pattayamail.gif (2145 bytes)
 
News
Business News
Features
Columns
Letters
Sports

Happenings
Classifieds
Backissues
Index


by Dr. Iain Corness

London to Sydney Marathon

The London to Sydney Marathon 2000 comes through Thailand this weekend. The cars left the UK in early June and have driven through France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Greece and Turkey with the cars and drivers all supposed to be in Chiang Mai by the 17th.

From there, they go to Petchabun, Cha-Am and Nakhon Si Thammarat and then through to Malaysia by the 21st. They are supposed to finish in Sydney on the 4th of July.

The event is in two sections - one is the “Challenge” and is more of a scenic tour for current model vehicles and the other is the “Competition” section for the older vehicles, as per the original London to Sydney Marathon. There are loads of 911 Porsches, Ford Escorts (including some BDA models), Mustangs, a Hillman Hunter (remember Andrew Cowan in one all those years ago), Ford Falcons, a Skoda (brave souls) and a couple of Holden Kingswoods.

There are some interesting names in the list too. How about Hannu Mikkola, the famous Finnish rally driver or Clay Reggazoni the ex Ferrari Formula 1 driver? There is also Rick Bates, one of the current crop of Aussie rally drivers and Ray Bellm from the UK who is a Le Mans regular.

The Event Director is Nick Brittan, who organised the last one if my memory serves me right. Nick used to race a mean MG Midget in the UK in the 70s.

Canadian Grand Prix this weekend

With only David Coulthard on a high after the Monaco Grand Prix, it will be interesting to see what is going to happen in Canada. Coulthard has out-qualified Hakkinen twice in the last two meetings and there is no doubt about the fact the Finn is getting rattled. Adding to that is Ron Dennis, who will swing behind the winningest member of his team and Mika will be looking even glummer than usual!

In the Ferrari camp there will have been work done to see why Schumacher’s suspension collapsed, and there will also be some discussion as to Barichello’s performance. While Rubenho might have come second at Monaco, he certainly didn’t “earn” it. For all Barichello’s talk that there was no “Number 1” at Ferrari, his performance shows that he definitely has the talent to be number 2 only.

If you want to join me “trackside”, you will find me in front of the big screen at Delaney’s Irish Pub on Second Road. Starting time should be a red eyed midnight, but check!

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week, we spoke about the first NZ Grand Prix where the incredible BRM was driven by ERA exponent Ken Wharton. It came third; second was a Cooper Bristol and first was a very famous Australian car with an equally famous Aussie driver. What was that car and driver?

The car was the Maybach, built by legendary Australian Charlie Dean and driven by Stan Jones, father of World Champion Alan Jones. The Maybachs (there was more than one) were based on war surplus Maybach military engines which were 6 cylinder SOHC.

So to this week and I thank Hawaii Pete for this one. Look at the photograph. Who is this driver and, to be the winner, I want to know how many times he won the world championship and in what cars.

For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct answer to fax 427 596 or email [email protected]. This one’s easy!

Del Schloemer

My old mate Del Schloemer died a couple of weeks back and his obituary was published last week. While it detailed some of his life’s experiences, an official obituary can never really say it all. Del was really one of the nicest guys around this town. Always ready with a story and generous to a fault.

Recently we had sat together at Delaney’s and watched Schumacher win the Grand Prix at Nurburgring. We bought each other a couple of beers while we watched and swapped reminiscences, but Del left quickly after the race had ended, while I chatted to some other enthusiasts. When it was time to “Check bin” the girl said, “No bin, your friend pay already.” That was typical of Del. I was going to do the same to him when we watched the Monaco race, but fate stepped in and Del missed out on Monaco, and now we are all missing out on the company of a guy who was a very fine motor racer and an even finer gentleman.

You are sorely missed, my old mate.

Shovelling out the Chev’s

I have been noticing quite a few Chevrolet Zafiras on the roads recently, following the official production ceremony of the new GeeEmm plant last month. These things are actually a lot larger than you would imagine from photos and really can ferry up to seven people in one sitting, so to speak.

I think it was very apt that the gentleman that GM got to drive the first wagon off the assembly line was none other than G. Richard “Wagoner” Jnr. the CEO (elect) of General Motors Corporation.

The Zafira is being built primarily for export and will be produced under four different brand names - Chev, Holden, Vauxhall and Opel. The Holden ones will be easy, as they can use the Holden badges they get off the Holden Calais they bring up from down under to sell as Chevy Luminas. (Sorry Ellis! Can’t help myself!)

Haven’t driven one yet, but I will do a full test on one when I do. In the meantime, here are a few details on the MPV. The engine is a 1.8 litre petrol with twin overhead camshafts and 16 valves. It delivers 115 BHP (or 85 kW if you must) which is enough to propel the 1430 KG van to a maximum of 175 kays. The acceleration is not mind shattering with the 0-100 KPH time being quoted (by the factory) as 14 seconds, but to be fair, you don’t buy a 7 seater to look for F1 performance figures.

The Zafira is FWD, like just about everything these days, and comes with a 4 speed auto. ABS is quoted as standard complementing the disc brakes all round.

As I said, I’ll let you know what they’re like after I drive one. Mind you, I will wager I go to the bottom of the queue behind the 300 or so Thai “auto” writers that come to all the free lunches and dinners. Funnily enough, only about 25 make it through to the actual press conferences!

Back to Index

Copyright 2000  Pattaya Mail Publishing Co.Ltd.
370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20260, Thailand 
Tel.66-38 411 240-1, 413 240-1, Fax:66-38 427 596; e-mail: [email protected]

Updated by Chinnaporn Sangwanlek, assisted by Boonsiri Suansuk.