Round the Houses at Bangsaen this weekend

The Round the Houses races at Bangsaen are on again. Normally these are held in November, but with the floods in Bangkok, the event was postponed till this February.

The event starts on Wednesday, Feb. 1st with practice and some qualifying, as there are numerous classes running, and drivers pitting their skills against other drivers and the unyielding Armco fencing which lines the streets.

Friday sees a unique four-hour endurance race as the centerpiece, before the main action takes place on Saturday (4th) and Sunday (5th) in a double-header format.

Headlining the bill is the dramatic Super Car Thailand Championship, and the grids promise to be busting with high powered racing cars this year as everyone chases the glory of victory in Bangsaen. With points and placings still up for grabs, this also will be the first opportunity for spectators to see the New Zealand Ford Falcon on this track, which boasts everything from long, fast straights, tight twists and turns, to hairpins, awkward kinks and sharp elevation changes. New Zealander Craig Corliss will have to tame his mighty V8 beast on these streets if he is to end the season on a high.

Henk Kiks B-Quik Porsche 944.

Toyota, after a difficult season by their usual standards, will be out to end on an upbeat note and claim victory in the most prestigious fixture of the year. Team leader Nattavude Charoensukhawatana will be gunning for victory in the red and silver Altis - and he will start as the undisputed crowd favorite. Pattaya’s best hope for honors will be Thomas Raldorf, who won last time out in Super Cars - his first victory in the Subaru Impreza. Thomas, who has just returned after an amazing class 6th place in the Dubai 24 Hour is also running in the Endurance race on the Friday in the CEA Honda City.

In the new-for-2011 ‘Super Retro’ class, the pick of the bunch to look out for is the distinctive black-and-yellow B-Quik Porsche 944 of Henk Kiks. Henk has had some motor problems at the end of 2011, but he is a very strong competitor.

The Retro group are also well catered for, with races for Euro cars and races for Japanese Retro’s. Unfortunately, our Securitas Retro Mk1 Ford Escort is a non-starter, as we are still building the new engine for the 2012 series.

Hugely popular with Thai motor sports fans are the antics of the Super Truck runners and expect close bumper-to-bumper action every time they hit the seaside track. Look out especially for the two MC Parker Mazdas driven by popular TV actor ‘Pete’ Thongchua and Australian Michael Freeman; this gritty duo has hit top form right when it counts. They will face off with the win-proven Mitsubishi and Chevrolet runners, in a fight for both points (the title is still vacant) and prestige.

Bangsaen is just over 30 minutes from Pattaya, and the parking areas for spectators are well sign posted. Grandstands have been erected around the circuit and you will find you can get very close to the action.

Liuzzi looking for loot

Sometime F1 driver Liuzzi, who has been going steadily backwards, feels that his driving is first class, it is just that he cannot bring money to a team. “At the moment the team has been clear to me; it’s a difficult period in terms of money so they are trying hard to find sponsors to be able to run me as per the contract. But in the case that they are struggling then they might be forced to look for a driver that brings money.”

There are a number of drivers currently on the grid who appear to have secured their places through financial clout rather than racing talent and the 30 year old Liuzzi admits that this is cause for frustration.

“If you’ve got a big sponsor behind you then you are an F1 driver and that’s not the way it should be from my point of view,” he said.

“There may be some people that think differently, but F1 is the top of the sport and should be full of talent that have got the results during their career and have been kicking ass since they were kids, not people that just have the money. I’m sick of it being like this at the moment, but I have to just accept it and hopefully I will get another chance.”

Unfortunately for Liuzzi, whilst I agree that F1 should have the top talent, the truth of the matter is that he himself is not top talent.

Are you ready for a PIH?

Toyota wants you to be ready for a PIH, as at the North American International Auto Show Toyota revealed the NS4 - an advanced plug-in hybrid (PIH) concept vehicle. The NS4 is Toyota’s vision for future mobility, with a focus on next generation connectivity and safety. A big ask to wrap into one vehicle, but you’ve got to hand it to Toyota, they gave it a go.

Toyota NS4.

Jim Lentz, president and chief executive officer of Toyota Motor Sales US (Inc.) said, “In this digital age, cars are becoming another spoke in the wheel of our electronic connectivity. NS4 demonstrates Toyota’s take on the human connection to the car with technology that considers both emotional and rational relationships, person-to-car and car-to-society.”

NS4 has an advanced power train features a hybrid plug-in system of light weight with improved overall fuel economy, better acceleration and longer all-electric range, while maintaining a short charge time. The question is, has Toyota found the holy grail?

Vehicles have become another communication hub in the consumer’s lifestyle, and are the third-fastest growing technological device, behind smartphones and tablets. (However, I don’t think the Thai government will be giving us all an NS4.) Toyota has formed special alliances with technology leaders such as Microsoft, Intel and Salesforce to explore the creation of seamless vehicle interfaces with emerging technologies.

The NS4 concept’s human-machine interface (HMI) is centered around a multi-touch screen with the look and feel of a smartphone. The simple, intuitive operation conveys information quickly while minimizing distractions and maximizing driver awareness. The multimedia and vehicle-controls enhancement will also direct air conditioning, audio, battery-charge and navigation functions. The HMI system is even capable of “learning” driver preferences to anticipate driver responses in specific environments and situations. This all worries me a little. Think BMW iDrive where you go through drop-down menu after menu looking for some way to turn on the A/C.

The safety side looks a reasonable approach by Toyota. The NS4 features their latest safety system developments, the whole alphabet full, including next generation pre-collision system (PCS), adaptive driving beam (ADB) headlights, and blind spot monitor (BSM). PCS features lane departure and pedestrian collision avoidance technologies designed to predict collisions under certain circumstances and help avoid them. The system uses millimeter-wave radar and stereo cameras mounted on the front of the vehicle to detect and react to lane departure, pedestrians, and other vehicles. In the event of a potential collision, the system seeks to avoid other vehicles, road-side obstructions, and pedestrians by applying the brakes and manipulating steering.

Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) headlights help to prevent blinding glare to oncoming drivers and pedestrians. Using a camera mounted behind the front grille and partial shielding inside the headlights, this feature allows drivers to maintain near-high beam illumination to improve night visibility.

Using sub-millimeter wave radar, the Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) detects a vehicle in the adjacent lane and visually alerts the driver using visual indicators placed in the upper dash.

Four new glass technologies are integrated into the windscreen, front and rear windows to improve driver visibility, fuel economy and electric driving mode mileage efficiency:

Rain-resistant ‘hydrophobic’ coating - Fluorine coated glass causes rain drops to form into semispherical shapes for improved visibility and rain drop elimination. ‘Anti-fog’ coating - high performance resin material with anti-fogging characteristics and increased durability. High ultraviolet (UV) absorbing inner-layer - removes 99 percent of harmful UVA and UVB rays and Anti-solar film with radio-wave transparency - reduces the internal vehicle temperature and improves electronic device functionality.

Inner and outer rear view mirrors have been replaced with cameras that provide the driver with a panoramic view to the rear. The rear-view camera displays images on a dashboard-mounted screen, and provides the driver with a much wider field of vision when compared to a traditional rear view mirror.

How much of all this technology will become commonplace in the next five years is probably anybody’s guess. But it is coming, Toyota said so!

Electric Beetles

Volkswagen has unveiled its two-seater E-Bugster concept also at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Being an “e” (electric vehicle), it has an 85 kW electric motor which can see the E-Bugster from 0 to 100 km/h in a fairly leisurely 11 seconds. However, the 28.3 kWh battery is good for an impressive range of at least 177 km while it also claims that the battery can be completely recharged in a mere 35 minutes.

E-Bugster.

The kinetic energy recover system (KERS) charges the battery whenever the driver steps off the accelerator (provided the car’s in motion), and more when under braking.

This fast-charge capability comes courtesy of the Combined Charging System which makes possible charging from single-phase AC sources (i.e. your domestic mains), provided an industry standard for plugs and sockets can be nailed down. “Ultra-fast” charging would be possible at dedicated DC charging stations.

The E-Bugster is the same length as the standard Beetle, but with a width of 1,838 mm it is some 30 mm wider. It is also 90 mm lower than a standard Beetle, standing at 1,400 mm high.

When the driver presses the Start button the interior is bathed in white light, then blue light. It starts with a light pulse in the instrument cluster, from where the light emanates in a millimeter-wide strip, coursing into the doors and around the air nozzles.

LED running lights surround the central air intake at the front of the E-Bugster, with reflectors doing the job to the rear. Twenty inch alloy wheels as opposed to the 18 inch alloys of the Beetle.

However, remember that this vehicle, like the Toyota NS4 remains a concept. Will we see an electric Beetle? Simple answer is “Yes”, but not yet.