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William Wadsworth

Classics on track for luxury sponsors
The Classic Car Club of Hong Kong's Sepang-based race section has had a very successful year, says Gerry Kipling who stood down this week after a three-season term as its chairman.
'The 2007 Race Series involved 34 entrants in a wide variety of cars over five rounds between April and November 2007, often part of a major event such as the A1 Grand Prix, or  Merdeka Millennium Enduro Event,' he says. The results:
Overall 2007 Championship
Ian Geekie (Datsun 240Z) 104 points; Nick Thomas (Porsche 911) 97pts; Simon Westbrook (TVR) 73pts.
Class O (cars over 2,400cc per 1,000kg) Nick Thomas (Porsche 911) 97pts; Simon Westbrook (TVR) 73pts; Joe Sevack (Porsche 911) 64pts.
Class A (cars with less than 1,800cc per 1,000kg) Koh Hark Hwa (Honda Civic) 70pts; Andrew Crombie (Mini) 68pts; Mohd Zaaim Abu Bakar (Mini) 38pts.
Class B (cars between 1,801cc and 2,400cc per 1,000kg) Ian Geekie (Datsun 240Z) 104pts; Azman Ramly (Escort MK.I) 57pts; Gerry Kipling (BMW 2002 tii) 50pts.
Class C cars of non-original engine, or turbocharged (to 2,000cc) pre-December 31, 1987 are ineligible for the overall championship.
The 24-year-old section expects to continue racing at Sepang (above), where it has met since 2001. The 40-strong section is seeing increasing levels of interest in classic car racing, Kipling says. 'Racing continues to be good value in Malaysia. For 2007 the cost of five weekends in April to November, each round comprising free practice, qualifying and two races each round, the cost including secure garage space and custom bond has been  about HK$60,000 per car. There are also air fares at, say HK$2,700-HK$3,200 return, and hotel at say HK$1,000 per weekend.'
Cars eligible to race must be manufactured before December 31, 1987, and must be fitted with a roll cage and safety equipment, he says. 'A range of race-prepared cars can be readily bought either locally or overseas, with this off season time an ideal time to buy, typically inexpensively,' Kipling says.
If you need help with enquiries on suitable cars, call new chairman Nick Thomas (on 9400 1959) or Kipling on 9465 1800 or e-mail gkipling@propertyoneonline.com. The club is also looking for sponsors, Kipling says. Marketing chiefs might give these well-off, luxury brand-conscious, frequent travelling, high-octane and generally lovable Foot Down-reading boy racers a call.
Hoof on the roof
Parallel importers Richburg Motors will hold a noon delivery ceremony for 20 Nissan GT-R on the roof of Ocean Terminal's Pier 3, in Tsim Sha Tsui, on Monday. Launched at the recent Tokyo Motor Show, the 480 horsepowered, 3.8-litre turbo V6 (below, left) is selling well for HK$1.039 million, says Richburg chief executive Eric Wong.
'We immediately sold 20 units,'  he says. 'This is a supercar, not a sports car, targetting customers of Ferrari and Porsche.' Wong has a point, for the GT-R's said to bang 588Nm of torque at 3,500rpm via a six-speed box and all-wheel drive to hit 100km/h in 3.3 seconds.
'Nissan is very proud of this product and its initial success. Honda has delayed the launch plan of all new NSX.'
Word along Gloucester Road is that the first GT-R owner outside Japan is a Hong Kong airline pilot. If that's the case, we'll switch on the 310km/h fastie's passenger seat belt warning, draw the pilot's attention to 275 police cameras 'here, here and here' across town and warn of a challenging approach to speeding at Court No 2.



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