HiQ launches Magnum Moment!

After thousands of British Touring Car Championship fans made HiQ’s Champagne Moment awards a resounding success, a new interactive accolade has been launched to crown a remarkable season.

HiQ is unveiling its first ever Magnum Moment award for 2009, where fans of Britain’s premier motor racing series are invited to vote for their favourite champagne moment from 2009.

So whether it was Paul O’ Neill’s podium finish at Snetterton, or Jason Plato’s stunning drive at Knockhill, supporters are invited to log onto http://www.hiqonline.co.uk/btcc/champagneMoments/ and vote for the best performance.

Fans can vote for:
Rob Collard’s back of the grid to finish 4th at Oulton Park
Stephen Jelley’s three podium placings at Croft
Paul O’Neill’s emotional third place at Snetterton
Jason Plato’s drive from the back of the grid to second at Knockhill
Mat Jackson’s two first places and second at Silverstone
Stephen Jelley’s maiden wins at Rockingham
The winning champagne moment from Brands Hatch



The man that receives the most plaudits overall will be crowned with HiQ’s Magnum Moment award and presented with a special award at The TOCA Night of Champions on November 7. The deadline for entries is 12 noon, Tuesday November 3.

One lucky fan who has logged his or her details onto the website will win two tickets to the evening, will present the prize to the driver and complimentary race tickets will also be provided for the first race of 2010, along with a grid walk of the track before one of the races.

HiQ’s BTCC marketing manager Geraldine McGovern said: “Our champagne moment awards have been extremely successful and we thought an overall Magnum Moment would be the perfect way to end the season.

“It has been another tremendous year both on and off the track for HiQ, and we would like to give fans another opportunity to win a great prize with us.”

For your nearest HiQ centre click on www.hiqonline.co.uk

HiQ treading a path to eliminate illegal tyres

If you’re driving on illegal tyres, then HiQ, the nationwide fast fit network, has come up with three hard hitting reasons to take immediate action.

HiQ’s 1-2-3 campaign is about to grab the headlines as the network treads a path to eliminate illegal tyre usage across the UK.

For some drivers, highlighting the danger of bare, worn tyres is not enough. Some tangible reasons to regularly check tread depths and replace where necessary is needed.

This is why HiQ, the nationwide fast fit network, has come up with a no-nonsense, three pronged approach to tyre safety in a bid to rid the roads of an unnecessary danger.

1. One worn or defective tyre could cost you £2,5001
2. Worn tyres add two lengths to your stopping distance at 50mph in wet conditions2
3. Each tyre with a tread depth less than 1.6mm could add 3 penalty points to your licence1

HiQ British Touring Car Championship stars Fabrizio Giovanardi and Andrew Jordan (pictured) are backing the campaign, which will coincide with free tyre safety checks at all of its 140 centres.

Marketing manager Geraldine McGovern explained: “We wanted to generate some hard hitting messages that motorists will take note of.

“The prospect of penalty points to your licence, let alone the cost implications and safety element, is particularly strong and a fact that we hope will resonate with a number of people.

“The aim of this campaign is more than just getting people to change illegal tyres. We want it to have far more longevity than that, with messages that will stay with drivers for a long, long time.”

To supplement the campaign, every HiQ centre will be offering free tyre safety checks for the rest of the year.

Recent research suggests that up to 3.5 million motorists in the UK are driving on illegal tyres3, which further supports HiQ’s case that a worrying ignorance exists amongst drivers when it comes to road safety.

To make the most of HiQ’s free tyre safety checks, please click on www.hiqonline.co.uk/123 for your nearest centre.

1 The penalties for having illegal tyres are currently a fine of up to £2,500 and 3 penalty points per tyre. This relates to the law as defined in Regulation 27 of the Road Vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.
2 Stopping distances: Tests carried out by the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) involving four different vehicles travelling on wet roads on four different tread depths. At 50 mph on 3mm tread depth stopping distance = 31.7 m. On 1.6 mm tread depth stopping distance was increased 39.5 metres.
3 Source: National Tyre Distributors Association figures show that of nearly 60,000 cars checked, 7,000 were being driven on at least one illegal tyre. The findings suggest that as many as 3.6 million cars in the UK could also be running on illegal tyres, if the figures were extrapolated across the population. (http://www.tyresafe.org/news-and-events/detail/drivers-risk-death-by-driving-on-illegal-tyres/)

that was the week that was

Seeing Kevin Doyle in a Wolves shirt seems to have changed my whole outlook on life, and with a glut of signings following the Irishman, things just get better and better...

...To read my latest Wolves ramblings, please click on www.wolvesblog.com The best blog in the west

Wolves, Eastenders and a tub of vaseline...

...And so, just like Max Branning’s epic dalliance with Stacy Slater last year, things are really starting to hot up at Molineux. And I’m not talking about the weather around Wolverhampton.

For more fascinating insight on all things Wolves, click on www.wolvesblog.com

Eat my goal (and some humble pie!!)

What a night! Not only did I watch that epic Murray Wimbledone match, but I flick onto Sky Sports News (every footie fan's fix for long summer months) and there it was, on the yellow scroll bar at the bottom of the screen:

"Wolves to oficially announce signing of Kevin Doyle tomorrow morning"

Fantastic! The same scroll bar that announced Ronaldo's switch to Madrid, Man City's interest in E'to and most probably Michael Jackson's death, featured the Wolves and a club record buy.

It's official folks. We have now arrived! So I take back all my misgivings and doff my cap to
Emineminem (McCarthy, Moxey and Morgan)

Right then, onto even more exciting transfer news!!!! I myself have been approached by a Premier outfit, who is on the lookout for a bit of young and hugry talent to compete in the Big League. (well, being 30 on Sunday does make me applicable, no?!)
This impending news may well make it onto the famed Sky Sports yellow scroll bar, so take a deep breath...

After a string of impressive performances in the league of Blog, Ben Smallman has agreed to ply his trade for a high flying ambitious new cyber club.
Smallman, owner of the 'everywhere we go' site, has verbally agreed to join http://www.wolvesblog.com/ for an undisclosed fee.
The sum, thought to be in the region of a pint of beer at the Clarendon, will see the award winning journalist write stories on the state-of-the art site, which can offer video links, goal footage, and technology never seen on blogs before.
Creator Thomas Baugh said today: "I am looking to become the bastion of blog, and Smallman's wise words, infectious wit and depth of knowledge was impossible to ignore.
"I have got my man and we are looking forward to working together, after I have paid him his pint."
Smallman is hopefuly that his legions of followers will make the switch to the modern, purpose build environment.


So seriously lads and lasses, I will move all my future copy to http://www.wolvesblog.com/ as of Monday, and will keep blogging on here until then. Have a look, let me know what you think.

Will you keep on following me there? I honestly reckon this could be the start of something exciting.

The lad Thomas, who contacted me through Twitter (you see, it does work!!) has some big plans afoot, so hope you will read me on there.

Up the Wolves,

Ben

What do you reckon chaps?

Three times lucky?

I have tried to update this blog twice now, and both times I have lost all the words. I have spend the best part of an hour on it before I came to work, and for what?

At least you don't have to read the first post, which was particularly angry, downbeat and moody.

I have been in a lousy mood for a number of reasons. The French referee bottling the game agains the Lions didn't set me off on the best foot.
And last night, after finally conceding that the Beeb were right to broadcast over 100 hours of coverage on Glastonbury, the morons decided to pull the live coverage of Blur (one of the last important bands of our generation - ON THEIR COMEBACK) to show some tin whistler in Jo Wiley's wooden garden.
None of the red button coverage showed it, despite millions of people wanting to see Blur. So I missed it, along with millions of others. Oh, don't worry, you can press the red button later (24 hours after the seminal moment happened). No I can't, as I ripped the f**king red button out of the remote control in rage last night.

As for Wolves, I will keep it brief as I will doubtless lose this copy as well.

Questions:

1. Why renew Craddock's contract when we admit to not being able to meet Scott Dann's wage demands? If we are prepared to make a club record bid for him, and he had a medical, surely Craddock's freed up wages would have been better spent spread around Dann and others?
Maybe Jez is right - we didn't want him anyway.

2. Why can Sheff Utd be in the driving seat to sign Andrew Surman as they can afford the £1 million sum up front and we can't? (if media is to be believed)

3. Why tell Lita to bugger off because he is hedging his bets, when Kevin Doyle is also doing this? (if Mick really wanted Lita, would he be that flippant - I aint bothered about him to be honest)

4. Why are we linked with Andrew Surman and Tommy Smith in the first place? Surely 'plan C' signings, and plan A and B have gone to pot?

5. Why have we made virtually no progress in the transfer market so far, despite not having the play offs to blame for lack of preparation?

I think the answer to question 5 may well lie in the explanations for questions 1,2,3,4.

But yet, despite this, I believe Morgan when he says he wants to do better than a 4th bottom finish. So I'll give it another week before I completely blow my top.

(better not watch the Lions and Glastonbury coverage again or I will kill someone)

Why a good transfer is like pulling a fit bird

This Doyle saga is starting to do my head in, and it's only been a day since the news officially broke.

I don't know about you guys, but it feels like securing a good quality transfer has much in common with pulling a fit bird.
My rationale for this? You put in lots of groundwork, pay the girl lots of compliments, and lavish her with the things she wants to hear.
It can be a patient game, waiting for the one you want, (as I can testify personally as I waited 3 years to finally grind down my wife-to-be back at uni.)
So with all that effort, you are still never guaranteed to get the girl, as you can't read her damned mind. And then, at the crucial moment, some fat headed, considerably more handsome man comes in and stamps on your erection.
He is generally loathsome, but has some aesthetic qualities that you struggle to compete with.

And here we have Kevin Doyle, being chased by Wolves, a club with moderate to good appearance, medium build, with a lovely thatch and a great social circle.
But alas, Everton, Villa et al, prowl the dancefloor, and offer a better time with fatter cocks, deeper wallets and the promise of passionate weekends away in Europe.

Hmm, time will tell.

From my experience, getting the girl hammered is the best bet. She doesn't know what's happening and would hardly feel a thing.
With that in mind, get Super Kev into Waggy's bar (or whatever it's now called), get him hammered on potcheen and Guinness (or whatever the Irish fella drinks) and get him to sign on the line before its too late.

Come on Jez, get the round in!