ALFA CENTURION
AT THE MACAU Grand Prix, this weekend, the safety and rescue crew are ready and waiting in case of a serious shunt and injury. They are out of sight and out of mind for most motorsport spectators, but for me they are knights in shining armour. When cars crash on the circuit, safety and rescue cars dart on to the track instantly, lights flashing, pedal to metal, at speeds of 180km/h-200km/h, the fastest paramedics in the world.
Klaus Doerr, who coordinated safety and rescue at the event for years as a volunteer, now comes back every year to supervise. In 2003, the cars will again be Alfa-Romeos, provided by Leo Wong, owner of Kingsland Cars Ltd. The safety car will be a 147 GTA, the rescue cars will be 156s.
In the 29 years I have attended the Macau Grand Prix, I have always wished to get out there and drive one of the safety cars on the track. Recently, I got my chance, in the Alfa 147 GTA - though not on the circuit. So, while driving my test course around Clearwater Bay and Ma On Shan, I imagined I was on the famous Guia Circuit in Macau where I raced my 1965 classic car in the early 1980s and got a feeling for those fascinating curves.
The exterior of the 147 GTA is smart: a three-door hatchback with a slight rally-look or that of an electronic, heat-seeking dart. The side view impresses with the five-leaf clover alloy wheels and aero kit with decorative scoops. The front view is provocative. The designers have gone beyond the groin lines on the bonnet running down to a black triangular patch. Now it is a vertical V with a round button at the top. The stylish bumpers and airdams hang stunningly low, almost concealing the ultra-wide tyres. Now the snake-face is at the rear: tail-lights the bright red eyes of a lovesick adder, its wide, dark mouth hanging low in the aero bumper, and the twin chrome exhaust pipes sticking out of its mouth like a mobster's cigar.
At last I'm in the cockpit, deep in the richly upholstered recaro seat, generous lateral hold cushions hugging my ribs, my seat belt tight, left foot on a massive dead-pedal, right foot on a bare metal accelerator, close to the brake pedal, in case you want to press both at once. The six-speed gearstick brings to mind the huge 3.2-litre, 250-horsepower V-6 engine under the bonnet. Now my hands are on the small, leatherbound, three-spoke steering wheel, through which I see tachometer and speedometer, sunk in dark round caves, with the fuel gauge in prime position. I'm ready for two things. One, to test the Alfa 147 in Sai Kung. Two, to imagine I am the safety car driver on the Macau Guia Circuit, rushing to the scene of a crash. I wait in the paddock (the bus stop in Sai Kung). Then comes the call over the walkie talkie: 'Accident! Accident! Two car crash Lisboa Corner!'
Engaging first gear, I rocket out of the paddock. In less than two car lengths, I shift to second, causing a power peep, shift to third at 6,000rpm, brake sharply to take the curve at the new Star Plaza car park in Sai Kung (Mandarin Oriental Bend) with a howl of tyres, back to second for the sharp right, then another, and back to Hiram's Highway. I gasp at the incredible instant, massive power available. I could have got away in second gear.
Away down the straight towards Lisboa Hotel, I'm still in third and redlining at 7,000rpm, my speed just under 200km/h. The tyres are howling at each redline gear-change, the torque so massive and instant that the car weaves on take-off. Down the circuit at an even 150km/h, and then brake and down to second for the San Fernando corner, rocketing up Hospital Hill, past Matsuya, down to second for Maternity Bend (so-called because amateurs like myself have kittens there).
Up to third, and a momentary fourth around the Solitudes Esses and fifth down Faraway Hill, third and second around that square corner, actually left at the roundabout, then curving away up to the headland. But to me it's the Dona Maria, a rapidly tightening curve, then rocketing out and a silent salute as we pass Teddy Yip's house, the grandfather of the Macau Grand Prix. And we are at the end of the road (Melco Hairpin).
I feel the magic of the Alfa. I had wondered about the torque-wobble on take-off, but in cornering it is solid as a rock. By now I am braking slightly, just to get an even keel, then pouring on power through curves, with only acceleration keeping me on the road.
I realise this car could have been entered in the race instead of rushing to help the racers in trouble. For the first time I feel what modern racers feel on the circuit. Out of Fisherman's, and away again, the stubby gear-lever now seeming to shift itself as I get used to the car, and hurtling down the straight to R Bend, dropping to third, a touch of brake, and again up to a momentary 160km/h as we pass the Control Tower and the main grandstand and then slow to Reservoir.
Mercifully, the crash turns out to be a spin and crunch, nobody hurt. But now, as safety car driver, I must lead the racers on one complete lap, to be sure the track is clear. Minutes later we are back at R Bend, flags go green and the F3 cars scream across the finish line and disappear around Reservoir Bend.
Now I understand why often these exciting Alfas are owned by mature gentlemen. We can enjoy the excitement of the power and instant acceleration, without getting into trouble. And I promise to be watching in person when the Alfa safety and rescue cars hit the circuit in Macau, when the knights rush to the rescue.
Alfa Romeo 147 GTA
WHAT IS IT? A hot, new three-door charger, chosen as safety car for the Macau Grand Prix 2003
HOW MUCH? $368,000, the six-speed manual as tested. Leather upholstery, Bose audio system
WHAT MOVES IT? Front engine, front drive; 3.2-litre, V-6 engine, promises 250 horsepower and 30.6kg torque at a mere 4,800rpm, through a six-speed manual shift
HOW FAST? Top speed 246 km/h, 0-60 mph in 6.3 seconds
HOW THIRSTY? Who cares? (Okay, the combined urban/extra-urban consumption is 12.1 litres per 100km
SAFETY FEATURES: Driver aged over 40; ABS; EBD (electronic brake distribution); driver and passenger airbags plus sidebags; three-point seat belts; head restraints; ventilated disc brakes with Brembo calipers; anti-roll bars
ALTERNATIVES: Golf R32 V6 4 motion, $390,000; Renault Clio V6 $460,000