MR vs 8

MR vs 8

Here's a comparison run between an Evo 8 MR vs my car. Same driver on the same night.

Observations

1. MR has got all the basic mods including cams, but still on stock turbo.
2. MR launches well (1.05G's peak acceleration), 20m in 1.871s.
3. Fast century sprint timing (4.427s) with correspondingly low 400m ET (12.63s)
4. MR has the advantage in first 2 gears but my 8 starts to pull level from top of 3rd. From 4th gear onwards my 8 closes in fast. This is apparent from the passing speeds as well.

Passing speeds (thru gears)	MR	My 8
40-80 km/h	2.045s	2.284s
60-100 km/h	2.847s	3.110s
80-120 km/h	3.050s	3.073s
100-140 km/h	3.792s	3.798s

Under my desk

Under my desk

Contagious narcoleptic bug going around...

Small cute furry animal

Curious

Sylvia and Keith just got a 5-month old Westie... he's currently unnamed. Any suggestions?

DEu's Freudian slip

Spark plugs

How a spark plug should look

Went out with DEu tonight and managed to solve his problem.

Symptoms: bucking under WOT in 4th, slow increase in RPMs.

Apogee89 suggested that the car was misfiring and it might be time to change the plugs. So DEu went to get the plugs changed and the problem is gone.

Using the PLM we discovered his car was running 0.69 lambda. Looking at his plugs, they were completely fouled. The electrode was thick with carbon buildup.

Time to get some fuel management.

Yet another personality test

OK, everyone's doing it, so here's mine.

Your view on yourself:

You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:

You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.

Your views on education:

You may not like to study but you have many practical ideas. You listen to your own instincts and tend to follow your heart, so you will probably end up with an unusual job.

The right job for you:

You have many goals and want to achieve as much as you can. The jobs you enjoy are those that let you burn off your considerable excess energy.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:

You are afraid of having no one to rely on in times of trouble. You don't ever want to be unable to take care of yourself. Independence is important to you.

Who is your true self:

You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

Comments?

Just watched Initial D the movie...

With a bunch of petrolheads, overall I would say this movie is not bad, stunts were excellent. It's definitely not as good as Batman Begins though. What I do like about it is that it doesn't try to take itself too seriously, especially about the technical details (like 2F2F...)

Comparison with an 03 USDM Evo 8

Just found another 03 USDM Evo owner who ran similar times.

	Him	Me
20m	1.985s	1.952s
100m	5.380s	5.404s
200m	8.289s @ 141.03 km/h	8.321s @ 136.31 km/h
300m	10.732s	10.758s
400m	12.904s @ 174.50 km/h	12.954s @ 170.49 km/h
0-100 km/h	5.028s	4.924s

His mods are basically a Vishnu Stage 1+ (v390), consisting of the following:

1. 3" Vishnu Signature series exhaust with high flow cat.
2. Xede ECU piggy-back with custom tune
3. Samco Silicone Intercooler hoses (replaces the rubber OEM ones).
4. Greddy Type S BOV recirc
5. Walbro fuel pump
6. Vishnu Cam gears set -5 -5
7. HKS 264I 272E cams

Notes:

1. His car is on 5 speed gearbox, I'm on a 6 speed.
2. He's in Louisiana so conditions should be comparable.
3. My car doesn't have aftermarket cams.
4. His car peaks at 1.5 bar and holds at 1.4 bar. I'm running 1.3 bar held.
5. He runs 12.5 to 12.6 on a drag strip, on 93 octane. On race gas he could run 12.3 to 12.4.
6. My car has SAYC, his doesn't.

Acceleration figures

Some acceleration numbers from the Oct 04 issue of evo magazine.

Car	0-60 mph (secs)	0-100 mph (secs)
Audi RS4	4.8	12.1
Audi RS6 Avant	4.8	11.6
BMW E39 M5	4.9	11.5
BMW E46 330Ci	6.4	16.6
BMW E46 M3	5.1	12.3
BMW E46 M3 CSL	5.3	12.0
Ferrari 575M 'Fiorano'	4.2	9.6
Ferrari Enzo	3.4	6.7
Maserati 3200GT	5.3	12.0
Mercedes Benz E55 AMG	4.8	10.2
Mercedes Benz SL55 AMG	4.6	10.2
Porsche 911 Carrera 4 (3.4)	4.9	12.0
Porsche 911 GT3 (996)	4.3	9.2
Porsche 911 Turbo (996)	4.1	10.0
Subaru Impreza WRX	5.5	15.7
Subaru STi Type RA Spec C	4.3	11.1

My car does 0-60 mph in 4.6 secs and 0-100 mph in 11.1 secs.

Acceleration comparison

Acceleration comparison

Compared to 2 other runs made on 20 Jan 05. Trapping about 4 km/h faster.

Standing 400m test

400m

ET of 12.9 secs, trap speed 170.53 km/h.

Running on 1.3 bar boost, anti-lag off, launch control on. Camber -3, -2. Bridgestone RE 070.

Made a 0.3 sec improvement from 5 months ago.

On board GT500 around Sepang

The Sepang website is hosting a video of an onboard cam in a SuperGT GT500 car.

Lateral acceleration forces are up to 3Gs.

This car is faster than a MotoGP bike around the circuit.

And this is how the pros do it.

Pumpkins Reunion?

Can it be true? According to this story, Billy took out a full page ad in the major Chicago papers revealing plans to revive the band. Will they be able to pull it off? I sure hope so cos their Mellon Collie double CD ranks among the very best of all time. Great expectations await.

The hidden meaning of my name

Got this from zeenie's blog:

• Reevaluating
  
• The inner life
  
• Solitary
  
• Loner
  
• Mystical
  
• Deep
  
• Philosophical
  
• Analytical
  
• Intuitive
  
• Perfectionist
  
• Specialization
  
• Skeptical
  
• Privacy
  
• Retreat
  
• Sanctuary
  
• Contemplation
  
• Recuperation
  
• Eccentricity
  
• Study or research

What can I say, this is pretty much right on target. It even got my astrological sign right, which is Virgo.

Traditional Virgo Traits Modest and shy Meticulous and reliable Practical and diligent Intelligent and analytical Fussy and a worrier Overcritical and harsh Perfectionist and conservative

Starting young

Starting young

This photo submitted by the peerless oeyvind. What's the boy looking at...

Hey Ben...

Rocket science

Ben said:

I should get on the board and state my "credentials" as "I have been calibrating the main engines of the Space Shuttle fleet since its inception" (nevermind that they are older than I am). ;-P

Sorry buddy, but I beat you to it! In fact, Johnson Space Center in Houston is so happy with my work, they've decided to put it on display. Here's a pic I took as proof! :p

Watched Batman Begins with oeyvind this afternoon. It's a straight up action movie, so don't expect any plot twists. Thankful for that in a way since the general trend is action movies taking themselves too seriously e.g. Matrix Reloaded.

Next up would probably be War of the Worlds.

Went over to Kinokuniya and oeyvind was commenting about the exorbitant pricing on the Japanese magazines. With that he pointed to the back of a random car magazine and the Japanese retail price was 98¥, or about 1.50 SGD. The sticker price was 20 SGD.

Bought HyperRev Vol 6 for Evos; I'm happy. :)

Shaun@SG tipped me off about a UK-based TV show called Trigger Happy TV which does live action gags not dissimilar to "Just for Laughs". There is more emphasis on costumes and witty dialogue as compared to other shows where stunts and gadgets feature prominently. Check it out.

Also started using Adium cos Proteus was just not cutting it doing a history search.

Update: It's 1.40 am and there's a fricking lightning storm. Hope it rains hard and heavy.

Evo 9 OEM MAP and IAT

Evo 9 OEM MAP and IAT

Last evening BK came over to the office and said he read a thread on EvoM asking if the Evo 9s had a MAP sensor. It caught me totally off-guard since I hadn't really bothered to take a closer look inside the engine bay. We popped the hood and sure enough there was a MAP and IAT sensor on the intake plenum.

Earworms

Nothing obscure or eclectic, I'm sure you've heard one or more of these songs before. If you've got iTunes installed, clicking on a link will allow you to preview it.

Feel Good Inc by Gorillaz

Free by Corrinne May

Naturally by 浜崎あゆみ (Hamasaki Ayumi)
Might want to check your pulse if you still feel lethargic after listening to this.

Mindcircus by Way Out West
Old school breakbeat, piano with sexy female voice... 'nuff said! :)

Mirrorball by Everything But The Girl
Oldie but goodie.

Beautiful Things (Gabriel & Dresden Radio Mix) by Andain
Simple pop song.

Never (DJ Tiësto Remix) by The Roc Project feat Tina Area
Only the Tiësto remix does the song justice.

CNA interviews Steve Wozniak

Woz was in town and Derek Cher managed to interview the man.

Reporter: "Do you think times have changed and it's becoming more difficult to be innovative?"

Wozniak: "The computer industry per se has been a little bit harder to be innovative for the last 20 years. There was a period of about 5 to 10 where there were so many opportunities. Even high school kids in their bedroom could start writing programmes that were useful. They sold them and made a lot of money. Those days passed by because the industry became so huge, in terms of the number of dollars that it was worth it for companies to be big. They want to protect their market and they can buy out any little new innovative competitors that may have something to threaten them or something that need to compete with. So they will just buy them out."

Full article here

The Keys to My Heart

Pretty accurate...

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free.

In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved.

You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Slow and Steady Social Blogger, I am...

Here we go...

You Are a Social Blogger!

Your blog is more of a semi-private affair for your friends. It's how you keep in touch... sharing stories, jokes, and pics.

What kind of blogger are you?

Slow and Steady

Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment. They expect you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it.

How Do People See You?

4G64 or 4G63 with 4G64 bottom?

Came across this post on the local boards:

Hi i have a 2.4l evo engine(4G64 engine block) for sale. Fully overhauled( new bearings, head gasket etc) and in very good condition. Very torquey and great for upgraders who wants more torque and less turbo lag. Great for quarter mile drags. Mileage is only 1500km. Selling everything for $4.5k. Interested pls msg < number deleted > thanks.

Mitsubishi has several engines with the 4G64 designation, in SOHC and DOHC configuration. The last iteration was a DOHC GDI normally aspirated engine used in the 2001 Airtreks.

4G64 has never been available in turbocharged form, much less used in an Evo, so how is it a "2.4L Evo engine"?

If the "mileage is only 1500km", why the need to give it a full overhaul?

Is he trying to sell a 4G64 or a 4G63 with 4G64 bottom end?

9K rev limit

Took this pic on my cameraphone so quality isn't the best.

638 whp Evo dyno vid

Here's a video [1.2MB; WMV] of an Evo pulling 638 whp on a dyno. The boost gauge is showing 30 psi, which is 2 bar. AFR sensor is messed up so ignore that. The way the speedometer goes from 80 to 120 mph in THREE SECONDS is rifrickingdiculous.

Link to original thread on evolutionm.net

Steve Jobs' 2005 Commencement Address @ Stanford University

Thanks to oeyvind for submitting this link to Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement address at Stanford University.

Some quotes:

You have to trust in something—your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever—because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.

Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice, and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.

Stay hungry, stay foolish.

Comparison video

Just posted a video comparing a 2'41" lap versus a more typical 2'45" lap.

Since it is encoded using H.264, doubling the video size will yield pretty good results. Try it, you might like it.

QuickTime 7 and a utility to convert BinHex files is required.

Link here

Sepang 10 June 05 video posted

QuickTime 7 is required because the video codec used is H.264. As compared to 3ivx/DivX, the file size is smaller (27.7 MB vs 43.8 MB; about 37% smaller!) and the quality is better.

Link

One Lap of America

I took to the track and gave it everything the car had, with only one little bobble on one lap i feel I left nothing on the board. The AMS Evo pulled .96g and change.. beating the Neon by 1/1000th of a g.. We won the class for the final day.

The Evo came in 7th overall, class win went to the SRT-4. STI was 14th. Good results from a field of 90 cars, including an SR3, Ford GT40, Ultima GTR, Hennessy Vipers, AMG C55 etc.

One Lap of America 2005 Overall Results
Jon Krolewicz's One Lap Diary
Luke Russell's STI One Lap crash

From the Far Side

The discovery of such complex communication in rodents has brought widespread media attention to Slobodchikoff's research and he has published his early findings in top scientific journals such as Animal Behaviour. "What we're finding out about prairie dogs are things that we never thought other animal species could do," he says. "Functionally (the calls are) the same thing as words."

Link

Datalog Sepang 10 June 05

Downloaded the datalog and here's the quick tell-tale.



The car is regularly hitting 225 km/h down the front straight now, on one ocassion going up to 229.5 km/h. For the back straight it's going at about 215 km/h, peaked at 223 km/h.

There's approximately 6.5 degC fluctuation in intake air temp between running on and off-boost.

Manifold air pressure is between 220 and 230 kPa held.

Shortest time between peak speeds in laps.... 2'41", 2'42".... not good. :(

Link

Back... and more brake problems

The 2'40" barrier still stands. Damn.

Actually did worse than before even though lines are much better this time round with higher velocity on the front straight. With DEu as passenger, the brakes were giving problems and the car was understeering badly into T12. Got so bad that the car had to be "beached" into gravel at T1, after just one lap of chasing Axl and overtaking at T15. No video footage though so have to rely on DEu's testimony.

On the way back DEu's calipers seized and we're putting it down to the Delphi pads since Cobin is running the same pads and says he's having similar symptoms. I ran the same pads last year and had the exact same problems. Until evidence proves otherwise the general consensus is to avoid these pads.

Been tossing around ideas of running on other braking systems such as Endless, AP and better Brembos. Heard of others running "cheaper" brake systems with a full set of 6/4 running the same price as a single pair of front calipers from the more well-known ones. So far undecided as it could be a case of "penny-wise pound-foolish" if these less-expensive braking systems are also not up to standard.

BTW "Uncle" Jem took 3 out of 3 drag races with Axl at the end. There's no question that his car is pretty quick.... gotta watch out for it on the streets! Heh...

Sepang 10 June 05

Heading to Sepang in a few hours' time.

Our party is the Evo convoy consisting of BK, DEu, Cobin, Dennis and myself. We're going to leave at 4.30 am to avoid traffic. ETA is at 7 am which would give us enough time to break fast and refuel.

There's an ominous feeling I just can't shake. Hopefully it's just a case of nerves. Shooting for a consistent sub 2'40" timing, wish me luck!

SCC: Battle of the Project Cars

The July 05 issue of Sport Compact Car tries to find the fastest project car. Here's the list of vehicles:

Project 350Z (2003)
Project 300ZX TT (1992)
Project Rally Beater
Project TSX (2004)
Project Miata Gen 1 (1995)
Project Scion TC (2004)
Project Sentra SE-R (1991)
Project STi (2004)
Project SRT-4 (2003)
Project Silvia (1989 Nissan 240SX)
Stock Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR (2005)

During the actual test run on the track, conditions were wet and so the stock Evo 8 MR came in first and was signficantly faster than the 2nd placed car. Remember this is the USDM model which doesn't have Super AYC.

The STI came in 4th.

What Men Want (as applied to cars)

CNN.com says that survey data shows it's easy to figure out what sort of cars appeal to men. Women, obviously, are much more complicated. ;)

According to the article, here is the list of Top 10 cars most desired by men and women:

Top 10 cars for men

1. Porsche 911 coupe, $70,095 - $193,765

2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, $28,504 - $35,274

3. Ford GT, $143,345

4. Volkswagen Phaeton, $68,905 - $104,455

5. BMW 6-series convertible, $76,900

6. Jaguar XK8 coupe, $69,830

7. Maserati Spyder, $92,302 - $96,465

8. Mercedes CL, $96,720 - $132,320

9. BMW 6-series coupe, $69,900

10. Porsche 911 convertible, $79,895 - $141,995

Top 10 cars for women

1. Pontiac G6 convertible, (Not yet available)

2. Suzuki Forenza, $13,994 - $18,494

3. Volkswagen New Beetle convertible, $22,940 - $27,100

4. Volkswagen New Beetle, $17,185 - $27,100

5. Pontiac Sunfire coupe, $11,460 - $15,770

6. Volvo XC70, $36,080

7. Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible, $25,744 - $31,544

8. Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible, $20,045 - $29,120

9. Kia Rio sedan, $10,535 - $13,065

10. Kia Optima, $16,585 - $20,585

Some selected quotes:

You get the idea: If it's very fast, awfully fast, terribly fast or way, way too fast, guys like it. Also, they tend to be expensive.

Women. Always making stuff complicated.

Article here.

More on Macs on x86

The earlier entry prognosticates Apple's plan for the Mac. This one is more on the "Why x86?"

After doing further research, it seems that Apple doesn't have a choice.

A "disruptive technology" has emerged, and it's from a company called Transitive Corporation. This Wired article does a pretty good job describing what Transitive does; essentially the company has developed something it calls "hardware virtualization", which in effect performs the same functions as an emulator, although they're trying to move away from calling it the latter as it has accumulated some amount of non-flattering connotations and baggage from years of not-quite-there lackluster speeds.

The difference, obviously, is that Transitive claims to have obtained the Holy Grail, which is to unfetter the hardware/software dependency, at very little cost in terms of performance.

Assuming that the technology works as advertised, this would mean that it was only a question of time before the x86 market gets ahold of OS X, the very thing that makes a modern Mac unique.

When was the last time a Mac user actually cared about what goes on inside the machine? The main differentiation has always been the software, the user interface, the way everything just works.

So I guess Apple is doing this to pre-empt the move that is going to happen anyway. Might as well get the support of the developer and user community before being forcibly dragged down an unintended path dictated to it by another entity.

Macs on x86

Paraphrasing the Slashdot meme that's been going around:

"You know the world's gone crazy when the best rapper is white, the best golfer is black, Microsoft is using IBM CPUs and Apple is using Intel CPUs".

To that Stephen wryly quipped:

"Next thing you know they're going to declare pork halal".

So it's official... Apple's Macs are going to use x86 CPUs. On a technical level this is neither groundbreaking nor exciting because Apple has done this sort of thing before with the 68K to PowerPC migration back in the 90s, and also the predecessor to OS X's Darwin kernel, OpenSTEP neé NeXTSTEP was running on x86 for the longest time. Given such a good track record, it's likely that Apple will be able to pull this off from an engineering standpoint.

The real story is in the business angle. SGI and Sun both have transitioned from a non-Intel CPU to x86 and have found themselves in, shall we say, "challenging economic situations". In both cases downward price pressures as well as the increasing ubiquity of x86 "whitebox" hardware meant that both companies didn't have enough reasons to justify a price premium commanded for their own machines, although strong arguments can be made about the technical excellence of the operating systems. The "high-end" workstation market based on x86 hardware has dried up and died a long time ago, and Apple surely knows this. So what's left?

It wouldn't take too much effort to imagine the return of the clones. Since the only difference between future Macs and PCs is entirely just in the operating system, there really is no margin for Apple to remain in the hardware business. Apple can concentrate on the software (which it is doing with great success) and let the Dells and DIYers take care of the hardware.

We live in interesting times indeed.

Good luck to zeenie

zeenie's getting his wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow. It's going to hurt because of his age, but what's worse than the pain is the sheer exhaustion of having to keep your mouth open wide so that the dentist can get at them.

Hang in there bud, here's to a speedy recovery...

Monday Blues

Today was supposed to be a happy ocassion. It's Keith's birthday so we were all planning to go pig out on Long Beach Seafood. Only problem was his car got jacked while it was in the workshop for servicing this very morning.

When the call came we all thought it was a prank. How can it be.... so coincidental.... and in Singapore, of all places? Further calls were made to clarify the situation and the story was verified to be true.

A frantic plea was quickly made out to all car enthusiasts to help locate the missing vehicle. Within 2 hours, it was first spotted around Thomson area, and then at Geylang Serai at around 1600 hrs in a carpark right behind one of my friend's workplace. When we got there, the perpetrator was nowhere to be found.

The bad news is that the car has been stripped of most of its electronics. Mechanically it is fine though, so that's a relief.

As the investigation is ongoing, it would be remiss to talk about the specifics. Needless to say the owner is very shaken by all this; on the bright side, the car was recovered... hope the car thief gets his comeuppance soon.

Stat boards bungle A1 hosting opportunity

The following was posted on the local forums. The article is supposedly from Today, but I could not locate it online. Anyway it is reproduced in full; don't sue me, I'm claiming fair use.

###

Get real, Singapore

Weekend interview with racing ace Denis Lian

Today
June 4, 2005

He won the Formula 2000 Asian Championship in 2002. Denis Lian, a manager with EuroSports Auto, was the first to approach the A1 Grand Prix organisers to host a leg of their inaugural series.

After negotiations broke down between A1 and Singapore last week to host a leg here, the 32-year-old talks to Ian De Cotta about the problems that dogged the proposed deal.

Q: Why do you think Singapore rejected hosting the A1 Grand Prix?

Dennis: I'm not condoning reckless decision-making. But I have to say the problem with us is that we over-analyse things. We were afraid to take the risk because A1 does not have a proven track record and there was a chance of failure.

Losing money is not really an issue, because Singapore can afford it. But there is a greater fear that if something fails, there will be a loss of "face" and that the person who "okayed" the decision would have his or her career at risk. We are just too cautious, too kiasu for our own good.

Q: Was there a problem with television rights?

Dennis: Like I said, the Singapore parties involved (Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Sports Council) were sceptical about A1 racing as it did not have a proven track record and they were not too sure about the television airtime.

But being an inaugural series, the A1 people were working on airtime and still are, as we speak. Look at the bigger picture, do you think a world championship event of this magnitude will not have decent television coverage?

The main backer is UAE's Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, a multi-billionaire.

Anyway, A1 recently released initial details of airtime, and although it's not as much as F1, it does reach out to more continents.

Q: What caused the negotiations to break down?

Dennis: In the beginning A1 were asked to justify their costs and how their model worked, but A1 wanted to protect their business formula and told us we had to sign a non-disclosure agreement first. I think that was reasonable. But STB said that government agencies couldn't sign such agreements and this was the source of the problem with negotiations.

But the US$9 million ($16 million) package offered to Singapore was for putting together a street circuit and running a race team. From what I understand, it was the most attractive package offered to any country. If we spent anything more than the US$9 million, A1 would cover the difference.

Q: What has Singapore missed out on?

Denis: From the A1 group alone, there would have been at least 2,000 staff who would have stayed in Singapore for seven days. In terms of hotel stay, that is at least 14,000 room nights for the duration. If they spend an average of $250 a day, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that is $3.5 million into our coffers. And the figure does not include spouses, girlfriends, families, the army of journalists and race fans from all over the world who would be here for at least four or five days. Talk about the venue, consider that when grand prix racing was last held here in 1973, about 300,000 fans turned up. At $50 for a grandstand ticket, the venue for A1 has the potential of not only being self-financing but highly profitable.

Q: But it has been 32 years, do you think Singapore could attract such crowds?

Denis: All the more, because now we have a much bigger and more sophisticated population.

I am confident that even if you bring in a less glamorous race like the World Touring Championships, we can still pull in 300,000 people. Singaporeans love their cars.

Q: Would Singapore have said yes to A1 if given more time?

Denis: More time would of course have been better. But if we couldn't react based on the facts that we already had, which were pretty conclusive, it means we lack the entrepreneurial spirit.

The world is changing rapidly and a lot of new ideas and concepts are coming up. If we want to insist on previous track records, we won't be able to embrace new ideas and exciting concepts.

This is where the Malaysians are more daring. They are ahead of us when it comes to securing key sporting events and taking advantage of tourism opportunities.

Q: How do you think A1 will go?

Denis: I am certain it will be a huge success. You have established countries, especially in Europe, with a long history in motor racing, who have become part of A1.

The UK, the USA and Australia are old hands in organising races and they already see the potential of the series. They have been waiting for an alternative to F1 to come along, but no one previously had the money to organise something on a huge scale.

Now, we have the Sheikh who has already spent $250 million to build and deliver the cars to teams. His concept of nation against nation is a real world championship that could really work.

###

Dumbass Again!

Same dumbass, same car, different lap! Proof is in the vid captures...



Dumbass Again! Part 1 of 5
Dumbass Again! Part 2 of 5
Dumbass Again! Part 3 of 5
Dumbass Again! Part 4 of 5
Dumbass Again! Part 5 of 5

Dumbass 1

This is an example of what I mean by behavior deserving of blackflagging.
Dumbass 1.1
Dumbass 1.2
Dumbass 1.3
Dumbass 1.4

St Gabriel's Secondary alumni and Evos

Revelation: a number of Evo owners are St Gabriel's Secondary alumni.... e.g. myself, Daniel, Gabriel, Dennis... I wonder who else was from St Gab's and caught the beng-ness bug from our alma mater...

Black Friday

The driver and passenger in this picture were killed. The following is a quote reproduced in full from someone who claimed to be at the accident scene:

The person driving the vehicle who was behind him (Ferrari Stradale) just called us and told us what happened from his view. He was first on the scene. He said the GT past him at over 150mph as they eased onto the straigh a way and was traveling close to 165mph when he saw the car swerve. He got his car stopped and was first on the scene. One person was DOA and the other (driver) passed away in the helicopter enroute to the hospital.

What happened with the pit marshall:

Marshall saw the GT coming and gave the Ferrari owner the "GO" Ferrari guy hesitated.. looked back at the track.. passenger was shouting "GO".. then marshall says "STOP" and the Ferrari guy takes off.

Now: If the GT was moving at 165+ and the pit marshall wasnt familiar with cars generating that kind of speed (I'm doubting he was a CA Speedway employee) I could easily see how a split second hesitation on behalf of the driver could really mess things up.

This sucks. The passenger had just jumped into the GT. He was thinking about buying one and wanted a hot lap in it. Several of the FOC members are on their way to his house to "inform" his wife.

The reason for this entry is not to sensationalize a tragedy or make a spectacle of it, but to bring home the fact that track enthusiasts face a very real danger of losing their lives in pursuit of something they enjoy doing. Besides being at the mercy of mechanical failures, accidents can also be attributed to poor preparation, poor judgement and even total lack of responsibility on the part of the participants.

I'm angered by the fact that I've personally seen drivers who blatantly disregard all manner of common sense and driving etiquette whenever they get on our regional race tracks. Drivers who know beforehand that their brake pads are worn yet insist on braking late, diving into corners, not observing universally-accepted overtaking rules, generally all-round bad behavior that should be worthy of a black flag, yet go scot free without so much as an admonishment.

People who are unable to demonstrate the basic decency of caring for the well-being of others should just be banned and thrown out of the track.

So if you're a friend of one of these gungho idiots (I don't need to name names, you know who they are), pull him aside and ask him to keep his ego in check and drive within his abilities. You just might very well save his life, and of others around him.