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Sunday, March 8, 2015

Mick Schumacher snapped by Van Amersfoort Racing for the 2015 season

In Politics, heir-apparents are common – many fathers have ensured the career of their sons and daughters.  In Cricket  too, we have seen that – Australia New Zealand One day Series is named ‘Chappell-Hadlee’ recognising the family ties to Cricket – we have seen Lala Amarnath (Surinder, Mohinder, Rajender); Vijay Manjrekar (Sanjay Manjrekar), Vinoo Mankad (Ashok Mankad); Lance Cairns (Chris Cairns); Geoff Marsh (Mitchel Marsh, Shaun Marsh), Stuart Broad (Chris Broad) – to quote a few examples.

In Dec 2013, Tagenarine made his debut as an opener for Guyana, captained by spinner Veerasammy Permaul. That may not matter much until you read his full name of Chanderpaul yes, son of illustrious father.  He is the son of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a dodgy and difficult to dismiss customer who has made tons of runs for West Indies.  That Mumbai Test which was Sachin’s 200th [and last too] was his 150th placing  him in a select group of seven who've played that many Tests. Shivnarine Chanderpaul's son Tagenarine, who's often known as "Brandon", made his first-class debut for Guyana and in his fourth match, against Trinidad and Tobago in Port-of-Spain, he played alongside his father.  There has never yet been an instance of a father and son playing alongside each other in a Test match, the nearest approach being that Chris Cairns' Test debut for New Zealand was only four years after his father Lance's final appearance.

Accidents are unfortunate and sometimes the path to recovery  drain people of their wealth ~ sad to read – also appreciations are due to the wife who is taking special care.  Life turned turtle on that fateful day for the champion driver. 

Michael  Schumacher was holidaying with family and friends in Meribel, France when the accident happened in December 2013.  Schumacher, a very competent skier, was holidaying in  France, where he owns a chalet.  He was skiing with his 14-year-old son on a red piste, which is classed for intermediate skiers. But shortly after 11am, he left the piste and skied on to an off-piste area located in between the red run and a blue run, for beginners to intermediates.  It was here that he struck a partially-covered rock. He was not skiing fast but he lost control and catapulted 34 feet on to another rock. He smashed his head on the bolder. The force of the collision shattered his helmet. The footage recorded on a camera attached to his helmet was undamaged.

Last year came the reports that Corinna Schumacher had decided to sell the private jet once regularly used by them.  Then came the news of him selling  Norwegian mountain holiday home for £2million as he continues to recover from his horrific ski injuries.  Now there is an interesting news that his teenage son is following his footsteps and has signed up for Formula 4 team

Michael Schumacher's 15-year-old son is to follow in his father's footsteps after he signed a deal to compete in the Formula 4 series, which nurtures young talents. Mick Schumacher has been snapped up by the Netherlands' Van Amersfoort Racing team after he finished second in the world, European and German kart championships last season. His father Michael is the most successful driver in Formula One history, with seven titles, but retired from the sport after a devastating ski accident left him in a coma.

Fritz van Amersfoort, owner of the racing team that bears his name, said of Schumacher Jr, 'we have watched his skills in test driving and are looking forward to a successful season.' Mick is the first driver named by Van Amersfoort Racing for the 2015 season. The team propelled Max Verstappen - son of Schumacher Sr's 1994 Benetton F1 team-mate Jos - to prominence in Formula 3 last season. Verstappen Jr, 17, will now race for Toro Rosso in the 2015 F1 season. 'In the last couple of years, it has become a tradition for us that we offer the runner-up from the German junior karting championship a test session in our simulator,' added Mr Van Amesfoort.

'This is handled by the DMSB, the German motorsport authority, and that is how we first got in touch with Mick Schumacher last autumn. 'He spent a full day in the simulator at our headquarters in the Netherlands, then we witnessed him during a test session at Valencia and, eventually, we reached an agreement to compete together in this year's ADAC Formula 4 series.

Announced in 2013 and first run last year, Formula 4 is an open-wheeled motor racing competition designed for junior drivers as a stepping stone to Formula One. Vehicles may have a maximum power output of 160hp and must cost less than €9,500. There is no global championship, but individual nations can host their own championships according to rules and specifications of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
3rd Mar 2015.


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