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Formula E Season 8/Round 10: Marrakesh E-Prix

The Atlas mountains of Morocco have always provided a stunning backdrop for Formula E’s event in the North African country, with the first Marrakesh E-Prix held in 2016. The track follows the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan – named after the Crown Prince of Morocco – before spilling out onto the streets of Marrakesh’s hotel district.

Going into this year’s Marrakesh E-Prix, Mercedes-EQ’s Stoffel Vandoorne was in the lead for the Drivers’ World Championship with a 5-point advantage over nearest challenger and double champion Jean-Eric Vergne (DS TECHEETAH). Edoardo Mortara (ROKiT Venturi Racing) was just 2 points back in third place while Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCS Racing), who won last time out in Jakarta, sat fourth. With a maximum of 29 points on offer in Marrakesh, any one of those 4 drivers could lead the championship after the race.

And it was Mortara who moved to the top of the championship with a win as the ROKiT Venturi Racing driver fended off severe pressure from DS TECHEETAH teammates Antonio Felix da Costa and Vergne throughout. Da Costa had started from pole position and, after falling behind Mortara during the early duo of ATTACK MODE activations, he clung to the back of the Swiss’ car as the race reached its climax. But the Season 6 champion couldn’t make it past the ROKiT Venturi Racing driver who looked utterly unflustered throughout the race, collecting his third win of the season, as well as the standings lead.

Vandoorne meanwhile found it hard to hold on to his lead as a braking issue in qualifying left him down in 20th on the grid. He recovered to finish eighth but with just 4 points on the day, his lead was lost to Mortara.

Vergne had found himself in second heading into the closing stages with 2% of usable energy available before he slipped back behind da Costa to an eventual fourth position. Fellow title challenger Evans fought from sixth on the grid to the podium with a final lap lunge on Vergne for silverware and a handful of extra, crucial World Championship points for himself and Jaguar TCS Racing.

The 2.971-km circuit with 12 turns, three straights and a series of bends is known to be an energy-zapping circuit. In the searing 33-degree heat, drivers and engineers elected to jump early for their two mandatory ATTACK MODE boosts. This was based on the school of thought that it would be more efficient and effective in the long run to draw that extra 30 kW through the batteries and powertrain.

In the mix was Lucas di Grassi (ROKiT Venturi Racing), who battled to fifth and vital points for the Monegasque team, who now lead the Teams’ World Championship. Reigning World Champion Nyck de Vries (Mercedes-EQ) secured sixth and Jake Dennis (Avalanche Andretti) had to settle for seventh. Vandoorne did make up an impressive 12 spots to finish eighth in the end after his qualifying disappointment. Sam Bird wound up ninth for Jaguar TCS Racing, and Oliver Rowland – who ran as high as second spot early on – rounded out the points-paying positions in 10th.

The next round will be in New York City July 16/17 for Rounds 11/12 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The much-anticipated double-header takes place on the streets of the Red Hook district of Brooklyn against the spectacular backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. This will be followed by a double-headers at the London E-Prix at the end of July. The Season 8 championship then climaxes in Korea where the Seoul E-Prix will be held for the first time on August 13/14.

McLaren Racing to take over Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team for 2023 entry

F1/Round 10: Preview & Provisional Starting Grid of 2022 British Grand Prix

Race starts at 3 pm in Britain time/10 pm in Malaysia

The British Grand is one of only two events that have been constantly on every season’s calendar since the inception of Formula 1. This weekend’s Round 10 of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship will be the 73^rd British GP, and the 56^th time Silverstone has hosted the race. The other venues have been the Aintree Circuit in Liverpool and Brands Hatch.

Silverstone, built on a former Royal Air Force base 74 years ago, is a true power circuit, and drivers will spend 80% of each 5.891-km lap racing at full throttle. The layout, with 18 turns, is very tough on tyres, especially on left-front tyres which have huge loads imposed on them in Turns 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 15.

“Along with Suzuka in Japan and Spa in Belgium, Silverstone places the highest energy demands on tyres all year, which is why the hardest tyres in the range have been nominated: C1 as the P Zero White hard, C2 as the P Zero Yellow medium, and C3 as the P Zero Red soft. This is the third time that this combination has been nominated all year,” said Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Motorsports Director.

Suzuka, which will be back on the calendar later this year (in early October), puts even greater demands on tyres but distributes the loads equally to all 4 tyres as it is the only track on the calendar in the shape of a figure eight. At Silverstone, putting down the car’s energy is firmly focused on

Pirelli’s choice of its hardest compounds to cope with wear rates is based on past experience. However, with the new 2022 racing cars, the tyres are designed to provide less overheating, more stability, and increased driveability within a wider working window. “This year, the compounds and structures are completely different, and there’s no sprint qualifying either – which was a factor in the strategy last year,” Isola added.

*The gears and cornering speeds of the Mercedes-AMG racing cars.*

According to Brembo technicians, the Silverstone Circuit makes little demand on the brakes, in contrast to the tyres. This does not mean that the brakes are not important on this track. Grip is critical and depends on both the weather conditions and the number of consecutive laps run. As the grip increases, so does the braking power transferred to the ground.

The biggest risk at Silverstone is glazing of the friction material caused by problems bringing the carbonfibre discs and pads to the minimum operating temperature. However, the Brembo material has been specially designed to prevent this problem. There are 9 turns where the brakes are used for a total of 13.5 seconds per lap which amounts to 15% of the whole race.

The hardest one is on turn 6 because drivers come onto it with the throttle full on after turn 5 and reach a speed of 324 km/h. They use the brakes to reduce speed by 50% in 2.4 seconds and cover a distance of 142 metres. To do this, their leg must apply a load of 127 kgs on the brake pedal and undergo a deceleration of 4.2g.

Fittingly, Lewis Hamilton has been the most successful driver in the history of the British Grand Prix, the team’s home race. He has won 8 times, which puts him in the same league as Michael Schumacher for the most wins at the same event; the German driver’s record is for the French Grand Prix. Hamilton also has 8 wins at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

A non-British team – Scuderia Ferrari – has won the event the most times. Since its first F1 win in the 1951 British GP, it has won the event 17 times. Current drivers who have contributed to the string of victories are Sebastian Vettel (2018) and Fernando Alonso (2011).

Thanks to a victory in Canada, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen starts at Silverstone with a 46-point lead over team mate Sergio Perez. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who has started the season with so much promise, seems to have had a string of bad luck, dropping him to third place, 3 points behind Perez.

Consistent wins by Verstappen and Perez have boosted Red Bull racing’s lead in the Constructors Championship to 304 points, 76 ahead of Ferrari. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team is in third place, 40 points behind the Italian team.

First look at Hyundai IONIQ 6 ‘Electrified Streamliner’

The IONIQ name began as a model name in Hyundai Motor’s range. And it also had an interesting approach as Hyundai offered a choice of three types of powertrains in the same body – combustion engine, hybrid or battery electric. In 2020, however, the company decided to make ‘IONIQ’ (a combination of ‘ion’ and ‘unique’) a sub-brand that would be used for purely electric models.

The IONIQ brand started off with the IONIQ 5 in 2021, a C-segment SUV that was based on the 45 EV concept shown in 2019. The IONIQ 5, the first model built on Hyundai Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), has been very well received and even chosen as the 2022 World Car of the Year.

Second of three models
When Hyundai announced the creation of the sub-brand in 2020, it said that it would come out with three new models and now, after the IONIQ 5, comes the IONIQ 6. It is adapted from the Prophecy concept car and is described as an ‘Electrified Streamliner’ with its aerodynamically sculpted form.

The clean, simple lines and a pure aerodynamic form present ‘Emotional Efficiency’ and the streamliner typology and mindful cocoon-like interior embody a silhouette for the new era of electric mobility. The unique design language has been used to pursue energy efficiency and sustainable material usage.

“IONIQ 6 connects an emotional convergence of functionality with aesthetics,” said SangYup Lee, Executive Vice-President and Head of Hyundai Design Centre. “The distinctive streamlined design is the result of close cooperation between engineers and designers, with obsessive attention to detail and customer-centric values at the core. We have created the IONIQ 6 as a mindful cocoon that offers personalized places for all.”

Human-centric design
As with most cars, the human-centric basis was set from the start, with the interior space developed simultaneously with the exterior form. Efforts were made to maximize and optimize the interior space, stretching it at the front and rear, resulting in a unique streamliner silhouette and spacious interior.

Like the IONIQ 5, this new model uses the Hyundai Look design strategy that gives each model a unique appearance, like chess pieces. By taking a customer-centric direction, Hyundai designs with diverse lifestyles in mind rather than with a one-style-fits-all approach.

Sleek and functional aesthetics
The IONIQ 6’s form has an impressively low drag coefficient of just 0.21 Cd. This is achieved by assisted by its low nose, active air flaps at the front, wheel gap reducers, and slim digital side mirrors.

Also contributing to reduced resistance is its elliptical wing-inspired spoiler with winglet, slight boat-tail structure, and separation traps on both sides of the rear bumper. On the underside of the car, a flat surface is evident with a full cover, optimized deflectors and reduced wheel-arch gap.

Parametric Pixels are the IONIQ brand’s identity and there are over 700 of them in various places on the bodywork as well as within. These include the headlamps, rear lamps, front lower sensors, air vent garnishes and centre console indicator.

The rear wing’s Parametric Pixel High-Mounted Stop Lamp (aka third brake light) has an eye-catching light execution when the brakes are applied. To further highlight the IONIQ 6’s uniqueness, a newly designed Hyundai ‘H’ badge is applied on the front and rear of the vehicle.

Personal space on wheels
The cocoon-shaped interior serves as both a comfortable hideaway and personal space, replete with practical features and sustainable materials to facilitate a mindful, eco-friendly mobility experience and lifestyle.

The Electric Global Modular Platform, optimised for electric vehicles, enabled the designers to stretch the interior, front and rear. This maximises legroom and spaciousness, with a completely flat floor giving expansive feeling.

The user-centric interior architecture is exemplified by an ergonomically designed control unit that is centrally located to reduce distraction and support safe, intuitive driving. The modular touchscreen dashboard integrates a 12-inch full-touch infotainment display and 12-inch digital cluster. A bridge-type centre console provides convenient and generous in-car storage.

Dual Colour Ambient Lighting provides overall illumination for IONIQ 6 interior. Users can choose from a spectrum of 64 colours and 6 dual colour themes developed by experts to help drivers and passengers feel relaxed and comfortable. The 4-dot Interactive Pixel Lights on the steering wheel enable easy communication between the driver and vehicle.

The removal of buttons from the front doors provides extra elbow space as well as adds storage capacity. Transparent accents on the crash pad garnish, door map pocket and console lower cover further accentuate the sense of spaciousness and uniqueness.

Eco-friendly materials
In line with the IONIQ 6’s Ethical Uniqueness theme and inspired by today’s eco-conscious consumers, the designers applied sustainable materials to the exterior, including recycled pigment paint from end-of-life tyres to the cladding and bamboo charcoal pigment paint to the body.

The interior is also trimmed in sustainable materials and colours. These include eco-process leather (seats), recycled PET fabric (seats), bio TPO skin (dashboard), bio PET fabric (headliner), bio paint derived from vegetable oils (doors), and recycled fishing net carpet — the latter a first for the IONIQ brand.

Technical details have not been released yet as the midsize model, likely to take over the place of the Sonata in future, will be officially launched later this month. The IONIQ 7 will likely be a larger crossover and make its debut in 2024.

Hyundai to use new Integrated Modular Architecture for all future BEV models

PHS Automotive Malaysia is the new Audi distributor for Malaysia

PHS Automotive Malaysia (PHSAM) has taken over as the official distributor of the Audi brand in Malaysia. Like Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM), PHSAM is owned by Porsche Holding Salzburg, a leading automotive retailer in Europe which also has operations in China, Japan, South America and Southeast Asia.

PHSAM will be involved in wholesale, marketing and aftersales activities for the Audi brand in the country. Currently, there are Audi Centres located in Juru (Penang) and Glenmarie (Selangor, and an authorised Service Centre in Ipoh. The Audi Centre in Setia Alam, Selangor will resume operations on August 1, 2022.

Leading the PHSAM team are two Managing Directors – Erik Winter and Kurt Leitner – who also hold similar positions at VPCM. Together, they have played key roles in steering the success of the Volkswagen brand in Malaysia, including the expansion of its locally-assembled product line-up.

“The premium automotive landscape is extremely competitive, and we have plenty to do and multiple challenges to overcome, but we are fully committed to the growth of the Audi brand. Audi is one of the world’s leading premium brands and has a loyal local following that spans generations, so there is untapped potential in the Malaysian market,” said Mr. Winter.

“Our focus will be on strengthening the SUV, S line and quattro range, with electrification playing a major role in the Company’s future planned roadmap. With the strength of our team’s experience and backed by PHS’ global expertise, we are confident of sustainable growth for the Audi brand,’’ he added.

Management processes are already in place, with other priorities being expanding aftersales services and strengthening the existing dealer network to achieve profitable growth. “Customer satisfaction is top of the list for us, and we recognise the importance of a strong working relationship with our dealer partners to grow and reach our targets and enhance the ownership experience for our customers,” said Mr. Leitner.

The present product line-up for the Malaysian market. All Audi cars purchased authorised showrooms from July 1, 2022 will be offered with 3 years of free scheduled maintenance, 5 years unlimited mileage warranty and 5 years of complimentary roadside assistance.

Audi urbansphere concept shows what the luxury MPV of the future could be like

Red Bull Advanced Technologies to build £5 million RB17 hypercar

Red Bull Advanced Technologies (RBAT) will build and sell a hypercar which uses much of what they have learnt making and racing Red Bull Racing F1 cars. The Red Bull 17 (RB17), as the model will be known, will also use some of the technologies that have been disallowed in the sport.

It will be very exclusive, of course, and only 50 people in the world will get to own one. They will have to be very rich to afford the expected pricetag starting from £5 million (around RM26.8 million) for each car. The RB17 will be supported directly by the factory, with servicing and maintenance support tailored to each owner and their usage profile for the car.

Ownership includes more than the hypercar, bringing a close association with the Red Bull Racing team through access to simulators, vehicle program development and on-track training and experiences.

*Red Bull Racing has been among the top F1 teams and has developed many advanced technologies which will be used in the hypercar.*

‘RB17’ creates a direct link to the F1 cars which began ‘RB1’ in 2005 when the team entered Formula 1. It has reached ‘RB18’ in 2022 and ‘RB17’ actually was never used because last year’s racing car was designated ‘RB16B’ as it was fairly similar to the RB16.

The 2-seat RB17 will have the typical hypercar specs and a twin turbo V8 hybrid powertrain will develop over 1,100 bhp. Designed around a carbonfibre-composite tub, the RB17 features the most advanced ground effect package available in a series production car.

RBAT plans to build 15 cars a year from 2025 so new RB17s will be coming up till the end of the decade. “The RB17 marks the first time that a car wearing the Red Bull brand has been available to collectors,” said Christian Horner, CEO of Oracle Red Bull Racing and RBAT.

“The RB17 marks an important milestone in the evolution of Red Bull Advanced Technologies, now fully capable of creating and manufacturing a series production car at our Red Bull Technology Campus,” he added.

Michelin Asia Cup Powered by Gran Turismo is on again

The annual Michelin Asia Cup Powered by Gran Turismo returns again for gamers from Thailand, Indonesia, and Australia, and Malaysians are also invited to compete for the opportunity to represent Malaysia. This is an e-racing competition that will use the ‘Gran Turismo’ platform on PlayStation 4 in Sport mode.

The Grand Prize Winner will win an all-expense paid trip to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the Michelin Passion Experience (MPE) event, held this year at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The First Runner-Up will receive a full set of tyres, while the Second Runner-Up will receive a fuel card worth more than RM1,500.

Registration for qualifying rounds runs are on from now until July 8, 2022. The first 500 registered participants in Malaysia will each receive exclusive Michelin merchandise. It is important to note that the Grand Prize Winner must have a driving license or a racing license (valid at least until September 9, 2022), to be eligible to claim the prize. Needless to say, he or she should also have a valid international passport.

The registered participants must submit their best time to the Qualifying Round from July 11 – 15, 2022. The top 6 participants with the fastest lap time will be announced on July 20, 2022 to represent Malaysia in the Semi-Finals, racing against the top 6 from 3 other participating countries. The total of 24 semi-finalists will be divided in two groups, each consisting of 12 gamers.

The 6 fastest gamers of each group will advance to the Final Round, which will be broadcast live on August 26, 2022 onwards, via social media channels. The top three winners will be officially announced on August 30, 2022.

Last year, Michelin Malaysia held its first-ever e-Racing competition – the Michelin Virtual Racing Series 2021 – as the brand’s first major endeavour into the local e-sports industry. This activity has seen increased activity in the past few years, especially when the pandemic-related Movement Control Order (MCO) limited outdoor motorsports events.

The event, which had prizes worth a total of RM70,000 (in cash, tyres and merchandise) was run in 3 phases in June and July. All the races were held on the Sardegna Road Track AII with participants using the BMW M6 GT3 M Power equipped with Michelin racing medium tyres.