Italian GP at Monza this weekend
Like many other circuits, Monza has not been a single
layout, but a series of more than a dozen layouts which have
ranged in length from 2.4 km to 9 km. The circuit was opened
in the Monza Royal Park, near Milan, in 1922 and featured
bankings, though these were demolished in 1939. The bankings
which featured in some races, 1955-69, were new structures
built on the format of the original. Bankings were used for
the Italian GP in 1955, ’56, ’60 and ’61, and were last used
for racing of any form in 1969 when the concrete became in
need of substantial resurfacing and rebuilding.
The
1971 Italian GP holds the record for the fastest-ever
Formula One race but, emphatically, that is not the same as
saying the fastest race for Grand Prix cars. That honor
remains in the possession of the 1937 Avusrennen.
After 1971, the circuit underwent some revisions to
discourage slipstreaming and to lower the average lap speed.
Chicanes were added in 1976 and, in 1994, the second Lesmo
Bend was tightened and the Curve Grande was re-profiled.
The World Championship is still very open, so we can expect
that the main protagonists will still be trying very hard.
There will be nobody just cruising for victory. We will be
watching from our perches at Jameson’s Irish Pub (Soi AR,
next to Nova Park) and the racing commences at 7 p.m., but
check your local TV feed to be sure. We watch the South
African feed which has no adverts and better commentators
than UBC. Join us around 6 p.m. for dinner and a chat before
the race begins.
Autotrivia Quiz
Lolita Mk 1
Last week I mentioned that Eric Broadley,
a British architect, built himself a club-special racing
car. I asked what was it called? And before you get excited,
it wasn’t called a Lola. It was actually called the Lolita.
And there was also another car called Lolita, and here is
the proof.
So to this week. What Guinness Book of Records entry was
beaten in the James Bond film Casino Royale? Clue: It was
set by an Aston Martin DB9, dressed up as an Aston Martin
DBS.
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email au [email protected]
Good luck!
You’re safer behind the
wheel
Every year an estimated 780,000 pedestrians die worldwide in
automobile accidents - that’s 65 percent of total automobile
related fatalities. This tragic level of pedestrian injuries
affects the GDP of countries by 1-3 percent and exceeds
malnutrition, war, and stomach cancer as an international
cause of death.
Pop-up
bonnet
With a forecast of 60 million further injuries and six
million deaths over the next decade in developing countries,
car manufacturers like Nissan are investing in ways to curb
this trend such as the “pop-up bonnet” (hood) - a safety
measure to be introduced for the first time in the Skyline
coupe scheduled for release in Japan this year.
Eighty percent of serious pedestrian injuries caused by
automobile collisions are head injuries. Of these head
injuries, almost all are caused by the pedestrian’s initial
impact with the bonnet of the car. The concept of the pop-up
bonnet is to create a buffer space between the bonnet and
the engine, thereby decreasing the impact of the most
drastic, and most common, cause of pedestrian injury and
death. The British Medical Journal found that a 10 cm gap
greatly decelerates the pedestrian - and predicts that when
combined with other safety measures and restrictions, this
could help to decrease the fatality rate by 20 percent.
The pop-up bonnet includes sensors mounted in the bumper
which, upon impact with a pedestrian, activate the pop-up
control-unit to trigger an explosive actuator that rapidly
lifts the bonnet. With regulations aimed at improving
pedestrian safety expected in Europe in the future, Nissan
is not the only car manufacturer to experiment with this
design. The Citro๋n C6 and Jaguar XK also include pop-up
bonnet technology. Nissan is incorporating the pop-up bonnet
as part of a wider “Safety Shield” initiative - it hopes to
halve the number of traffic fatalities or serious injuries
involving Nissan vehicles by 2015.
What is it like to race
a really fast car?
In a motor racing career which began in 1965, and is still
going (just), I have had the opportunity to drive some of
the fastest cars, both road and race. And some not so fast
also!
Sideways in
one of these at 200 kph
The slowest race car I ever had was a
stock standard Isuzu Gemini (sold in Australia as a Holden
Gemini, and in Thailand badged as an Opel, I believe). This
car would get breathless at 160 kph, but when raced against
a complete field of 30 other breathless Gemini’s was in its
own way, quite a buzz. Imagine racing down the straight and
knocking the rear vision mirrors out of alignment on the
Gemini next to you, as you went through the kink at the end,
at 160 kph. Or traveling so close to the tail of the car in
front, while going down the straight at the 160 kph, that
you could bang open his boot lid! And put a small dent on
the front of the bonnet of your own car.
Sideways
in this at 300 kph
I also raced many other cars, but the ones that stay most in
the memory were those that always wanted to travel sideways,
at a great rate of speed, and much faster than 160 kph. One
of these memorable motor cars was a yellow Porsche Carrera.
This car did not belong to me, but was owned by the
president of the Porsche Club in Queensland, Australia. As I
had raced his previous Carrera with some success, he asked
me to drive this new one as well. For various reasons (and
there’s always lots of reasons, or excuses, in motor sport)
the car was not finished until Qualifying was almost
finished. I had no chance to try it previously. The first
time it turned a wheel in anger was for a position on the
grid, and there was less than 10 minutes left in which to
qualify.
On the first lap, it felt a little “nervous” and twitchy,
but time was running out. On the first full bore run down
the straight, on the second lap, it clocked over 210 kph as
I entered the braking area. The first quick firm stab on the
middle pedal brought about an instant sideways movement,
followed by another sideways moment in the other direction.
I was driving a pendulum! I was hauling on the steering
wheel from lock to lock, trying to catch the swinging rear
end of the Porsche, while still trying to get the speed
down. Fortunately I had it under control before running out
of road, and returned to the pits, muttering dire threats
and suggesting the mechanic’s parents were not married!
Wheel alignment measurement at the garage that evening
revealed that the rear suspension was going into a “toe-out”
situation as the nose dipped under braking, raising the
rear. Possibly the most unstable situation you can ever
produce in a rear engined Porsche - and at 200 kph going
sideways a Porsche is certainly exciting!
But if you think that is exciting, try 300 kph! One of the
other race cars I have driven was a Team VDS Lola T 430. One
of the fearsome Formula 5000, five liter rear engined V8
single seater race cars. These were the F1 cars of around 25
years ago, and 300 kph was easily attainable down the
straight. The owner of this vehicle described driving it as
trying to throw a 2 kg hammer - but handle first. All the
weight was in the tail.
This was another race car that wanted to see how quick your
reactions were at 300 kph, as you could not let the tail
move out of line too far, or otherwise it would change ends
so fast you didn’t even have time to say “Oh sh*t!”
With cars like those, there is no time to relax at any stage
during the lap, as you are constantly aware of the fact that
there is an inherent instability. If you don’t remember, you
crash!
What to do if you are a
trapped driver
After the pedestrian toll, more than 43,000 people died in
car accidents in the US during 2005 - 500 of whom died as a
result of being trapped in their vehicle before rescue teams
could extricate them.
In case of a collision, many busses and trains are equipped
with emergency hammers, but the average trapped automobile
driver has to wait for the Jaws of Life to arrive with
emergency services - leaving them vulnerable to further
injury from leaking batteries or fuels, fires, unexploded
airbags, drowning or debris whilst still trapped in the
vehicle.
LifeHammer and ResQMe are personal devices to cut through
seat belts and punch out windows that are designed to form
an effective first line of defense in case the unthinkable,
but statistically likely, happens.
Much like the emergency hammers in buses, LifeHammer is
fixed to the inside of a car, usually on its dashboard.
This, combined with its luminescent covering, makes it
constantly visible and accessible, even when the car is
plunged in water or darkness. Its precision steel point
shatters side windows with one strike, and its
well-protected, razor-sharp blade cuts easily through jammed
seatbelts. The LifeHammer shatters all non-laminated
windows, making it effective against the side windows of
most automobiles. It also takes a mere six kg of force to
break windows with LifeHammer, meaning it could be used by
most members of the family.
Unlike LifeHammer, the ResQMe can be attached to a
key-chain, making it useful when a person either cannot
reach LifeHammer, or is in a vehicle without it. Despite
measuring only three inches and weighing less than half a
kilogram, ResQMe has the same capabilities as LifeHammer -
breaking windows and severing seatbelts with ease.
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
(September 10) 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. A couple of
months ago we had a chap arrived from the UK, having been to
the Festival of Speed at Goodwood, who had some very
interesting snippets. Bring along any magazines, photos of
old vehicles, old girlfriends or any interesting car or bike
trivia (or an AMG Mercedes, or just bring a photo) for us
all to lust over!
