A1GP fever coming to Sepang
With the F1 season now over, Asia’s
attention is split between Macau and the new A1GP season.
Our motoring editor at large, John Weinthal, reports on the
season so far.
A1GP
Malaysia tops the 2008/09A1GP charts after two rounds in
Holland and China as it heads for the next races at the
Sepang F1 circuit near Kuala Lumpur on Sunday November 23.
Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy, 25, goes into his home race with 28
points, five clear of Ireland and France (23) and eight up
on New Zealand and Holland with 20 each.
Fauzy scored a fifth place in the Feature race in China
while other favored teams fought difficulties in the Sprint
or Feature races on the tight and bumpy Chengdu Circuit.
Feature race winner in China was Filipe Albuquerque for
Portugal from Ireland’s Adam Carroll and Danny Watts for
Great Britain. The Sprint race went to Ireland from Great
Britain and Holland’s Robert Doornbos.
The competitors represent 20 nations and drive identical
Michelin-shod 4.5 litre Ferrari V8 powered cars built by
Lola Racing Cars in Britain to a Ferrari design.
Ten races are scheduled including NZ, Indonesia, Mexico and
South Africa with the finals at Britain’s Brands Hatch on
May 3, 2009.
Interestingly, the Indycar series round held on Australia’s
Gold Coast street circuit has been cancelled, but in 2009,
the A1GP cars will take over as the feature race Down-Under
in October.
An epidemic of product
recalls?
Product recalls are the bane of the
manufacturer’s bottom lines. Imagine that you have to recall
10,000 cars to install a 5,000 baht part, with labor charges
another 1,000 baht. The cost of that little exercise,
forgetting stamps and telephone calls, is a staggering 60
million baht!
This year, more than 51,000 cars, light commercials and
motorcycles have been voluntarily recalled in Australia in
the past three months over safety concerns.
Mitsubishi was hit with the biggest safety recall for the
three month period. It has written to owners of Pajeros
built between 2000 and 2003 to warn them of a potential
brake problem. As many as 13,400 vehicles may need to be
checked.
The company also recalled 4400 of its now-defunct 380 sedan
(not sold in Thailand), built between 2006 and 2007, which
may have a faulty fuel tank retaining strap. In a severe
collision the tank may be dislodged and spill fuel.
Mitsubishi is also checking more than 8300 Colts (not sold
in Thailand) built this year which may have a problem with
door windows which may drop and unlock or open the door
while the car is being driven.
Honda has recalled 11,800 of its 2004-05 Jazz to check
whether they have a faulty handbrake, while Mazda needs to
look at 1,770 of its B4000 pick-ups built from 2005 - 2006
because the bonnet may open unexpectedly.
Subaru has recalled 5380 of its Imprezas, built between 2001
and 2003 because of a faulty rear tailgate strut, though
Subaru Australia spokesman, Dave Rowley, said many of the
recalls were to check for “minor or niggling” faults.
Land Rover admitted to potential faults that included an
electrical short circuit, which in extreme circumstances may
start a cabin fire in Land Rover Freelander diesels built
since 2007.
Other recalls were to check for short circuits in Fiat’s
Grande Punto (not sold here); and a chance that the
panoramic glass roof in a small number of Citroen’s Picasso
could be dislodged.
Suzuki has warned of potential fire risk in its 3-door
Suzuki Grand Vitara (2006-07) because of a possible cracked
fuel pipe, while the 2005-08 Vitara diesel has a remote fire
risk in a filter because of a problem with the intercooler
outlet pipe insulator.
Other problems include faulty rear seat belt D-loop
attachments in the current Jaguar XF, and the potential for
a loss of steering in Chrysler’s 300C (not sold here) built
last year because of a problem with rear axle hub nuts which
could see the half shaft disengage from the wheel hub.
Mercedes Benz wants to look at axles, springs and the park
brake in its Sprinter or Vito vans.
Of the 1500 motorcycles recalled, safety issues to be fixed
include a faulty fuel filler on Kawasaki models, a
windshield which may come off Buell bikes if ridden at high
speed and a rear view mirror which may fall off on certain
Yamaha models.
This is the situation in Australia, which has always erred
on the side of caution, but perhaps as consumers we can feel
just a little sorry for the manufacturers. It is well nigh
impossible for any automaker to test its models to
destruction, and it is really only after some years in the
hands of the general public that some of these faults come
to light.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked what was the first
Japanese car to be exported? Clue: it was to China. No, it
was not Datsun, Toyota or Honda, but it was three Ohtomos
shipped to Shanghai in 1925. The first Datsun exports were
in 1935.
So to this week. What was the first Egyptian private car?
(And it wasn’t the Nefertiti!)
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Drive to Burma?
If you are into exciting activities, consider
this. The GMS Rally under the ‘Driving to your Dream’ slogan
has scheduled another driving adventure along the unspoiled
nature of South East Asia region.
The forthcoming trip is to explore Myanmar by self-drive
overland caravan via the border crossing of Mea Sot
(Thailand) - Myawaddy (Myanmar) to understand the West coast
of Myanmar to visit the Golden Rock of Mt. Kyaikhtiyo - Hpa
An - Yangon with its wonderful Shwedagon Pagoda and Bogyoke
Aung San Market.
Drive up North to Mandalay where the famous Mahamuni Pagoda,
one of the most sacred Buddha Images in Mandalay - Amarapura
- U Pain bridge Shwenandaw Monastery and Mandalay hill.
You will also go to Bagan town, with its over 2,000 stupas
and temples: Shwezigon Pagoda a prototype of later Myanmar
stupa and Wetkyi-in Gubyaukkyi Temple with fine mural
paintings of Jataka scenes, the Ananda Temple, an
architectural masterpiece resembling a Greek Cross, to
lacquerware industry, Manuha Temple with gigantic Buddha
images.
The convoy will cross the most beautiful panorama view along
the mountain chain to Thazi - Pindaya cave and Kalaw area to
Nyaung Shwe.
Your morning excursion in Inle Lake (by boat) visiting the
unique leg-rowers and scenic beauty, fishing canoes using
special methods for fishing and collecting seaweed, lakebed
mud, etc., to make floating gardens. Then you will visit the
well known Nga Pe Chaung (Jumping Cat) monastery and silver
smith factory.
The drive back via Taungyoo - Bago - Mawlamyine and Myawaddy
ends this adventure overland trip of 12 days and 11 nights
in Myanmar.
This special program has permission from the Myanmar
Government to cross the border; participants will include
Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Singaporean nationalities.
The dates will be December 21 through to January 2.
Tour price per person is US$1,450 (twin sharing room)
Single supplement US$520
Vehicle permission fee US$220 (per vehicle)
If you are interested, contact Somsak Burapapipath, GMS
Rally, 550/145 Soi Pho - Pan Asoke / Din-Deang Road, Bangkok
10400, Thailand, tel: 00 66 - 81 513 3913 or 00 66 84 - 940
4746, email: somsak_ [email protected] or
somsak_burapapipath@ hotmail.com, www.viking-lines.com
Speedcar Series test
proves competitive
Often running with the A1GP events is the
sedan-based Speedcar series, which features both old and new
talents in motor racing.
The new season for this class also starts now, and Jean
Alesi set the fastest lap time for the second day in a row
at the Speedcar Series test session at the Dubai Autodrome.
Speedcar
Series
Canadian Paul Tracy, former Indycar champion, began the
morning with the quickest lap. That was before German driver
Uwe Alzen (DTM series racer) and Alesi’s nemesis from Season
1 pushed the Frenchman in a battle to set the pace. They
were soon competing against Vitantonio Luizi (ex-F1) and
Christian Jones (Porsche Cup Asia) for best lap of the
session. Jean’s team HPR took the opportunity to work on the
set up and understand the car better.
The afternoon session saw Season 1 Champion Johnny Herbert
(ex F1) running a hot lap that got the competition going
again. In the last push before the flag came down, running
on fresh tyres Alesi, Gianni Morbidelli (ex F1), Heinz
Harald Frentzen (ex F1), Chris Buncombe, Christian Jones and
Bertrand Baguette dogged each other around the track, most
of them setting their best laps on that stretch. Another
Asian competing was Alex Yoong (ex F1 and who runs the
Malaysian Proton team). Local favourite Sheikh Hasher Al
Maktoum (the originator of the A1GP series) set the 9th best
lap, just a tenth of a second behind Canadian star, Paul
Tracy.
World GT Champion, Fabrizio Gollin left the veterans to
battle but made good time with the 4th fastest lap. The
younger talent group included Sakon Yamamoto, Chris
Buncombe, Thailand’s James Grunwell and Laurent Steiger, who
spent the day getting accustomed to the Speedcars along with
fresh local championship drivers Khalid Al Zarouni and Karim
Al Azhari as well as Eric Charles who ran a few laps in the
promotional car.
Porsche not part of the
European doom and gloom - yet!
German luxury sports car maker Porsche posted
record annual results partly through its holdings in
Europe’s biggest car maker Volkswagen, but voiced concern
about the outlook as growth slows sharply.
Porsche
GT2 2008
Porsche said its year to July 2008 net profit soared nearly
51 percent to 6.39 billion euros through massive gains on
its VW shares, as its own sales only rose 1.3 percent to
7.46 billion euros.
Porsche said the contribution from various financial
transactions involving stock in VW, in which it has built up
a 74 percent stake, rose to 6.83 billion euros from 3.59
billion euros the previous year.
Porsche warned again that 2009 will be a tough year and that
it will be forced to reduce production owing to a forecast
drop in sales, particularly in the US market.
The Stuttgart-based company said it sold 98,652 of its
sports cars and sports utility vehicles, an increase of 1.2
percent. Hardly a healthy increase by any standard.
Porsche plans to increase its direct stake in VW to more
than 50 percent before the end of the.
