RE: Liveblog: PH in Dubai

RE: Liveblog: PH in Dubai

Sunday 13th January 2013

Liveblog: PH in Dubai

Day Two dawns, and we're off to the Dubai 24h to catch up with some PH racers



Tyre launches perhaps lack the glamour of some press events but usually compensate with a nice location and interesting activities. So we've sent Alex off to Dubai to see how much new Dunlop Sport BluResponse he can burn off in clouds of smoke in the name of valuable and relevant product research. And then meet up with locally based PHers to get a feel for Dubai car culture in the land where supercars rule the roost and you can fill your tank for a tenner. He'll also be checking in with the Dubai 24-hour race too.

Check by for regular updates and find out how he's getting on here...



Saturday, Dubai Autodrome
Apologies for the radio silence today; a complete inability to find some internet access prevented me from updating, but fear not as the wait is over!

Another 7am wake-up call brought us back to the land of the living after a slightly bleary evening lastnight. Memories are thin on the ground, but we can say with some certainty that the evening involved a large tent on the beach filled with food and endless Merlot, followed by a sizeable 125th birthday cake, a visit to the hotel bar, and a slightly giggly ride to the top floor in the all-glass lift with some other motoring hacks. Not that we're all children at heart, or anything...

Another day, another Powerpoint presentation...
Another day, another Powerpoint presentation...
The net result was a slightly fragile tinge to proceedings throughout the morning. First up, it was back on the bus to the Dubai Autodrome to watch some of the Dubai 24h race, of which Dunlop is the title sponsor. Before we could do any of that, though, we 'enjoyed' another presentation on Dunlop's motorsport history in a hospitality suite. A highlight came in the form of a few words from Bernd Schneider, between stints at the wheel of his Black Falcon Mercedes SLS GT3 - the car that went on to win the race. Once he was allowed to head back to his pit garage, though, talk returned to tyre temperature data recording equipment, giving us cause to daydream about the noises coming from the race proper just outside the room.

Eventually, we were released. We headed straight down to the paddock to see if we could find Garage 12A, home for the weekend to SVDP Racing. This small team, running a BMW 120D in the D1 class, was a bit special to us as it consisted partly of PHers, taking part for no reason other than the sheer thrill of it. It's a special kind of driver that wants to do this, though - when we caught up with them, some of these guys had only had an hour's sleep since yesterday morning.

SVDP's 1-Series battled through to a great result
SVDP's 1-Series battled through to a great result
I spent some time chatting with British team owner and driver Spencer van der Pal (no prizes for guessing where the team name came from), but our chat was cut short when the BMW pulled into the garage for an unscheduled stop, the driver complaining of a vibration from the rear. Spencer and his mechanics sprang into action; I watched from the sidelines for a bit, then wished the team luck and made my exit, mainly because the last thing they needed was a useless hairy lummox standing in their way, but also as it was nearly time for our shuttle back to the airport. That isn't the end of the story, though - you'll be able to read a more in-depth article on SVDP and their race on PH soon.

With ten minutes to kill, we headed back up to the viewing gallery above the pits and watched as 458s, 911s, SLSs and all manner of touring car style ephemera blatted past. We were staggered to note that the grandstands were all but empty; given that entry was free, it seems astonishing that so few people should want to come and see the race. It left me pondering the UAE and its relationship with cars. Here's a country renowned for its love of exotic machinery, and yet when motorsport comes to town in such a big way, few seem to bat an eyelid. That said, the grapevine suggests it was busier yesterday afternoon and into the evening; perhaps we were just there at the wrong time. Even so, it seems this race still has quite a way to go before it reaches the stature of some of the more mature 24h enduros.

It undoubtedly has a character of its own, though, the Dubai 24h. And with the buzz of more spectators, it'd be something really quite special. There's a friendly, relaxed air floating around the paddock, and the facility as a whole seems superb. There's a unique appeal to watching motor racing in the middle of the desert, too, with blazing sunshine, deep blue skies and glossy skyscrapers looming in the distance through the haze. It's quite unlike any endurance race you'll find in Europe. Whether that's enough to see it flourish remains to be seen - but we found ourselves hoping that it does

It's been an enjoyable trip, of course - the PR hospitality has made sure of that - but seeing the UAE first-hand has been the highlight, and it's had a profound effect on our impression of the country's car culture. We'll save our thoughts on that for another day, though. For now, we'll sign off with the fantastic news that we received when we landed back in the UK, which was that the SVDP boys came home in first place in their class. Hearty and very well-deserved congratulations to Spencer and the rest of the team, and what a way to round off a fascinating couple of days.



Friday afternoon, Yas Marina
The afternoon's first task has been to test the wet and dry grip of the new tyre. At this particular launch, the modus operandi was a coned track set up on a large bit of concrete, with half of it wet with sprinklers.

Tricky one, this. First we were barked at to leave the traction control on - which would make it impossible to get an idea of breakaway. So we ignored this instruction and headed out.

PH was best at this, obviously...
PH was best at this, obviously...
The chance to hoof a rear-drive car around on a slippery surface is always fun, but in this instance it did prove a reasonable way to test the tyre's characteristics on the limit. It was marred somewhat by the fact the dry part of the track became wet after just a few minutes' use, and we could have done with a little more time to get used to the cars and the circuit, but there was enough time to work out that the BluResponse felt more sure-footed and confidence-inspiring in wet and dry cornering than the Michelin rival laid on comparison, though the Michelin troubled the ABS less under hard straight-line braking. Whether you'd be able to tell much difference in off-the-limit use, though, was another matter - and a subject I'll be blogging about anon.

From there, it was on to the slalom course. The plan was to divide us into teams of two, then race teams against each other in two back-to-back slalom courses in identical Merc SLK200s. This was designed to allow us to experience the steering feel available through the new tyre, but in reality it was near-impossible to tell in such a short space of time. Instead, the event degenerated into a flurry of inter-team banter; as you'd expect, in the knockout competition that followed, PH found itself on the winning team!

The final test was an on-road drive, which in all honesty told us more about the Merc C200s we were doing them in than the tyres themselves. There was a tickle of tyre noise, the steering was precise enough, and the suspension comfortable - all thing's you could expect us to say of the Merc, but what bearing the tyre had on these factors was, frankly, anyone's guess.

With the work of tyre testing done (conclusion: these new Dunlops seem to be pretty good, but beyond that and with little to compare them with, it's hard to say a great deal) it was time to repair to the hotel once again. Tonight a 125th-anniversary celebration of Dunlop is planned. I think it's safe to say the empirical testing work is done for the day.

 



Friday morning, Yas Marina circuit
After yesterday spent on two different planes and mostly at 39,000 feet, we finally arrived at the hotel at midnight local time. Straight to bed was the order of the day, as this morning's schedule was to start with a wake-up call at 7am - that's 3am on our body clocks. Nice.

Learning rubber, not burning rubber
Learning rubber, not burning rubber
The reason for that hideously early start was the packed schedule of events that lie ahead. Before any of that, though, a coach transfer through the desert to Abu Dhabi, our destination for the day. Yes, you guessed it - we'll be spending the day here at the Yas Marina circuit, involving ourselves in the methodical business of tyre testing (or, to put it another way, making lots of noise and smoke in a series of mid-range Mercs).

Before we can get behind the wheel, we have to have a presentation. On the surface, this is a dull affair - an hour of being talked at about tyre technology - but some interesting stats come out of it that tell us some things about the tyre industry as a whole.

Most notably, this new Sport BluResponse is geared heavily towards better fuel efficiency, despite being what Dunlop calls a high performance tyre. The company is claiming a 40 per cent improvement over its predecessor in rolling resistance and even an improvement in the tyre's aerodynamics to that end. Notably, they don't claim any handling improvement - it's clear where their priorities lie. The presentation also reveals that tyre companies see 16-inch as the biggest-selling size of the moment. We allow ourselves a brief snigger at the mention of a 'low heat generation bottom compound' before moving on to the first of the day's activities.

PH honour upheld against rival hacks
PH honour upheld against rival hacks
Which is a 10-minute race on the Yas Marina kart circuit. This has less to do with tyre testing and more to do with having a bit of a laugh, if we're honest. The circuit is slippery with sand and features a couple of tricky corners, but once the tyres warm up your humble correspondent gets the hang of things. As a gentleman of a portly persuasion with little karting experience I wasn't expecting great shakes, but was pleased with third in session and fifth overall, from a group of 27. Requisite jokes are made by those further back in the field that their karts were obviously fitted with inferior tyres. Lunch beckons, and then the real 'work' begins in earnest.

 

Author
Discussion

ALBA MELV

Original Poster:

383 posts

155 months

Friday 11th January 2013
quotequote all
A jolly to Abu-Dhabi seems like a great way to find out more about tyres.

Challenge the other hacks to a karting rematch and note that the throttle cable on the Yas Circuit karts runs just to the right side of the seats. A sly tug of the cable will give you a bit more throttle on the straight parts of the course. Not that I cheated.....

TubbyNorman

214 posts

180 months

Friday 11th January 2013
quotequote all
Yes, was going to say Yas Marina was in Abu Dhabi last time I went. Dubai is next door, only a bus ride away, but this is like saying Edinburgh is in England !

only1ian

684 posts

193 months

Friday 11th January 2013
quotequote all
ha! I live 5 minutes down the road from YAS. Fancy a beer and a go in my Alpina Alex?

AE82GT

142 posts

174 months

Friday 11th January 2013
quotequote all
Just a quick one chaps, every photo shows Abu Dhabi, your in Abu Dhabi...NOT Dubai. Too much sun I think Alex.....

Scrof

197 posts

153 months

Friday 11th January 2013
quotequote all
To clarify: I am actually in Dubai; that's where the hotel is, and for today's events we had a coach transfer out to Abu Dhabi, as said in the article. Back in Dubai this evening and heading to the Autodrome tomorrow for the 24h race and to meet some local PHers before the flight home!

Only1ian - I would love both but sadly time is against me. If you fancy coming down to the Autodrome tomorrow morning, though, I'll be hanging around Garage 12A in a PH T-shirt with my username on it and a jolly beard, and chatting to anyone who fancies talking to me!

Motorrad

6,811 posts

186 months

Friday 11th January 2013
quotequote all
The autodrome at night in DUBAI is a better karting venue than Yas Marina IMO. With the added benefit of actually being in Dubai......your cunningly worded article could fool the skim readers amongst us. I was certainly puzzled.

Norbury90

6,897 posts

205 months

Friday 11th January 2013
quotequote all
The karting track in Dubai is awesome. I have never really been karting before but the layout in Dubai is brilliant.

Didn't get to try the one at Yas but it doesn't look as good IMO.

edinph

386 posts

173 months

Saturday 12th January 2013
quotequote all
Friends and I went out for the GP in November. Total petrolhead heaven. Rental car was 5litre Mustang which cost 85 Dirhams to brim! Nothing compares to being passed on the inside by a McLaren at full tilt!

dxbtiger

4,389 posts

172 months

Saturday 12th January 2013
quotequote all
Enjoy the 24 hour, was good yesterday.

2000 GTV

68 posts

160 months

Saturday 12th January 2013
quotequote all
Comical.

72911

111 posts

164 months

Saturday 12th January 2013
quotequote all
Yup - you're defo in Abu Dhabi and not Dubai...

Al Forsan is probably the best place in the UAE for karting. Up for a PH race if anyone is keen.

only1ian

684 posts

193 months

Saturday 12th January 2013
quotequote all
Sadly cannot make it to Dubai today Alex. Any PHer fancy an al forsan kart race lets make it happen

Harris_I

3,225 posts

258 months

Saturday 12th January 2013
quotequote all
Not only is the kart track better in Dubai, but the actual circuit itself is far more interesting than the F1 track at Yas.

jon-

16,497 posts

215 months

Saturday 12th January 2013
quotequote all
ALBA MELV said:
Challenge the other hacks to a karting rematch and note that the throttle cable on the Yas Circuit karts runs just to the right side of the seats. A sly tug of the cable will give you a bit more throttle on the straight parts of the course. Not that I cheated.....
I still beat him...

Scrof

197 posts

153 months

Sunday 13th January 2013
quotequote all
jon- said:
I still beat him...
Only because I let you. Ahem.

JohnoVR6

690 posts

211 months

Sunday 13th January 2013
quotequote all
jon- said:
I still beat him...
And I still beat you... biggrin

robinessex

11,046 posts

180 months

Monday 14th January 2013
quotequote all
Why don't you guys get a proper job like what I've got!! Up at 3:30 am this morning to Drive Essex to Yeovil, work +50hrs this week, go home Friday afternoon. I think I hate you all now !!!!