Let us hope that the Malaysian GP is better
than the Australian one! Boring, boring, boring! After looking
forward to the new season, to be handed the farce called
Qualifying, where some drivers ran in the rain, and others in the
dry, which turned it into a lottery. They would have done better
to pull numbers out of a hat!
Sepang
circuit
On the positive side, we did see Fisichella get
his second win of his career, and the Renault package did look
strong. The David Coulthard fans would have been pleased, with DC
looking fired up, especially at the first corner where he left
Webber two choices - let me through or get punted off! Perhaps
this is DC’s year of “No more mister nice guy”?
The two-race engine rule has also been made
farcical, with BAR who were out of the points anyway, pulling into
the pits on the last lap, and officially “retiring”, which
means they can get a new engine for Malaysia.
Sauber are reportedly scratching their heads
and wondering why Jacques Villeneuve was so slow (he was a second
a lap slower than his team mate Felipe Massa). When Monsieur Peter
Sauber took on Villeneuve, he had ignored the fact that he was
out-performed by Jenson Button when they were both at BAR, both in
race results and qualifying.
The Sepang circuit is 5.542 km around, and the
race will be over 55 laps. As opposed to Melbourne, where it was
cold and wet, Malaysia will be as here, hot and humid. However,
the configuration of the circuit does afford some passing
opportunities that Melbourne did not.
The current lap record is held by the fiery
Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya in the BMW-Williams, at 1min 34.223
secs set last year. Expect lap times this year to be around 1 min
36 as the new aerodynamic regulations have slowed the cars down,
but still have not made it easier to pass. The drivers were also
worried about how well their tyres might last if they tried demon
late-braking, making passing even less likely (as we saw in
Melbourne).
Starting time? I think it will start at 2 p.m.
in Malaysia (though the Sepang website indicates 3 p.m.), which is
1 p.m. (or 2 p.m.) here, but please check your local TV guide!
I will be watching at Jameson’s Irish Pub,
why not join me for lunch and that way we can be sure of not
missing the start!
DaimlerChrysler are bringing over several
vehicles from their famous museum in Germany for the MoShow
which begins on March 25 at BITEC (Km 1 Bangna Trad Road).
One
of the most significant is the Daimler Benz of 1886, one of
the vehicles in contention for the title of the world’s
first ‘real’ car. Karl Benz was the first to sell his
horseless carriages, made to a design and not ‘one-off’
experiments. Benz’s motor carriage patent was issued on
January 29 1886. This car is the two person tricycle with four
stroke gasoline engine, electric ignition and surface
carburettor.
DaimlerChrysler’s other vehicles include
the 1907 Mercedes Simplex and a Mercedes Benz 320
‘Streamliner’ of 1939, plus another couple of oldies. I
just wish they’d bring out the W125, W163 and W196. Maybe
next year.
Other show-stoppers are on the Mitsubishi
stand, with a WRC Lancer and the Paris-Dakar L200 Pick-up, and
the latest incarnation of the Evo series, the Evo IX.
The motorcycle folk are not forgotten
either as all the main players are displaying new motorcycles,
such as the latest Suzuki GSX 1400 and the Yamaha YZR. I have
arranged coverage of the bikes at the show by a serious
two-wheeled freak, and we will have a pictorial spread in a
couple of weeks.
The Bangkok International Motor Show runs
from March 25 until April 3. During the week the hours are
noon until 10 p.m. and 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. at weekends and
holidays.
I make no secret of the fact that I am
impressed with Mazda. I have owned and raced a few, including
RX7’s and my last drive car in Australia was an MX5, a
delightful car that never missed a beat.
At the Geneva motor show, Mazda previewed
the new MX5 that will go on sale later this year. Hopefully we
will also see this vehicle at the Bangkok International Motor
Show.
2005
MX5
The original MX5 was launched in 1989 and
was an instant success, with the appealing lines very
reminiscent of the Lotus Elan (though if you ever parked the
two together, they were quite different).
Coming out as a 1.6 litre four cylinder, it
had ‘enough’ power to be a fun drive, but the enthusiasts
called out for more. Mazda responded with a 106 kW 1.8 litre
and even a turbo version for some markets, but the enthusiasts
wanted more as the chassis was just so good.
This
new version features an all-alloy 2 litre engine (as used in
the Mazda3), the MZR four-cylinder engine that delivers 118kW
at 6700 rpm and 188Nm of torque at 5000rpm, mated to either a
short-throw six-speed manual or an automatic gearbox with
steering wheel change paddles.
According to GoAuto magazine, which was
present for the Geneva launch, the MX5’s engine produces
more power than the standard MZR 2.0 in the Mazda3 through the
variable induction system, variable valve timing and the
re-profiling of the double overhead camshafts, along with a
low back-pressure exhaust, high-volume muffler and a dual tail
pipe.
A lighter flywheel, electronic throttle and
stiff driveshaft are designed to make response as quick as
possible. Mazda expects a 0-100 km/h time in the low seven
seconds bracket for the 2.0, more than one second quicker than
the car it replaces.
Again according to GoAuto which has seen
the car in the metal at the show, the styling overhaul of the
new MX5, the first since the car’s only significant update
in 1998, has stuck closely to the lightweight two-door,
two-seat, rear-wheel drive philosophy that has attracted more
than 700,000 sales world-wide.
Mazda wanted this car to be virtually
indistinguishable from its predecessors at 100 metres, the
changes only becoming apparent as you get closer. Only then
does the more aggressive shark nose with large honeycomb lower
intake, punched out guards that evoke RX-8, the sculpted
high-tech headlight array and the straighter lines that
dispense with the Coke bottle contours become obvious.
Inside, there is a more dramatic change,
with an appreciable uplift in quality and ergonomics as well
as more imaginative trim combinations. More practical are the
extra hip, shoulder, and elbow room, the introduction of an
adjustable steering wheel, two volume side airbags, extra
ventilation and more storage space. The roof is a manual
Z-folding soft-top with a glass rear window (Hooray! The
plastic one scratched dreadfully every time you folded the
ragtop), although there will be an optional hard top as well.
“What we wanted it to be was an MX-5 that
moved into the 21st century,” explained Mazda global design
chief Moray Callum, himself a three-time MX-5 owner. “I
think the end result is something that has actually grown up
from the original car.
“The nice thing that has changed is the
proportion. The wheelbase is a little bit longer, so it looks
a little more sophisticated, a little more rear-wheel drive
now which is good.
“It is something we wanted to enhance
because there is obviously not a lot of rear-wheel drive cars
of that size out there.”
Much of this MX5’s rear wheel drive
architecture comes from the award winning RX-8 coupe,
including the core backbone unibody, double wishbone front
suspension, multi-link rear-end (replacing double wishbones on
the old car), six-speed manual gearbox, differential and
dashboard structure.
Improvements in body strength are
apparently staggering as a result, Mazda claiming a 47 percent
improvement in torsional rigidity and a 22 percent increase in
bending rigidity. This was one area where the original MX5 did
not do too well. I noticed with mine, that even putting on the
hard top helped minimize scuttle shake.
The new car has a kerb weight which Mazda
claims is within 10 kg of its predecessor at 1123kg. A key to
this is been the use of aluminium to reduce unsprung weight.
The car also employs ultra-high tension steel.
The alloy engine is set back 135 mm,
sitting behind the front axle to once again ensure a perfect
50:50 weight distribution. The previous car even located the
battery in the boot to get this weight distribution.
The multi-link rear suspension is bolted
directly to the unibody without subframe or rubber isolation.
Overall size is little changed, being only
20 mm longer and 40 mm wider. However, the wheelbase has grown
65 mm, the front track by 75 mm and the rear track by 55 mm.
The front disc brakes are 20 mm larger in diameter and the
single-piston callipers 25 percent stiffer. Rack and pinion
steering and 205/45 rubber on 17x7 inch alloy rims are also
part of the package.
Specifications
Overall length: 3995 mm
Overall width: 1720 mm
Overall height: 1245 mm
Wheelbase: 2330 mm
Front track: 1490 mm
Rear track: 1495 mm
Seating capacity: 2 persons
Engine type: MZR 2.0-litre DOHC 16-valve inline four
Maximum output (target): 118 kW @ 6700 rpm
Maximum torque (target): 188 Nm @ 5000 rpm
Bore x stroke: 87.5 x 83.1 mm
Transmissions: six-speed manual or six-speed auto
Steering type: rack and pinion
Front suspension: double wishbone
Rear suspension: multi-link
Front/rear brakes: ventilated disc/solid disc
Front/rear tyres: 204/45 R17
Front/rear wheels: 17 x 7.0 inch
