British GP this weekend
The British GP is on this weekend at the famous Silverstone
circuit. This was actually the venue for the first World
Championship F1 Grand Prix which was held on May 13, 1950
with the British Royal family in attendance.
The history of the circuit is one of continuing development.
During WW2 Silverstone was a bomber station and it was
pressed into service as a motor racing circuit in 1948. The
three pre-war British circuits, Brooklands, Donington Park
and Crystal Palace were all out of commission and
ex-military airfields offered ready-made road surfaces,
other basic facilities such as primitive toilets, and they
were usually a long way from densely populated areas.
In 1950 came a layout which was unchanged for many years. An
additional corner, Bridge Bend, was added just before
Woodcote for 1987, and the chicane was removed. This altered
the length to 2.969 miles. A major revision of the layout
was undertaken for 1991 which tamed the awesomely fast
Maggotts curve and Stowe and Club corner and added a
sequence of bends prior to Woodcote. These revisions
increased the length to 3.247 miles and remained in force
until 1995 when further details were made which decreased
the overall length of a lap by a few yards leaving it at
3.210 miles.
The current point score is as follows:
1 Fernando Alonso (Spanish) Renault 64
2 Michael Schumacher (German) Ferrari 43
3 Giancarlo Fisichella (Italian) Renault 27
3= Kimi Räikkönen (Finnish) McLaren-Mercedes 27
5 Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombian) McLaren-Mercedes 23
It is still early days in the championship, and any one of
the top five could make it to the top of the heap by the
time the next 11 GPs have been run.
The race should begin at 1 p.m. British time, which is (I
believe) 6 p.m. here (an hour earlier than usual for
European races), but check your local TV feed.
We watch at Jameson’s Irish Pub where we get Martin Brundle
as an informed commentator on the South African feed, so we
do not have to listen to the prattle from the UBC talking
heads, nor do we get the breaks for adverts. Join me at
around 5.30 p.m. for a bite to eat and then settle down for
the race.
Monaco
musings. Did Schumi really cheat?
The motor racing world has been thrashing
out the Schumi-Monaco affair for the past couple of weeks,
with much mud being dragged up by the anti-Schumacher camp,
whilst Michael Schumacher continues to deny any deliberate
attempt to thwart Alonso’s qualifying lap.
After
seven hours of deliberation, the stewards of the meeting
decided that Schumacher did deliberately cause a situation
that stymied Alonso’s qualifying chances. The penalty was to
scrub Schumacher’s times and demote him to 22nd on the grid.
The stewards did not use the word “cheating”, but that was
the immediate response of the anti-Schumacher bloc.
There are also those who have been saying that if Schumacher
were innocent he should have appealed against the decision.
The fact that he did not, therefore proves his guilt.
However, that is not the real situation either. The
stewards’ decisions are final and there is no immediate
right of appeal, so he could not appeal anyway. It should
also be remembered that the stewards are both judge and jury
at race meetings.
I do not have full access to all the facts surrounding this
case. Only the FIA stewards had that right to review
telemetry and replay TV footage, as well as interview the
driver. I do not, and neither do Schumacher’s detractors;
however, if (and it is a big “if” in my mind) Schumacher did
deliberately thwart Alonso’s chances and was “cheating”,
then the penalty was not severe enough!
Having been a motor racer for many years, I too have had my
times in the stewards room, being given the opportunity to
explain my actions on track, or the specifications of my car
and the like, and I cannot say I am enamoured of stewards,
the vast majority of whom are enthusiasts (at best), and not
motor racers. I was the subject of a three month ban after
it was discovered that my engine builder installed the
pistons in my stock Gemini engine back to front. The claim
was that there was a theoretical chance of a small (unable
to be measured) improvement in performance! And I got a
three month suspension!
If a driver in a minor formula can get three months for an
indiscretion he was unaware of, how much should a driver at
the pinnacle of motor sport get for a deliberate action?
Only relegation to the back of the grid? Three months
suspension would not be enough.
However, the stewards should be very, very sure of their
decision. If there is a shred of doubt, then I believe the
qualifying times should have remained as they were, with
Schumacher on pole.
So was there doubt? When it took seven hours to make their
decision, I would suggest that there was. If it were an open
and shut case of blatantly impeding the other drivers, it
would not take seven hours, surely?
Perhaps the only positive result from this sorry episode is
that it should silence all those people who have accused the
FIA of being pro Ferrari. The fact that their star driver
was penalized at all should be remembered.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I mentioned Honda, and asked what was the
first Honda model to be offered in two forms? A little
controversial perhaps, but it was the S600 sports which came
in both open and fixed head coupe styles.
So to this week. What new car sold 100,000 units in the
first 100 days of its release?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Natter Nosh and Noggin
The monthly car enthusiasts meeting will
be at Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR next to the Nova Park
development. The car (and bike) enthusiasts meet on the
second Monday of the month, so this time it is Monday (June
12) at Jameson’s at 7 p.m. This is a totally informal
meeting of like minded souls to discuss their pet motoring
(and motorcycling) loves and hates. Bring along any
magazines, photos of old vehicles, old girlfriends or the
latest Bentley Continental GT.
Porsche’s Panamera is
coming
The Porsche Panamera is coming, but unfortunately
at the expense of the company’s fire-breathing Carrera GT,
which had been built at the Leipzig plant, but the
production lines will be changed to the Panamera.
Currently under development following confirmation of its
production in May last year, the four-seater grand touring
sedan (Porsche prefers to call its a sports coupe) will join
the 911 coupe/cabrio, Boxster convertible/Cayman coupe and
the Cayenne SUV in Porsche dealerships in 2009.
Porsche
Panamera
Its production will involve significant further investment
and expansion to the Leipzig facility, including the
construction of a new 25,000 square-metre production hall
and the extension of the existing assembly hall.
A 30,000 square-metre logistics centre will also be built
near the new hall from September, bringing Porsche’s overall
investment in new buildings and production facilities to 120
million Euros.
“Right from the beginning in the production of the Cayenne
and the Carrera GT, our Leipzig plant has proven that it is
in a position to build premium cars of the highest quality,”
said Porsche AG president and CEO Dr Wendelin Wiedeking.
“So taking this decision in favour of Leipzig is a clear
sign of confidence in the skills and abilities of our
workforce at the plant, and at the same time a further
contribution to the economic development of the new states
of Germany in the East.
“Making this pledge to Germany as a centre of industry, we
are enhancing the inherent value of our sports cars – and at
the same time we are meeting the expectations of our
customers,” said Dr Wiedeking.
Porsche
said that Panamera’s engines, which are expected to include
derivatives of the Cayenne’s 4.5 litre naturally-aspirated
and turbocharged V8, will be built at Porsche’s main
Zuffenhausen plant in Stuttgart, while Volkswagen’s Hanover
facility will supply bodies-in-white.
“We have decided in favour of the Hanover Plant because it
is one of the most modern plants within the entire
Volkswagen Group and is in a position to build the body of
the car with the premium quality we require.
“A further advantage is that the paint shop in Hanover
allows a wider range of colours than at other VW plants,”
said Dr Wiedeking.
Porsche said that this would represent six percent of the
vehicle’s entire value, while the degree of in-house
production of the Panamera in Porsche’s own plants will be
15 percent.
Porsche is quick to point out that 70 per cent of the car’s
‘value creation’ will be in Germany, thanks largely to
German suppliers, creating 600 new jobs within Porsche
Leipzig GmbH and a further 600 in the region - recruitment
of which will start in 2008.
Will the Panamera have a place in the market? Undoubtedly.
After sampling the Maserati Quattroporte a few weeks ago,
there is definitely a place for exotic vehicles that can
carry more than two people!
Meantime, the final Carrera GT rolled out of the Porsche
production facility in Leipzig on May 11, bringing to an end
what the company claims is the most successful supercar in
history.
Porsche
Carrera GT
More than 1270 examples of the V10 powered, left hand drive
Carrera GT were sold since its introduction in late 2003,
representing a greater number than the total production of
the McLaren F1, Ferrari Enzo and Pagani Zonda models
combined.
Powered by a 5.7 litre naturally aspirated V10 engine
developing 450 kW and 590 Nm of torque, the limited-edition
supercar claimed a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 3.9 seconds on
its way to a top speed in excess of 300 km/h.
