There is one Asian motor racing travelling circus - not as grand as the F1
circus, but does span six countries, and covers the Asian Touring Car Championship and the AF2000 open wheel class. If you want to follow the series, the dates are April 7/8
- Subic in the Philippines, May 19/20 - Johor Malaysia, June 30/July 1 - Shah Alam Malaysia, July 21/22 - Sepang Malaysia, August 25/26 - Bira Thailand, September 22/23 -
Korea, October 20/21 - Zhuhai China, November 17/18 - Macau.
For my money, the best rounds will be our own one at Bira in September because you don’t have to travel far, or Macau in November, which has the
attraction of the European entries as well. The round the houses event is very tight and if you saw the telecast last November you’ll know what I mean. First corner carnage
was very evident. When I raced at the Surfers Paradise round the houses CART GP meeting, we were officially warned that when we got to the braking area for the first corner
there was to be no position changing or challenging until we were through it. Macau could do with applying that rule too.
Automania Quiz
Last week I mentioned the Daimler SP 250 Dart? The little V8 2548 cc all alloy engine was a lovely unit, but the total car was never a success. The Daimler
company also had to drop the “Dart” name and I asked “Why?” The answer was simple - remember the Dodge Dart? Dodge had the name first!
So to this week, and another easy one. When the all new Gordon Buehrig designed FWD Cord was released at the New York motor show in 1935, nobody was
allowed to have a test drive. Why was this so?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct answer to fax 427 596
or email [email protected]
A Happy Ending!
Remember the small paragraph a few weeks ago about the chap who was trying to get his classic 30 year old UK sports car restored registered here? He was
being held up because the necessary authorities were adamant that it had to have a catalytic converter fitted. At that stage it looked as if an impasse had occurred, but no,
I bumped into him the other day, and his resplendent British Racing Green MGB is now a legal motor car in Thailand. Had a good look over the car and it certainly is
immaculate. The pic here is not THE car, as any eagle eyed reader should be able to spot the triple wipers used on the trans-Atlantic MGB’s.
In the same piece I also mentioned the problems if you find a great old car and wish to export it. Registration books and all the back registration to pay
are a few of the hassles. One of the regular readers also popped in to say that there is a way around (or through?) the maze. He had gone through the situation with an old
American pony car he found here and was now in possession of all the necessary books, etc.
BMW happy with ethanol testing
Apparently BMW Thailand has been involved with the Thailand Automotive Institute testing Gasohol (a mixture of gasoline and alcohol) in the 3 series cars.
It was found that the added ethanol in the petrol did not reduce the performance of the cars (318iA and 323iA) in any way and even more importantly the mixture did not damage
engines, fuel hoses or anything else.
Ethanol, which can be produced from non oil resources such as sugar cane, for
example, will help in preserving supplies of the non-renewable energy sources such as petroleum. Karsten Engel, the president of BMW Thailand is reported as saying that
Gasohol will be a significant step towards reducing emission and the cost of importing gasoline, and increase the quality of life for the Thai people. That alcohol is good
for us all will come as great news for the lads at Shenanigans!
Returning to the effects on fuel hoses and the like, I once managed to get my hands on a “left over” 44 gallon drum of Formula 1 race fuel after the
Australian Grand Prix a few years back. At that stage I was racing a production car, where we were not allowed to alter the mechanical specifications in any way. Formula 1
jungle juice looked like a good way to steal a march on the rest of the flock. It wasn’t. The stuff ate the fuel lines and clogged the carburettor full of molten plastic!
BMW happy campers overall too
The upward trend in Thailand vehicle sales in the year 2000 reached 262,000 units, an increase of 20% over 1999, and total vehicle sales are up 18%
year-on-year in February and up 15.5% over January. All sales in February this year were 19,673, with the breakdown of commercial vehicles being pickups 13,159 and passenger
cars 6,514. Is everything in the garden rosy?
Karsten Engel, the president of BMW (Thailand) signals a little caution, however, noting that the personal car market has actually fallen somewhat over the
past two quarters. The fall in the last quarter of 2000 was put down to pre-election jitters, and the first quarter fall being considered to be a flow over from this. He
feels there appears to be a reluctance in the Thai community to spend money on high price consumer items.
Despite these negative signs, BMW is still enjoying its number 1 position in the luxury segment, with sales 50% above the previous year and Karsten Engel
still thinks the personal car market will show a growth of around 10% in 2001.
That BMW still has confidence in the Thai economy and the Eastern Seaboard is more than evident. Karsten Engel stating in March this year that the second
stage of investment in the Amata City plant is well underway with their own body shop due for opening in 2002 to allow the Eastern Seaboard facility to assemble both the 3
and 5 series and perhaps even the 7 series later. This second stage is to allow BMW to be ready for the planned exports to the ASEAN countries, which it is hoped will be in
place by 2003, even though it looks as if Malaysia will not be in till 2005, but the Malaysian government has given a commitment for that date. We shall see.
The Wettex Special
Musing about BRG MG’s made me hark back to one of my favourite personal motorcars, an MG TC. This particular one was in BRG and had scratched on the back
of the tacho “Driven at 100 mph in 1955.” The intrepid pilot was obviously so thrilled with his exploits he wanted the world to remember it!
However, NPJ 978 (its number plate) was to have a chequered career with me. This was the car that tossed a leg out of bed one morning, while I was
downshifting into 3rd while passing a group of young ladies on their way to Teachers Training College, which was very close to the Medical School. Rather than lose face, our
intrepid medical student parked at the side of the road, zipped up the tonneau cover and strode off, as if there were nothing wrong. The 50 metre long, one metre wide oil
slick on the road proclaimed the reverse!
That night, flatmates and I scanned the verges for errant pieces of metal and managed to find every piece of the ribbed alloy sump and all but one piece of
the side of the engine block. Much cleaning and jigsaw puzzling saw us get the sump into one piece with several tubes of Araldite two part adhesive. Thoughts of aluminium
welding were well beyond student doctor’s finances. The hole in the side of the block was plugged with a thick sponge kitchen wiper (trade brand “Wettex”) and we were
in business again.
The Wettex Special, as it was then known, ran in that form for another 18 months until we slotted an MGA engine under the bonnet, but that’s another
story!
Natter, Nosh and Noggin Night
The third get together of automaniacal souls will be held this coming Monday (9th April) at Shenanigans at 7 p.m. It is a totally informal gathering of
motorcar enthusiasts from people who have owned such diverse animals as a Renault Caravelle, Triumph Spitfire, racing MGB’s, Jaguar XK8’s and even BMW motorcycles.
The previous two have been great fun evenings over a couple of beers and we stay on for a bite to eat (it’s the 195 baht steak night). Just ask the
Shenanigans girls where Dr. Iain and the car people are and they’ll point you in the right direction.
