Chinese GP this weekend

Shanghai

The Chinese Grand Prix is at Shanghai this weekend, and also in Pattaya the start of the Songkran festival. Tuesday the 19th is the culmination of the collective madness called Songkran, during which people drink to excess, ride motorcycles and fall off when hit by buckets of iced dirty water, and are killed. This national sport kills around 600 participants each year.

So what has that got to do with the Chinese GP? Everything. The ‘festivities’ are such that traffic can come to a halt on the main day, but remember Songkran Sunday is not the main day - that is Tuesday April 19, called “Wan Lai”.

On Sunday 17, some businesses close their doors; however, Jameson’s Irish Pub is not one of those on this Sunday with Landlord Kim Fletcher advising me that they will be open. He also advises that the best way to approach the pub is from Sukhumvit or North Roads, wriggle past the Diana Gardens Estate, cross Third Road and come into Soi AR that way. If it doesn’t work, Kim Fletcher will be singing boy soprano.

The race will start at 2 p.m. Thai time on Sunday, but as always, check your own TV feed, as I would not like to be held responsible for you missing the start! I will allow myself a little longer travelling time, just in case, but the Grand Prix and the Sunday roasts together is too good to miss. Jameson’s is right next to Nova Park, if you are unsure.

What did we learn from the Malaysian Grand Prix?

Well, we learned that the DRS (Drag Reduction System) did actually work with long straights. We also learned that the KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) does work, and if you haven’t got it at the start, you are history - Webber (Red Bull) going from third to tenth by the first corner.

There was much more passing and repassing, in fact probably more than we saw in sum total last year, with good clean driving all round, other than Alonso (Ferrari) who managed to clout Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) when pulling out of the slipstream.

Driver of the day had to be young rookie Di Resta in the Force India, who scored another point, and beat his experienced team mate Sutil. This lad is one to watch.

‘Almost’ getting the driver of the day was Kobayashi (Sauber), who will attack and pass anybody, including seven times World Champions. He keeps everyone on their toes and puts a smile on every face.

Vettel (Red Bull) drove well again, and was in charge all the way, with Jenson Button (McLaren) deserving his second place; however, the upset was Heidfeld in the Renault (I refuse to call it a Lotus) who had a magnificent start slotting into second, and eventually finished in third. An excellent drive.

Against all expectations, the HRT team did qualify within the 107 percent rule, but Karthikeyan only lasted 14 laps in the race and Liuzzi 46. But it’s a start.

We also learned that Martin Brundle (BBC commentator) is a riot on his pit walks, brushing the Malaysian PM to one side to speak to everyone’s favourite dwarf, Bernie Ecclestone. The Beeb actually did a wonderful job of telecasting, one of the best we’ve seen in a long time.

And finally, the retrospective punishments for Hamilton (for weaving) and Alonso (for hitting) are ludicrous. Either penalize immediately at the time or forget it.

The amazing Adrian Newey

Formula 1 designer Adrian Newey became the winner of the Segrave Trophy for 2010, for being the only Formula 1 designer to have designed championship-winning cars for three different teams - Williams F1, McLaren and, in 2010, Red Bull Racing.

F1 designer Adrian Newey

Upon receiving the Segrave Trophy from Sir David Prosser, chairman of the Royal Automobile Club, Newey said: “This is a huge honor for me. To receive a trophy with such an impressive history is very special and the occasion has been even more memorable because so many past winners are guests here.”

Adrian Newey gained a First Class honours degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Southampton and immediately moved into Formula 1 with the Fittipaldi team. A year later, in 1980, he joined March and went on to design the team’s GTP sports cars. A spell working with March in IndyCar followed before he returned to Formula 1 with the new Leyton House team as Technical Director.

Although recognized as a talented designer, his skills didn’t translate into results until he joined Williams F1 in 1990. Newey and Patrick Head at Williams F1 became the dominant design partnership winning four Formula One World Constructors’ Championships. More titles followed when Newey moved to McLaren in 1997. In 2006 he joined Red Bull Racing and by 2010 Newey’s latest design (the RB6) was the class of the field, taking 15 pole positions and nine race wins to secure both drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

Outside the F1 arena, Newey collects sports cars and has competed in Le Mans Legend races as well as the Goodwood Revival meeting, winning the TT Race in 2009. In 2007, he and his co-drivers finished fourth in class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Last year he took part in the Goodwood Festival of Speed in a Red Bull RB5.

The Segrave Trophy was created in 1930 to commemorate the life of Sir Henry Segrave who was the first British driver to win a Grand Prix in a British car, at the French Grand Prix at Tours in 1923, the first to hold both the land and water speed records simultaneously and the first person to travel at over 200mph (320km/h) in a land vehicle. On June 13, 1930 he broke the water speed record on Windermere in the Lake District. On the return run his boat capsized after hitting a log. He was rescued and taken unconscious to hospital. He briefly regained consciousness and asked, “Have I broken the record?” He was told of his achievement before dying moments later.

Anyone wanting a hot BMW 7-Series?

Cool heist of hot BMW

Brazen car thieves had a bonanza in Detroit when two car-jackers made off with a new US$94,000 BMW 750i xDrive sedan which had been left idling outside the Westin Book Cadillac, one of Detroit’s major hotels.

BMW had supplied a VIP fleet for high flyers at the Detroit show, and the 7-Series was one of the 12 BMW’s in the PR fleet.

At the end of the show, BMW had a transporter ready to ferry the cars back to BMW (America) headquarters in New Jersey and the 7-Series had been driven to the loading area, where after the valet had got out, two men jumped into the car and calmly drove away.

BMW have been quite calm about it all, on the surface, with spokeswoman Stacy Morris saying, “It’s just an unfortunate incident.” It was probably insured anyway, but the insurance company might want to ask a few more questions, I would imagine.

What ever happened to the Tiger Rally?

Tiger had more than a few problems this year, which is a shame, as the concept of having ‘classic’ cars on show, touring Thailand and SE Asia, is not something we get too often. The numbers were down this year, the global economics no doubt affecting this. But the world is on the way back up again, we are told. Well, new car sales if nothing else. Our own entry in a Mk1Escort Mexico also became a non-starter when the American owner changed his mind about the concept.

A classy Cabriolet.

The hardy souls who decided on competing in the rally then found there was a total stuff-up getting the cars out of customs. This delay was about three days, so the Bangkok to Ayutthaya leg was done in minibuses, and then the entrants were bussed back to Bangkok to wait for the Customs (ir)regularities!

Citroen puncture.

With the delayed start, some of the legs within Thailand had to be shortened and ‘lay days’ were lost, trying to catch up the schedule. Both E-Type Jaguars had problems and had to be left in Korat, so it was an even further depleted field that crossed into Cambodia, then up into Laos and finally Vietnam.

Hopefully they made it back to the UK and Europe. The four photos were taken on the Thailand leg, but as I said, it is just a shame that it ended up not as successful as it should have done.

There should be another Tiger Rally in a couple of years, and we will detune and enter the Securitas Mk 1 Escort. Will keep you informed.

Jaguar at rest.

Tiger Rally 2011.

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I asked you to identify this car and its propulsion. Hint: 1978. It was a McKee Mk 16 battery electric car.

Quiz Car

So to this week. Who started in 81st place in a race in Europe and came through to win? Clue: he was driving a Mors.

For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected].

Good luck!