Spyker accuse Ferrari of spying
Hot on the heels of the McLaren spying scandal comes the
news that the FIA have accused Renault of being in
possession of sensitive information coming from McLaren!
This will result in a hearing by the World Motor Sport
Council in December, and now comes the news that Spyker have
serious doubts about this year’s championship winning
Ferrari.
Sources from within Spyker, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity, said that their engineers had noticed several
similarities between the 2007 Spyker and the Ferrari. “For a
start,” said the source, “look at the number of wheels.
Exactly the same number as on our car, and the same
placement with two at the front and two at the rear. This
cannot be mere coincidence.”
Other amazing similarities include the seating of the
driver, both the Spyker and the Ferrari feature forward
facing seats, with removable steering wheels. “We have
engineering drawings of all these features, and the fact
that Ferrari has the same features in its design smacks of
some underhand dealings, if not industrial espionage.”
Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Spyker’s cleaner has
not turned up for work at the factory this week, lending
further credence to the accusations. The FIA have refused to
comment on this third case of spying, saying that they have
all these others to investigate first, but if there is any
truth in the accusations, Ferrari can expect the harshest
penalties, including being made to stay in after school.
Preview of the Mazda2
With the news that we will be assembling the
Mazda2 here in Thailand (along with its sibling, the Ford
Fiesta) for sale in 2008, it is of interest to see how it
has been received in other countries.
Mazda2
GoAuto, in Australia, wrote that the Mazda2 passed its first
test even before leaving the kerb. The bright Kermit green
test car was described as ‘cute’ by someone right in the
middle of Mazda’s target market for the little runabout.
Acceptance by the youth market, especially women, is crucial
and looks are all-important in this class.
In looks, the new Mazda is very similar to a scaled down
version of the Yaris, the small car benchmark these days.
Again, from GoAuto, the little Mazda still corners well
enough and will be more than sporty enough for many of its
target customers, but the suspension has been softened in
the name of comfort. This avoids an overly harsh ride and,
on the whole, the Mazda2 is pretty comfortable.
The smallest Mazda sets new standards for the quality of the
plastics used for the interior, putting it a step ahead of
other small car interiors. It even tops the Honda Jazz
cabin.
Mounting the gearshift on the lower part of the dash frees
up space for some extra space, and a cup-holder, in the
center console.
More importantly for many, an auxiliary plug is mounted in
the center console. That means their iPod or MP3 player can
sit in the center console compartment, right next to the
plug, which beats having the lead sticking out of the
dashboard or having the plug out of the way in the glovebox
like some other cars.
Interior packaging of the Mazda2 is good, though. It might
not be as tall as the model it replaces, but there is still
good leg and headroom for front and rear passengers. The
rear seats are very flat and firm, but at least there are
head restraints and lap-sash belts for all seats.
There are several handy little storage places, although it
would be nice to have a decent sized glovebox instead of the
super-slim compartment in the Mazda2.
Otherwise, the car’s practicality is impressive, with the
rear seats folding down to open up enough space to store a
large mountain bike, which is not bad for a car this size.
On paper, the 1.5 liter engine is a step backwards from the
previous unit (6kW less power and 4Nm less torque). What
really matters, however, is how the engine performs in the
real world and the Mazda2 is 60 kg lighter than the previous
model and the engine is also very good.
It has enough pull down low to ensure you don’t have to wind
the engine right out to the red-line to get anywhere in a
hurry. In fact, you can maintain a reasonable pace by
changing up at around 3500 rpm.
The engine is also quite smooth and relatively quiet. Even
at highway speeds, when the engine is doing 3000rpm, it is
not intrusive.
Fuel consumption for the test car came in at 6.9 L/100 km,
which is very impressive.
The Australian-spec model has no trip computer. This lack of
a trip computer is a sign of cost-cutting, but it’s nice to
know that Mazda at least spent the extra money to include
ABS brakes as standard equipment.
Spending up on safety didn’t quite stretch to electronic
stability control, but at least it is available as an option
at a competitive price, along with extra airbags.
The manual gearbox is just adequate and, while the
dash-mounted gearshift does free up space, it still feels
strange to drivers used to a gearbox that sits down to the
side of the driver, especially when you change up.
Mazda is not alone here, with other small cars from Honda
and Toyota adopting the same set-up, but it makes the car
feel even less sporty.
So that’s not a bad report card from Down-Under, but we will
have to wait and see just what specifications the local
model will have. We should know around March next year.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I suggested we stick with headlamps. I
asked when did headlamp flashers first become offered, and
on what car? The correct answer was FIAT, in 1935 with their
1500.
So to this week. Who was the first manufacturer to fit a six
cylinder engine to their passenger cars? Clue - it was 1902.
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Bernie wants Surfers
Paradise for the Oz GP
Reading between the lines, it would seem as if
the Australian GP in Albert Park in Melbourne is about to go
to Queensland. The Victorian government has released the
figures that it has constantly lost money on the event, and
this year it was a cool A$34 million. The Victorian
tax-payer, who has not been wholeheartedly behind the event
anyway, will start objections over the 2008 event, any day
now.
The report which appeared in Victorian state’s parliament
showed that the race made a $34 million loss this season;
which is $12 million worse than that of a year earlier and
$21 million worse than in 2005. The losses were attributed
to dwindling ticket sales and sponsorship revenue.
Our man on the ground, Bernie Ecclestone, has reportedly
asked the Queensland government to host the Australian GP in
Surfers Paradise. This is not such a crazy move. The Surfers
Paradise track is erected around the streets and has
successfully held the Indycar Grand Prix for around 12
years.
Bernie has made it plain that he wants more street races,
and Surfers Paradise is just that, and it is a
‘destination’, whilst Melbourne is not, as far as mass
tourism is concerned.
Having raced there myself, it does offer brilliant viewing
from the tower blocks all around the circuit, the weather is
always great, and Surfers Paradise does get behind its
sporting events.
For many people, me included, Surfers should take up
Bernie’s kind offer, and Melbourne should quietly accede,
even though it has the contract until 2010. After all, think
of the money they will save.
Surfers
Paradise
Want to try Moto-GP?
HighSide Tours is running a track day at the Bira
Circuit, just outside Pattaya on Highway 36, on Saturday
November 24. Graham Knight does not guarantee to turn you
into Valentino Rossi in one day, but you will experience and
learn something about riding.
Moto-GP
action
Three categories of rider - first timers, those with a
little track experience and finally experienced track
riders/racers. There will be a photographer on hand to
record your moment of glory, and you can even purchase
Pirelli tyres at a 15 percent discount on the day.
The track day is for bikes 250 cc and above (bring your own)
and the following safety gear is mandatory - full-face
helmet, gloves and boots, and with sensible riding clothes
between the helmet and the boots!
If you pre-register by fax it is only B. 1,000, and on the
day it will be B. 1,500. English language fax number is 038
364 030, and the day should be an absolute blast for anyone
who enjoys two wheels. You can get further details from
Graham Knight on 089 119 0000, and have a look at their very
professional website www.highsidetours.com
Kazuki Nakajima in the
Williams F1
Amongst the musical chairs that takes place around this time
each year, Williams F1 has announced that the second race
seat vacated by Alex Wurz will be taken by Kazuki Nakajima.
But who is this new driver?
Kazuki is the son of former grand prix driver Satoru, who
raced for Lotus and Tyrrell in the 1980s and 1990s. Young
Kazuki came to prominence by winning the Suzuka Formula ICA
karting championship in 1999. His performances impressed
Toyota, who fast-tracked him into their Young Drivers
Program, and he competed in Formula Toyota and won the title
in 2003. The following year he was promoted to Japanese F3,
where he won two races. In 2005 he was the runner-up in the
series. In 2006 he made the switch to European F3 and he won
round four of the series, but his season ran out of momentum
and he ended the season in P7 in the standings.
He was named as Williams F1 test driver for 2007 and
following Alex Wurz’s retirement from F1 (did he jump or was
he pushed?), Nakajima made his debut for Williams at
Interlagos in the final grand prix of the 2007 season, where
he wrote himself into the record books when he overshot his
pit box and ran into two of his mechanics, who were then
carted off on stretchers.
Following that less than glorious debut, Sir Frank Williams
announced that Nakajima had done enough (neither of the
mechanics died) to secure a race seat in 2008 alongside Nico
Rosberg. Despite the fact that young Kazuki is a Toyota
program driver, this has absolutely nothing to do with his
selection, and the fact that the Williams F1 runs Toyota
engines is merely coincidental. It has also been reliably
reported that the moon is made of green cheese.
