Drive Kenya June/July 2015

KENYA’S PREMIER AUTO MAG COMPLIMENTARY COPY

ISSUE 6 - JUNE/JULY 2015

Kawasaki Ninja H2R One Insane Bike!

Nairobi Auto Festival Exhilarating Cars In Our Capital

KCB Voi Rally Results Roundup

Rhino Charge

The View From Team Rhin’O’Serious

Dear Reader, Greetings! How swiftly time flies! We’re already halfway through the year and we at Drive Kenya are excited that we are already on our 6th issue.

In important news this month, Chief Justice, Willy Mutunga and Inspector General of Police, Joseph Boinett, have agreed to new traffic rules in regard to traffic offences. The new laws are intended to ease the payment of fines and bail and reduce levels of corruption. Some of the changes taking place are that traffic courts must process the payment of traffic fines in an open court. The respective courts must ensure that adequate facilities and time must be afforded to the accused persons, to pay the fine or cash bail. Also no accused persons in traffic cases will be locked up without first being granted time, place and adequate facilities to pay fines or bail. We at Drive Kenya welcome any such development that eases the burdens and challenges of being a motorist in Kenya. Speaking of challenges, the price of fuel has shot up once again (corresponding price falls are rare and shallow) and is expected to rise further with the imposition a Ksh 3 per litre added levy according to the new budget.

This month we featured the annual Rhino Charge event which took place at Kalepo (Namunyak Conservancy), Samburu County. The event was held on the 31st of May and had many eventful moments and challenging terrain for all the participants involved. Rhino Charge is held to promote ecological conservation and is now a part of motoring folklore in Kenya.

We also feature the Nairobi Auto Festival, which was held at the KICC last month. The event saw quite a collection of cars on display as well as an enthusiastic gathering of fans throughout the day. Also covered is the launch of the Chevrolet brand with Pewin Motors and the CBA Concours d’Elegance press preview.

Kenya Car Guy, our automotive expert, gives us tips on wheel alignment, while Uncle Bob returns with some more child safety tips.

In our fast lane corner we’re showcasing the ridiculously mad Kawasaki Ninja H2R. This bike is phenomenal! It’s built purely for the track and it’s insane. Again, this bike is on a different planet in terms of specs and performance.

Rounding it off is the international and local motorsports results! Join us on facebook.com/DriveKenya page as well, where more than 7,100 petrolheads have converged.

Enjoy the ride!

Contact us for more details and options: P.O.Box: 1911 – 00606 Westlands, Nairobi - Email: info@drivekenya.co.ke - tripletwoholdings@gmail.com Tel: +254 718 221 222 +254 732 221 222 - www.drivekenya.co.ke Published By: Triple Two Holdings Ltd. - Editorial & Design Team: Amit Kwatra, Amit Soni & Vivek Kothary

Quality Car & Home Care Products Available at all leading supermarkets

Contents NEWS & EDITORIALS 4

The News

5 CBA Concourse d’Eelegance pres preview

THE FAST LANE 14

Kawasaki Ninja H2R

15

Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR

7

Uncle Bob

10

Nairobi Auto Festival

11

Chevrolet Launch

17

The Kenya Car Guy

6

The Technical Take

18

International Motorsport Results

8

The Ford Mustang Classic

23

The KCB Voi Rally Results

12

The Annual Rhino Charge

REVIEWS & FIRST DRIVES

IN

www.drivekenya.co.ke

THE NEWS

CICA Motors Introduces SYM Motorcycles For Boda Boda Transport And Courier Services CICAMotors Limited, the appointed dealer for SYM motorcycles in Kenya, has introduced SYM Wolf models which have 71 centimeter long seats. These are available in 125cc and 150cc model and are ideal for boda boda passenger transport and courier services.

CICA Motors and DT Dobie are member companies of the CFAO group. Maurice Omolo, the Sales Manager for SYM Motorcycles at CICA Motors said, “Traffic congestions in our cities and towns are fuelling the demand for motorcycles for both commercial and private use. They provide the most cost effective transport for individuals and their goods and CICA Motors is playing a role in serving this market.”

“The SYM Wolf motorcycles have a wider footrest, alloy rims and mud grip tyres which are able to deal with rough terrain and potholes.

The wider seats give greater passenger comfort and can easily accommodate a carrier box.”

“SYM motorcycles come with a one year warranty, or 6,000 kilometre free service, a reflector vest, a helmet and an owner’s manual. We also organize road safety functions for riders to provide safety tips and proper use of these machines.”

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Kenya’s Premier Auto Mag

Google’s Android Auto Vs. Apple’s CarPlay. The Battle To Connect You To Your Car. Let’s face it, for a decade the car industry has lagged behind the innovation in the smartphone arena. Most touchscreen infotainment systems in cars were clunky and finicky. This is all set to change now as Google and Apple battle it out for control of the real mobile frontier - the car.

Both have the same goal: to fully integrate your smartphone to the car’s dashboard. Android Auto will connect to Android smartphones and CarPlay with the iPhone. Once your smartphone is plugged into the car’s USB port, the phone’s music, maps & navigation, and customised apps will be displayed on the central screen.

Apps on both platforms will be controlled by voice, steering wheel controls and the central touchscreen. CarPlay and Android will allow drivers to bypass the installed dashboards found in most vehicles, allowing for a personal customization of the car not found today. Google and Apple have partnered with over 30 car manufacturers so far. Hyundai’s 2015 Sonatas with Android Auto will be the first vehicles to hit the market, this month, with this technology and the Sonata’s will be getting CarPlay in the coming months. GM is reported to be releasing 16 models with CarPlay functionality next year.

BI Intelligence reports that, “The connectedcar market is growing at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 45% — 10 times as fast as the overall car market. We expect that 75% of the estimated 92 million cars shipped globally in 2020 will be built with internet-connection hardware.”

June/July 2015

Lamborghini Confirms New SUV Lamborghini made an official announcement towards the end of May that it’s moving ahead with the production of a new SUV to be released as a 2018 model. At Drive Kenya we have mixed feelings about this one. Lamborghini is synonymous with sexy sports cars, not big, hulking SUV’s. It’s something we and the general public will have to come to accept.

Lamborghini aims to produce 3,000 units annually at its Sant’Agata plant in Italy. The new SUV will most likely be built on the same VW SUV platform that underlies the VW Touareg, the Audi Q7, the Porsche Cayenne and the new Bentley Bentayga.

Toyota and BMW Most Valuable Auto Brands Toyota was recently named the most valuable automotive marque in the world by Millward Brown’s BrandZ Top 100, for the third year running. The study determined brand value by calculating the sum of all earnings that a company’s brand is expected to generate all on its own. Toyota ranked 30th overall with a brand value of $28.9 Billion, while BMW was ranked second in the automotive category and 34th overall with a brand value of $26.3 Billion. Mercedes came in third and 43rd overall at a brand value of $21.7 Billion. Rounding out the top ten are Honda, Ford, Nissan, Audi, Volkswagen, Land Rover & Lexus.

CBA Concours d’Elegance Press Conference The date has been set. Kenya Motorsport Federation (KMSF) has proposed September 27th for the 2015 CBA Africa Concours d’Elegance. Drive Kenya got a taste of what this year’s Concours has in store and we can’t wait!

This exciting show is recognized and sanctioned by FIM AFRICA, and one of Africa’s classiest event in the years motor sport calendar. There will be twenty classes of all makes and types for cars and motorcycles.

CBA’s Chief Executive Officer for Kenya, Jeremy Ngunze, said, “Support for the annual Africa Concours d’Elegance is a long term partnership with the Alfa Romeo Owners Club.

We are happy to help the organizers to continually raise the status and reputation of the event year by year. It is a matter of satisfaction to us that the event attracts both the best kept cars and motorcycles in Kenya and draws competitors from other countries.”

for the Alfa Romeo Owners Club will bring more enthusiasts from Uganda and the wider East African Community, to be at the Nairobi Racecourse on September 27th 2015. In addition we challenge Kenyans with fine cars and bikes to compete in the fourth Uganda Vintage and Classic show which will be held in Kampala next year.”

Speaking at the press conference and displaying their delightful Concours entries were: 13th time Concours Motorbike champion, Satpal Singh, Mr. Sati Gata-Aura with his 1947 MG and more recently, Shane Arvin will ride his 900cc Harley-Davidson for the second year running.

“As CBA recently established business operations in Kampala, we were pleased to note that this year’s Concours attracted 15 entries from Uganda. It is hoped that our support

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Front Wheel Drive vs Rear Wheel Drive The front wheel drive (FWD) layout is the most popular configuration used in cars today with the engine placed in front of the front axles driving the front wheels. This layout is widely used for its compact packaging, as there is no need for a central tunnel through the interior, to allow for the prop-shaft between the engine and the driven wheels as is the case in rear wheel drives (RWD’s). FWD’s are considered superior in conditions such as snow, mud or wet tarmac as the weight of the engine is over the driven wheels and improves grip in such conditions.

Powerful sports and luxury cars rarely use the FWD configuration, though, as weight shifting limits the acceleration of a front-wheel-drive vehicle. Hard acceleration reduces the weight on the front wheels and reduces their traction, thereby limiting the torque which can be used. RWD cars are simply better out of the block.

FWD systems are less complex and cheaper to manufacture than comparative drivetrain systems, while RWD cars are easier to service as the drivetrain components on a RWD are modular and do not involve packing as many parts into as small a space as does FWD, thus requiring less disassembly and/or specialized tools in order to service the vehicle. FWD systems also tend to wear out faster than the less-complex RWD systems.

FWD models are more fuel efficient as they are lighter and this improves fuel economy by making the car lighter. Also the more compact drivetrain substantially reduces energy losses inherent in delivering power from the front engine to the rear-wheels via a long driveshaft. RWD vehicles offer

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better initial acceleration as the weight of the vehicle is transferred to the rear of the car upon acceleration which boosts traction significantly. RWD cars have a weight distribution that is close to the optimal 50% front, 50% rear. This sort of even-handed weight distribution improves the overall balance and handling of the vehicle. RWD allows skilled drivers to slide the rear-end of the car around corners much more easily. On the other hand FWD cars exhibit a characteristic called “torque steer”, where unequal application of power to one of the front wheels causes the vehicle to pull to one side or another during heavy acceleration.

The turning radius in RWD cars is smaller than FWD vehicles as no complicated drive shaft joints are required at the front wheels, it is thus possible to turn them further, resulting in a smaller steering radius for a given wheelbase.

The vast majority of RWD vehicles use a longitudinallymounted engine in the front of the vehicle to accommodate the larger engines that are normally found in them, such as the Inline-6 and V8. While FWD cars generally use the transverse engine (“east-west”) layout which restricts engine sizes to Inline-4’s and V6’s.

With the choice between FWD and RWD, what’s right for you?

In general we can summarize that FWD cars are generally found in your daily home/office commute vehicle while RWD is generally found in high performance luxury and sports cars that generate in excess of 200 to 250-hp. There isn’t a significant overlap to be found in the market anymore.

Safety First!

Using and installing a car seat properly

By Uncle Bob You’ve probably heard about the importance of always using a properly installed car seat when you take your little one out on the road. But, did you know up to 80 percent of parents aren’t using their car seats correctly? There are a number of mistakes parents’ make. Many of them are small mistakes but sometimes they can lead to injury even in a minor collision.

Here’s how to get it right A typical baby care seat, or ‘infant restraint’ as they call it in the trade, has a five-point harness system, with five straps - two at the shoulders, two at the hips and one at the crotch. Your baby’s hips should be well back in the seat. In cold weather don’t bundle your baby up in many layers of clothing or you won’t get a good harness fit at the shoulders and crotch. Instead, use lighter clothing, like an extra sweater or extra pants, and tuck blankets around the baby after he is buckled in.

The shoulder straps should feed through the back of the seat below or just at the baby’s shoulders, not above. The clip that brings the shoulder straps together should be at armpit level.

Harness straps must be flat and snug - straps that are twisted increase the risk of injury in a crash. Tighten the shoulder straps until you can fit just one finger underneath them.

Installing the seat If you use an infant seat (which many parents find more convenient) you will have to replace it when your baby reaches the weight and height limits stated by the manufacturer. The alternative is to put your baby straight into a convertible seat which can also be used for toddlers. Either way, your baby must ride facing the rear of the car until he reaches one year and weighs at least 10 kg.

The safest location for a car seat is at the back seat in a diagonal view from the driver. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions exactly when installing your seat in the car.

One little problem parents run into is getting the car seat level. That’s because the back seats of cars sit at different angles. If the level is wrong, the baby’s head and neck won’t get the right support or the baby’s head will flop forward.

Most infant seats these days come with mechanisms to help

you get the level right. Pay attention to this because it’s an important feature. If your infant seat snaps onto a base that stays in the car, make sure the base is levelled at the correct angle when you install it. If your seat doesn’t have a leveller, use a tightly rolled up towel to adjust the angle of the seat.

Lastly, make sure the infant seat handle is out of the way, pushed up over the baby’s head behind the seat, or pulled down to the front. Check the instructions for the correct position for your seat. Having the handle in the wrong position can cause injury during a crash.

Car seat safety outside the car Here’s a surprising little fact about car seat safety. A study found that over 8000 American babies are taken to the ER each year because of car seat injuries that happen outside the car! The babies either fall out of the seat (sometimes when it is being carried), or the seat (with them in it) falls off a table of counter. So, if you’re carrying your baby around in the car seat, make sure the baby is still properly fastened in. And if the baby is in the seat, don’t leave it unattended on a high surface.

About the author: Uncle Bob is Kenya’s leading child safety expert and has been working with Parents’ to ensure that children who travel in cars are safely secured in an appropriate car seat. Uncle Bob also trains parents on how to properly install and use their childrens’ car seats.

You can learn more about Uncle Bob from the following links: Website: www.unclebobs.co.ke Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UncleBobsStrollers

DRIVEKENYA.CO.KE | JUNE/JULY 2015 7

flickr.com/JCarnutz

Classic Car Ford Mustang 1964 Ford’s legendary General Manager, Lee Iacocca, was the man behind the Ford Mustang, named so after the fighter plane the P-51 Mustang. He had always envisioned a small, mass produced sports car to be the next big thing as opposed to the then prevalent full sized muscle car. It rolled off the production line on the ninth of March 1964 and making its debut at the New York World’s Fair the following month.

The Mustang was one of the most successful product launches in automotive history and racked up one million sales in its first two years alone! For trivia fans, the Mustang made its first movie appearance in the James Bond movie Goldfinger in December 1964.

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flickr.com/Lucy

The first Mustang’s came in the form of a hardtop coupe and convertible which featured a 2.8-litre 6-cylinder V8 engine. Quickly following on from there was the sporty 2+2 fastback body style which featured a 271-hp 4.7-litre V8 that finally put some gusto into the fine looks of the Mustang.

For those who wanted more, in came Carroll Shelby in 1965, who collaborated with Ford to create the race ready Shelby GT-350. The 4.7-litre V8 produced 306-hp in street tune and around 360-hp in special GT-350R race tune. The following year a Paxton supercharger was added to the Shelby version

that would boost horsepower by as much as 40%. The pony car class that Lee Iacocca helped create is the only class of muscle car that still exists today and the Mustang is now in its sixth-generation.

How Does it Work?

With personal accident cover, you pay yearly premium.

You will receive a cash benefit if you have an accident or receive a serious injury during the policy term. The cover also helps to ensure your family are provided for if you have a fatal accident.

Personal accident insurance usually gives you coverage almost anywhere in the world and medical check- ups are not normally required before you take out the cover.

What are the Benefits Insured?

time

• Death - The full death benefit can be paid if death is as a result of an accident, disappearance of an insured person for a period longer than 12 months, and death as a direct result of exposure to the elements of nature.

• Temporary Disability - In the case of temporary total disablement as a result of an accident, the benefit is equal to the amount specified in the schedule per week up to a maximum period of 104 weeks.

• Medical Expenses - You could get up to 100% of the actual cost provided if it does not exceed the amount on the Policy chosen for medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident.

• Artificial Appliances - To help cover the cost of artificial appliances given as a result of an accident, you could receive 100% of actual cost provided it does not exceed the amount shown on the schedule.

• Funeral Expenses - In the unfortunate event of your untimely death, there is a benefit of an amount as shown on the benefits schedule to help cover the costs of the funeral arrangements.

Some Things to Check...

Get A Solid Cover from

GA Insurance Personal accident cover is designed to provide financial help if you have a serious accident or injury, or if you suffer a fatal accident.

There are usually some instances where you won’t be covered by personal accident insurance, which mean you won’t be eligible for any cash benefits. Examples include: 1. If your injuries are a result of sickness or disease 2. If you deliberately or recklessly expose yourself to danger 3. If your injuries are sustained while you’re under the influence of alcohol or certain drugs 4. If your injuries are self-inflicted or if you attempt to commit suicide 5. If your injuries are sustained while you’re committing or attempting to commit a crime 6. Stress fractures, sprains and strains

GA Insurance Personal Accident Cover Talk to us today to find our more.

GA Insurance House, Ralph Bunche Road | Mombasa | Kisumu Call: 0786 555555, (020) 2711633/4, 0736 711633, 0721 677273 Email: insure@gakenya.com | Online: www.gakenya.com

Nairobi Auto Festival It was a fun-filled day at the KICC on the 24th of May as petrolheads from all corners of Nairobi and beyond gathered at the Nairobi Auto Festival primarily organised by Auto Art Garage.

The event saw a whole range of cars, ranging from Mitsubishi Evos, Subarus, Porsches, Audis, the Ferrari F430, the Lamborghini Murcielago, a few AMG Mercedes and our personal favourite, the beast known as, the Nissan GTR R35, amongst others.

Car enthusiasts were entertained throughout the day with participants engaging in donuts, backfiring contests that echoed throughout KICC and burnouts. We’ll let the pictures do the talking!

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Launch of the New Home of Chevrolet Pewin Motors officially launches their Sales and Service facility General Motors East Africa’s (GMEA) dealer Pewin Motors Limited have officially opened a new Sales & Service facility, to cement the partnership signed earlier in the year.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, Pewin Motors Managing Director, David Kirigua said: “This occasion marks an important milestone in our efforts to provide an inviting environment for our customers as we continue to market the Chevrolet brand in Kenya. As a reward to our Chevrolet customers, we are offering a one-year free service for any vehicle bought in our facility.”

The partnership agreement is a progressive plan by the auto-assembler’s to grow and expand the Chevrolet brand in Kenya. David added that Pewin Motors is the right dealer for the Chevrolet brand because it represents the brands’ youthful nature.

Commerce and Tourism Cabinet Secretary Mrs Phyllis Kandie lauded the partnership saying GMEA confidence in supporting local industry has contributed to Kenya’s economic growth for decades. She added, such partnerships would increase transfer of knowledge and technology and value addition within the manufacturing industry. The

country’s 47 counties, Mrs Kandie said, were centers for development and special economic zones were being established in the regions to attract direct foreign investment.

In May, GM celebrated 500 million GM-branded vehicles built globally over the past 106 years – the most of any automaker by far.

At the event, GMEA Sales and Marketing General Manager Geoffrey Mulandi said, “We are excited that Pewin Motors continues to demonstrate their customer focused capacity as the new home of the global Chevrolet brand in Kenya. Their committed approach is in line with our business strategy to introduce world class Chevrolet brands to the Kenyan market through local authorised dealers who can offer robust aftersales support.”

GMEA remains a leading player in East Africa’s auto industry, assembling high quality Isuzu vehicles and marketing the global Chevrolet brands in the region. The company is riding a wave of market dominance in Kenya’s motor industry. It has led in the new vehicle segment for three years in a row since 2012, achieving a market share of 28.7% in 2014.

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Rhino Charge The annual Rhino Charge is now in its 27th year running. The event was conceived as a means to raise funds for the construction of the Aberdare Electric Fence and which now extends to Mt Kenya & Mau Eburu. The most recent event was held on the 31st of May in Kalepo (Namunyak Conservancy), Samburu County. The results for this year’s event, as of going to print, weren’t out, but the top three fund raisers for the year were: Car 5 - Alan McKittrick (KES 7,595,979), Car 23 - Peter Kinyua (KES 5,620,000), and Car 35 Mark Tilbury (KES 4,546,925). Drive Kenya partnered with team 52 Rhin’O’Serious in this year’s event and below are some of the team’s experiences and insights from the event.

Team 52 - Rhin’O’Serious Rhino Charge 2015 was a great adventure for team 52 – Rhin’O’Serious. A mixture of the most serene, adventurous and thrilling experiences, and by far the furthest location the team has been to. This year’s pre-Rhino Charge preparations were more intense than ever. An extraordinary amount of work went into preparing and improving the car from what it was the year before. With high expectations and excitement, it was unfortunate that the charge was over for the team within the first 600meters of the race, as a

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mechanical failure left the car crawling in 2WD. Instead of giving up and retiring though, the boys showed unbelievable team spirit and were determined to push through. Team 52 covered a lot of ground, making most of the winch and REVERSE gear! Before knowing it, they had covered 8 checkpoints, in true Rhino Charge fashion; they would have carried on even further, but decided to retire before causing further damages to the car. It was truly a unique and astonishing performance.

Rhin’O’Serious is undoubtedly incomplete without its group of supporters – fun-filled, ever-energized, and always ready to have a good time. Not only is every spectator’s checkpoint flooded with green and blue 52 shirts and constant cheering on Charge day, the campsite constantly buzzes with excitement and their presence is felt throughout the event.

52ers know how to Charge! The 2015 event was organized very well and the team spent 3 nights in the bush making the most of the ‘charge atmosphere’!

Team 52’s fund raising for conservation towards the Rhino Ark was a great success this year, and plans on further increasing their funding contributions for 2016 are already in place. All in all, the 2015 Rhino Charge raised around KSH 4.2 million for the host community and broke its previous record by raising KSH108 million for Rhino Ark Charitable Trust projects and team 52 – Rhin’O’Serious is very proud to be a part of this worthy and effective cause.

Get in touch with the team through their Facebook Page or call them on 0714 523 523 to be a part of this noble cause for next year. Fund raising has already started!

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Kawasaki media

The Kawasaki Ninja H2R This is not a street legal bike. I repeat, this is not a street legal bike! Why so? 300-hp! You read that right, a freakishly insane number. The Kawasaki H2R is the most powerful motorcycle ever produced! Its closest rival is the BMW S1000RR, which produces a full third less power.

According to Kawasaki, the H2R has been made, “to offer the kind of acceleration most riders had never experienced.”This bike has no mirrors, no headlight, no signals - it’s purely track focused with its 17-inch racing slicks at each end.

The engine is 998cc with a centrifugal supercharger mounted on top!

Kawasaki even brought on board its aerospace division to make this thing happen. Kawasaki have used a trellis frame with a sportbike layout for the first time as well, meaning this bike is well suited for turning as well as straightline speed. We expect the top speed of this bike to be well over 320km/h. The Japanese have truly, really, genuinely gone crazy with this bike!!

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QUICK SPECS Engine Type: Liquidcooled, 4-stroke inline-4

Engine Displacement: 998 cc

Bore and Stroke: 76.0 x 55.0 mm

Compression ratio: 8.3:1

Transmission: 6-speed, return, dog-ring

Frame: Trelis, high tensile steel, with Swingarm Mounting Plate

Curb Mass: 216 kg

Clutch: Wet multidisc, manual

Rake and Trail: 25.1 degrees and 108 mm

Tyre Front: 120/600 R17 Tyre Rear: 190/650 R17

Brakes Front: Dual semi-floating 330 mm discs Brake Rear: Single 250 mm disc

Fuel Capacity: 17-Litres

Suspension Front: 43 mm inverted fork with rebound and compression damping, spring preload adjustability and top-out springs

Suspension Rear: New Uni-track with gas-charged shock, piggyback reservoir, dual range (high/lowspeed) compression damping, rebound damping and preload adjustability, and top-out spring

Top Speed: North of 320 km/h

Seat height: 830mm

flickr.com/ Heinz Collmann

The Aprilia Tuono V4 RR The new Aprilia Tuono V4 RR is one of Aprilia’s latest naked bikes.

It shares the same high performance chassis with the RSV4 superbike.

The engine has a capacity of 1,077cc with a maximum power output of 175-hp. The Tuono V4 RR is reported to have excellent low-end torque and incredible top-end power.

The Tuono comes with three engine maps - Sport, Track and Race mode.

It also features a three level ABS system & an eight level Traction Control (ATC) system. In addition the Aprilia’s Performance Ride Control (APRC) suite also includes the threeposition Aprilia Wheelie Control (AWC) system. The new RR features a slightly lower seat and front fairings that provide better wind protection resulting in the RR being more aerodynamic. The RR critics report shines on road, with power felt right across the entire rev range while the Aprilia Quick Shifter (AQS) allows for effortless clutchless upshifts.

One cool accessory is the V4Multimedia Platform (V4-MP) that allows you to link your smartphone to the RR. This then allows you to change the APRC settings from your

phone plus it displays real-time data. The RR has been hailed as a modern superbike - comfortable and practical.

QUICK SPECS Engine Type: 65° V-4, 4-stroke, liquid cooled engine with dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder

Engine Displacement: 1077cc

Bore x stroke: 81.0 mm x 52.3 mm

Compression ratio: N/A

Transmission: Six-speed

Final Drive: Chain, 16/42 gearing

Power: 175-hp @ 11,000 rpm

Torque: 89.2 lb-ft @ 9,000 rpm

Rake/Trail: 24.7 deg. / 100 mm

Clutch: Multi-plate wet clutch

Fuel capacity: 4.88 gal.

Kerb weight: 185 kg

Front Tyre: 120/70ZR-17 Rear Tyre: 190/55ZR-17

Front Brakes: 320 mm discs with Brembo M432 monobloc four-piston radial-mount calipers Rear Brakes: 220 mm disc with Brembo twin-piston caliper w/ Bosch 9MP ABS

Front Suspension: 43 mm Sachs inverted fork, three-way adjustable for spring preload Rear Suspension: Gas-charged Sachs shock absorber, three-way adjustable for spring preload

Seat height: 32.48 in.

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Each month, our car guy gives you solutions to the problems you face with your car.

Mobile: +254 733 666 597 - E-mail: info@kenyacarguy.com We asked KCG to give us tips for our readers regarding tyre maintenance.

This month he gave us information about wheel alignment.

Wheel alignment is the adjustment of a vehicle’s suspension – the system that connects a vehicle to its wheels.

It is not an adjustment of the tyres or wheels themselves. The key to proper alignment is adjusting the angles of the tyres which affects how they make contact with the road.

center. A computerized wheel alignment machine will check for camber, caster and toe.

A quick and easy way to tell if your vehicle needs an alignment is if you notice uneven tread wear, your vehicle pulls to the left or right, the vehicles steering wheel is off center when driving straight and steering wheel vibration.

Your caster angle helps balance steering, stability, and cornering.

Specifically, it’s the angle of your steering axis when viewed from the side of your vehicle

Upon noticing any of these signs, you should visit an authorized, computerized wheel alignment

Camber

Caster

Camber is the inward or outward angle of the tyre when viewed from the front of the vehicle as illustrated below

Toe is distinct from caster and camber alignment, toe alignment is the extent to which your tyre turn inward or outward when viewed from above.

Toe

To send in your questions to the Kenya Car Guy Contact: info@drivekenya.co.ke

Moto GP Spain | France | Italy

Spain Jorge Lorenzo won his first race of the 2015 MotoGP season at the Spanish GP held at Jerez. It’s been a tough start to the year for Lorenzo but he dominated in Spain, first, by setting a new pole record, then by leading from start to finish by a margin of more than five seconds. “I was feeling very good on the bike, especially with braking... I’m happy to win this special race after such a long time.”Jorge Lorenzo Defending MotoGP champion Marc Marquez finished second after riding through the pain barrier. Marquez had required surgery on his left hand as a result of a training crash the weekend prior. Italian legend, Valentino Rossi finished in third and claimed his 200th GP Podium finish, an astonishing new record! Although he pushed Marquez and got to within striking distance, Rossi never managed to really challenge Marquez. The best battle of the race was a five-way scrap between the Pramac Ducatis of Danilo Petrucci and Yonny Hernandez, Maverick Vinales’ Suzuki, Scott Redding’s Marc VDS Honda and Hector Barbera’s Avintia Ducati for 10th position.

France Yamaha made it a 1-2 at the French MotoGP held at Le Mans with Jorge Lorenzo winning the race and Valentino Rossi finishing second. Andrea Dovizioso came in third on his Ducati while a rhythmless Marc Marquez came in fourth, almost twenty seconds down despite having been effortlessly ahead in the morning warmup session. Lorenzo, who took the lead from Dovizioso at the first chicane, had a superb race with Swiss-like timing, with each lap except for the first and the last, coming in at 1:33. Andrea Iannone, who was riding with pain medication for a shoulder injury, finished fifth on the Ducati.

The track temperature during the race played a huge role in this event as it was 36 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than in warmup. All the Hondas had front grip issues on their soft/ soft Bridgestone combination tyres and Marquez was their only rider to stay upright. Pedrosa, Scott Redding and Cal Crutchlow all fell on their respective Hondas. Though the Yamahas and Ducatis had the same combination of tyres, the

18 DRIVEKENYA.CO.KE | JUNE/JULY 2015

riding styles and suspension setups are different. Yamaha riders brake earlier, this requires softer spring and damping rates which allows for smooth transitions from braking to turning to accelerating. Honda riders brake late and very hard, which requires a stiffer fork set-up that can very quickly accept 100% weight transfer to the front without bottoming. Get the bike turned and then lift & accelerate.

The tyre wear on the Hondas was simply greater, giving the advantage to Yamaha and Ducati.

Italy Lorenzo, Lorenzo, Lorenzo! It’s now a hat trick of wins for Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo who won his 36th overall MotoGP at the Italian MotoGP held at the Mugello circuit on the 31st of May. The Yamaha rider had a dominant race from start to finish and won by a margin of close to six seconds from Italian, Andrea Iannone, who had started on pole.

Italian legend, Valentino Rossi, finished in third place, after having been as low as tenth position during the race and still leads the overall championship by 6 points. Current world champion, Spain’s Marc Marquez, riding for Honda, crashed out while he was challenging Iannone for second place.

He had, until the crash, been making a spirited comeback charge through the field by moving up from 13th on the grid into sixth at the very first corner and slowly climbing from there. Marquez’s Honda teammate, Dani Pedrosa, finished a battling fourth, with Britain’s, Bradley Smith, in fifth after fellow Brit, Cal Crutchlow, crashed out in the later stages and was reported to have dislocated his ankle. At the end of the race Lorenzo was quoted as saying, “I’m very happy, because I didn’t expect to escape with such a big margin, but sometimes it happens that you feel great on the bike,”.

Lorenzo who could win his third MotoGP title this year added, “It seems that this year could be our year, so we have to take advantage of it,”.

Valentino Rossi was quoted saying, “Mugello was very busy, because I am very competitive and all the Italian fans expected a great race from me. I wasn‘t strong enough but at the end of the race I arrived on the podium after a great recovery and a hard race. To be on the podium with whole the crowd is always magical with the track being full of people.”

Italy

France

Spain

Results

1.

Jorge Lorenzo

SPA

Yamaha

44’57.246

2

Marc Marquez

SPA

Honda

+ 5.576

3

Valentino Rossi

ITA

Yamaha

+ 11.586

4

Cal Crutchlow

GBR

Honda

+ 22.727

5

Pol Espargarò

SPA

Yamaha

+ 26.620

6

Andrea Iannone

ITA

Ducati

+ 27.021

7

Aleix Espargarò

SPA

Suzuki

+ 35.445

8

Bradley Smith

GBR

Yamaha

+ 36.296

9

Andrea Dovizioso

ITA

Ducati

+ 41.933

10

Yonny Hernandez

COL

Pramac

+ 51.072

11

Maverick Viñales

SPA

Suzuki

+ 51.674

12

Danilo Petrucci

ITA

Pramac

+ 52.421

13

Scott Redding

GBR

Estrella Galicia

+ 53.052

14

Hector Barbera

SPA

Avintia

+ 53.200

15

Alvaro Bautista

SPA

Aprilia

+ 57.344

1.

Jorge Lorenzo

SPA

Yamaha

43’44.143

2

Valentino Rossi

ITA

Yamaha

+ 3.820

3

Andrea Dovizioso

ITA

Ducati

+ 12.380

4

Marc Marquez

SPA

Honda

+ 19.890

5

Andrea Iannone

ITA

Ducati

+ 20.237

6

Bradley Smith

GBR

Yamaha

+ 21.145

7

Pol Espargarò

SPA

Yamaha

+ 35.493

8

Yonny Hernandez

COL

Pramac

+ 39.601

9

Maverick Viñales

SPA

Suzuki

+ 41.571

10

Danilo Petrucci

ITA

Pramac

+ 42.789

11

Nicky Hayden

USA

Aspar

+ 53.636

12

Loris Baz

FRA

Athinà

+ 1’00.617

13

Hector Barbera

SPA

Avintia

+ 1’04.272

14

Eugene Laverty

IRL

Aspar

+ 1’05.259

15

Alvaro Bautista

SPA

Aprilia

+ 1’05.515

1.

Jorge Lorenzo

SPA

Yamaha

41’39.173

2

Andrea Iannone

ITA

Ducati

+ 5.563

3

Valentino Rossi

ITA

Yamaha

+ 6.661

4

Dani Pedrosa

SPA

Honda

+ 9.978

5

Bradley Smith

GBR

Yamaha

+ 15.284

6

Pol Espargarò

SPA

Yamaha

+ 15.665

7

Maverick Viñales

SPA

Suzuki

+ 23.805

8

Michele Pirro

ITA

Ducati

+ 29.152

9

Danilo Petrucci

ITA

Pramac

+ 32.008

10

Yonny Hernandez

COL

Estrella Galicia

+ 34.571

11

Scott Redding

GBR

Suzuki

+ 38.553

12

Loris Baz

FRA

Athinà

+ 42.158

13

Hector Barbera

SPA

Avintia

+ 44.801

14

Alvaro Bautista

SPA

Aprilia

+ 50.435

15

Eugene Laverty

IRL

Aspar

+ 53.060

media.daimler.com

Spanish F1 Nico Rosberg won the Spanish Grand Prix with a commanding performance for his first win of the season.

His Mercedes’ teammate, Lewis Hamilton, finished second which saw his lead at the top of the leaderboard slashed to 20 points. Hamilton who had lost the battle for pole had a slow start at the beginning of the race. This meant that he essentially had to play catch up for the rest of the race on a circuit famous for its difficulty in overtaking. While Hamilton took back second place from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, Rosberg remained well clear and finished 17.5 seconds ahead of his rival at the chequered flag.

“This is a fantastic weekend. Everything worked out on Saturday and Sunday, it all came together,” spoke Rosberg at the end of the race. Lewis Hamilton was recorded as saying, “I had quite a poor start, it’s been quite a time since I had such a bad start”. Sebastian Vettel finished third but showed his displeasure at the dominance of the race by Mercedes, “I’m not happy with the gap (to the front), not happy at all”.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen found himself in a Williams sandwich, finishing fifth behind fellow-Finn Valtteri Bottas and ahead of Brazilian Felipe Massa. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo finished seventh as his season of struggle with the Renault engine continued. Romain Grosjean was eighth for Lotus and Spanish rookie Carlos Sainz Jr. scored points at his home Grand Prix with a ninth place finish for Toro Rosso.

20 DRIVEKENYA.CO.KE | JUNE/JULY 2015

media.daimler.com

Monaco F1 Mercedes utterly screwed up. Mercedes came first and third.

That’s the only way to summarize their paradoxical Monaco Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton had been leading the race from the start and was coasting to an easy victory, when on lap 64, Toro Rosso’s ace rookie, Max Verstappen, crashed into the back of Romain Grosjean’s Lotus. This led to the implementation of the virtual safety car for the first time in F1 as yellow flags slowed the cars down before the real safety car came out. At this point madness struck. Hamilton who had a lead of 25.4 seconds at that point was inexplicably called in by his team to change tyres from soft to super-soft compound.

In the process Hamilton’s entry to the pit lane was held up and it took a slow four seconds for the tyre change to occur.

On his return to the track not only was he behind teammate Nico Rosberg, but also Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. He had lost the race with only 8 laps to victory. Toto Wolff, head of Motorsport at Mercedes said, “We thought we had a gap which we didn’t have, when the safety car came out and Lewis was behind the safety car. The calculation was simply wrong. That’s what happened.” Wolff added, “There was a potential risk that Sebastian could have switched to soft tyres behind us, coming up behind Nico. We have to follow the data. This is how the sport works. But the simple answer is the numbers were wrong.” Nico Rosberg, who has now secured a hat-trick of consecutive Monaco Grand Prix wins with the likes of Graham Hill, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, said, “It’s the luckiest victory I’ve had, I feel for Lewis”.

Hamilton’s lead over Rosberg was also halved to 10 points in the overall drivers’ standings.

DRIVEKENYA.CO.KE | JUNE/JULY 2015 21

Redbull Media

WRC Portugal Latvala ends barren run with Portugal win Jari-Matti Latvala ended a bleak sequence of results by holding off team-mate Sébastien Ogier to win Vodafone Rally de Portugal on Sunday.

After failing to score in the previous three rounds, Latvala finished 8.2sec ahead of the FIA World Rally Championship leader in the four-day gravel event, to claim his first victory since October last year.

Ogier endured the worst conditions for the opening two legs, sweeping loose gravel from roads. However, he roared up the leaderboard from sixth to second yesterday, reducing his deficit from almost 26sec to less than eight as he threatened to snatch an unlikely victory.

Second was sufficient for Ogier to extend his championship lead to 42 points after round five of 13.

Andreas Mikkelsen completed the podium a further 20.4sec behind to provide a clean sweep of the top three for Volkswagen Motorsport with its Polo R car.

Mikkelsen led early on in his debut in the 2015-specification Polo R and traded seconds with Kris Meeke in their battle for the final podium place. With the gap at 0.4sec, a broken antiroll bar on Meeke’s DS 3, in the penultimate stage, decided the outcome.

“After the last three rallies some people were doubting if I would come back,” said Latvala. “It was one of the worst situations in my rally career so to come and win here is unique. I really appreciate this victory feeling.”

Meeke finished 20.1sec behind the Norwegian but the Northern Irishman, who claimed his maiden WRC win in Argentina last month, was the only man able to challenge Volkswagen’s trio.

It was the 13th career win for the 30-year-old Finn, who benefited from a low start position and cleaner road conditions to take the lead on Friday afternoon and was never headed.

Ott Tänak finished a confidence-boosting fifth on the debut of the new Ford Fiesta RS, ahead of Hyundai’s Dani Sordo, who came out on top of a three car battle for sixth, involving team-mate Hayden Paddon and Mads Østberg.

Despite overshooting a junction yesterday morning, he saw off challenges from Kris Meeke and then Ogier to climb from ninth to fifth in the drivers’ championship.

Østberg lost time yesterday with a turbo boost problem in his DS 3 and while he overhauled Paddon today, he fell just 4.3sec short of passing Sordo. Robert Kubica and Martin Prokop completed the top 10.

Tyre choice and management played a crucial role in the first WRC round in the north of the country since 2001. Sandy roads hampered the early starters and exposed rocks offered further difficulties during the second pass of stages.

22 DRIVEKENYA.CO.KE | JUNE/JULY 2015

Round six takes drivers to the Mediterranean for the allgravel Rally Italia Sardegna (11 - 14 June).

Source: Redbull Media content pool

Photo Credit: SIMON MULUMBA/CMONCY IMAGES

KCB Voi Rally Jaspreet Chatthe scored his second win of the 2015 KNRC season with a solid performance in his Mitsubishi EVOX at the recently held KCB Voi Rally. Finishing closely behind him by a margin of 33 seconds was current KNRC champion Baldev Chager with Ian Duncan rounding out the top three despite having overheating issues with his EVOX. Chatthe now extends his lead atop the KNRC leaderboard standings.

He also heads the 2015 African Rally Championship where he won the Zambian Rally recently.

The MMC round of the KNRC was held at the private Rukinga ranch this year and the sections were reported as fast and enjoyable, though challenging, by the crews. A number of the leading drivers faced mechanical problems and were either slowed down or forced to retire. Carl Tundo and Rajbir Rai were the first to bow out on stage 2 quickly followed by Hussein Malik who suffered suspension failure.

Quentin Mitchell had been third, until his car suffered from a small electrical fire and was forced out. The flying Finn, Tapio Laukkanen, finished seventh despite a scorching opening stage of the rally as his Subaru Impreza suffered from overheating problems. At the end of the rally, 37 crews made it safely to the finish line.

FINAL RESULTS 1. Jaspreet Chatthe (EVO X) 1:50:31 2. Baldev Chager (EVO X) 1:51:04 3. Ian Duncan (EVO X) 1:53:48 4. Onkar Rai (EVO X) 1:55:11 5. Alastair Cavenagh (Proton Satria) 1:55:58 6. Raajpal Bharij (EVO X) 1:56:10 7. Tapio Laukkanen (Subaru STI R4) 1:56:22 8. Jas Mangat (EVO X) 1:57:05 9. Tejveer Rai (EVO X) 1:57:37 10. Pavit Kenth (EVO IX) 1:57:52 11. Karan Patel (EVO X) 1:58:51 12. Denis Mwenda (EVO IX) 2:03:27 13. Manvir Baryan (Ford Fiesta R5) 2:03:33 14. Piero Canobbio (EVO X) 2:04:14 15. Amanraaj Rai (EVO X) 2:04:43

DRIVEKENYA.CO.KE | JUNE/JULY 2015 23

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