Motorsport Hub

Does anyone else think that it is ironic that the President of Toyota is a man named Toyoda?

Small things amuse small minds but I have to say that it cracked me up that the president of the troubled car firm – Akio Toyoda has a name that similar to the company he manages.

Anyway that is just an aside – the main reason for this post is to discuss the impact of the troubles in the global automaker sector and try and work out whether or not it has changed your thoughts on what car you would buy going forward.

• Has the recall at Toyota put you off buying one of their cars or do you believe that on the whole they have handled the issue well and haven’t done as much damage to their brand as the media makes out? Personally  I still would continue to buy a Toyota before probably 90% of other vehicles on the market at the moment
• What about the US makers? Are the GM, Chrysler and Ford brands effectively in a death spiral? Ford rolled out a profit for the first time in a while recently and I recently overheard an American saying he would buy a Ford simply on the basis that he would be supporting US industry and brands.

Thoughts on these cars? Any brands you think are dying off or are going to successfully re-invent themselves?

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Filed under: Uncategorized tagged Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, GM, Toyota

Heroes day at Zwartkops will see all the greats of Motorcycle Racing on the track. Castrol / Honda Day of the Champion will feature 18 International riders competing with South Africans. The day will include Isle of Man winner including the most recent achievements of Steve Plater.

Heading the International contingent will be Mick Grant 7 times Isle of Man Tourist Trophy winner – together with such names as Alan Walker, Alan Cathcart (now Sir Alan Cathcart), John Chapman, Tony Salt… a long list of riders who will be with the South African contingent of big names Dave Paterson, Alan North, Bucks Boshoff, Howard Mellet, Jerry Anassis, Jimmy Guthrie, Kevin Hellyer, Keith Zeeman, Les van Breda, Peter Ekerold, Rodney Gray, Wayne Duncan, Wayne Heaseman… the list goes on and on. It’s the meeting of the greats and Legends in the world of motor cycle racing.

Of special interest is that Ian Scheckter – six times South African motor racing champion will return where it all started from – racing motorcycles. Ian will be a special guest and will ride with the greats on Sunday.

Yoshiaki Nakamura M.D. of Honda South Africa will also be racing over the weekend on a Honda RC171. Mr. Nakamura was a factory racer in the seventies and still shows the form that brought him to the fore. Steve Plater who won the 2009 British 600 Supersport Championship as well as the senior Isle of Man TT Series. He will be launching a special edition of the TT winning Honda Fireblade at Zwartkops. The Historic Motorcycle Group will feature a full field of racing motorcycles with such great names as Norton, AJS, Bultaco, Greeves, Triumph and the Japanese onslaught in the sixties with the screaming Hondas, Suzuki and Yamaha before the Italian empire struck back with the might of Ducati. Huge names of man and machine will all be at Zwartkops. The day will not only be for demonstration events. There will be a full field of racing classic bikes, the Suzuki SV Cup, more contempory Thunderbikes. The stars of tomorrow will feature the first race for the Honda NSF 100. This is the Honda initiative for development and young riders.

The SA Tourist Trophy “Day of the Champion” for historic racing bikes will be a new addition to the program. This will be a fully fledged race on the day. Not to be missed and big bike day of legends, heroes – past, present and future.

Entrance for Sunday only R60 per adult, R30 per student and children under 12 for free.

See you at Zwartkops.

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Filed under: Uncategorized tagged Alan North, Alan Walker, Bucks Boshoff, Dave Paterson, events, Honda, Howard Mellet, Jerry Anassis, Jimmy Guthrie, Keith Zeeman, Kevin Hellyer, Les van Breda, Mick Grant, Peter Ekerold, Rodney Gray, Tony Salt, Wayne Duncan, Wayne Heaseman, Yoshiaki Nakamura, Zwartkop

I saw a red one of these Mercedes Benz SL65’s in Sandton today.

It included a lekker bodykit and exhaust kit and sounded absolutely awesome. The SL range has really started to grow on me – kudos to Merc for a stunning muscle car.

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Filed under: Uncategorized tagged Mercedes Benz

The return of Michael Schumacher has added a bit of spice to the 2010 Formula 1 (F1) season and the bookies still reckon that the German Maestro still has what it takes.

Here’s the betting according to local sports betting operation World Sports Betting:

• Lews Hamilton – 2/1
• Fernando Alonso – 3/1
• Michael Schumacher – 4/1
• Sebastian Vettal – 5/1
• Jenson Button – 7/1
• Felipe Massa – 9/1
• Nico Rosberg – 12/1

Interestingly they are offering odds on Bruno Senna – 150/1 – who is the nephew of Ayrton Senna. Last I heard there were still questions about whether or not Senna was going to have a confirmed ride in 2010 but at those odds its worth a small punt.

My main pick for the season is Vettel who was backed by Bernie Ecclestone as the man to watch in 2010.

Any thoughts on who is going to stand out this year?

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Filed under: Uncategorized tagged Ayrton Senna, Bruno Senna, F1, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Formula 1, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Sports Betting

Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. announced the company will not participate in the AMA Pro Racing road racing series in 2010.

“While we’ve always considered road racing an integral part of our sportbike development process, the realities of the current economic situation dictate the temporary suspension of our U.S. road racing activities,” said Bruce Stjernstrom, marketing director.

Kawasaki’s long history of successful road racing includes 20 AMA series championships. Among the many champions who have worn the Kawasaki lime green racing leathers are Reg Pridmore, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Miguel Duhamel, Scott Russell, Doug Chandler, Eric Bostrom and more recently Tommy Hayden and Roger Hayden.

“We expect to see eventual improvements in the general economic condition and Kawasaki will reevaluate its road racing position as we monitor those issues,” said Stjernstrom.

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Filed under: Uncategorized tagged AMA, Kawasaki, motorbikes