KLM

I think its the other way around. Its more like a demotion.

There may be a surprise or two in order at KKG. We had expressions of interest from 6 or 7 serious GT runners.

But to be fair, I think the FIA should DSQ both McLarens from the Monaco results sheet and also, as a punitive gesture, ban them from about 5 upcoming races.

* Fastest Car of the Day - Irshan, Mini Moke * Up to 1000cc Naturally Aspirated - Yohan, Kelisa * Up to 1300cc Naturally Nspirated - Irshan, Mini Moke * Up to 1500cc naturally aspirated - Zakie, Civic EF Hatch * Up to 1500cc Turbo - Gayan, Starlet GT * Up to 2000cc Automatic - Hasan, Run-X * Up to 2400cc Naturally Aspirated - Javidh, Civic Si-R * Up to 2000cc Turbo - Ashan Evo III There were a couple of other class winners that I can't remember right now.

Rs. 1,600 per plug? I'll give you a brand-new set of 4 for Rs. 4,500, if you want.

Pericles are you running your VZR?

Feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken, but I'm not so sure about this, bra. The modifications done locally for drag-racing usually work well enough for road course racing. I cant think of much that would change in terms of car setup for a Saturday Night drag as opposed to a track event at a place like Pannala. I cant think of anybody that runs a 'dedicated' drag-racing setup here that will be ineffective around a road-course.

Guess what? Quick Nick the Bearded Wonder has supposedly unofficially broken the lap record at the Nordschleife. Despite running very hard tires, maximum ground clearance and a short-ratio 'box that couldn't take advantage of the long straights, Heidfeld was timed at 5:58! However BMW Motorsport themselves are denying they went for the record and released a fast time of only 8:34. Great stuff, what? http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?se...article_id=5293

Pimp Status, machan. Good to know that these cars are genuinely used the way they are supposed to, and not riced up to merely pose. I especially like the stance of the EG6, with those tires and wheels.

AP? Wrong Aravinda, gunat.

Good stuff. The TSD is a great idea, and its a good way for a lot of people to be involved without compromising their vehicles. The Pannala Track Day will also be great, but I'm not sure how many people will risk it.

Is the Maduru Oya area safe? How close to Thoppigala will the route go? Any chance of a wrong turn taking the competitors into a battle field? If there are no roads to guide the drivers, how do they know where to go if their meters are off by a couple of tenths or whatever?

So, just out of curiosity, where does the route go? How many water-crossings? Any hardcore 4x4 bits? Tell us more.

I think its time I got a radar detector as well. Yesterday I got stopped for what must be my tenth offence in the past year, for doing 65 in a 50 zone. The limit of 50 was an absolute joke in the place I got nabbed, but I guess rules are rules. By the way, the Nawalapitiya-Gampola road must surely rank amongst the best driving roads in the country. It has been recently resurfaced and is phenomenal, even though it is only a 14 km stretch. I've done some serious up-country driving the past few days, having left CMB right after the World Cup final. The itinery was Colombo to Badulla to Nuwara Eliya to World's End to Nawalapitiya to Gampola to Colombo. 600 clicks of good fun, spoilt only by the speeding ticket.

In case anybody here is interested in genuine motorsport, the MRA will hold the Kukuleganga Rally on the 2nd and 3rd of June. KKG is not much further than Katukurunda and its an all-tarmac rally, so you guys should come and check it out.

Planning what? A race?

Its a good road but still a little dangerous. The fog in the evenings is terrible and there is still the threat of occasional landslides.

dhp, you're referring to Adisham, right? The Benedictine Monastery? I've been there, and its certainly worth a visit, even if its only for the home-made jams they have for sale there. Probably the best driving road in Sri Lanka is the Hatton road stretch from Yatiyantota to Ginigathhena, so try that. It's a good mix of short straights, fast sweepers and tighter, technical sections. The best part is that the road surface is still great and the scenery excellent. However, Ginigathhena is not on any gourmand's must-visit list, so pack something, or drive on to Nuwara Eliya for lunch.

I think Grand Civic already posted it earlier in this thread. 11 entries in all for SL GT. The other two good races will be SL H Upto 1600 and SL A Upto 1400, featuring 10 cars. SL H is a championship class and I'm sure will also enjoy a packed grid for both championship rounds on the day.

Ya man that was a great move by the Bearded Wonder, Quick Nick. How often do you see a move in F1 completed around the outside? It reminded me of Jacques Villeneuve's move around Michael in Portugal in 1996. Speaking of JV, his move to BAR has to rank as the single greatest waste of talent in F1. Although I hated him in 1997, he was the only driver Michael actually worried about. gpmac, I don't think JV was exactly a failure. He is the only man to win a US Championship (CART, 1995), the Indy 500 (1995) and the F1 Drivers' Championship. If things go well with the Peugeot Diesel this year, he may add the 24 of Le Mans to that in June. After that, NASCAR is calling......

I have a Whistler now as well but unfortunately it couldn't save me from a ticket for doing 66 in a 50 zone last Saturday morning somewhere near Yatiyantota. At 5 am, in Yatiyantota, for God's sake! However, I didn't get caught because the device was faulty but because it fell off the dash about 3 mins before I got stopped and I couldn't be bothered to put it back up again. Damn straight. The best method of countering speed traps are to find a willing, naive billa, AKA billy boy, and he'll happily take the bullets for you.

The Comp Coupe is a ridiculous car. It utterly dominated Speed World Challenge GT to such an extent that they had to add ballast, rev-limits and other restrictions because it was just too fast for the rest of the field (of modified 'vettes, M3s, RS4s and 911s, mind you). I still remember going to a Viper Racing League track day at Thunderhill Raceway where Tommy Archer, Dodge's factory driver brought out the works Comp Coupe and despite starting last in the field by a big margin, he absolutely swallowed the rest of the grid within a couple of laps. Compared to the regular Vipers, the Comp Coupe is absolutely something else. Looks great too, way better than the first generation. Here is a picture of Tim Wiens' car that I took at Sears Point.

Crap. Subaru have lost the plot then. This car looks like a typical overweight, bodykitted Jap sedan, like a Camry or Allion even.

Could this be a good photoshop job?

Zactly, Kris. What everybody fails to understand when they beat their chests crying about how Malaysia hosts F1 whereas Sri Lanka doesn't, is that the F1 administration demands millions of dollars from the local promoters in terms of franchising fees. Once you pay those bills, in addition to the hundreds of millions in track infrastructure, you'll have to charge punters hundreds of dollars for seats. Tell me, how many of you, petrol heads no less, will pay that. Then think, will it be possible to bring in a hundred thousand of you, annually, paying those prices. Then think of how many F1 fans you actually know. Then ask yourself when was the last time you went outstation to watch a local championship race. Shit, when was the last time you went to Katu? Malaysia made it happen because Dr. Mahathir underwrote the whole thing, as part of his strategy in promoting Malaysia as a venue for tourism, business and investment. Lets just forget Sri Lanka as a Grand Prix destination for now, and do what we can, really well. We need to start at the bottom, and right now that means developing the local motor racing scene. I hope Tissa pans out, because we need FIA-grade tracks like that, for ourselves. Katu absolutely sucks, and as involving as Pannala is as a drivers' circuit, the lack of proper run-off, size and basic facilities make it unsuitable for anything but local track days and club events. Our best bet for holding an international series round locally is the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. Those who saw the atrocious conditions at the China round of the APRC on Star Sports recently will know that we are easily capable of holding a similar event here. At Pelawatte.