bali

July 25th, 2009 | No Comments

Visitors to Bali cannot fail to be delighted by its warm, clear sea and white beaches, writes Hamilton Wende – but the island’s special charms also include its cheeky wildlife.

Monkeys at a temple

It was in Bali that I punched my first monkey. A cute, furry beast it was, grey and white with a long tail and an old man’s face hidden in a fluffy mane.

It leapt out of a tree on to my wife’s shoulder and grabbed at her shiny earring.

She screamed. I was a few steps behind, so I rushed forward and punched ineffectually at the hairy pest.

I am only 5ft 7in (1.70m) tall but the monkey was only about a foot high.

The size differential counted in my favour and the monkey tumbled over a nearby temple wall overlooking a steep slope leading down to the sea.

The monkey’s fate remains unknown, but I would put money on his survival and recidivist criminal tendencies.

Unforgettable

The monkeys in the temple gardens of Pura Luhur Uluwatu are famous for their annoying and often aggressive behaviour towards the tourists who flock there.

But they are an integral part of the island’s Hindu and Buddhist beliefs and are, ultimately, part of the temple’s charm.

The temple itself is famously one of Bali’s holiest sites. It is a beautiful place, standing on a series of rocky cliffs nearly 328ft (100m) above the white surf of the Indian Ocean.

A kecak dance

Uluwatu is a guardian temple, dedicated to the spirits of the sea and keeping the island safe from any demons that might inhabit the south-west.

Going to Uluwatu in the late afternoon is an unforgettable experience. The sunset is exquisite and as dusk gathers you can watch a Kecak dance.

The men sit cross-legged in concentric circles, naked from the waist up around an ornate oil lamp carved with dragons.

They begin a rhythmic chant of "Chak, chak, chak," which induces a trance-like state, while their arms move in unison like flames, or the wind blowing.

Two young women wearing dresses of silk and gold weave their way through the chanting men as they perform a complex dance telling the story of Prince Rama and Princess Sita.

Exquisite food

Princess Sita is kidnapped by an evil king and Rama engages Hanoman, the magic white monkey god, to rescue her.

The final scene, well after the sun has finally set, where Hanoman breaks out of a ring of fire and destroys the evildoers is pure dance magic.

Gods and monkeys aside, there is plenty to beguile and fascinate any visitor to Bali.

The seas are warm, the beaches white, or charcoal black. The gardens and fields are a riot of emerald and scarlet and bright yellow.

One of the most beautiful sights in Asia, I think, are the green and silver contours of the Jati Luwih rice terraces. Rice, the Balinese people believe, is a gift of the gods.

The Jati Luwih rice terraces

In keeping with this, their food is exquisite.

Whether it is the simple delights like nasi goreng – fried rice done with many seasonings – grilled satay or a variety of noodle dishes served by street vendors, coconut, garlic, ginger, pepper, coriander, tamarind, lemon grass are just some of the spices used, and the results are spectacular.

More exotic dishes such as bebek betutu, duck steamed and roasted in banana leaf, or guling celeng, roast suckling pig, are like nothing you have ever tasted before.

The seafood grills at Jimbaran Bay are prepared on open charcoal fires and you sit at a table on the beach with the surf gleaming in the darkness just behind you while the lights of planes taking off and landing at Denpasar Airport float through the distant night sky.

Meeting place

Food is a blessing never taken for granted by the Balinese. All over the island one sees little woven baskets called banten jotan containing tiny colourful offerings of rice, fruit and flowers to the gods.

A taxi driver even had one on his dashboard.

"Every six months we have a ceremony," he said.

"For a car, for a knife, for anything metal. Also for a building, a house, animals.

"Everything has a ceremony. That is our tradition."

Perhaps the most peaceful place on the whole island is the temple of Pura Taman Ayun, built in the 17th Century.

The name means Garden Temple in the Water and it is built on an island in a peaceful river.

Pura Taman Ayun temple

The gardens of frangipani, hibiscus and bougainvillea tumble over the canals and ancient stones while birds and butterflies float through the courtyards and a large fountain dedicated to the gods of the underworld sprays cool water through the humid air.

Pagoda-like towers called meru rise into the blue sky. The number of tiered roofs is always an odd number, from three to 11.

The tallest represent the mountains in Bali above which the gods are said to live.

Strolling through its beautiful gardens, it is easy to see how so many have come to believe this island is the meeting place for gods and humans, and of course, monkeys too.

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Story by story at theprogramme website</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Live – Hungary Grand Prix qualifying

July 25th, 2009 | No Comments

LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY (all times BST)

606: DEBATE
Your thoughts on the action

To get involved text us on 81111 with FORMULA 1 before your message. (Not all contributions can be used; UK mobiles only; network rates apply)

By Caroline Cheese

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner: "I was quite surprised this morning, it was very English weather out there. It’s about 10C cooler today, and that suits our car slightly better. Qualifying is going to be very tight. McLaren have made a bit of a jump and with that Kers system, they’re a bit of a pain in our necks."1007: A lot of the teams have been pondering the ‘McLaren problem’, according to BBC pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz. That is, that the McLarens can gain several places off the start, so do teams like Brawn and Red Bull take the fuel out and qualify at the front or load it in and let the McLarens go to the front, hoping their superiority counts later in the raceBBC Sport’s Andrew Benson at the Hungaroring: "Jonathan Legard has been told by someone at McLaren that the team dreamt up some new parts on Wednesday, and they have been designed and built and will be on the cars this morning. Impressive."1000: Green light is on and the cars stream out onto the track. 0957: Anthony Davidson is competing in the Spa 24 Hours race this weekend, so into his BBC 5 Live Sports Extra seat steps Jonny Herbert, who is notable for being the first person I ever interviewed – and also for being a former F1 driver. 0954: They’ve cracked open the beers nice and early in the stands at the Hungaroring. If they’re not careful, they’ll soon be asking: Elnezest, hol van a vece Learn more handy Hungarian phrases withthe BBC’s language guide.BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson at the Hungaroring: "There were rumours here in Hungary on Friday that Ross Brawn had asked Rubens Barrichello to abandon his own title hopes and support Jenson Button, but the team has categorically denied it. Button said: ‘Jeez, I don’t think Rubens would do that, do you No, it’s definitely not the case. We’re free to race, as every team in F1 should be. There are two drivers in the team, and you shouldn’t be working for each other. We’ve both got a chance of winning the championship, or fighting for it, so why should one driver help the other’"BBC Sport’s Sarah Holt on Twitter:"Bernie arrived in style as his chauffeur driven car was given a police escort. The siren woke up sleepy heads – me included – in the paddock."

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From Alex in Canada via text on 81111"High winds Overcast Guessing it’s a bad time to say Vancouver has had weeks of sunshine. Hamilton to put the cat amongst the pigeons this weekend."0946: This cool weather chat is not good news for Brawn, you have to think, although yesterday Jenson Button was feeling quite optimistic. "Our pace is good, but I don’t know how good. There’s a lot of work we still need to do, we won’t know until qualifying. I’m happy to be here, and in a position to drive this car. It’s a good car to drive here. I don’t know if it’s the same as Turkey (where he had his last win), but it’s nice, and I haven’t felt that for the last two races."BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson at the Hungaroring: "It’s one of those days when no-one quite knows what to wear. Some people in the paddock have got coats on – which seems a bit excessive considering it’s at least 20C – while BMW driver Nick Heidfeld was in shorts and flip-flops half an hour before practice. But then he does have his beard to keep him warm. One thing’s for sure, though – they’ve turned off the water-spray fans at the cool-off area in the paddock."Force India on Twitter:"Overcast and high winds now. Rain overnight and roads were wet coming to the track. It’s drying up now and blue skies coming through."
0940: If you want to check out that first corner and indeed the rest of the Hungaroring,why not allow Red Bull’s Mark Webber to talk you through itJenson Button on Twitter:"Good morning. Just about to jump on the couch for my pre practice massage. Not as enjoyable as u might think!"0933: Some very exciting Twitter activity this morning, which means I might not have time to tell you what’s going on in the final practice session at 1000 BST… tsk, I’m joking of course. At 1300 BST, it’s qualifying. And if I tell you there’s only really one overtaking corner at the Hungaroring – and that’s the first one – you’ll understand just how crucial that session is going to be.0930: Udvozlet! Or welcome. Trust we find you in fine fettle this morning. Or fine Vettel should I say. Ahem. Sorry. Some people like a cup of tea, I like to start the day with a terrible pun. There’ll be no more of that… oh, who am I kidding

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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New York Unemployment Rate Worst Since 1992

July 16th, 2009 | No Comments

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — More than 850,000 New Yorkers were unemployed in June, pushing the state’s jobless rate to 8.7 percent from 8.2 in May. State labor officials say that’s the highest level since October 1992.

In New York City, the non-seas…

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Transgender Woman Dies In Voodoo Ritual

July 15th, 2009 | No Comments

LUCILLE HAMILTON paid $621 to have her “spiritual grime” removed by a voodoo high priest in an ordinary townhouse on a winding street in Camden County, a friend said.

Hamilton, 21, a male living as a woman, flew in on Friday from her home in …

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Webber battles to maiden F1 win

July 12th, 2009 | No Comments

Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa help Mark Webber celebrate his maiden F1 win

By Andrew Benson
BBC Sport at Nurburgring

Red Bull’s Mark Webber scored his maiden Formula 1 win with a brilliant performance at the German Grand Prix after a drive-through penalty.

Webber was punished for colliding with Brawn’s Rubens Barrichello at the start but was in a class of his own to dominate the race despite his handicap.

Sebastian Vettel made it a Red Bull one-two ahead of Felipe Massa.

Barrichello finished sixth behind Williams’s Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button while Lewis Hamilton was last.

Button remains in the world championship lead on 68 points, but Vettel and Webber have leap-frogged over Barrichello.

The German is 21 points behind Button with Webber just 1.5 points behind his team-mate and Webber the same margin ahead of Barrichello.

Starting from pole position, Webber was an odds-on favourite heading into the race but he made life difficult for himself from the moment the lights went out at the start.

"It’s an incredible day for me. I wanted to win so badly"

Mark Webber

He was slow off the line and in trying – and failing – to prevent Barrichello passing him he swerved at the Brawn and the two cars touched.

The stewards took a dim view of the manoeuvre and handed Webber a drive-through penalty, which meant he had to drive through the pits – where there is a 120km/h speed limit – before rejoining the race.

But crucially Red Bull left Webber as long as they could before bringing him in to serve the penalty on lap 14.

Because his team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Button had been held up after being passed by the slower McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen at the start, Webber was able to rejoin in the lead and set about re-building his advantage.

The race further fell into his lap because Barrichello, who made his first pit stop when Webber came in for his penalty, and he came out behind Felipe Massa’s Ferrari, which held him up until his first pit stop on lap 25.

So although Webber dropped to eighth after his first pit stop on lap 19, he was able to close the gap on Barrichello in second place.

And by the time all drivers had made their stops, Webber was back in the lead by just after half distance.

From there, he was able to cruise to a well-deserved first victory while the Brawns were left with deteriorating tyres to hold off the charging Fernando Alonso of Renault.

"It’s an incredible day for me," said Webber. "I wanted to win so badly.

"The only thing in the end I though was going to beat me, or test me even more, was the rain. But even that held off.

"It was a little bit testing. Obviously I lost Barrichello completely off the start. I thought he’d gone a little bit to the left so I went to the right and banged into him, and that’s not normally my style.

"I had to recover [from the drive-through penalty], my engineer kept me quite calm and I pushed as hard as I could."

Struggling to make their tyres work in the cool temperatures, Brawn chose a three-stop strategy, but they spent too long behind slower cars to make it work.

And Button, seeing the startling pace of the Red Bulls, will be relieved that his team have a major upgrade package to come for the next race in Hungary in two weeks’ time.

Hamilton had fancied his chances of scoring a podium finish after qualifying fifth – and a fuel-corrected third fastest.

But after benefiting from his Kers power-boost system to contest the lead with Webber and Barrichello going into the first corner, Hamilton missed his braking point and ran wide.

He got a puncture and rejoined last where for some reason the McLaren, which has a major aerodynamic upgrade this weekend, did not show the pace it had on Saturday.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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Live – German Grand Prix qualifying

July 11th, 2009 | No Comments

LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY (all times BST)

606: DEBATE
Your thoughts on the action

To get involved text us on 81111 with FORMULA 1 before your message. (Not all contributions can be used; UK mobiles only; network rates apply)

By Caroline Cheese

BBC Sport’s Sarah Holt at the Nurburgring: "Caroline, many apologies for my delayed greetings. BBC HQ has been up in arms this morning as Eddie Jordan arrived with news that the hotel left a hot water bottle on his bed last night. Given the bone-rattling gusts that we are being subjected to up in the mountains, the rest of the BBC crew would give anything for such luxuries. Yes I know, how the cars cope with the chilly temperatures will be much more crucial come qualifying."1008: Just seeing a thermal image of the Force India mechanics working on Giancarlo Fisichella’s car. Not sure why, although I can exclusively reveal that none of the Force India mechanics are hot at the moment. And there’s Timo Glock, his helmet bearing the words ‘GlockDog’ in gold lettering. Word.BBC Sport’s pit-lane reporter Lee McKenzie: "It’ll be interesting to see if Lewis Hamilton can continue his momentum after finishing top of the timesheets in practice on Friday. Or was it simply a confidence boost for engine partner Mercedes-Benz on home turf One team principal told me yesterday that they reckoned Hamilton was just running on vapours to look good and there was no more to it than that."1002: Dark clouds overhead at the Nurburgring, and the weather forecast for today and tomorrowis not looking clever. Although I’m feeling ready for another wet race, don’t know about you.BBC Sport’s Jake Humphrey on Twitter:"BBC F1 team are in the house. Eddie Jordan forgot a jumper so is wearing a lovely BBC top. It’s still cold. Could this be Mark Webber’s pole day"1000: Green light is on and the cars are streaming out of the pits. Except Kimi Raikkonen, who’s probably had a lie-in. Oh no, here he is now.0957: If Bernie is reading this, I am also a trustworthy person. Very, very trustworthy. So if you’ve got another of those blank cheques lying around… Everyone else, manually refresh your page for the magic of moving pictures (in the UK).BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson at the Nurburgring: "At breakfast at Ferrari this morning, I put orange juice on my cornflakes and burnt my toast. Three early starts in a row must be catching up with me. It’s gone all cloudy again, too."0951: I’ve held off as long as I can… On to politics. Bernie Ecclestone has told the Times newspaper that Max Mosley will not go back on his promise to step down as FIA boss. "He’s an honourable person," says Bernie. "I’ve always said Max can have a cheque signed by me, without any name or amount on it, because he’s a trustworthy guy."0947: Mark Webber was the quickest man in first practice yesterday, but Sebastian Vettel was the faster of the two Red Bulls in the afternoon. It literally hurts me to support an Aussie, but I’ll make an exception for Webber. I’d like to see him win one too.

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From Andy via text on 81111: "Be great to see Webber get a win this weekend. Top bloke!"Force India on Twitter:"Weather much better this morning, warmer and sunny. Chance of rain later."BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson at the Nurburgring: "The Eifel mountains looked lovely this morning, with large patches of blue sky and cotton wool clouds. Could we be in for a rare dry Nurburgring day"0943: McLaren have gone four races without a point, and Lewis Hamilton has failed to get out of first qualifying for the last three, so the team have rushed ahead with new aero parts for Hamilton’s car, with one mechanic apparently working 36 hours flat out. Heikki Kovalainen, though, is stuck with the old package.0938: Before qualifying, we’ll warm up with a bit of final practice at 1000 BST. Lewis Hamilton went quickest in second practice yesterday in a move that was probably designed to please Mercedes at their home track. But Hamilton seems pleased with his hastily revamped McLaren. "We’ve still got a long way to go but, most importantly, these new upgrades are pushing us in the right direction"0930: Hello. Some would say you’ve got too much sport to choose from today. But let me tell you this: it’s going to rain all day in Cardiff, and today’s stage in the Tour de France will see the riders string out on the way up the hill and then catch each other up on the way down again. Something like that anyway. So stick with me, I’ve got qualifying thrills and spills for you

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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