AUTO MANIA

by Dr. Iain Corness
 

What did we learn from the Belgian Grand Prix?

Well we learned that Spa has very changeable weather, which in turn leads to a very exciting Grand Prix. Some viewers would even go so far as to say that intermittent rain showers should become mandatory for F1 at every meeting, to spice up the action somewhat.

Let’s deal first with young Vettel (Red Bull), the pretender to the throne. The bungled pass on Jenson Button (McLaren) was unbelievable from someone who is supposed to be the next world champion. The penalty of a drive-through, meted out by the stewards, was far too lenient. Michael Schumacher was penalized 10 grid spots for “threatening” a crash between himself and another car. Vettel did crash (as he also did into Mark Webber in Turkey). “It was a very strange incident,” Button said. “I don’t know what he was doing.” Obviously Vettel didn’t know what he was doing either. Button’s disappointment was echoed by his team boss Martin Whitmarsh, with the McLaren chief suggesting that Vettel ought to receive additional punishment. The only positive thing that came out of that crash was just how strong the front suspension is on the Red Bull. Incidentally, Vettel was also involved in contact with Alonso (Ferrari) and contact with Liuzzi (Force India). It is time that Red Bull Racing sat their “star” driver down and told him a few home truths.

Driver of the damp day had to be Lewis Hamilton. He showed great maturity, and despite being very lucky with an ‘off’ where he glanced the wall in the latter stages of the race, drove well within himself and the conditions and deserved the win, and now takes the lead in the championship chase.

Mark Webber (Red Bull) now slips down to second place in the championship title, but remains a strong contender. He has many fans out there, as well as the Aussies, and this will be his best ever chance of winning the series, provided his team get behind him, rather than their erratic German “star”.

Another driver who impressed was Robert Kubica (Renault) who had second sewn up until he tried to run over one of his own mechanics, caused by a too speedy entry into his pit. He will also impress at Monza.

Ferrari have chosen between the hare and the tortoise, making it evident that the speedy Alonso is their favorite as opposed to the dependable Massa. That decision may not have been the best one with Alonso crashing out, and remember the case against them for team orders will be heard this month. Expect some deductions of points.

Michael Schumacher had a storming drive from 21st to 7th, so the fire in the belly is still there, as well as the reserves of skill needed to handle the circumstances. Rosberg also drove well in the conditions from 14th to 6th.

Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) continues to impress and deserves all his points. Races cleanly, can work out how and when to pass other cars and shows plenty of ‘tiger’. He should be snapped up by Renault for next year, despite Petrov’s Lada money.

Team Poppadum’s Adrian Sutil was another who impressed and his 5th was as much as the team could expect. Their other driver Liuzzi does not impress.

Barichello (Williams) was supposed to be celebrating his 300th Grand Prix - instead he only celebrated his 300th start, coming a cropper with Alonso on the first lap. I am tired of writing, “You do not win the race on the first lap - you only lose the race on the first lap!”

Expect even more action at Monza September 12.


Want a drive in F1? Here’s how!

Argentine driver Esteban Guerrieri needs eight million dollars to become an F1 Virgin Racing driver in 2011.

Guerrieri, who races in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, is eager to enter Formula One next season and could do so with newcomers Virgin - but only if he can find the money needed.

The money could come from the Argentine government with Guerrieri’s manager, Julio Gutierrez, confirming that he recently held talks with the Argentine Interior Minister and Virgin team boss John Booth.

“It was a very good meeting,” Gutierrez told Motorsport-magazine. “The minister has expressed his interest in supporting us so that Esteban can make it into F1.”

Quite frankly, this is quite ridiculous. Motor racing has always been driven by money, but astronomical sums such as this makes a mockery of the entire “sport”.

The last word about this from a respondent on one of the F1 websites: “Do we need any more evidence that Bernie has finally and completely ruined F1 by making it so expensive that drivers need more money than talent to compete? It’s a disgusting mockery of what once was a great sport.”


Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I mentioned that in France the Toyota MR2 is pronounced “Emm Air De” which became “merde” which is French for poop! So, I asked what manufacturer sold a car called “Penis” in Brazil? This was Ford with the Pinto!

So to this week. Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) is common in cars today. Which manufacturer used it first on motorcycles?

For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected]

Good luck!


A “real” MG in Pattaya

I spied a black MG TF in Pattaya the other day, windscreen folded flat and two aero screens, and followed it until he stopped. From the outside, it looked immaculate, but it was with great trepidation I asked whether it still had the correct XPAG engine, or had that become a boat anchor and the ubiquitous Toyota was under the bonnet. Hallelujah! The correct XPAG was sitting there, with the after-market finned aluminium rocker cover on it. Now 1300 cc instead of the original 1250 cc, but a proper MG, with its XPAG engine. (For those with long memories, the XPEG engines in the later MG TF’s were 1500 cc.)

A real MG TF

The car is cosmetically TF, with the only deviations being triple-laced chrome wire wheels, one inch smaller in diameter from an MGA, the fitment of disc brakes to the front, and an oil cooler and electric radiator fan. The owner said that with the Pattaya roads full of motorcycles, he felt he needed better stopping power than the old TF drums would give him.

Apparently, he had purchased the car in Chiang Mai and had done a complete body-off restoration, with many small items actually re-manufactured in Pattaya, such as door hinges, for example. There is also a black sister car in Bangkok!

My flat mate had a black MG TF in 1964 (I had a green MG TC), and for me it was literally stepping back 46 years in time to see this car.


Road deaths

Almost 4,000 people are killed on the world’s roads every day, according to the campaigning charity RoadPeace which is marking National Road Victim Month. So who was the UK’s first fatal car accident victim - 114 years ago - and what happened?

There were little more than a handful of petrol cars in Britain when Bridget Driscoll, 44, took a trip to the Crystal Palace, south-east London, on 17 August 1896. She could be forgiven for being bewildered by Arthur Edsall’s imported Roger-Benz which was part of a motoring exhibition taking place as she attended a Catholic League of the Cross fete with her 16 year-old daughter, May, and a friend.

Road accident way back then

At the inquest, Florence Ashmore, a domestic servant, gave evidence that the car went at a ‘tremendous pace’, like a fire engine - ‘as fast as a good horse could gallop’.

On the other side, the driver, working for the Anglo-French Motor Co, said that he was doing 4 mph when he killed Mrs Driscoll and that he had rung his bell and shouted.

One of Mr Edsell’s two passengers during the exhibition ride, Ellen Standing, told the inquest she heard the driver shout “stand back” and then the car swerved.

Mrs Driscoll had hesitated in front of the car and seemed “bewildered” before being hit, the inquest heard.

Edsell had been driving only three weeks at the time and - with no license requirement - had been given no instruction as to which side of the road to keep to (very similar to some of the drivers in Pattaya).

With conflicting reports about the speed and manner of Mr Edsall’s driving, the jury returned an accidental death verdict.

Nonetheless, the National Motor Museum’s libraries officer Patrick Collins admits there was “quite a lot of anti-car feeling” in the UK at the time. “A lot of people didn’t want drivers running around the country scaring horses,” he explained, adding that there were fewer than 20 petrol cars in Britain at the time.

These first cars were subject to strict safety laws which had been designed for steam locomotives weighing up to 12 tonnes. Each vehicle was expected to have a team of three in control; the driver, the fireman - to stoke the engine - and the flagman, whose job was to walk 60 yards in front waving a red flag to warn horse-drawn traffic of the machine’s approach.

The flag requirement was ditched in 1865 and the walking distance reduced to 20 yards, although speed limits of 2 mph in towns and 4 mph in the country remained in place.

Mrs Driscoll died just a few weeks after a new Parliamentary act - designed for the new and lighter petrol, electricity and steam-driven cars - raised the speed limit to 14 mph, while the flagman role was scrapped altogether.

The coroner told her inquest that he hoped hers would be the last death in this sort of accident. Little did he know how times would change over the following century, with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents estimating more than 550,000 people have been killed on Britain’s roads since then (and Thailand’s road traffic accident experience is even worse).


NZ invasion at Bira

NZ Corvette and Thai Toyota Altis

A couple of weeks ago, the Bira circuit saw its largest roll-up, both entrants and spectators, that it has seen for many years. The main races were the SuperCar championship, rounds 5 and 6, with the NZ GT1 cars mixed in with the Thai entries. Some of the NZ cars had never been seen racing in Thailand before, including a Jaguar XKR with a 6 liter Cosworth V8, a Ford Falcon Down-Under SuperCar with a 6 liter Ford V8, a Chevrolet Camaro with a 5.8 liter V8, a Dodge Viper with an 8 liter V10 and a Chevrolet Corvette with a 5.25 liter V8.

On the final round on the Sunday, it was a very close fight at the front with Grant Brennan in the high revving Corvette a close winner from Natavude and Nattaphong in their works Toyota Altis.

This was one of the few times I have seen Natavude locking brakes into the hairpin at the end of the straight, indicating he was really trying, but the sheer grunt of the V8 was enough to keep the New Zealander ahead.