European GP this weekend

F1 in Valencia.

It is back to Valencia in Spain for the European Grand Prix and the eighth round of the F1 championship. The previous round in Canada was boring, despite the excellent circuit. One can only hope that the Valencia round might be different, despite one of the most boring circuits ever built.

The ‘round the houses’ of Valencia was a new circuit about three years ago for the F1 circus and it has been universally boring every time since then. Monaco without the boat harbor. Or the mystique. Yet, here it is - still on the calendar. Money has been paid under the table? (Or was that pesetas?) Surely not, in the clean and pure environment of Formula 1. And Bernie’s not saying anything!

After one boring race in Valencia, our Editor at Large, John Weinthal even suggested there must have been a street sign saying, “Welcome to Valencia - please drive carefully - no overtaking!”

I have the sinking feeling that we will all be annoyed at the lack of racing, but, ever the optimist, I will be watching. Perhaps the instantly wearing Pirelli’s or the DRS zone will save it. Or perhaps God will throw down buckets of rain on half the circuit. Or perhaps… We may even see Lewis Hamilton going back to the aggressive nature he has shown before and barging into Massa again. Who knows?

The Qualifying is at 7 p.m. on Saturday 23 and the race is 7 p.m. on Sunday 24. We watch the racing, on the even bigger screen in Jameson’s Irish Pub, Soi AR, next to Nova Park and enjoy the dedicated F1 Channel with no adverts during the race. We will get there around 6 p.m. and have something to eat (the specials are great value) and have a small drink or two before the start. Why don’t you come and join us.

Mistaken identity

Rover 825i

Remember the days before remote locking! You actually had to unlock the front doors individually, but these days you push the button as you approach the car, it responds with a beep-beep and unlocks everything!

It was 1987 and I was in the UK where I was given a new Rover 825i to test for the two week duration of my trip (motor manufacturers in Thailand who expect full road tests after one drive around the block, please take note).

The Rover 825i was the finest machine in the MG Rover stable. With mechanicals from the Honda Legend it had all the Japanese quality, with all the snob appeal of the ‘very British’ Rover badge, Westminster carpet on the floor and some polished English oak tree on the dashboard! It also came with remote locking, and the MG Rover chap showed me how it worked, and how the infra-red remote receiver was behind the internal rear vision mirror.

However, after a trip to the Nurburgring in Germany, on returning to the UK, I found a problem I never expected. The remote locking failed!

I had gone for lunch in one of those quaint English style pubs. After lunch I picked up the car keys and ventured outside into the crisp, cold British air and strolled down towards the Rover 825i in the car park. As I walked towards it, I pushed the unlock button, but nothing happened. No beep-beep and flashing lights. Obviously I was too far away, so I walked closer and pushed the magic button again. Still nothing!

It was then I remembered the MG Rover chappie telling me about the IR receiver behind the interior rear vision mirror. Looking through the windscreen I could even see it, a red bulb behind the mirror. I pointed the remote at the red bulb and expectantly pressed the button. Nothing!

I lay down on the bonnet of the car, so that I could get the remote on the windscreen, as close as possible to the red bulb receiver. With a determined thumb I pressed the button - and still nothing.

Suddenly I heard this very British voice saying, “I say old chap, just what do you think you are doing?” I turned round and there was the archetypal Briton, cap and tweed jacket, and bristling with anger. “I am trying to open my car, but the remote unlocking device does not work,” I replied. “That’s because this is not your car, this is my car,” said the crusty and now angry Brit.

He then went on to say, “Your Rover is the one further down the car park, in the next line!” I looked at where he was pointing, and there it was. I pointed the remote, pushed and it beeped and flashed the lights. With burning shame, I could only apologize profusely and offer him a warm beer. He declined, muttering something about the fact that he was still sober and knew what he was doing!

I am sure I am not the only one to have had this embarrassment!

Honda celebrated success at 2012 Isle Of Man TT

John McGuinness, Honda at the IOM.

The 2012 Isle of Man TT came to a close and despite the Senior TT being cancelled for the first time in the event’s 105 year history, the TT was an unprecedented success for Honda, who took victory in three of the five solo motorcycle races contested and graced the podium 11 out of a possible 15 times.

Both the Superbike and the first Supersport race at the start of the week ended with a Honda 1-2-3; McGuinness taking victory in the first aboard his Honda TT Legends CBR1000RR Fireblade and in the latter, Padgetts Racing’s Bruce Anstey brought his Honda CBR600RR to the second closest TT victory in history, with a winning margin of just 0.77 seconds. McGuinness’ win in that followed in the Superstock class - also with Padgetts Racing - aboard the near stock Fireblade, taking the tally of Honda wins at the TT to 163.

The decision to cancel the Senior TT at the end of the week because of the rain, deprived McGuinness of the chance to challenge for his 20th Isle of Man TT victory, currently sitting on 19 TT wins. There appears to be no sign of him stopping anytime soon as he closes in on the late, great Joey Dunlop’s tally of 26 wins at the TT.

The dominant performance of Honda machines across all contested classes proved once again that the Honda was the bike to be on to challenge the 37.73 mile Isle of Man TT mountain course, one of the most demanding in all motorsport.

In the electric motorcycle TT Zero class Michael Rutter and Team Segway Racing MotoCzysz became the first team to record a 100 mph lap of the course in the SES TT Zero race in what is being hailed as one of the greatest achievements in the event’s one hundred and five year history.

John McGuinness (who rides anything) closely followed Rutter home on the Team Mugen Shinden machine with Michael Rutter’s MotoCzysz teammate Mark Miller taking the final podium position, with all three breaking the 100 mph mark (however, it should be remembered that the first 100 mph lap was recorded by Scotsman Bob McIntyre in 1957 on a conventional petrol-engined motorcycle).

In this year’s TT Zero, despite there being wet patches around the course, Michael Rutter quickly established a lead of over 30 seconds at the first checkpoint at Glen Helen from John McGuinness with Mark Miller a further 3 seconds back in third.

At the next checkpoint, Rutter continued to set the pace with an average speed of 118.730 mph and a lead of almost a minute from second placed John McGuinness.

The top speeds of the TT Zero electric motorcycles were also astounding. Miller was quickest through the speed trap at 132.6 mph with John McGuinness at 128.8 and Michael Rutter 126.6, down on the 152 mph he set in qualifying but Rutter continued to be on the pace for the 100 mph lap and reached Ramsey Hairpin in averaging 119.653 mph.

Rutter crossed the line in 21:45.33 for an average of 104.056 mph with both John McGuinness on the Team Mugen (102.215 mph) and Mark Miller (101.065 mph) all breaking the 100 mph barrier.

Australian Automotive Envoy visits Eastern Seaboard

John Conomos, the Australian Automotive Industry Envoy, came to Thailand for the Australian Auto Week, visiting many companies on the Eastern Seaboard, and addressing the Automotive Focus Group (AFG) on the Australian Automotive 2020 road map.

John Conomos, Australian Automotive Envoy.

John Conomos is unrivalled in his experience of the Australian auto industry, spanning 40 years beginning with British Leyland, and after BL folded in Australia John went on and established Daihatsu Distributors where he was responsible for the introduction of a range of small passenger cars.

From there he went to Toyota as Chief General Manager of Thiess Toyota in 1981. He then began climbing the corporate ladder within Toyota, becoming the Senior Executive Vice President of Toyota Motor Corporation Australia from 1993.

Following his retirement as Executive Chairman of Toyota Australia and Managing Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation of Australia, positions he held since 2004, he was appointed Chairman Emeritus and Principal Policy Adviser to Toyota Australia, the new position becoming effective 1 July 2006.

In July 2009, John was appointed the Australian Automotive Industry Envoy by Senator Kim Carr, the Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. He had already been given the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honors List in June 2005, one of the highest honors one can get in Australia.

The message he had for the AFG was “innovation”. It was no longer enough to produce a quality product - everyone today just naturally expects quality, but what will make a product successful is by offering quality with a new and better way of accomplishing results.

One example of this was displayed at the trade show held at the same venue and was the Davies Craig electric water pump. Not only cast in nylon with ceramic impeller, but driven by the car’s alternator and not a power-sapping belt driven pump from the crankshaft.

An interesting evening of value to the AFG members.

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I asked which father took his daughter’s name to sell the cars he was racing in the early 1900’s? Any Mercedes-Benz enthusiast would have immediately known that the name was “Mercedes”, the daughter of the distributor Emil Jellinek. From 1899, he entered in race meetings - first and foremost of which was the Nice Week - where he would race under his pseudonym Merc้d่s - the name of his daughter, ten years old at the time, and a name that was to become well known in motoring circles. In the early days, the name referred to the team and driver - not to an automotive brand, the cars being actually made by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft.

So to this week. The assembly line style of mass production and interchangeable parts was not pioneered by Henry Ford. What industry did this first?

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