Ann Bradshaw, a journalist and press officer with three decades of experience in motor racing, and one of the most respected workers in the F1 paddock, follows the 2002 season in her post-race column, offering F1 fans an insight into the life of those who spend the GP weekend inside the paddock

I remember when I was big in Japan! Although I am a good head and shoulders taller than most Japanese, I used to be a bit of a celeb. In the early nineties, the Japanese host broadcaster, Fuji TV, decided to do a feature on women working in F1, and the three people they chose were a girl who held the aerial pole in the pit lane for their cameraman, a Goodyear tyre technician and myself. It didn't entail much effort on my behalf, just an interview, but the repercussions were amazing. I arrived for the Grand Prix a day after they had shown the show on television and soon found out that overnight I had become a star. As most Japanese women have dark hair, I was instantly recognisable as I had blonde hair, and my first experience of the fame game was when I was constantly pestered for my autograph in a restaurant.

This went on all weekend, and at one point when I popped out of the paddock to buy my sister a tee shirt I was literally besieged by fans wanting my autograph and a photo taken with me. I held babies, signed jeans and even bare flesh. It was funny to begin with, but eventually when I had to have a bodyguard - usually some journalistic mates - if I went into a public area, it got a bit of a drag. Not surprisingly this gave my friends cause for much mirth, especially as the fans would run after me calling for Ann San. Although they considered this a proper term of address, it reminded me of the chemical toilet used in caravans in the UK called an Elsan!

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However, this was not my first experience of Japan, as that was in 1987 when the Grand Prix was held in Suzuka for the first time. I arrived with a handful of other team members and journalists in Osaka late one afternoon, having been told that all we had to do was get there and then jump on one of their amazingly efficient trains to get to the circuit. A small group of us met outside the arrivals gate and realised that we had no way of deciphering the train timetable, and on top of that there was no station on our timetable called Suzuka.

Just before panic set in we saw a man standing with a sign for Sergio Rinland, who was then working for the Brabham team. The Brabham team manager in those days was the wonderful Herbie Blash, who is now the FIA Observer. He had thought that as well as Sergio arriving there might be some other lost souls, so he had sent a bus to collect us. We gratefully jumped on the bus to find he had even sent the driver with a supply of sandwiches and cans of drink. It was a happy bunch that set off and our joy was even greater when we found that English language commentator Bob Constanduros had picked up a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label whisky on his way through Hong Kong and was happy to share this with us.

None of us had any idea how long the journey would take, but we were surprised as the minutes turned to hours and then the clear night turned to thick fog and driving rain. After what seemed an endless journey I arrived at the Suzuka Circuit Hotel at 2am. I was lucky enough to have been offered the opportunity to share a room at the hotel, which is next to the circuit, by my friend Louise Tingstrom, who was the FIA Press Officer. She had expected me to arrive in the early evening so was quite worried about me by the time I arrived. However, she saw I was safe and well and also slightly merry from the contents of Bob's bottle.

We had a lot of laughs that year, most due to the different cultures between them and us. Everyone was more than happy to help but some of their language faux pas were legendary and made us all laugh an awful lot. It is well known that the Japanese cannot pronounce their 'r's but we were not ready for the fact that when writing English they also had a similar problem. The outcome was that the grid was entitled the Glid, and when they put out a notice to say there was going to be a grand opening party for the new bar at the circuit we were invited to the Rog Cabin and not the Log Cabin.

Louise had been given a scooter to ride the short distance from the hotel to the circuit on and so I used to pop on the back. She drove at great speed everywhere, but the most memorable journey was the short distance back to our room after a bit of a session in the aforementioned Log Cabin the night before the race. We had been joined there by FIA President Max Mosley, who did not hold that exalted position in those days as Jean-Marie Balestre was still in office. We offered him a lift back to his room and to everyone's amazement headed off with Louise driving, me sitting on the back and Max standing on what was usually used for carrying a briefcase or small packages.

We were not going that slowly and you can imagine the surprise of everyone when we came 'round a corner to find the police drilling for the next day. They scattered and then when they got their wits back gave chase. Luckily we were too quick for them and sped into the reception of our room block, abandoned the scooter and fled to our rooms before they could find out who we were.

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I had never sung karaoke before arriving in Japan but soon got the taste for it. Several karaoke cabins were built alongside the Log Cabin, and my fondest memories of these were joining Ken Tyrrell to sing our favourite song, Puff the Magic Dragon. However, it was on our first of two visits to the other recent Japanese Grand Prix venue, the TI Circuit Aida, in 1994 that I got my first taste of this Japanese invention. After the race a group of us were looking for fun in Unogo, which is not that easy to find, but suddenly someone noticed a bar and we piled in.

We had reason to celebrate, as with our group were several members of the Jordan team including Rubens Barrichello. This lovable driver had just got his first podium by finishing third so was full of the joys of spring. He was keen to give it a go even though the songs were all in Japanese. Eventually he joined a local and wailed along with him. We were all in hysterics, but the locals didn't seem to notice and all applauded him.

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I cannot mention our trips to TI Aida without mentioning their wonderful communal baths. Unogo is a spa town and our hotel had natural spring water baths both indoors and out, and it is here the Japanese would go to not only wash, but also relax. I was sharing a room with my friend Lynden Swainston and we made it a ritual every evening to go and have a wash and relax. There were male and female bathhouses, which were next door to each other. One evening Lynden told me she had been told the local custom was women could go into the men's but not the other way round. I am not quite sure whether I was being stupid or intrepid, but I believed her and decided to give the custom a try. I was wearing the customary kimono that is provided in every room and so marched into the men's side.

I am not sure who was the most surprised by my entrance - me or the people in there - as standing as nature made them were Ayrton Senna and his manager Julian Jakobi. Their surprise didn't last long, and I was invited to stay and join them, however a poor Japanese man did not share their sentiments as he was standing in the corner trying to cover himself up with a very small cloth and screaming like a stuck pig. I decided discretion was the better part of valour so backed out and left them to it. When I challenged Lynden about giving me duff information she assured me she had been told this by a usually reliable source. Needless to say I have never believed her again on such issues.

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Anyway back to Suzuka, and while the lucky few get to stay in the circuit hotel, most of the rest of us usually ended up in Yokkaichi, a town about 20 kilometres away where the Toyota factory is based. The rooms at these hotels are always small and the establishments are known as business hotels. While the rooms are not as small as the famous capsule hotels in Tokyo, they only had the bare necessities and were made to sleep in and do little else. They never had any wardrobe or cupboard space, and the pre-formed plastic bathrooms were so small that the taps were made to swing round to fill both the hand basin and the small bath where you sat with your knees under your chin. This never stopped us making the most of the given space, and I believe that one night we must have set a record for the most people in one room, as 14 of us got into mine for a party to drink the various bottles of alcohol we had all brought in duty free, as the cost of alcohol in Japan is extremely high.

Another exploit in Suzuka involved trying to find a restaurant to celebrate the birthday of Matthew Argenti who used to work for Jardine PR. We looked high and low to find something other than a sushi bar, and eventually walked across some scrubland towards a light and found a wonderful restaurant where you sat on the floor and cooked what resembled an omelette on the hot surface in front of you. We had a great time here and it was all harmless until someone decided to tell the waiter that Steven Tee, the blonde haired English photographer, was the racing driver Ivan Capelli. At this the entire kitchen emptied and they all wanted his autograph. The chef even came with his precious helmet and asked Steven to sign this. At this point we thought it best to pay the bill and leave before someone looked closely at the Capelli autograph cards and realised Steven and Ivan bore no resemblance whatsoever.

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At WilliamsF1 we used to have a Japanese sponsor called Komatsu, who were helping us with our gears, but actually built very large earthmovers. The company's representative at the races was Mr Noriake Abe and after our second trip to Aida, he asked if Patrick Head would be happy to undertake a bit of a PR tour for them before we went to the next race a week later in Suzuka. I was deputised to join Patrick on this tour, and still laugh to myself every time I think about it. We were taken on a whistle stop tour of Japan to visit the Komatsu factory and also the ancient city of Kyoto before going to Tokyo for an evening to which the public were invited to ask Patrick questions about F1.

Mr Abe was very aware that neither Patrick nor myself were keen on the more traditional form of Japanese food - normally raw and sometimes still alive - or sitting on the floor to eat. He picked the restaurants carefully and, despite the great number of train journeys and a very punishing schedule, we had a good time. When we arrived in Tokyo the company's marketing department had organised a dinner for us after the PR evening. We were also joined by Victoria King and Iain Cunningham from the WilliamsF1 marketing department and, despite Victoria and myself becoming hysterical at one point when a nice local took us to our seats and told us to 'shit here', all went well until the meal.

We were taken to a room at the back of a bar in the middle of Roppongi and it was obvious as soon as we walked it that we were expected to sit on the floor. As if this was not bad enough, we then realised the first bowl of food resembled something you would give your cat, as it was full of large chunks of raw fish. There were 20 of us in total and while the locals ate happily we four Brits pushed the fish round our bowls with chopsticks, hoping no one would notice we were not eating. Thankfully we were then given another bowl each and this time it was full of wonderful cooked seafood. We ate this as though it was our last meal. It was only when every speck had been eaten and we looked up to see the other 16 faces that we realised our faux pas. The idea was that there were five pieces of fish in each bowl and as guests we were given first choice and expected to take out one piece and pass it on. The other 16 people were sitting watching us eat their dinner!!! Luckily everyone saw the funny side of this and it did not affect the team's sponsorship.

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Looking back on my numerous trips to Japan, I realise I could write a book about my experiences. However, I have to save some space on Atlas F1 for my colleagues, so I will stop the stories there and bring myself up to date to what happened in Suzuka this year. For me 2002 started with a fairy tale and has finished with one. In Melbourne it was the points finish for Mark Webber in the Minardi, and in Suzuka it was the points finish for Takuma Sato in the Jordan. Although these may seem insignificant to some people when compared to what Ferrari and Michael Schumacher have done, these points I am sure may have helped secure a future for two teams whose finances badly needed injections of cash.

About the author:
Ann Bradshaw - Annie - began her motor racing career as a teenager, helping out her brother in local rally races in England, where she grew up. In the 1970s she organised motor racing events in England, and was later the press officer for the RAC MSA - the motorsport governing body in Britain. In mid 1980s, she became press officer to team Lotus, where she worked with Ayrton Senna. Shortly after, she moved to the Williams team and was working there for several years, when once again she found herself working with Senna. She worked with Damon Hill after the Brazilian's death, and moved with the British Champion to Arrows. She also worked with the Panoz team in the United States, before becoming a freelance press officer, now working with Compaq and BAR among others. Annie joined Atlas F1 as a regular columnist in April 2002.