by Dr. Iain Corness |
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The 2003 Grid line-up for Eff
Wun
Here is as much as was known at the time of
going to press. As reported elsewhere, there are only ten
teams this year as the FIA has said that Arrows does not get a
start, having missed 5 Grands Prix this year. Arrows boss Tom
Walkinshaw has immediately appealed, saying that if he
hasn’t got a start next season, the “sale” of Arrows
will fall over. In the meantime, the bailiffs are banging on
the doors.
By the way, if you want to keep yourself
informed with reliable reports, I do suggest you use
pitpass.com, the best F1 website. Here’s the grid ...
1 Michael Schumacher Scuderia Ferrari
Bridgestone (B)
2 Rubens Barrichello Scuderia Ferrari B
3 Juan Pablo Montoya BMW WilliamsF1
Michelin (M)
4 Ralf Schumacher BMW Williams F1 (M)
5 David Coulthard West McLaren Mercedes (M)
6 Kimi Raikkonen West McLaren Mercedes (M)
7 Jarno Trulli Mild Seven Renault (M)
8 Fernando Alonso Mild Seven Renault (M)
9 Nick Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B)
10 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber Petronas
(B)
11 Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan Ford (B)
12 TBA Jordan Ford (B)
14 Mark Webber Jaguar Racing (M)
15 Antonio Pizzonia Jaguar Racing (M)
16 Jacques Villeneuve Lucky Strike BAR
Honda (B)
17 Jenson Button Lucky Strike BAR Honda (B)
18 TBA Minardi (M)
19 TBA Minardi (M)
20 Olivier Panis Panasonic Toyota Racing
(M)
21 Cristiano da Matta Panasonic Toyota Racing (M)
Autotrivia
Quiz
Last week I mentioned that DKW, the German
car and bike manufacturer, was founded by Jorgen Skafte
Rasmussen. I asked what did the initials DKW stand for? Hands
up all who said, “Das Kleine Wunder”? Well, you’re all
wrong. The initials came from a steam car that our mate Jorgen
designed called “Dampfe Kraft Wagen” in 1916.
So to this week, and we may as well stick
with acronyms and such. We all know that “GT” stands for
“Gran Tourismo” - so when was this term first applied? Now
that should give the web crawlers something to do for at least
several nano-seconds!
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
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Compulsion and Prevention
Motorcycle riders in Thailand comprise the
vast majority of fatalities in this country. Perhaps I should
have called them ex-motorcycle riders, as they won’t be
riding again in this lifetime. Recently Chiang Mai did a
survey and found that more than 50% of motorcycle riders in
the North did not even have a licence! There are those cynics
in our midst who would go so far as to claim that in this
country you buy your licence first and then learn to
drive/ride. Be that as it may, 50% of all those with a leg
across a motorcycle didn’t even get that far - they have no
licence at all!
Now I am not claiming that the possession
of a licence makes every rider immune from accidents and
injury, far from it. But if the rider has had some sort of
scrutiny as to their prowess, then we may have rid the roads
of the terminal wobblers, more than one of which has attacked
various external parts of my parked motor vehicle. And yours!
However, to get these people into a driving centre and to have
them properly tested, without fear or financial favour, is
well beyond the scope of this little article.
However, there is one thing this article
can do to lower the road toll - and that is to advocate the
wearing of a decent crash helmet. Note I wrote “decent”.
There are helmets out there which wouldn’t pass muster to
hold ice cream, let alone hold your brains from getting melted
and mushy. It was the Bell helmet people many years ago that
ran the brilliantly simple ad - “If you’ve got a $10 head,
wear a $10 helmet.” How true!
What is needed, is for the authorities to
insist that retail outlets only sell helmets that meet a world
standard, US Snell or whatever. But meet a recognised
standard. Now I also know full well that the “better”
helmets are more expensive - but please re-read the Bell
helmet advertising slogan! If you are riding a 40,000 baht new
bike (or even a 20,000 baht second-hand motorcycle), then you
can afford the 1,000 baht for a good helmet. You just budget
for it.
The compulsory wearing of crash helmets in
the UK and Australia lowered not only the road toll, but also
the number of ‘vegetables’ that survived their motorcycle
crash. And since it is compulsory for the rider to wear
helmets in this country, let’s extend that to the pillion
passenger(s) as well - all four of them! With a decent helmet
you can actually live to tell the tale.
The wearing of a good motorcycle helmet
(done up), by all people on a motorcycle, would do wonders for
reduction of the road toll. So where do you come in? Well,
first off, wear your helmet. Secondly, make sure it is a
“good” one. Thirdly, insist that your pillion passenger
wears one as well - and of a decent standard too. The
future’s in your hands, or should I rather say, the
future’s on your head!
KIA is Kumming?
The latest manufacturer to claim that they
are making Thailand their manufacturing base is KIA Motors.
KIA has had a few problems in their homeland, Korea, but have
come out of the Korean auto recession and are expanding. The
Carnival 7-seater MPV has sold well in Thailand and KIA are
talking 5,000 units a year within three years.
Carnival
7-seater MPV
One reason for the predicted increase in
sales is the formation of Yontrakit KIA Motors which will
assemble the Carnival here in Thailand. KIA are also talking
about assembly of their small car line in another two years
after the release of the locally produced Carnival around the
middle of next year.
This one is probably less likely, with KIA
having just spent USD 300 million to set up the manufacture of
their small sedans in China. However, bringing the MPV line
on-shore makes sense, to directly face GM with the very
successful Zafira.
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Mystery cars
revealed
A couple of weeks back I asked about some
strange vehicles that had been snapped in Thailand. Regular
quiz competitor Peter Eades had this to say about this one.
“The red car with artillery wheels that
you want identified looks similar to something I owned way
back in 1970. It was a Siva Edwardian Roadster designed by
Neville Trickett and made from 1969 until 1976. Only 105 Sivas
were made and only 25 were the Roadster model. It was based on
the Ford E93A chassis and engine.
Your picture shows something which is
obviously a replica whereas the Siva could fool a lot of
people. I took it on the London to Brighton vintage run and no
one noticed the fake despite the lack of an entry number. On
one occasion I parked in a pub car park and an excited silver
haired gentleman came running out and exclaimed that he had
not seen a De Dion Bouton since he was a boy. There have been
many such replicas made but I have only seen artillery wheels
on the Siva, this is why I think it may be a Neville Trickett
design but later than my own. He went on to do similar things
with Hillman Imp and 2CV chassis but nothing surpassed the
elegance of the original Roadster. (Yeah I just HAD to say
that).”
So there you are, fellow Automaniacs - that’s the closest
so far!
The next CART to F1 prospect
The latest driver to move from CART is
Christiano da Matta, this year’s CART champion. In doing
this he is following in the footsteps of Villeneuve, who also
won the F1 title, and Montoya, who wants to win the F1 title,
if he can only get Mrs. Schumacher’s big boy to retire!
Christiano
da Matta
Da Matta has now joined Toyota, which,
unless the moon turns into blue cheese, has not a hope in hell
of winning next year. Of course, the British media are all
‘on the scent’ and have been trying to nail da Matta into
making rash statements. The Independent came up with the
following, and I must say I am impressed with the way the 29
year old handled the baying newshounds:
“I don’t know if I am as good as
Montoya or Villeneuve. We will see next year,” said da Matta.
“(Michael) Schumacher is the best, as his record shows. But
I’m not scared of Schumacher or anybody else. If you have
the guts you have a chance.
“I’m not expecting to fight for the
championship or win races in my first season. You have to go
step by step. If I wanted to stay a hero, winning races, I
would have stayed in America. This is a new stage in my
career. It will take time.”
The 29-year-old Brazilian also admits that
it was not financial gain that drew him to Formula One, but
rather the opportunity to try his hand at something new. And
hopefully excel at it.
“I don’t care about the money. I’ll
make less here than in America because of the prize money I
was getting over there. I have a simple lifestyle. As long as
I have my guitar and bicycle I have all I need. I’m
happy,” da Matta said.
“I’m here in Formula One because I
wanted a new challenge. Winning the CART championship was one
of the biggest reasons for coming over. I’ve done that. I
needed to move on. Toyota have given me that opportunity.
“It is a team with a bright future. In
some ways there is more pressure on me because I am a
champion. More is expected of me. But in my head, no, there is
not more pressure.”
I think someone should tell our Christiano
that Toyota WILL be wanting their pound of flesh. They might
not share that same idea that he shouldn’t be expecting to
win races! We shall see.
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