Yearly Archives: 2012
Every engine was on song. Ah, bliss. A varied mix of engine configurations, horsepowers and weight were there at the track. Here is the first part of our report on the drag results from the event held on Sunday, announcing the loud arrival of the Madras Exotic Car Club with an event at MMSC Track, Irungattukottai, Chennai.
This was the most special drag this Sunday. Balsingh George’s Ferrari 458 Italia vs Manoj Lulla’s Lamborghini Gallardo 560-4. Helmets were on, last minute briefing done, the race marshal waved the flag and the beasts were digging the tarmac and laying down expensive rubber. What a sight to behold, what a racket to be heard.
So what did happen towards the end?
The Ferrari 458 Italia won the drag fair and square. The extra 10 bhp might have done it, or it might have been the fact that it is always a tough task to get a four wheel drive car off the line quick enough.
Bentley Continental GT vs Porsche 911 Carrera
As is obvious from the image below, the Continental threws it weight around and got what it wanted. A Win.
Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG vs BMW M3
Throaty Merc doesn’t just make noise. It goes like stink.
Mercedes-Benz SL 500 vs Porsche 911 Targa 4S
A muddled start had the SL 500 losing any chance of catching up with the nimble 911 Targa.
BMW Z4 vs the Porsche Cayman S
The Cayman edged out the Z4 in this drag, a race the Z4 driver, a very amicable gentleman called Alexander David will talk about in a video towards the end of this article.
Audi R8 V10 vs the Jaguar XFR with the Supercharged 5.0 L V8
The Audi R8 V10 beat the supercharged 5.0 litre petrol engine!
Audi R8 V10 vs the Porsche 911 Turbo
Dear God, what’s inside that R8 V10?
Ladies Special : Porsche 911 Targa 4S vs Mercedes-Benz SL600
Do you remember in our post yesterday we’d mentioned Balsingh George’s wife Madhurima would be driving the SL600 on track? Well the good folks of the Madras Exotic Car Club spiced things up a bit, got the ladies who had come to the the event in their red 911 Targa 4S to drag against the SL600 piloted by Madhurima. As crowds generally do, they went wild at the mention of this drag. The SL600 with its mighty V12 heart ate the Targa whole.
After being held up for a while by a stubborn Porsche Carrera that refused to start, the long line of Chennai exotics are now on their way to the Irungattukottai track from the Taj Coromandel.
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 vs Ferrari 458 Italia
V10 vs V8
552hp vs 562 hp
Manoj Lulla in his LP560-4 will be laying down the power on the tarmac using the Gallardo’s ‘Thrust Control’ from Corsa mode against Balsingh George’s 458 Italia that will be using every ounce of its electronic and mechanical strength to ensure the ‘Launch Control’ gives the driver the perfect start!
Both of these gentleman know their way around fast cars, for some years now so this should be an interesting contest! Be back for more!
“Work hard. Aspire for these cars.”
That was the message Mr.George gave this correspondent, and as well to Riot Engine readers. Without blinking I said, ‘Really?’
“Back in ’84 I used to take the bus and the suburban trains to get around. When I was in college, I used to walk from the Good Shepherd school compound all the way to Loyola College.”
Now the gentleman owns a Ferrari 458 Italia, a Rolls Royce Ghost and a Mercedes-Benz SL 600. Knowing where he comes from, it isn’t too much of a surprise that Balsingh George wants the common man to experience the visual and aural pleasure, courtesy of these exotics.
When asked about what we could expect tomorrow at the track, “Well, you can watch a Lamborghini Gallardo drag a Ferrari 458 Italia!” said Balsingh George. He also added that his wife Madhurima, who is just as comfortable at the wheel of a fast car will be driving the V12 Mercedes Benz SL 600 at the track on Sunday, April 1st.
Well what can we say? Bring it on!
The Madras Exotic Car Club was launched today bringing together supercar enthusiasts from Chennai and around precluding the event tomorrow at Irungattukottai track.
Cars at the event
- Aston Martin Rapide
- Aston Martin V8 Vantage
- Audi R8
- Audi R8 V10
- Bentley Continental
- Bentley Flying Spur
- BMW M3
- BMW Z4
- Ferrari 458 Italia
- Jaguar XK R
- Jaguar XF R
- Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4
- Maserati Gran Turismo
- Mercedes Benz SL500
- Mercedes Benz SL600
- Mercedes Benz SLK55 AMG
- Porsche Boxster
- Porsche 911 Turbo
- Porsche 911 Carrera
- Porsche Cayenne
- Porsche Cayman S
- Porsche 911 Targa 4S
- Rolls Royce Ghost
Those would be the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 race cars wearing the liveries of ART, ASM, Boutsen Energy, Gulf Racing, United Autosports and Von Ryan Racing. Of course, the Gulf Racing livery is our favourite. The footage was made at the Paul Ricard HTTT where the first official test was held for the Blancpain Endurance Series. Around ten 12C GT3s will line up on the grid for the season opener in Monza next month.
After the exit of the McLaren F1 GTR from the FIA GT Championship in 1998, McLaren returns to the new FIA GT1 World Championship with the MP4-12C GT3 in partnership with the reigning world champion Hexis Racing.
The road legal McLaren MP4-12C sports car has been selected as safety car for FIA GT1 World Championship race at Nogaro on 8-9 April.
The first event the MP4-12C will debut in would be the German VLN series on March 31st at the famed ‘ring, the Nürburgring Nordschliefe where Gemballa Racing and Doerr Motorsport will compete in the 12C GT3. Do watch out for the McLaren in the 24 Hour Nürburgring endurance race in May.
Molitor Racing and Gemballa Racing will run in ADAC GT Masters at Oschersleben.
Series Champions Apex Motorsport will enter a new 12C GT3 in selected rounds of this year’s British GT championship, while the Lapidus Racing team will contest the International GT Open series, and also compete in forthcoming 24-hour races at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.
Teams racing the 12C GT3 in 2012 have enlisted the services of highly successful racing drivers for the 2012 season. Former Formula 1 drivers Mark Blundell and David Brabham (also a Le Mans 24hr winning driver) will race for United Autosports and 2011 Formula 2 competitor Jack Clarke will drive for Boutsen Energy. Rob Bell, Alvaro Parente and Alexander Sims, who recently joined the McLaren GT driver line-up for 2012, will be placed with customer teams, while McLaren Automotive Chief Test Driver Chris Goodwin will also contest selected races in a 12C GT3 throughout the season.
Andrew Kirkaldy, Project Manager for McLaren GT said: “I’m excited that we are so close to seeing the 12C GT3 in its first full race season. The feedback I have received from customers that have already taken delivery of the car is very positive.“The 2011 development programme was challenging, but had many highlights. We started with a pole position in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps in the British GT Championship, and ended the race season with a third place finish in Macau.
“In one year, McLaren GT has taken the 12C GT3 from concept to race readiness. We will learn more about the car in the early part of the season – and expectations will naturally be high of a car full of Formula 1 technology – but our objective is to makes the 12C GT3 as much a pleasure to own and run as it is race.”
Customer teams will be supported by official McLaren GT engineers throughout the 2012 season, and will also have access to a full range of spare parts at each race. Away from the track, the teams will be offered the use of McLaren’s simulator, which was used by McLaren Automotive to specify the groundbreaking 12C road car, and by McLaren Racing to develop all of its successful recent Formula 1 cars.
New McLaren GT drivers track test the MP4-12C road car
McLaren GT recently announced its official 2012 driver line-up with the acquisition of Rob Bell, Alexander Sims and Alvaro Parente. As part of an induction programme to McLaren GT and McLaren Automotive, the top trio of GT racing drivers were given the opportunity to get behind the wheel of brand new MP4-12C sports cars at the circuit ‘home’ of McLaren Automotive, Dunsfold Park better known to most petrol heads as the BBC Top Gear test track.
The 12C GT3 shares the same V8 twin turbo engine and carbon ‘MonoCell’ chassis as its road car sibling, and its aerodynamic package was developed by McLaren GT in partnership with specialist engineers and designers at McLaren Automotive.
Rob Bell said: “Driving the 12C on track was a special opportunity and one that helped us learn a lot about the way McLaren develops its cars. I had a huge grin on my face because unlike any other sports car I have driven, it lacks nothing on track. It is easy to drive very fast and very safely. I want to find the quickest way around a circuit in any car I drive, and the value of technology like Brake Steer and the 12C’s Airbrake is absolutely clear to me. I actually think I might have been quicker than ‘The Stig’ on the day…”
Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: “An incredible win, absolutely unexpected, but that does not make it any less wonderful and emotional! Once again, Fernando was amazing, driving with a cool head and determination, managing to get the very best out of this car and of the very changeable weather conditions. Today’s victory does not change a jot in terms of our situation: we know that, at the moment, we do not have a car competitive enough to fight for the win under normal conditions and that we have a lot of work to do to catch up. Clearly this win gives us even more motivation, because it shows that this championship is not at all clear cut and anything can happen. A slight improvement in performance can result in a good step forward compared to other teams. Felipe suffered too much with degradation on his front tyres, which led to him making one more stop than his team-mate: this is a particularly difficult moment for him, because he cannot get the most out of a car that, objectively, is very difficult to drive. We have an obligation to stay close to him, which is as it should be in such a closely knit team. Now we will enjoy this moment for a few hours, but tomorrow we must be back in the factory again pushing on the development of this F2012. Finally I want to congratulate Sauber, who today secured their best ever result and congratulations also to Sergio Perez, a youngster from the Ferrari Driver Academy, who today confirmed his great talent.”
Fernando Alonso: “It was an incredible race! I am very happy, for me and for the whole team: I am proud of this fantastic group of people. While we have been going through this difficult time, no one gave up, in fact everyone has doubled their efforts to try and catch up. The strategy was perfect, the mechanics did an impeccable job, the engineers did their best in preparing the car and I drove at my maximum for all 56 laps of the race. I would never have bet on this win and I would think anyone who did so must have picked up a tidy sum! As I returned to the pit lane on the cool down lap I didn’t even know where to park the car: to win with all the problems we have got is something quite extraordinary. In the wet, I was going very well, but then when the track dried out, our weaknesses showed themselves. Sergio got very close and I was trying to stay on the only dry line: if he wanted to pass me, he would have had to take a risk. Yesterday, he and I ended up ninth and tenth and today we found ourselves fighting for the win, which shows how unpredictable is this championship. Our aim was damage limitation for these early races of the championship and now we even find ourselves leading the classification. Now we absolutely have to improve the performance starting right away with the races in China and Bahrain. We must get back to work immediately so as to find at least the two or three tenths that could put us back in the fight for the top places.”
Felipe Massa: “First of all, I want to congratulate Fernando on this great win, which came thanks to him driving a fantastic race. It is a very important victory for the team, although it must not let us forget that our car is not yet at the level of the best. Obviously I am disappointed with my result. Things were going well at the start and I was able to fight with the drivers directly ahead of me. When the track was drying, I suffered more and more with tyre degradation and I could not maintain a good pace. We opted to follow what Rosberg was doing ahead of me, as he too was apparently struggling with his tyres, but it did not work out and we lost a lot of time with this extra stop, given also that the others stayed on track for around a dozen laps more before switching to the dry tyres. It is important for us to try and understand why there is such a strong difference in the way our cars perform, but ultimately, our aim is to have a more competitive car in as short a time as possible.”
Pat Fry: “This win is a wonderful reward for all the efforts we are making here at the track and back home at the factory to try and turn around a season that immediately saw us facing an uphill struggle. However, this result must not be seen as a case of all our problems having unexpectedly solved themselves: that’s not the case and everyone is aware of it. Fernando drove a fantastic race, pushing throughout the entire time, always being very careful but never overdoing it. The F2012 seemed to behave very differently depending on the conditions in which it was running: today, there were moments when it was absolutely competitive, others when it struggled. We had already seen in Melbourne on Friday that on a damp track, the situation was not bad and today it went even better. Towards the end, Perez was very quick, partly because his Hards were working better in these conditions than Fernando’s mediums. Another decisive factor in today’s win was the work in the pits and on the pit wall: at every pit stop, Fernando managed either to make up places or to stay ahead of his pursuers. Felipe made a good start but suffered quite badly with the front tyres as the track was drying. We tried to remedy the situation, bringing him for an extra stop and clearly that cost him valuable time. We must try and understand why, for him, the car ends up being even more unstable in terms of its handling compared to the way it works for his team-mate: it is one of our tasks for these coming days along with obviously trying to find the tenths in performance terms that we are still lacking.”
Fernando, Felipe and their physios, Matteo Orsi and Edoardo Bendinelli, along with Massimo Rivola, Massimo Balocchi and Roberta Vallorosi, representing the entire Scuderia, visited the turn where the world lost a talented and too young rider, Marco Simoncelli last year, on the 23rd of October, at Turn 11 of the Sepang circuit.
“Sic, always with us” read a a pit board that Felipe and Fernando brought with them. “From now on, coming here will never be the same again as it will always make one think of Marco,” said Fernando.
“I think the Ferrari family and all Italians who love sport and motorcycling will remember him always. His death was something one could never have expected. We will remember him always and he will always be a hero to us. We wanted to go to Turn 11 to pay a tribute to Marco’s memory,” added Felipe. “I think it was the least we could do for him, for his family and for all his fans. I think that all weekend long, we will drive here with thoughts of Marco.”