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The 2012 Honda Indy in Toronto Canada

Honda Indy Toronto kindly sent me tickets again this year (click here and here for last years posts).

The Thursdasy before the race I was invited to

the first-ever Backstage Indy Tour.

First, the press conference.

I got to thinking, these racers, sure they’re all very good behind the wheel, but they have to be equally as good in front of a camera, because it seems much of their job is presenting well.

Like racer Simon Pagenaud.

This was inside Honda’s paddock, where I was as close to an Indy car as you can get.

They asked us not to take photos of the engine, knowing their competition would be zooming in on our photos looking, searching – corporate espionage.

Official Indy car tools.

On the tour we were able to visit the pits, come ON.

That’s where I met Arie Lyendyk, 2 time winner of the Indianapolis 500.

If there’s anyone who should be made into an animated gif, it’s Arie. Bet he’d be fun to have a drink with, you could tell it would be jokes.

 HONDA INDY FACTS

– each car is $1 million, and it costs $4 million to play this game

 – they’re going 200 MPH

  – it’s difficult to pass here, most passing is done in Turn 3

 – it takes 6 guys 6.5 seconds to re-fuel the car.  Changing the tires is faster

 – because this is a street course, they are in constant attack mode

 – there are 400+ volunteers

 – ticket sales this year were higher than ever

 – Toronto is one of the racers’ favourite stops, because we fans are so awesome

 

I attended the race both days.

I will never, ever tire of the sound of the engines. Maybe the best part.

And while on this topic: to all the hippies who put down the Indy… guys, where do you think the technology comes from for your green, eco-friendly vehicles?

Here guys, it comes from races like this; they test technology on the track, which filters down into cars for normal people.

The other best part.

(I’m talking about the Honda Civic Si HFPs, watch me drive one on a track here)

Oh guys, you need to obscure your WiFi names next time.

One of the strangest thing was the absence of a checkered flag.  Except for the official guy waving one, they are nowhere to be found.

I put out a serious effort, too.  All I found was this scrappy piece wrapped around the base of a sunglasses-for-sale stand.

I think I’ve uncovered a little mystery here!

I wonder if I’ll be emailed, “please remove that checkered flag image”. We’re going to find out, because above is the new header for KeriOnCars.com.

The race concluded with a crash.

Thanks for a great time, Honda, and congratulations on your best-selling Indy in years!

Indy Day 2

It was bumper cars today at the 25th Honda Indy.

Dario Franchitti smashed his way to his 3rd Toronto Indy win, congratulations! Will Power is upset. Read about it here.

The weather was perfect, fighter jets overhead, it was a fantastic weekend, thanks again, Honda!

This is the first video I’ve uploaded to Google+

Add me     gplus.to/KeriBlog

Under the bleachers on the way out.

Here’s the editing file….. did you think there’d be that many cuts?? Exactly.  Smirk.

Here’s to a good and productive start to your week!!

Went to the Indy Today

Sometimes I wonder if, in olden times, horses were loved as much as we love engines today.

Engines are the new horses.

It was beautfiul out, a perfect weather day. Here’s your sunscreen reminder. Then Scott came out of nowhere, and surprised me.

Maybe my favourite part of any car race is the sound.

Those are NASCARs you hear.

But have you noticed too, that this year’s Indy isn’t as busy as past years.

I remember hearing cars for 3 days straight, and it’s now Saturday night and I’ve barely heard any races? Did it get scaled back and I don’t know?

One year I rode a giant razor like a mechanical bull.

Going again tomorrow!

It’s Indy Weekend

Honda kindly gave me VIP tickets for both days this year, oh ya let’s DO this.

I live downtown and love the deafening noise, l o v e it.  So in this vein, here’s an old episode from my ‘Canadian Explorer’ show:

Ep 27/80 Exploring a Race Car June 2009

Best. Thumbnail. EVER.

How anti-climactic there’s no actual footage of me racing, eh. It poured the whole day, my camera is not waterproof. Also, note 0:50 ;)

THE best part of the day, but not on video though, was when I spun out.

The track is covered in oil, the rain makes it slippery, and as I rounded a corner the car just started doing a 360 by itself.

Downshift, caught it, completed the 360 and kept driving. Started screaming with pride and joy. My natural reaction is fist pump, forgot the cabin is so tiny, smashed my fist straight up into the metal lip.

kk I’m off to the INDY! TTYL

 

 

The 2015 Ford Fiesta ST

2015 Ford Fiesta ST

1.6 Litre, 4-cylinder engine
197 hp
202 ft-lbs
6-speed transmission

$24,599

Non-car nerds – ST means it’s the performance model of the Fiesta.

Which is why the ST is ONLY available with a manual transmission; how rare and proper.

The 1.6 litre engine outputs a ton of torque for the vehicle’s small size. The dust in the top photo is from me tossing it around the windy Muskoka roads, shifting between second and third on the gear ratios that are good and close together, windows down to heighten the wrrrrr sound of the turbo.

Because that’s what you do
with a Fiesta ST – toss it.

Its sport-tuned suspension gives it a great grip on the road, steering is tight and direct, acceleration is brisk through the rev range, and its handling is as close to neutral as possible in a front-wheel drive car.

The list of standard features is strong – heated seats and mirrors, keyless entry, push start, fog lights, Sony speaker system and cruise control-  uncommon in a vehicle at this price point.

I’d forgo the +$495 racing stripe, and instead upgrade the rims to the +$550 black aluminum ones.

Know who else drives one? Ken Block drives a Fiesta ST.

At 8.3 L /100 km over 780km fuel economy is good, espeically because remember how I drive – like a pig.

My main complaint of the ST is a small thing, but big enough it has its own post.

The RECARO racing seats come standard, and actually, the car cannot be ordered without them.

And while the orange-coloured inserts are no additional cost, I find it makes the interior visually a bit busy. But really, styling is so subjective.

Beneath the trunk floor is a surprisingly large area for extra storage.

It’s not translating well in the photos below, but the space is quite cavernous.

This is an ideal car for the young, starter enthusiast.

It’s tough to beat the ST for the amount of fun at this price point.  Its competitors are Subaru’s BRZ and Mazda’s MX-5, but both those cars are 2-seaters, instantly making them a secondary car.

Right now is Ford’s annual Employee Pricing event, take advantage of the sale which ends September 30th, 2015.

Blog tag = Ford Fiesta