What did we learn from the German and Hungarian GPs?
The German GP showed us that Ferrari is
still in trouble with their Bridgestone tyres, and McLaren
Mercedes is still in trouble with their engines. The
interesting point is that it is Raikkonen who is having the
engine problems, while Montoya just manufactures his own.
Having said all that, his drive from 20th to second was
brilliant. Raikkonen is seeing his chance of the world crown
is slipping away, despite his undoubted ability and the speed
of the McLarens at this point.
What else? Well Villeneuve showed that he
is definitely ready for the Dodgem Car Circus, and should go
there as soon as possible. If he is in the Sauber (to become
BMW) team next year I will be very surprised, even though he
is loudly saying he has a contract (with Sauber). Massa is
streets ahead of him in all ways this year (other than being
involved in crashes).
So what did we learn from the Hungarian GP?
First off, as I have written before, never write off Michael
Schumacher. Pole position and 0.8 seconds quicker than Montoya
in second slot. He was also not running as light as Raikkonen,
as could be seen by the fact that Raikkonen was the first one
into the pits to refuel. Looking at the fastest race laps,
Raikkonen was quickest at 1 min 21.2, followed by Montoya 1
min 21.3 and then Schumi 1 min 21.4, with Trulli and Ralf
Schumacher almost half a second adrift behind him.
We also saw another very expensive list of
retirements and delays after the first corner fracas.
“Surprisingly”, Villeneuve was involved in an accident,
launching Klien in the Red Bull, and then Coulthard in the
other one lost his front wheel running over Alonso’s front
wing, which put paid to the Spaniard’s hope of a podium.
Interestingly, the Red Bull website claimed that Coulthard
retired with a puncture and suspension damage. Since it was
more than obvious from the TV that Coulthard’s front wheel
was ripped off, “suspension damage” is like the old excuse
for a DNF, which used to be called “electrical failure”
(after the con-rod knocked the distributor out of the engine
block)! Rooby baby also knocked his nose off on the first
corner, but at least it is something that he seems good at!
Has Alonso’s run of luck come to an end?
After a dream run so far, or up till Hungary, Alonso was
nowhere in this GP. With 60 points up for grabs, the title is
slipping away, provided that Raikkonen can keep his car
together, but he does seem like a bit of a car breaker.
The next GP is in three weeks, at the new
circuit in Turkey. If Schumi qualifies on pole again, it will
pose an interesting scenario, which I will explain after that!
Autotrivia
Quiz
Last week, I asked which F1 champion
started work in a garage when he was 10, his father was a
house painter, and did not start motor racing until he was 23?
The answer was Juan Manuel Fangio, the man I consider to be
the greatest driver of all time. He won 50 percent of all the
F1 races he competed in, which was more than anyone before, or
since, and stood on the podium for almost 90 percent of his GP
starts.
So to this week. With an item this week on
jet cars, what was the number plate of the Rover Jet car? Now
that should be really easy!
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Are the
energy crisis restrictions doing anything at all?
I think by now, most people have come to
terms with the new prices at the pumps, all a reflection of
the fact that crude oil barrel prices have jumped
significantly. What is also significant, however, is how the
price at the pumps has not fallen when crude prices go down!
Funny that. There must be a reason for it, probably something
to do with another commodity, called profit.
Probably the two doziest ideas, as part of
the 12 point plan to reduce the use of fossil fuels, is the
early closure of the petrol stations and disincentives for
manufacturers to sell diesel engined cars in this country.
Nobody in their right mind could possibly think that closing
the pumps early will stop people using petrol! All it will do
is create queues at the pumps as the same number of motorists
have to buy their petrol in a shorter period of time.
The diesel situation is also crazy. A
diesel engined car will go around twice as far as the petrol
engined variant, litre for litre. So it actually represents a
saving of 50 percent of fossil fuel. So why try and stop it?
Rather it should be the reverse, surely!
Mind you, it seems the general public have
voted with their wallets, as here are the official figures
from PTT on the consumption of refined oil products. Diesel
rose almost ten percent, while petrol went down eight percent
(somebody did the sums!). LPG went up seven percent and
Natural Gas by ten percent as well. There’s a message there
for the legislators!
Is this the ultimate
Toyota?
A friend in Oz sent me the following
photos, and another sent me some words. Not that these need
much in the way of captions. The front-on shot looks a little
bizarre when you see the size of the wing, but the rear shot
certainly shows why it might need it! Not one, but two jet
engines in there, General Electric T-58-3s.
How they would get enough air into them I do not know, but
the builder claims that he does get enough, and the internal
details and plumbing would lead me to believe that this thing
is a genuine runner. I reckon Bonneville Salt Flats would be
the only place for this thing, as it has no reverse gear,
being propelled by thrust only. So far it has been timed at
187 mph on the salt flats!
Natter Nosh and Noggin
The monthly car enthusiasts meeting has
changed venue, and will be at Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR
next to the Nova Park development. The car (and bike)
enthusiasts meet on the second Monday of the month, so this
time it is Monday (8th) at Jameson’s at 7 p.m. This is a
totally informal meeting of like minded souls which meets on
the second Monday of each month to discuss their pet motoring
(and motorcycling) loves and hates. Just ask any of the lovely
Jameson’s girls where the group is and they will point us
out and give you a push.
Mini convertible adds even
more fun per kilometre
The Mini brand has really taken the world
by storm. On my last trip to the UK, Minis were everywhere.
Even my sister has a Mini Cooper convertible, but since she
lives in Exeter in the UK, where it rains 110 percent of the
time, the rag roof stayed up for 100 percent of the week I was
there (which was eight days too long)!
GoAuto
ran a full test on the convertible, as opposed to the tin-top,
which I believe was a very fair assessment of the name of the
game with Mini wind-in-the-hair variant, and I draw heavily
from their report.
The original ADO15 Mini did come in many
shapes and sizes, including a Traveller wagon with lumps of
wood on the sides, a panel van, a longer-nose Clubman and the
Wild Goose Camper Van conversion. And then there was the
larger ADO16 1100 (the best selling car in Britain in the
Swinging ’60s), an SUV before the term was even invented
(Moke), and even an aftermarket short-roof coupe called the
Monaco built by Sydney businessman Bill Buckle. However, the
original did not have a convertible in the line-up, other than
a very short-run Japanese export model in 1993, which was a
total flop, engineered by Rover, purveyors of puppies, or
perhaps it was lemons. It was described as looking like an
over-sized pram!
The
difference between the Mini convertible is that you can run it
fully closed, half open (or half closed if you prefer) or
fully open. The roof operation is electric and takes around 15
seconds, so you won’t get too wet erecting in a hurry in a
downpour.
However, the usual open car problems are
apparent at any speeds from 90 kph upwards where the buffeting
is too much, even with the side windows up. This does not
surprise me at all, the new Mini is still a ‘brick’ and in
fact an even larger house brick!
GoAuto also complained about vision to the
rear, saying it was poor, no matter what position the roof was
in, thanks to the high resting position of the folding rag
top.
Other than that one serious flaw (the tiny
165-litre boot can be excused because the very-retro exterior
hinges that flip the lid down as per the original Mini forgive
it; anyway folding rear seat rests balloon the boot’s figure
to a handy 605 litres), the convertible is pretty much as per
your usual Cooper S - with one exception. Weight.
It weighs 100kg more due to the extra
chassis bracing and stiffening resulting from the open bathtub
body. And that affects the performance, although it also
virtually eliminates scuttle shake on rougher roads. The
official 0-100 kph time is 7.4 seconds, 0.2 seconds slower
than the tin top.
All Minis call for a sporting touch
(‘thrash’ would be a better description), so it is no fuel
miser. Expect around 9.5 L/100 km average.
BMW has also fitted the usual high standard
of active and passive safety gear, including strong and
effective anti-lock brakes, traction and stability controls,
four airbags and two tacky fixed rollover hoops incorporating
head restraints for the unfortunate adults sitting bolt
upright with cramped legs in the rear.
You would have to be a Mini fan to go for the convertible,
particularly as Thailand’s sun is too strong in the daytime
to flip the lid back. At 3.1 million baht, you have to be a
well-heeled Mini fan as well.
