SCRAM AFRICA 2013

If you get here it is surely because you are one of those who believe that the bikes of today don’t have the soul of the motorcycles of yesterday and you are sure that itís possible to enjoy and live adventures as others did 30 or 40 years ago.

At Fuel Bespoke Motorcycles we think that the best way to realize old times and experiences is to create “Scram Africa®”, a trip of more than 2.000 km for classic trail and neoclassic bikes to the south of Morocco by road, trail and dune. A unique adventure; a trip only for nostalgic riders!

THE BIKES:

The “Scram Africa®” is conceived and designed for classic trails and neoclassical motorcycles such as the Triumph Scrambler, BMW GS80/GS100/GS100PD , Royal Enfield, Ural, street  tracker and customized scramblers bikes and a few others. In short, “heavy” & classics on-off road bikes.

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THE DATES

from 26th April to 5th of May of 2013

THE ROUTE

Friday 26: Concentration of the whole group in the port of Almeria. Boarding at 23:00 to Morocco. (Dinner not included).

Saturday 27: Stage of 300km by road and track

After disembarkation and customs clearance we will enter the famous Plateau du Rekkam, and will travel this vast flatland to the point of assistance for dinner and sleep camped.

Sunday 28:Stage of 300km by track

In the morning we will head towards Erfoud to cross the beautiful scenery of the of Rekkam to arrive to Xaluca Hotel, a resort where to enjoy their spa pools, and recover some forces for the next stage.

Monday 29: Stage of 100 km by track

This is where Scram Africa really begins: we reach the dunes and the “scramblers” prove to be made of different stuff riding our bikes through the sand. We sleep at the hostel “Ali el Cojo” in Merzouga, where in addition to restoring our energy we enjoy some authentic African hospitality.

Tuesday 30 Wednesday 1: Stage marathon 300km track

This stage is split into two days. It is the queen stage of Scram Africa, circulating along the “Forbidden track”, an old stage of Paris Dakar, with stretches of stone, sand, fesh-fesh, dry lakes etc … We camp in the desert in order to reach the city of Zagora the day after where we’ll sleep in an authentic Riad.

Thursday 2: Stage 250 by road and track

We leave Zagora and head by road to reach the town of Nkob where we take the track to Tinerhir, the gateway town to the Gorges du Todhra. After that we reach Tamtattouchte, a small village in the middle of the Atlas.

Friday 3: Stage of 291km by road and track

We cross the Atlas by track and mountain road to reach the city of Meknes where we sleep.

Saturday 4:Stage 350 km by road

This last stage is by road to Nador.  At 22:00h we ship to Almeria where our journey ends.

Every morning before leaving each rider will be given food for lunch.

THE STUFF

The organization and logistics is in charge of Soloraids company. A professional team composed by guides, drivers, mechanic, a doctor and support vehicles (a 4×4 and a truck) ready to take care of all the participants.

THE PRICE

The  price per person and bike is 1.500€

1930 Packard Bentley 42 litre at The Cholmondeley Pageant of Power 2012

PORSCHE LÈVE LE VOILE SUR LA NOUVELLE 911 GT3 CUP.

On l'attendait depuis un bon moment et elle a enfin été présentée. La Porsche 911 GT3 Cup version 911 débutera en compétition dès 2013 dans la Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup avant de rejoindre les championnats nationaux dès 2014. C'est lors de la « Night of Champions » que le constructeur allemand a levé le voile sur sa dernière monture. Avec ses 460 chevaux et sa boîte de vitesses à commande au volant développée spécialement par Porsche Motorsport, cette 991 ravira à coup sûr les pilotes. La largeur des pneus slicks Michelin a été augmentée de 2 centimètres pour passer à 27, alors que la partie arrière est plus large de 10 millimètres. Un nouveau système de freinage a également été mis au point avec des disques de freins en acier à six pistons fixes à l'avant contre quatre pistons à l'arrière. Lors du développement de la 991, l'accent a été mis sur la sécurité du pilote avec la mise en place d'une nouvelle cellule qui protège le pilote en cas de choc ou de tonneau. Le siège a aussi été repensé pour un meilleur maintien. Une trappe de secours a été installée sur le toit pour que les équipes médicales puissent plus facilement accéder à la désincarcération du pilote en cas de problème.

« Les limites de la nouvelle 911 GT3 Cup sont beaucoup plus facile à trouver » explique Timo Bernhard, qui a été fortement impliqué dans le développement. « La voiture est très bien équilibrée. La géométrie du nouvel essieu est vraiment bien pour ma manipulation. La nouvelle 911 est réellement agréable à piloter. » Comme le modèle précédent, la nouvelle Porsche 911 GT3 Cup est produite à Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen sur la même chaîne de montage que les modèles routiers. Un pilote professionnel essaiera chaque auto avant de la livraison aux clients. Disponible seulement en blanche, la nouvelle Cup coûte 181 200 euros.

by Laurent Mercier(Endurance-Info.com)

BMW RUDE BOY CONCEPT

from http://www.daidalgas.com

TROPHEE ANDROS ;DAYRAUT 1er LEADER

Jean-Philippe Dayraut est le premier leader du Trophée Andros après sa victoire en Course 1 et sa deuxième place en Course 2 à Val Thorens. Gérald Fontanel a été le vainqueur du dimanche.

Après sa victoire en Course 1 à Val Thorens pour l'ouverture de la saison du Tropéhe Andros, Jean-Philippe Dayraut a été plus en retrait en ne signant que le troisième chrono des manches qualificatives de la Course 2 avec sa Mini Coutryman. Le pensionnaire du Saintéloc Racing garde la tête du Trophée à l'issue du week-end en remportant la deuxième Finale Elite Sup de la Course 2 devant la Mini Saintéloc de Gérald Fontanel, qui a réalisé la pole de la seconde épreuve, et la Citroën DS3 Speedaventure.com de Benjamin Rivière.

Jean-Baptiste Dubourg s'est assuré la victoire de la première Finale Elite Sup après avoir signé le deuxième temps des qualifications sur sa Renault Clio 3 du D.A Racing. Olivier Panis s'est assuré la deuxième place de la Finale après avoir pris le quatrième temps des qualifications. Benjamin Rivière se montre plus en retrait que la veille. Cinquième de la séance principale, le pilote de l'écurie Speedaventure.com est monté sur la dernière marche du podium de la seconde Finale Elite Sup. Jean-Philippe Dayraut repart de Val Thorens avec sept points d'avance sur Benjmain Rivière. Olivier Panis se montre dans la course en n'accusant qu'une seule unité de retard sur le pilote de la DS3.

En Trophée Andros Electrique, Christophe Ferrier pointe en tête avec deux points d'avance sur Franck Lagorce et dix unités sur Stéphane Ortelli. Margot Laffite est quatrième devant Olivier Pernaut et Adrien Tambay.

BY Jacques-Armand Dupuis (AUTOHEBDO)

HARLEY-DAVIDSON STELLALPINA BY ROBERTO ROSSI

from Giorgio Oppici

Coriano inaugurates Marco Simoncelli memorial and exhibition

Yesterday may have been a holiday in Italy and despite the freezing temperatures and an overnight snowfall, hundreds of fans still turned up in the small town of Coriano to see the inveiling of the memorial and be the first to see the exhibition dedicated to the late and still very much missed Marco Simoncelli.

The day was dedicated to Simoncelli and began with the unveiling of “Il podio del Sic” (Sic’s podium) that is represented by three blocks of white marble that are now permanently located on the left side of the church - near the steps where his funeral was held - with a glass plaque that has written on it: “Mi piacerebbe essere ricordato come uno che in gara sapeva emozionare.” (I’d like to be remembered as someone who knew how to give emotions when racing)

The “History of Sic” exhibition with its white walls and red leather striped inserts is located on the first floor of the Palace of Culture and divided into themes: with the display of his racing career including fifteen helmets, twelve racing leather suits and the #58 Gilera that he won the 2008 250cc World Championship, minimotos, go-karts, even his podium champagne bottles, but the display also includes photos and momentos of his private life and in one of the rooms is made out to be an exact replica of his San Carlo Honda Gresini Team pit box and there are also maxiscreens with racing highlights from his career.

An emotional Paolo Simoncelli said, “It’s nice thought by the people of Coriano, the town and all those who contributed to this and we’re happy as a family. It’s the least we could do, he has given so much, I think Coriano owed it to him. In this museum there is Marco’s lifetime from the beginning to end. Everyone will look at it with his own eyes and his thoughts. My thoughts? I’d rather keep them to myself.”

Photo source | ansa.it with Twowheelsblog

Yamaha XS 850 by Tarmac Custom Motorcycles

Foto: Facebook (Tarmac Custom Motorcycles)
from Racing Café

TSUKUBA SUPER BATTLE

After a somewhat disappointing event last year, spoiled by snow, rain and a track that didn’t want to dry, the Tsukuba Super Battle couldn’t have been blessed with better conditions today at Tsukuba. Freezing air and cloudless blue skies are always the perfect recipe for optimal time attack conditions, and the 78 cars in attendance at what has always been my favorite event of the year, were all out to set some serious times.

Rev Speed magazine has been organizing this track gathering for over 20 years and I’ve always categorized it as a defining event, helping push the tuning scene in the right direction. Setting a fast time for a tuning shop is probably the best way to indirectly market their capabilities because, simply put, the clock never lies.

So even if I am not the biggest fan of hearing my alarm go off at 4:30 in the morning…

…I woke up with a big smile today, knowing that I’d get to see some of the fastest track cars in Japan…

…as well as a few new surprises. Every year this event seems to have a completely different atmosphere. It’s probably due to the fact that on top of the few regulars, there are always lots of new cars to be seen and for 2012 this was especially true.

And you can’t get more “new” than the 86/BRZ, which has obviously become a very popular platform with tuning shops in Japan. Rev Speed created an all new class for them to compete in and the wild Racing Project Bandoh 86, built in collaboration with Scorch Racing…

…was by far the biggest surprise. Bandoh’s experience in Super GT has obviously paid off on this new project because it wasn’t long before Manabu Orido set the fastest record for the class with an incredible 59.728 sec lap. For a car that was literally completed last night and never really been driven properly this is all the more impressive. Orido could have definitely gone faster but during its second outing it developed some engine issues and was retired for the day.

It may not be completely new, but the Auto Bahn Soarer was one of the freshest cars at the event. This 720 HP beast has been refined for the new time attack season and sports an all new paint job.

The car managed a 59.122 sec lap, the fastest it has ever gone and if it wasn’t for the 680 lb/ft (923 Nm) of torque causing all sorts of traction issues coming out of the tighter corners, it could potentially go much faster!

The guys from Autobacs ASM Yokohama were out with their widebody S2000 trying hard to get closer to that 1-minute-flat laptime.

Tsukada-san from ATTKD is quite the master builder of time attack GT-Rs, and after having put together blisteringly quick R32 and R34 GT-R’s in the past, he has dedicated the last couple of years to the R35. This 4.1L beast was back this year to beat its record, which it did on its second outing with a 58.634 sec.

It was very cool of Rev Speed to allow Under Suzuki to enter the event, which is usually only open to tuning shops. His obsession with continually making his car faster and faster, has made him a crowd favorite both in and out of Japan and yesterday really turned out to be his day.

His goal has always been to dip into the 53-seconds, and that is precisely what he did. His 53.638 sec, achieved in his third outing, is the best time ever to be recorded at a Super Battle event, just managing to beat the 53.673 sec record the Revolution FD3S set back in 2010. Needless to say he was extremely happy with his result. But if you think that he’ll be hanging up the towel now, you are wrong; next obvious goal is to beat Taniguchi’s time of 53.589 sec that was set in the HKS CT230R, the overall record for a tuned car at Tsukuba. It’s just so close, and with the Battle Evome series kicking off in January, he will have four other chances this season to attempt it.

Horikoshi-san, with his orange S14 he built in collaboration with Scorch Racing, was also at the event. Now sporting an all new motor the car has the potential for some even more serious times. However his day was cut short when the hood broke and split half way, folding upwards and ending his fun. His could “only” manage a 57.304 sec

The Garage G-Force Evo X is already the fastest C4ZA in Japan, but thanks to more work and excellent driving by Taniguchi it’s now even faster! It’s the first X to dip into the 56-seconds, with a 56.784 sec, simply unbelievable. Maybe HKS would like to step the game up now?

The Outerplus with Ti Racing Exige recorded a 57.176 sec, so close to that “56″, yet so far.

The AVO Turboworld BRZ that I featured last month was out at Tsukuba with an all new front bumper, a little sneak peak at one part of the all-new aero package body-kit maker Liberal will be unveiling at the Tokyo Auto Salon next month. The turbocharged BRZ got a best lap of a 1:06.260

1:03.599 was the best the Nojima Project (Nopro) NC recorded, a great result for what is one of the coolest track-focused Roadsters in Japan.

There will be plenty to see in the coverage I have coming for you next week, from a closer  look at all the vast selection of 86/BRZs that participated…

…to the more usual attendants that we all know and love.

-Dino Dalle Carbonare (Speedhunters.com)