Betting Bob in the buff at British GP?

British motorsport correspondent Bob McKenzie will do the honourable thing and make good on a rash bet he made last season, hopefully boosting the coffers of the McLaren team's chosen charity into the bargain.

Following McLaren's poor start to the 2004 campaign, when the Woking team trailed privateer Sauber in the rankings, McKenzie was rash enough to write off the squad's chances of winning a race for the remainder of the season - and said he would run naked around Silverstone if it did break its duck...

Unfortunately for the hapless journo, the introduction of a 'B' specification chassis transformed McLaren's performance, and Kimi Raikkonen duly won the Belgian Grand Prix in late August.

Team boss Ron Dennis promptly reminded McKenzie of his unwise wager and, true to his word, the journo will be doing more than eating humble pie at Silverstone this Thursday...

"McLaren only won once last year - but once was enough," he said sheepishly, "A bet is a bet so, on Thursday, as the build-up to this year's British race gets underway, yours truly will fulfil the pledge by taking to the circuit [in his birthday suit]."

To add extra meaning to his streak, McKenzie has promised to raise money for the baby charity Tommy's, which is supported by Dennis.

"I will put up ?1 for every minute on the track or a minimum ?100, just to add financial pain to my physical agonies," he said.

McLaren has added weight to the charity effort, giving race fans the chance to vote on whether McKenzie should run naked or, for the sake of the few poor souls likely to be present at the circuit that day, fully clothed. In exchange for a donation to Tommy's, visitors to the team's website [http://www.mclaren.com/bobmckenzie/vote.php], can not only cast their vote, but also get a chance to win a VIP trip for two to the team's renowned technology centre in Woking.