GP REVIEW: SEPANG '08

Well this weekend was a classic case of “When it rains –it pours”. For starters there was a four day holiday and to top it off we had a weekend of Formula 1 and the top four teams of BPL going head to head. I will not speak of the football (as I am yet to come out of the trauma of what Arsenal have done to their Premiership challenge), but with F1, fortunately it was a different story (as it was much more satisfying for me).

It can be safely said the status quo has finally be restored (both on and off the field). Ferrari after a short hiatus, was back with vengeance during qualifying and the McLaren drivers forgot to read the rule book – again. That they were driving on the “wrong” side of the track was vindicated by the contrite reaction of the team that they did not even appeal to the stewards’ punitive decision. I really wonder how they were so oblivious to their surrounding when everyone else was driving opposite to the racing line and they were warned by the team on the radio. Whatever the case may be, it took out a little sheen from the clinical performance of the Ferraris.

They were on top for most of the weekend, but then so were they in Australia too a, week ago. However this time they made it count by occupying the front row of the grid. But with Massa outpacing Kimi by almost half a second, there were some questions as to the fuel load they were carrying. Same goes for the remarkable qualifying by the Red Bull of Mark Webber. BMWs impressed yet again and though it could be said that Nick Heidfeld missed out due to the McLarens, he was partly compensated by the silver cars being pushed five places down the grid. This “potpourri” grid set up for a mouth watering race. As for Force India, Fisichella agonisingly missed Q2 by 0.045 second right at the end of the first session. But the biggest disappointment had to be Williams who could not make to Q3 despite their strong showing at Albert Park. Also Jarno Trulli had a good session and finally after the McLaren penalty, started 4^th, a position few would have expected.

The race got of to an uneventful start as the Ferraris made clear headway, though for an instant it seemed that Kimi would get the better of his team mate at the first corner. However Massa shut the door and Räikkönen was more prudent this time. The biggest gainers were the McLarens and Trulli and Heidfeld had to pay the price for being caught napping. Mark Webber too improved on his a starting position and in due course of the race showed that the qualifying was not a fluke. He held off the McLaren till the pit stops and was strong with the car supporting him too. But at the head of the pack the Ferraris went clear of the field followed by the BMW of Robert Kubica and Red Bull of Mark Webber.

The race was bland till the first sequence of pit stops. Räikkönen smelling his chance started to put in some strong laps and so did Hamilton (despite the wear on his tires). Massa was the first to enter the pits among the Scarlet cars while Räikkönen stayed out a little longer (maybe due to the marginal fuel difference that had been anticipated). This gave him enough opportunity to burn some real fast laps and that coupled with slick pit work by the Ferrari team saw him emerge out of pits just ahead of Massa (who probably was fuming in his car). Though the same sadly could not be said for the McLaren team, as Hamilton’s pit stop went chaotic with some problems on the front right wheel. This cost him ten seconds and more importantly got him stuck behind Webber again.

This disappointment did not hinder the efforts of both Massa and Lewis. But maybe Felipe went a little too hard and this levity caused him to spin, dumping the Scarlet car in the gravel trap on lap 30, thereby ending his chances for a strong 2^nd placed finish. His chagrin was pretty palpable when he indicated towards a problem in the rear end of the car to which Ferrari’s riposte was of denial as no abnormality reflected in the data from the sensors. Meanwhile behind the Williams were having a torrid time with Nico Rosberg involved in a first lap incident that required a nose cone change that placed him dead last and fighting with the backmarkers while being lapped by the Ferraris. The BMWs, ever the silent killers were on a strong strategy and seemed to be carrying more fuel than everyone else at the start. Kubica was comfortable in second (thanks to Massa’s benevolence) while Heidfeld was in fighting range with Hamilton through out. Kovalainen also had a good run with the strategy pushing him up to third.

The second round pit stops did not entail any drama, but for an instant it looked like Williams had goofed up in calling both their drivers almost together. Eventually they showed stupendous reactions to send the cars out without any delay within seconds of each other. Hamilton too had a much better stop this time round that got him ahead of Webber, who also lost his position to Heidfeld. Thereafter there was hardly any doubt as to the top 3 finishers. The engine failure of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari powered Toro Rosso on lap 39 might have caused some tension among the Tifosi, but they were not to be disappointed this time round. Kimi led Kubica to take the chequered flag followed by Kovalainen in third. Such was the domination of the top three that (the generally stoic) Räikkönen and Kubica mentioned in the post race press conference that after the final pit stops they went easy on the engines and the car as they had a comfortable gap behind them. But behind them Hamilton drove the wheels of his McLaren to dissimate the 5+ second gap between him and Trulli within a very short period. However the experienced Trulli was not to give up easily (especially with time on his side) and held out the strong charge by the rookie to take 4^th ahead of Hamilton. They were followed by Heidfeld and Webber - who certainly should be pleased with this strong finish despite the disappointment of missing out to capitalise on a good start – with Alonso taking the final point.

This turned out to be a pretty good race with all the podium finishers being from different teams and also none of them was there in the previous race. While this confirmed the theory of the battle being predominantly between Ferrari and McLaren, there were much more to be gained out of it. For starters the Williams team that looked so strong in Australia were the biggest losers here and now have to again start burning mid night oil. BMW only keep strengthening the belief that they can challenge for their first GP victory this season with strong drivers and strategy (though the championship may still be out of their reach, for now). Red Bull also seem to have what it takes to be strong in the mid field over a race distance. However Toyota was the team which has shown the biggest improvement and we hope it is not a flash in the pan as a couple of seasons ago.

As for our very own Force India, they will (pragmatically) be pleased with a 12^th place finish in a tough race and can look forward to a top ten finish with confidence now. And finally Honda again find themselves where they would not like to be. But in all this conspicuous by their absence was team Renault with Alonso finishing 8^th and Nelson Piquet Jr. yet again failing to impress. They really are struggling and despite Alonso driving at the top of his skills, maybe the team requires a little more than just an exceptional driver. They need their car to be much better in race pace for him to be able to challenge - if not the big two then – atleast the BMWs. Looking forward to Bahrain now in a couple of weeks time. The roller coaster rides seems to continue there too.

Drivers Championship:

Lewis Hamilton - 14

Kimi Räikkönen - 11

Nick Heidfeld - 11

Constructors Championship:

McLaren Mercedes - 24

BMW Sauber - 19

Scuderia Ferrari - 11

GP Review: Albert Park '08

So the clique circus is back. And we’ve started right where we left off last year. The inaugural race of the 2008 Formula 1 season threw up a lot of surprises, and while the roles from the last race were reversed there was much more to it too. It was now the turn of McLaren to laugh, while the Maranello team has lots of brainstorming to do. Also in the wounded list is our very own Force India F1, while they were not expecting miracles, but that none of their cars made it to the end must certainly be disappointing. Considering only six out of the 22 cars made it safely to the end, it certainly was a bizarre race.

Things started going wrong for Ferrari right from qualifying with Raikkonen’s car stalling before the pit line (thereby technically on track), disqualifying him from the qualifying session ahead. Perhaps the fact that had the car even rolled a couple of inches more, they could have pushed it back and prepared it in time for the next round of qualifying, should have given them the hints of things to come. Though Massa did make it to the final round, but even he would not have been happy with starting from the second row of the grid. The person most happy was Robert Kubica. He certainly gave Hamilton a run for his money with a scorching lap, and but for his excursion on the grass, he would have claimed his first pole. Alonso also got the taste of where he stands when the best he could manage was 12^th, certainly poor by his standards.

The race start had lots of anticipation and apprehension attached to it with people talking about smoking tyres, stalling cars, et all. They got their money’s worth as even though the front two made a clean start, behind them it was complete chaos. As Kimi made his way from 16^th to 8^th almost in the first corner itself, his team mate had to suffer an off track excursion followed by a bump in the tyre wall, forcing him to pit in the first lap itself. Meanwhile somewhere behind poor Giancarlo Fisichella was sent flying on his debut with the team having the flying kingfisher logo! Ok, bad one that. But this called the safety car out and things stabilised. As Massa joined the tail of the pack and racing resumed Hamilton was clearly pulling away from the chasing BMW and the rest of the pack. Even as people jostled behind, the Briton was determined to prove that today he would be in a class of his own.

Felipe Massa was giving everything to get back into the points and he certainly had the pace for it. But then he should not have expected mercy from any rival and that was what happened when he overtook Coulthard. The British veteran was having a good race on the Red Bull and would have none of the bossing by the Scarlet car. And in the process somewhere his passion overtook racing sense and he clipped the overtaking Massa ending up in a heap on track to trouble the safety car again. This also cluttered up the grid and reduced the 12 sec cushion that Hamilton enjoyed then. Almost immediately the adroit Ferrari team informed Kimi not to enter the pits, who just about aborted in the nick of time. This certainly saved him a punitive action from the stewards (which incidentally later Barrichello had to face for the same offence as what appeared initially to be the failure of his team boss in not being able to show the split second decision making as of his former team).

As the safety car went in Raikkonen was up till third (though with a stop less than the rest, but then he was on a one stop strategy), a remarkable achievement considering from where he had started. However the allure of a further two points seemed to take over even the stoic Finn and he went for insouciant move to overtake Kovalainen. Kimi did overtake the McLaren, only to out brake himself at the approaching turn, just about avoiding the tyre wall in the process. He retuned on track dead last feeling very chagrin, and in hind sight had he been a little more patient, maybe he could have gained the track position later with more ease and kept his ego intact too. However it would not matter as this would the beginning of the end and things exacerbated. The Ferrari dramatically lost pace after this, eventually grinding to a halt while entering the pits (oh Kimi not again!). Felipe Massa also suffered a similar fate while a points scoring finish seemed within reach. Eventually Raikkonen did earn a solitary point though, courtesy the disqualification of Rubens Barichello, thereby opening his and Ferrari’s account this season, though not in a way they would have liked to.

There were a few more disappointments. Most notable was Sebastien Bourdais, who was having a great debut till his (Ferrari powered!!!) Toro Rosso’s engine gave up painfully in the final stages of the race. Robert Kubica also despite a good start failed to finish courtesy an unintentional knock from behind by the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima. Meanwhile Timo Glock had a bad crash forcing the safety car out yet again (hey, guess the SC logged more track miles than some of the teams here!). This spelled disaster for the hapless Barichello, as what followed this was a comedy of errors (though his team won’t see it in the same light). Firstly he entered the pits just after the deployment of the safety car. According to the rule book during this period the pits are technically “closed”. Though the Honda team said that it was not deliberate/ignorance of rules, as they had no other option because there was no fuel in the car. This entailed him a 10 sec penalty and as he was moving out of pits he dragged a pit crew with the fuel hose. To top it all off he exited the pits under red lights which led to his disqualification. This series of mistakes apart, the Honda team had lot of positives to take back from this race, and they certainly seemed to have moved ahead from the debacle of the previous season.

The team which was most pleased certainly was McLaren and it seems that they have buried the demons of the previous season for good. But more than that was the performance of team Williams that impressed. Not only were they the only other team whose both cars made it to the end, Rosberg also earned his maiden podium finish in the process. Certainly they looked very strong in the entire race with regards to reliability, team strategy and most of all race pace. Toyota however impressed to deceive with both of their cars also not making it to the finish. Renault, though had a troubled start with Piquet Jr crashing out early, but things improved for them and Alonso recorded a strong finish albeit losing out on a fascinating duel with Kovalainen. BMW had a mixed race and Heidfeld was perhaps the most subdued in the entire race, hardly figuring in any excitement at all. One could have felt that he was racing alone in some forlorn part of the track. But he won’t mind that certainly for a second place finish.

If this race is anything to go by, then we are in for another thrilling season. That Ferrari will return with vengeance is a foregone conclusion, but presently the McLaren team and driver combination looks potent. Also teams like Williams and BMW (not to mention Renault and probably Honda) look set to put the cat among the pigeons more often this season. Another positive sign to emerge out is that Toro Rosso and Red Bull have shown more promise than most had expected. Toyota and Force India though need to improve a lot, and fast, lest they become a partner in Super Aguri’s malady. While it’s too early for anyone to start celebrating or mourning (and considering the last season, even the penultimate race is too early for that), but certainly the times for mourning at McLaren seem to be over.

THE KING OF GOOD TIMES IS BACK

So, it’s that time of the year again. The intelligentsia have spoken, the “oh-so-secret” stallions have been launched amongst much fan fare and the final link in the chain, the jockeys have been finalised. But while almost every team on the grid in busy issuing loquacious statements about their preparations and prospects, the average follower of the game is as ambivalent as ever. Certainly all of them cannot be true. The convoluted statements and data aim to obfuscate the truth and cocoon the team and its supporters. But then again, its that time of the year, when all the talking ends (well nearly) and the real fun begins – both on and off the track. So here I attempt to make some sense out of the potpourri of statistics, data jargon and the many soliloquies that we’ve been bombarded with in the past couple of months.

Firstly as respect to the winter testing results of all teams. Well certainly Ferrari seem to be ahead of everyone at the moment, with Kimi setting some scorching times in his low slung scarlet rocket ship of a car. McLaren Mercedes are not too far behind though with Hamilton leading the way. But will they be able to remain close over a race distance is the question that everyone is asking. They are certainly quick, and will stay right up there in qualifying, but in the race it’s slightly circumspect. And with Ferrari having settled with their drivers (and with their amazing team binding) the job looks ominous for McLaren. Oh the same old storey, so boring.....yawn. But here is where things start getting interesting. The enormously under achieving Toyota team has everyone talking in hushed tones what with the Jarno Trulli’s stunning lap at Barcelona which matched the timings of Ferrari and McLaren. However the complexity of different configurations used in winter testing makes comparison of teams just based on lap times a bit erroneous. And more often than not a team that set the timing charts on fire during testing, disappears into oblivion during the course of the season. Anyways just one good lap (or even one good race for that matter) will not be enough to get the Cologne based team out of their predicament.

A team with real potential and expectations from everyone is BMW Sauber. They were certainly in a class of their own last year, though behind the front two, but also far clear of the chasing pack. This year have they improved on it is tough to say. This because their entire pre season schedule has been under such thick wraps that even Mr. Stepney would have found it tough to get something out of there. Their biggest virtue is that they’ve probable the most affable and committed pair of drivers. And the tenacity shown by both of them last season (more so by Robert after the horrendous crash) was the single biggest reason for their consistent strong finishes throughout the season. However, they’ve not been without problems from whatever little testing data has come out, and speculations exist about their (in)ability to save tyres over a race distance. That they will be strong is certain, but its the top step of the podium that is their aim now, and for that they need to be better than just strong.

Coming to what many believe can be the surprise package of this year – Renault. The biggest change certainly is the return of Fernando Alonso and that has taken the entire team in a different level of self confidence. But just this cannot be certainly enough, and the car has also not shown anything that could cause an upset. I guess Alonso will just have to get used to fighting in the mid-field on track this year, and that is certainly better than fighting with your teammate off the track. Rest of the pack is probably the toughest to suggest. Williams seem to down in the rut, though with two good drivers and the history they’ve got, one can never take them for granted. Red Bull, Torro Rosso and Force India will pretty much slug it out among themselves. The winner here will feel as if it has won a championship in itself, and it is these drivers with their occasional cameos who can jumble up things and leave the top teams fuming at times. As for Super Aguri, with their present troubles anything above a start and few good laps would be bonus for them.

Now coming to the enigmatic Honda. No one really seems to understand what is wrong here. A team with an illustrious history, experience, money and two race winning – not to mention quite experienced – drivers, was the biggest disappointment last season. With all due respect to their novel “green” campaign, just fancy marketing ideas don’t get you glory in the cut throat world of Formula1. And the car that Jenson Button called the “dog” last year looks just as troublesome in its new incarnation too. However they’ve hired the mercurial Ross Brawn as the team principle this year, and they don’t come any better than him. There is no question about his virtuosity and that he will lift the team up, but when even he starts talking about 2009, the rules it’ll bring and their effects on his team, you know something is really wrong. The season’s not even started and already Ross is pinning his hopes on next year. You really got to feel for Button and Barrichello, they know that they’ve got the talent to fight with the best but are driving a raucous (otiose) beast that listens to no one, not the engineers, not the drivers and not to the steering either!

All said and done, this season is bound to throw a few surprises, as there is hardly any driver on the grind who has raced in F1 without the electronic wizardry to bail him out in sticky situations. Hence rest assured we’ll witness smoky starts, lots of oversteer and drivers losing it at times. Though again this is expected more from down field rather that the top guns, who should by now have accustomed to these new uncontrolled beasts. Coming to the off field spice, well what’s Formula1 without a little controversy to keep us interested, but it certainly does not seem to be touching last year’s levels. The biggest reason being the change in the driver line up of McLaren. Also this year we all get to see the first ever night race is history of the sport, which I personally believe is going to be a stupendous success. I watched the season opening MotoGP race in Qatar under lights, and what a spectacle it was. The track looked like a picture of heaven with an uncanny halo all over it, and did the bikes GLEAM. WOW!!! I just can’t wait for the Singapore round. That it is a new track for everyone, is the icing on the cake.

All said and done its good that we get now to see the action and then comment on it, rather than build castles in air and ogle over them, reviewing our reviews more than what is actually on the ground. In short if you ask me I don’t see the Kimi-Ferrari combination being beaten. However I would love to see BMW constantly pestering the top two. But then there is something much more this season for us Indians. Yes Force India, and the reason I’ve refrained from commenting on it is, that the team has gone under so many changes (three owners in as many years in unsettling to say the least) it is virtually hazardous to even talk about it. Got to watch it – with fingers crossed – over the first couple of races. They certainly have a fighting chance with probably the best driver among its direct rivals, in the form of Giancarlo Fisichella, and an extremely committed owner. Let the good times roll then...........

LONG LIVE SPIRIT OF THE FA CUP

Well, well, well, the FA cup is back. And how!!! The oldest tournament in football has long been known for its illustrious history of upsets and is dream come true for the perennial underdog supporter. But what’s been happening this year has left everyone dumbfounded and the BIG ONES ducking for cover. Though some people may say that this is down to the managers of top teams not fielding their best 11 in the tournament considering rest for their star players so that they can focus on the “more important” matches, this statement certainly was thrown into oblivion with the Man U – Portsmouth match yesterday.

Sir Alex certainly surprised everyone by including his crème de la crème, namely Ronaldo and Rooney among other big wigs. But this was not to be the last in the series of many that followed. The second was again courtesy to the flamboyant manager. He substituted Van Der Sar by Tomasz Kuszczak between posts, a switch seldom seen in any league. And this when Van Der Sar was hardly having any trouble patrolling his goal. Or maybe this was precisely the reason that instigated him to make the change in the first place, maybe he wanted to give his reserve keeper the chance for some match action. But the question that begs itself to be asked is, that if it was so why did he not start with Kuszczak in the first place? Why risk a substitution and be left with no reserve goalkeeper? Was he initially circumspect of having his reserve keeper face a tem that they had humbled just weeks ago? Whatever the reason, the fact is that this decision of his backfired, SPECTACULARLY at that. Kuszczak brought down Milan Baros in the box from what was a potential goal scoring opportunity, and I feel the referee got it right when he gave the keeper his marching orders. This left Man U without a goalkeeper, not a mention a man down. With all due respect to Rio Ferdinand, frankly he never stood a chance of denying the goal.

But this certainly did not prevent Ferguson from whining as usual, which he does after every defeat, no matter how bad his team played. And nowadays he is joined in this façade by his favourite player, Ronaldo. Their post match comments just went on to show how frustrated and blind to facts they get after being defeated. Yes, I certainly agree that Man U was on top in most of the match, and had they won, they would have certainly deserved it. But having said that, just making moves and creating chances isn’t enough. At the end of the day you’ve got to put them away for them to matter. Sir Alex has this innate belief that he can bully anyone, referees (and Beckham, pun intended) included, which sadly isn’t true (see what happened in the Beckham fiasco). And as to Ronaldo saying that he is afraid of tackles and thinks this will force him to change the way he plays, then he better start to look for another job. I mean you got to live with defenders pouring on you if you are the real danger. That I think is something to be proud of and not afraid and blame the officials for. I for one didn’t see even a single tackle that was dangerous or even close to what happened with Eduardo couple of weeks ago.

Well at least Chelsea took the defeat in their stride, accepting that yesterday, they were just not that good. In fact John Terry walked up to congratulate the rival manager and captain, praising them and wishing them to win the cup. That is how you deal honourably after being defeated by a smaller team. But then they really were very poor yesterday. Barnsley were in the match always and never got totally dominated. Maybe a lot had to do with the self belief that Barnsley had after dumping Liverpool (at Anfield at that) in the previous round. And also maybe they wanted the cup that much more. Chelsea on their part tried, but there was a touch of that urge, that hunger, amiss. John Terry missing from 5 yards out at the death is not what we see of Chelsea.

One has to look back to as far back as 1987 when it was last that none of the “big four” made it to the semi finals of the FA cup. And will we have to look ever further back to 1980 (which was the last when a team not from the Premiership won the title) well this only time will tell. But what’s for sure, is that Portsmouth cannot be complacent that they possibly are the strongest team left in the draw now. Because from what we’ve seen till now, its anybody’s cup (I for one would like to back Barnsley, not because they have beaten two Goliaths, but because this David has shown the most juvenile hunger to achieve something that no one considered they should even be allowed to dream). Oh, also one more thing for sure, the FA Cup its back to its glory and may it stay that way.

MILAN GUNNED DOWN

Arsenal-2, AC Milan-0. WOW!!! What a score line. The significance of it takes gigantic proportions when one realises that this is at “the San Siro”, a fortress at which NO English team had got better of the “Rossoneri” EVER. On watching the match it was clear that what was being touted as the biggest weakness of Arsenal, proved to be the difference among the two sides. I am referring to the “young” team that Arsene Wenger put against the might of an experienced Milan, boasting names such as Maldini, Kaka, Inzaghi etc. But it was the pace of these young guns and maybe also their hunger to win and prove the critics wrong that brought about the convincing win. The way Gael Clichy outpaced and got round Inzaghi for a crucial block early in the game, and at the opposite end of the clock, Walcott’s pace to outrun Milan’s backline and set up Adebayor for the second goal is ample proof of the above statement.

The match started much to the expectations of the home fans (who had come in hordes, packing the stadium to its full capacity of over 80,000)with the first 20 minutes completely belonging to the defending champions. Kaka and Inzaghi gave the Arsenal backs a tough time. But as would have been expected, led by Gallas, the defenders were concentrating well to deny their rivals any clear opportunity to have a shy at the goal. After the initial phase as Arsenal got their feet in it, the confidence soared. Fabregas was at what he does best, weaving in and out of the midfield, and Willy Sagna was showing why he is regarded so highly by his manager. Still the Milan defence is formidable and they showed it. That Adebayor was not at his best (actually he does not much relish the Champions League, having yet to score there this season), certainly did not help matters. Nevertheless Kalac was troubled and called upon to make some good saves. The game took a slightly controversial turn as Alexander Hleb went to ground just outside the box. Though replays showed clearly that he was brought down unfairly by Allesandro Nesta, the referee thought otherwise, instead showing him a yellow card for diving. However Arsenal should have been ahead going into the break, as Senderos had only Kalac to beat in the dying seconds, only to shoot straight into the hands of the huge keeper.

Second half again started in balance with both teams trying to maintain possession to create moves. As no team could get any significant breakthrough, it became more of a mid-field battle. With Adebeayor still not able to find his touch, Arsene Wenger brought about the much awaited change, substituting Eboue with Walcott. This immediately infused a fresh pace into the Arsenal team as he combined well with Fabregas. Walcott almost immediately had a great opportunity to open the scoring and add to his impressive tally in the Champions League, but Kalac made an equally good save, and Adebayor slipped when he could have scored on the rebound (this pretty much sums up the kind of day he had been having). With both teams in a gridlock and the defence of either not yielding an inch, frustration began to rise. Even a staid player like Kaka could not hide it, throwing the ball in disgust at an outline decision, only to be booked for it. At this time it was clear that a solitary goal may just be enough to decide the outcome and that it would more likely come out of a moment of inspired individual brilliance rather than some wonderful team play. And that brilliance did come in the 84^th minute.

Cesc Fabregas got the ball just inside the Milan half. He goside stepped Gennaro Gattuso, and still off the box from about 30 yards, pulled the trigger. This sudden shot even took Zeljko Kalac (who till then had been having a good day) by surprise and maybe he was just a fraction too late to dive to his right and stop the ball from finding the back of the net. Actually it was so unexpected that even my initial reaction was that he had palmed the ball out and it had struck the net from the outside. Only when I saw the wild reactions of the Arsenal contingent (and what relief showed on their faces), did I realise what had happened. But that takes nothing away from the quality of the kick. It had just the enough curl, placed right at the extreme edge of the net, and had the power that beat the Milan keeper in the first place. The absolute silence at the stadium (yes for a moment even the Arsenal fans were just as dumbstruck as the Milan fans, and also me) aptly showed the seriousness of the situation. The holders now needed not one, but two goals to go through, and that too in just over 5 minutes. This was in no way an easy deed, but one can never write off Milan till the final whistle, more so at the San Siro (and all of us saw what Liverpool did to Milan in the 2005 final in a madness filled 6 minutes).

However Arsenal were now totally on top (having buried the demons of the previous two weeks) and were determined to go through the “clean” way. As Milan poured bodies forward, they were always going to be vulnerable to the famed Arsenal counter-attack, and deep in stoppage time it happened. Walcott outran the last Milan defender (the tired legs of the older team were now showing against the young talent) as he chased a clearance from among his lines, got the better of another block and selflessly slid the ball to the poaching Adebayor, who (no matter however bad a spell he would have been in) could not have missed from 5 yards out. This killed the match for good, and even the Milan team and fans realised this.

The celebrations at the end were more of relief than ecstasy considering what the club has been through the past two weeks. More than the disappointment of registering no win in the past four games, or being knocked out of the league and FA cup; it was the horror injury to Eduardo that had shaken up the club. And this will certainly do much much more than just keep them alive in the Champions League. This will infuse a fresh confidence in them, give them the self belief that just maybe had started to diminish, and above all show all the critics and rival clubs that this team can go all the way. But as Wenger put it in the post match conference, they have to balance now between belief and humility, a quality required to be sonsistent at the top.

It had been billed as the sternest test of the “Young Gunners” this season, who had already proved everyone wrong by what they have achieved till now. But with this convincing win (no one expected them to score more than a goal at San Siro, if they score at all) the warning bugle has been sounded louder and clearer than before for all to hear and take heed. Beating the most successful team in recent history of the competition away, and dominating so much possession in the game is no mean feat. Arsene Wenger, or “The Professor” as he is known, has proved to be a master of nurturing young talent and shown yet again (how many times will he have to do this before people start accepting it) that its not just BIG NAMES that make a team great, team spirit and motivation can also win trophies. Having said this, there is still a long way to go for this team to be considered among the “Wenger’s Invincibles”, but if they are able to maintain what they showed yesterday, the omens are really good.

THE CAR THAT NEVER WAS

They say that music drives the world. But in this age of digitization even music has not escaped. While listening to a walkman is blasphemous, even diskman has become passé. Now is the age of downloaded music (more illegal than legal) and of tiny swanky mp3 players. So I too decided to grace myself with one. But as I looked for advice from my friends, as to which one to buy among the many to choose from, almost all had only one name to suggest, iPOD. This, when there were many other players that were much cheaper, offered additional facilities like FM and voice recording, and were much more user friendly. But none of my friends would even, so much as listen to these “excuses”.

This just reminded me of the Honda NSX (chances are you’ve not even heard the name). There are several reasons that the Honda NSX was a great car. It was fast, had lots of F1tech in it, was loaded to the brim with additional features and maybe the coup de grace was that it was tuned by the late F1 maestro Ayrton Senna; the list actually is pretty long. But still no one bought it and the car held the dubious record of being one of the biggest (and indeed rare) failures of the marquee. This was basically due to three reasons (ironically, the very three reasons which the company expected would be the biggest scoring points of the car):

1. It was pretty cheap (by supercar standards). Now no one wanted to associate himself with a supercar that your milkman came in (well slightly over the top, but then u get the point, right).

2. It was pretty easy to ride and did not demand all of one’s skill to keep him/her alive at the end of the day. How boring!!! Supercars are supposed to scare u, take the breath out of your lungs, send u into orbit, etc. In a tad oversimplified statement, they r supposed to thrill u beyond measure, and exist just on the fine line of being dangerous (we all love 007 type stunts, don’t we).

3. It was a Honda (coz in this category band image is everything). And before all u fans of the big ‘H’ start shouting “bloody murder” let me elaborate on my previous statement. I mean that Hondas are meant to take kids to school (and other such routine chores), which they ARE brilliant at. But they’re certainly not known to be great for straight lining corners, or power sliding out of them (track day tools that is). You take them to the mall, not “The Ring”.

Well, some may still challenge the third reason, citing the Nissan GTR and Chevrolet Corvette, as examples to prove it wrong. While I agree to the GTR being a cult car, it still is not counted in the hallowed realms of the Ferraris and Lambos. And in any case one can always count it as an exception rather than the norm. Oh, and as for the Corvette, less said the better. Tell me does ANYONE outside the US of A buy it? The answer as we all very well know is that none do; and as to the taste of the Yankees in cars, it can only be described (conservatively) as being, well………….strange. If you observe closely, many big manufacturers like Toyota and Ford have not even bothered to try (please please don’t name the GT40 and embarrass one and all). Actually the supercar (the real true blue supercar) still pretty much remains an exclusive European domain.

And this I put entirely on the culture and how automobiles have developed in the continents over a period of time. It’s same that the Europeans can never make a good muscle car unlike the Americans, and none can master the art of simplicity and space utilization like the Japs. So guys leave the experts to do their own jobs. Any effort to try and beat the other at his own game is more often than not going to end in tears, damaged egos and a gaping hole in the annual balance sheet. And when someone does venture into such a specialized field, the manufacturers sometimes get ambivalent, causing such disasters to happen. Also I think with several things you have to just ignore plain logic and listen to just the allure of the thing. A classic case then, of listening to your heart, rather than your head. So, I guess I too stuck with the times, ignored logic, listened to my heart (or maybe to the constant pestering of my friends) and the voice was clear, go get urself an iPOD.

ALAN SHEARER - KING OF NEWCASTLE

Yes I know, it is not the norm to write a testimonial to a living person, but when the person is as special as Alan Shearer, then he deserves something, well, special. Super Al (as he is affectionately called by his fans) was not just the ideal role model for a generation, he was the very embodiment of the perfect footballer in the 90s. his typical style to celebrate a goal, with true innocent happiness splashed across his face and one arm lifted, finger pointing towards the almighty was simple, yet heart warming. And it is this simplicity and humbleness of his (tough to find among footballers of his stature) that captivated fans not just in England, but all across the globe. This man was the reason I started watching football and he holds a very very special place in my eyes (which I don’t think any other sportsman might ever take).

Alan was born in Gosforth, England on 13 Aug 1970. He was interested in football at a very young age, but the irony was that the would be legend of Newcastle FC was rejected by the very club when he tested for their junior team as a goalkeeper at the tender age of 15 when he used to play for Wallsend Boys Club. But his talent did not go unnoticed for long, and he was soon picked up as an apprentice with Southampton, although as a striker and not as a goalkeeper. He made his debut as a substitute against Chelsea on 26 Mar 1988. But it was his full debut on 9 Apr 1988 that made national headlines as he scored a hat-trick against Arsenal at an age of 17 yrs and 240 days, thereby breaking the record of Jimmy Greaves to become the youngest player to score a hat-trick in top flight football.

His performance certainly aroused interest and in 1992 Blackburn manager Kenny Dalglish signed him up for £ 3.3 million (notable here is that Shearer turned down an offer from Manchester United then). Here actually started his rise. He was in prolific form, scoring 31 goals from 40 matches in the 1993-94 season, guiding his club to second position in the league. This won him the “Football Writer’s Footballer of the Year Award” that season. The arrival of Chris Sutton for the 1994-95 season led to the formation of the feared “SAS” (Shearer and Sutton) partnership. This added factor ensured that both Shearer and his club bettered their previous year’s record. Alan netted 34 goals from 42 matches, while Blackburn finished as champions of the Premiership, and this remains the legend’s only club silverware of his career. He moved up in the awards ladder too, winning the PFA Player of the Year Award. Next season also the form continued and he scored 31 goals from 35 matches, however the club could only finish a disappointing 7^th. These two seasons Shearer also got a taste of European football as Blackburn featured in the UEFA Cup and Champions League respectively, though with no success. Shearer was the highest scorer in the league for an astonishing 3 CONSECUTIVE SEASONS from 1994-95 till 1996-97

Alan was now in his prime and the poster boy of English football. In 1996 he received another offer from Manchester United, however Jack Walker would not allow this under any circumstances. So Shearer joined Newcastle United managed by his boyhood hero Kevin Keegan, and little did he know that this would change his life. He was transferred for a whopping (then) transfer fee of £15 million making him the MOST EXPENSIVE FOOTBALLER IN THE WORLD at the time. What followed, as they say, is history. This was the beginning of a very special relationship with Newcastle, Keegan and the Geordies. His first season at the club earned him his second PFA Player of the year award. Though the next three seasons were average by his high standards (as in the respect of number of goals scored). Nevertheless he guided Newcastle to two consecutive FA Cup finals, and to the semis in the third year. He was deservingly promoted to the position of captain in 1999, which he held till his retirement

Unfortunately his career in the national team was never as glamorous. He was picked up for the England U-21 team in 1989, scoring a whopping 13 goals in 11 matches. This potent spell did not go unnoticed, and the coach of the senior team, Graham Taylor gave him his debut against France in Feb 1992 (followed by his only match for England B team a month later). He impressed here too and scored in his debut with the country’s senior team. In the absence of the legendary Gary Linekar (who retired after Euro 92), Shearer was expected to spearhead the England with (another would be legend) Paul Gascoigne. However an injury kept him out of a large part of the 94 World Cup qualifiers, in which eventually England failed to progress. Though this was a big disappointment for everyone, Shearer decided to focus on the upcoming Euro 96. This would be his first major competition for his country, and he did not disappoint. Wearing the coveted captain’s armband (which he retained till he hung his boots), he lead by example, scoring 5 goals and thereby guiding England to the semi final. However, they were knocked out by (eventual winners) Germany in the penalties (though Shearer scored in that game and also converted his spot kick, but Gareth Southgate painfully shot wide). He was awarded the “Golden Boot” for being the highest scorer of the tournament, thus proving his credentials at the world stage amongst intense competition. He scored 5 times in the qualification campaign for the 98 World Cup, ensuring England qualified this time and he could realise his dream of representing his country in the World Cup finals (it was the only time he played in World Cup finals). Here again the ghost of penalty shoot out came back to haunt England and they maintained their abysmal record in it. This time the team was Argentina, and in the second round itself. Though Shearer converted, two of his teammates, Paul Ince and David Batty did not oblige. Qualifying for Euro 2000 saw him score his first hat-trick for England against Luxemborg. In the tournament his goal ensured England defeated Germany for the first time since the 1966 World Cup final. This would be his last tournament for England, as playing for both club and country took its toll, specially with age not being on his side any more. Shearer announced his retirement from international football after Euro 2000 to focus solely on Newcastle. Despite intense speculation that he would return to lead the team in the 2002 World Cup, he refused standing by his decision. In 63 appearances for his country, Shearer scored 30 goals, placing him joint fifth in the England all-time goal scorers list.

Shearer continued playing for his club, but announced he would retire at the end of the 2004-05 season. This received lots of pleas from fans and the management of Newcastle United, including his manager Graeme Souness, and after much deliberation he decided to continue in player-coach capacity till the end of the following season (a rarity in the game). However his swansong was not to be as pretty as everyone would have wanted. Playing against Sunderland on 17 Apr 06, with just three games remaining in the season (and his retirement), he suffered a tear to the medical collateral ligament in his left knee, rendering him unfit to play for the remaining matches. A testimonial match against Celtic was organised in his honour on 11 May 06 at St James’ Park which had ex-Newcastle players like Steve Watson, Gary Speed, Rob Lee and Les Ferdinand participating. Though Shearer’s injury did not allow him to play, nevertheless he initiated the kick off and scored a penalty to win the match for Newcastle. During the 2004-05 season, he scored his 201^st goal, surpassing the record of Jackie Milburn for the club. Eventually he finished with a tally of 260 Premier League goals, a record which stands till date. This brings his total tally for club and country to 422, with an average of 25 goals a season for his 17 years in professional football. These are phenomenal figures (by any standards) that any player in the world would be proud of.

Alan was awarded an Order of the British Empire for services to the Association Football in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2001. Also he was credited with Freedom of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in March the same year. There are hardly any unpleasant or controversial incidents to report in which Shearer was involved, as he generally kept a low profile and chose his football to do the talking instead. However the only incident that comes close was during the latter part of the 1997-98 season when he kicked Neil Lennon in the head at Leicester City during a Premiership match, but was not punished for the same. The FA Chief Executive Graham Kelly later claimed in his autobiography that Shearer threatened to walk out on the World Cup squad if he was punished by the FA. Shearer vehemently denied (and continues to do so) this and said that the incident itself was purely accidental.

What Alan Shearer has achieved in his career, very few can even dream of. Yet more than his football achievements, it was his sportsmanship and honesty that earned him respect and admiration from fans and rivals alike. He has been in lot of news recently, being linked to the post of the Newcastle manager. But Shearer, though not denying it at some stage, has refused to take the post presently saying he requires time with his family. While none will question his appointment as manager at any time, all respect his decision understanding the toll that professional football takes on the personal life of all those involved in it (more so the players). The fact that there is little doubt of him returning in similar capacity in the future was echoed by the present Newcastle manager (and Shearer’s ,mentor at the club) when he said in a press conference recently, “Alan Shearer is going to manage this football club one day, that’s for sure.” And when he actually does, all the Geordies and thousand others (like me) will watch with bated breath as the legend stalks the pitch again, playing his magic, albeit from the sidelines now.

SMALL CAR, FOR A BIG CAUSE

As Ratan Tata launched the Nano amid much fanfare, there were lot of skeptical eyes looking at him (including mine), but they were surely outnumbered by thousands of hopeful ones. However what has transpired following the launch has surprised many. I’m referring to the fact that the car is yet to receive a negative review and, in fact what were supposedly its Achilles’ heel (namely emissions and safety) too have been appreciated.

What the Tata’s have done is not just make a decent car (this they’ve done earlier too, with the Indica), but instead they’ve given the vast underprivileged lot of the country a tool to realize their dreams, cause a car in India was still a dream, until now. This places him right up there in the league of greats such as Gottlieb Daimler and Henry Ford, two men credited with empowering the world with affordable personal mobility. And surely it does not finish here. With the launch of the Nano, Ratan Tata has announced the arrival of India in the automotive scene with authority. What many have tried to do and failed (Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn came the closest with the Logan) has been done, and done beautifully at that by a relatively low profile manufacturer.

But it evn does not end here. This small car has given birth to one of the biggest debates in the country and caused people to question the government on some much wanted but forgotten issues. Lot of people have criticized the car prior to launch, which includes prominent ministers and social activists stating that the car will increase pollution, cause mega traffic jams and burden the economy in the means of increased oil imports. I feel they all are missing the target. They are focusing on the problems and not the solutions. What they should be stressing about instead, are the need for better road infrastructure and mass transport and more importantly bring them closer to international standards. This will automatically solve what they’re afraid of, cause Nano or no Nano, what they’re hinting at will happen sooner or later. And just to bring things in perspective, India has 3.5 four wheelers per sq km of road space. This is lower than all “comparable” countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Even if we take Delhi at 47.5 per km, it is still lower than the other country averages. Further the developed countries have far more vehicles on a much smaller landmass. But they still are not in such bad a condition as ours. Why? The answer is very simple, firstly they have a very effective mass transport system. Think logically, given an option why would I drive daily to office (n take risk, spend money) if I have decent mass transport system. The success of the Delhi metro being a cse in point. Secondly these countries have regulations which discourage the use (and not purchase of cars). They are many such as congestion taxes in London, or environmental taxes (based on the car’s particulate emissions) in California.

Continuing with the Tatas, they’re not just content at this and are very close to sealing the purchase of Jaguar, one of the most respected luxury sports brands in the world. And that an Indian company purchases an icon of the erstwhile “Raj” makes it all the more sweet. The contribution of Tata for the country could not have been brought out better than as by Vir Sanghvi in Counterpoint, Hindustan Times dated Sunday 13 Jan 08. They ought to be applauded for all their efforts and not ridiculed for the problem that is not even of their own making. The Tatas have always been trying to give the best of the automotive world to the common Indian and no other manufacturer can even come close to what they’ve achieved in such a short span of time with so many restrictions imposed on them.

But all said and done, in the democracy one can’t stop a manufacturer from launching cars, nor can one stop people from buying it. What instead can be done is that they can be discouraged from diving it often. And this can only be achieved only by the government making policies in favour of it. But all this only after the people have a way out in the name of effective mass transport system. In the mean time, we’ll have to wait and see if the Nano will become an icon of changing times or just another drop in the million annoying, polluting vehicles plying on our hapless roads.

FORCE INDIA……OR JUST…….SOURCE INDIA

Well finally, the dust has settled and after all the hype of the maiden Indian venture into the glossy world of Formula 1, the team has officially presented its drivers for the season. And as we all know, there are no Indian drivers. So, did the enigmatic Dr. Mallya, who promised so much, deliver little? On one hand he gave birth to a thousand dreams, fulfilled even more after buying a team, and then………………….broke many of them with his choice of drivers. But is that such a bad thing?

Yes certainly if we consider the present form of both Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok, many would say that they certainly deserved to be included as the team’s drivers, and maybe it is right. But these people forget to consider that Dr. Mallya is not the sole owner of the team. Instead he has to satisfy his Dutch partner (who has already been pretty accommodating in the naming of the team) and his many sponsors. It many also be noted here that without these crucial people, there would have been no Force India. And a team which has to pump in about $123 million per year has to give business its due respect too, else we have seen far too often what happens to half hearted ventures.

Before you start sulking I don’t intend to say that business is all and what is happening is right. No, I just want to say that maybe it is logical. Now if the team performs decent this season and assure a strong participation for the next, then Dr. Mallya will have more authority to persuade the sponsors for an Indian driver. And also by then if the present form of the Indian drivers continue (and I’m pretty confident about that), it will remove any element of doubt from people’s minds that the present state is just a flash in the pan.

Finally it’s all speculation now. All that matters is that even if Force India does well with its present drivers it will still be a great achievement for India. Not many countries have even reached till here. And I for one have no doubt that Dr. Mallya has given us a good start, something to hold on to. Then a day may also come when an Indian driver, in and Indian team, may drive, and drive competitively at that. Amen!!!

WIN DIESEL!!!

Well I’m back after a long long lay off. Let me then start with one of the hottest topics in the Indian automotive scene. We all have been hit by the hike in fuel prices, which now occur more regularly then the monsoon hits our coast. So where does the poor common man run. His choices are:

1. Walk – Nah!

2. Use public transport – Do we have that in our cities? And where public transport does work, it seems to be hunting grounds for some fundamentalist psychopaths.

3. So, finally he is driven to the novel invention of one MR. Rudolf Diesel (now don’t tell me you can’t get the hint).

The stage seems to be well set then, for Bosch which has recently set up a 550 crore facility in Bangalore. The confidence that Bosch has in the diesel Indian market can be easily seen by the fact that the plant is geared up to produce 300,000 pumps a year, a quantum leap from the 40,000 it produces currently according to the present market demand.

And the initial signs are good. Maruti and M&M have already inked deals for different kinds of pumps that suit each company’s product’s requirements. Also Hyundai is in the foray and holding talks for using Bosch pumps in most of its products.

What further adds to the customer’s joy is that he will not only spend less on fuel, but also get the latest technology engines (well no one does it better than Bosch), cause less pollution and all this at a lower initial investment too. This is possible due to the high localization content in the Bosch products that help keep costs in check more than anything else.

So gone are the days when we used to associate diesel engine vehicles as noisy, uncomfortable, planet killing machines suited only to the rural environs. Instead now we’ll see them giving their petrol counterparts a tough time in any comparison whatsoever. So lets all just keep our fingers crossed as coming ahead are a flurry of great launches from all manufacturers (and some new too) in every price band and genres one can imagine.

FERRARI 599GTB FIORANO

Someone once told me that writing an article about a Ferrari is rather stupid. Anyone even faintly interested in cars knows about them, people interested a little more will have their pics all over their walls and pc screens; but hardly any of them will be even able to ride it, let alone own it. So who would want to read an article about them? Sounds pretty logical, more so considering no one in my circle of influence is privileged enough to own one (well I don’t think that by me not buying a Reliance phone/fuel it’ll influence Mr. Ambani). But still, there was something about this car, the Ferrari 599GTB Fiorano, that compelled me to write about it.

Personally, I consider this recently launched Ferrari to be one of the most visually appealing design penned down by Pininfarina for the Maranello based company. I’ll put it right up there with a 250GT in my list of all time gorgeous looking Ferraris. Well while this point may be debatable, what is certainly not debatable, is the mechanical superiority of the car. Infact it is already being hailed as the best V12 Ferrari ever.

If I start writing about all its features, this article will become far too beg, so instead I’ll restrict myself to the main modifications which stand out. Officially, the replacement of the 575M, the car borrows its 65 degree, 5999cc V12 engine from the Enzo. The engine though is thoroughly reworked and detuned for greater reliability and fuel efficience (read that as more miles before you hit the workshop for engine repairs). This has come at a cost of 6% loss of power, which still at a staggering 612bhp is more than enough to take you to heaven (both in the literal sense and as a sense of euphoria). Ferrari took it mid way in the body deparment, making it entirely of aluminium (575M was steel, while the exclusive Enzo was carbon fibre). All this boils down to a 0-100 kmph sprint time of 3.7 sec and a top speed in excess of 330 kmph. Mindblowing! The car also produces a phenomenal 160kg of downforce (more than 10% of its own weight) after crossing 300 ks. But what is more significant is that the designers have achieved all this without any spoilers or ugly aerodynamic part protruding out (to aid airflow but spoil the curves of the car in the process), instead this has been achieved by a carefully contrived undertray giving a superb coefficient of drag, which is 0.34.

Now, for what probably is the most significant aspect of this car. Ferrari’s traditional double wishbones at each corner now carry magneto rheological (MR) dampers, a technology that a very few manufacturers can boast of (the recently launched Audi TT is one of the very few). Rheological fluids change viscosity in response to an applied electric field (electro-rheological), or magnetic field (magneto-rheological) as in the case of the Ferrari. The magnetic field is varied by electromagnets coiled around each damper. Ferrari says that the MR dampers react in 10milliseconds when the control information that determines the coil current required for each damper is updated every millisecond. Compare it to the earlier mechanical system where control information was updated every 10millisecond and the dampers took upto 4 times as long to deliver the required damping force.

Ferrari is yet to confirm the pricing on the 599, but a tag of Rs. 1,28,00,000 (excluding duties) is expected. But hold, just having the required green bucks won’t guarantee this beauty in your garage, as you have to convince Ferrari first that you status befits the car. In that case I think it is better for people like me, who cannot own it and so I won’t have to face the ignominy to be refused by the company even though I have the money. But certainly I don’t require Ferrari’s permission to buy a poster of it (or in our net savvy age, ‘to download a wallpaper of it’ will be more apt), or even write an article about it!!!

FUEL INJECTION PART II

Let’s continue from where we left yesterday and delve a little deeper to understand how the ECU does its calculations.

The engine control unit uses a formula and a large number of lookup tables to determine the pulse width for given operating conditions. The equation will be a series of many factors multiplied by each other. Many of these factors will come from lookup tables. We'll go through a simplified calculation of the fuel injector pulse width. In this example, our equation will only have three factors, whereas a real control system might have a hundred or more.

Pulse width = (Base pulse width) x (Factor A) x (Factor B)

In order to calculate the pulse width, the ECU first looks up the base pulse width in a lookup table. Base pulse width is a function of engine speed (RPM) and load (which can be calculated from manifold absolute pressure). Let's say the engine speed is 2,000 RPM and load is 4. We find the number at the intersection of 2,000 and 4, which is 8 milliseconds.

In the next examples, A and B are parameters that come from sensors. Let's say that A is coolant temperature and B is oxygen level. If coolant temperature equals 100 and oxygen level equals 3, the lookup tables tell us that Factor A = 0.8 and Factor B = 1.0.

So, since we know that base pulse width is a function of load and RPM, and that pulse width = (base pulse width) x (factor A) x (factor B), the overall pulse width in our example equals:

8 x 0.8 x 1.0 = 6.4 milliseconds

From this example, you can see how the control system makes adjustments. With parameter B as the level of oxygen in the exhaust, the lookup table for B is the point at which there is (according to engine designers) too much oxygen in the exhaust; and accordingly, the ECU cuts back on the fuel. Real control systems may have more than 100 parameters, each with its own lookup table. Some of the parameters even change over time in order to compensate for changes in the performance of engine components like the catalytic converter. And depending on the engine speed, the ECU may have to do these calculations over a hundred times per second.

This leads us to discussion of performance chips. Now that we understand a little bit about how the control algorithms in the ECU work, we can understand what performance-chip makers do to get more power out of the engine. Performance chips are made by aftermarket companies, and are used to boost engine power. There is a chip in the ECU that holds all of the lookup tables; the performance chip replaces this chip. The tables in the performance chip will contain values that result in higher fuel rates during certain driving conditions. For instance, they may supply more fuel at full throttle at every engine speed. They may also change the spark timing (there are lookup tables for that, too). Since the performance-chip makers are not as concerned with issues like reliability, mileage and emissions controls as the carmakers are, they use more aggressive settings in the fuel maps of their performance chips.

Various Injection Schemes

Multi-Port Fuel Injection (PFI or EFI or SEFI):
The goal of all fuel injection systems is to carefully meter the amount of fuel to each cylinder. On most gasoline applications, the system uses a single injector per cylinder and injects fuel immediately ahead of the intake valves.

Direct Injection:
Recently many diesel engines feature direct injection (DI). The injection nozzle is placed inside the combustion chamber and the piston incorporates a depression (often toroidal) where initial combustion takes place. Direct injection diesel engines are generally more efficient and cleaner than indirect injection engines, but tend to be noisier, which is being addressed in newer common rail designs.

Some recently designed hi-tech petrol engines utilize direct injection as well. This is the next step in evolution from multi port fuel injection and offers another magnitude of emission control by eliminating the "wet" portion of the induction system.

That’s it. I think after this you should not feel uncomfortable when the salesman talks to you about fuel injection and emmission control (infact you could teach him a thing or two now). Anyways if you want to know more or have any queries about the info above please feel free to mail me. Till next time them.

TECH STUFF: FUEL INJECTION

In this two part series i'll try and explain the modern fuel injection systems which have replaced carburetors (in India only in cars till date). I'll try and keep it as simple as possible so that everyone can appreciate it despite his/her engineering info level. Hope you find it interesting and informative, but as always pls do write back your suggestion/queries to me.

For most of the existence of the internal combustion engine, the carburetor has been the device that supplied fuel to the engine. On many other machines, such as lawnmowers and chainsaws, it still is. But as the automobile evolved, the carburetor got more and more complicated trying to handle all of the operating requirements. For instance, to handle some of these tasks, carburetors had five different circuits:

1. Main circuit - Provides just enough fuel for fuel-efficient cruising.
2. Idle circuit - Provides just enough fuel to keep the engine idling.
3. Accelerator pump - Provides an extra burst of fuel when the accelerator pedal is first depressed, reducing hesitation before the engine speeds up.
4. Power enrichment circuit - Provides extra fuel when the car is going up a hill or towing a trailer.
5. Choke - Provides extra fuel when the engine is cold so that it will start.

In order to meet stricter emissions requirements, catalytic converters were introduced. Very careful control of the air-to-fuel ratio was required for the catalytic converter to be effective. Oxygen sensors monitor the amount of oxygen in the exhaust, and the engine control unit (ECU) uses this information to adjust the air-to-fuel ratio in real-time. This is called closed loop control - it was not feasible to achieve this control with carburetors. There was a brief period of electrically controlled carburetors before fuel injection systems took over, but these electrical carbs were even more complicated than the purely mechanical ones.

At first, carburetors were replaced with throttle body fuel injection systems (also known as single point or central fuel injection systems) that incorporated electrically controlled fuel-injector valves into the throttle body. These were almost a bolt-in replacement for the carburetor, so the automakers didn't have to make any drastic changes to their engine designs.

Gradually, as new engines were designed, throttle body fuel injection was replaced by multi-port fuel injection (also known as port, multi-point or sequential fuel injection). These systems have a fuel injector for each cylinder, usually located so that they spray right at the intake valve. These systems provide more accurate fuel metering and quicker response.
The gas pedal in your car is connected to the throttle valve - this is the valve that regulates how much air enters the engine. So the gas pedal is really the air pedal. When you step on the gas pedal, the throttle valve opens up more, letting in more air. The engine control unit (ECU, the computer that controls all of the electronic components on your engine) "sees" the throttle valve open and increases the fuel rate in anticipation of more air entering the engine. It is important to increase the fuel rate as soon as the throttle valve opens; otherwise, when the gas pedal is first pressed, there may be a hesitation as some air reaches the cylinders without enough fuel in it. Sensors monitor the mass of air entering the engine, as well as the amount of oxygen in the exhaust. The ECU uses this information to fine-tune the fuel delivery so that the air-to-fuel ratio is just right.

A fuel injector is nothing but an electronically controlled valve. It is supplied with pressurized fuel by the fuel pump in your car, and it is capable of opening and closing many times per second. When the injector is energized, an electromagnet moves a plunger that opens the valve, allowing the pressurized fuel to squirt out through a tiny nozzle. The nozzle is designed to atomize the fuel - to make as fine a mist as possible so that it can burn easily. The amount of fuel supplied to the engine is determined by the amount of time the fuel injector stays open. This is called the pulse width, and it is controlled by the ECU. The injectors are mounted in the intake manifold so that they spray fuel directly at the intake valves. A pipe called the fuel rail supplies pressurized fuel to all of the injectors.

In order to provide the correct amount of fuel for every operating condition, the engine control unit (ECU) has to monitor a huge number of input sensors. Here are just a few:

1. Mass airflow sensor - Tells the ECU the mass of air entering the engine.
2. Oxygen sensor(s) - Monitors the amount of oxygen in the exhaust so the ECU can determine how rich or lean the fuel mixture is and make adjustments accordingly.
3. Throttle position sensor - Monitors the throttle valve position (which determines how much air goes into the engine) so the ECU can respond quickly to changes, increasing or decreasing the fuel rate as necessary.
4. Coolant temperature sensor - Allows the ECU to determine when the engine has reached its proper operating temperature.
5. Voltage sensor - Monitors the system voltage in the car so the ECU can raise the idle speed if voltage is dropping (which would indicate a high electrical load).
6. Manifold absolute pressure sensor - Monitors the pressure of the air in the intake manifoldThe amount of air being drawn into the engine is a good indication of how much power it is producing; and the more air that goes into the engine, the lower the manifold pressure, so this reading is used to gauge how much power is being produced.
7. Engine speed sensor - Monitors engine speed, which is one of the factors used to calculate the pulse width.

There are two main types of control for multi-port systems: The fuel injectors can all open at the same time, or each one can open just before the intake valve for its cylinder opens (this is called sequential multi-port fuel injection). The advantage of sequential fuel injection is that if the driver makes a sudden change, the system can respond more quickly because from the time the change is made, it only has to wait only until the next intake valve opens, instead of for the next complete revolution of the engine. The algorithms that control the engine are quite complicated. The software has to allow the car to satisfy emissions requirements for 100,000 miles, meet EPA fuel economy requirements and protect engines against abuse. And there are dozens of other requirements to meet as well.

In the next part I'll we'll see how is this accurate fuel metering achieved, types of injection schemes and much more.

EXCISE DUTY CUT – HOW MUCH A BOON?

In the recent budget the finance ministry gave the automobile industry a gift by reducing excise duty by 8% (from 24 to 16), on all cars within 4000mm length and having engine capacity no more than 1200cc for petrol & 1500cc for diesel power trains. But is everything really as rosy as it looks? Well, look deeper and I think you’ll find some flaws in it. To know more read on.

Before we dwell deep I would like to make it clear that everyone knows the benefits here, that of small cars becoming more affordable for the common man, so I’ll leave it at that. Instead I’ll focus on the not so obvious side effects.

Firstly, this really plays into the hands of Maruti-Suzuki (partly owned by the state, so do I smell a rat here….. nah), as most of its models stand to get benefited. No wonder then, that Jagdish Khattar was all smiles after the budget was announced. But other manufacturers were not so enthusiastic. These were the reactions of three big wigs of Indian car industry:

“The industry has seen maximum growth in the mid-size car segment, with small-car buyers upgrading to bigger cars. With a segmented duty structure, the gap between a small car and a sedan becomes larger, making the up gradation that much more difficult for the customer.”
Rajive Saharia, GM, Sales & Marketing, Honda Siel

“A level playing field is essential to encourage global manufacturers to participate more actively in India. An excise duty reduction across the board would have been aligned with India’s globalisation actions.”
Arvind Mathew, MD, Ford India

“We can’t understand why there are two conditions-engine and length-for the differential excise duty. There are new technologies available which make higher displacement engines more fuel efficient so why have the engine cut-off?”Rajeev Chaba, MD, GM India

What the General Manager of Honda says above is true. This certainly is a time, when due to the boom in economy people are shifting up a ladder in respect to buying cars (read that as cars which occupy more real estate and have bigger engines). See the increase in sales of Swift/City/Fiesta as compared to the 800/Santro and you’ll realise it (and I’m certainly not referring to those exotic cars which don’t mean anything to you and me other than fancy bedroom posters maybe).

Also this is forcing manufacturers to rethink (or maybe redesign is the word here) their upcoming launches. To name a few (which are the most anticipated ones), Fiat’s Grande Punto (4030mm) and Ford’s Fusion (4018mm, though already launched) are agonisingly close but still out of the tax relief (ah…that hurts). The same goes for GM’s Aveo UV-A, but this time the culprit are its petrol engines (1400cc & 1600cc, and so their MD’s frustration about the engine limit). Everyone’s trying whatever is possible to make their cars to adhere to the so called ‘magic figures’ (call it the making of ‘Honey I Shrunk The Car’!!!). In the case of Fiat and Ford, modifications to the bumper might be able to do the job, but things are not so simple for the General (I guess one can’t shrink an engine that easily). Hence it seems that the Aveo UV-A will now be launched with a 1200cc, 70bhp engine instead. Not only does this delay the launch, but the Indian customer just might lose out on two good engines which people in other parts of the world get to relish.

Talking of engines, with today’s technology, cubic capacity is not as relevant as before (as has been aptly brought out by the MD, GM) . Why, a 2 litre hybrid engine is more fuel efficient and gives out lower emissions than a conventional 1.2 litre petrol unit. Look at the engines of City and Octavia, both of which return better ‘kmpl’ figures and are much more environment friendly than many of the cars having much smaller engines as compared to them (and they certainly are a pleasure to drive too).

So maybe the ministry has rushed through the decision and could have given it some more thought. One option would be to tax cars based on its emissions and fuel consumption, rather than size. Or maybe they could have increased the length restriction a little bit to at least take into account all upcoming basic hatchbacks.

In the end these are just my thoughts, and they certainly will vary from person to person. I would also like to bring out here that it is certainly a step in the right direction, and will bring cars within the reach of a much wider spectrum of people, only that maybe (just maybe) it could have been done in a slightly better way so as to benefit more people and encourage global companies to bring in new technologies into India. At the parting note I’ll request all of you who read it to please give it a thought and do write back to me about your views/ideas on it.

It’s official: Kawasaki have revealed that the ZZ-R1400 will be the most powerful series production bike in the world. When released next month, it will come with a whopping 200PS on tap, made at 9500rpm with the aid of the ram air system. Interestingly, Kawasaki also suggests that without the benefit of the high-pressure air intake system the bike would yet make 190PS, making the bike a power benchmark any which way in the world.

It may have the power but the Kawasaki boffins also wanted to make it a bike with impressive usage qualities in the real world. The 1352cc four develops 154Nm of torque at a low 7500rpm using relatively small 43mm throttle bodies – these units being 3mm narrower than those on the ZX-12R. To go along with the gut-wrenching torque with massive loads of bottom-end thrust is a clever fuel injection system with a twin butterfly set-up in the throttles. One of the two butterflys is rider-controlled while the other is computer-controlled, a system conceived to smoothen the massive rush of horses the engine is capable of unleashing.

What makes the ZZ-R1400 even more impressive is that while it appears large and bulbous, it is amazingly light. Power and weight figures Kawasaki hadn’t revealed at the bike’s launch late last year but now it can be told that the ZZ-R1400 weighs in at 215kg dry – a whole 21 kilos less than the old ZZ-R1200. But even more astonishing is the fact that this stonker even weighs one kilo less than the ZX-12R!

Kawasaki had clearly sought to keep many vital stats behind the ZZ-R1400 close to its chest until it had readied the bike for launch and now the figures are tumbling out thick and fast. Despite its visual and obvious length, its 1460mm wheelbase is just 10mm longer than a ZX-12R. It may be termed a sports tourer but it surely has the emphasis on sport because its steering rake angle of 23 degrees is steeper than many superbikes, and a full two degrees less than the ZX-12R. No wonder that the radial brake callipers and those wavy disc rotors suddenly justify their existence.

Much of the business behind the ZZ-R1400 hinges around the innovative manner of the Kawasaki’s monocoque frame construction and the way the mechanicals have been packaged. The compact nature of the four-cylinder in-line engine is the key ingredient – no wider than the ZX-12R unit even though it is larger in capacity. Kawasaki have adopted the mass centralisation theme on the ZZ-R1400 and there is virtually no weight positioned outside the central section of the bike barring the sub frame to mount the seat and the tail piece bodywork.

The way the Kawasaki designers have been able to mount the battery and the airbox inside the hollow monocoque frame (which runs over the engine like a backbone spine) is sheer genius towards attaining the compact form. The fuel tank resides under the front of the seat, keeping the variable weight low and close to the bike’s C of G.
From the specs alone, Kawasaki’s ZZ-R1400 seems to be a stonker and looks set to etch a new standard in overall performance terms. The competition should have a hard time just trying to stay in its wake this year.

Fast facts
Cost: Rs 7,19,600
Power: 197.3bhp
Torque: 114ftlb
Weight: 215kg (dry)