March  5,  2015

Witness 

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Proudly  Bidvest  Yamaha  rider  Brett  Swanepoel  will  aim  to  get  to  the  top  in  the  fastest time  for  a  win  in  E1  (200cc)  Class  at  Creighton  on  Saturday.PHOTO:  DIRTRACING

Creighton double  billTop bikers converge for two enduro roundsELZA  THIART­BOTES

THE Myddleton dam near Creighton will on Sat­urday and Sunday host two of the six rounds inthe 2015 SA Liquorland National Enduro Motor­cycle Championship.

The championship has new rules that includeE1 (200 cc) and E2 (Open) riders starting togeth­er,  followed  by  High  School  and  Senior  Classcompetitors, with the Master Class riders behindthem. Races will run on adjusted time and notreal  time  like  in  the past. The use of a GPS  isalso compulsory  for national  competitors.   

Correct interpretation of the new rules may yetdetermine which of the large number of talentedenduro  competitors  will  emerge  the  winner  intheir  classes. 

The new High School Class Championship hasnot only  attracted a  slew of  local  entries  fromKZN, but riders from as far as Gauteng, Richard’sBay, Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Middelburgin Mpumalanga. Eduan Bester (KTM CenturionLiqui Moly Racing) will defend his  title. 

The E classes have received more than 40 en­tries, while the Senior and Masters Classes havealso received a healthy number of quality entries.

The  defending  E1  champion,  Wade  Young(Brother Leader Tread KTM), is taking a shortbreak from his international racing and has en­tered in the open E2 Class against the defendingE2 champion, Altus de Wet, who will be ridinghis new Sherco motorcycle. 

Other top contenders in the E2 are LouwrensMahoney  as  well  as  his  Brother  Leader  TreadKTM team­mate, Scott Bouverie, and Kenny Gil­bert  (Proudly  Bidvest  Yamaha),  who  finishedthird  in E2  last  year. 

They will do well  to  look out  for new riderslike Tim Young (Kargo Racing Yamaha), BronsonLouw (Husqvarna Factory Racing) and NicholasPienaar  (Husqvarna).

In the E1 class Travis Teasdale, who finished

second last year, and Brett Swanepoel (ProudlyBidvest  Yamaha)  will  go  for  the  top  honours.

Swanepoel finished second in the 2014 Roofof Africa, but he faces a hard race from last year’sSilver Class Challenge winner, Dylan Barker (PaMa Racing Yamaha) and Henco Botha (KTM);Dwayne Kleynhans, who is now also sporting thecolours of Brother Leader Tread KTM; and Mich­ael Pentecost (Kargo Racing Yamaha) to namebut a  few. 

It is interesting to see the name of the multipleSA motorcross champion, Richie van der West­huizen (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha), competing inthe national  enduro E1  class  this  year.   

Other riders who have achieved some good re­sults in 2014, include Mauritz Meiring (Husqvar­na Factory Racing), Kyle Flanagan (Ihobe Interna­tional  KTM)  and  Brandon  Warwick­Oliver(Team Liquorland Racing Yamaha) who will allagain be  in action.

In the Senior Class for “ooms” over 38, nine­times national champ William “Wild Will” Gillittand Bruce May are now part of Team AgriSalesPeak Yamaha and will aim to put their new teamon the top step of the championship. Jody Engel­brecht (Yamaha) will also be back in action aswill Steve Landman (Team Liquorland Racing Ya­maha).

In the Master Class for toppies over 46, HiltonHayward (Proudly Bidvest Yamaha) will competewith multiple Master Class champ, Denzil Torla­ge, who played second fiddle to Alfie Cox (KTM)last year. Cox will not defend his title this year.

ENDURO  STAGES:Saturday,  March  7:  Three  special  stages  of  which  two will  again  be  used  at  round  two  on  Sunday.Sunday  March  8:  Two  special  stages  from  Saturday’s  rac­ing  with  new  stage  added.The  enduro  will  take  place  at  the  Myddleton  Dam  (GPS:  S 290  58’  37.1”  /  E290  50’  36.74”)  outside  Creighton.

‘Wheels’  festival  date  changeALWYN  VILJOEN

THE organisers of the Hesketh Festival of Wheels,of which this supplement is the media partner,wishes to inform the public that the plans for theevent have changed.

The  vision  is  to  grow  the  annual  MsunduziHospice Car Fair by inaugurating an annual carpicnic. The idea was that car fans and people inter­ested in buying vehicles could be driven aroundthe  scenic old  race  track  in Hayfields.

However, the most devastating hail storm inrecorded history, on top of the costs of improvingthe track to comply with the Safety at Sport andRecreational  Events  Act,  (Nr  2  of  2010)  havenipped  this vision  in  the bud.

Many of the new­car dealers in town each suf­fered well over R1 million in damages when largehail stones hammered their new models, smashedwindows and left once­smooth flanks looking likegolf balls. One dealer had just had a load of newcars delivered, another was caught in the midstof  the  storm with 41 models damaged.

The changed plan stills entails rides and activi­ties, but  the event will be held on September  5at the Hospice, with activities hosted on both sidesof Swartkop Road in Pietermaritzburg. The Hes­

keth  Motor  Club,  DY  Performance,  MsunduziHospice and Witness Wheels apologise for any in­convenience  this  change may have caused.

CEO  of  Msunduzi  Hospice  Warren  Oxford­Hugget said the expanded Car Fair on Septem­ber 5 remains a festival of wheels, with  4x4 ridesin the latest top models, as well as active displaysof the technological tricks luxurious vehicles cando  these days. 

The Rotarians, who boast the best­value baconand egg burger this side of the planetoid Sedna,(which  is on  the  far  side of Pluto) will  cater.

• ‘TOP  GEAR’  FESTIVAL  ALSO  CHANGESMeanwhile,  the  organisers  of  the  Top  Gear  Fes­tival  announced  on  Monday  that  the  event  will move  from  the  Moses  Mabhida  Stadium  in Durban  to  Johannesburg.  James  Cooke­Priest, COO  of  Top  Gear  Live,  said  they  are  looking  for an  alternative  destination  for  a  Top  Gear  Live event  and  hope  to  have  more  news  very  soon.

Fans  who  have  already  bought  vouchers  toattend  this  year’s  event  have  been  contacted regarding  their  orders  and  offered  alternatives. Updates  regarding  the  alternative  Top  Gear  Live event  will  be  made  in  the  press  in  coming weeks.

Japanese built  the ultimate braai  vanPAGE  6

2 WitnessWheels March  5,  2015    MOTORING   

Dutch  Windwheel  to  rival  London  Eye

Hoping  to  attract  1,5  million  tourists  with  a  3D  roller­coaster  interactive  cinema  and  underwater  tours,  a  Dutch consortium  plans  to  build  this  giant  windwheel  in  the  harbour  of  Rotterdam.PHOTO:  SUPPLIED

ALWYN  VILJOEN

WHAT happens when a nation of peolewho can dry out the sea set their mindsto building a roller coaster with a differ­ence?

You get the Windwheel, soon to bebuilt  by  the  Dutch    WindwheelCorporation.  (And, of  course, Wheelswill be the first to report on this devel­opment  in print.) 

The giant wheel is to be environmen­tally friendly, will be a tourist magnetand if the spectacular views over Rotter­dam are not enough for the million ormore visitors, the inside hosts a 3D roll­er­coaster  interactive  cinema  which

provides a trip through the history ofDutch water management.

This may sound like a drip, but thisis a nation whose notions of water man­agement  are  considered  extreme  hy­draulics  anywhere else on  the globe.

Hence part of the ride takes the peo­ple under water. 

So far, the Windwheel is only a nicescreen saver, but an alliance is alreadybeing formed between developers,  in­vestors,  research  institutes, operators,government  agencies,  energy  compa­nies  and  marketing  organisations  tobuild  it.

Based on the current number of visi­tors to the Netherlands and Rotterdam,

it  is  expected  that  around  1,5 millionpeople will visit the Dutch Windwheelper year, based on hospitality researchby NBTC Holland Marketing in 2013.

The outer ring houses 40 cabins thatrun on rails. The innovative lighting anddigital information layer in the windowsof  the  cabins  make  these  cabins  anexperience  in  themselves. 

Built  with  materials  from  theRotterdam region, the harbour and thesurrounding steel  industry,  the DutchWindwheel is designed for disassemblyand reuse. A pioneering wind turbineconverts wind energy with a frameworkof  steel  tubes  into electricity withoutmoving mechanical parts.

Tesla power at  homeBatteries from Panasonic and Tesla’s plant can costs 30% less First Tesla brought the world the fast­est­accelerating electric  cars.

Now Tesla CEO Elon Musk wantsto use the batteries in his cars to powerhomes across  the world.

Musk told analysts during a recentconference that the same lithium­ionbatteries made by Panasonic  for theTesla electric vehicles will be used topower a home.

Green Car reports the batteries willstore  excess  energy  generated  fromsolar panels during the day to supplypower at night.

Musk  and  his  company,  however,remained tight­lipped on the detail ofthe project,  telling Green Car they’renot sharing any additional  informa­tion about  their  energy storage andhome  batteries  for  several  monthshence. 

Musk did tell the analysts “the Tes­la home battery, or consumer battery”,will be  in people’s houses or business­es “fairly soon”.  He said the batteriescould go into production by Septem­ber.  “We’re trying to figure out a dateto have the product unveiling — it’sprobably  in the next month or two.It’s  really great,” he  said.

Electric Car News expects that theTesla home battery system will be animprovement on the home batteriesTesla has been supplying to its solarpanel maker, SolarCity, in California.

Those batteries are currently avail­

able in select markets within Califor­nia, and only through SolarCity. Thenew batteries would be more widelyavailable.

Home  batteries  are  the  next  bigthings  in  the U.S. domestic market,with Bosch, GE and Samsung all readyto compete against Tesla’s solar sys­tem, while Honda has also unveileda demonstration smart home that fea­tures  a  rechargeable  home  battery,along  with  an  electric  vehicle,  solarpanels and geothermal heat pump, alldriven by an energy­management sys­tem.

Musk  will  compete  against  all  ofthem by buying in bulk, using the gigafactory  which Panasonic is buildingin  Nevada. The massive complex willcome on stream in 2016 , producing50 gigawatt hours of battery capacityeach year.

The economies  of scale generatedby the factory will make Tesla’s  batter­ies for cars and homes cheaper by anexpected 30%. Batteries are the mostexpensive part of solar  power systemsand cheaper, effective batteries will bea boon to alternative power users inthe U.S. 

In  South  Africa,  the  rand­dollarexchange will ensure the Tesla homebattery remain very expensive, unlessthe  government  makes  good  on  itspromise to reward alternative energy­generation  technologies. — WR.

AA college trains moreTHE Automobile Association of SouthAfrica (AA) has expanded the premisesof its AA Technical College to accom­modate more  students.

The  AA  Technical  College,  whichenrols up to 1 500 students a year, hasexperienced steady growth and is ableto attract many new students due to itstraining  excellence  in  up­skilling  andqualifying students in the automotivesector. 

As a result, the college has expandedits  training premises  in  Johannesburgto  include  two new classrooms. 

These  classrooms  will  be  used  fortheoretical  training of  apprentices.

Werner Wandrey, national technicaltraining manager and principal for theAA Technical College, said the trainingfacilities invest in people and have a dis­tinct customer focus. “We see our suc­cess in the success of our students andspare no effort  to give  them the bestpossible  start  in  the motor  industry.”

— WR.• For more information on the AA Techni­cal  College,  visit  www.aa.co.za  or  call0861  000  234.

Third­generation  Mazda2  a  lookerMazda  has  launched  six  models  of  the  third  generation  of the  Mazda2,  with  either  a  1,5­litre  SKYACTIV  petrol  or diesel  engine.  The  petrol  engine  comes  in  a  six­speed automatic  or  a  six­speed  manual  transmission  and  the diesel  engine  only  with  six­speed  automatic  transmission. Pricing  starts  at  R188 000  and  tops  out  at  R259 900.PHOTO:  QUICKPIC

Megane  ready  to  scorch  the  tarmacRetailing  for  just  shy  of  R390 000,  the  new  Mégane Renault  Sport  265  LUX  offers  hot­hatch  drivers  a scorching  2,0­litre  RS  Turbo  making  195 kW  at  5 500 rpm, with  maximum  torque  of  360 Nm  pulling  the  front  wheels from  3 800 rpm  through  a  six­speed  gearbox. The  zero  to  100 km/h  sprint  clocks  up  to  just  six  seconds, while  top  speed  is  limited  at  250 km/h.  A  five­year  or 150 000 km  mechanical  warranty  plan,  and  five­year  or 90 000 km  service  plans  are  included  in  the  price.  Service intervals  are  10 000 km.PHOTO:  QUICKPIC

March  5,  2015 WitnessWheels 3    MOTORING   

Technology  as  artBRIAN BASSETT wonders which is best, to drive the BMW 740i, or be driven around in itPART of the fun of writing this columnis that I get to drive a wide range of cars.

Last week you will remember I drovethe inexpensive, well­designed and er­gonomically impressive Suzuki Splash.

This week, courtesy of Allan Neaveand KarinAnn Agnew of SMG, Pieter­maritzburg, I spent a week with the flag­ship of the BMW brand, the 7 Series,which was both enjoyable and impress­ive.

The 740i I drove is part of a  lineof full­size luxury vehicles first intro­duced by BMW in 1977 and some ofthese early 7­Series vehicles are stillto be seen on the road today. The cur­rent 740i is the fifth generation of thisvehicle and production commencedin 2008 with some 60 000 vehiclesbeing  produced  worldwide  in  2014and increasing sales in a vibrant Chi­nese market.

STYLING  AND  EXTERIORThe 7 Series is a subdued, but outwardlyimpressive vehicle. The adaptive LEDheadlights are a little Eastern in designinspiration and — with the flared bon­net — add to the powerful presentationof  the  front. The colour­coded, electrically operatedside mirrors have integrated indicatorsfor  improved visibility.

The rear of the car has L­shaped wraparound  rear  lights,  a  centrally  placedBMW  badge  and  distinctive  chromestrips, which accentuate  the width ofthe vehicle, while the light­alloy, 15­inchspoke wheels round off a great piece ofindustrial design. 

In all,  the 740i expresses an  imageof absolute power and assurance in anyparking lot and no matter where I leftthe car during the week I drove it, I al­ways returned to find one or two inter­ested males discussing the car’s specialnature. 

At one stage, I halted at a traffic lightand the driver of an old, red Mini wasoverawed by the 740i, to the point thatwhen the light turned green and I oozedacross the intersection, he totally forgotto move off and was hooted into actionby  fellow motorists.

INTERIOROpen any of the self­closing doors byone of their back­lit handles and you areintroduced to a world of comfort, quali­ty  and  luxury. 

The interior is finished in soft, meri­no leather, with padded dashboard andsatin walnut  trim. 

The seats themselves are all electri­cally operated and have heating, mas­sage and memory  functions. 

The  front  seats  have  televisionscreens at their back, in case you needto keep up with international stock mar­ket prices on  the way  to  the office. 

Although the 740i can take three pas­sengers at the rear, it is in fact meantfor two, with a fold­down arm rest con­taining  a  number  of  comfort­relatedcontrols and a small electric refrigera­tor. 

The car also offers full Bluetooth andUSB  connectivity  for  two  cellphones.

The  leather­covered  multifunctionsteering wheel allows the operation ofa wide variety of onboard functions, in­cluding cruise  control.

DASHBOARD  IS  A  DESIGN  DELIGHTThe multifunction instrument displayis typically BMW and covers every ele­ment I required to see on a regular basisand a  few not so  frequently  required.There is a complete full­colour, heads­up display, which means I never had totake my eyes of the road, something Ifound very helpful  at night. 

The vehicle has a screen placed at ahigh level on the dash,  just above thecentral air­conditioning ducts. Operat­

ed by  the  I Drive  controller. This allowed me to undertake a wide

variety of tasks from setting the internalclimate, to manipulating data, using thetelephone, operating the built­in GPS,receiving e­mails and a whole host ofother functions covering every aspectof the car and the current journey beingmade. 

There  is  also  a  magnifier  functionwhich allows the driver to magnify anyelement shown on the screen and in the

control panel. Furthermore, if I were to drive for too

long a period, the 740i would tell meonscreen that I needed a break and acup of  coffee.

For those going on holiday, the cav­ernous boot offers space  for  two setsof golf  clubs and  luggage  for  four.

SAFETY  AND  SECURITYThe 740i has a host of safety features.From the usual ABS and EBD to nightvision with pedestrian recognition anda lane departure warning system whichalerts the driver by a gentle vibrationon the steering wheel if the vehicle isabout  to  cross a  lane marking. 

There is a rear­reversing camera, aswell as side cameras, which allow thedriver to see what is coming from bothsides  at  intersections  —  most  usefulduring blackouts. Automatic parking isavailable  as  an optional  extra. 

Then there is dynamic stability con­trol, traction control and six front, sideand curtain air bags — the car also hasthe usual BMW deadlock and alarm sys­tems.

PERFORMANCE  AND  HANDLINGThe 7 Series is a superb mix of comfortand driving pleasure. In town, it cruisesnoiselessly in traffic and is easy to park.

On the open road, it comes into itsown and the power of the vehicle makeshigh­speed driving a pleasure. 

The bi­turbo, three­litre, six­cylinderpetrol engine produces 235 kW of pow­er and 450 Nm of torque which, linkedto an eight­speed automatic gearbox,will take you from zero to 100 km/h in5,7  seconds. 

Top speed is governed to 250 km/hand,  driving  sensibly  you  should  get9,5 litres/100 km.

Your consumption can be improvedby engaging the ECO­Pro mode, whichfeatures a coasting function, where thecar moves forward using its own kineticenergy; however, the Sport + Functionwill  always be  tempting.

PAYING  FOR  YOUR  PLEASUREThe 740i will cost you about R1,2 mil­lion new. 

Remember  there  are  always  demosand year olds. It comes with the usualthree­year or 100 000 km manufactur­er’s warranty and a five­year 100 000motor plan, which cares for everythingbut  tyres. 

The  plan  can  be  extended  to200 000 km. The 7 Series also comesin 750 and 750Li models and a 730d andActive Hybrid.

This end of the market is not exactlycrawling  with  competitors,  but  youshould have a look at Audi A8, MaseratiQuattroporte,  Mercedes  S­Class  andthe  Jaguar XJ. 

The  biggest  conundrum  in the  BMW  740i  is  whether to  be  driven,  or  to  drive it.  Both  rear  seats  have dedicated  displays  and  a small  electric  refrigerator between  the  seats  with space  for  two  bottles  of Champagne,  but  the  front are  closer  to  the  butter­smooth,  three­litre,  six­cylinder  petrol  engine. Brian  Bassett  decided playing  chauffeur  is  the better  option.

PHOTOS:  SUPPLIED and  ALWYN  VILJOEN

HYBRID  BEEMER  A  HIT  IN  ENGLANDTHE  BMW  i8  plug­in  hybrid  sports  car  has been  crowned  UK  Car  of  the  Year  for  2015.

Having  fought  off  stiff  competition  to  the  ti­tle  of  Performance  Car  of  the  Year,  the  four­seat  technological  tour  de  force  also  won  the overall  vote.  The  win  heralds  back  to  back  wins for  BMW  and  its  “I”  car  programme  as  the BMW  i3  was  awarded  UK  Car  of  the  Year  in 2014.  The  BMW  i8  was  also  recently  named  as Top  Gear  Car  of  the  year.

Launched  in  2014,  the  UK  Car  of  the  Year Awards  are  judged  by  27  of  Britain’s  most­read motoring  journalists.  The  judges  use  their  ex­pertise  to  pick  out  the  top  performer  in  12  ve­hicle  categories,  before  deciding  the  overall winner  from  their  favourites  in  each  class.

The  UK  has  quickly  become  Europe’s  biggestmarket  for  i8  sales  with  450  registrations  so 

far.  There  is  currently  a  nine­month  waiting  list for  the  car.  The  sister  BMW  i3  is  also  a  sales success  with  the  1 860  car  sold  in  the  UK since  its  November  2013  launch.

Craig  Thomas,  UK  COTY  judge,  said  of  the BMW  i8:  “Just  as  the  i3  helped  redefine  elec­tric  vehicles,  so  the  i8  is  helping  to  redefine what  a  sports  car  is,  in  a  world  attempting  to reduce  its  dependence  on  fossil  fuels. 

The  pairing  of  a  three­cylinder  engine  and electric  motor  gives  mind­boggling  headline economy  and  emissions  figures,  while  it  makes few  compromises  in  the  driving  department.”

Graeme  Grieve,  BMW  UK  CEO,  said  the  i3and  i8  being  named  consecutive  UK  Car  of the  Year  winners  shows  BMW’s  technology strategy  is  being  recognised  as  truly  game changing  for  the  car  industry.”  —  Supplied.

Off­road skateboardIf  you  have  R11 608 to  pledge,  industrial designer  Chris Terpstra  will  sell  you his  new  Gila  Board  on Kickstarter.  The skateboard  has independent suspension  similar  to that  used  in  rally cars,  with  fully adjustable  pivoting struts  and  a  coil­over shock  absorber  on each  wheel.  Terpstra plans  to  sell  the boards  for  R14 582.PHOTO:  GILA  BOARDS

4 WitnessWheels March  5,  2015    MOTORING   

For more information on Witness Wheels advertisingContact Avir on 084 278 3447 or Avir@witness.co.za

Officially the  fastestF­TYPE R Jaguar scratches the South African land speed record by seven km/hPRETORIA  —  The  Jaguar  F­TYPE  RCoupé is officially the fastest productionvehicle  in South Africa. 

On  February 28, at the Upington Air­port  in the Northern Cape, a small groupof Jaguar employees gathered to watchthe 405 kW supercharged V8 coupé be­ing  driven  into  the  record  books.  Theevent was the culmination of  just oversix  weeks  of  planning,  and  saw  Jaguartapping  into  its  heritage;  recalling  theforties and fifties, when it famously setnumerous European land­speed recordswith  the XK120.

“Not only do we say that racing is inour blood, we go out there and prove it,”said Richard Gouverneur, managing di­rector of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) SouthAfrica and  sub­Saharan Africa. 

“Aside from being inspired by our his­tory of racing and land­speed records, wealso wanted to show off the innovation,

performance and safety of our vehicles.“A  car  that’s  capable  of  reaching

300 km/h safely  is many times safer atlegal  and  safe  speeds.”

At the hands of Dawie Olivier, nationalafter­sales manager  at  JLR and a  racerwith more than two decades of rallyingand  circuit  racing  experience,  theF­TYPE  R  Coupé  reached  speeds  inexcess of 300 km/h on the 4,9 km  runwayat Upington Airport.

For the record to be official, two runshave to be completed in both directionswhile timekeeping officials from Motor­sport South Africa measure speed overa one­kilometre distance. 

On the uphill section of the F­TYPE’Srecord­setting  run,  it achieved a speedof 288,33 km/h, while the complement­ing downhill run saw it crack the magical300 km/h mark with an officially meas­ured  speed of  301,03 km/h. 

The land­speed record comprises theaverage of the two runs, and now sits at294,68 km/h  —  besting  the  previousrecord of 287,63 km/h set in 2002, withMike  Griffiths  behind  the  wheel  of  aPorsche 911 GT2.

“The F­TYPE R Coupé  is  limited to300 km/h, but we chose not to removethe  speed  limiter,  even  though  theregulations make provision for us to doso legally. The car that we used is exactlyas customers can buy it off the showroomfloor,” said Gouverneur.  “Ultimately, weran out of space to go even faster; howev­er, this was the safest venue to illustratethe potential of  this vehicle.”

The South African land­speed recordattempts are sanctioned by MotorsportSouth Africa (MSA), which ensures thatcars used for production vehicle recordattempts are standard and within manu­facturer  specification. — Supplied.

The  F­TYPE  R  Jaguar  Coupé  reached  speeds  in  excess  of  300 km/h  on  the  4,9  km  runway  at  Upington  Airport.PHOTO:  QUIKCPIC

KING  OF  THE  HILL  FOR  JAGUAR  SIMOLA  HILL  CLIMB  IS  FULLTHE  King  of  the  Hill  category  for  the Jaguar­sponsored  Simola  hill  climb,  to be  held  in  Knysna,  is  already  fully  sub­scribed.

The  King  of  the  Hill  caters  for  a maximum  of  80  entries,  comprising both  production  cars  and  race  vehicles, each  of  which  is  separated  into  small­er  classes  based  on  engine  capacity, number  of  cylinders  and  whether  they 

are  normally  aspirated  or  boosted  by means  of  a  turbocharger  or  superchar­ger.

Last  year’s  winner,  Franco  Scribante,will  be  back  to  defend  his  title  and record­breaking  time  of  41,159  seconds. However,  a  change  to  the  rules  will  seehim  defending  his  title  in  the  Classic Car  Friday  in  a  Chevron  B26,  powered by  a  specially  developed  3,2­litre  V8 

Suzuki  engine.One  of  the  other  main  drawcards 

will  be  Supercar  Thursday,  which  has been  introduced  for  the  first  time. 

This  is  a  non­competitive  event  togive  owners  of  these  high­performance supercars  a  rare  opportunity  to  push their  cars  to  the  limit.  The  event  takes place  on  May  14  to  May 17. 

—  Wheels  Reporter.

Shorter  cross­country returns  to  Harrismith 

THE  2015  Donaldson  Cross­Country championship will openwith the RFS Endurance Race inHarrismith  over  March  27  andMarch 28 and will bring changesto  the national  series.

The changes include a shortercalendar  and  revamped  eventformats  and  points  allocation.The  changes,  put  forward  by

the  South  African  National  Off­Road Association during the off­sea­son, seek to cut costs and streamlinethe  series.

In  this  respect,  the  most  signifi­cant  change  is  to  the  calendar:  thenumber of events counting for the na­tional  championship  has  been  cutfrom eight  to  six.

THREE  SPRINT  EVENTSSanora chief executive officer RichardSchilling  explained:  “We  are  dutybound to protect the interests of thechampionship  and  the  changes  areaimed  at  reducing  costs  for  stake­holders, event organisation and com­petitors. 

The  changes  implemented  willpave the way for the growth of region­al and national championship cross­country  racing.” The championshipwill have three sprint events, two en­durance  events  and  a  marathon.Sprint events will be 450 km, endur­ance races of 650 km to 700 km andthe lone marathon event, the ToyotaKalahari  Botswana  1 000  DesertRace, will be  run over  1 000 km.

All events will be run over a mini­mum of two loops with a compulsory20­minute service halt after the first

loop. Drivers will qualify for grid pla­ces  for  sprint  and marathon eventsthat will be  run over  100 km.

NEW  SCORING  SYSTEMWhile there are no changes to classesin the Production and Special Vehiclecategories, the scoring of events andthe allocation of points counting to­wards the Donaldson Cross­CountryChampionship  has  also  received  aface­lift. 

Sprint and endurance events willscore single points, with single pointsalso allocated to each of the two heatsthat will make up the Toyota KalahariBotswana  1 000 Desert Race.

Points awarded to competitors inthe Production and Special Vehiclecategories,  as  well  as  the  variousclasses, have been amended with 30points now on offer for race winners.The  practice  of  competitors  drop­ping a score at the end of the seasonhas also been scrapped — all races willcount  towards  overall  and  class  re­sults. 

— Wheels24.com

2015  RACE  CALENDARMar  27­28  —  RFS  Endurance  (En­durance)  HarrismithMay  8­9  —  Toyota  Dealer  45 (Sprint)  EstonJune  26­28  —  Toyota  1 000  Desert Race  (Marathon)  KalahariAugust  7­8  —  Nkomazi  450  (Sprint Race)  MalalaneSeptember  11­12  —  (Endurance Race)  VryburgOctober  30­31  —  Atlas  Copco  Gold 450  (Sprint  race)  Westonaria.

Formula E grid for 2015

The  field  has  shrunk  by  two  teams  for  this  year’s  eerily  quiet Formula  E  racing,  down  from  10  last  year. PHOTO:  SUPPLIED

THE  Federation  Internationale  del’Automobile (FIA) has announcedthat a total of eight teams will com­pete in the second year of Formula Eracing, down from the 10 taking partin  the  first  season. 

The competition is set to heat upduring the 2015­2016 race calendar,with teams being allowed to developthe vehicles  for  the  first  time.

While Formula E racers might notcompete at quite the same dizzyingspeeds seen in flagship Formula Oneracing, the all­electric cars are capa­ble of speeds in excess of 225 km/h.

The first season included 10 races,with varying locations from Beijingto London, where the final race willtake place on  June 27.

Six current teams will continue tocompete in year two — ABT Sports­line,  Andretti,  Mahindra,  RenaultSports,  Ventauri  Automobiles  andVirgin Racing Engineering — whilenewcomers  NEXTEV  TCR  andMotomatica will fill out the lineup.

While  Amlin  Aguri,  DragonRacing,  Trulli  and  China  Racingtook part in the inaugural champi­onship, you won’t find them on the

grid  in  year  two.  The  FIA  didn’tcomment on why those teams won’tbe continuing in the sport, but didstate that it’s satisfied with qualityof those manufacturers progressingto  the  second  season.

Up  until  now,  teams  have  beenusing the exact same Spark­RenaultSRT_01E car. That’s set  to changefor the 2015­2016 season, with theseries becoming an open champion­ship, allowing teams to start makingmodifications  to  their vehicles. 

Those  modifications  will  belimited  to  the  power  train  for  thetime being — specifically the gear­box,  inverter, e­motor and coolingsystem — but will extend to batteriesfrom the  third  season onwards.

“The gradual opening up of theregulations  will  promote  innova­tion, while at the same time keepingcosts  under  control,”  said  FIApresident  Jean Todt. 

“The  solutions  chosen  by  themanufacturers will hopefully lead torapid development of the future­fo­cused technologies at the heart ofFormula E.” 

—  Supplied.

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Polo Vivo 1.4 55kWConceptline

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An optional cost of R900 incl VAT will be charged for metallic paint. Note: *Linked to FNBprime rate, currently 9.25%. Note: Offers calculated on the New Polo TSI 66kW Comfortline modelin standard specifications. Information subject to change without prior notification. All finance offersare subject to credit approval from Volkswagen Financial Services. Instalment includes initiation andmonthly administration fee of R57. Volkswagen Financial Services a division Volkswagen FinancialServices South Africa (Pty) Ltd Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider. NCRCP6635. Termsand Conditions apply. All the above is subject to price increase and valid until 15 March 2015.

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6 WitnessWheels March  5,  2015    MOTORING   

ADAM  WILLIAMS

BJARKE Ingels Group (Big) has begunwork on a luxury residence in Denmarkthat’s almost equal parts home and pri­vate car showroom. Commissioned bya client with an enviable car collection,Villa  Gug  comprises  a  novel  loopingform  that  integrates  the  cars  into  themain body of  the house.

Bringing to mind Poland’s Autofami­ly House  in  its unabashed celebrationof the car, Villa Gug is located in a ruralarea near Ålborg, Denmark.

Its design will polarise opinion, butappears well­suited to the client’s par­ticular requirements. Judging from therenders provided to the press, the homeappears to take its place well in the sur­rounding  landscape  too.

“In Villa Gug, the client’s passion forcars plays a significant role in family life,taking up a  significant portion of  thehousing area,” says Big. “Instead of hid­ing the vehicles away in a basement, ora large garage, we suggest a house thatsmoothly  turns  from car  to home.”

Villa  Gug  comprises  a  total  floorspace of 750 sq m, and is laid out as fol­lows: the looping form serves first as adriveway  and  then  becomes  a  privateshowroom and garage. As it slopes up­wards, it leads into a gym and then thehouse proper, with kitchen, lounge, andremaining areas joined onto each otherand connected by hallways. A roof­topterrace tops the structure and a libraryis  reached by descending a  staircase.

Although Villa Gug sports significantglazing, it’s deceptively private, and pas­sersby won’t be able to gawk inside at

the cars as the ground floor features alarge unbroken facade of what looks likeconcrete. In addition, the looping form

also creates an inner garden area that’sremoved from prying eyes. Work on theproject  is ongoing. — Gizmag.com

Architectural  model  of  Villa  Gug.PHOTO:  BIG

ALWYN  VILJOEN

THE heart of the company Kohle is inthe  right place — trying  to make  andsell bakkies  that  run on  sunshine.

The company has been working since1918  and  is  a  major  player  in  theindustrial bodywork  sector  in France,with nearly 3 000 conversions leavingits workshops every year.

Its designers clearly need to get outinto the sun a bit more often. They willthen see that — in the bright  light ofday — their  range  of  hacked­off  con­verted bakkies and vans  looks a  littleless than alluring when compared withthe  original  Renault  Trafic  or  DaciaDocker.

And  then  there  is  the  question  ofwhat were Kohle’s designers  thinkingwhen they took a big tin opener to theDacia Docker to turn the mini van backto a bakkie, complete with jutting C­pil­

lars  to accommodate  the  rear  lights?Especially as Dacia had replaced the

2008 Logan Pickup, which we still buyand trust as the Nissan NP200. At the

current euro to rand rate with taxi in­centives  added,  Kohler  could  haveshown a profit  just  by  importing  thebakkies made in Rosslyn to fit the Ren­

ault Zoe’s drivetrain to it. Instead, wehave another ugly half­ton electric bak­kie to join the ranks of this breed buzz­ing around airports  and warehouses.

How  not  to  shape  a  bakkie  or  van: Until  Kohle’s  designers  got  hold  of it,  both  the  Trafic  (left)  and  the Dacia  Docker  mini  van  had  a  sleek, modern  look  thanks  to  Renault’s elegant  designers.  Now  they  look gap­toothed.PHOTO:  KOHLE

ALWYN  VILJOEN

THE Japanese seem determined to adoptSouth  Africa’s  culture.  First  it  was  oursoccer, then rugby and now it is our braa­is.

Char of the Japanese Barbecue Associ­ation Gejo Tamio, collaborated with so­cial­media project editor Osamu Suzuki­san and carmakers Nissan  to make  the“ultimate  smart BBQ car”.

Called the Ultimate BBQ vehicle, theproject is only partly tongue in cheek inresponse to a challenge to design the ulti­mate smart BBQ car that is ecofriendlywith  zero emissions and waste. 

Based on the electric Nissan NV200,the braai van comes with a mobile kitchenthat slides out on rails in the rear, a roofthat rolls out from the side with a watermister as well as other luxuries the Japa­nese consider essential braai aids, like aselfie drone that broadcasts pictures viaa cellphone to the car’s windscreen, a kar­aoke  system  and,  of  course,  sub­sonicacoustic mosquito repellents. The elec­tric braai has a  1 500­watt grill.

Answering the question “why an ulti­mate smart BBQ car” in the electric car?The makers said that the potential of elec­tric vehicles  is  infinite. 

“They do not pollute the air, are quiet

and comfortable and ride very comforta­bly. And in a disaster, will also be an im­portant power supply device.” The fun­loving  geeks  behind  the  BBQ  say  theyneed just another Yen 10 000 (R978 771)to finish the project on crowd funding.

The  Japanese  Barbecue   Association’s  ultimate  braai  car.  It features  essentials  such  as  a selfie  drone  and  a  chrome  caster to  broadcast  the  drone’s  photos via  a  smartphone  onto  the  car’s windscreen. SCREEN  GRAB:  YOUTUBE 

THE  UK  Mirror  carried  what  could yet  turn  out  to  be  the  weirdest car­fixing  item  this  year.

On  February  19,  an  AA  service employee  temporarily  fixed  a farm’s  sixties’  Land  Rover  using  a potato.  Mario  Papademetriou  (59) had  already  failed  to  mend  the condenser  using  tin  foil  and  sili­cone  repair  tape.

He  had  been  called  out  to  a farm  in  Potters  Bar,  Hertfordshire.

He  said:  “There  were  a  lot  of vegetables  around,  so  I  thought  I’d try  wiring  up  a  potato  with  a  cou­ple  of  screws.  It  started  instantly.

“I  followed  the  owner  to  the  ga­rage  and  he  said  the  vehicle  had never  driven  so  well.”

The  owner  made  the  19­kilome­tre  journey  to  the  garage  where the  ignition  system  was  properly repaired.

Mario  of  Chingford,  Essex,  wonan  AA  prize  for  the  inventive  repair job.

To  show  it  was  not  just  a  coin­cidence,  the  AA’s  technical  depart­ment  replicated  the  temporary  re­pair  using  the  AA’s  Series  I  Land Rover  and  it  worked  perfectly.

Boss  Donald  MacSporran  said: “AA  patrols  work  on  pretty  much any  vehicle  on  the  road  and  pride themselves  on  their  ability  to  fix them.

“While  they  regularly  go  the  ex­tra  mile  with  some  very  inventive repairs,  we  continue  to  invest  in their  training  and  equipment  to maintain  our  leading  fix  rate.

“Although  vegetables  are  best left  on  the  dinner  plate,  Mario’s use  of  a  potato  was  definitely  a chip  above  the  others — an  excel­lent  example  of  thinking  outside the  box.” — The  Mirror.

Proving  water  is  a  good conductor,  a  potato  helps  to spark  an  old  Landy’s  engine. PHOTO:  UK  MIRROR

Potato power wins 

AA award

Japanese  has  ultimate  braai  van,  complete  with  selfie  drone

Heart  is  in  the  right  place,  but  their  vehicles  are  fugly

A  home  that’s  also  a private  car  showroom

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Guns,  shots  and  4x4sSAIM SAEED discovers how Pakistanis race cross­country at the Cholistan Desert Jeep RallyI COULDN’T have  imagined that thefirst  time  I  would  see  someone  inPakistan  drinking  openly  in  public  itwould be  in  the Bahawalpur Desert. 

Yet, there it was. The man was young,wearing a red shalwar kameez, with anunmistakable  green  Murree  Brewerybeer  can.  He  caught  me  staring  andoffered  me  one,  and  I  graciouslyaccepted,  still dumbfounded. 

There  were  whiffs  of  narcotics  too,but  the  strong  wind  blew  them  awayintermittently. We were stationed at aparticularly  sharp  corner  along  withhundreds of spectators on the secondday of the 10th Cholistan Desert JeepRally, watching massive 4×4s strugglewith the treacherous sand as they camein  to  the  turn.

MOUSTACHES  AND  ASSAULT RIFLESThere  wasn’t  much  in  the  way  ofbarriers;  just  two  border  troops  withsticks  yelling  at  spectators  as  theytransgressed  the  imaginary  line  thetroops had made around  the  turn. 

Every time a car got stuck in the sand,which  was  often,  spectators  swarmedaround  the  car  yelling  instructions  toeach other. They pushed and pulled, andwhen the driver revved the car, he spatmore sand on all the people trying tohelp,  before  eventually  racing  awaytrying  to make up  for  lost  time.

Most  spectators  looked  seasoned.They brought umbrellas and dust masksand rugs and ice boxes. They sat on fold­ing  chairs,  and  wore  big  moustaches.Many  had  assault  rifles  lazily  leaningnext to them. There wasn’t a woman insight.

It was my first time. I had met a par­ticipant at  the rally  through a mutualfriend who invited some friends and meto attend the rally, also known as “Paki­stan’s largest motor sport event”. Twodays before the qualifying round, I tooka bus from the southern port city of Kar­achi  to Bahawalpur  to  check  it out.

A  LOCKED  DERAWER  FORTPakistan’s tourism industry has seen aspectacular collapse over the past dec­ade as its security situation deteriorat­ed. Hotels across the country have beentargeted  (most  spectacularly  theIslamabad Marriott in 2008 that killed58 people), and so have foreign embas­sies, diplomats,  and  tourists.

In 2009, the Sri Lankan cricket teamwas  attacked,  shutting  out  Pakistanfrom hosting any international cricket.

In  2013,  gunmen  dressed  in  armycamouflage  killed  10  foreignmountaineers on the Nanga Parbat basecamp. And then just last year, a Spanishtourist  cycling  through  Pakistan  wasattacked in Balochistan; six policemenin the convoy assigned to protect himwere killed.

Tour guides, hoteliers,  and hustlerswere left to pick up the pieces, and theystarted with  the natives. 

While  international  tourism  mighthave slowed to a trickle, local tourismcontinues  to  thrive. 

There was ample evidence of that atthe rally, where nearly 100 000 peopleshowed up.

There was plenty on offer,  too. The  race  took  off  in  front  of  the

centuries­old  beautiful  Derawer  Fort.There  was  a  mausoleum  next  to  fortembellished  with  the  blue  tiles  southPunjab  is  famous for, a mosque madevery much  in the Mughal style of  theTaj Mahal  and  the Badshahi Mosque.

But in typical fashion, both the fortand the mausoleum were closed on theday we went. 

There were no guards to tell us why,just a big lock on the gates and somebarbed wire that encircled the area. Onewould  have  imagined  that  when  thewhole point of  the  rally was  to boosttourism, they would open the doors tothe  tourist  sites on offer, but perhapsinevitably  in  Pakistan,  politics  camefirst. Last year,  the  fort was closed byits owner, Faizul Rashid Abbasi, for notbeing  involved  in  the  administrativecommittee of  the  race. 

Abbasi is the heir of the last Nawabof Bahawalpur before the former prince­ly state was fully absorbed into Pakistan,and simply observing the abject state ofdisrepair the fort had fallen in can makean argument  for nationalisation. 

While  technically  Abbasi  isn’t  ingovernment, he’s an influential politicalfigure  in  the  region. 

Our camp was wedged between thehighway that led to the fort and his hunt­ing grounds. This year, Abbasi did orga­nise the rally but the fort was still closed.Many  residents  simply didn’t have ananswer. One said: “There are too manypeople,” and another said darkly: “Secu­rity.”

ALCOHOL  AND  POLITICSWhile it was supposed to be all fun andgames  —  kabaddi  tournament,  bikersdoing wheelies and tricks, concerts, ice­cream  trucks  in  the  desert,  circusperformers,  fireworks,  drugs,  alcohol,sex workers (some from as far as Russia,attendees told me, though I didn’t seeany) and, of course, the cars, politics wasinescapable.

The armed forces already had a strongpresence  in  the  region  because  of  itsproximity  to  India. 

A paramilitary force called the PunjabRangers  does  border  patrol,  and  theauthorities  called  in  extra  troops  toensure security around the track and the

event. Although they couldn’t have beenthat good at their jobs, as a driver toldme all the foreign liquor was smuggledfrom across the border. They also beefedup security in Bahawalpur city, an houraway. 

Earlier,  when  we  were  entering  thecity, a policeman stopped our car andasked  us  for  identification  andregistration papers. 

Upon asking why we were stopped,the  policeman  smiled  sheepishly  andsaid the army people told him to, andsubtly  pointed  to  the  truck  standingabout 40 metres away. 

“I’m  just  following  orders,”  thepoliceman said, telling us everything weneed  to  know  about  civil­militaryrelations  in  the  country. 

One of the origin stories I heard ofthe Cholistan  rally was  that  the armyorganised  the  rally  in  2004,  but  theresults were  rigged. 

“Brigadier  this  won  this  category.Colonel this won that category. It wasall a sham, so the civilians decided todo their own thing,” a driver told me.

BIG­BELLIED  DRIVERS

The participants, for the most part, hadcomparable wealth, which made sense.

It would be disingenuous to say theTourism Development Corporation ofPunjab  sponsored  the  event  when  somuch  of  the  rally  was  funded  by  theparticipants  themselves. 

Only a giant, inflated neon MountainDew gave any indication that the racehad corporate  sponsors. 

Most participants funded their ownrally  cars,  mechanics,  transport,accommodation and  food. 

I was lucky to have accommodationin a private  camp. 

Most spectators and journalists wereonly given a tent on a few square feetof the parking lot, where they were topitch it. A big watering hole next to itwas the makeshift shower area for thethousands  in  attendance.  Many  wereforced back to Bahawalpur city for thenight. Just the registration fee was $350.And looking at the vehicles they weredriving, the expenses were much, muchhigher.

The race cars were massive, roaringsupercharged  monsters  —  the  mostobvious extensions of  their masculineowners. The drivers wore cowboy hatsand  Harley  Davidson  shirts  that  werestretched by big bellies. 

Any discussion over the dinner tableinevitably was about the suspension, thedrive,  that  race  from  three  years  agowhen  the car overturned.

Essentially, I was amid a subculturewith  its own hierarchy of drivers, me­chanics and cars, their own vocabularyand lexicon (putt was a patch of flat, dryground upon which cars could acceler­ate; teep is a sand dune; khaadir is a seriesof bumps; the front of the car floats),their hopes and  their  rivalries.

BUT  A  SAD  RALLYThe day of the rally was a disappoint­ment.  There  were  no  cameras  at  anystretch  of  the  220  km  course,  so  thespectators were resigned only to watchthe cars  leave  from the starting pointand arrive at  the  finishing  line. 

If  they  were  charitable,  the  driverswould  do  a  few  donuts  to  excite  thecrowd. The sand was blowing so fiercely,it was difficult to see the cars from thestand. 

After the excitement of watching thefirst  few  cars  leave  subsided,  theaudience moved over to the televisionthat  was  screening  the  India­PakistanWorld Cup match. 

For obvious reasons (Pakistan lost),interest in the match also soon subsided.Some dancers and drums kept the dayalive  for  some  time  before  they,  too,packed up their bags and left. We leftbefore the prizes were awarded, a $1 500financial  reward.

But  even  before  the  winners  wereannounced,  the  gunfire  had  alreadystarted.  I  looked  up  and  realised  thatthere was no roof above me, and I reallycouldn’t hide anywhere when the bulletscame down, so I gave up and enjoyedthe  fireworks  instead.

— Republished  from the Europeand   Africa  edition of

the Quartz Daily Brief.•  Follow  Saeed  @saimsaeed847.

Fans  of  cross­country  racing  speak  the  same  language  about  the  same  topics  everywhere,  but  in  Pakistan  the drivers  have  bigger  moustaches  and  automatic  assault  rifles  than  anywhere  else. 

(Left)  Go  figure,  the  historic  Derawer  fort  was  locked  tight during  the  biggest  tourism  event  of  the  year.  (Top)  Indian wrestlers  compete  in  bouts  of  kusti. PHOTOS:  SAIM  SAEED

INVITE  TO  U15s  TO  ENTER  TOYOTA  DREAM  CAR  ART  CONTESTTHE  ninth  annual  Toyota  Dream  Car Art  Contest  has  officially  opened and  will  run  until  March 16.

The  contest  is  held  once  a  year,with  Toyota  affiliates  around  the world  conducting  a  national  compe­tition  in  three  age  categories  name­ly:  under  eight  years  old,  eight  to  11 years  old  and  12  to  15  years  old. 

The  top  five  contestants  win  prizes on  a  national  level  and  the  top three  are  entered  into  the  interna­tional  competition  which  is  judged in  Japan  with  Akio  Toyoda.

This  year’s  theme  is  “Your  DreamCar”. 

All  contestants  are  encouraged  toshowcase  their  imagination  and 

draw  the  car  of  their  dreams.  The car  could  fly,  clean,  dive  and  even save  lives,  no  dream  is  too  small for  this  competition. 

The  competition  will  be  judged by  a  panel,  which  includes  the  To­yota  South  Africa’s  creative  team and  creative  directors  from  Johan­nesburg  Advertising  Agency,  FCB.

Entry  forms  will  also  be  deliveredto  selected  schools  across  the country.  All  information,  including the  poster,  entry  form,  question­naire  and  the  terms  and  conditions of  the  competition  as  well  as  the list  of  schools,  can  be  found  on  the Toyota  website  at  www.toyota.co.za 

— Supplied.