The route to Macau

My job in China is done. I woke up this morning and checked out of my hotel and when I walked outside, I was greeted by the warmest sunshine and bright blue sky since I arrived here. I am not sad to leave China despite the closeness of the racing and the fact that the WTCC championship has been turned upside down. It will all be decided in Macau again. Macau is TOTALLY UNPREDICTABLE due to the race track, the amount of cars which will be racing and possibly even the weather. Add that to the drivers urge to win and I know it will be a good race.
The Shanghai circuit facilities are great but the organization is useless. When the first race started and cars were due to come into the pitlane, I have never seen so many spectators stood out in the pitlane even though they had passes to be in the garage area. The pit lane marshals were just blowing their whistles and nobody was moving. It was left to the individual members of the teams to force everyone to movebefore the damaged cars came in. This is just another case of the very poor circuit management.
On the Sunday evening, the teams were forced to use forklifts to move everything from the garages and into their containers. To do this in the dark, with many cars and other vehicles moving around just seemed to be madness and the fact that no accidents happened does not mean that this process should be repeated if we are return here again.

MAGLEV arriving at Longyang station, Shanghai

Shanghai traffic is very busy so I decided to take a 15 minute taxi to the Maglev Train Station. Then I can experience a 400kmh train journey to the airport and arrive in about 10 minutes. I noticed the windsreen of the train was badly damaged when I was waiting to get on. Maybe a bird or some other object had hit the train but it certainly makes you realise just how fast this train goes. I believe the chinese bought the train system from Japan and despite the Japanese sugessting a maximum operating speed, the chinese just seem to ignore it and use it to its maximum potential.



                            But I do recommend you try it for yourself as it is awesome!

The Maglev windscreen damage

The security and immigration checks at Pudong     airport took me almost an hour to get through. It is easier to get into China than it is to leave it. When the plane was ready for boarding, we were put on a bus and taken to the plane. The chinese passengers were off the bus and swarming around the stairs to the plane as though it was going to leave without them. I do not know if many of them were new to airplane travel but it was funny to watch them, pushing and shoving each other.
When the plane touched down in Macau, 2 hours later, alot of them had undone their seatbelts and were getting their bags from the overhead lockers, whilst the pilot was still slowing the aircraft down. Multiple mobile phones were in use, despite the warnings not to turn them on and the cabin crew seemed powerless to stop them. The immigration at Macau airport was completed in 10 minutes and I am now free for a few days, to enjoy everything that Macau has to offer.
The containers are due here at the weekend, as long as the trucks complete the 1800km journey from Shanghai, safely and the Macau customs do not cause any unnecessary problems.

The race to get on the plane at Shanghai airport

Why is my blog blocked in China?

Roal team get their tyres ready.

Before I even came to China, I had to apply for a visa. I decided to use the postal application system and after a few worrying moments and costing me over £90, I finally received a visa in my passport. I had a few issues with the chinese embassy as they told me that I did not have all the correct documentation that they required. This would not have been a problem under normal circumstances, but I lost some valuable time due to the weekend and then a 3 day chinese holiday when the visa office was closed. After alot of emails and unanswered telephone calls, I finally managed to speak to someone who then told me that my doccumentation WAS okay and my visa would be given to me. It actually arrived on the morning that I was due to catch a plane. A very close call indeed and one that I do not intend to repeat if I come here again.
I have been checking the Internet traffic to this blog and the amount of visits from china is VERY LOW. My blog has links to Youtube and is blocked by the chinese government. A series of things that I am not very happy about continues to grow.

I have been surviving at the race track on peanut butter sandwiches after discovering this particular brand called "Skippy",
and it is very delicious. I am lucky to travel for my job but after many years, my stomach knows what it likes and what it does not, and chinese cuisine is not my favourite. Last night, I tried jellyfish, I got back to the hotel and vomited. So, hello Skippy and goodbye jellyfish.

Air trigger operated air lance, the expensive option

The area behind the garages looked very empty today. There are no trade stands, hospitality units....nothing. Only the tyre service for the WTCC and CCTC and a Maserati welcome tent. It just looks rubbish.Questions were still being asked by the Truckies as to whether we could have the containers brought into the paddock, on Sunday evening, to help speed up the loading process. We think the answer will be NO. The WTCC containers will make the long journey to Macau by road. I would love to help drive one of the trucks down to Macau but this is not possible for many reasons, but it would be a great way of seeing a bit more of this huge country. It takes almost an hour to drive from my hotel to Shanghai circuit and I cannot describe to you the chinese driving standards and condition of some of the roads. If you are not getting your Internet in china, perhaps you can find some videos on Youtube and check it out for yourself.

Petrol powered, twin dive bottle compressor

Electric powered, single bottle compressor

To continue with my list of jobs that seem to be the responsibility of the Truckies, I would like to focus on the car air jack systems. There are normally 3 air jacks on each car, 2 at the front and one at the back. These allow the car to be quickly and safely lifted during tyre changes or when the car is being worked on in the garage. All of the teams use "dive" bottles to store and transport this air, These bottles are the sort that scuba divers use. The bottles are filled with over 220 bar of compressed air which is fed through a high pressure hose to a connector with either a trigger operated or ball valve operated lance. The ball valve lances are the cheaper of the two and take abit of skill to use properly. Once the car has been lifted up, all that is needed to lower it back down is for the air to be released from the system. This is done by pulling the air connector, on the car, outwards and the air jacks will retract. The Truckies are constantly checking and refilling the bottles throughout the day. It can take 15-45 minutes to fill a bottle with the correct amount of air. Small electric powered pumps are nice and quiet to use but take the longest time to reach the correct pressure. Petrol powered pumps are quicker but make alot more noise. It is very annoying if an inconsiderate Truckie decides to fill up his bottles right next door to your garage. Thankfully, this does not happen too often.

BMW air jack connector

When the bottle pressure is reduced to approximately 70 bar, it is time to change to a full one. The air jack will operate at slightly lower pressure but the car will go up, very slowly. Speed is essential in WTCC. Each car will have a minimum of 2 bottles to ensure that air is available at all times. It is a relatively simple job but also a very important job.

Time to refill the dive bottle

Dive bottle and ball valve operated lance

This race and the end of season finale in Macau is all that remains, but we have already been discussing plans for next year and talking with the shipping companies about how and when we can collect everything from Antwerp after the containers return to Europe. Unfortunately some of my fellow Truckies may not be returning next year. Some teams will not compete next year but new ones are making plans to enter in 2013.
New friendships are still being made with teams that are entered for china and Macau so the Truckie fraternity continues to expand and grow.

 AND LONG MAY IT CONTINUE.............

Bad Chinese decisions, the Internet, and VPN,s

To bring you this exciting instalment of my blog has meant that I have had to bypass the hotel internet access in my hotel in China.The hotel obviously likes to keep in with the chinese government and restrict access to blog sites. This restriction also applies to Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and many more internet sites.
I have had to use a VPN (virtual private network). It is not illegal as many companies use it to bypass what is known as "THE GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA"
However, it does highlight the futility of the Chinese government as it tries to impose its control over the population. China is trying to hang on to communism while all over the country, capitalism is taking over. But.... the craziness of China is forever present as witnessed at the circuit today(wednesday). The teams were asked where they would like their containers to be put on the ground for unloading into the garages. Some wanted them in the pit lane, others behind the garages. An agreement was made which still seemed to be OK until a few days ago. Then the chinese tore up the agreement and decided that no containers would not be put near the garages. Various reasons were given for not doing this. The cranes and trucks may damage the concrete floor yet a large mobile crane was spotted in the paddock earlier this week. The drain covers may get damaged but it would have been easy to avoid going near these.
Ultimately, it was just a big chinese mess. And the teams have now had to use forklifts to move their equipment over 400 metres. Some containers maybe over 600 metres away.
Again, it is the teams who suffer due to narrow minded bureaucracy as the time to unload and also for packing up has been greatly increased. I would like to see some of the decision makers come and get their hands dirty and help us. THEN, they can see what a bad decision has been made.
There are some very intelligent people in China but if the unintelligent ones have a stronger voice, then chaos happens.

This is WTCC Race of Shanghai 2012. Day 1.

Everyone gets to work unloading containers on Wednesday

The security bolts are removed from the containers.

Discussions between Wietracon and DHL,RML and WSR.

I wonder if Formula 1 has these problems when Ecclestone,s circus comes to town? I doubt it. Yes, the circuit is pretty impressive and the facilities are relatively new but if the circuit management cannot organise things properly, the teams, and everyone else involved with WTCC are the ones who have to work even harder.

I tried to take a picture of the chinese customs   officials as they looked very smart in their black uniforms with gold braid and epaulets. But when I pointed the camera at them, I was told....
"no pictures".

The West Surrey Racing team, sponsored by Aviva/Cofco, have made a welcome return the WTCC and as I mentioned before, it is good to see my old friends again. It was a very last minute arrangement for them to come out to China and their Truckie has been very busy today trying to ensure that they have tyre trolleys and other equipment available to them. The other teams have been as helpful as they can to ensure that their race in Shanghai goes smoothly. You will certainly not miss their car as it is bright yellow!!!

Loading plan for the Honda container

Colin Turkington,s Cruze is checked by the team

Chevrolet car radio repeaters are positioned above their garage

Spanish Truckie cleans the flat floor of their Seat

Busy in their garage

The Yokohama boys have plenty of food ready for the next few days.

Forklift trucks are more important than the cars as the containers are unloaded.

Tomorrow will see some of the containers moved even further away from the garages, once the teams have finished unloading. Where they will be moved to is unknown as I write this.
And to the chinese government who feel the need to deny me access to writing my blog......
"You can,t stop a VPN"
Stay tuned for the continuing story of Shanghai and the Race Truckies.

Some old friends return to China.

I have left the serenity of Japan and am now on my way to China for the next race. I have to get on a plane at 0220 hours in the morning and fly to Shanghai. WHAT A CRAZY TIME FOR A FLIGHT! Suzuka was not the best race due to the two deaths that occurred and some very uninteresting racing caused by the boring race track layout. Also, the urgency to pack up all the equipment and cars has again put a big workload on the Truckies and the teams. For the cars which were damaged in the race, it is necessary to complete as much repair work as possible and still leave enough time to complete the container loading before they are put onto lorries and taken to the docks at Yokkaichi, where they will depart for Shanghai, a distance of 1670 kilometres.

THINK TANK crew member.

Some people who I have not mentioned before are the guys from THINK TANK. They are responsible for putting up all of the signs around the race tracks and the paddock for the WTCC. When we race in Europe, everything is moved around by trucks. May be I should include them under the category of Truckies. And when we do the fly away events, they use containers to move everything, just like the teams. The Japanese were very strict on safety, making sure that people had hard hats and any necessary safety equipment, if they were working in a dangerous environment. The guy from THINK TANK even had a duck whistle around his neck to warn people of any danger.
The entry list for China includes some old friends of mine from West Surrey Racing, especially a man called Tipper, who is their Truckie. Tipper got his nickname due to the fact that he use to drive tipper trucks before he started in motor sport.

Sunred truckie still smiling as the teams pack up at Suzuka

So just how do you get a job as a Truckie? These jobs are not normally advertised in the motor sport press. Most people hear about the job vacancies through word of mouth from friends who are already employed in the motor sport industry. Obviously the main requirement is that you have a driving license for a truck. Most Truckies have other skills as well, mechanics, bodywork, tyres, electrical, etc, etc. Many aspects of the motor sport industry can be learnt through on the job training and if you are lucky enough to be employed by a good team, they will help you and train you in different aspects of the job. The ability to be a good communicator is probably the most important for a Truckie. You will be driving on foreign roads and working in countries where you do not speak the local language. If you cannot communicate well with people, or at least try, your job will be made very difficult. The ability to be a good organiser is also very important. Loading and unloading trucks and containers is a lot more involved than just putting the equipment in a random way. On fly away events, a Truckie must be able to understand the shipping paperwork that is needed to transport equipment around the world. I could list so many things that are needed to be a successful Truckie that there are too many to mention here. To those people who are reading this who would like to become a Truckie, I can only say good luck and if you know somebody who works for a team already, your chances will be greatly improved.

This time in Shanghai, we will be at a better track than last year in Tianma. The circuit facilities were very poor but I know that the garage space will be very tight at Shanghai so I hope this does not cause problems for the teams. WE SHALL SEE!!!!

Yokohama are a blur of speed at Suzuka.(courtesy of PHOTO 4)

Sadness at Suzuka

I woke up early on Sunday morning to go to the track and when I opened the curtains in my hotel room, I saw a hot air balloon moving very slow and low over the Suzuka suburbs. It did seem to be very close to the houses and electric power lines and looked quite dangerous to me. Danger has been all around us this weekend. On the Saturday evening at the race track, an unfortunate accident occurred when a man fell off the balcony above the garages. The Suzuka ambulance staff were there almost immediately but due to the severity of his injuries, he did not survive.

Police forensic team on the saturday evening.

Sunday morning, in the opening Super Taikyu race, a local driver also died after skidding on some oil and his car lost control and impacted the guard rail very heavily. The Air Ambulance arrived but despite every bodies best efforts, yet another tragedy occurred.

The rest of the racing resumed later on Sunday but the atmosphere around the paddock was a strange one due to these two events. As a mark of respect by the winning drivers of all the races on Sunday, there was no champagne celebrations.
 

Air Ambulance arrives on sunday.

On the Sunday evening, the teams were busy again with loading the containers and getting things ready for the next race in Shanghai, China.
Behind the garages was a very busy and limited space for the teams to load up. The forklifts were all neatly parked up and when the Suzuka circuit officials said it was okay to commence work, the activity was frantic but extremely well coordinated by the Truckies in charge of this.

The circuit had released a bulletin, asking us to keep the container area clean and tidy for the spectators who were walking around. But I have included some pictures of the Super Taikyu paddock which did not seem to have the same set of rules as the WTCC paddock.
VERY STRANGE.

I will leave you with a few pictures of the rest of this weekends events.

Forklifts neatly lined up.

STR staff take a short rest.

A very busy Super Taikyu paddock area

Super taikyu tyre suppliers, Yokohama

Ford team loading containers on sunday evening.

Tuenti team start packing up their garage

Suzuka Photo Extravaganza

My journey to get to Suzuka has been fun but also quite frustrating at times. I arrived at Nagoya airport after a night time flight from Korea. I desperately needed a cigarette after getting off the airplane and I took a picture of the security man as he glided, silenty past me. I have seen them here using Segways before but this something new to me.

Security police at Nagoya airport in strange electric transport

 I decided to take the ferry boat from the airport to Tsu. This was quite easy to do as the ferry terminal is located next to the airport, but trying to find a bus to the train station was very, very difficult. All of the signs on the buses were in Japanese and hardly anyone speaks English. Eventually, I made it to the train station and had exactly the same problem trying to find the train to take me to Suzuka. When I arrived in Suzuka, I could not find a taxi so I had to go to a shop and ask them to telephone a taxi to collect me and take me to my hotel. I think my journey from the airport to the hotel would take a Japanese person 2 hours. But it took me 4 hours.........but at least the Truckie was not late.

School children watching us from the grandstand.

When I arrived yesterday, the sun was shining, but as soon as I got to Suzuka circuit, today, the rain came down quite heavily. As the teams set up the pit wall stands in the rain, local school children arrived at the circuit to watch. We were given some good news and were told that our containers would remain in the paddock, behind the garages. Last year, we had to put everything from the containers, into our garages which just meant a lot of unnecessary work for everyone. But this concession by the circuit owners comes with a strict set of rules. We were given this paperwork that you can see in the picture.

Ford team inside their container.

I can appreciate that the circuit want to project a certain image and the teams realise this as well. Maybe if the circuit owners had realised this before the containers were put onto the ground, they could have made sure that the containers were placed in a nice straight line, rather than waiting until all of the cranes and manpower had finished and left the circuit.
As the rain continues during the day, the hard work of unloading the containers and setting up the garages goes on. Truckies are hard at work as the mechanics prepare the cars after the USA race. The containers only arrived on Monday and the circuit were not allowing teams to stay and work late on Tuesday evening. Everybody was frantically checking all the equipment, repairing damaged cars and servicing engines, ready for the first test session on Friday.

Radio check, radio check !

A new edition to the paddock was the Honda team who seem to have done some very quick lap times in their test sessions.

WILL THEY BE ABLE TO STAMP THEIR AUTHORITY IN THEIR FIRST WTCC RACE   ????????

The tyre man from JAS Honda was given all the information from the Yokohama tyre company on how to complete the scrutineering process and whilst I tried to get you some early pictures of their car and garage set up, I was asked to wait !!!!
I am sure that they will find my blog very interesting and it will certainly help them if they continue into next year.

JAS Honda garage.

JAS Honda tyre man gets busy.

As Suzuka circuit celebrates 50 years of racing, the Truckies continue the race by race work of ensuring that the mechanics, the engineers, the data engineers, team owners and the drivers have all the equipment needed for the smooth operation of the team. To the fans of motor sport, I really do not think that they realise the hard work and dedication that is put into the WTCC championship.

I know we do not have the money that F1 has but I know that there is so much heart and soul given by everybody who is involved and as Andy Warhol, the famous artist said, "In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes" For the teams in the WTCC, our races are televised and watched for a bit longer than 15 minutes. Maybe we are famous for the short time we are on television but the hard work to get there is a BIG TEAM EFFORT.

Back of the garages at Suzuka on a wet Wednesday afternoon.

 

My friends from MST who supply the timing equipment for the WTCC races, invited me to see how they operate at each race and I also had the chance to go to the main race control tower at Suzuka, I thought I would share this picture of the race circuit TV system.

MST timing equipment area, under construction

Mission control....Suzuka Circuit

 The work will continue tomorrow and I will be busy making some video of some more behind the scenes action of the WTCC.

This last picture is of a counting device that is fitted to every front and back door in the garages, to monitor how many times that the doors are opened and closed. I have NEVER seen this at any other circuit in the world
                                                         WHY ???????   I do not know.

And finally, due to financial problems for one of the teams, one of the Truckies was not in Brazil, the USA and  will not be at Japan, China or Macau. Myself and many others will  miss him very much.

The sign says, MOTORSPORT IS DANGEROUS