|
San Marino GP this weekend
So it is back to Italy for the F1 circus
this weekend. What did we learn from the last race? Well,
firstly, the “super cool” Colombian, Juan Pablo Montoya,
isn’t super cool at all. He out-braked himself into the
first corner which allowed Michael Schumacher into the lead
and then he just got too excited in trying to get first place
back and misjudged where the front of his car was and ran into
the rear of Schumacher, neatly removing his front wing. He
paid the penalty of a trip to the pits for a new nose. Montoya
is undoubtedly very, very fast - but, and it is a very big
“but” - he has to learn to control his emotional fire.
 What
else was there to be learned? Well, forget any thoughts of
“poor old Rooby baby” who “could have won his home race,
because he passed Michael Schumacher.” Barichello was on a
two stop strategy, running very light at the start and would
have been lucky to make the podium at the end. The top cars
were all one stoppers, weren’t they?
Which brings me to the next item we have
learned. This year it is not the battle of top speed and
horsepower. This year it is the battle of top speed,
horsepower and fuel economy. Baby Schumi won in Malaysia
because he only had to stop once for fuel, not twice as big
brother had to in the F2001 Ferrari (last year’s). So the
race is now to the swift and economical. It was noteworthy
that Michael Schumacher, in winning the Brazilian GP in the
F2002 only stopped once, while Barichello in the F2001 was
scheduled for two pit stops.
The Brazilian race also showed us that
Toyota have built a very respectable race car in a very short
time. The Toyotas are easily beating the BAR’s and the
Jordans, and the Arrows and the Minardi’s and the Jaguars.
Every one of those has been going for a minimum of three
seasons, and this is Toyota’s maiden year. Some of the more
established teams should be looking over their shoulders.
The race will be at a sensible hour on
Sunday, so we can all watch it on the big screen at
Shenanigans at 7 p.m. Don’t be late, or you’ll miss the
now customary first corner bingles! See you there.
|
The price of beauty
 At
the recent Bangkok International Motor Show every stand
had a host of very beautiful young ladies, all smiling so
sweetly at you that it was difficult not to rush forward,
chequebook in hand. However, on one morning I got there a
little early and went downstairs to find a roped off
section which was the greatest beauty salon you’ve ever
seen. A veritable army of make-up artists and katoey
hairdressers were doing the glamour bit on the hostess
girls.
I snapped a few for your edification and then continued on
to get some of the food stall girls and even a cleaner! If
you hadn’t forgotten, you can see here several reasons why
we live in Thailand!
|
Ford look to push the “No
Boundaries” concept
Ford Motor Company were very “bullish”
at the Motor Show, inviting drivers to fully experience life
with “No Boundaries.” FoMoCo had 5 models on display,
including the Ford Laser Tierra with a variety of 1.6 l and
1.8 l engines. This mid-range sedan has been upgraded to offer
a touch of luxury with greater comfort, improved safety
standards (now with disc brakes on the rear as well), and a
full scale of entertainment equipment. These vehicles are
being made in the Philippines, as part of the trade agreement
whereby the Philippines will export the cars which will come
in under a low tariff, while Thailand becomes the hub for
pick-ups and will export the Ranger to the Philippines,
amongst other countries.
 Prominent
on the Ford stand (since we make them down here on the Eastern
Seaboard) was the Ford Ranger XLS now in a variety of six
colours with one being Caribbean Blue, which is specially
designed for the Ranger.
Also on display was the new Ford Explorer -
with two options of engines, a 4 litre V 6 with 210
horsepower, and the 4.6 litre V8 engine with 240 horsepower
and 5-speed automatic transmission. This vehicle features the
Control Trac on Demand system, enabling the 4x4 SUV to change
from 4x2 to 4x4 drive quickly.
Kind of under wraps, but a teaser being
shown, was the Ford Escape, a compact-sized SUV with more
space and comfort which will be officially launched in
Thailand later this year.
 The
last vehicle model was the F150 - The best selling pick-up
truck in the US for 25 years and Ford’s best selling vehicle
in the past 20 years.
By the way, special deals were available at
the show, so I’d hit up the Ford dealer anyway, if you have
an interest in a Ford product. It is a competitive market out
there!
As part of that aggressive marketing push,
executive director Mike Pease said, “We are committed to
innovation and product development that will best address
today’s drivers. This year, we plan to expand our product
range to cover every market segment. New products that we will
introduce later this year will enable us to expand our
customer base. With world-class standards and quality of our
vehicles, we are confident that Ford will become the number
one car that Thai drivers prefer, which will lead to Ford
success in the growing Thai market.” After chatting with
Mike, I got the feeling that Ford are going to be trying very
hard over the next 12 months. It might just be part of the
world-wide Ford push, but I felt there was a personal note in
Mike’s attitude. Sort of more like ‘take no prisoners’,
rather than ‘no boundaries’.
| Autotrivia
Quiz
Last week I mentioned that one F1
driver had his maiden win by being 1/100th of a second in
front of the second placed driver. I wanted to know, who
was he and what year was it? The answer was Peter Gethin,
in a BRM in 1971 at Monza!
So to this week. Let’s stick with the
Concept cars, made in Bangkok. This is very easy. Who was
the winner of the 2001 Concept car series? Clue - he has
been mentioned in this column many times, and his photo
was published at the award night.
For the Automania FREE beer this week,
be the first correct answer to fax 427 596 or email
[email protected]
Good luck!
|
The price of Bangkok living
 Aim
race car
While up in Bangers I also visited my mate
Nontimuk Jotisalikorn in his new post as managing director of
the Aim Racing Project. These are the guys who promote motor
racing in this country and are also the builders of a very
fine range of race vehicles called the Concept Cars and the
Sport Grand Champion vehicles. The factory is out near
Chatuchak and I was staying in Soi 20 Sukhumvit.
 Nontimuk
Jotisalikorn
The trip took 2 hours in clotted traffic.
It was a wonderful way to practice the art of Jai Yen Yen and
made me realise just why life in Pattaya is so appealing!
| Will the
Phoenix arise?
Former Minardi driver Gaston
Mazzacane claims that he has been offered a contract to
race with the newly formed Phoenix team, assembled from
the spare parts left at the Prost factory. There has
been much speculation as to whether the team will be
allowed to compete in 2002, with F1 supremo Bernie
Ecclestone unimpressed by reports that the outfit is
ready to race. The Phoenix Team felt they should be able
to grab the 12th spot in the F1 circus, but there
appears to be lots of red tape involved. Seems like they
have only bought the bits and pieces, and not Prost’s
licence to compete, so Gaston might still be a
spectator. Since Gaston would be paying to compete
anyway, it will be cheaper for him just to buy a
season’s pass to the grandstand. |
A V12 VW?
 Have
a look at the VeeDub photo. This vehicle was in the
accessories area at the show, and I almost did a double take
when I saw it. The “engine” is a JVC sound system but the
air intakes are real with an air-conditioner radiator in
behind the apertures. At long last, an air-conned air-cooled
engine. The owner, Pachara Supuktanasiri, said it worked well
too.
|
