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Driving in England
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May/June 2010 - Cars.my Issue 060
With four adults and a lot of luggage, we 'had little choice but to rely on cars. We wanted to cover as much ground as possible, plus it was a pilgrimage of sort for my co-driver; he wanted to show his wife, a first-timer to Europe, the city where he attended uni some 20 years ago - Newcastle - as well as to visit the football mecca, Man U. Our route was planned for visits and stays at friends' and relatives' homes; they took us on excursions to their favourite daytrips. We covered almost 1000 miles over nine days of driving, from Gatwick to Heathrow, then to Lincoln and onwards to Newcastle, the Peak District, the Lake District, Manchester, Chester, then back to Lincoln and finally London, We were very confident about motoring around the country but we were determined to do as little driving as possible in London, and it proved to be a wise decision; the place is a madhouse of heavy traffic, narrow roads, traffic lights, junctions, road diversions, and very prohibitive parking charges. The Tube is a very good alternative, more so when you can get a day pass for unlimited rides within the network, for only 8tg5, which is just 8tg1 more than the price of a single-trip ticket. And for a little bit more you can ride to Heathrow Airport.
I had brought a unit of the Quatr-O, courtesy of Gophers, which also installed Route66 maps of the whole of Europe. The SatNav unit was so handy and informative that we hardly had to refer to the AA maps of the UK that my travelling companion bought at the very first petrol station we stopped at. The Gophers not only led us to the doorsteps of the various homes we visited, it located B&Bs and restaurants in some really desolate places, and was responsible for us enjoying some memorable stays, meals and sights. For sure, it saved us a lot of stress by leading us out of congested and complicated places, and finding essential facilities. It is not an exaggeration to say that the SatNav unit maintained the goodwill amongst us for such an extended drive session as this had been. The few times we were led astray was due to our mistake; the Route66 maps of England are very detailled and we needed to be precise in our search. For example, we found out, after a frantic time, that there are five Long Lanes in London; we had pressed the first one that popped up. Knowing the post code is essential.
Our cars were a Vauxhall Zafira and a Ford Focus Diesel Estate, both rentals that enabled us to get from our airports to Lincoln - where we took over my sis' car, a Peugeot 206 - and then to London. The 206 could not take all of our stuff so we left half of it at my sis' place. It was rather small and underpowered for the task but it was undoubtedly economical. We landed just as England saw record prices for fuel - petrol from Stg 1,.1 7 to Stg1.22, with diesel slightly higher. We had paid RM5 for each Stg so you can understand why we felt like paupers!
The car rental charges started from Stg 115 for a 3-day package, and went to almost Stg200 with insurance. We picked the company with the most convenient drop-off points. Most of the time we went direct to the rental office (the GPS unit was a great help), and had been quite lucky in terms of choice and rates. Both were manual, however. We made sure we bought insurance, and learned to ensure that our return of a full tank was certified.
For us, driving in the UK is not a daunting task. The environment is very familiar and friendly, and there is no language problem. Motoring is a long entrenched culture there. Plus, they drive on the correct side of the road. With the wide choice of accommodations, ranging from as low as Stg45 per head - homely B&B with full English breakfast - to premium castle-stays with all the pomp and trimmings, you are only limited by taste and budget. We were travelling at the tailend of Easter Week and had little problem finding vacancies. We did, however, made it a point to stay outside city limits.
It turned out to be a great food trail for us as all four of us had few limits to what we can eat, plus there were the incomparable choices of beer, ale and cider on tap. The food servings were invariably hearty, but we soon learned to order accordingly.
We encountered a fair mix of traffic, from the very quiet on most roads during working hours, to heavy going on motorways. There were lots of local tourists when the sun was out, meaning heavy traffic at certain sites, but things were well-managed. It was such a refreshing change to encounter courteous drivers, even those driving big trucks, of which there were many, especially on the motorways. We made sure we did not practise our usual Malaysian bad habits, like poor lane discipline, inattentiveness on the motorway, and especially a lack of consideration for pedestrians and cyclists. They are so civilised in this area; we didn't miss KL, at all. ~
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GRA round 2 at Sepang F1 .....carpark!
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Petaling Jaya 15th June - Grass Racing Autosports or commonly known as GRA, held their second ever night race at the famous Sepang International F1 Circuit car park. Sponsored by Red Line Oils, Gophers GPS, Vanli Genuine Parts, Perma Glass, BFGoodrich Tires, EcoCoats, Greenletrics, ContourHD and Acrogain. Moving onto Round 2, the fast straights and tighten hairpins proved to be a race of attrition for the Open Class Cars, as each of the top leading runners suffered some form of failure before starting their night runs.
Ee Yoong Cherng in a Nissan S13 Silvia Turbo claimed top spot when he managed to clinch 1st Overall in the 2nd round of GRA. Yoong, having the skills and car for autocrossing, proved unbeatable here and this would be his second successive win in SIC. Marcus Chye from Team Lotus Malaysia managed a 2nd Overall with Ivan Khong from Team BFGoodrich Tires taking 3rd Overall. Whereas Marcus had a no incident run, Ivan suffered a cracked radiator after his first run, then suffered a broken exhaust manifold subsequently. He did manage to finish the course, with the least minimum runs cumulative to ensure a spot in the standings.
Yoong was uncatchable, as he clocked under the 2minute barrier with a fastest time of 1m58.732secs. With Marcus still leading the championship after his Round 1 win, Yoong and Marcus are tied for the lead of GRA's toughest ever autocross championships. Julian Pang from Team Red Line in his Proton Wira MIVEC, was the fastest normally aspirated car in the top 5 coming in 4th Overall and first in his Class OC (1601cc - 2000cc). Ray Leong from Team EcoCoats in his Nissan 200sx, managed a 5th Overall and taking 4th in Class OD, proving that 4th Overall twice in SIC may not be a fluke after all. William Lim from Team Vanli Genuine Parts, was ever quick again in his Automatic Suzuki Swift taking 7th Overall, 1st in his Class AA ( Automatic up to 2500cc ) and 1st in Grass Class.
The course layout was fast, with a long straight spanning about 400 meters making it possible to hit 4th gear for the more powerful cars. Mike Ng, in his Mitsubishi Evo 7, went up on the ranks with a superb finish in 7th Overall, taking precious points to chalk up his standings in the Open Class. 2009 GRA Champion Andy Kow in his Subaru Impreza has issues on getting to the start, and had to get a loaner car from compatriot Chiew Ruoh Peng's BMW Z4M. Andy managed an 11th Overall finish, and picking up valuable points to continue his defense of his title. Alven Lee in his Perodua Kelisa with a new power plant was able to chalk up a fantastic run with a 2nd in Class OA win, and taking 9th Overall in Open Class. Despite being the smallest car in the Open Class, his driving was clean and quick on the fast circuit, making use of the wide open car park to chop down the times. Kenneth Chiew from Team EcoCoats managed only a 3rd in Class OA, behind William and Alven.
In Pro Grass Class OB ( 1501cc-1600cc ), Zulraimi Yunus in his Toyota Corolla, took 1st in Class, with Norhaziman Bahaman in his Proton Satria taking 2nd with Tuah Damak in a Honda Civic taking 3rd. After the day runs, all 3 competitors were within one second of each other fighting for the lead. It was the night run that Zulraimi clocked 2/100sec faster than Norhaziman to take the win. Woo Keen Pong from Team Vanli Genuine Parts had a good run till he was caught out with a flying left rear wheel coming off and overtaking him on the back straight. Pong said 'I was going flat out till I heard a loud noise and the car was sliding all over the place before I could do anything, I saw a wheel flying over my car'. It was a scary moment as it was during the night run and to the disbelief of everyone as the tire flew over the large drain and landing onto the side of the curb on the other end.
In Pro Grass OC (1601cc-2000cc), 2nd spot went to Edrin Mokthar in a Proton Satria GTI, with Nicholas Teh taking 3rd in a Proton Putra. Sia Chee Bin from Team Perma Glass in his Proton Satira NEO, had a problematic run with his car suffering from an electrical problem throughout the race causing him to be both a mechanic and driver at the same time. In the Open Class Novice for OD, Andrew Yap in a Lotus Exige took 1st spot with Zahril Fikri taking 2nd spot in his FWD Charade Turbo Espri with Tan Ke-Vin in a Golf GTI taking 3rd. The race did not prove to be an easy one, with many drivers getting caught out with car failures just before the night runs.
Ivan spent the entire day fixing his car, with competitor Sky Loo helping him out and going between runs to assist drivers in a limp. Howard Goh from Red Line said, 'GRA is a very strong community that boasts on competitive spirit amongst drivers and also bonds friendships amongst everyone'. It was not surprising to see everyone helping out, as with Pong suffering from his flying wheel, Charlie Ling and various others came to the rescue by lifting up the car to tighten back the wheel onto the disc hub. There was also presence of a group of photographers who came to take pictures of the GRA event regularly to support the grassroot motorsports. The main attraction for them was mainly the racequeens who normally grace the event during lunch time to add color to the event.
Perma Glass's representative Ong Chuan Yuan said, 'We are embarking on a new partnership with GRA that really shows what and how we can work with the community which is truly great for us to allow fans to try out the stuff we have, we look forward to the coming Round 3'. EcoCoats Managing Director Kevin Leow said, 'We are fielding in 3 cars, as we want to promote GRA as a good form of motorsports, and anyone in any car is able to join and race in a safe environment'.
The race also had the presence of Vanli Genuine Parts supporting the event with the availability of certain car parts during race day. Woo Keen Pong from Vanli said, 'GRA is a large community of drivers who know what is good for their cars. We want to be the driver's solution for parts, and we want to grow with the community of drivers here in GRA'. Lee Siong from Gophers GPS, participating himself in his Mazda Miata proved that one need not need a fast car to have fun. 'I want to drive in GRA myself to learn and improve my driving ability and also to utilize our GPS unit in racing conditions!' said a quirky Lee Siong who is also the Managing Director of Gophers GPS.
GRA moves into Round 3 with much anticipation on who will take the lead in the championship after the third round. As the race draws nearer, all the competitors are gearing up with more modifications now to be ahead. GRA still has the Novice and Grass Class categories for the grassroot level drivers, but with the Open Class drivers taking it one notch higher, this year's race will prove to a very interesting one. There are 3 more rounds left in the season with the championship going either way. For more details of this exciting series, log onto www.grassracingautosports.com for autocrossing updates.
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GRA Grass Racing Autocross Round 1 2010
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May 2010
Petaling Jaya 9th May – Grass Racing Autosports or commonly known as GRA, started their 5th successive autocross championships with a new timing system which will set the standards for motorsports even for grassroot level motorsports in this region. GRA is sponsored by Red Line Oils, Vanli Genuine Parts, Gophers GPS, EcoCoats Surface Enhancement Specialist, Perma Glass, BFGoodrich Tires, ContourHD, Greenletrics, and Acrogain. The autocross series comprising of 5 rounds this year will prove to be a very competitive one, with the return of BFGoodrich Team comprising of 2 Subaru Imprezas of Ivan Khong and Andy Kow and Lotus Team Malaysia comprising of Marcus Chye. Newly formulated autocross team of Vanli Genuine Parts and new entrant sponsor of PG Perma Glass made up the field with the longest standing team, Team Red Line making up the front runners of this exciting series.
Marcus Chye’s return to the series claimed top spot when he managed to clinch 1st Overall in the opening round of GRA. Marcus for Team Lotus Malaysia showed that he still has what it takes after taking a 2 year break from the championships. With a newly refreshed Lotus, added horsepower and some refinements done to the engine, he proved significantly faster than everyone else by having a two second gap to 2nd fastest rival Ee Yoong Cherng in a Nissan S13 Silvia Turbo. Andy Kow GRA’s 2008 & 2009 Champion only managed a 3rd Overall placing, with his compatriot Ivan Khong in a similar Subaru and also 2007 GRA Champion retiring after coming to a curb at the end straight.
The race held in Metro Puchong Driving Academy proved to be a very tight one, with high concrete curbs, and 3 different track surfaces making it incredibly difficult to drive. ‘ This is one course that separates the boys from the men, you can go really quickly in the open areas but one has to be really careful at the curb sections ’, explained Ian Khong, the ambassador to GRA. Team Vanli comprising of William Lim in a Suzuki Swift and Woo Keen Pong in a Proton Satria 1.6, proved to be winners in their classes when William clinched 1st in Automatic class, and also 1st in Class OA ( Open class up to 1500cc ). Pong in the Proton Satria took 4th Overall in his Class OB, driving the Satria only for the very first time.
The other highlight of the race saw the Grass Class or Novice drivers taking the morning section of the day. Fastest novice of the day went to Imman Tuah piloting a Honda Civic Automatic 1500cc. It was his 2nd year in GRA, and coming in 3rd Overall behind William and Fred Foong who are both Pro-Class drivers in the Automatic class was a big achievement. Jeff Lee in a Perodua Kelisa loaned from his elder brother Alven Lee, has an excursion with the side fence and nearly went into the drain. Nothing major was damaged but Alven had to resort to loaning a car from another competitor; Kenneth Chiew in order to compete in the Pro-Grass category later that afternoon.
In the Pro-Grass Class, Class OA ( Up to 1500cc ) William took first in class followed by Kenneth and Alven. It was a pretty standard affair amongst the three drivers as they exchanged fastest times, with Alven and Kenneth both sharing the same car. In Class OB ( 1501cc - 1600cc), Charlie Ling in a Toyota Trueno RWD, took top spot while Nigel Chye in a Toyota Trueno FWD taking 2nd. 3rd place went to Leon Tan in a Toyota KE70 despite him redecorating the front bumper after a meeting with the fence pole.
For Class OC ( 1601cc – 2200cc ) it was a new battle between Team Red Line ’s Julian Pang in a Proton Wira versus Team Perma Glass’s Sia Chee Bin in a Proton Satria Neo. Both cars have very similar engines which was the MIVEC from Mitsubishi. However Julian the more experienced driver with many numerous championships under his belt, proved to be uncatchable thus clinching 1st in Class. Sia managed a 2nd spot and would be vying to give Julian a tougher run in Round 2 in June. 3rd spot went to Nicholas Teh piloting a Proton Putra 1800cc.
Partners Gophers GPS, Mr. Lee Siong the General Manager himself took part in his first ever autocross event in his Mazda Miata. ‘ I have never driven my Miata so hard before, and it is hot out there ’, said an exuberant and excited Lee. For the Novice Category of Class OC, William Wong in a Proton Satria GTI took first spot, with Chu Poh Kin in a Toyota Altezza taking 2nd with Fardydy Kamal in a Proton Putra taking 3rd. William repeated his win again, and this is his 2nd win since Putrajaya Round 4 last year. In Novice Class OD, Zahril Fikri in his Daihatsu Espri Turbo took 1st spot, with Christopher Chong in a Mazda Miata taking 2nd with Oliver Yong in a Perodua Myvi Turbo coming in 3rd. Christ in his first ever GRA event did well by slotting in a podium finish for himself amongst Zahril and Oliver who are now in their 2nd year in Autocrossing.
For the morning session, the novice drivers that took centre stage was Syafiq Amsyar in a Proton Saga BLM for the Class A ( 1300cc and Below ). He was followed closely by Lim Chee Siong in a Proton Iswara and Ksaven in a Toyota Starlet KP61. Sean Siew in a Toyota Corolla 1.6SEG took Class B in a convincing fashion followed by Jarryd Tan in a Satria Neo CPS, with Hafis Syukor in another Satria Neo coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
GRA would be moving to Round 2 in June 5th , and would be expecting a huge turnout again. GRA is a grassroots motorsports event that is sanctioned by Motorsports Association of Malaysia and the pioneer autocrossing organizers today. For more information do log onto www.grassracingautosports.com for more information
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VISI-O on the run!
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click on photo to view gallery
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Gophers VISI-O in action!
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click on photo to view gallery
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