Tag Archives: Lahore

Karting Championship

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If you look up “Motorsports in Lahore” on google this is what you get…

motorsports-in-lahore

...

But this joke is losing it’s humor. And that’s because there have been at least four proper motorsports events in Lahore within the last year including a 4×4 mud rally, a couple of go-kart races and a so called drag race. Finally there’s some excitement in the Lahoree petrol-heads’ life.

race venue

Last weekend Lake City was home to a go-kart race organized by Racing Pakistan and sponsored by Bank Alfalah. A race track was improvised on the excellent streets of Lake City (a rare sight in Lahore). The race was held at night under flood lights to avoid the scorching heat of the day. It was a five hour endurance race so each team had 3 to 4 drivers who replaced one another at the end of a stint.

Karting is considered as the most basic form of motorsports. And although a go-kart might look like something you’d buy for your five year old boy but don’t be fooled by its benign looks. Go-kart racing is all about agility and acceleration. That’s why go-karts weigh next to nothing and have very high power to weight ratio. As a result a go-kart changes direction like a gazelle and goes like stink. And that’s why go-kart tracks are very tight and twisty.

F1 replica

F1 replica

This is the second time that Racing Pakistan has organized a kart race in Lahore. The first event was held back in August 2008. Adnan Sarwar is the front man of this organization who is working with Bank Alfalah to promote motorsports in Pakistan.

When I went to see this race last year I saw a Ferrari followed soon after by an Aston Martin and several Porsches. So I wondered how long would it be before I wake up. But then i was forced to realise that it wasn’t a dream. So the next explanation I came up with was that I had somehow reached a European town located on Raiwind Road. Because to me, that was a less ridiculous idea than actually seeing a Ferrari and an Aston Martin in Lahore.

Altough I didn’t see the Ferrari and the Aston this year (maybe I missed them) but the car park was still quite dream-like.

There are many things I can think of that could have been better on this event but I think it’s more important to appreciate the effort for bringing motorsports to Pakistan which is something we really need.

In case you’re wondering why you never found out about some or all of these events, well you’re not alone, because many people missed these events because they didn’t know about them. Anyway cheer up! I’ll do my best to keep you informed about any future happenings. And if you know about any upcoming events please do share this information with us.

Here are some pictures from the event…

red-bull-mini

racetrack

racetrack

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And here are some pictures from the last year’s event…

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Here’s a video report of the event which isn’t very good but it’s all I could find.

Lahore Karting Championship

Originally posted at: Horse Power

Wanna get dirty??

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bombardier_outlander

I’ve been dreaming about getting a quad bike for a birthday present since I was about six years old. Sadly however that magic birthday never came. In my dreams I’ve driven through valleys and deserts and rescued gorgeous looking girls on my quad bike. But none of these dreams ever saw the light of day.

charlie-angels1I know a quad bike is not very practical as a mode of transport, in fact it is pointless unless you live alone on a mountain top. But it does combine all the coolest ingredients of a great thriller in a very small package. Just like Charlie’s Angels…

When you look at a quad bike it instantly makes you forget about practicality, you just want it for its fat spiky tires, the torque-filled two stroke engine and those huge shock absorbers.

But I’m not so sure many six year olds will get to tear the gift wrapper off a quad bike because these beasts are quite pricey. A proper quad bike can cost between 50 to 500 thousand rupees. This is why it would be a good idea to rent one for the weekend instead of buying one. Unfortunately however I’ve never heard of a place where you can rent a quad bike. Maybe that’s why I get to see so many 40 year old fat balding businessmen riding their own quad bikes around town. And they always have a mischievous smile on their face like a six year old boy who just got a quad bike for a birthday present.

quadbike-hpwr

Mitsubishi Evolution

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evo-9mr-04

It is not that it is pretty to look at, but the Mitsubishi Evolution (also called ‘Evo’) is know more for the speed.

One Evo owner claims that it is cheap replacement for something like a Porsche or a Ferrari. (Porsche and Ferrari in the same line? Hmmm)

One thing is for sure, the Mitsubishi Evolution is defintely a looker. I found the following White and later discovered that the owner of the white evo owns another red one. Eight and Ninth generation Evo’s, one angel white, the other hot red, parked side-by-side is a sigh to behold, I assure you.

evo-9mr-02 evo-9mr-03

evo-9mr-06

evo-9mr-05

I wonder is the Main Boulevard in Lahore gets owned by this car on Sundays, what do you guys reckon? :)

FERRARI vs MEHRAN

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ferrari-vs-mehran-small1

People of Lahore are familiar with three forms of driving…

Driving in the city (which can turn into serious off-roading),

Driving on the highway (often with donkey carts going in the other direction),

And last but not least, reckless driving.

Oh and there’s one more; driving in the fast lane at 30 km/h. Actually this is even more dangerous than reckless driving because it puts you at the risk of being murdered.

But don’t forget that this is also the city where literally hundreds of people own top of the range cars from Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, even Ferrari and Aston Martin. These are just a few names from a long list that’s growing fast.

Aston Martin DB9          

Aston Martin DB9

Ferrari 360          

Ferrari 360

Porsche 911 Carrera 2S          

Porsche 911 Carrera 2S

Ford Mustang Shelby GT500          

Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

When I first realized that my fellow citizens drive these exotic beauties,  I almost fainted with excitement.

But if you think about it, you will realize that people are driving cars that can do 320 kph on roads that hardly ever allow 120. That means my 40 horse power Cuore can easily keep up with a 400 horse power Ferrari on the highways.

And as soon as we are off the highway, I will instantly leave the Ferrari in my dust…

Yes…and the reason is that now we’re in speed breaker territory, most of which happen to be taller than the Ferrari itself. And there’s a very good reason behind these world famous speed breakers. You see, building sky scrapers is an extremely difficult task, that’s why we decided to go for the tallest speed breakers in the world.

By the way, these speed breakers are usually nicknamed “jumps”, which says it all. I call them something else which I can’t tell you.

So if I had the job of issuing license plates for cars, I would issue a special golden “Jackass” plate to anyone who has one of these imported exotic cars in Lahore. I mean what’s the point of having a Ferrari when you can’t even keep up with a Mehran in a race???

Let’s face it, Ferraris are not designed keeping the streets of Lahore in mind, and you can’t explore their potential without getting stuck on a speed breaker with all four wheels in the air.

And I would love to take a picture of a Ferrari driving behind a donkey cart on a highway.

That means all three forms of driving known to Lahore-kind, have been ruled out for Ferraris and Porsches. A Mehran, on the other hand, is not only perfect for all of these scenarios, but also much faster. It’s the super-car of Lahore.

 

Now that I’ve proved that you can go faster in a Mehran than a Ferrari. I want to prove it wrong. I’m not going to ramble on about road conditions and government policies because, let’s face it, we are on our own.

It’s time to introduce a brand new form of driving to Lahoris. This form of driving is the reason why names like Ferrari and Porsche exist, and no Mehran has ever seen it. This is the form of driving where you need a racetrack.nurburgring1

Perhaps I should explain that a racetrack is a road that doesn’t go anywhere, it has no speed humps, donkey carts are not allowed to use it, and you can go as fast as you dare. Oh and it’s a little bendy too. In fact it can scare the hell out of you with its high speed bends.

Only trouble is that this magic road doesn’t exist anywhere near Lahore. It doesn’t even exist anywhere in the country. 

 

So would you like to know why racetracks are non-existent in our country even though we have hundreds of cars designed only for the purpose?

Here’s why…About 1.6 million years ago, Martians came to earth. They marked out the boundaries of Pakistan and then cursed it to make sure no one ever enjoys driving here.

This is the best logical explanation for the fact that no one has ever built a racetrack inPakistan. I’m not kidding; I even have strong evidence to support my theory of Martians.

Indian Formula Rolon           

Indian Formula Rolon

Across the eastern border, India is currently hosting four separate motorsport championships on proper racetracks with purpose built formula cars, now that’s more like it. Here are some names if you are interested; Formula LGB Hyundai, FISSME (aka Formula Maruti), Formula Rolon and JK Tyre National racing championship.  
  

Still not convinced? Well even if you only watch PTV and you’ve never heard of Michael Schumacher; you would know that Formula1 is the most prestigious car racing championship in the world. To give you an idea about the success rate of Formula1, theShanghai race circuit built in 2004 cost $300 million to make. And it’s such a money tree that they hope to recover its cost by the year 2014. You do the math.

Now please take a deep breath because what I’m about to tell you might come as a big shock…

India will be hosting a Formula1 race in the year 2011 on the streets of New Delhi. Not to mention that their Formula1 team, Force India debuted back in 2008.

Enough said?

I think it’s time for us to call the Martians back to earth and beg them to lift the unbreakable curse before we become a laughing stock for Indians. Otherwise it’s a possibility that soon you will be offered an unused Ferrari in exchange for your old Mehran. And you will probably say, “No thanks!”

The Mall’s first metered parking zone – solar powered?

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Metered parking machineAfter it’s success in Liberty Market, the metered parking system is now being deployed at The Mall from March, God be willing!

Metered parking zone with two entry and exit points starts from Shah din Manzil to Masjid-e-Shuhada.

“The first entry point will be at the start of the side road in front of the Shah din Manzil and people coming from Queens Road will use this entrance. The second entrance is the road cut after the traffic signal at Punjab Assembly and this entrance will be used by the people traveling on The Mall towards the GPO.
The two exit points of this parking lot will be the roads leading to Lawrence Road and Regal Chowk from Masjid-e-Shuhada while the road cut, which at present is connecting The Mall in front of Masjid-e-Shuhada with the side road, will be blocked and can only be used in emergency situation. As many as 320 cars can be parked at a time in this parking zone.”

Good news for motorcyclists, they are allowed to park free of cost at The Mall parking zone.  No parking fee at all.

However, in order to get the parking slip/token insert 10 rupee coins  or more if one wishes to park his/her car for longer,  into the machine and a slip pops out specifically instructing the drivers to display ticket on dashboard.

This effective system not only helps make most out of the space available but, also utilizes time in best possible way while maintain discipline. Finding a parking space is a bit of a challenge sometimes ad often one wrong parked car takes the space of two. But this won’t happens again as a heavy fine which will start from Rs 50 and can exceed to Rs 500 will be imposed on wrong parking, expired tokens, not displaying the parking ticket as directed or worst no token at all. And until the fine is paid the company’s security staff will clamp the tyre of such a vehicle and it won’t be allowed to move.

Most of the work regarding The Mall’s first metered parking zone has been completed, however the machines are yet to be installed.

In case you thought you could miss the token because of load shedding ;) these machines are battery operated not supported by WAPDA but, i recently heard that they are solar-powered. Solar powered? do you know anything about it?

TDCP Drag racing in Lahore

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Car racing on the streets of Lahore – especially the Main Boulevard – have been around for some time now. Every Sunday, people from all around the city with their Firebirds, RX8s and what not would gather at the McDonalds on Main Boulevard and then race from the famed ‘fawara waala chowk’.

Well, this type of racing has always been considered dangerous, if not illegal. NO MORE, it seems.

TDCP is arranging a drag racing ‘competition’ this Sunday (Feb 1st, 2009).
This by all means, is an interesting development.

Drag racing is in fact the only format of racing that we can afford here, given the lack of any circuit of any sort.

All the Fast and the Furious type people with their souped up cars with monsters under their car hoods are all expected to show up on this event.

Stay tuned to CarAdvice PK for all the details.

Petrol shortage in Lahore

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Hunt for petrol is becomming a norm these days. 

A couple of days back, I was hunting for petrol.

 

  • There was no petrol at Shell Petrol pump (called Battleaxe, located on Shami Road, Cantt). 
  • There was no petrol at PSO Gulberg (in Industrial Area Gulberg, near Pepsi Factory Lahore)
  • There was petrol at Shell, M M Alam Road! Thank God. The line was long, as expected:
After waiting in the line (and right after I took this picture), a fight broke out. And what a violent fight it exploded into! One guy started cursing the petrol pump staff for not getting him to check the petrol meter. The curses soon were replaced with the customer swinging wild, well-aimed punches at the employee’s face.
And that is when all hell broke lose! 
Practically all employees, with their red coats and sticks and punches and kicks, literally beat the pulp out of the customer. They ran out on the street (M M Alam road) after him. Right in front of me, one employee – as red in anger as his coat – tried to snatch the pump-action gun from the petrol pump’s guard! Thankfully, the guard was not as furious and managed to drive away the raging employee! This kind of situation could easily have lead to a person’s death right in front of my eyes. 
Right after the fight, they closed the petrol pump down! Well! What a time to pick a fight! 
I – hoping against odds – went to Total petrol station (on M M Alam). Thankfully, there was petrol there. I got out of my car, and told the event at Shell to the Total pump’s management. They seemed to take heed and immediately started regulating the hodge-podge of rickshaws and motorbikes on one of the station in to a proper line!
Finding petrol was never this eventful, I am told. What do you think? :/