MASERATI GHIBLI BREAKS COVER IN CHINA

The Maserati Ghiblicame out at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Showand is the Italian marque’s answer to the likes of Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. But of course, this being a Maser means it will be light years more expensive. Or maybe not, we’ll see.

Ghibli measures some 4.97 metres in length, which is about 29cm shorter than the larger Quattroporte. The car features something called Maserati Active Sound system which basically emulates the “Maserati” exhaust tailpipe sound and makes it sound awesome. It’s also apparently the only car in its class to use a standard mechanical limited slip differential that helps with grip.

Staying with performance, the Ghibli is being launched with two engine derivatives of the same motor, which is a 3.0-litre V6 with two turbochargers. The lesser of the two delivers 243kW and 500Nm of torque, is said to return 9.6 litres per 100km and can run from 0 - 100km/h in just 5.6 seconds. I suppose this would be the BMW 540i/ Merc E350/ A6 3.0 T rival.

More potent is the 301kWversion with its 550Nm of torque and a 0 – 100km/h in 4.8 seconds. Two powertrains, a Ghibli S (rear-wheel-drive) and S Q4 (all-wheel-drive), are available. Both models can supposedly reach 285km/h, so there’s no so-called “gentlemen’s agreement” on 250km/h here.

Post Title → MASERATI GHIBLI BREAKS COVER IN CHINA

TOYOTA YARIS TAKES PODIUM

The new Toyota Yaris rally car claimed its first podium finish in only its second outing when Toyota Motorsport’s Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee finished third in a Castrol-backed example in the Sasol Rally in Mpumalanga on Saturday. In the process they moved up to second place in the championship.

Team-mates Johnny Gemmell and Carolyn Swan were fifth in a second Castrol Team Toyota Yaris in the two-day event, which ended in Nelspruit after 13 special stages run in extremely wet and misty conditions.

Poulter, winner of the 2011 Sasol Rally with Coetzee in a Castrol Toyota Auris, was enthusiastic about his new rally car. “We have made great progress with the new Yaris, but this was no place to push the car to the limit. The weather conditions were atrocious and I’m surprised more people didn’t go off the road and damage their cars. We managed to complete the rally relatively unscathed, although we lost some time on a couple of occasions when we wrong-slotted in the mist. At times you couldn’t see much further than the car’s bonnet. The Yaris has a lot of potential.”

Gemmell, who hit a tree stump after going off the road in the misty and slippery conditions on special stage two, pushing the sump guard into the radiator, used all his skills to nurse the overheating Toyota through the rest of the stage and the next stage before he could reach the designated service park. The service crew performed a near miracle to repair the car in just 30 minutes. The entire radiator support structure had to be cut out and was replaced with a makeshift frame welded into place before a new radiator could be installed.

“We were able to do a little bit of testing between the first two events and the changes and improvements we made worked well. I’m impressed with the Yaris at this early stage in its development,” said the twice former Sasol Rally winner, who repaid the service crew for their efforts by winning the first stage on Saturday.

Giniel de Villiers and Greg Godrich hit a roadside rock in heavy mist on day one, terminally damaging a third new Toyota Motorsport Yaris that was only completed the day before the rally started and was making its debut in Imperial Toyota colours.

“I misjudged a tight corner in the mist eight kilometres into special stage two and we hit a large rock half hidden in the grass on the side of the road and spun into a bank,” explained De Villiers. “It took out the left-hand front lower wishbone and steering arm. The technical team performed their usual magic and had the car ready for us by the early start on Saturday morning so that we could compete in the Super Rally and test and feel the potential of the new Yaris.

Team principal Glyn Hall commented: “Overall I am happy with the weekend’s performance. We did some good testing in dry conditions the day before the event and it was clear we had made good progress. We changed the set-up on the car during the rally, adapting the car to the muddy conditions.

“It’s about confidence for the drivers when the roads are so slippery. Johnny was unfortunate, the mist was very thick on the exit of a fourth gear corner and he had to commit to his line, which was a bit wider than the road, the car proved its strength surviving a massive impact.”

STORY BY TOYOTA

Post Title → TOYOTA YARIS TAKES PODIUM

GINIEL DE VILLIERS UNVEILS NEW RALLY YARIS

Imperial Toyota unveiled its brand new South African Rally Championship challenger at a function in Nelspruit on Thursday evening.  The Imperial Toyota Yaris, which was built and prepared by Toyota Motorsport, will be in action on Friday and Saturday in the Sasol Rally with Giniel de Villiers behind the steering wheel and Greg Godrich reading the route notes.

The new two-door, four-wheel drive Yaris replaces the Imperial Toyota Auris in which De Villiers has been contesting the premier S2000 class alongside Toyota Motorsport team-mates Johnny Gemmell and Leeroy Poulter since the middle of last year. Gemmell and co-driver Carolyn Swan and Poulter and co-driver Elvene Coetzee will be making their second appearance in their Castrol Team Toyota Yaris rally cars this weekend after the latest in a long line of successful rally Toyotas made its debut in the Total Rally in March.

“We’re delighted to be able to put Giniel and Greg into the latest Toyota rally car,” said Imperial Toyota CEO Andrew Miller. “Giniel has been flying the Imperial flag high in this exciting and popular form of motorsport, just as he has done for the past two years in the Dakar Rally.  We wish him and Greg every success in this weekend’s Sasol Rally and in the remaining events this season.”

The rally Yaris is a first for South Africa and Toyota Motorsport, who helped pioneer the introduction of the S2000 class in South Africa in 2006 with the uniquely South African Corolla-based RunX rally car and its successor in 2008, the Auris. It is the first Yaris to contest a national rally championship anywhere in the world.

STORY BY TOYOTA

Post Title → GINIEL DE VILLIERS UNVEILS NEW RALLY YARIS

DEZZI RACEWAY CHALLENGE REPLACES KNYSNA HILLCLIMB

After the Knysna Hillclimb was unexpectedly cancelled for 2013 due to late sponsor withdrawal, South Africa’s fastest and greatest drivers will be converging  at an all-new venue for an all-new motorsport event, and one which has the potential to capture the hearts and minds of South African motoring fans all over the country. 

Created initially as a replacement event for the 2013 Knysna Hillclimb, the new event, which will run independently to any future Knysna Hillclimb events, has the potential to become an annual spectacle and a huge attraction on the South African motorsport calendar.

Inaugural Dezzi Raceway Invitational Challenge to set KZN alight
Set to take place on 18 and 19 May 2013 in Port Shepstone, Kwa-Zulu Natal, the inaugural Dezzi Raceway Invitational Challenge – the brainchild of Dez Gutzeit who built the world-class racing facility originally for personal enjoyment – will see some of South Africa’s best drivers and fastest cars compete head-to-head in a flying start, time attack scenario. The 2.9-kilometre track, which is based on a runway and features numerous technical corners, has been built to FIA standards and boasts a full pit complex, club house and safe spectator viewing points.

Together with support from other Hillclimb favourites like Wilhelm Baard of Global GT-R in Hatfield, Pretoria, the new racing event has massive potential and hopes to appeal to the high concentration of racing fans in KZN, providing a massive opportunity for motorsport in the region.  There has also been keen interest from the wider motorsport community and like the Knysna Hillclimb, this has potential to become a national event.

Baard, who won the Knysna Hillclimb in 2011, says he was pleasantly surprised by the track and has high hopes for the inaugural challenge. “Not only has Dez created a fantastic new location for motorsport in South Africa and Kwa-Zulu Natal specifically – where motorsport has dwindled in years of late – but the concept is a brilliant idea for all parties involved. We decided to run the event at the same time as what the 2013 Knysna Hillclimb would have taken place as the competitors had already prepared their cars for Knysna and had already made plans to travel and take off work in most cases. Motorsport is well known as being an expensive hobby to undertake and this way our friends and rivals are still able to exploit their hard work and well-prepared machines in an all-new and very exciting environment.”

Dez Gutzeit, whose son Jade won the Knysna Hillclimb in 2012, comments: “Running on an invitational basis at first, we have selected the top 25 cars and drivers in the country, largely pooled from the Knysna Hillclimb fraternity, to battle it out on the track at a professional and safe racing event.”

Gutzeit goes on to say that the new racing environment also opens the playing field for a host of other cars and drivers. Where the Knysna Hillclimb’s environment tended to favour the Nissan GT-Rs thanks to its twisty track where the Japanese supercar’s superior grip levels worked in its favour, the new event evens things out for other cars as well, specifically for the low-slung bona fide race cars which couldn’t compete on the rough and uneven surface in Knysna. This makes the competition even fiercer and more exciting for the spectators.

“We wanted to do something great for South African motorsport and the Dezzi Raceway Invitational Challenge is sure to create a stir. It will be the quintessential petrolhead event of 2013 and we hope it goes on to become an annual highlight going forward. The Challenge has very humble beginnings with massive potential,” concludes Gutzeit.

Post Title → DEZZI RACEWAY CHALLENGE REPLACES KNYSNA HILLCLIMB