A Burst Of Biff Brings Spice To The Scene
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday July 8, 1994
AFTER a period of infirmity (and boredom) Australian motor sport has regained a healthy glow with what could be called a biffo-led recovery.
The last two rounds of the Shell touring car championship for V8 Holdens and Fords have been the best in two seasons, spiced by wet weather vagaries and, last weekend, by Alan Jones's direct way of dealing with a bad-mannered gatekeeper.
And the recent, televised coming-together of the BMWs of Tony Longhurst and Paul Morris, and its mesmerising aftermath, certainly helped swing the spotlight towards the Valvoline Australian Manufacturers' Championship for international 2.0-litre touring cars.
Interest in the series is building slowly yet steadily, although the weekly package of highlights is screened at 6.30 am on a Saturday.
But the Lakeside round of the series next weekend has attracted the best entry to date, with the promise of more to come. Phil Ward will debut his new Technophone Mercedes Benz 190, an ex-German factory 1993 championship car.
Ward has converted the Benz to 2.0-litre form; no easy task given the bodywork and engineering freedoms allowed in the German series.
He has had to remove the anti-lock braking system, a job made tough because the ABS was integrated with the car's electronic engine management system.
But Ward, who now believes he is closer than ever to ultimate competitiveness with the rival factory BMWs, is rapt with the new machine, which has its share of Formula One technology. "It's a trick thing," said Ward.
An Australian innovation, though, is the vehicle's in-car telephone system which Ward uses to communicate with his pit crew.
"We just leave the line open throughout and chat when we need to," Ward said.
Making a return to the series at Lakeside is James Kaye, the forceful British privateer who stunned the factory BMW team at Winton when he plonked the Orix Toyota Carina on pole.
An altercation with a barrier ruined Kaye's chances in the opening leg. But in the hastily repaired car, Kaye stormed from the rear of the field to third place in the second race, and was moving in on leaders Morris and Longhurst when the BMW pair crashed, bringing out the red flag.
The Lakeside field will also be bolstered by the return of Peter Hills, who blew his only engine at Eastern Creek. He has taken delivery of a new factory-supplied Cosworth engine for his Ford Sierra.
An ex-British touring car championship Peugeot 405 Mi16, recently acquired by Sydneysider Daryl Dixon, is on the water and should make an appearance later in the series.
As well, a British-built Eunos 500 is heading into the workshops of leading Sydney preparer Mike Quinn and will probably be ready for the Mallala round on August 7.
Brilliant Formula Ford champion-elect, Steve Richards, and mentor Garry Rogers, have indicated they will be definite starters in the 1995 2.0-litre championship, although they have not yet settled on a car.
Persistent rumours also connect a Ford Mondeo to a prominent local star, but no-one is prepared to confirm the story.
Best of all, another German marque is believed to be close to making a decision in favour of an Australian campaign in 1995.
ST IVES ALIVE
THERE is a postscript to our item of last week supporting a reader's call for the retention of the old St Ives police driver training facility for ongoing practical education of young motorists.
Mixed Grille had heard that the Ku-ring-gai Council was handed control of the multi-million dollar facility, but that little had happened since. Now we understand that the council has been granted a licence to establish the multi-purpose Ku-ring-gai Road Safety Centre and is awaiting finality of a long-term lease. A stumbling block, we understand, is an access road proposed by the State Government which will cut right through the middle of the grounds, effectively destroying much of the facility.
The council is hoping commonsense prevails and that the facility can then be properly utilised for safety-related programs.
It has already established a Community and Road Education Scheme (CARES)which addresses road safety to children in the nine to 13-year-old age group. The kids learn road safety theory and then get to put this knowledge into practice on bicycles, riding on a half-scale road network. I look forward to accepting an invitation to check out the program.
The RTA's compulsory pre-licence training and testing program for those seeking motorcycle learners' permits is also being conducted at St Ives. The next phase to be tackled is driver training.
And in a perfect world it should be mandatory for all L-plate drivers to undertake a practical program covering all the likely emergency scenarios, including high-speed braking, car control on a wet skid pan, brake-and-swerve situations, and highway overtaking before they join our dangerous motoring society. It would be sensible, yet NSW doesn't seem to have too many bureaucrats and politicians prepared to put safety ahead of expediency.
HOT 323
ON the eve of the local launch of the new 323 range, Mazda Australia must be pleased with the tumultuous reception accorded the new model in Japan.
Clearly the local Mazda lads are hoping the clamour for the 323 in its home market will be repeated here.
The success of the 323 is one of several reasons why the Japanese domestic market is picking up.
Most of the major manufacturers registered sales jumps in June, when imports also leapt significantly.
On the other side of the Atlantic, sales are also hotting up across much of Europe. May numbers were up 14 per cent on the same month last year. VW continues to outsell Peugeot, GM, Ford and Fiat.
PIKES PEAK WIN
DRIVING a modified Toy ota Celica, New Zea lander Rod Millen last weekend shattered the outright Pikes Peak hill-climb record in the 72nd annual Race to the Clouds in Colorado.
Millen came to the line last in the queue, and after three open-wheel entries had already broken last year's time.
The turbocharged Celica covered the 20 km, 156-turn course in a seriously swift 10 min 04.06 secs, slicing 40 secs from last year's record.
The overall victory, Millen's and Toyota's first at Pikes Peak, came at the expense of Robby Unser, whose open wheel special was edged out by just 1.8 secs.
MG MEMORIES
FATALLY attracted lovers of some now-defunct so-called legendary old marques tend to get defensive or angry when I suggest they should slide gracefully out of sight and stay there.
If they were so damned wonderful, how come people didn't buy enough of them to keep the company profitable?
I reckon MG falls into this category, but then beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The TF was the prettiest of the MGs. The rest are forgettable, particularly the pathetic MGB.
The local history of one of the world's most popular sports car marques has now been captured in a hard cover book, authored by Sydney journalist Barry Lake.
Called Spotlight on MG Downunder, it's a 128-page book from Marque Publishing, illustrated by 200 photos and combining original text with reprints of Motor magazine road tests. Distributed by Bookworks, the book retails for $29.95.
Barry Lake is as thorough a researcher as you'll get, so you can be assured his material is accurate.
MG, of course, enjoys a special place in local motor sport and Lake points out that one took part in the Australian Grand Prix as early as 1928. I understand he was there to watch.
About one million MGs were built between 1923, when the first Morris Special was produced, and 1979, when the last of the MGBs came off the assembly line. Many bobbed up in Australia where they found a ready market, mainly with flagellants.
AROUND OZ
TWO pensioners from Adelaide are attempting to ride around Australia on 50cc Honda scooters, all for charity.
The thrill seekers, Arthur Conway, 80, and his youthful brother-in-law, Aynsley Rowe, 69, are 11 days into their marathon 16,000 km adventure, which they estimate will take 17 weeks.
Both men are not strangers to challenging journeys. Arthur once walked from Adelaide to Port Pirie and back for charity while Aynsley walked from Darwin to Adelaide. They hope to raise $20,000 for the Spastic Centre of South Australia.
SHE'S FOR MAGNA
MRS Mixed Grille loves Mitsubishi's Magna V6 wagon. Loves its looks, performance and practicality.
Styling-wise, it reminds her a lot of Mercedes Benz, she says. Maybe she's been sniffing too many fumes.
I like the Magna V6 too, even though I'm not sure I'm prepared to endorse any styling comparisons with recent products carrying the three-pointed star.
Very nearly as quiet as a sedan, the V6 Magna wagon is a shining example of how engineering has progressed since the days of HD Holden wagons when there was more discordant echo and rumble than you'd hear on a Johnny O'Keefe record.
With 120 kW on tap, the V6 engine gives on-road performance to equal the rival Holden and Ford sixes. With prices starting at a little more than$27,000 for the cheapest of the Magna V6 wagons, the Mitsubishi measures up as a worthy alternative to the Commodore and Falcon, particularly among buyers who don't necessarily adhere to the "big is better" credo.
Until the latest Toyota Camry arrived, the Magna led the other Australian car makers in noise suppression and refinement. Now, there is little between both mid-sized models, but we can say the Magna and Camry are world class in these areas.
MAILBOX
I CONTINUE to get letters from motorists as disen chanted as I am about right-lane dreamers and hogs. And, like me, they're mystified about the apparent lassitude of authorities in chasing and penalising these sources of frustration and impediment to free-flowing traffic.
Some drivers are aware of the possibility of being fined if they disobey the posted instruction to keep left unless overtaking, but equally, many are either ignorant of the rule or comfortable in the knowledge that the police are not too fussed about taking action. Rex Williams, of Lawson, in the Blue Mountains, wonders why many of these drivers choose to drive in the right-hand lane, which takes them closest to the oncoming traffic. The answer is, in many cases, that they are not concentrating.
Mr Williams suggests an "infotainment" motoring program could help create an improved motoring environment, especially for younger drivers.
"I visualise test situations, inviting home viewers to (mentally) pit their skills against what they are seeing (as well as) opportunity, quizzes, interviews and, above all, tuition in the skills required to be a competent and aware driver," Mr Williams suggests. But no reviewing of new cars.
SHORT BURSTS
* Hyundai will continue with the high-profile Excel nameplate on its small-car range despite some overseas markets dropping it in favour of the new Accent nomenclature. More than 55,000 cars already carry the Excel badge in Australia.
* Gerhard Berger has agreed to a one-year extension of his contract with Ferrari, taking him through to the end of 1995.
* Diet Coke BMW touring car driver, Paul Morris, is planning to chase the rest of the championship in Kevin Weeks's back-up Reynard Formula Brabham. Morris is no stranger to Formula Brabham; in 1991 he campaigned a Shrike, finishing fourth in the championship.
* Australian owners of older BMWs can have their airconditioners retro-fitted with environmentally friendly R134a refrigerant.
* Rare 300 km/h views for sale: a seven hectare (20 acre) property fronting the Mount Panorama racetrack, at the top of mountain straight, has a negotiable price tag of $200,000. Elders in Bathurst is the agent.
* Diary note: next year's Australian IndyCar Grand Prix (round two of the championship at Surfers) will be held on March 19.
* Following the lead of Toyota with its Camry, Holden is now also offering a no-cost airbag on most of its Apollo range.
* Volvo of Sweden is developing dual-fuel 940 models, using petrol and either natural gas or biogas.
* Warren Luff, the teenage son of Ian Luff, of Dynamic Safety Driving fame, has followed his dad into motor sport, in a Mazda RX3.
* Chip-off-the-old-block Steven Pichards, son of Jim, swept aside the opposition to clinch the 1994 Motorcraft Australian Formula Ford Championship in the penultimate round at Wanner, Perth, last Sunday.
* Three million Goodyear Eagle GA car tyres have been produced at the Goodyear plant in Thomastown, South Australia. The Eagle is original equipment on local Ford, Holden and Mitsubishi vehicles and is also exported to Japan. The plant celebrated this week.
* After his fine third, behind Toyota's Didier Auriol and Subaru's Carlos Sainz in Argentina last week, Ari Vatanen has been named by Ford to drive in the Rally of New Zealand which starts on July 29.
* And British rally champion Richard Burns, 23, said to be as daring as Colin McRae, will join Possum Bourne in a double-barrelled Subaru Impreza assault on the Telecom Rally Australia, set for September 16 to 19.
* Hyundai has clinched a multi-million dollar deal with Hertz to supply more than 650 Sonatas for rental use.
* The Sauber Formula One team may be forced to withdraw from the world championship due to budget problems created by sponsor, Broker, which has defaulted on a Pound 10 million payment.
* F1 team boss, Frank Williams, when asked if he had talked about 1995 with Nigel Mansell in any way, shape, or form, replied: "In every way, shape or form, yes ..."
© 1994 Sydney Morning Herald
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