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British GP
The British GP is on this weekend at
Silverstone. After last year when half the spectators’ cars
disappeared in bottomless mud, the Silverstone folk were told
to smarten their act or lose their GP. There were problems too
with access roads, but we are assured that everything is now
hunky dory and the race is on. There will be plenty of
rivalry, with people such as Jenson Button, Allan McNish,
David Coulthard and even Eddie Irvine wishing to do well in
front of their home crowd.
I will be watching, as usual in front of
the big screen at Shenanigans. Join me for all the action.
Starting time, uncertain at time of going to press, but check
with the notice boards at Shenanigans! British GP
Natter Nosh
and Noggin
The car (and bike) enthusiasts will be
meeting again this Monday night (8th) at Shenanigans Pub at 7
p.m. This is a totally informal meeting of like minded souls
which meets on the second Monday of every month to discuss
their pet motoring loves and hates. It is free to join and I
suggest that you bring along magazines or photographs so that
the group can get involved in the discussion. Generally we
have something to eat while we are there and wash it down with
something amber, hence the name, Natter, Nosh and Noggin. Just
ask any of the lovely Shenanigans girls where Dr. Iain and the
group are and they will point us out and give you a push. See
you Monday 8th.
Autotrivia
Quiz
Last week I asked you who owns Lotus now?
Should have been very easy. The correct answer is Proton in
Malaysia.
And so to this week. And another easy one.
Singer entered three cars at Le Mans with their Singer 9 Le
Mans models. What happened to them in the race?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to fax 427 596 or email automania @pattayamail.com
Good luck!
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Hong Kong
Racers at Bira for Round 2 of their championship
 The
HK racers who want to race at Macau must have international
experience and this is their second meeting at Bira this year.
They all have names that read like a Chinatown menu, but they
do put on some spirited racing. Get there early on Saturday or
Sunday as they pack up early afternoon.
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Autotrivia
Quiz gets sent to Lotus Cars
One of the prolific entrants in the
Autotrivia Quiz is MacAlan Thompson, who spends many hours
trawling the internet with assorted search engines to come up
with the correct answers. A couple of weeks ago I thought I
had managed to make up a question that he couldn’t deduce by
search engine methods - why did Lotus not produce the luxury
Eminence, even though they had advance orders? This did not
stop Mac, who sent me how he got the right answer - he wrote
to Lotus!
“Dear Lotus,
Not sure who in your organization this
should be sent to so thought I’d start with you folks.
There’s an Australian down at Pattaya who does a weekly
column called AutoMania for the Pattaya Mail newspaper
(www.pattayamail.com). Each week he has a question for a free
beer. How about helping this poor old (well, not so “old”
really) retired American scarf up a free beer from the Ozzie.
Thanks. Mac Thompson, retired in Thailand.”
Mac received the following reply from Lotus
Cars in the UK.
“Dear Mr. Thompson,
Thanks for the inquiry. We do, of course,
recall the Lotus Eminence. The Lotus Eminence was a concept
car designed by Bill Towns back in the mid 80’s. It was a
4-door luxury sport sedan that was shown just before Lotus was
sold by David Wickens to GM. The project went no further than
a concept and died completely after the acquisition by GM.
Hopefully that helps you win your beer!”
From there Mac went to the historians at
GM. I like his investigative style. This man Mac deserves his
free beer, especially now we have Lotus Cars reading
Autotrivia.
| 2002
Drivers’ Championship Standings
After the Ferrari 1-2 in Germany,
here are the
current points
1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 76
2 Ralf Schumacher WilliamsF1 30
3 Juan Pablo Montoya WilliamsF1 27
4 David Coulthard McLaren 26
4 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 26
6 Kimi Raikkonen McLaren 11
7 Jenson Button Renault 10
8 Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan 6
9 Nick Heidfeld Sauber 5
10 Jarno Trulli Renault 4
10 Felipe Massa Sauber 4
12 Eddie Irvine Jaguar 3
13 Mark Webber Minardi 2
13 Mika Salo Toyota 2
13 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Arrows 2
Now let’s look at who’s got
Zero Points
Takuma Sato Jordan
Jacques Villeneuve BAR
Olivier Panis BAR
Pedro de la Rosa Jaguar
Enrique Bernoldi Arrows
Alex Yoong Minardi
Alan McNish Toyota
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New Camry the
Sabailand Car of the Year?
The redesigned 2002 Toyota Camry has been
named the International Carwash Association’s Most Washable
Car (I am not making this up)! Remember we are not talking
hand wash here, but more automatic body wash.
 2002
Toyota Camry
According to Dana Hargitt, a Toyota
engineer this is no accident, “I can’t say (it) is our top
priority but it does blend nicely with other things we’re
trying to do with these vehicles.” Hargitt also said a lack
of protruding features make the car less wind-resistant as
well as more at home in the car wash.
Had a close look at one of these cars the
other day. This one was in black and it looked very
Mercedes-Benz like from the 3/4 rear view and they are
certainly large motor cars. You’ll need lots of suds!
| Ferrari
fined 1 mill by the FIA!
Here is the official statement from
the FIA regarding the Grand Prix in Austria.
FIA World Council Statement
26-06-2002
“Having studied the observer’s
report and heard the three parties concerned, Rubens
Barrichello, Michael Schumacher and Scuderia Ferrari
Marlboro, the World Motor Sport Council resolved as
follows.
The race
The WMSC deplored the manner in which
team orders were given and executed at the Austrian
Grand Prix. Nevertheless the Council finds it impossible
to sanction the two drivers, because they were both
contractually bound to execute orders given by the team.
The Council also recognised the
long-standing and traditional right of a team to decree
the finishing order of its drivers in what it believes
to be the best interest of its attempt to win both world
championships.
In the circumstances, the Council
decided; with some reluctance; that it could take no
action over the team orders given by Scuderia Ferrari
Marlboro at the Austrian Grand Prix.
The podium
The podium procedure was not
followed. Having finished second, Rubens Barrichello,
who is a Brazilian national, stood on the top step while
the German national anthem was played for Michael
Schumacher. Michael Schumacher then ascended the top
step and both drivers, rather than just the winner,
stood there while the Italian national anthem was
played. Michael Schumacher took the trophy for first
place from the Austrian Chancellor, did not acknowledge
him, handed the trophy to Rubens Barrichello and then
took the second place trophy from the Austrian Deputy
Chancellor.
It is the duty of each team to ensure
that its contracted drivers observe the podium
procedures and do not in any way embarrass the national
authorities of the country where a grand prix takes
place.
The World Motor Sport Council held
that Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher and Scuderia
Ferrari Marlboro were each guilty of failure to observe
Article 170 of the Formula One Sporting Regulations.
The World Motor Sport Council imposed
a fine of $1 million (USD) on Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro,
Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello jointly, half
to be paid immediately and half to be suspended for one
year. The fine will become payable immediately should a
similar offence occur within the next twelve months.”
Gentle reader, what utter codswallop!
The FIA acknowledged that there was no case to answer
for the “team orders” but said that because the
wrong guy stood on the top step the team and drivers get
fined $1,000,000. Utter bloody nonsense! I once invited
another driver from the crowd to join me on the podium,
because he had led till the last lap when his car
expired. He was the moral victor, as was Barichello,
which Schumacher had acknowledged by putting Barichello
on the top step. With what I did, I suppose the FIA
would have me executed today! And when you think about
it, what’s a mill to Ferrari, Schumi and Rooby Baby?
Nothing! I hope the FIA spend the money wisely!
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So what did
we learn from the European GP?
Well, first off, who is complaining about
Team Orders now? It was patently obvious that Schumacher the
elder was much faster than Barichello, being able to reel him
in at will. From being 8 seconds down, Schumi was on his team
mate’s tail in under 6 laps. And that happened twice, plus
when he was held up in traffic and fell behind. Ross Brawn,
the Ferrari strategist admitted that he told Rubens 10 laps
from home that he would win the race (and Michael not to). Do
I hear outrage? Do I thump! So it’s alright to “fix”
races, as long as the guy we like wins. Ladies and gentlemen
of the jury, I rest my case.
 Pic
courtesy of pitpass.com and Bothwell Photographics
Need I comment that Ferrari have something
the others haven’t got? They have the ability to pull away
at over 1 second a lap from the entire field in racing
conditions. The others, especially BMW Williams, seem to be
able to do blinding qualifying times, but cannot get anywhere
near it in the race. The Honda engined teams (Jordan and BAR)
even ran “qualifying” engines on the Saturday, but to no
avail on the Sunday. BAR are still the only team not to score
points.
What else? Juan Pablo Montoya is not the
next Pope and David Coulthard knows some swear words, all
after Montoya’s failed holding off of Coulthard down into
the hairpin. Raikkonen drove a strong race, while Schumi
junior did not.
And if you think F1 is losing its
popularity, try these figures for size. A record crowd
travelled to the Nurburgring to watch this year’s European
GP. According to pitpass.com, circuit organisers were
delighted with the number of fans who turned up during the
course of the race weekend, and said that the crowd was even
bigger than expected. “We’ve never had so many
spectators,” Nurburgring managing director, Walter Kafitz
told the BMW website. 350,000 fans visited the Nurburgring
over the grand prix weekend, and recent modifications meant
that an extra 8,000 were able to view the race action.
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