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Vettel wins the Japanese GP, Webber completes 1-2 finish

October 10, 2010 at 4:57 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Sebastian Vettel has won his second Japanese GP in a row with a commanding drive from pole position. Teammate Mark Webber completed a 1-2 finish for Red Bull and extended his championship lead over Fernando Alonso, who finished third today. Webber now has 220 points, 14 ahead of Vettel and Alonso at 206 each with three races to go.

McLaren fell further in both championships as Jenson Button finished fourth (189 points) while Lewis Hamilton (192 points), who suffered a gearbox problem (he lost third gear), ended up fifth. Michael Schumacher had a good day at the office at sixth and Kamui Kobayashi was seventh. The daredevil Japanese driver overtook so many cars that we lost count – he’s my man of the match. The top ten was rounded off by Nick Heidfeld (Sauber), Rubens Barrichello (Williams) and Seb Buemi of Toro Rosso.

It was an exciting race, and we didn’t have to wait too long for drama. Even before the start, Virgin’s Lucas di Grassi had a big crash at the famous 130R high speed corner and didn’t make the grid. When the red lights finally went off, Renault’s Vitaly Petrov cut in too early after “passing” Nico Hulkenberg and was slammed into the wall. Both men were out before Turn 1, which saw Felipe Massa crash into Force India’s Tonio Liuzzi. Five cars out already!

The safety car was called into action, and something bizarre happened behind the Gullwing. Robert Kubica, who started from third after Hamilton was demoted five spots for a gearbox change, had split the Red Bulls and was looking good in second. However, his right rear wheel mysteriously disappeared when they were cruising and he was out.

So it was business as usual at the front – Red Bulls leading Alonso and Hamilton, with Button on an alternate tyre strategy. Using the hard tyres for a long stint didn’t really pay off for Jenson as he didn’t really have the pace to stick with the leaders. Neither did the on form Alonso, who drove a quiet race.

Much of the action was in the midfield. Michael Schumacher looked really hungry and had a good duel with teammate Rosberg, who pitted early in the race. The younger man wasn’t in a mood to give way though, holding on until five laps before the finish, when he crashed out in the S bends.

Kobayashi was clearly happy to be home. He overtook Alguersuari and Sutil in the same corner before pitting. Falling behind the same cars, he took the Toro Rosso again (banging wheels in the process) before gaining another place thanks to Sutil’s blown engine. He then did the trick again on Barrichello and teammate Heidfeld for seventh, much to the delight of the home crowd. Drivers getting too soft? Team bosses should feed them with whatever Kamui is eating!

In the dying seconds, cheeky Mark Webber pulled out the race’s fastest lap, denying Vettel bragging rights of a full house. Eight drivers out, lots of action, three more races to go. Next up is the inaugural Korean GP two weeks from now.

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All Red Bull front row at Suzuka, Sebastian Vettel on pole

October 10, 2010 at 1:11 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

This morning’s delayed qualifying session saw Red Bull dominate proceedings, with Sebastian Vettel on pole position followed by teammate and championship leader Mark Webber. It was only the second time in Formula 1 history that qualifying was held on race day, thanks to heavy rain yesterday afternoon.

At a dry Suzuka this morning, Vettel was the fastest man in all three sessions, and did a 1m30.785s lap in Q3 to deny Webber, who was close with 1m30.853s. Both Red Bulls were the only cars to dip below the 1 minute 31 second mark. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton was third, followed by Robert Kubica and the scarlet car of Fernando Alonso. Reigning champ Jenson Button was no where as fast has his teammate and was sixth.

Next up was Nico Rosberg in seventh. He once again outqualified big name teammate Michael Schumacher, who was last in Q3. The two Williams of Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg was eighth and ninth, respectively.

Nick Heidfeld, who is only driving his second GP this season after returning at the Singapore GP, beat his Sauber teammate and home favourite Kamui Kobayashi, who would have been in the top ten if not for an error in his last run. Quick Nick just missed out on Q3; he is in 11th place on the grid while the Japanese is 14th. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa qualified a disappointing 12th.

At the back of the grid, Jarno Trulli led Heikki Kovalainen to start in front of the other new teams – they are 19th and 20th. At Virgin, Lucas di Grassi did better than Timo Glock, only for the second time this season. Enjoy the race later!

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VIDEO: Promo of the Maserati Granturismo MC Stradale

October 9, 2010 at 10:15 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under 2010 Paris Motor Show, Cars, International News, Maserati, Videos

Maserati has released a promo video of the fastest, lightest and most powerful car in the company’s range. The MC Stradale, which was recently revealed at the Paris Motorshow, houses a 4.7 litre V8 engine producing 450hp and 510Nm of torque. This is connected to a modified MC Race Shift transmission pushing the car from 0 to 100km/h in just 4.6 seconds, going on to reach a top speed of 300km/h. The promo shows the car’s capabilities on track, as Andrea Bertolini drives the MC Stradale against the Gran Turismo MC Trofeo around the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia.

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Japanese GP qualifying postponed until Sunday due to rain

October 9, 2010 at 4:49 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

The qualifying session for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka will take place tomorrow (Sunday) morning due to bad weather. As those who tuned in just now to watch might know, torrential rain showed no signs of clearing even as the safety car explored the track periodically to see if it was safe to proceed.

It wasn’t, and with weather forecasts showing no signs of the rain abating, plus the fact that it was getting dark, race stewards made the decision to end the day at 3.18 pm local time (Malaysia is one hour behind Japan time).

So it will be qualifying before the race tomorrow. The session will start at 10.00 am local time (9.00 am Malaysian time), five hours before the race.

It was reported that the final practice session earlier in the day had been a near washout, and only two drivers – Jaime Alguersuari and Timo Glock – recorded times.

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Sebastien Loeb wins his seventh WRC World Championship

October 9, 2010 at 1:10 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Citroën, International News, Motorsports

Sebastian Loeb who recently won the Rally de France has in effect secured his seventh World Rally Championship Title. He has now collected a total of 226 championship points making it impossible for the other drivers to play catch-up with two more races to go.

Citroen secured a one two finish with Loeb’s teammate Dani Sordo gaining the second fastest time. Sordo is only fifth in the Championship title, but this does mean that Citroen are winners of the manufacturers’ championship.

Thus the battle for 2nd and 3rd has commenced, with Sebastien Ogier currently in 2nd with 166 points and Jari-Matti Latvala in 3rd with 144. Kimi Raikkonen is 10th with a respectable 21 points. The two rallies left are the Spanish and the British leg of the Championship.

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Proton Gen.2 and Satria Neo owners: Proton Safety Recall Exercise for Clock Spring

October 8, 2010 at 3:25 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton Satria Neo

Proton is having a Safety Recall Exercise for certain models sold between April 2004 to June 2008. There is an issue with the Clock Spring (slip ring), which is something that connects the switches and airbag in the steering wheel to the radio, horn and cruise control.

According to Proton, their engineers have identified irregular performance in Clock Spring components of the Proton Gen.2 and Satria Neo models equipped with the auto-cruise function, manufactured between April, 2004 to June, 2008. The affected Clock Spring may cause the following symptoms:

  • Noises when turning the steering wheel.
  • Unintentional triggering of the car horn.
  • Malfunction of car audio remote button on the steering wheels.
  • Self-deployment of the air bag in rare cases.
  • Unable to start car due to short circuit of the electronic components.

If you drive a Gen.2 or Satria Neo purchased between April 2004 to June 2008 you are advised to contact your nearest Proton authorized service center to book an appointment for full inspection and rectification work. Here are some linked resources to help you with this:

“Although the number is small, the safety of our customers is paramount and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. The recall is an example of the commitment we place on our customers’ safety, and the reliability of our vehicles under Proton Global Quality Assurance programme. We hope our customers understand that this recall is necessary to ensure their continued confidence in the safety and performance of their vehicles,” said managing director Dato’ Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

This is one of the rare few times we’ve seen any Malaysian company call a recall by what it really is – a recall, instead of ‘service campaign’ or whatever other alternative names they can come up with.

UPDATE: Proton says the recall affects a total of 5,836 cars in Malaysia, comprising 4,128 Proton Gen.2 1.6 A/T H-Line and 1,708 Proton Satria Neo 1.6 A/T Hi-Line cars, with auto cruise function.

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Volkswagen Eos finally gets family look facelift

October 8, 2010 at 11:07 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

Volkswagen has revealed the facelifted Eos cabriolet that is set to have its world premiere at the LA show in November. Expected to go on sale in January next year, the car undergoes aesthetic changes to be more in tune with the rest of Volkswagen’s range.

The front gets a new grille, headlamps with LED running lights, new bumper and side mirror design. The back will see the use of a new diffuser, new back bumper and LED tail lights. The original Eos used the Mk5 Golf’s looks; this one takes after the Mk6.

Changes to the inside are minimal with the use of new colours, new dials for the climate control, along with new tech such as a remote control for the retractable hardtop, new colour display and a keyless entry and starting system.

Changes under the hood are also minimal with the improvement in fuel efficiency for the 2.0 litre TDI engine, which sees fuel consumption drop to 4.8 l/100 km. You can expect a full reveal at the LA Auto Show, till then enjoy the picture gallery after the jump.
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Mitsubishi ASX coming next month, estimated price RM140K

October 8, 2010 at 10:46 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Mitsubishi

The Pajero has been launched, the Lancer Sportback is next and this is the final piece of the jigsaw – the Mitsubishi ASX. The compact crossover will be launched by Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) early next month, it has been announced.

We will get a 2.0-litre version imported CBU from Japan. The engine is question is the 4B11 unit with MIVEC, as per the Lancer. But the quoted figures of 150 PS and 197 Nm are slightly lower than the Lancer’s 155 PS/199 Nm. Perhaps it’s a different tuning more suited for SUV applications. The engine is paired to a CVT gearbox with six virtual ratios in a Sports Mode, and there are nice long steering shift paddles, like in the Lancer.

Here are some of the standard kit. Active Stability Control (ASC), Hill Start Assist, dual front airbags plus a driver’s knee airbag, leather seats, a 2-DIN touch screen audio system, reverse camera, automatic air con and cruise control are included. There is also a full colour LCD multi information system in the instrument panel, which is a nice upgrade to the orange jagged edge characters one gets in the Lancer.

Available in five colours, including the car’s signature Kawasemi Blue, the ASX is open for bookings as we type. The estimated price is RM140,000.

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Locally assembled Volvo XC60 2.0T Powershift open for booking, early birds get RM6K worth of accessories!

October 8, 2010 at 10:15 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Volvo

Volvo has announced that a locally assembled version of its XC60 will be launched late next month, and that dealers have opened their order books. The CKD XC60 will be in 2.0T Powershift spec, and a look at Volvo Singapore’s website shows that this drivetrain combines a 203 hp/300 Nm (from 1,750-4,000 rpm) turbocharged four-pot mated to a six-speed twin-clutch gearbox. With this, Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) will stop bringing in the CBU XC60 T6, of which 150 units were sold since mid 2009.

Those who pre-book the car will take delivery by year end. The first 60 customers will also enjoy a free accessory package worth RM6,000. The pack consists of décor trim air intake, skid plate rear bumper, load organiser, sports pedals and a dirt cover bumper. The final pricing isn’t confirmed by the authorities yet, which is why Volvo won’t provide us with an estimate, but we reckon that a call to the dealers (Federal Auto, Swedish Marque or Angkatan Hebat in KK) will get you a ballpark figure. The CBU 3.0-litre T6 started from RM330K so this should dive below the RM300K mark.

The CKD car will retain all the safety features that makes it unique in the class. Collision Warning with Auto Brake (CWAB), Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Dynamic Stability & Traction Control (DSTC) and City Safety are standard. The latter helps avoid low-speed fender benders by automatically slowing or stopping the Volvo to minimise damage.

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Toyota Hilux 3.0G launched – 163 PS, 343 Nm, RM106K

October 7, 2010 at 3:51 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Toyota

We’re in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, for the launch of the Toyota Hilux 3.0G, the new range topper of the best selling pick-up in Malaysia. The 3.0G can only be had with an automatic transmission (4-speed) and 4WD. While the 2.5L model is locally assembled, this 3.0G is imported CBU from Thailand. The OTR price with insurance is RM106,000 (individual private, Pen. Malaysia).

This 3.0-litre D-4D engine is the 1KD-FTV engine with commonrail injection and intercooler. Unlike the 2.5, the turbo here is a variable nozzle unit (VNT), which vanes are adjustable for optimum exhaust pressure and flow speed into the turbine. It pumps out 163 PS and 343 Nm, a huge jump from the Hilux 2.5′s 102 PS and 260 Nm.

The higher torque is also produced lower in the rev range and sustained for longer – 1,400-3,200 rpm compared to 1,600-2,400 rpm in the 2.5. Toyota doesn’t provide performance figures, but since weight is only up by 55 kg over the 2.5G auto, acceleration should be much better. For comparison, the RM101,980 Mitsubishi Triton 3.2 has 160 PS/343 Nm while the RM105,800 Nissan Navara 2.5 LE has 174 PS/403 Nm.

From the exterior, there’s little to tell the 3.0G apart from lesser models except for the stickers and air scoop on the bonnet, which is functional. As you can see from the gallery, it feeds air to the top mounted intercooler. The chrome wing mirrors aren’t new, but they are now power retractable. The signal lamps have clear lenses. A bedliner and sport bar are optional.

Inside, the 3.0G adds on some exclusive kit, such as the Optitron meter panel and multi-information display, which sits on top of the centre stack next to the clock. The MID can read out ambient temperature, compass direction and all regular trip computer info. Another obvious upgrade is the 2-DIN audio system, which has USB and AUX jacks, besides being MP3 compatible. It’s linked to six speakers. Also, there are now seatbelt reminders for both driver and passenger, who also get an airbag each.

It was revealed that the Hilux commands a staggering 44% market share in the double cab pick-up market, and the 3.0G will no doubt widen the margin between the Toyota and its rivals as the Hilux is already the leader in East Malaysia despite just having a 2.5 all this while. A big gallery awaits you after the jump.
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