Brazilian showdown in F1 this weekend
Interlagos
There have been five Brazilians who have
won their home Grand Prix. Yes, five. Fittipaldi, Piquet,
Senna, Pace and Massa. However, only Carlos Pace is
enshrined at the Brazilian circuit, with it being called the
Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, a district in the
city of São Paulo, Brazil.
With Massa being an outright contender for the 2008 world
championship, national Latin sentiment will be at an
all-time high. I would not be surprised if the spectators
were to lie down in Hamilton’s path to allow Massa to score.
With the time difference between Thailand and South America,
the live telecast will be seen here at midnight on the
Sunday (or first thing Monday if you like). Nevertheless, I
will be taking my place in front of the big screen in
Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR, next to Nova Park. The pub
will be staying open until the GP is over, and does sell all
sorts of alcoholic beverages with which we can celebrate, or
drown our sorrows. I will be getting there well before
midnight, so join me for the nail-biting action.
Bankers to fly Economy
Class
As always, the financial pages of any newspaper
can yield all sorts of interesting items. The latest being
that various banks and financial institutions are now
telling their senior staff to fly economy class to cut down
expenditure. So where will that put Eff Wun?
A few years ago, almost every top team was being bankrolled
by tobacco companies. With tobacco advertising having been
outlawed, the other big money organizations stepped in -
banks and insurance companies - and so we have the Royal
Bank of Scotland (RBS), HSBC, ING and others on the side of
F1 cars.
Now, with the banks having to be supported by governments,
will the sponsorship mega dollars still be available? Rocket
scientists need not apply. The answer is fairly obvious. The
Armageddon GP is on the cards.
So how much money has the F1 circus spent? According to a
report from industry monitor Formula Money, F1 team owners
splashed out a combined US$1.6 billion in 2008 following the
arrival of Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya’s Force India
team (Team Vindaloo). That was up from US$1.47 billion in
2007.
FIA boss, Max Mosely, has been warning the teams that
unbridled spending has to stop. “Even before current global
financial problems, teams were spending far more than their
incomes, in so far as these consist of sponsorship plus FOM
(Formula One Management) money,” Mosley said. “As a result,
the independent teams are now dependent on the goodwill of
rich individuals, while the manufacturers’ teams depend on
massive handouts from their parent companies.”
F1 is not an essential part of the world automotive scene,
and the new (and very expensive) racing circuits can survive
on lower categories (for example, Macau does well with just
F3 and touring cars). F1 team bosses will be very fearful of
2009, and with reason. They might have to fly Economy too!
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I wrote that Frederick and
George Lancaster used an all-wood unitary construction in
1922-23, but never used it in production. I mentioned that
another manufacturer did just that 38 years later, and I
asked which one was it? This brought in a good response, but
many confused ‘unitary’ construction with bodywork. Morgan
and MG used ash frames for the body for many years, but it
was Marcos who built the chassis out of wood in 1960 with
the Marcos GT. Hevin Maguire was first in and best dressed.
Congratulations Kevin!
So to this week. The KdF turned out to be a very popular
car. Who designed it, and who sponsored it?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
When did you last check
the tyre pressures?
Drivers are facing an increased risk of being
involved in a serious or even fatal accident by failing to
regularly check their tyre pressures. This warning has been
issued by TyreSafe, the UK’s leading tyre safety
organisation, as part of Tyre Safety Month, which was held
throughout October. Their suggestions are:
1. Check your tyre pressure at least once a month.
2. Tyre pressure should be checked against the vehicle
manufacturer’s recommended level. This can be found in the
vehicle handbook and on a plate which is often located
inside the fuel filler flap or on the driver’s door sill.
3. Check the pressure when tyres are cold (i.e. when you
have traveled less than three km).
4. If you are carrying a full load of passengers or luggage
or will be towing a trailer or caravan, tyre pressures
should be increased in line with the vehicle manufacturer’s
recommendations. Details can be found in the handbook.
5. Ensure a reliable and accurate pressure gauge is used.
The one at your local petrol station is not really accurate.
6. Check the pressure in all four tyres not forgetting to
check the spare tyre as well.
7. While checking pressures, give the rest of the tyre a
visual inspection. Remove any stones and other objects
embedded in the tread. Look out for any bulges, lumps or
cuts.
8. If you are unsure on any aspect of tyre pressure or tyre
condition take your vehicle to an approved fitting centre
and speak to the experts.
Bang Saen street
circuit next weekend
The Bang Saen round the houses meeting is on
again, after a very well run and successful event last year.
I will have more details next week, but it is a three day
event spanning November 7, 8, 9 and is held on the public
roads through Bang Saen. All the usual touring car classes
will be there including the Super 1500 class which is having
a six hour endurance race on Friday 7.
Just like the Singapore Grand Prix last month, the race
circuit is around the public roads in Bang Saen, which will
closed to normal traffic for the weekend. There are parking
areas for spectators, so you can get in and out of the area.
I have a special interest in the Six Hour race, as I have
been selected by the Pizza Company to co-drive in the Six
Hour with fellow ex- pat Paul Kenny. I believe the format is
3x2 hours, with one hour break between each leg, allowing
the local traffic to use the road for that hour. The cars
will be kept in parc ferme for that hour and cannot be
worked on until the next leg of the race starts. Paul and I
were looking good for a podium in 2007 for the Four Hour at
Bira until the relay to the fuel pump packed it in. Let’s
hope we can do better this time. AA Insurance Brokers, my
personal sponsors will be with me again for this event, and
I will have more details next week. Love to have you there
with us on the sidelines, and give us a wave.
Bang Saen
Lekky Mini’s for the US
Despite promoting hydrogen power for some years,
with hydrogen 7 Series under test, BMW will release about
500 electric Mini test cars in the USA from next month.
Electric
Mini
This is an important milestone in many ways. A volume
manufacturer is releasing a significant number of electric
cars into the general market. With the OPEC cartel now
agreeing to reduce production of crude oil to artificially
jack up the price (and hold you and me ransom at the pumps),
this will stimulate research into all-electric cars. And not
before time, I might add. I am tired of buying 36 hole golf
courses and six star hotels in the desert!
This variant of the Mini theme is called the ‘Mini E’, and
is totally electric, not a hybrid, and uses lithium-ion
battery technology. It will be unveiled at the Los Angeles
Auto Show in November before being leased to selected public
and corporate customers in California, New York and New
Jersey.
BMW believes it will be the world’s first manufacturer of
premium vehicles to offer an all-electric vehicle. All 500
or so examples will be built by year’s end at the Mini’s
regular site in Oxford in England, with the electric
drive-train produced in Germany.
Power comes from a 150 kW electric motor mounted
transversely at the front, producing peak torque of 220 Nm
from standstill and driving the front wheels as per regular
models but via a single-stage helical gearbox instead of the
usual manual or torque-converter automatic gearbox.
Performance figures released by the factory claim zero to
100 km/h in 8.5 seconds, and is limited to a top speed of
152 km/h.
The Mini E is only a two seater, compared to the normal
Mini, as in place of the rear seats is a high-performance
lithium-ion battery, giving the Mini E a range of more than
240 km. This is more than enough for commuting.
The battery has a storage capacity of 35 kWh and it
transmits energy to the electric motor as direct current at
a nominal 380 volts. It can be recharged using a standard
household power outlet and consists of 5088 cells grouped
into 48 modules, which are packaged into three battery
elements, taking up most of the back-seat area. BMW hints
that series-production electric Minis will probably reclaim
their back seats.
Again, the factory claims that recharging will only take
around 2.5 hours using the BMW supplied standard ‘wallbox’
that can be plugged into a socket and ups the amperage for
fast top-ups. BMW will provide one with every Mini E, as
amperage and voltage from the grid can vary wildly, thus
increasing charge times.
The Mini E also has a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS)
which under deceleration returns the kinetic energy back
into the battery and thus extending the Mini E’s range by up
to 20 percent. Up to 75 percent of all deceleration can be
done without once touching the brakes, according to BMW.
As a result of the heavy battery pack in place of the rear
seats, the 1465 kg Mini E weighs around 400 kg more than the
Cooper 1.6 petrol manual.
Nevertheless, and despite the resulting different weight
distribution properties this brings, BMW claims that changes
to the suspension and the dynamic stability control program
take the altered mass into account. BMW said it wanted to
make zero-emissions vehicles as fun to drive as those with a
conventional internal combustion engine.
The brakes, electric power steering and air-conditioner’s
electric compressor have also been modified or boosted
compared with the items found in regular Minis.
