Archive for 2015
BTCC 2015: Home Advantage for Honda at Thruxton?
Image Credit: 2015 Honda Yuasa Racing Press Office
The first two rounds of the British Touring Car Championship have already more than proven the sensational form the series has returned to. If Brands Hatch and Donington Park proved anything, its that the old guard of the touring cars are anything but safe; the new generation of drivers are encroaching on the top positions. Heading to Thruxton however, the established teams remain on top, and it looks like it may well remain that way on Britain’s fastest and most daunting circuit.
Over the years commenting on the motorsport world, a common observation has often been that I hold a great deal of faith in the underdogs. Apparently I have some cognitive roadblock when it comes to me aligning with any dominant team. The most relevant example I can muster must be the case of Honda in the BTCC. When they returned to the new look championship in 2002 I was a die hard fan, especially when Andy Priaulx got the team and made them a top scorer by the end of the year. However, as Honda became more and more dominant and transformed into the Neal-Shedden hybrid we know today, my love for them seemed to fade. I can only imagine that with dominance comes a sense of predictability, which in turn removes that drama and excitement that attracted you in the first place. This year however, the situation seems a little different.
We may have only had the first two rounds, but one thing that is clear beyond any shadow of a doubt is that nothing is certain anymore. The new breed of touring car stars have started their campaign for glory; Team BMR have shown blistering form, while names such as Aron Smith, Josh Cook and Aiden Moffat have taken their stand against the establishment. If there was a word to describe the 2015 season, it could only be unpredictability. Therefore, my attempt to make predictions ahead of Thruxton has already given me multiple headaches. Nevertheless, let’s give this a go.
Since 2011 there have been 12 races at Thruxton, 9 of which have been one by a single manufacturer. Of those 9 races, 8 of those have been won by the same team. The 2015 season may well be filled with uncertainty, but to put your money on a dominant Honda performance may well be one of the safest bets you could make all year. Not only is Thruxton the home circuit for the Honda team, but their composed chassis and strong engine has already given them 50% of the victories this year.
Honda are expected to be on flying form at Thruxton. Image Credit: 2015 Honda Yuasa Racing Press Office
“We’ve had some brilliant results so far this season that have exceeded expectations – and long may they continue – but we need to keep on pushing the boundaries so we stay at the sharp end in this fast-moving championship.” – Gordon Shedden
Considering Honda have seemingly out-performed their own expectations already this year, moving towards a historically Honda safe track must be a great confidence boost for the team,
“We’ve got our heads down and are working hard on the car, because we know there’s still plenty of room for improvement – but we’re feeling positive. I’m looking forward to Thruxton; it’s traditionally been a happy hunting ground for us and the new Type R is monstrous through the high-speed areas, which is what this circuit is all about. That should definitely play to our strengths” – Matt Neal
Speaking of tradition, Thruxton has never quite suited the Triple Eight MG team; the best placed MG last year was Jason Plato who managed 6th in the opening race. However, the all new line-up of Andy Jordan and Jack Goff have shown they are not be messed with this year. Andy Jordan took a win for Honda at Thruxton last year, so he knows exactly how best to tackle the tarmac for victory. I do think however that MG will struggle at Thruxton, having already fallen foul to the monstrous Honda team this year on multiple occasions.
In many ways the same can be said of both the BMW and BMR teams, who both possess either cars or drivers that are able to win at Thruxton, but question marks still hang over whether the 2015 combination will prove fruitful. I have faith that Priaulx will return after a disappointing Donington and be challenging for the podium positions and possibly even a win, following in the footsteps of Turkington who won the final race in the eBay Motors BMW last year. The new look BMR team have proven brutally fast already, and will certainly be on contention but I do not know if they will be able to match the Honda menace. Whatever happens, Turkington, Plato and supercharged Smith will be challenging from start to finish.
The high speed, abrasive circuit of Thruxton does often throw up some unexpected action, such as Simon Belcher’s stop drop and roll off the circuit last year. Questions have already been asked about the soft tyre and its suitability at Thruxton; given its performances so far it is likely that the soft tyre would not last a race. Personally I think the running of the soft tyre should be stopped at Thruxton, from a safety point of view.
The Moffatt Mercedes may surprise at Thruxton. Image Credit: BTCC.net
The final race at Donington Park saw the dramatic rise to form of both Josh Cook and Aiden Moffat, with Cook nearly taking the outright race win if it wasn’t for the safety car. Moffat in the Mercedes is a proven racey combination already, and his determination is sending him soaring up the grid. Last year the Mercedes of Morgan finished with three top tens at Thruxton, which bodes well for both him and Moffat considering the drastic improvements that are already apparent this year. Thruxton in the past seems to have favoured the hot hatches, which would give some advantage to the A-Class over perhaps the VWs, Chevrolets and MGs. Possibly.
If the past is anything to go by, my attempts at making predictions ahead of a BTCC race meeting have been futile and utterly wrong when the results come in. The most skilled statisticians and race analysts in the world would struggle to predict the events of a BTCC race weekend. But I am nothing if not a courageous man. My predictions for Thruxton will be two race wins to Honda followed by a win for Aron Smith.
There we are, my money has been placed where my mouth is. Let’s see what happens shall we?
Bring it on!
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Keep Driving People!
Peace and Love!
Private Fleet Car Review: 2016 Subaru Outback 3.6L.
Australia has had a love affair with station wagons for decades; sadly, new Aussie made wagons will cease in 2017 when Holden closes local manufacturing. Happily, there’s still wagon options available and Subaru’s evergreen Outback is a classy choice for the discerning driver. A Wheel Thing’s garage had the company of this classic for a week.
Powersource.
3.6L. Horizontally opposed “boxer” engine. 191 kilowatts at 6000 revs and 350 torques at 4400. Economy levelled out at 8.5L per 100 in predominantly suburban driving (Subaru quotes 7.5L highway, 9.9L combined and an exceptionally unhealthy 14.2L per 100 km urban, from a 1700 kg wagon!) The fuel tank is 60L in size and can be filled with 91RON.
The transmission is a CVT, a constant variable tranmission, allowing the Outback 3.6L to run to 100 klicks in around eight seconds. You can choose to shift manually via paddles at the rear of the steering wheel, with six programmed shift points to choose from.
The Suit.
There’s just over 21 cm of ground clearance to play with; the wagon body has been given the polyurethane add-on treatment, with front, rear and sill panels copping a lashing of black, allowing some good softroading thanks to the height and extra panel safety.
The extra sheetmetal at the rear allows some usable cargo room, at 512 litres with the seats up and a gargantuan 1801 with the seats down. Staying with the rear, the tail light design echoes the sedan’s design plus continues the curve on the leading edge of the cluster. Both ends also get a aluminuim strip in the centre.
The front features the Outback’s traditional look, with globe lit driving lights pushed to each bottom corner and surrounded by acres of plastic. The redesigned front features a smaller (and far better looking) head light cluster, with a more integrated shape, trimming the overly edgy shape the previous model suffered.
Atop the Outback is a pair of rails, giving the wagon a total height of 1675 mm; with a total length of 4815 mm and width of 1840, sitting on a wheelbase of 2745mm, it’s a larger car than the metal makes it look.
On The Inside.
Subaru have taken a soft broom to the interior; soft touch plastics, supple leather and its usual ergonomic approach add up for a classy look. Starting at the rear, there’s that aforementioned cavern for a cargo space, accessed via a powered tailgate. Adding to the class is a memory function, to store the level of height the ‘gate opens to.
Seats.
Although heated (not cooled) and comfortable they lack support, to the side and underneath. There’s a feeling of sitting on, not in, them, and the lack of bolstering leaves an average sized person feeling as if they may slide left or right. Both driver and passenger seats are electrically operated in eight directions. At the Premium and 3.6L level, the squabs are perforated for that luxury look.
Rear Seats.
There’s a flat fold and 60/40 split ability, with the folding operated by a simple pull lever mechanism. The centre section naturally offers a fold out arm rest and drink holder. All four doors also have a bottle holder, as does the centre console.
Interior Design.
The driver and front passenger face a dash and upper console that is a subtle yet effective revamp of the previous (fifth) generation. Subaru have amortised costs by giving the same look across the range, immediately inviting a sense of familiarity. The driver’s display is clean, highlighted by that cobalt blue backlighting. An information screen shows on the fly fuel economy, any warning systems such as Lane Departure or Collision Avoidance (via the much vaunted Eyesight system), trip and distance.
The aircon system works and works well, with the Mode button cycling from defrost to footwell without the need, as in another brand, to press the same button to deselect the airflow direction. The quibble with the display is the oversized, in comparison, temperature display to the clock and outside temperature.
It’s a black look to the lower half of the cabin, yet it’s neither claustrophobic or excessively dominated by the colour, as the upper half is an off white shade, providing a pleasant contrast and airy feeling, plus a sunroof gives that little bit extra.
Subaru offer, depending on model, two different interior trims for the plastics, in this case the Premium is loaded up with piano black with silver highlights. For accessories to be powered up, there’s two 12V sockets to utilise, plus there’s Bluetooth streaming for music, voice command recognition, handsfree phone calling whilst the audio system in the 3.6L is American icon, Harman Kardon. It’s clear and punchy, with a well defined sound stage.
The steering wheel is chunky enough to give a decent surface area for the hands to wrap around on the leather, without stretching the fingers. There’s no sense of overloading the spokes with the various tabs and buttons for Cruise control, audio and information selection tabs on the lower left.
In the upper centre console is Subaru’s integrated touchscreen navitainment system; it’s a true delight to use in its simplicity and offers a wide range of information and features, accessible from the Home screen and sub-menus embedded within. Above that is the stereo camera installation for Eyesight: http://www.subaru.com.au/eyesight-technology.
On The Road.
Compared to the sedan tested previously, it’s much more composed, stable and feels much more planted on the road. There’s a sensation of less body roll, more grip, with just a hint of understeer, easily controlled by a gentle prod of the right foot. The brake pedal is a touch soft at the beginning of the travel, with no feel of bite. To me, it needs to start earlier, to alleviate any feeling some drivers may have of the brakes not gripping.
The splendid looking 18 inch alloys hold onto 225/60 Bridgestone Dueller tyres, a dual purpose semi offroad and tarmac oriented design. They’re quiet across the coarser chip roads and add to the confidence in handling the Outback offers up. Rid equality is possibly more oriented towards the sporty style, with a touch of initial compliance before firming up but not uncomfortably so.
Subaru quotes 7.8 seconds to reach 100 kilometres per hour with the 3.6L, it certainly feels capable enough indoing so, however, as good as the engineering is on their current crop of CVT’s, there’s still that seat of the pants feeling that a traditional auto could utilise the engine’s torque and power a touch more effectively. For the Outback, there’s also Hill Descent Control and a lockable centre diff.
Underway the car is mostly silent, bar the muted throb from the dual exhaust. Move too close to the centre or kerbside lines and you’ll trigger the Lane Departure warning system, with chimes aplenty. Thankfully, it’s a noise you can turn off. The Eyesight system offers adaptive cruise and a nifty feature alerting you if you’ve stayed still but the car ahead has moved on.
The Wrap.
Although seeming pricey at just over $50K, Subaru immediately passed on the dollar savings that a newly signed Free Trade Agreement brought to it. The Outback 3.6L comes with a solid features list, a comfortable interior, sweet ergonomics, plenty of family room but suffers from an excessively thirsty engine, from Subaru’s figures. The upside is that it’s a better looker than its predecessor and the increased sales figures reflect this.
For further details and pricing for your area: click here: http://www.subaru.com.au/outback/features
The Car: Subaru Outback.
Engine: 3.6L “boxer” or horizontally opposed six cylinder.
Power/Torque: 191 kW @ 6000 rpm/350 Nm @ 4400 rpm.
Transmission: CVT (constant variable transmission).
Fuel: 91RON.
Tank: 60 litres.
Economy: (City/highway/combined litres per hundred kilometres) 14.2/7.5/9.9.
Dimensions: (L x W x H in mm) 4815 x 1840 x 1675.
Wheelbase: 2745 mm.
Ride height: 210 mm.
Cargo: 512L/1801L (seats up/lowered).
Holy Roller: The Popemobile
Not too long ago, I did a wee post telling you all about the fancy-pants limo used by the President of the US of A, known as The Beast. The research for this led me to odd bits and pieces about the Popemobile, so I thought that the opportunity was too good to pass up.
The Beast at least looks like a car. The Popemobile… doesn’t. Maybe that’s the real reason why the current pope, Pope Francis, doesn’t like it, as well as his apparent preference for keeping things simple. And I have to say that I’d prefer to drive myself around in a Ford Focus or a Renault 4 , too, like he does, rather than sit in what looks like a glass box on the back of a ute.
Popemobiles are a comparatively recent arrival on the scene, unlike presidential limos. Prior to 1976, the pope got carried about on a mobile armchair known as the sedia gestatoria, which roughly means “portable chair”. Pope Paul VI scrapped the idea of being carried about on the shoulders of fellow human beings and organised a modified Toyota Land Cruiser instead. It used to take 12 blokes to carry it, partly because that padded throne was pretty heavy and partly in memory of the 12 disciples of Jesus… although Jesus’s preferred forms of transport were foot, rowing boat and a borrowed donkey.
Popemobiles tend to come in two varieties: open top and bulletproof. The uncovered ones tend to get used when the Pope is on his home turf in the Vatican, with the bulletproof ones being kept for overseas trips. The bulletproof ones came in after the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981.
A number of vehicles have been modified over the years to be used as Popemobiles. Fords, Fiats, a SEAT Panda (close cousin to the Fiat of the same name), a Kia and some British Leyland trucks have all been customised for the task, which is as close as a car comes to being consecrated. A few other obscure vehicles have also been used over the years. The current Popemobile is a modified Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV. All Popemobiles have the same license plate: SCV 1, with the SCV standing for Status Civitatis Vaticanae meaning “City State of the Vatican”.
Engine: 5-litre V8, petrol fuel. There are probably plans afoot for greener versions.
Seating: Five maximum: two in the front (one chauffeur and one bodyguard), one in the special chair and two aides in the rear cabin facing backwards and lower down where the general public can’t see them so well. The answer to the debate over how many guardian angels you can fit in the rear of the Popemobile along with His Holiness is probably the same as the one about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. The actual chair itself has a hydraulic lift system to get it up to the top of the turret for maximum visibility. Entrance to the seat is through the rear door, and to get into this seat, the Pope goes through the rear door, climbs up a couple of steps, sits down then presses a button to get the chair up into the right place.
Performance: Tipping the scales at 5 tonnes thanks to heaps of body armour, the current Popemobile has a top speed of 160 mph and does the 0–60 mph “sprint” in 15 seconds, assuming that there’s a clear space in front. The usual speed while on duty is more like 6 mph. Fuel consumption is 15 miles per gallon.
Safety and security: The bulletproof glass around the rear cabin is actually plastic glass and is three inches thick, capable of withstanding explosions. The underside of the car is protected by a bombproof steel plate half an inch thick. Kelvar body armour lines the sides of the cabin. The rear cabin has its own oxygen supply and air filters to withstand biological attack. The run-flat tyres are able to be used at speeds up to 70 mph.
I did notice that the special chair thing in the rear cabin doesn’t have a seatbelt…
Safe and happy driving – and don’t forget your seatbelts!
Megan
Blancpain Sprint Series Thunders Back To Brands Hatch
Image Credit: brandshatch.co.uk
In the depths of darkness, the rapturous gods of thunderous passion have once more decreed their will; the Blancpain GT Series is to return to the once peaceful Kentish countryside. After a succulent success last year, the Sprint Series will once more grace the tarmac at Brands Hatch. The brutally British Bentley will join the returning marques of Audi, BMW, Ferrari and Lamborghini this year. The weekend will be nothing but spectacular, and there is no better place to watch the action than Stopwatch Hospitality.
When the Blancpain Sprint series came to Brands Hatch in 2014, no one was expecting such a spectacular weekend of racing. There is no doubt that the Blancpain GT series was something special, but until the eardrums were ringing and the rib cages rattling, no one was truly prepared for what was in store. The Brands Hatch round last year produced the closest qualifying and race finish that was seen all year round. Who would want to miss that?
The Blancpain behemoths will be piloted by a selection of some of the best sports car drivers you will see put hand to wheel, including Grand Prix competitors Markus Winklehock and Bernd Schneider as well as rising stars Craig Dolby and Sean Walkinshaw.
May the thunderous majesty return once more. Image Credit: brandshatch.co.uk
One of the biggest stories from that weekend was the return of motorsport legend Alex Zanardi, who had previously won two emotional gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics, which had been held at Brands Hatch. To say that the crowd was completely behind Zanardi would be an understatement. Despite some problems across the weekend, Zanardi would finish the main race 5th only 24.579 seconds behind the winning Grasser Racing Lamborghini.
The people’s hero, the people’s champion, the people’s inspiration.
Even with the monstrous main course, the Blancpain package offers a succulent array of side dishes, including the ever popular GT Cup that had fans captivated from start to finish. Alongside their increasingly popular BTCC campaign, Power Maxed also run the Mini Challenge which will be out in force for your wonderment. The BRSCC Mazda MX5 Championship will too be making an appearance, pitting a full grid made up of a truly iconic sports car against each other. Did we also mention that there will be an immense super car display taking place on race day too? This is not something you will want to miss.
Stopwatch Hospitality offers a race day package like no other, such as unrivalled views of the circuit, interviews and autograph sessions with drivers and a behind the scenes experience to see race teams in action. As an added bonus, guests will witness first-hands the delectable commentary delights of Downforce Radio who will be broadcasting some of the races from the weekend right from the suite! Add on top of that a wide range of complimentary drinks and food throughout the day in the suite alongside multimedia access to Twitter streams and live timing, is there really any other way to spend your day!
Full Race day package available for only £75.
Trackside Lounge Package (excluding complimentary food/drink) £45
The only way is Blancpain. The only way is Stopwatch Hospitality.
See you there!
Level 2, 9 Help Street