EUROPEAN GP/Valencia: Behind The Scenes Humor *SPOILER*

Formula One's annual summer break not only provides a chance for the paddock to recharge its batteries for the final push until Brazil, but also ensures that enthusiasm levels return to the heights witnessed at the start of the year.

And the excitement was certainly increased a notch or two by the fact that the first race after the break was on an all-new street track - a sure-fire combination to provide plenty of excitement.

New tracks are not only a challenge for the drivers, but they also provide a bit of an eye-opener for everyone in the paddock – as things taken for granted at familiar tracks need a bit of effort to find.

Having gone for the full 'adventure' option of driving down to Valencia in a Renault Laguna Sport Tourer kindly loaned by the French car manufacturer, the anticipation levels had built up over the hours as the kilometres counted down to the final destination.

It felt much more like a proper 'travel' to the race than just jumping onto a plane at Heathrow and Gatwick and getting to Valencia two hours later.

The changing countryside in Spain, from mountains, to open plains, to hills to rugged rock faces (and right past the Circuit de Catalunya), left a big grin on my face as I kept piling south. It made me remember once again that travel could be fun – not just a hassle.

A great Sat Nav system in the Laguna got me all the way to Valencia without a single wrong turn, but then finding the simple things like the right car park, and the paddock itself, was far more difficult.

After walking past the back of what smelt like a fish market, I managed to find the trucks and the back of the pitlane all nestled away under these glorious buildings. And I had plenty of time to admire the architecture as I walked in circles for ages trying to seek a familiar face who could point me in the right direction for the media centre.

Once we all got used to the event – the layout, the city, the way in and out – most of us in the paddock actually came to love the place.

There were a few little niggles here and there – poor signage, a lack of real atmosphere in the harbour behind the pits and a feeling the track was in the middle of old wasteland rather than a central hub like Monaco. But overall, the event got a big thumbs up from everyone. (Apart from the 500 or so fans who found their grandstand seats offered them no view of the track...)

The conclusion of the weekend from most you spoke to was that the 2012 Valencian Grand Prix will be an absolute corker and one of the highlights on the F1 schedule that year.

With there likely to be more buildings and facilities near the track, improved organisation and a bit of history and vibe to the place, you should all book your tickets now for a real cracker…

The bridge over the harbour on the Valencia circuit became a bit of a focus over the European Grand Prix weekend when Bridgestone voiced fears before the action started that a heat expansion joint could cause a few problems for their tyres.

Those worries proved totally unfounded, however, as F1 got through almost an entire weekend on a street track without the need for a red flag or safety car.

It was testament to the safe design of the track and the good behaviour of the F1 drivers that the biggest shunt of the weekend was Autosport's F1 editor Edd Straw crashing his chair through the floor in the media centre to collapse in a heap on the floor with his computer and paperwork.

But the bridge did provide a few dramas of its own prior to the weekend – for those rich enough to be able to pay the huge fee (believed to be around 60,000 Euros) to moor their yachts in the harbour behind the paddock.

Because the bridge was designed purely to complete the track, it ran completely flat from one side of the harbour wall to the other – which left about six foot of clearance between the bottom of the bridge and the water.

It was a fine height for the powerboats and shuttle boats running guests around the harbour to get under, but obviously not enough for the kind of yachts that F1's rich and famous like to use at such events.

And with the race organisers sealing the swing bridge for the weekend, it meant that once boats were in the harbour they had to stay there, and if they did not get in there in time they would have to stay outside.

That proved to be a problem for one team boss, who failed to get his yacht into the harbour before the final track preparations had got underway.

After a bit of leverage, the team boss got organisers to open up the bridge for his yacht – which meant the poor Formula One Management people who had already laid down fibre optic cables and other equipment for the race weekend had to tear them all up, reseal the bridge and then start their work all over again.

Clothing company Alpinestars delivered their annual bid to inflict embarrassment, injury and a great deal of fun on the Formula One media pack in Valencia.

After the joys of Mini Moto racing and Sprint Car driving over recent years, they offered this time to allow us to step up onto some big bikes as they hosted a night of 'Trials Riding'

For those not familiar with two-wheeled activities, Trials Riding is effectively motorbike riding over an obstacle course. Made famous by the BBC programme 'Kick Start' (remember the now infamous St. John's Ambulance men falling into the hay?), Alpinestars wanted to test what abilities F1's journalists and other paddock members had in riding bikes with finesse and control.

And the answer was not a lot. Honda Racing team principal Nick Fry showed the dangers of using too much throttle on the Honda Montesa 250cc bikes as he threw one of the machines spectacularly into a fence while just riding around for a quick practice.

ITV commentator Louise Goodman thankfully only hurt her pride when she crashed off a railway sleeper and into and under a lorry parked nearby.

Multiple trials world champion Dougie Lampkin was more amused than concerned by the goings on, however, as he tried to offer tips and advice for those of us who were pretty hopeless in gaining the confidence to ride up crates, concrete pipes or ramps.

I was in that group. I failed to make it into the final – although was thankful to be uninjured after completing the final trials section with the bikes front wheel high in the air and the throttle wide open in panic!

Luckily I had a 100-metre run-off area to sort things out as I skidded left and right with legs and arm akimbo before somehow collecting it up and not falling off.

The multiple shunts of those of us less skilled at the art of trials riding was enough to put Mark Webber off, who had come over to see what all the excitement was about.

He was all ready to consider kitting himself up before a rain shower and a near miss with an out of control bike that hit someone near him proved enough to convince him that discretion was the best part of valour.

The warm Mediterranean weather and the vibe of Valencia left some people in the paddock keen to have an excuse for a celebration.

That was one of the reasons why F1 tyre supplier Bridgestone chose the European Grand Prix to celebrate their 200th grand prix.

Although Valencia marked their 202nd Formula One race (the 1976 and 1977 Japanese Grands Prix plus every race since Melbourne 1997), Bridgestone wanted to raise a glass of champagne for their 200th event since their full-time entry.

To mark the occasion Bridgestone produced some special gold tyres (they should have raced them!) and every driver on the grid came down for a photo shoot and to sign the tyres.

The 200th celebration obviously got McLaren and Mercedes in thinking mode and they proudly declared in their post-practice press release on Friday that they too were celebrating their 200th grand prix together.

The only problem with that is that the Woking-based team and German engine manufacturer had come together not 200 races ago at the 1997 Australian GP – but at Brazil in 1995…as they clarified in a second release later on.

F1 track commentator Bob Constanduros also marked the Bridgestone celebrations with a new personal-best 28-second rendition of his trademark 'Champaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagne' call. We will get him to double it before the end of the year.