In the Second Division of the Football Championship of Maranhão, Viana thrashed Chapadinha by 11 x 0.  The result gave Viana the title of the second round, and with it, one of the places of access to the First Division in 2010. But who did not like the result was Moto Club, Viana’s direct opponent in the struggle for the position. Both teams finished level on points, but the elastic score gave Viana the goal difference needed to overcome the rival.

The unusual result, however, is under suspicion and will be investigated by the Football Federation of Maranhão. Besides the amazing number of goals, the most amazing thing is that nine of those goals have been scored in the last nine minutes of play!

This brings to mind another memorable result Guanambi 10 x 0 Leônico, in Second Division of Bahia Football Championship 2007, a result that would give Guanambi a place in the final of the competition, beating Galícia Esporte Clube. The controversy that was formed led to the game being investigated and subsequently annulled by TJD, which ordered that it was realized another time. The Galicia ended up taking the place in the finals.

Read more on Granadeiros Azulinos, which also has the video of the goals.

To Andrés Montes, one of the best known spanish sports commentators, who died today at age 53. He was more known for his intelligent and funny phrases.

Finally my Galícia gave me a joy! The team was crowned champion of the Rugby Northeast Champioship 2009! Okay, that was not in football, but everything is good when it comes to a title. And it was a long ago the last time the clube celebrated a title!

Congratulations to the galician rugbiers, directly from Sant Boi de Llobregat, “el bressol del rugby espanyol” - Catalan to “the cradle of Spanish rugby”!

Read more in Granadeiros Azulinos.

(See all the photos of this adventure in my Flickr)

Virginie gave me one of the best gifts of recent times: a Formula Renault driving practice! In august, full summer, I went with my wife, mother and daughter, to La Ferté Gaucher, a village lost in the middle of nowhere, just 80 km from Paris. There is located the LFG circuit, in Aérosphalte, a leisure complex built in the area of the old airport site. Imagine this: I had already been driving, a few days before, 800 km from Barcelona to Imphy (Burgundy), where lies the home of the parents of Virginie (by the way, next to Magny-Cours circuit). Then, I drove 220 km from Imphy to Paris, where we spent the Friday. And at night, I drove another 80 km to the LFG circuit, where we stayed until the stage, that took place on Saturday morning - the circuit offers accommodation: hotel and bungalows. We slept in a comfortable bungalow, but the weather was very cold during the night!

The practice is comprised of 7 laps behind the wheel of a Formula Renault on a circuit of 1.5 km. The complete circuit has, in fact, more than 3 km, but is divided into several parts. The part that we used was the more technical one (to the right in the image). It is a circuit approved by the FFSA and designed by Frantz Schreiner, Austrian architect. During my practice, there were practices with Porsches and Ferraris in another section of the circuit.

Before driving there was a technical briefing of 30 minutes when the instructors of Diabolo driving school explained the car operation, the techniques of driving, acceleration and braking, how to  “attack” the curves, safety standards, etc.. Driving a car with 200 horsepower and rear-wheel drive (besides the engine being located at the back) is not the same as driving a normal car. The pedals are much harder, and the effect of accelerating and braking is much, much stronger!

When you accelerate, the car’s weight is concentrated around the back, which causes the front tires lose grip. When braking, it is the opposite: the weight going forward and the car gets the front grip. Therefore, one should not accelerate when cornering, as there is a risk to spin and stop on the grass. This happened with some of the participants on the stage.

We were about 20 “apprentice drivers”, and we had to take turns in five single-seaters that were available. Some of us took cars equipped with conventional transmission, and others, like me, got the cars with a sequential transmission. The sequential transmission is a lever on the right side, to get the gear up we should pull it towards the body, but without pressing the clutch. To gear down, it is the opposite: pushing in the opposite direction, but, this time, pressing the clutch.

To make the curves, they explained that we have to try the best possible point tangent to them, hard braking as late as possible, entering from the outside and then accelerating gently at first and gradually increasing, as we leave the curve. In the circuit, they put cones of different colors in each corner, so we had an idea where one has to aim the nose of the car when it enters and leaves the curve, and thus make it the most optimum possible.

After all explained, we did two reconnaissance laps on the track as passengers in a van, with the instructors explaining each point and its peculiarities. In only two points of the track we were allowed to overtake other cars. In these passages, there were cones dividing the track into two. The rules for passing were very strict: the cars should always maintain a minimum safety distance. If inspectors were noticing that one car was slower than the other, they showed the blue flag to the first one. Then he had to wait until reaching one of the overtake, take the side indicated by the separation of the cones, and only then, the other car were allowed to overtake it, passing by the other side of the cones, in total security. They explained that this is necessary because in case of a car touching another one, there is the risk of the cars losing contact with the ground and literally flying. And since we were drivers for just one weekend it’s better to be safe than nothing…

After the reconnaissance, let’s go! Five each time, I had to wait half an hour to get my turn. I put the helmet and balaclava (well, not a real balaclava), it was very hot when I entered the cockpit. And to think that when I woke up in the morning, we had only 8 ºC!  I was in a car with sequential transmission, which makes it easier to change gears. But I did not expect it to be so hard to move the lever, I almost had to give a punch to change gears! The first few times I tried to go smoothly and the gear did not change. The engine roared like a mad lion. The engine noise was so huge, imagine what will be like in a Formula 1! Interestingly, the car panel is very simple, just have a tachometer and a red light that indicates when the engine rotation is too high in the current gear. No speedometer though.

The Formula Renault cars are a kind of motor racing school for young drivers coming from the Kart. They are ideal for learning because they are very sensitive. With 200 HP, it can reach up to 220 km / h. But in the technical circuit where we were, the longest straight was not long at all. When accelerating, we could never get to the fifth gear. After reaching the fourth, we were already reaching the next curve. So I think the maximum speed that we reached was between 150 and 200 km / h.

The feeling of being inside a single seater is amazing though. Forget the computer games, actually being inside the real cockpit, seeing the curves approaching, feeling the reactions of the car, the body being thrown to the side, forward, back, there’s no way of comparing the sensations. In the first two laps I was very relaxed, I had seen some guys spin, and going off the road, so I went calmly. So much calmly that Virginie thought my car was in trouble when I went through the pit straight at the first corner. I received the blue flag twice, because there were some guys who were already on the track before me and they were already used to the speed, going faster than me. By the way, in the first lap I simply forgot to lower the visor of the helmet! One of the inspectors had to made me warning signs so that I noticed it! Ever thought if a spring came loose from Barrichello just in front of me??

From the third round on, I began to accelerate more and more, taking more and more risks in the curves over time. An inspector was mad at me because, for two laps, I entered a chicane by its inside. Like thay say in Spain: I was driving like an authentic “Fittipaldi”. Then I gave him a nod as if to say: “Sorry about that, man” and on the next lap I entered the chicane more smoothly, opening in the direction indicated by the cone. Nice, otherwise the guy could give me a red flag!

OK, everything was very cool, when suddenly, I was shown the checkered flag! Had I win?? No! You had just completed the seven laps! Shit! You’re so concentrated that you don’t even think about the laps! Now I understand why Nelslinho Piquet had to ask the engineers by the radio: “in which lap am I?” before crashing into the wall of Singapore. Inside the cockpit, you don’t think about other things. Too bad, the whole thing went literally very quick! When I was starting to think about breaking the record of the circuit, I had to go back to the pits …

But it was worth it, the emotion was very strong, the feeling, indescribable! Cool! I hope to do it again one day, but this time with more laps! In Magny-Cours there is a stage that lasts about 25 laps on the same circuit that is used for the Formula 1. That’s where I will be next time! I’ll have to start saving money.

See all the photos of this adventure in my Flickr

And thanks for the gift, my love!!!