What did we learn from the Hungarian GP?
Well, we learned that after 113 Grands Prix, Jenson Button
finally cracked it! And he did it well, never putting a foot
wrong for the 70 laps. However, was this a resurgence? Has
Honda found race winning pace? Or was this a freak set of
circumstances? I feel it was the latter, but we shall see at
the next GP, won’t we!
Jubilant
Button.
Have the wheels fallen off the Ferrari juggernaut? In the
prevailing conditions at the wet Hungaroring, Ferrari and
Michael Schumacher seemed to make all the wrong decisions as
far as tyre choices and strategies were concerned. Up till
now, MS and Ross Brawn, the super tactician, always seemed
to make the best decisions, but not this time. Full wets at
the start was wrong, staying out on intermediates was wrong,
Michael getting physical when being passed on two occasions
was wrong – the list goes on. And we’ll forget about the two
second penalty for passing under a red flag during practice,
another inexcusable error which deserved disqualification,
as would have happened in the lower levels of the sport.
Did somebody forget the locking pin in Alonso’s right rear
tyre? The official (Renault) word is a driveshaft failure,
but the vigilant TV cameras picked up a small round
“something” coming off. A wheel nut? Up till then, it looked
as if another Renault dominant result was in the offing (or
rather an Alonso dominant result, as Fisichella was nowhere
to be seen other than backing into the fences). Up till
then, Alonso was superb.
Webber
doesn’t want to hear any more excuses
What else did we learn? Raikkonen must have tunnel vision,
as Liuzzi could not have gone further off to the left hand
side of the track than he did, and slowed to enable Kimi R
to lap him. The visibility was not bad at that point and
there was no spray to make Kimi “blind”. Liuzzi apologized,
apparently, but the way I saw it (from my dry seat at
Jameson’s Irish Pub) was that it should have been the other
way round. Liuzzi said, “I went wide, trying to let him by
before the chicane. Probably, he did not expect me to slow
at this point and so he ran into the back of me. This track
is really tight and twisty and I was really trying to move
over to let him by. It was a misunderstanding and I’m sorry
as it ruined both our races.” The commentator drew a
parallel with Schumacher running into Coulthard a few years
ago, but track conditions were very different then, with
there being a wall of spray from DC’s car. (Schumi should
have been more cautious, however). Simple explanation, Kimi
got it all wrong.
WilliamsF1 gave both their drivers undriveable cars for the
GP, with both Webber and Rosberg parking their cars in the
safety fences after being unable to control the rear of the
cars. This is a combination of engine power characteristics
(coming in with a ‘bang’), an on-off traction control and
compliance problems in the rear suspension producing
sliding, rather than traction. WilliamsF1 is a long way from
the front of the grid. The glory days are over, and a new
engine supplier next year (Toyota), will not fix the
problems. Webber will be better off elsewhere.
With the Hungarian GP having been the most exciting GP of
the decade, I think the answer the FIA is looking for is
right there before their eyes. In future, all tracks should
be watered in different sections, and left dry on the
straights. Rapid tyre selection will be allowed, but each
driver has to do at least 10 laps on each set. That should
produce another Hungarian GP every time.
The next GP is in Turkey in a couple of weeks (August 27)
and there is a circuit testing ban before then, but this
does not stop teams testing parts in wind tunnels, or from
finding why the right rear wheel nut came off!
Long faces in the US as dwindling sales hit home
Yet again sales of the domestic product
in the US are down on last year’s numbers. Yet again, the
Big Three appear to be reactive, rather than pro-active. Yet
again, the American automakers seem too slow to react to
market forces.
Poor old Ford was in the news again, but in the financial
pages where FoMoCo in the US admitted is has lost twice as
much in the second quarter of 2006 than it had budgeted for.
This time it was pension entitlements that had screwed the
bottom line.
FoMoCo has also admitted that it expects its Premier
Automotive Group (Volvo, Jaguar, Aston Martin) to make a
loss this year. Altogether a worrisome time in the great
land on the left of the Atlantic Ocean.
What seems to be ignored, or perhaps it is the antithesis of
the American dream (nightmare?) is that the marketplace has
reacted to the increased fuel costs and the big V8s are no
longer the preferred choice, along with big 6 SUVs and any
other gas guzzlers. The emphasis is on small, fuel
efficient, cars, and Japan is crucifying the American motor
industry, and so will China within the next decade.
I read with interest the critical review of small cars in
Australia, a country that has thousands of miles between
outposts of civilization, and was also the last bastion for
the big 6s and V8s. What is more popular now? No prizes for
guessing. Small four cylinder fuel misers. The list of cars
contained the following:
Mitsubishi Colt - Price: From $15,990; Fuel rating label:
5.9 liters/100 km (manual); 5.6 liters/100 km (auto)
Volkswagen Polo - Price: From $16,990; Fuel rating label:
6.5 liters/100 km; 7.6 liters/100 km (auto)
Ford Fiesta - Price: From $15,990; Fuel rating label: 6.6
liters/100 km; 7.5 liters/100 km (auto)
Toyota Yaris - Price: From $14,990; Fuel rating label: 6.0
liters/100 km; 6.5 liters/100 km (auto)
Hyundai Getz - Price: From $13,990; Fuel rating label: 6.2
liters/ 100 km; 7.1 liters/100 km (auto)
Mazda 2 - Price: From $16,290; Fuel rating label: 6.6
liters/100 km; 7.0 liters/100 km (auto)
Suzuki Swift - Price: From $15,990; Fuel rating label: 7.0
liters/100 km; 7.5 liters/100 km (auto)
Honda Jazz - Price: From $15,990; Fuel rating label: 5.7
liters/100 km; 5.8 liters/100 km (auto).
Kia Rio - Price: From $15,990; Fuel rating label: 6.8
liters/100 km; 7.0 liters/100 km (auto)
You do not have to be an Einstein to see that the vast
majority are Japanese, with America having one sole
representative (Ford Fiesta) and it was also interesting to
see that the Honda Jazz sold in Australia was built in
Thailand, allowing a decrease in list price, following the
FTA between Australia and this country. I am not sure about
the Yaris, as I think it is still being imported from Japan
to Oz.
It was also interesting to read that when everything was
taken into consideration, including crash safety, price and
fuel efficiency, the winner was the Toyota Yaris, followed
by the Honda Jazz. Those of you with either of these motor
cars have every good reason to feel a little bit smug! With
the Jazz, in particular, returning figures of 5.7 liters for
100 km driving, this is very, very fuel efficient. As
reported last week, a standard Toyota Prius hybrid gets
around 5 liters per 100 km, although the new technology
batteries can reduce this to 1.5 liters per km, an
astounding figure.
Biodiesel seems to be winning
Again, with increasing fuel costs, the automotive industry
in Thailand is looking to maximize fuel efficiency. Diesel
is one way to go, with the raw fuel being cheaper than
refined gasoline, and with diesel engines going twice as far
as gasoline engines, this makes for very economical
motoring. Factor in even cheaper diesel fuel coming from
natural renewable sources and this is a win-win situation.
This is where biodiesel comes in.
Biodiesel.
It should also not be forgotten that Rudolf Diesel’s first
successful variant of his engine ran on peanut oil! We are
not dealing with some new technology. The idea of putting
pure, natural vegetable oil - like the oil we fry chips in -
into the fuel tanks of diesel vehicles is as old as diesel
technology itself. Natural vegetable oils such as canola oil
are CO2-neutral, sulfur-free and non-toxic and research
shows that fuel consumption and engine performance are the
same as in conventional diesel operations.
For many industrial operators, biodiesel is seen as the path
to follow, and many governments are legislating to make this
a favored option. Even in Thailand, there are government
moves towards assisting in the planting of oil palms as
forerunners of a biodiesel push (640,000 hectares of new oil
palms by 2009), and PTT signing agreements with two local
companies to study large-scale production of biodiesel.
Between these two smaller producers, it is estimated they
can produce half a million liters of biodiesel a day.
Meanwhile, up in the north of Thailand in Chiang Mai, the
university there is running small waste oil recycling plants
to produce biodiesel from discarded cooking oil. It seems
that we can be more efficient, if not self-sufficient.
It should also be noted that OPEC (Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries) is providing assistance to Burma for an
oil crop development project. This is a 14 million US dollar
deal, with 12.3 million of those loaned by OPEC. The crops
purportedly being grown will include groundnut, sesame and
sunflower. Currently there is an area of 52,650 hectares
under cultivation, but there is area for much more.
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
(August 14) at Jameson’s at 7 p.m. This is a totally
informal meeting of like minded souls to discuss their pet
motoring (and motorcycling) loves and hates. Bring along any
magazines, photos of old vehicles, old girlfriends or the
latest Bentley Continental for us all to drive.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked what was the first
British make to win a Grand Prix? Clue, the driver was also
the first British driver to win a GP. The correct answer was
Sunbeam in the 1923 French GP, and it averaged 75 miles per
hour for the 500 mile race. The driver was Sir Henry
Seagrave. You read that correctly, a 500 mile race! That
makes the overpaid racers of today look like amateurs by
comparison, does it not?
So to this week. Which World Land Speed record driver was a
fur broker by profession? A couple of clues: his car was
four wheel drive and an oil company was involved.
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
