Japanese GP this weekend
The second last GP of the 2005 season will
be held at the Suzuka circuit in Japan (the final round is in
China). With the world championship won by Renault’s
Fernando Alonso (or if you are a McLaren fan, lost by Kimi
Raikkonen), the race is now on for the Constructor’s
Championship.
Sir
Frank Williams.
The results from Brazil, with McLaren’s
1-2 puts them very narrowly ahead of Renault, with Fisichella
having another of his ‘unlucky’ races (to make it about
the 10th this year)! Having not gained
the Driver’s title, McLaren’s Ron Dennis will be out for
revenge.
Ferrari looks as if it is having a small
resurgence, but they are still obviously being let down by the
Bridgestone tyres, and I noted that Ferrari has been
re-testing 2004 tyres with a view to using them for this
meeting, instead of the current 2005 ones.
With Williams going to Bridgestone next
year, this will mean that at least two of the top half teams
will be running Bridgestone, so it will be possible for
Bridgestone to get data more quickly, as currently getting
data from Minardi and Jordan means nothing, both teams
hopelessly off the pace. However, it is difficult to
understand Williams going from a top tyre supplier to the
second runner at present, especially as Williams was one of
the first to take up Michelin when it returned to the sport a
few years back. But let us never forget, that even though Sir
Frank Williams has not had the best of years, he is a very
cunning old fox, and I personally doubt if the divorce from
BMW will have given him many sleepless nights.
Nico
Rosberg.
BAR’s Japanese driver, Takuma Sato will
be having his last home GP in a BAR, having been replaced at
BAR by Ferrari driver Rooby Baby Barichello. Sato thought he
would retain the seat when Button moved on, but then Jensen
bought himself out of his contract (somewhere between 10-20
million dollars, I believe) and is staying. Sato has turned
down the offer of a testing role. Despite his acknowledged
speed, Sato is still too much “on and off” in more ways
than one. I cannot see him getting a decent seat anywhere in
the current grid line-ups.
With this being the annual rumour season,
who will partner Webber at Williams? Put your money on
ex-world champ Keke Rosberg’s son Nico.
This young man has been doing some F1
testing for Williams this year and has just won the GP2
single-seater racing championship for 2005. He is quick, level
headed and deserves the seat. See if I’m right.
The race starts at (I think) at 12.30 p.m. our time, but
please check with your TV feed, as I don’t want to be blamed
for your missing it! I will be watching from my favourite
perch in Jameson’s Irish Pub, Soi AR, next to Nova Park.
Join me for lunch!
The History
of the Japanese Grand Prix
Japan wanted a Grand Prix as F1 had an
enormous following in that country, and there were specialist
manufacturers and automakers who were interested in being part
of the world F1 scene, however nobody wanted to race at Fuji.
The answer was Suzuka, which had been
designed by John Hugenholtz as a test track for Honda. Because
it had been built as a test track, it had a wide range of
corners over its 5.8 km length and it also had a flyover, a
unique feature to Grand Prix circuits, and in fact for most
circuits. The only other one I know of is the Oran Park GP
(long) circuit outside Sydney, Australia.
Suzuka was first used for a World
Championship race in 1987 and has ever since hosted the
Japanese Grand Prix. It has frequently been the championship
decider, such as in 1989 when Senna came together with Prost
with seven laps to go but the title went to Prost when Senna
was disqualified for being push started, or in 1990 when again
Senna rammed Prost out of the race at very high speed on the
first corner, but this meant that the title went to Senna.
Japan invented kamikaze remember (and I don’t mean the
cocktail), which Senna had learned very well. It is also good
for some people to remember that Michael Schumacher was not
the first to work out that by rivals retiring he could be left
with the title, and thereby helping them into the shrubbery
when required!
What did we learn from the
Brazilian Grand Prix?
Well, obviously the first thing we learned
was that we have a new World Champion in Spaniard Fernando
Alonso, driving a Renault made in England, with an engine made
in France. Alonso is the first Spanish champion, and also the
youngest champion in history at 24 years of age. He kept his
head together all season and deserves his championship, though
if the McLaren Mercedes had been more reliable, Raikkonen
would have got the laurel wreath.
Another record was made in Brazil, as this
was the first time in 27 years that Williams have lost both
cars on the first lap. Sir Frank would not have been pleased.
However, for once, it wasn’t Mark Webber at fault, but
Jungle Boy Pizzonia. Do not expect to see Pizzonia in the
second seat at Williams for 2006.
As for the race itself, it was deadly
boring. Did anybody see any passing action after lap 1? If
there was, I must have fallen asleep and missed it.
Australia’s Greatest Motor
Race on Sunday October 9
If you get ABC Asia-Pacific, tune in on
Sunday October 9 for the 1000 km race around the Bathurst road
circuit. The technology for in-car camera shots was developed
in Australia just for this race and is licensed for use
throughout the world these days (except A1GP it seems). The
race will take around 6 hours and (I think) will start at 7
a.m. our time. The first corner is incredible, with 60 V8’s
funneling down into a sharp 90 degree left-hander. It is a
real driver’s circuit, and many international; ‘big
names’ have been humbled by it. I have raced there twice,
and Bathurst remains one of the high spots in my motor racing
career. The long downhill Conrod Straight was named for the
number of conrods that were tossed out of engines at maximum
revs, which after getting airborn on the second hump, were now
over-revving.
A1 GP also this weekend!
This week’s event coming from Germany,
the Eurospeedway, a track of which I am not familiar.
Here are the next few A1 GP races, and I
must say I am looking forward to the Eastern Creek round,
being another of my personal favorite tracks. I just hope that
A1 GP will have smartened its act up as far as telecasting is
concerned (see my comments in this page under What Did We
Learn from the Inaugural A1 GP?)
9 October Eurospeedway, Germany
23 October Estoril, Portugal
6 November Eastern Creek, Australia
20 November Sepang, Malaysia
11 December Dubai, UAE
What did we learn from the
inaugural A1GP?
On the same day, there was the telecast
from the UK of the first A1GP meeting at Brands Hatch. A bunch
of us descended on Jameson’s at 6.30 p.m. as the main race
was supposed to be 12.30 p.m. UK time. Instead we were
subjected to endless qualifying heats and then a 15 lap sprint
to give positions for the main event. The telecast then
continued with rally news, and finally at 9 p.m. we got the
main race.
The race had plenty of action, as the cars
move around a lot, with plenty of oversteer. There is
apparently a magic ‘push to pass’ button that the driver
can use eight times during the race, but there was no
explanation of how it worked. However, the telecast was
woeful! I have seen better amateur handi-cams at a club
meeting. Exceptionally poor quality. With all the money that
has been spent on getting the series up and running, the
organizers forgot that the majority of the audience are not at
the meeting. They are people like us watching the flickering
screen.
Provided that they get a decent standard of
telecast, A1GP has much more going for it than the current F1,
but it will need professional motorsports TV editors and
cameramen.
Natter Nosh and Noggin
The monthly car enthusiasts meeting 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 (October
10) 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.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week, I asked what model BMW used its
rear muffler (silencer) as an aerofoil? It was the very
radical BMW Z1. Built in 1988, it had doors that dropped down
into the high sills, like the window glass in a standard door.
They only built 8,093 of them.
So to this week and something just a little
different and also a little radical. Cars that fly, a common
enough concept in science-fiction books and even featured in
the cartoon TV series called “The Jetsons” in 1962.
However, the auto makers was already thinking about flying
cars in 1935 when the U.S. Bureau of Commerce’s Experimental
Division Section awarded a contract to a manufacturer to build
one. The car had a single propeller and rotor blades for
flight. The gear could be folded back over the fuselage to
accommodate ground movement. Two passengers could sit side by
side, and there was a small baggage storage area behind the
seats. For road use, the 90 bhp engine was connected to the
tail wheel by a shaft that was put in gear when the propeller
was disengaged. Testing began in 1936 and continued until the
company dissolved in the mid-1960s. The question is then, what
was the name of this flying car?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be
the first correct answer to email [email protected].
Good luck!
