HorsePower

A blog for Pakistani petrol-heads (and CNG-heads)

Pakistan Racer Hunt

Posted by nabeel on November 6, 2009

The Pakistan Racer Hunt has made its way through Islamabad and Lahore with some extremely competetive qualifying rounds. Karachi is next where the qualifying sessions will be held in Mid November. And at the end 10 qualifiers from all three cities will race each other in Lahore.

The turn out of extremely competetive racing enthusiasts so far has been beyond everyone’s expectations. With all the lack of motorsports in Pakistan and the lack of awareness about it, Pakistan Racer Hunt is definitely a step in the right direction. Having participated myself, I can tell you that track racing and especially go-karting is one heck of an adrenaline pumping thrill ride. In terms of sheer excitement a go-kart is in a different league from any other road car. If you consider yourself a petrol-head you should definitely make it a top priority to get a ride in one of these.

Here’s a photo gallery from the qualifying session in Lahore…

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Chevrolet Joy

Posted by nabeel on October 12, 2009

chevrolet joychevrolet joy interior

The Chevrolet Joy is aimed at a group of people who like to buy a smart and reasonably priced car that is up to date with the modern world. It offers features like CD/mp3 player, rear seat belts, power windows and  mirrors which are miles ahead of what all the other cars in the same budget range have to offer. The performance and fuel economy figures are also very impressive.

This car is not very popular in the used car market yet. In the future however, I’m sure it will gain more popularity. So you can get a good bargain if you are planning to buy a used one of these right now.

Engine Capacity (litre) Power (bhp) Torque (Nm) 0-100 kph (sec) Top Speed (kph)
1.0 63 88 14.8 152


Score

Remarks
Performance 9/10 Class leading
Grip & handling 8/10 Very good
Space & Comfort 8/10 Very good
Reliability 8/10 Great
Fuel economy 8/10 Extraordinary
Maintenance 6/10 Slightly more expensive than other rivals
Resale 5/10 Reasonable
Price 9/10 Best price in its class
Equipment 8/10 Very well equipped
Build quality 9/10 Great

Current Prices

September 2009
Joy Rs. 634,000
Joy with Custom-Designed CNG Kit Rs. 674,000

For latest prices visit Chevrolet Website

Rivals:

  • Toyota Vitz
  • Hyundai Santro
  • Suzuki Alto
  • Suzuki Cultus

Verdict:

This car definitely offers the best value for money among its rivals in the same budget range.

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Bank Alfalah Karting Championship

Posted by nabeel on October 9, 2009

karting 2

The Bank Alfalah Karting Championship is back in Lahore once again. This is the round 2 of the 2009 Championship. As always, this weekend the event will be held on a street circuit at Lake City which is located on Raiwind road 13 kilometers from Thokar Niaz Baig.

Here are some details about the event…

Teams:

1. Alfalah Equipe Corporate
2. Bed & Bath
3. ASR Pro
4. ASR Women
5. Espresso
6. Cosa Nostra
7. Pattu Dragons Death Squad
8. Hi Profile
9. Pak Wheels
10. Lake City
11. Team Stone Age
12. Zong Velocity

Format:

  • Saturday – 6 pm – Teams Meeting
  • Sunday – 12 pm – Track Reporting Time for Teams
  • 1 pm – Karts Allocation
  • 1:30 pm – 2: 30 pm – Practice Session
  • 3:00 pm – 4 pm – Qualifying Session
  • 4:15 pm – Race Start
  • 9:15 pm – Chequered Flag

The day will feature:

  • DJ
  • Food & Beverage Stalls
  • Car Demonstrations

Date:  Sunday, 11 October 2009

Time: 12:00 – 21:00

Venue: Lake City , Lahore

Phone: 03227740909

Email: info@racingpakistan.org

Here’s a post about the last round of this championship.

You can also visit the Racing Pakistan website for more details. Or visit the facebook page for the event.

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Pakistan Express Racing Team

Posted by nabeel on October 7, 2009

pakexp

How many Pakistani racing teams have you ever heard of? Better than that, how many championship winning Pakistani racing teams have you ever heard of?

Here’s one…

“Pakistan Express Racing Team was established in 2008 by Faisal Ahmad.  The team competes in the NASA Performance Touring series in the Great Lakes and Midwest regions.  Our mission is to raise awareness of motor sports in and to bring the excitement of motor racing to Pakistan.”

And they’ve just won the NASA great lakes championship title of 2009. When I say NASA it doesn’t mean the one with the satellites and the space shuttles. This NASA stands for National Auto Sport Association.

Anyway, well done Pakistan Express team and best of luck.

watch this video report about the PakExp team prepared by NASA.

You can also visit the team website http://pakexp.com/

2rrqrgn

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Traffic cameras in Karachi

Posted by nabeel on September 28, 2009

Here’s a public awareness video message from the City District Government of Karachi. It features some horrible road accidents captured by their traffic cameras on the roads of Karachi. The footage from these cameras should be very helpful in the investigations after such accidents.

It’s a good thing to know that finally some local government is beginning to take notice of a major public safety issue. Local governments from other cities should also take notice of this safety issue.

Drive safe!

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A Race track is born!

Posted by nabeel on September 17, 2009

 

Islamabad race track

Islamabad race track

I once said in one of my articles, that the reason why no one has ever built a racetrack in Pakistan is because the  Pakistani land has been cursed by some Martians so that no one can ever build a racetrack here.

Well, it seems that the Martians visit my blog quite regularly. Because they’ve finally lifted the unbreakable curse from Pakistan. Islamabad is now home to the first ever racetrack of Pakistan. This is great news for all the Pakistani motorsports enthusiasts as well as the thousands of people who own really expensive sports cars but can’t really use them for anything more than posing.

So far all I know about this racetrack is that it is located near Rawal lake at Lake View Park in Islamabad and it is only 1.5 km long. The first race of this track is being held in October.

Thanks Martians!

 

Track Layout

Track Layout

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Pakistan Racer Hunt ‘09

Posted by nabeel on September 12, 2009

pakistan-racer-hunt

The Racing Pakistan team is back with a change. After a number of go kart endurance races, this time they are on a talent hunt. The idea is that there will be three qualifying rounds in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. And at the end there will be a grand finale in which the top 10 racing drivers from all three cities will race against each other. There are handsome prizes for the podium finishers and a racing contract for the winner.

For details visit http://www.pakistanracerhunt.com/

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Toyota Vitz Review

Posted by nabeel on August 26, 2009

Toyota-yaris-interior-4-xltoyota_vitz


There are only two kinds of car buyers in Pakistan, those who want quality and those who want a Suzuki. The Toyota Vitz introduced a whole new benchmark of quality in Pakistan at least in the small car market. That’s why the quality buyers adore this car.


Engine Capacity (litre)

Power (bhp)

Torque (Nm)

0-100 kph (sec)

Top Speed (kph)

1.0

68

95

15.7

154


Score

Remarks

Performance

8/10

Great

Grip & handling

9/10

Amazing

Space & Comfort

9/10

Best in its class

Reliability

9/10

Great

Fuel economy

9/10

Great

Maintenance

7/10

Slightly expensive

Resale

10/10

For sure

Price

7/10

good value for money

Equipment

8/10

Best in its class

Build quality

9/10

Best in its class

Rivals:

  • Chevrolet Joy
  • Hyundai Santro
  • Suzuki Alto
  • Suzuki Cultus

Verdict:

If this car falls in your budget, then buying it is the obvious choice. Unless you want to spend your money on a large tin can with a “Suzuki” badge on it.

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Pakistan is now on google maps

Posted by nabeel on May 27, 2009

google maps

Have you ever had to ask ten different guys on the street for directions, out of which at least eight led you in the wrong direction with full confidence?

Well now you can look up where you are going at google maps before you set off. And better still you can also look up google maps on your cellular phone. For that you can go to m.google.com/maps on your mobile and install the google maps application. The best  feature in this mobile application is that even if your phone does not have GPS, it can tell your current location within a range of a couple of kilometers at max using your cellular network (not magic).

The rest of the world has had this facility for ages but Pakistan has only recently been included in the google maps database. The road map of Pakistan was developed completely by volunteers in an amazingly short period of time. You can also contibute in this map by adding places. If you want to contribute go to http://www.google.com/mapmaker. You can also use the ‘get directions’ feature on google mapmaker which is not yet available on google maps for Pakistan.

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Drag race in Islamabad

Posted by nabeel on May 20, 2009

rev-it-up-islamabad-drag-race


Event Date : 24th May 2009 (SUNDAY)

Event Venue : BAHRIA TOWN PHASE 9

Click here for more details…

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