Among
the exhibits of the Classic Car Club, at the "Motor Show 97", was a
novel creation by a junior member of the club.
This attractive "go kart" designed and constructed by Kushan Fernando made its premier appearance at this Motor Show. Kushan has spent many hours of his childhood in his father’s motor car repair shop, adjoining their residence, and there were several instances when he had to be rescued from being burnt by the welding torch. When he grew out of his pedal car over 10 years ago, he was bent on creating a substitute for it. Using various odds and ends and discarded pieces of metal, he spent hours in this workshop putting them together.
Having thus constructed the frame, assembled the steering column, and fitted the wheels he next looked for a suitable engine. Among those tried was one from a chain-saw and another from a ‘sulphur dusting’ machine. Ultimately he settled for a 2nd hand Yamaha 125cc motor cycle engine which had to be salvaged from the decrepit state in which he bought it from Panchikawatte.
The electrical wiring and even the stitching of the seat belts were done by him. The latter was done on his mother’s sewing machine, at the expense of several machine needles.
Over a slow and persistent 5 years he assembled this go-kart piecemeal during school holidays. A student of St. Thomas’ College up to 1995, he now attends Stafford International School and is currently preparing for the G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination (London), scheduled for June 1998. He is very grateful to the Classic Car Club of Ceylon for inviting him to exhibit his creation, and for encouraging him on his efforts.
The Institute of Automotive Engineers of Sri Lanka, will hold their Annual General Meeting at the BMICH on Sept. 6.
The Minister of Transport and Highways will be the Chief Guest. During the year the Institute conducted several seminars on subjects of interest to the Motoring Sector of Sri Lanka. The seminar will be held after the AGM with Motoring firms assisting the Institute. The seminar is sponsored by Toyota Lanka Ltd.
The Vintage Reliability Run ’97; Colombo - Galle - Colombo organised by the Vintage Car Owners’ Club and sponsored by Klevenberg (Pvt) Ltd. & Hatton National Bank will be held in September. Entries have now been closed and participants area gearing up for this, the first ever long distance run organised for vintage cars.
Golden oldies are now in the process of being beautified and all saloons catering to them are having their hands full.
Most of them have been restored to mint condition with great emphasis on originality by their proud owners.
The organisers had initially restricted the entries to twenty-five but extended it to thirty by popular demand. The run will be flagged off at 7.30 a.m. by the Minister of Transport A.H.M. Fowzie at Green Path, opposite the Art Gallery.
Hatton National Bank and Lucas have planned many surprises for the participants en route with the golden oldies having to clock in at 10 check points throughout the two days. This is a great opportunity for all people in the southern district to view these cars as these vehicles are usually not seen plying our roads.
Q:
Caltex was a household name in Sri Lanka in the good old days. How did you make
your re- entry into the market?
A: I believe we got the opportunity when the government was privatising Lanka Lubricants Ltd., from Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. Since our association with the market was there over the years, we felt that it was a very good opportunity to enter the market. Hence we bid (successfully as it turned out) for Lanka Lubricants.
Q: Lanka Lubricants seems to be sponsoring Motor Sports in a big way. What were your impressions of motor racing in Sri Lanka-Mahagastota, Fox Hill, Katukurunda and the Kandy Road Race?
A: I was very pleasantly surprised to see the enthusiasm for motor racing in Sri Lanka. Being a foreigner I had an impression that motor sports might not be that popular. It was a real surprise for me to see that so many people even if they do not participate, would like to see the sport. As for us the individual events are concerned at Mahagastota. Mahagastota is a very interesting track because it has a very long history and when we become involved in the sponsorship, I got to know some of it. It’s a very challenging track because the corners are very, very sharp and the drivers really get a chance to show their skill.
On the other hand, Fox Hill has turned out to be my favourite race over the last two years, because of its location. The track obviously is great. You get a chance to see 40 to 80 thousand people together watching motor sports. That’s a great feeling. The crowd gets involved and it is beautifully organised by both the SLARDAR and Army, so all in all it’s a very good combination.
Then we come to Katukurunda. Katukurunda has again some history to it. The track is conducive for Motor Racing as it is an open track - at least the main stretch. So it’s more exciting but I wish we had more crowds over there. Again that’s a petty issue. Coming to the Kandy meet, I can safely say it’s the toughest main road race that I have seen because of the number of bends. I believe over 17 or 18 minimum and all of them are very sharp, so you are really testing the skills of the driver. Plus, it’s a beautiful location and the crowd turnout has been great. So I think both the crowd and us, the sponsors enjoy it.
Q: Going over to Grand Prix Formula One Racing I notice that you have sponsored the telecast of the races this year on ETv. Do you get the necessary advertising mileage as the races are shown one week after the actual date? And is there any possibility of getting it on the same day?
A: Regarding Formula One races, I guess we are limited to what can be shown because of the TV Channels involved.
I think the advertising mileage has been shared. That’s the least I can say about it. Although I too realise that there are a lot of Motor Sports enthusiasts who really want to see it live, unfortunately the TV stations are not able to do that, so we have a limited choice in what way we can participate.
Q: How did you get involved in Caltex?
A: I’ve been with the company nearly 10 years and I had done a project for the company even when I was not working for them.
Therefore I got an offer for this job. Since then I’ve been involved in this Lubricant business and never looked back. I’ve enjoyed my career with Caltex because in the Lubricant marketing field you meet a variety of people. Everyday is a challenging day. So I think that all my time with the company has been positive and hopefully will be so in the future.
Q: What are your future expectations and plans for the Sri Lanka market?
A: Well, we hope to be the dominant factor in the market for a long time and also to introduce a greater range of products for all types of usage - giving the best possible service to our customers. That’s our commitment to the market.
That apart, we are definitely committed to motor sports in Sri Lanka which is one way of getting some mileage for our product. By doing so, we are trying to create more interest from the spectators’ point of view.
In 1971, David Pieris, Managing Director of David Pieris Motor Company completed the Sri Lanka Grand Prix at Katunayake on three wheels, creating an international sensation.
Last week there was news of another similar situation when Damon Hill finished the Hungarian Grand Prix despite a hydraulic pump problem which meant he was unable to change gear in his car.
Damon Hill drove the race of his life in his Bridgestone shod Arrows in last week’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hill led virtually the entire race after storming past pole position man, Michael Schumacher, on the tenth lap.
Hill immediately pulled away from the Ferrari and took a lead of 13 seconds by lap 31, 18 seconds by lap 39, 25 seconds by lap 51 and a final 34.412 seconds lead on lap 73 when he started to run into trouble.
Hill’s Arrows suffered a hydraulic pump problem which meant the throttle started to work only intermittently and he was unable to change gear.
Stuck in 2nd and then 3rd gear he was unable to defend his lead.
Second placed Jacques Villencure took the lead and Hill followed him home into second place Jonny Herbert was third in his Sauber followed by the Schumacher brothers (Michael and Ralf) and then the Bridgestone shod Prost cars of Shinji Nakano (6th) and Jarno Trulli (7th).
Hill said:
"The first couple of laps Michael pulled away, but I managed to close in on and I could see his tyres were blistering. Once I got past him and got clear of the traffic I managed to optimise.
Then it went really well and I am very very pleased for the team and for Bridgestone, they did a good job here and obviously I am slightly disappointed that we didn’t manage to win the race.
"About three laps from the end I had a throttle problem and that works hydraulically but the problem with the throttle was just an indication of the problem with the hydraulics and then my gears went.
"I wasn’t able to change gear or use the throttle properly.
"I was amazed we got to the finish as it completely stopped about three times. I think we showed what we could do, I think second place nevertheless was a very good result, and I’m very very pleased with that."
Continue to Plus page 8 - Colombo's canals coming to life
Return to the Plus contents page
| HOME PAGE | FRONT PAGE | EDITORIAL/OPINION | NEWS / COMMENT | BUSINESS
Please send your comments and suggestions on this web site to
info@suntimes.is.lk or to
webmaster@infolabs.is.lk