Turkish GP this weekend
Istanbul
Otodrom
The Turkish GP is on this weekend in the
Istanbul “Otodrom”, which as the old song went, “You can’t
go back to Constantinople, ‘coz it’s Istanbul, not
Constantinople”.
This is another circuit designed by Hermann Tilke, and
everyone was amazed that it was very good, especially when
there had been many reservations expressed before the first
ever GP in Turkey a couple of years ago. Amazingly, Herr
Herman can produce a good F1 track. Places for passing did
occur and it is an interesting layout, with hills and
hollows. Also of interest from last year was the fact that
there appeared to be more than adequate run-off areas, with
nobody hanging their cars on walls.
The circuit is about 80 km east of Istanbul, and is 5.3 km
long and the theoretical top speed should be around 320 kph.
The race is over 58 laps and expect lap times down around 1
minute 24. Racing is anti-clockwise, and for much more than
that you will have to watch the TV as I do.
Button in the Brawn GP is the current class act, but Ferrari
are confident that their new package will have them battling
at the front again. Third and fourth at Monaco, remember.
Red Bull has their new double-decker diffuser in place, and
on the sweepers could be even quicker than before. This team
is running second in the manufacturer’s championship and has
been the other revelation of 2009, after Brawn GP. BMW has
to get its act together this weekend or Munich is likely to
pull the plug, and Toyota likewise.
The GP should be at 7 p.m. Thai time, but check your local
feed to confirm this. (Qualifying, by the way is at 6 p.m.
on the Saturday.) I will be watching as usual from my perch
at Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR (next to Nova Park), and we
watch the South African feed which has some decent
commentators and no adverts! Join me for a meal and a natter
first. They might even have “turkey” on in the carvery
section (or perhaps large chickens)!
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 (June
8) 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. Many interesting debates come
from these evenings. Come along and meet guys who have a
common interest in cars and bikes, and enjoy the Jameson’s
Steak night special, washed down with a few beers.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked what and when was the
first private car designed and built in the USSR? It was the
NAMI-1, a small twin cylinder tourer in 1926.
So to this week. When you hear the term ‘People’s Car’ you
think of VW, but another country also produced their
‘People’s Car’, which was the first private car built in
that country. What country was it?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
British motoring
‘criminals’
Over 40 percent of UK motorists admit to talking
or texting whilst driving, despite this being banned since
2003. Not only that:
72 percent of motorists also admit to eating and drinking
behind the wheel
85 percent listen to loud music
64 percent use a sat nav
93 percent change the CD or radio station whilst they drive
- all of which can actually result in penalty points.
If that’s not enough, more than 60 percent of drivers admit
to shouting and gesticulating at other motorists and nearly
a quarter smoke whilst driving - something which could
potentially be banned in the near future.
90 percent of motorists in the survey also admit to driving
over the maximum limit whilst on the motorway.
64 percent admit to driving over the limit whilst in a built
up area.
So where do we all stand on those statistics? The ‘guilty,
your Honor’ queue starts behind me!
The Mun Maak Rally
Thailand has just had its own ‘Cannonball Run’
called the Mun Maak Rally. This went from Hua Hin to Bangkok
and then down to Pattaya, ending up at the Hard Rock Hotel.
The official website described it as: “Drivers are treated
to a 5-star experience that could be described as being the
ultimate road-trip. It’s not a race, and attracts all kinds
of people and vehicles to participate; from vintage to
modern supercars, and from rock stars to the simple car
enthusiast. The 2009 rally is a 1day, 400 km drive across
Thailand.”
Westfield
Local Westfield agent (Lotus 7 clone which has been tested
here a couple of months back, buy one!) Julian Dobrijevic
competed in the rally and said it was a blast from start to
finish. The cars competing were mainly exotics, including
Porsches, Ferraris, a Lotus Exige S, Lambos and even an
X-Bow, and of course, a Westfield! The cars were flagged off
at 30 second intervals, but it did not take some of them
very long before they were passing the earlier starting
competitors.
The winner of the rally was the car that most closely
approximated the ‘legal limit’ elapsed time for the journey,
but most cars were well under that time. Naughty! Naughty!
The next one is January 2010, and if you want to prepare a
Westfield for the event, give Julian a call on 087 022 2087,
or email julian @westfield-sportscars-thailand.com
Battery swapping
technology set for EVs
Electric vehicles are coming. And sooner than you
think. The world was brought to its knees more than once by
the pimps at the pumps and their arbitrary pricing of oil,
working on the “what can the market stand” figures.
A
Better Place to exchange batteries?
California-based firm Better Place held the first public
demonstration of new technology that can swap over an
electric car battery in less time than it takes to fill a
car with petrol.
The system operates via a conveyor belt shuttle system
positioned in a pit beneath the car. Robots remove the
depleted battery, the shuttle moves along to position a new
battery under the car and another robot installs it. Better
Place says the process takes less than a minute.
It is claimed that drivers would only use the battery
switching stations occasionally, as most would re-charge
their cars daily via plug-in recharging outlets in homes,
offices or shopping centers.
The current crop of plug-in electric prototypes have a range
of between 60 km and 160 km, but it is expected that will
have improved by the time the Better Place infrastructure is
in place in 2012.
Better Place plans to use only renewable energy for its
recharging network and claims to have interest from a number
of providers.
It plans to set up a charging plan similar to mobile phones,
where electric car owners can subscribe to a usage plan of
their choice. While mobile phone providers charge for
minutes, Better Place would charge for kilometers.
In a press announcement in Yokohama, Japan, the company’s
founder Shai Agassi said Better Place had the same business
model as the large oil companies, but sold “clean
kilometers” rather than dirty ones.
“For nearly a century, the automotive industry has been
inextricably tied to oil. Today, we’re demonstrating a new
path forward where the future of transportation and energy
is driven by our desire for a clean planet and a robust
economic recovery fueled by investments in clean technology,
and one in which the well-being of the automotive industry
is intrinsically coupled with the well-being of the
environment,” he said.
Red Light cameras
Technology is catching on in policing. Rather
than pay the man in brown, you can now get a nice letter
from the prosecutors and pay them instead. We came across
this the other day when my wife got a letter advising that
she had gone through a red light in Bangkok, and here was a
pic of her car to prove it, and now kindly pay up.
Interestingly, the car in the pic was an Avanza, such as my
wife did own last year, but the number plate was not the
same! She, incidentally could prove she had not been in
Bangkok on the date/time in question. And even more
interesting was the fact that when we sold the car in
January (as a wreck) we had officially deregistered it, and
handed in the number plates.
My wife paid a visit to the registrations people here and
was given the contact details of the person owning the red
light running number plate, whom she contacted and forwarded
the prosecution slip. We shall see what happens next.
However, if they put a red light camera on any intersection
in Thailand, they would more than cover the cost of the
equipment in two days. Agree? And it would get rid of
gridlock. Wouldn’t that be nice?
A mirage of massed
Mira’s
Took a trip out to the Bira circuit a couple of
weekends ago to watch the Super Club cars. This turned out
to be very much a ‘club’ meeting with lots of cars and
plenty of camaraderie. I was particularly taken with a
massed field of Daihatsu Mira’s in all different colors.
Some were turbocharged, some seemed to be bog stock
standard, but they were all out there and having fun.
A
pink Mira at full noise
In the pits there were many interesting vehicles, including
a 1973 RS Carrera, complete with duck tail, but instead of
the 2.7 engine, the cover stated 3.2. There was another 1976
Porsche 911, complete with Turbo-style whale tail (increases
the impression ratio, I always used to say about mine)!
The Westfield which I track tested a couple of months ago
was also competing, and novice driver Julian Dobrijevic came
home with a well deserved third place.
The next Super Club meeting is scheduled for 27 and 28 June,
but I suggest you check with the circuit website
www.bira.co.th before you head on out.
