dimanche 2 juin 2013
Endurance Blancpain : ASTON MARTIN RACING S'IMPOSE DE MAIN DE MAÎTRE DANS SON JARDIN !
Mission accomplie pour Aston Martin avec une V12 Vantage GT3 sur le podium dans chaque classe de la Blancpain Endurance Series à Silverstone. Après 86 tours et une domination sans partage, Fred Mako, Stefan Mücke et Darren Turner ont imposé la V12 Vantage « Bilstein » sur les terres de AMR. Tout juste reconditionnée après sa participation aux 24 Heures du Nürburgring, l'Aston Martin jaune et bleue a réussi son entrée de la plus belle des façons dans le championnat GT le plus relevé au monde. La Nissan GT-R GT3/Nissan GT Academy Team RJN de Alex Buncombe, Lucas Ordonez et Peter Pyzera a pourtant donné du fil à retordre à la #97 durant la première heure grâce à un Lucas Ordonez très incisif mais c'était sans compter sur Darren Turner. La Nissan aux couleurs YouTube doit finalement se contenter de la victoire en Pro-Am Cup, alors qu'en gentlemen Trophy, c'est la Porsche 911 GT3-R/ARC Bratislava de Al Harthy/Konopka qui s'est imposée après avoir mené de bout en bout.
Quatre Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 au départ et trois sur le podium sachant qu'elles venaient toutes les trois faire une pige dans le championnat Blancpain. Le Barwell Motorsport (Osborne/Poole/Abra) a pris la deuxième place en Pro-Am Cup et PGF-Kinfaun AMR (Gaw/Dryburgh) la troisième en Gentlemen Trophy. Un joli coup de maître pour le constructeur britannique. Les V12 Vantage GT3 étaient intouchables dans le Northamptonshire. Quant à Fred Mako, ses deux dernières courses en Blancpain se soldent par deux pole et deux victoires. La seule déception chez AMR reste la prestation de la #99 (Beechedean AMR), en proie à des problèmes de boîte de vitesses. On va maintenant attendre de voir si le législateur va revoir la fameuse BOP avant le prochain meeting du Paul Ricard fin juin. Pourtant, la concurrence n'a pas relâché ses efforts tout au long des trois heures de course, notamment le Belgian Audi Club Team WRT qui place deux de ses trois Audi R8 LMS ultra sur le podium. La stratégie mise en place par Pierre Dieudonné et ses hommes a payé, avec aucun reproche à faire aux neuf pilotes de l'équipe. Ce sont finalement Stéphane Ortelli, René Rast et Laurens Vanthoor qui terminent sur la deuxième marche à 20s de la tête. Le trio de la #1 a réussi à contenir l'écart avec la tête sans pouvoir le réduire. Auteurs d'une belle course, Christopher Mies, Edward Sandström et Frank Stippler complètent le podium en terminant à 35s de la voiture sœur.
Jusque dans le dernier tour, la quatrième place semblait promise à la Ferrari 458 Italia/Kessel Racing de Zampieri/Ramos/Rigon, mais l'équipage victorieux à Monza a perdu deux places d'un coup, en se faisant passer par la Nissan GT-R/JRM Racing de Steven Kane et la BMW Z4 GT3/Marc VDS de Markus Palttala. Le team de James Rumsey a fait une course solide et il semble que les essais réalisés depuis Monza ont porté leurs fruits. Quant au Marc VDS Racing Team, il y a du bon et du moins bon. Si Henri Moser, Nick Catsburg et Markus Palttala ont réalisé un sans-faute avec trois magnifiques relais, la #3 de Leinders/Martin/Buurman a dû abdiquer suite à un accrochage de Bas Leinders avec une Audi/Saintéloc. Rien n'a toutefois été épargné au trio de la #4 puisque Henri Moser a bien failli tout perdre en évitant de justesse une Ferrari en perdition, le Néerlandais en faisant de même à Becketts plus tard. Quant au Finlandais, il est allé au contact avec la Ferrari/Kessel dans les ultimes tours, mais sans gravité.
Dans le camp McLaren, on voulait bien faire et la meilleure des MP4-12C a été celle d'Hexis Racing (Dusseldorp/Parente/Sims). La #7 pouvait même espérer mieux sans un tête-à-queue en début de course de Sims, qui l'a fait chuter en queue de peloton. Les trois pilotes ont cravaché pour remonter et cette 7ème place est prometteuse pour la suite. Le Gulf Racing UK a également fait une course solide et Verdonck/Carroll/Bell ont terminé aux portes du Top Ten après un podium en Italie. Une course à oublier chez ART Grand Prix avec aucune des deux autos à l'arrivée. Greg Demoustier a perdu une roue sur la #12 alors que la #11 pourtant bien figuré durant la première partie de course. Quant à la meilleure Porsche 911 GT3-R, elle a pris une anonyme 18ème place avec la #75 du ProSpeed Competition (Soulet/Maassen/Hennerici). La 911 GT3-R/SMG a vite rendu les armes suite à un contact avec la Ferrari/Mtech.
Une seule Pro-Am Cup a joué les premiers rôles au scratch avec la Nissan GT-R/Nissan GT Academy #35 qui a tenu tête à l'Aston Martin durant la première heure. Pyzera a fait reculer la Nissan après avoir écopé d'un drive through pour dépassement sous drapeau jaune. La puissance du « panzer » nippon et l'homogénéité de l'équipage a tout de même permis au trio de s'imposer en Pro-Am. Venu se rôder à la série, le Barwell Motorsport peut se satisfaire de la deuxième place avec une belle prestation de Joe Osborne et ses coéquipiers. La Vantage britannique a pourtant elle aussi été retardée par une pénalité pour non respect des limites de course. La dernière marche du podium est revenue à la BMW Z4 GT3/TDS Racing de Hassid/Badey. On n'aurait pourtant pas misé un euro sur un bon résultat de la magnifique Z4 après une crevaison dans les premiers trours. Reparti dans les dernières places, Henry Hassid a fait le show pour remonter son handicap et dépassé une bonne vingtaine de concurrents durant son relais de départ. Ludo Badey a ensuite poursuivi le travail de la plus belle des façons avant que le Champion de France GT en titre ne fasse parler une nouvelle fois la poudre en allant arracher la 3ème place à la Lamborghini/GRT de Grasser/Tweraser/Proczyk à 10 minutes du terme. Deux courses et deux podiums pour TDS Racing. Les Autrichiens sont eux aussi la surprise de ce début de saison avec deux belles prestations avec la Lamborghini Gallardo. Pour une fois, aucune Ferrari alignée par AF Corse n'est montée sur le podium puisque Hommerson/Machiels/Bertolini n'ont pu faire mieux que 6èmes. Manque de chance chez Pro GT by Alméras qui pouvait jouer une bonne place, Perera/Dermont ne voyant malheureusement pas l'arrivée.
ARC Bratislava a mené de main de maître en Gentlemen Trophy avec un très bon Ahmad Al Harthy. La Porsche n'a pas quitté la tête sachant que la deuxième place s'est jouée entre le Team SOFREV-ASP et PGF-Kinfaun AMR. Le tandem Gaw/Dryburgh a longtemps cru à la position de dauphin mais Jérôme Policand a fait parler l'expérience au volant de la Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, bien aidé par Gabriel Balthazard et Maurice Ricci. La voiture sœur de Beaubelique/Goueslard/Blanchemain, victorieuse à Monza, échoue au pied du podium.
Avec près de 60 GT3 au départ, on pouvait s'attendre à une course pour le moins mouvementée, aussi bien sur la piste que dans les stands. Les pilotes sont restés très sages puisqu'aucune neutralisation n'est venue perturber les trois heures de course. Les équipes ont elles aussi bien joué sur le plan de la stratégie en décalant les arrêts pour ne pas être bloqué dans les stands. Les équipes voisines se sont bien concertées afin d'éviter des problèmes qu'il n'y a pas eu. On sait qu'Aston Martin travaille encore pour mettre une auto de pointe aux 24 Heures de Spa et cette victoire va peut-être motiver les troupes. Avant le départ, John Gaw nous confiait avec le sourire qu'il aurait aimé que ses montures raflent les pole des trois classes. Il n'y avait que le Pro-Am qui avait échappé à une Vantage. On a vu que l'Aston Martin faisait peur en GTE et il en est de même en GT3.
Le classement de la course est ici.
Au championnat Pro-Cup, Zampieri/Ramos/Rigon gardent la tête avec 33 points, contre 27 à Mies/Sandström/Stippler et 25 à Mako/Turner/Mücke. Suivent Ortelli/Vanthoor/Rast (22) et Leclerc/Soucek/Parisy (18). C'est chaud en Pro-Am Cup avec Hassid/Badey, Hommerson/Machiels/Bertolini et Ordonez/Buncombe, tous avec 33 points. Blanchemain/Beaubelique/Goueslard gardent la tête du Gentlemen Trophy avec 37 points. Al Harthy/Konopka totalisent 29 points, Guedes/Barreiros 27 et Policand/Ricci/Balthazard 26.
Le prochain meeting se tiendra le 30 juin au Paul Ricard...
Laurent Mercier (Endurance-Info)
Dani Pedrosa happy with 20 point take and Marc Marquez apologizes for DNF at Mugello
from Twowheelsblog
For 12 laps Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez were able to shadow Jorge Lorenzo and keep his pace but then on the 13th lap Lorenzo suddenly pushed the NOS button on his M1 and speed away leaving the two Repsol Honda riders almost a eight tenths behind in one single lap and to fight over the second spot on the podium.
With rear grip issues slowing him - the new Bridgestone tire for the race forced him to change his setup - Pedrosa had to contend with the unwanted attentions of his team mate who was much faster than him and with five laps to go Marquez put in a simple pass and ran away for exactly two laps but got caught out at the Savelli and crashed out for the fourth time this weekend and giving Pedrosa 20 points.
Here’s what Pedrosa said about his Mugello race: “I didn’t feel fully comfortable in the race today, but I’m happy because I was able to gain a large number of points. In general, this was a difficult weekend. The back tyre was giving me a lot of problems with grip but taking 20 points from this race and maintaining the lead the World Championship is something positive.”
Marc Marquez may have been battered and bruised, but up until the time of his race crash he certainly did not show any wear or tear, but his fall at the Savelli saw him off the podium for the first time after four rounds which is nothing short of spectacular for a rookie rider.
Despite his crash in the race, which he doesn’t understand how it happened, Marquez said he learned a lot following Pedrosa and Lorenzo and now will use that knowledge in the upcoming rounds.
“Today we finished with our first DNF of the season, but after three difficult days of setbacks and hard work, I finally felt good during the race. I don’t fully understand why I crashed, as I lost both the front and the back at the same time and was unable to save it. It’s clear that we made a mistake, but we can’t go looking for excuses. We’ve looked at the telemetry and it shows that I was going at the same speed and on the same line as before but, anyway, you learn from these mistakes.”
“We can’t forget that this is my first year in the class and I am here to learn how things are in MotoGP. In spite of everything we were still fighting for second place, which is a reason to be happy. I want to apologise to Honda and to the team, as they always support me and work so hard. Now we are turning our focus to Montmelo, and I can’t wait to race there.”
Alvaro Bautista and Valentino Rossi collision at Mugello declared racing incident
from Twowheelsblog
Following the crash that involved Alvaro Bautista and Valentino Rossi at the Poggio Secco chicane of the opening lap of the Italian GP, the race direction immediately investigated the incident and came to the conclusion that it was just a ‘racing incident’ and that no action will be taken against either of the riders.
Bautista was on the inside while Rossi rode around him on the outside and was ahead of the Spaniard as the Honda rider tipped in for the next corner in acceleration and found Rossi and the two touched. Bautista immediately slid of his Honda, while his bike remained attached to the Yamaha M1 for several yards and when it snapped off, Rossi jumped off, but he slided towards the air fence where he then flipped into the air to the shocked horror of his fans, as you could almost hear the collective breath holding above the roar of the engines.
Neither Bautista or Rossi required the Clinica Mobile, but the Italian would later say that one of his buttock cheeks hurt as did his right hand and foot, and he was lucky that he wasn’t more seriously injured. He also declared it was possible that Bautista didn’t see him and that it was an unfortunate racing incident, and also stated that he had a bad start because his clutch slipped.
A racing incident with Rossi at Mugello - home of the Italian rider - couldn’t have been easy for Bautista - with everyone remembering what happened at Assen last year. The Gresini rider denied any culpability and said that he didn’t see the Yamaha rider.
This is the statement released by the FIM and Race Direction:
“Regarding the incident between Valentino Rossi (ITA) and Alvaro Bautista (ESP) in the MotoGP race of Mugello on 2 June. The Race Direction has reviewed the incident and held a hearing with both riders where all available evidence was reviewed. Based on this evidence the Race Direction decision is that it was a racing incident and no further action will be taken.”
Jorge Lorenzo's Italian masterpiece at Mugello
from Twowheelsblog
Over 76,000 fans were at the spectacular Mugello circuit today to see Jorge Lorenzo break the current Repsol Honda hegemony and take a forceful and masterful victory in the Italian GP and take his third consecutive victory at the Italian track and his second victory of the season, with Dani Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow completing the podium.
Pedrosa was the polesitter but at the the first turn at the San Donato ran slightly wide with Jorge Lorenzo taking the lead, but the first dramatic suprise of the race was when at turn 3 of the first lap at the Luco and Poggio Secco, Alvaro Bautista lost the front of his Honda and crashing involved a hapless Valentino Rossi who ended up slamming heavily into the air fence, with the incident being investigated.
At the front Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Marc Marquez broke away leaving a huge gap behind them. Halfway through the race Lorenzo changed speed and began distancing the Honda riders and on lap 13 he hammered out a stunning 1.47.929 that was the game changer, as the Yamaha rider speed away no longer contested, and would win with a highly comfortable 5.4 second margin.
With Pedrosa and Marquez left alone, the rookie began pressuring his veteran team mate who was suffering with technical issues and with just five laps to go Marquez passed his team mate with one of the easiest passes that we’ve seen the rookie do and then peel away only and seem heading for a second place podium only to crash out with three laps to go as he lost the rear and throw away a perfect podium record.
With Marquez out of action Pedrosa inherited the second spot and Cal Crutchlow who was riding in a lonely fourth, until the Repsol Honda’s riders crash, which let him take second podium of the season needed and if the race was just a few laps longer he might have caught Pedrosa as he was fastly closing in.
Stefan Bradl finished fourth spending the entire race with Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden on his tail, but the two Ducatisti never really worrying the LCR Honda rider. Dovizioso and Hayden swapped places twice, but Dovizioso was slightly faster as Hayden began to fade and the two factory riders finished fifth and sixth.
In a very distant seventh Ducati’s test rider Michele Pirro finished ahead of CRT rider Aleix Espargaro while injured Bradley Smith finished 9th and Hector Barbera closed out the top ten.
2013 MotoGP Mugello Race Results:
01- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – 23 laps in 41’39.733
02- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 5.400
03- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 6.412
04- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 19.321
05- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 19.540
06- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 26.321
07- Michele Pirro – Ducati Test Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 38.144
08- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 39.802
09- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 40.243
10- Hector Barbera – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 48.392
11- Randy De Puniet – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 48.480
02- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 5.400
03- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 6.412
04- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 19.321
05- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 19.540
06- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 26.321
07- Michele Pirro – Ducati Test Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 38.144
08- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 39.802
09- Bradley Smith – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 40.243
10- Hector Barbera – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 48.392
11- Randy De Puniet – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 48.480
WRC : Acropolis triumph for ‘Grandad’ Latvala: Triomphe grec pour l’expérimenté Latvala
Volkswagen/Michelin’s Jari-Matti claimed the eighth world class win of his career today in Greece. The sure-footed Finn led from SS4 to beat Spaniard Dani Sordo (Citroën/Michelin) by the handsome margin of 1m50.0s. Neuville’s patience was rewarded with third place for Ford/Michelin, while the three Power Stage bonus points went to the championship leader Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin).
Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen/Michelin) a remporté sa huitième victoire mondiale aujourd’hui en Grèce. Le Finlandais a pris la tête du rallye à l’issue de l’ES4 pour s’imposer devant l’Espagnol Dani Sordo (Citroën/Michelin) avec 1min50s d’avance ! Thierry Neuville a été récompensé de sa sagesse par la troisième place finale (Ford/Michelin), alors que le leader du championnat Sébastien Ogier a empoché les trois points de la Power Stage.
Jari-Matti Latvala, 28, may not have been the oldest WRC driver in Greece this weekend, since Al Attiyah, Hirvonen, Sordo and Ogier were all born before the Finn. Even so, along with Hirvonen, the Polo R WRC driver has the highest number of Acropolis Rally appearances under his belt, 10, plus 123 WRC starts. And that experience was clearly one of the ingredients that helped him to forge his success today in Loutraki, near Corinth.
While many of his rivals suffered mechanical setbacks or crashes early on, he produced the necessary blend of speed and mechanical sympathy to emerge in first place on Saturday morning’s SS4 before putting space between his VW and the Citroën of chaser Dani Sordo. The Spaniard did not have the resources to respond and Latvala was able to cruise to his first victory with the German make (and his first since last September’s RallyGB) with zero pressure on his shoulders.
“This victory feels amazing after my tough start to the season,” he beamed as he punched air on the last stage’s finish line. “In 2003, Greece was the second WRC event of my career, so it’s great to have won it at last after 10 years!”
In contrast to Latvala and Sordo, Thierry Neuville (Ford, +2m14.1s), 24, was one of the youngest drivers on the event and, like VW’s Andreas Mikkelsen, had only competed here once before, in 2012. Even so, the Belgian was one of only four drivers to stay clear of trouble and his maturity was rewarded with his second podium of the season (after Mexico). It was a polished performance which will force many of those who believed him to be too hot-headed to reconsider…
Mikkelsen, 23, recovered from repeated braking issues on his Polo to clinch a career-best fourth overall (+3m55.1s), helped by a score of three fastest stage times, all on Sunday. Meanwhile, Dakar expert Nasser Al Attiyah took care of his Fiesta WRC to claim a safe fifth place.
All the other expected front-runners were delayed by a variety of misfortunes and were simply happy to put this year’s Acropolis Rally behind them and start focusing on Rally Italia (June 20-22).
Ostberg, Hirvonen, Prokop and Novikov rounded off the top nine, while Ogier was a lowly 10thoverall after three days that must have reminded him of his 2012 campaign in the Skoda, especially since his championship lead was under no threat this weekend. After the electrical problem that put him out of contention on Friday’s SS1, he was at least able to look forward to the chance of salvaging some bonus points on the Power Stage. Despite the handicap of running first on the road, he was effectively fastest over the 31.4km test, ahead of the hapless Evgeny Novikov and Mikkelsen.
-Matti Latvala (28 ans) n’était peut-être pas le plus âgé en course ce week-end ; Al-Attiyah, Hirvonen, Sordo et Ogier sont nés avant lui. Mais il fait désormais partie des plus expérimentés avec 123 départs en WRC, dont 10 en Grèce. Et cette expérience fut un réel atout pour s’imposer aujourd’hui à Loutraki.
Alors que beaucoup de ses rivaux ont souffert d’ennuis mécaniques ou commis quelques fautes de pilotage, Jari-Matti a su trouver le bon compromis entre vitesse et sagesse pour prendre la tête samedi matin (ES4). Le Finlandais a ensuite creusé l’écart sur Dani Sordo pour filer vers son premier succès avec l’équipe Volkswagen.
« C’est une victoire incroyable après mon début de saison difficile », a-t-il hurlé en levant les bras au ciel à l’arrivée de la dernière spéciale. En 2003, la Grèce était le deuxième rallye WRC de ma carrière, alors c’est génial de remporter ce rallye dix ans plus tard. »
A l’opposé de Latvala et Sordo, Thierry Neuville (24 ans) est l’un des plus jeunes du plateau WRC et, comme Andreas Mikkelsen, il n’avait disputé cette épreuve qu’une seule fois, en 2012. Malgré tout, le Belge fut l’un des quatre seuls pilotes épargnés par les déboires et sa maturité fut récompensée par un second podium de la saison après le Mexique.
Mikkelsen (23 ans) a été retardé par des ennuis de freins à répétition sur sa Polo R WRC, mais il est remonté à la 4e place finale – son meilleur résultat en WRC – grâce à trois temps scratch consécutifs dimanche matin (ses premiers en WRC). De son côté, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Ford/Michelin) était satisfait de sa 5e place.
De nombreux vainqueurs potentiels ont vécu un Rallye de l’Acropole difficile, comme Mikko Hirvonen (direction ES1), Mads Ostberg (jante cassée ES1), Evgeny Novikov (touchette ES4) ou encore Sébastien Ogier (connexion électrique ES1). Tous sont remontés dans le top-ten final, alors qu’Ogier (10e) a remporté la Power Stage et les trois points de bonus devant Novikov, premier leader du rallye et meilleur performer du rallye (ex aequo avec Latvala) avec quatre temps scratch sur sa Ford Fiesta RS WRC/Michelin.
Prochaine épreuve dans trois semaines en Sardaigne (21-23 juin) avant un break estival et le Rallye de Finlande début août.
Six Appeal – The Newport Pagnell Aston Martins of the 1960s
At the 1958 London Motor Show, an all-new Aston Martin took a bow. The latest 'DB' carried sublime coachwork, designed by Touring but handcrafted at the old Tickford works in Newport Pagnell. Still quintessentially British, the 140mph six-cylinder DB4 was a true Gran Turismo for the world's elite. The car and its successors – the DB5, two series of DB6s and the DBS – were to dominate the company's catalogue in the 1960s. The successor to the DB2 started as a working prototype in 1954. Polish engineer Tadek Marek was responsible for Aston's first big-capacity road car engine, an all-aluminium 3.7-litre six.Italian coachbuilder Touring was chosen to provide not only the new car's styling, but also the necessary tooling and bucks for the DB4 (with its trademarksuperleggera construction of light steel tubes supporting aluminium panels) to be made in Newport Pagnell.
The DB4 was an instant hit. As fast and stylish as any Ferrari or Maserati, it soon became a favourite of the wealthy sporting motorist – and this was despite early setbacks of multiple engine failures, eventually solved by nearly doubling the oil capacity and adding an oil cooler.In tandem with the almost four-seater DB4, the company also produced the shorter chassis DB4GT, triple-Weber-equipped, with a twin-plug head. This formed not only the basis for a last hurrah at Le Mans with the Project Cars, it was also the chassis on which Zagato built 19, now highly sought-after lightweight coupés.In its final, Series V form, the DB4 was a DB5 in all but name. The new car, launched in 1964, was available with a 4.0-litre engine and generally equipped with a five-speed ZF gearbox.
| Related Links You can find Aston Martins from pre-War days right up to the new Vanquish in the Classic Driver Marketplace |
Photos: Aston Martin and Aston Martin Heritage Trust, with thanks to Tim Cottingham of www.astonmartins.com
PGO Cevennes Water Snake concept gets detailed
Features a BMW-sourced 1.6-liter engine
PGO has released some new details about their Cevennes Water Snake concept that originally debuted at the Shanghai Motor Show.
Dressed in blue carbon, the concept closely resembles the standard Cevennes but is distinguished by new headlights, LED daytime running lights and 18-inch aluminum wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires.
The interior is nicely equipped with leather upholstery, carbon fiber trim and a flat-bottomed steering wheel. We can also see metallic accents and a Pioneer infotainment system.
Power is provided by a BMW-sourced 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that develops 184 HP (135 kW) and 240 Nm (177 lb-ft) of torque. It is connected to a six-speed manual transmission that should enable the concept to hit a top speed of 225 km/h (140 mph).
Source: PGO and Motor Authority
via Worldcarfans
BMW C 600 Sport RR by Panda Moto
from TWOWHEELSBLOG
We don’t talk a lot about scooters here, so you know that when we do it has to be something special. French company Panda Moto - a BMW dealership from Burgundy - presents its own rendition of the BMW C 600 Sport maxi scooter, offered in a new ‘racing’ guise curated by Panda Moto’s main man Benjamin Dupont. The basic idea was to give the BMW C 600 Sport some specific connotation inspired by the S1000RR Superbike - from which it got the ‘RR tag’ as well as the classic ‘racing’ colors of the German brand - but things went a little out of hand in the process as the number of fine components used for the model ultimately precluded any possibility of make it road legal. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though.
Special graphics aside, the changes that immediately catch the eye of this BMW C 600 Sport RR are the new silencer specifically designed for Panda Moto by Akrapovic, a pair of 6-piston front calipers by Beringer, recalibrated fork by Panda Moto, a cool Ohlins S46 schock at the back, the new deflectors, Michelin Power Pure tires and a new saddle made by specialist Yves Moillo. Benjamin Dupont however did not stop here, and went on to ‘touch’ the mechanics as well: the cylinder head was in fact modified, the speed controller replaced replaced and the final drive chain shortened.
In these images published by Scooter-System.fr you can see that the model is already on display at Panda Moto’s atelier, but the work on the BMW C 600 Sport RR is not finished yet: it will soon receive ‘Streetbike-like’ handlebars by Rizoma, a high performance air filter and a brand new air-box. Hopefully, once the work is done, Panda Moto will also release some performance figure.
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