Archive for December, 2013
A Visual Change And More: V8Supercars and Events
Around the world there are various forms of motorsport that are homegrown; NASCAR in the USA, the British Touring Car Championship and here in Oz we have the V8 Supercars. Of recent times the broadcast element of the category has been hosted by the Seven Network and not to universal acclaim. Not that long ago, after much to-ing and fro-ing, a two year deal was signed, for 2013 and 2014. The dollars on offer weren’t that much, in the greater scheme of things at “just” 18 million per year. Today (18 December 2013) it was announced that the rights to broadcast the Supercars would be taken up by the Ten Network and in alliance with Foxtel, Australia’s primary pay television group.
It’s a deal worth around $241 million and spread over six years, allowing the category 
management some much needed certainty in their negotiations with teams in regards to divvying up income. The breakup is said to be $45 million in advertising and a huge $196 million in just plain dollars. It’s an interesting situation with Foxtel broadcasting more useful content in high definition that the free to air networks have so far and with their main motorsport channel, Speed, being shown in both HD and SD,alongside Ten and ONE, it’s an incentive for those that haven’t already got a full HD tv or the HD package from Foxtel to do so. Timing wise is interesting as Foxtel are due to release the new IQ3 set op box/hard drive recorder with extra functionality and a bigger hard drive than IQ2 in early 2014.
More in the world of entertainment and motorsport and tv with the return of the Top Gear Festival to Sydney in early March 2014. On track hosting duties fall to Shane Jacobson, Steve Pizzati, James May and Jeremy Clarkson with the addition of V8 Supercar driver Craig Lowndes. There’s some decent format changes to the event, including the opening round of the Porsche GT3 category, (I wouldn’t be surprised if Mark Webber shows up in some capacity); his replacement at Red Bull F1 Racing, Daniel Ricciardo, will be attempting to break Mark’s lap record and a tribute to one of the most highly regarded Formula 1 drivers ever, the late Ayrton Senna. His championship winning McLaren car will be flown over and his nephew, the talented Bruno Senna, should be in attendance. As the incumbent circuit commentator for Sydney Motorsport Park, I and my co-anchor, John McCoy-Lancaster, will be working alongside the main BBC crew and a local production company holding the show together.
Just a month after this will be a first time event for the circuit, with Ferrari adding its weight to entertaining the south east Asian region by bringing to Sydney Motorsport Park their Ferrari Racing Days. This is scheduled for 11-14 April and will feature the second round of the Ferrari APAC Challenge, hundreds of privately owned Ferraris and five Ferrari Formula 1 cars. Numbers of vehicles are yet to be confirmed however 
there is talk of over four hundred cars taking part in the event. 
It’s a lot of hard work behind the scenes that the NSW Government and the operating board of SMP have done to secure these events; details for the Ferrari event including ticketing will be available soon whilst the Top Gear Festival has already proved itself to be immensely popular. More information can be found here: http://www.topgearfestivalsydney.com.au/
The Part-Time Drivers Respond…
My fellow-blogger Lewis has written eloquently on the war between what he calls Full-Time Drivers and Part-Time Drivers. If you haven’t read his post, http://blog.privatefleet.com.au/home/part-time-drivers/, please do so. But in a nutshell, he seems to state that Part-Time Drivers (those who consider their car primarily as a means of getting from A to B and only drive when they have to) have a tendency to drive and park like idiots. Well, I happen to fit the basic definition of a part-time driver who considers driving a means to an end, and I am moved to speak up on the behalf of those like me.
At the outset, I thoroughly agree with Lewis about the irritation of drivers who seem to live in a little bubble that co-exists with the bodyframe of the car. I also see red when somebody takes up multiple car parks, double-parks outside the school, drives slowly in the fast lane and texts while driving. However, not all part-timers drive like this. I will, however, freely admit that I am not a perfect parker, but this leads me to search for a spot I can get the car in and out of easily even if this means I have to walk a bit further. As an aside, it does seem that the civil engineers who designed some parking areas drive little hatchbacks, as even the full-time driver I am married to thinks that they’re a bit narrow for the family Ford Fairlane even when parked with pinpoint precision. If there’s an SUV in the next space that’s even slightly off-centre, considerable care is needed to avoid damaging its paintwork while getting out of the car.
Part-time drivers may be part-time for a number of reasons. We may be concerned for our own health and thus walk or bike for a bit of extra exercise. We may want to cut down on our environmental footprints. Or we may have a look at the price of petrol and wince. Or we may be quite happy to surrender the wheel to the full-time drivers in our lives. And – contrary to what the label “Sunday Driver” suggests – we have other hobbies in our lives and would rather not spend our spare time sitting on our backsides. Alternatively, if we cruise around just for the fun of it, we may prefer to do so on two wheels.
However, part-time drivers do not hate their cars. Nor is it the case that we don’t give a tinker’s cuss about what we drive. We select our cars with great care – good looks and raw power alone won’t impress us. We also look at practicality (Will the surfboard fit in the boot? Will this car be able to tow the caravan?), safety, economy and our creature comforts. We are not totally devoid of aesthetics and will shun a vehicle that is plug-ugly. Some of us also use a vehicle as an expression of our social status/pay packet (although we’ve all heard about the multi-millionaires who get about in second-hand Toyota Corollas). And yes, we will personalise our cars with seat covers, bumper stickers and so forth. In fact, there is little to distinguish us from the full-time driver in this respect, except that the full-timer is more likely to be attracted to a little sports car. Although not always – some take the attitude that even if you only use a car to get from A to B, you may as well do it in style.
Part-time drivers also get a bit annoyed at some of the things full-time drivers do. It is the full-timer, rather than the part-time driver, who will charge from lane to lane, trying to overtake everything that moves as if the simplest trip to the supermarket was a race. It’s the full-timer who is more likely to speed “because this car is built for it and needs to go fast” and give you the heebie-jeebies when they barrel around corners just to put the handling through its paces. And could you call those annoying boy racers (and girl racers) who keep certain neighbourhoods awake at night with screeching tyres and amplified exhausts anything other than full-time drivers?
A full-time driver woz ‘ere wiv his mates.
And, on the human side of things, we part-timers get rather annoyed at the way emotion and attachment is lavished by full-timers on something that is, fundamentally, a machine that cannot love you back or even recognise you. And we sympathise with Shania Twain’s sentiments:
You’re one of those guys who likes to shine his machine
You make me take off my shoes before you let me get in
I can’t believe you kiss your car good night
C’mon baby tell me – you must be jokin’, right!
Oh, you think you’re special
Oh, you think you’re something else
Okay, so you’ve got a car
That don’t impress me much
So you got the moves but have you got the touch
Don’t get me wrong, yeah I think you’re alright
But that won’t keep me warm in the middle of the night
5 Easy Ways to Ensure You Retain Your Certificate of Road Worthiness
There are countless things that can trip us up on the roads. From tax to the increase of fuel prices, it may sometimes feel like you need help to navigate your way through the minefield that is driving regulation. Australia is no different for other developed countries in they way we deal with road safety – and we have some of the best statistics in the world in terms of car safety. If your Certificate of Roadworthiness is due for renewing, here are 5 easy self-checks you can carry out ensure your car stays in perfect condition. But first….
What is the Certificate of Roadworthiness?
The Certificate of Roadworthiness is a check of the vehicle to ensure the major safety related items in the car are up to scratch.
Our page on roadworthiness certificates gives you a clear definition of what needs to be checked and how to go about doing so.
http://www.privatefleet.com.au/glossary/a-roadworthy-certificate/
What Needs to be Monitored?
It must be remembered that the Certificate of Roadworthiness is not a check on the general condition or wear and tear of your vehicle – and often it’s only carried out periodically or when there is a change of ownership. There are some things you can do to make sure your Certificate of Roadworthiness is nothing to worry about…
Check Tires
Tires should be changed based on a visual check, but bear in mind that rubber can perish and you need to monitor your tire usage to ensure you changing them at regular intervals. Be sure also to check the condition of your spare tire.
Check for Corrosion
The structural integrity of your vehicle will be checked during the examination for your Certificate of Roadworthiness. Pay close attention to the underside of your car and the sills, wings and doors…check for any unusual signs of wear and make sure you
Make Sure you Have Screenwash!
Small things such as screenwash and the quality of your wipers will be checked during the test for the certificate of roadworthiness, so make sure they’re up to date. It saves a lot of hassle if you check before and get it topped up with screen wash solution…be sure also to check other small items in the car such as certain fixtures and fittings.
Are All the Bulbs Working?
It seems silly to fail a certificate of roadworthiness test in Australia for the sake of a few dollars to buy a new bulb. Even on modern vehicles bulbs fail regularly, so it goes without saying that you’ll need to keep up to date with all lights both external and internal to make sure your call flies through its certificate check.
Contact Private Fleet today if you would like more information about your Certificate of Roadworthiness or any aspect of car maintenance. Additionally, if you are interested in , we offer a comprehensive solution and a way of working which is guaranteed to get you the best deals around.
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Insanity Highway: More Madness in Motorsport
Many of my posts can be quite high on the old word count, but this one I will keep short and sweet. I have been yet again delving into recent news and I have come across some rather curious updates from the motor sport world. It has come to my attention that some individuals have started down a dangerous path. They have ignored the road signs for logic, level headedness and maintaining the essence of motor sport and turned onto ‘Insanity Highway’ which passes through the city of Cockyville and descends into the famous Slam-Your-Head-Against-A-Wall tunnel.
The first of these pieces of new comes from Formula One, which is just my utter favourite form of motor sport ever… Yes…Really… Anyway, news has reached my ears that the governing body of F1 have announced that the final round of the motor sport will offer double points in the championship. One can only imagine that it is an attempt by the sport to stop the domination that has been the case by Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel and bring back the competitive aspect. What a great idea, I mean while they’re at it why don’t they make in mandatory for all drivers during pit stops to jump out the car, perform the macarena while reciting a monologue from Shakespeare. I am sorry but it just seems completely and utterly ridiculous to me. Has the sport really got to this point where they are having to try and force competition and good television. Next they might even try to extract blood from a stone. It would be just as stupid as the final round of any league based sport offering double points. It is no different to any of the other rounds. And as many of the drivers have pointed out, it is punishing the drivers who have done well across the season.
I am aware that other regulation changes are to be made. But seriously, if you want to make the sport more competitive, you need to address it at the basic level. If you want the sport to be a commercial success, maybe it is time to bring about changes to this massive focus on tyres, fuel and general pit strategy. If you want to make F1 more entertaining to watch, one must address the racing itself and look at ways to make EACH ROUND more competitive.
Some suggestions could be to introduce a reverse grid start to some rounds, while also offering points for qualifying to save drivers setting purposely bad times to make sure they remain at the front of the grid. On top of that, the reverse grid can be random and chosen only on race day to add an element of unknown. Further suggestions would be appreciated!
And now to move on…
The BTCC used to be one of the worlds top touring car championships. And then with the regulation changes in the early 00s the sport came tumbling down into terrible-ness. And over the last few years it has found itself recovering, with the number of entrants increasing by the year, and the racing getting closer. However, one of the massive problems that is still plaguing the sport is the lack of manufacturers. The manufacturers that are there are clearly have a much larger budget and better technology, as has been seen by the last season dictatorship by Honda and MG. This brings me onto the news that I have discovered. The Honda team have announced their 2014 car. And well… there is not really any other way I can say this so just have a look at the picture for yourself..
The new Honda for the 2014 BTCC Season…
Your eyes are not deceiving you. That is indeed a Honda Civic Estate that has greeted your vision. It is an insult to my eyes. If my eyes could throw up, now may be the time that it will happen. The Honda team have said that they wanted to add a new challenge into the mix in next years championship. Is it just me or is that statement just filled with blood curdling arrogance? Honda have been the Red Bull of the BTCC for the last few years. They know too well that they are the dominant team and it would seem that it is now getting to their heads a little bit. I really do hope that the team suffers next year and it gives chances to other teams to compete for the title. Chances are this will just hand MG the title on a plate. This move by the Honda team might imply a sense of hierarchy in the BTCC, which may break apart the lovely family feel of the sport.
Come on Honda. Don’t become THAT GUY.
Until next time my lovely readers,
If you have any comments please feel free to contact me on Twitter @lewisglynn69
Keep Driving People!
Peace and Love!
Level 2, 9 Help Street