So now it’s the German GP
Hockenheim
This Sunday is the German GP held at
Hockenheim, not Nurburgring. It was opened in 1939, 15 miles
from Heidelberg, and was used for German national car and
motorcycle racing. In 1965/6 it was uprated to a design by
John Hugenholz because one end was lost when an autobahn was
built. The resulting circuit, 6.7 km long, remained
blindingly quick for most of its length, with a slow section
in the ‘stadium’ (i.e. grandstand) area, similar in concept
to the GP course at Indianapolis.
Jim
Clark
Hockenheim achieved notoriety in 1968 when, at one of the
first major races held at the circuit, Jim Clark was killed
in a Formula Two race following presumed tyre failure. His
actual death was caused, however, by the fact that his car
was able to leave the circuit unimpeded and hit a tree.
While the Nurburgring was being made safe, Hockenheim staged
the 1970 German GP with a layout made slower by the
construction of three chicanes. It was not a popular choice
of venue but, following Lauda’s accident at the Nurburgring
in 1976, Hockenheim became the home of the German GP apart
from 1985 when the new ‘Nurburgring’ had the race.
With Massa, Raikkonen and Hamilton equal in points at the
top of the world championship table, expect this to be a
fiery race. We will be watching in front of the big screen
in Jameson’s Irish Pub, Soi AR, next to Nova Park. The race
starts at 7 p.m. Thai time, but get there early for a good
seat and join us for some dinner and a couple of drinks
before the start.
A ‘fuelish’ tale
Many years ago I was running a standard Isuzu
Gemini in a tightly controlled formula. Like everyone else,
we would be looking to see what little tricks could be
turned to give an advantage. For most teams that meant
trying to alter cam timing and compression without being
found out by the scrutineers. For me, I began looking at the
fuel we used.
F1
fuel
The F1 circus came to Australia for the Grand Prix. After
the GP weekend, somehow, a drum of the special F1 fuel was
left behind by the Williams team, and it made its way to
Brisbane, 2000 km away, where I was waiting. This fuel was
really special, very much more efficient thermodynamically
than 97 octane, or even 115.
Taking Gemini to the rolling road dynamometer we tipped in
the F1 fuel and looked at the horsepower numbers. Instant
horsepower, and big grins all round. The weekend would be
very successful, we predicted.
We rolled out for practice, and I could feel the extra urge
immediately. However, the extra urge only lasted three laps.
The crew set about working out why it stopped, and it turned
out that the fuel was not getting to the engine. But why
not? There was plenty in the tank, and so we began to take
out each fuel line looking for the blockage.
It was then we found that the F1 fuel was eating the inside
of the standard fuel lines, making gummy deposits all the
way along the hoses. F1 cars, of course, do not run
rubber/neoprene fuel lines, like production Isuzu Gemini’s
do!
We had outsmarted ourselves, but at least we did find a good
use for the F1 fuel. It was the greatest way to get the BBQ
coals burning. After dousing in F1 fuel, you tossed a match
at the BBQ from about 20 paces away. Whooompa, and the BBQ
was ready! Technology wins again!
Autotrivia Quiz
Quiz car
Last week I mentioned electric cars, and
asked which vehicle was the first to exceed 100 kph? I
wanted the name and driver! First in was Stuart Saunders,
with Count Camille Jenatzy in La Jamais Contente in 1899
outside Paris.
So to this week. Take a good close look at this photograph.
What is this car? And why does it look so strange?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Chrysler in big
problems (and GM and Ford)
It has been an interesting week. The financial
pages of the newspapers recorded the lowest price for
General Motors shares for several decades and some even
began whispering that GM could go bankrupt in 2009.
Personally I do not believe that would happen. The financial
reverberations if GM went down would destabilize the world,
but there is no doubting that GM is in trouble, building
cars that the US domestic market does not currently want.
However, they do have enough small cars in their overseas
line-up to survive. GM is also looking at hiving off the
Hummer brand, producer of one of the world’s thirstiest
vehicles.
Ram
on a Ram
Ford is also in heaps of bother, and have been selling off
all the brands they captured a few years ago. Jaguar and
Aston Martin spring to mind - but what about Volvo? On one
hand FoMoCo is denying that Volvo could be for sale, but on
the other hand, the same financial experts are saying that
it must happen, including investor Kirk Kevorkian who now
sits on the Ford board.
Chrysler, which is the weakest of the US Big Three, has
admitted that it will axe 2400 US jobs by October 31 this
year. These jobs would go with the idling (and no
expectation of a return to production) of its St Louis South
assembly plant in the US from October 31 and with a
scaleback from two shifts to one at its St Louis North
plant, effective September 2.
St Louis South builds people-movers including the Chrysler
Town & Country (aka Grand Voyager) and Dodge Grand Voyager,
while St Louis North builds full-size pick-up trucks
including the Dodge Ram - models Chrysler claims it remains
“committed to”.
“The Chrysler and Dodge minivans have held a leadership
share in a shrinking market and we believe in the long-term
viability of the pick-up market,” said Chrysler LLC
president and vice-chairman Jim Press. Mr. Press has a more
rosy view of the world auto market than I do. The oil costs
are not going to go back to $50 a barrel. No way, Jose!
Jovial Jim is saying, “We are clearly in a challenging
environment, but continue to be focused on building a
profitable enterprise for the long term. These actions will
help us achieve this goal.”
In other Chrysler news, a JP Morgan automotive analyst last
week said the third best selling Detroit-based US car-maker
could face bankruptcy by the end of this year.
“The risk of a liquidity event at Chrysler during the second
half of 2009 is fairly real,” Himanshu Patel confirmed to
Automotive News in a conference call on July 3.
“First and foremost, they have limited external fundraising
options. The debt market is difficult for Chrysler to tap.
They don’t have a whole lot of high-value unencumbered
operations,” said Mr. Patel, adding that “they don’t have
the benefit GM and Ford have of significant positive
international cash flow.”
Chrysler LLC CEO Bob Nardelli said the company lost about
$US1.6 billion last year but Mr. Patel is estimating it
could post an operating loss of $US4.5 billion in 2008.
He said in that in the event of a cash crisis Chrysler might
have to sell assets, which could include its US distribution
system and even its Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge brands.
Coming just days before the American manufacturer announced
that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with
Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motor to investigate the
feasibility of developing a long-term strategic
relationship, Chrysler’s latest round of job cuts were
described by company management as necessary for building
long-term profitability. Don’t be surprised if there is a
Chinese Jeep in the future. After all, there is a German
Rolls-Royce, a Chinese MG and a German Bentley. Chrysler
will remain American, however, as the Chinese will be flat
out pronouncing the name. Too many R’s and L’s!
And that reminds me, there is a black Chevrolet Colorado
running around with the letters spelling “COROLADO” (sorry I
couldn’t get a pic at the time) which would be pronounced
“COLORADO”!
World Championship
table as at July 18
01 Lewis Hamilton 48
02 Felipe Massa 48
03 Kimi Räikkönen 48
04 Robert Kubica 46
05 Nick Heidfeld 36
06 Heikki Kovalainen 24
07 Jarno Trulli 20
08 Mark Webber 18
09 Fernando Alonso 13
10 Rubens Barrichello 11
Constructors Championship as at July 18
01 Ferrari 96
02 BMW Sauber 82
03 McLaren-Mercedes 72
04 Toyota 25
05 Red Bull-Renault 24
06 Williams-Toyota 16
07 Renault 15
08 Honda 14
09 STR-Ferrari 7
10 Force India-Ferrari 0
