As motorsport fans we must all suffer from some sort of SAD - I think it's Seasonal Affected Depression - something about getting sad in winter as it's cold and wet.

Last weekend saw the end to the conventional racing season - the last NASCAR race (although the season as a spectacle was over some time before) and the final round of the World Touring Cars - which oddly saw a British guy win his third consequetive world title (it's nice to know we can beat all comers at something - still see him get about as much coverage in the various end of year Sports Reviews over here as the fact we beat the French at conkers).

We could all go into hibernation, well at least for the 20 minutes until pre-season testing for everything starts again, but there are alternatives.

Firstly we have the A1GP - it's not much, and I find myself supporting the Dutchman Jos Verstappen simply because I've actually heard of him, over and above the other drivers, who have a notability that suggests the team owners may have picked them up while they were "cruising" round the car park of their local McDonalds/Pizza Hut/KFC etc while the fact they frequently end up driving into each other doesn't help.

Then we have the Paris-Dakar, or the Lisbon-Dakar, or the Madrid-Dakar, or whatever European city they're leaving from this year. This is clearly a sporting event for nutters. What other section of the world-wide population believes that driving through thoroughly inhabitable bits of Africa it a nice way to spend the early weeks of the new year. When a driver/rider hasn't completed a stage, you don't think 'oh he's out of the rally', you start dividing up his belongings. Taking part in this is basically what happens when you have lots of money roling around, and all your brain cells/common sense have been killed off by what you did to earn lots of money. As a case in point I give you Luc Alphand, a former skier (another sport that requires a common-sense deficiency) who in recent years has driven for the Mitsubishi team. It also sees the biggest racing "cars" of the year as enormous trucks make thier way over (often through) dunes. If that doesn't upset Greenpeace nothing will (or are they all off chasing whales?)

Lastly, the most non-sensical motorsport ever. Ice Racing. Let me say that again. Ice. Racing. No suprise at all that it's French. Having basically invented motorsport and proved themselves useless at it, they've decided to invent their own spin on it, that only they are really interested in. (Hastily plans the beginings of Ice Football, Ice Cricket and Ice Rugby). It is  probably the most boring form of sport ever. The tracks are quite narrow, cut out o####lacier or something, and the cars spend a majority of the lap sideways showering the attendent hal####ozen with a snow/water/rubber/motor oil mix, which means overtaking is seldom done. And when one Frenchman ventures near another, in true Frenchman style the run away and hastily embed themselves in a wall of the same mix of rubbish they've been covering everyone else in. Rather sadly this is where great French drivers (honest there were some once) go to retire, with Alain Prost being a recent star (presumbly by using his large gaelic nose as a snow plough).

(Can you tell I don't like the French)

So, actually hibernation may be the best thing for it. *Sets Alarm for February* *Turns light off*