What did we learn from the German GP?
Well, we learned that a drop of rain or
two can make for some great motor racing! We also learned
that under changing conditions the final position of the
driver can be down to good or bad calls by the team and its
drivers as far as tyre choice is concerned.
Untidy
parking.
A brilliant example was the Spyker of F1 debutant Markus
Winkelhock who opted to start from pit lane, after being
fitted with wet tyres, following a weather forecast stating
rain in three minutes just before the start. The weatherman
was correct and Winkelhock led his first GP after the second
lap. He should purchase the TV footage, as he’ll never lead
another GP this decade. In fact, Dutch rumor tells me that
Spyker won’t last the decade, or even this year!
The tyre dilemma (or not listening to the weatherman) was
all the way through the field, with Robert (‘le nez’) Kubica
saying, “It was challenging, as it was not only about the
speed of the car but the speed of reaction of the team, and
when to put on which tyres.” A master of understatement. Dr.
Mario Theissen undoubtedly had both his drivers on the mat
after the race after running into each other - not once, but
twice, and Heidfeld should start clearing out his locker.
Renault are now the masters of the pit wall exhortations,
‘encouraging’ their drivers by telling them they are too
slow! A Dale Carnegie course is needed at Renault. As well
as a pension plan for Fisichella. Giancarlo saying, “We had
the opportunity to do well today, but we didn’t take
advantage of it. I lost positions with an extra lap on
slicks at the beginning, and then queuing in the pits behind
Heikki (Kovalainen) too.” Giancarlo is coming towards the
last pages in the F1 driver’s excuse book.
The Lewis Hamilton fans were treated to all the ups and
downs of motor racing in one weekend. A crash, relegation to
10th on the grid, a brilliant start to get up to 4th, hit by
an errant BMW, a puncture, a slide off the circuit,
restarting in last place, a wrong call for tyres and finally
finishing 9th and one place off the points. But top marks
for keeping the engine running!
Down in the Toyota pit, Jarno Trulli, who managed to finish
13th said, “It was the kind of race where I was always in
the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong decision
at the wrong moments. You cannot know what the weather will
do, that is the problem. We took a gamble several times and
every time it was the wrong time and things were happening.
We had so much bad luck today, I hope it all came at once
and we will not have any more.” I have news for Jarno, and
it’s all bad. Expect more of the same! Ralf, however, put on
his usual race, including his usual crash and his usual
blaming it on somebody else. I believe he has signed for
Toyota again. If this is correct, it is those kinds of
management decisions that will keep Toyota at the back of
the field.
What did we learn from Honda? Well, we knew it was a bad
car, and Rooby Baby said it all after the race. “I’m
bitterly disappointed with the result today. The car felt
bad from the start and it never really improved through the
race.” Rube, it hasn’t improved all year. Having signed
again for Honda next year means that Rubens is looking for a
pension for 2008. No podiums, only pensions.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked what did the original
FIAT 500 have in common with the 1961 Lincoln Continental?
The clue was: don’t contemplate suicide over this. That
should have been enough. The original FIAT 500 had ‘suicide’
doors (rear hinged, front opening) and so were the rear
doors on the 1961 Lincoln Continental. By the way, the later
model FIAT 500s had conventional doors, but the small estate
car version retained the original rear hinges.
So to this week. A famous French record breaking car had to
stop its endurance run to allow the French Grand Prix to be
held, then it continued on after the GP was over. What was
the car, and when did this happen?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Drive your boat into the water
Probably the biggest bug-bear in owning a boat (that hole in
the ocean into which you tip buckets of money) is getting
the damn thing on and off the trailer. However, some
enterprising Kiwis have come up with the answer, called the
Sealegs.
This is an amphibious boat that can drive itself straight
down into the water, and according to the pundits, worldwide
sales have taken off. The eye-catching vehicle is a fully
functional boat, as opposed to a car that floats, and drops
“landing gear” much like a small plane to drive out of the
water and up the ramp at up to 10 kph. Sealegs showcased
their latest model in Australia recently at the Melbourne
Boat Show - a 6.1 meter aluminium D-tube version that is
essentially a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) costing US$8,600.
This is a complete turnkey amphibious solution with extra
armor for the aqua adventurers. A drive on trailer is now
also available that adds high speed land transport to the
equation.
While the D-tube Sealegs makes a respectable 60 kph on the
water thanks to its 90 hp 2 stroke outboard motor, the
hydraulic land gear struts and wheels are powered by a small
4 stroke Honda engine making about 16 hp. It’s enough for
around 10 kph, or a good jogging pace, on land, either
forward or reverse. The all-terrain tyres are mounted on 9"
rims and naturally the entire land running gear is designed
to be submersible and salt-water resistant. Once the boat is
floating, the wheels fold up to remain completely above
water.
With the land footprint of a large car, it’s easily parked
in a garage - and the rugged land drive system is capable of
landing and launching on some pretty inhospitable terrain,
which makes it a brilliant boat to explore some uncharted
islands.
Oil burning BMW 635d
BMW 635d
BMW has for the first time combined its
twin-turbocharged, six-cylinder diesel with the marque’s
flagship Grand Tourer in the form of the new 635d.
Coinciding with the revamp of 6 Series model line-up to
include Active Headrests, Brake Energy Regeneration and
other fuel saving and emissions-cutting technology, the 635d
Coupé and Convertible will hit showrooms later this year
with world’s most powerful production diesel up front.
That oil burner can take the BMW 635d Coupé from zero to 100
kph in 6.3 seconds while the Convertible achieves this in
6.6 seconds. Both have top speeds electronically-limited to
250 kph but still maintain impressive fuel efficiency levels
- the Coupé still achieves 40.9 mpg on the combined cycle
and a CO2 emissions figure of 183 g/km, while the
Convertible retains near identical figures recording 39.2
mpg and 190 g/km.
The new engine is a twin-turbocharged 2,993 cc engine with
an all aluminium crankcase and third generation common rail
fuel injection system. This produces 286 bhp and 580 Nm of
torque. These performance figures have been made possible by
the unique way the twin turbochargers work. To get rid of
the problem of turbo lag, a smaller turbocharger provides
near instantaneous response for swift initial acceleration
before a larger turbocharger comes in mid-range to provide
additional thrust through to the redline. Peak torque is
available from just 1,750 rpm to deliver a seamless wave of
smooth acceleration.
BMW have a raft of developments in this new 6 Series, called
“EfficientDynamics” technology that introduces Brake Energy
Regeneration and the implementation of various needs-only
operations of ancillary units for the first time in the 6
Series range. This includes the ability to decouple the
air-conditioning compressor from the drive-train to prevent
unnecessary drag on the engine and the use of lower
viscosity fluids in key components to reduce friction. An
optimum gearshift indicator is fitted to advise on
economical motoring, while active flaps located behind the
kidney grille can close off to improve aerodynamic flow and
reduce drag. These measures mean lower fuel consumption and
emissions figures than would previously have been possible.
Some of these developments have come from their F1
technology, which makes these 6 Series cars more efficient.
The Turner Steamer lives again?
Acting as a champion for alternative fuels and engine
design, the group behind the British Steam Car Challenge is
looking for a record breaking 240 kph run on British soil,
followed by a 320 kph run on the Bonneville salt flats of
Utah.
Steaming
to a record?
Steam engines run on external combustion, meaning they’re
not fuel specific like internal combustion engines. The fuel
is used to heat the water, and over the years has included
petrol, kerosene, furnace oil and even wood. The British
steam powered streamliner will run a 12,000 rpm turbine
engine producing 225 kw of power.
Four LPG powered boilers will feed the turbine engine with
steam pressure, and the car will operate at total loss,
consuming and expending the entire volume of water it
carries for each run. The group plans to retire the vehicle
to the British National Motor Museum Trust at Beaulieu once
it has set an internationally-verified 320 kph land speed
record.
Like most of these ideas, it is not self-funding, so the
group is looking for donations, and you can get your name on
the vehicle if you hand over more than one British pound.
Interested parties can support the project at the British
Steam Car Appeal website.
There have been 13 British steam car manufacturers, but the
best known was the Turner, built in Wolverhampton. In actual
fact, this car was really Belgian, being called a
Turner-Miesse, being built under license from Miesse et Cie
of Antwerp. Both the British and Belgian factories deserted
steam in 1912 and produced petrol engined cars after that
date.
